It has been two weeks since we left Necross Fortress, as we neared the town of Uchihaha, we reunited with Talhand and Roxy.
Initially, Isolde and I almost didn't recognize them because they were also riding a transport lizard like us. Since there are many wild lizards in this area. And even if they were carrying people, it wasn't guaranteed to be someone we knew, so we didn't pay much attention. It was similar on their side, so both parties traveled parallel to each other for nearly half a day before realizing it.
So from one transport lizard, we now had two walking side by side. Each carrying a whole pile of all sorts of luggage as if this were a merchant caravan. Though in reality, it was all just various types of food to last us for the next half year.
At this point, Roxy and Talhand told me about what happened when they met the Demon Empress. Basically, when they arrived at the town of Kurasuma, Talhand had a drinking contest with the Demon Empress. It was a prolonged and incredibly intense contest with the final result being that even Talhand had to concede defeat.
"That's crazy! Even 'you' couldn't win? How strong is that Demon Empress really?" Sitting on the back of the Transport Lizard, I looked over at the dwarf. "Back at Necross Fortress, you alone defeated the entire Ultimate Four in a drinking contest, didn't you?"
"You could say she is the most formidable opponent I've ever met in my life." Talhand replied, not looking upset at all but rather quite amused by the experience. "We drank so much that the tavern ran dry as a desert, and eventually we had to make the owner buy more booze from other taverns. And if you're curious, the alcohol there is amazing. It's seafolk liquor; it's nothing like the stuff you can find anywhere else. They have an intoxicating sweetness and the aroma of being cold-brewed at the very bottom of the ocean."
Whenever it comes to alcohol, Talhand gets all poetic. It made me want to get poetic too, and more importantly...
"Ugh... I want to drink it too."
"Ha ha ha! I knew you'd say that." Talhand laughed out loud and patted a few wooden barrels we were carrying. "Here, I brought a few cask along."
"Can I drink it right now?" I asked seriously.
"Of course."
So without holding back, I grabbed a glass, filled it to the brim, and chugged it down like I was dying of thirst.
"Oh... it has a sweet taste." I exclaimed in surprise.
This sweetness gave me the feeling of drinking some sort of fermented fruit juice instead of liquor. But based on the alcohol content, it was definitely liquor. This sweet taste wasn't like the sweetness I'd experienced with Umeshu either. It had something like the essence of perfectly ripe fruit juice, without even a hint of sourness.
Extremely impressive! Coming from a Japanese wine connoisseur like me, this stuff gets an 8 out of 10!
And because of that, I immediately wanted to share it with my friend. "Wanna try a sip, Isolde?"
"Never."
"Oh don't worry, this kind is really sweet and delicious, not bitter like normal wine." I gave a thumbs up along with an extremely trustworthy smile. That's the sign of an Atur who never lies. "If it tastes bad, you have the right to spit it right in my face."
"Like hell I would do that." Isolde glared at me again. But somehow her annoyed face is a bit red.
"Suit yourself. That just means more booze for me, hehe."
Isolde never seemed to like alcohol much. I'm the reason for that, I know. I just didn't expect an incident from over seven years ago to haunt her for so long. But I still hope that one day she can try and experience the wonderful deliciousness of this fermented liquid. Living without alcohol is like losing half the joy of life.
So to be able to enjoy yourself to the fullest, drink up. As long as you don't cause trouble or drive a carriage after drinking.
"But wait, does this wine also have a salty aftertaste?" I smacked my lips as the taste on the tip of my tongue suddenly changed. "How strange."
"That's the beauty of seafolk's specialty." Talhand explained. "It's good, isn't it?"
"It's great! Can I have some more?"
"Drinking in the middle of the day? That's the spirit of our race! Are you sure you are not a dwarf, Atur? Ha ha ha! Alright! Let's drink together!"
"More like the spirit of a drunkard..." Isolde sighed upon seeing me start drinking right at noon.
And yeah, Roxy joined in too because we already had Isolde steering the Transport Lizard, so everyone could drink in peace.
Ah, Larry also got a whole glass to slowly lick away at. I forgot to mention that the black cat also likes alcoholic beverages just like me. Truly a cat of culture. Approved.
Once we had a bit of buzz going, the conversation resumed about finding the Demon Empress Kishirika Kishirisu. Basically, after that contest Talhand lost, the demon empress was grabbed by the collar by the tavern owner, but she didn't have any money to pay. So in the end, Talhand, Roxy, and Elinalise pooled their money to pay for the massive amount of booze they had drunk. And so, to show her gratitude, Demon Empress Kishirika Kishirisu granted them a wish.
"And that's how you guys met the Demon Empress and found out the locations of the people we're looking for?" I asked.
"Yeah." Roxy nodded. "Even though the Demon Empress looked different from the descriptions Sir Moore told us, she looks like a child."
"A child?" I frowned, then suddenly clapped my hands together. "Ah, probably because she just recently reincarnated."
"The Demon Empress said the exact same thing." Talhand agreed as he downed the glass of liquor in his hand. "You're quite perceptive, Atur."
"I was just guessing, ah ha ha." More like personal experience though. "So after that, the Demon Empress also helped Elinalise cross the sea?"
From what I knew, crossing the sea straight from the Demon Continent to the Central Continent was seemingly impossible. Because between the two continents lies the giant Ringus Ocean ruled by the seafolk, who aren't very friendly to humans. Not to mention the extremely dangerous sea monsters. If you want to know how dangerous they are, from what I'm told, they are like the Sea Kings from One Piece.
Ah no, with the mana existing in this world acting like radiation causing them to evolve into all sorts of creepy, grotesque things, they probably belong at the same table as the stuff from H.P. Lovecraft. Just thinking about creepy things like that lurking at the bottom of the deep sea, waiting to open their mouths and snap me to death at any moment gives me the shivers.
As dangerous as it is, if it's a big shot like the Demon Empress, surely she would have a way, probably? After all, she—
"Actually, we met someone else after that." Roxy continues to tell the story. "It was the Immortal Demon King Badigadi. He is acquainted with the seafolk, so he can cross the sea safely."
"Whoa, how did you manage to meet both of them in the same place? That's amazing," I marveled.
Even though I know this world isn't that big and it's easy to run into terrifying individuals, encountering two seemingly unrelated at once is really hard.
"According to them, they are each other's fiancée and fiancé," Talhand explained.
Ah, so they are related then.
"But speaking of Lord Badigadi, I'm actually really worried," Roxy sighed.
"What's wrong, Master Roxy?" I asked curiously.
"The thing is, at that time, he said this..."
Roxy proceeded to tell the rest of the story. It seemed like Kishirika had met Rudeus once, and she was intrigued by the fact that my fellow reincarnated friend possessed a terrifyingly high amount of mana. I already knew Rudeus had a lot of mana, but to think it was so much that even a Demon Empress who had lived since the dawn of recorded history found it terrifying was truly something.
Putting aside why Rudeus didn't use the chance of meeting Kishirika to ask for everyone's locations. What Roxy seemed worried about was that the Demon Empress's fiancé—the Wise Demon King Badigadi—was also interested in Rudeus, which was why he decided to travel to the Central Continent with Elinalise to find him. And as his master, Roxy was worried whether any trouble would occur.
I could understand this; after all, I had been noticed by not just one, but two Demon Kings myself. Even though the results were quite good, those two still caused me quite a few unspeakable issues that needed resolving.
"I already told you, there's no need to worry, Roxy." Talhand spoke up to reassure her, downing the glass of liquor in his hand again as if it were plain water. "Lord Badigadi seems much friendlier and more reasonable than Lady Atoferatofe."
"I hope so too," Roxy replied.
I also thought everything would probably be fine. After all, I managed to handle the problem named Atofe just fine.
…
Normally, the journey from Necross Fortress to Wind Port would take about a year or more on foot. However, thanks to the Transport Lizard, we could travel longer distances without having to stop to rest too often. As a result, even though it wasn't extremely fast, we had covered half the distance even though only five months had passed.
We were supposed to go even faster, but due to a bit of trouble in the town of Uchihaha (once again) because a thief stole our luggage. Then I accidentally got swept into an even bigger problem than that. The end result was that we had to fight a notorious bandit gang and successfully defeat, captured all of them, bringing peace back to the townsfolk.
And so the fame of Hero Atur spread even further once again. The result is that now in the town square of Uchihaha, a statue of me has been erected in an incredibly badass and majestic pose like a true hero. To be honest, when I saw it, I wasn't proud at all, just felt a bit... cringey. Especially the songs that were composed, which exaggerated everything way beyond acceptable limits.
But maybe things wouldn't be that bad. Because upon leaving this Demon Continent, hardly anyone would know of the existence of the Bald Hero Atur (since I defeated Atofe when my head was bald). Instead, they would only know an Atur with silver hair and reptilian eyes like a normal Dragon Race member, not standing out at all, ha ha.
Damn it... I don't know what my future life will be like when I return to Asura if the things I did on the Demon Continent get rumored all the way over there.
Even though I also want to be admired by Eris and leave Rudeus in awe, fame also brings many exhausting problems. For instance, being blocked on the road by people wanting to prove themselves by challenging me to test their strength. Maybe getting dragged into conflicts that I have absolutely no interest in.
Or even worse... there's a chance I might run into Master Reida in Millishion. She'll definitely want to test how much I've improved over the past time, and if she finds out I can do a whole bunch of things but still haven't managed to use Perfect Reverse on the Longsword of Light, I'll probably have to say bye-bye to one of my arms.
Suddenly I don't want to go to Millishion anymore. Is it still in time to turn back? Ah no, I don't want to travel with Elinalise either, urgh...
But everything will probably be fine, I told myself that. I'm still young, maybe Master Reida won't be too harsh on me.
…
Our journey continued just like that.
Along the way, we continued talking about what had happened during the year our group was separated. Like how Roxy returned to visit her village for the first time. Since I'm also quite a nosy gossip, I asked random things like what the cuisine there was like and learned a few quite interesting things. Like the fact that there are still people in the Migurd village who know how to speak, specifically Roxy's parents and the village chief there.
Even though no one explicitly said it, I could guess that Roxy's parents had practiced speaking just so they could communicate with their daughter. Just thinking about it warms my heart for such a happy family.
And then it stung a bit because both times now, my family has been entirely... sigh.
But the Boreas family was quite good to me. Like occasionally when composing poetry, I always think of Hilda. Or during my entire time acting as the lord of Vasile, I was always grateful for the lessons that Philip and Lord Sauros taught me. And most importantly, whenever I felt the most despair, I always remembered Eris to give me the motivation to keep fighting and pushing forward.
It's a bit of a pity that it will take more than a year before I have the chance to find and meet them again. By then, Rudeus's family will all be reunited, the Boreas family too, and us celebrating with a wedding between me and Eris would probably make total sense.
But wait... I completely forgot to ask Roxy to search for the locations of Sylphy and her family.
"..."
I hope she and her family are still okay. Anyway, Sylphy isn't the passive, timid type like before anymore. She will definitely be able to manage. After all, according to what the Man-God mentioned, it seems Sylphy isn't on this Demon Continent. If she were, he definitely would have suggested I go find her like he did with Isolde, probably.
And if after everyone has reunited and we still haven't found her, we can all just hit the road and keep looking. I think Eris would even be very excited because it gives her an excuse to go on an adventure.
After talking about Roxy's hometown, Talhand was the one who asked me about Isolde's armor. Then the legendary dwarf adventurer gave out so many compliments that I had to secretly chuckle in my stomach for hours on end. It's like getting a compliment from an Italian for the pizza I made, it's something I can be proud of.
…
Time continued to pass as we headed South.
As we traveled all across this Demon Continent, I gradually had different thoughts about this damn arid land. For example, one time we went to a natural ravine created by an ancient river that had dried up. Combined with the red color of the rocks here, the scenery reminded me of the Grand Canyon (even though I've never actually been there).
And occasionally, just like that, we encountered various incredibly majestic and beautiful landscapes. It's a pity I don't have a camera to snap some pictures.
Aside from the beauty I just mentioned, there are a few disasters we have to face along the way. Like rain of rock, fire storm, a horde of moving monsters for unknown reasons… Those events forced us to take more time to travel than expected.
And so we finally arrived at Wind Port after 10 months of travel. It's a fairly large port town by the standards of this Demon Continent. Perhaps also because it is a port city acting as a trading hub between two continents, it is quite bustling. Things that are hard to find on the Demon Continent, like vegetables and fruits, are also on sale. The prices aren't too expensive either; it seems the Millishion continent just went through harvest season, so even Wind Port here gets to reap the benefits.
The people here are also extremely ethnically diverse, ranging from Demon Races, Human Races, Beast Race, to even Elves, Dwarves, Halflings... Overall, I find this place quite similar to Necross Fortress, the only difference is that the people here are honest commoners (probably) rather than a bunch of muscle meatheads. And also because we had to move fast, we hadn't stopped by a single town for more than two months, so seeing this many people now brings a true sense of relief.
Humans really do have the instincts of a herd society, don't they? It could also be because I'm an extrovert? Or maybe the incident of getting stuck down in the labyrinth a while back made me fear the prospect of being alone for a long time without seeing anyone.
Just thinking about it now suddenly gives me chills. I swear, unless there is some extremely serious reason, I will never enter another labyrinth.
While I was lost in my own thoughts about the past, a strong wind blew past, carrying the strangely pleasant warmth of this place.
"Ah… The smell of the sea."
I took a deep breath, as if wanting to fill my lungs with the salty tang. The sound of seagulls and some other species whose names I didn't know echoed across the sky, making the morning atmosphere of the seaside town noisier than ever.
It's noticeable that the climate in this region is also less hot and more humid compared to the other lands we had passed through. The briny, salty smell of the sea and the pungent smell of fish actually reminded me of the days when I used to go to the Toyosu seafood market. Even though there aren't as many types of seafood here as I could find in Japan, there were still many types that made me whip out my money to buy immediately, like tuna, octopus... Then along with flour, eggs, and some sea shrimp and cheese.
So while Roxy and Talhand went to ask about buying tickets to cross the sea (Larry for some reason, hopped on Roxy's head and went with her), I trotted off to do a side quest: cooking a meal for them. Once I had enough ingredients, I brought them back to the inn and asked to borrow their kitchen to create a masterpiece I had been craving for years.
And as always, whenever I cook something, Isolde will appear. She immediately checked to see what ingredients I had bought to make sure there was nothing weird, only then did she feel at ease and put on a happy face instead of the glaring stare from earlier.
"Are you planning to make a hotpot or something? King Dragon's Kingdom style seafood hotpot?" She asked.
"I'm making grilled octopus balls." I replied.
Also known as Takoyaki, a famous Japanese street food.
A little fun fact, this dish was originally a different version of a dish called Akashiyaki, which is as soft as custard. But thanks to a genius culinary artisan who changed the texture of the batter, it became the Takoyaki of today and became famous not only in Japan but all over the world. It looks like that, but this dish actually isn't that hard to make. I tried making it myself once and even planned to open a small stall back when I first got unemployed. But then I dropped the idea when I got accepted to work at the research institute.
Thinking back, I probably should have just sold takoyaki instead of going to America.
"Grilled octopus balls? Let me guess, you're planning to bake pastries and put octopus and shrimp inside as the filling, right? Like a Meat Pie?" Isolde asked.
"Something similar to that."
Isolde's blue eyes lit up, and those lips also curled slightly into a delighted smile.
"What part do you want me to help with?"
If this were her from a few years ago, there would never be this reaction. Though I don't understand why Isolde seems more easygoing lately and prefers to eat the food I cook (as long as it doesn't have anything weird like large intestines or whatever). Sometimes I even find her becoming strangely gentle. The Isolde who used to constantly nitpick every little thing that annoyed her has completely vanished whenever she's near me lately. Why is that? Is it because she's gradually reaching the age of 18, so she's just maturing more? Or is it due to the change in weather that her mood is better?
It's hard to know for sure because it seems she's still as picky as usual about other things. Just taking choosing an inn for example, she insisted on renting at this place because it's the best, with the most reasonable price for its quality even though the owner made us wait for half an hour. So her becoming more easygoing towards me actually makes me more anxious than normal.
I'm afraid that if I get used to this gentleness and then get criticized up and down by her again like before, the fragile heart of this forty-four-year-old teenage boy won't be able to handle it.
Therefore, I will take advantage of these happy times to exploit her labor instead.
"Can you help me cut the octopus?" I brought my two index fingers together, about two or three centimeters apart. "Just cut it to around this size."
"Sure."
Isolde nodded as she tied her usually long flowing silky hair into a ponytail. From my position, I could perfectly see the pristine white nape of her neck. Although I'm not a fan of this fetish, I have to admit this is a flawless sight. A beauty worthy of being admired and thanking the gods for giving us something so absolutely gorgeous.
Ah, of course, I don't have a single perverted thought at all. This is just enjoying pure beauty. Like looking at a beautiful flower in the garden.
And do you folks know how a ponytail Isolde can become even more amazing?
THAT IS PONYTAIL ISOLDE WEARING AN APRON! RED ALERT, TARGET SPOTTED WEARING AN APRON!
This is exactly a scene straight out of a high school romance anime I saw in my previous life. That event where the female lead enters the kitchen at the male lead's house. Perhaps when the male lead is sick, or they are cooking dinner together after a study group session. Episodes like that usually get very high ratings, and I completely understand why. What boy wouldn't want a beautiful, capable wife who knows her way around the kitchen and takes care of him?
The only thing missing to make this image absolutely perfect is a high school girl's uniform. A high school girl Isolde with a pony tail and an apron! It would be perfect! The cuteness will be over 9000!
"..."
Come to think of it, how on earth was I allowed to be a high school teacher back then? Even though I myself do indeed really like schoolgirl uniforms and young girls, just as Teacher Onizuka imparted. I swear I didn't have the slightest interest in my students at the time. In my eyes, the students back then were like tiny, naive kids who hadn't experienced life and needed protection.
Alright, stop it, I swore I would live and think like a true adult. I shouldn't be thinking about this nonsense but return to the current situation.
Let's see, maybe I should talk about something else to distract myself.
"By the way, earlier you mentioned King Dragon's Kingdom style seafood hotpot?" I only intended to ask for the sake of asking, but now I was genuinely curious. "What's it like?"
"They cook it quite sour and with a little mild spiciness. They use various types of sea fish, squid, octopus, and even all sorts of clams, and drop them all into a large pot." Isolde replied as she started cutting the octopus into small chunks as I had instructed. "Then it's eaten together with these really strange, crunchy vegetables. Ah, and also with these rather soft, long white strands."
So it's like Thai noodles, huh? How interesting. This is the first time I've ever heard of the cuisine from the King Dragon's Kingdom.
But if I remember correctly, that kingdom is the world's largest producer of rice. They also have large seaports; according to the geography class I took nearly ten years ago, the southern region of the Central Continent has abundant seafood resources. The climate in that region is also hot and humid, suitable for all kinds of crops that can't be grown anywhere else. Putting it all together, that place sounds quite like Southeast Asia. In my previous life, because I died a bit too early and was too poor to travel, I never got to experience the food or tourism there. Urgh... So many delicious dishes I've missed.
"Hearing you describe it suddenly makes me want to try it some day." I admitted. Even though what I was craving wasn't the food from the King Dragon's Kingdom, but close enough.
"When we return to Asura, we'll inevitably pass through there anyway."
"Ah now you mentioned it."
Well then, when we pass through the King Dragon's Kingdom, I'll experience the cuisine there to make up for what I missed in the past; let's go with that decision.
And so we prepared the ingredients for the takoyaki together. True enough, with Isolde's help, we worked quite fast; in just about an hour, everything was sorted out. At this rate, we would probably finish just in time for the whole party's lunch.
Now it's time to start grilling the balls.
As for the grill pan, I have to brag a little about my own progress. The thing is, besides Fire and Water magic, my Earth and Wind magic have also reached the Advanced rank. It's all thanks to the dedicated guidance of Peridot and Moore.
Because of that, I am now capable of using Earth magic to make quite a few things. So from a few chairs, a table, to drinking cups, I can create them quite easily with chantless magic.
Additionally, to finish bragging, because my mana isn't inherently that abundant, making use of factors that can reduce consumption is also something I've learned over the past year or so. Roughly speaking, if the amount of dirt, sand, or material to create the object I want is available and nearby, I will create it more easily. And if it's already in a shape roughly similar to what I want to make, the mana consumed will be even less.
So I just need to take a lump of clay, mold it into the shape I want, and then use magic to shape it solidly and specifically. Just like that, I have a takoyaki grill pan using the most optimal amount of mana, without having to worry about flopping around like a stranded fish, and still having enough energy to grill the batter.
After employing the grilling skills I've always been confident in, a batch of takoyaki was completed.
"The smell is really good." Isolde immediately marveled; she stared at the dish intently, as if waiting for me to say it was done so she could eat it instantly.
"Not done yet, still need to add toppings."
At this point, I lightly spread a layer of the takoyaki sauce and mayonnaise I had prepared onto the surface. The heat of the balls immediately caused the rich aroma and salty taste of the sauce to spread out like an exploding bomb. Even I had to gulp down my saliva.
However, there was still one more step: sprinkling seaweed powder on top. This stuff, originally considered a waste product about to be tossed back into the sea and given to me for free, actually created a light and refreshing scent of the ocean when sprinkled on the takoyaki. The dish was thus elevated to a whole new level.
"Oi oi! What is that smell!?"
"What kind of dish are they making?"
Suddenly hearing whispers, I turned to the window and saw dozens of pairs of eyes looking in. They were all guests at this inn, drawn here by the enticing smell. This scene reminded me of back at Necross Fortress; whenever I went into the kitchen and made something new (and suited to the tastes of the people there), a crowd would inevitably gather around to watch.
And just like back then, I decided to execute the golden rule, which is that the chef gets to try the first piece.
"Alright, let's eat!" I declared. "Itadakimasu!"
Isolde nodded, and then the both of us popped a hot piece of takoyaki into our mouths.
"Oh my word!" I immediately had to exclaim.
It was exactly a feast of texture and flavor. The crunch of the outer crust as it broke apart when bitten into immediately caused the filling inside to burst out like a broken levee, bringing along everything the sea could offer. The sweetness of the shrimp and octopus meat combined with the mayonnaise sauce to create something so distinctly Japanese that I had always missed.
It's a bit of a pity I didn't have enough time to make katsuobushi. But just this much was enough for me to rate this takoyaki an eight out of ten.
"Mmm! It's really delicious!"
Beside me, Isolde also seemed to be enjoying it just as much, or perhaps, even more than I was. Her eyes sparkled like stars in the night sky, one hand placed over her mouth as if she couldn't believe the flavor she was experiencing.
"Hey buddy! Can you sell me a portion?"
"Me too! Give me a portion!"
And suddenly, from making lunch for a group of four people and one cat, the kitchen of the inn we were staying at became the very first takoyaki stall here in Wind Port. Many years later, people would still pass down the story of the white-haired hero who defeated the Giant Kraken and turned it into giant octopus balls to celebrate with everyone at the port.
To explain that story, we will have to wait for another time.