Chapter 20: Dare You Eat It!?

【“You don’t even dare eat her **—how dare you claim you love her!”】

“Don’t you dare tell me whether I love her or not—this has nothing to do with whether I eat this!”

【“If you don’t eat it, you don’t love her!”】

“Wait, are you insane!?”

At night, after a long day’s work, Master Herbert secretly retreated to his private space and began arguing with netizens.

Then he was told the absurd method of absorbing magic power: eat the monster’s materials!

Is that right?

After bickering with the Harmony God, Herbert lowered his head, staring at the palm-sized iridescent scale, his expression twisting slightly.

Look at it.

Under light, it shifts through rainbow hues, with excellent luster.

Smell it.

It carries a rich fragrance, with none of the salty, fishy odor of seawater.

Try licking it.

The taste is slightly sweet, with no strange aftertaste.

Steeling himself, he bit down… crunch.

“Pfft… heh.”

Herbert burst out laughing.

Turns out, when you’re utterly speechless, you really do laugh out loud.

Hey!

Wanna guess what happened?

Can’t bite it.

Absolutely can’t bite it!

Wait, how am I supposed to eat this?

Thwack.

Herbert slammed the scale onto the table and roared: “You foul spirit—do you mean to mock me!?”

Damn it.

I never should’ve trusted you, Harmony God!

【“I never lied to you~”】

Nenasha paid no mind to Herbert’s fury; from her tone, she was barely holding back laughter.

Oh, no.

The demon god never even tried to hide it.

【“Don’t say that—I never told you to bite it raw!”】

【“But I didn’t expect… pfft, hahaha! You adorable fool actually bit down on it! Hahaha~”】

She laughed wildly, joyfully—her silver-bell voice even carried a hint of seduction.

“...Tch.”

After laughing for ages, she finally stopped, just before Herbert turned fully red.

But her voice still dripped with amusement as she chuckled: 【“My dear ally, don’t be angry—it’s just a little joke. Keep frowning like that, and you’re no fun at all!”】

“No, I’m thinking whether I can just swallow it whole.”

【“Huh?”】 Nenasha was confused, struggling to follow Herbert’s erratic train of thought.

It was just a joke—laugh it off and move on.

Herbert was no longer angry; his entire focus was now on how to get it down his throat.

“Nothing is inedible—only poorly cooked or well-cooked.” —《Youyang Zazu: Food and Drink》

The ancients said: in this world, there are only tasty and untasty things—nothing truly inedible.

Seeing Herbert lost in thought, Nenasha cautiously probed: 【“Um…”】

“Let me think—should I stir-fry it? Sear it? Or deep-fry it?”

【“Hey~ are you still there~?”】

“Deep-fry? Pan-fry?”

【“...I said?”】

“Braise? Bake? Braise again?”

【“HAA!!!”】

A thunderous roar erupted in his mind, jolting Herbert so hard he nearly toppled off his stool.

He took a moment to recover, then raised his head blankly: “Why’d you yell so loud?”

【“Before you say that, don’t you recall what you were just doing?”】

“I just ignored you—why scare me like that?”

Herbert replied with perfect confidence, utterly convinced he’d done nothing wrong.

We’re equal allies— you tease me, I ignore you.

The rule is: no one coddles anyone.

【“Hmph, Holy Knight.”】

“Hmph, demon god.”

After mutual sneers, Herbert drew his sword and tried slicing the scale with the blade.

His sword was no ordinary weapon—it had been personally granted by the King of Frost Crystal when he was seventeen, said to have been forged by a legendary royal warrior of old.

Though only high-grade in rank, its hardness rivaled legendary weapons!

Shhh—

With a screeching scrape, the blade parted from the scale, leaving only a faint nick and a sprinkle of glittering powder.

“...”

Herbert stared at the powder on the table, then a thought struck him—he leaned down close.

Pursed his lips and sucked hard.

Ssshh—

“Too! Too! Too! Too… too spicy! Cough! Cough! Cough!”

He hadn’t dared inhale through his nose, fearing a sneezing fit—but he hadn’t expected the powder to shoot straight into his throat.

The iridescent powder was unexpectedly fiery, making him cough violently, as if his throat would tear free.

【“...”】

Nenasha watched him silently, like a fool, then sighed: 【“Ah ha… this is just…”】

Honestly, the demon god now felt a tiny bit of regret.

Too hasty.

She shouldn’t have so easily judged him worthy as a partner.

Look at him.

Isn’t he just an idiot?

【“Never mind—the method’s flawed, but it’s passable.”】

She finally stopped standing idly by, seizing control of Herbert’s left hand, then traced her fingertip across the blade, leaving a shallow wound.

Next, she pressed her index finger against the scale—a single drop of glistening blood fell onto the cut.

“Cough, cough—why’s this blood-ritual, cough, binding?!”

Come on, what century is this? Still using such old-fashioned methods?

As Herbert coughed uncontrollably yet kept complaining, something strange happened.

Hssss—

Like touching a red-hot iron, the scale instantly dissolved in the blood, turning into a mist of crimson that surged into his throat.

Glug.

Like swallowing a cup of boiling water straight from the kettle, Herbert’s face twisted in agony, a muffled groan escaping his throat.

“Ssshh— not hot! Cough!”

Burning.

He felt his throat burned through, his very soul shriveling under the heat.

But just as Herbert desperately sought cold water to quench the fire, the burning sensation receded like a tide.

In less than a breath, all pain vanished—as if it had never been.

Before Herbert could think, a cool, soothing sensation spread through his body, like soaking in a warm spring.

He seemed to hear the sound of waves.

Hwaa—

Opening his eyes, he found himself adrift in a vast, rolling ocean, rising and falling with the tide.

Yet Herbert felt no fear.

Because he heard a distant, melodic song.

He shouldn’t have understood its ancient tongue—but somehow, he understood its meaning.

The song told a story.

An ancient and sorrowful tale—

(End of Chapter)