[EN] Episode 10 - The Monstrous B.B. Feast

The restaurant Koch recommended was none other than ‘All Meat World’, a large-scale meat restaurant run by former members of the Brash Brigade.


During its heyday, it was a notorious place rumored to sell human flesh, but after Brash Brigade was incorporated into Another Blood, it completely changed course and transformed into an ordinary meat restaurant—a place with a terrifying history.


“Um...”


Wingester, who possessed some background knowledge, eyed Koch uneasily. But Koch, wearing a friendly smile, entered first.


...Is this really okay?


The princess, who knew nothing, and Romulus followed Koch inside after seeing his expression.
Wingester hesitated for just a moment, but then followed, hoping that since Koch was there, it would be fine no matter what.


The interior was surprisingly spacious and elegantly decorated, a top-tier restaurant where the savory aroma of cooking meat filled the air.


“What an incredible place...”
“To think such a place exists in the Maritime Kingdom...”
“Ha ha ha! Now, everyone, take a seat.”


The group settled into a window seat and were about to order from the waiter when,


“Hey, waiter. Is Malgok still around?”
“......?!”


The waiter flinched when Koch named someone.


“H-how does an outsider like you know the Head Chef's name…?”
“Hm?! So that guy became Head Chef? That's good news.”
“……!!”
"… Tell him Koch the Master of Rapid Casting is here. For the menu... since we're here for a change, one Brash Brigade Special. 
“Ah, understood! Right away!”


Watching the waiter hurry toward the kitchen, Koch turned to the two male students and gave them a mischievous smile.


“You two. Do you eat a lot?”
“……?”
“I suppose it's average….”
“That's problematic. The princess wouldn't eat much, you see….”


Wingester tilted his head, watching him smile as if troubled.
“Why are you so worried? It's just one set meal….”
“You don't know either, do you?”
“...I've heard rumors that this place sold human flesh over ten years ago...”
“H-human flesh?!”
“Eek.”


The princess and Romulus finally jumped up, their faces drained of color, utterly horrified.


“Ha ha ha! Sit down, both of you. You could say this shop is completely different from the one back then.”
“B-but still... Professor!”
“......”


The two sat down reluctantly, glancing around nervously, their fear clearly visible.


“First off, the full course of the Brash Brigade requires at least eight average adult men to finish it all.”
“……Huh?”
“…What…?”


A mischievous grin finally spread across Koch's lips.


“The Brash Brigade Special, a signature dish unique to this restaurant... is literally a course meal serving the meat of animals commonly consumed for food, one after another. Chicken, duck, pheasant, pig, boar, cow, bear, elephant, fish, shark, whale, and so on... all of them. One type at a time.”
“...Why would you have such a menu....”
“Eek...”
“......”
“Well, it's this shop's signature specialty. They say it's been on the menu since the shop was founded.”


Soon, the table was truly piled high with dishes of every kind of animal meat, leaving barely enough space to place the tableware.


“Ugh….”
“This is insane….”
“…In many ways, this is incredible….”
“Ha ha ha! For reference, Kaftin finished this full course by himself. How about it? Shall the four of us give it a try?”


Rhomulus reluctantly began picking at a chicken drumstick.
The princess also hesitated before cautiously putting a piece in her mouth.
As each of them emptied and cleared away one plate at a time,


Clatter.


“……!?”
“Pork trotters, wild boar braised in spices, and grilled horse meat.”
“Again…?!”


The waiter grinned at the horrified Romulus.


“...And that concludes the appetizers.”
“You're lying...!”
“I'm serious. Eat your fill.”
“......!!”


After finishing their meal, the group struggled out onto the street.


“Mmm... Meat... Meat, meat, meat, meat...”
“...... Ugh.”
“Why... won't it stop...!”
“Gulp. Honestly, feels like I've eaten a lifetime's worth of meat already...”


They were utterly overwhelmed by the meat, so full they were on the verge of developing a neurosis about meat dishes.


Thankfully, the head chef, Malgok, came by midway and served them wine, which supposedly aided digestion. Otherwise, they would have vomited long ago.


“Mr. Koch… Did you really have to order that…!”
“But, I'd only heard about the place and never visited before… Hmm.”
“…To finish all of this, what kind of stomach does this Kaftin have….”


Each of them returned to their lodgings in agony.
Wingester and Romulus collapsed onto their beds the moment they reached their room.
“Ugh....”
“Damn it, the bed looks like meat....”
“Yeah....”
“Sleep....”


*


The next day.
An order from the king arrived.
Surprisingly, the royal decree ordered the school trip to continue.


Instead, a large contingent of Arcane Veil agents was urgently dispatched for escort duties.
The reasoning was that if they left early due to the princess nearly being assassinated, it would show weakness to the Maritime Kingdom.


Thus, with no change to the schedule, today all the students headed together to the Maritime Kingdom's museum.


“This is the Royal Museum, the pride of our Maritime Kingdom.”


In the center of the museum garden stood a massive, strangely shaped stone statue carved from rock.


The Maritime Kingdom Royal Museum.
Simply put, this place was like an official exhibition hall for the Maritime Kingdom's spoils of war.


It displayed archaeological artifacts and crafts obtained through the Kingdom's various activities in remote regions—referred to as “pioneering activities” alongside piracy and trade—presented as traces of the Kingdom's enterprising history.


While the connotation was hardly positive, it would at least help broaden the Academy students' horizons.


“There are many fascinating things here...”
“Do people from the south not use magic...?”
“......”


The museum was divided into sections grouping regions of the world within specific boundaries. Within each section, maps were displayed next to each artifact, detailing the exact region where it was discovered.


“Hee...”


Romulus watched the princess with a complex expression as she stared, seemingly captivated, at a female statue adorned with colored glass beads like jewels.


Wingester quietly approached Romulus and tapped him lightly on the back.


“......?”


Without a word, he urged her with a nod to go over and say something. Her face flushed slightly, and she turned away.


What a spineless creature.
Wingester sneered inwardly and stepped forward himself.


“It seems you like it.”
"Yes. It's incredibly beautiful. It's even more fascinating knowing it's simply a glass bead.“
”Unlike here, where gemstone crafting is advanced, I hear that in eastern countries or other primitive civilizations, they tend to treat glass like precious stones.“
”I see… So that's why it's like this….“


As if to say, ”This is how it's done," he glanced back at Romulus surreptitiously and gave a smug look.


“Gah…!”


Romulus gnashed his teeth in fury.
This method proved most effective in pushing him forward, despite his hesitation.


Soon, Romulus, lacking any background knowledge, eagerly began trailing the princess, offering explanations.
Wingester sent the two ahead, then leisurely looked around, lost in thought.


The world must be far, far wider than he had imagined.
After all, so many artifacts were being discovered beyond the lands they inhabited.


If the chance ever came, he wanted to experience a truly earth-shattering great adventure at least once in his life, just like the heroes of legend.


"Hm...?!


A sudden gleam returned to Wingester's eyes.
Among the artifacts from the eastern lands on display, there was a gunpowder firearm.


“Hoo... this is...”


Though far cruder in form than what he'd seen at the specialist shop, its design offered Wingester far greater reference value.


It was much simpler, lacking the somewhat cumbersome rear block known as the buttstock.


“A gunpowder firearm from long ago, huh….”


After admiring the firearm for a while, he suddenly realized he'd fallen too far behind his companions and quickened his pace to catch up with the group.


“Wingester. Look at this!”


At Romulus's call, Wingester's gaze turned to the armor from the Eastern Continent.


“...Isn't it just armor?”
“They say it's made of paper?”
“...Paper?”


Armor made of paper that tears if ripped and dissolves if wet?
Are the people of the East out of their minds?


Stunned, he examined the armor closely and realized it wasn't just a single sheet of paper draped over the body, but multiple layers of paper tightly woven together.


“Can that really provide any defense?”
“I don't know. But apparently, soldiers in the eastern lands wear that into battle.”
“...Are the weapons paper too? Surely not.”
“Maybe.”


After the museum tour ended, we were given free time again.
This time, we decided to snack and browse around the market.
The market was bustling as usual today.


“Hey, you students over there! Take a look at this book before you go! If I were to describe it with this book…!”
“Clothing brought from the eastern lands! Just take a look!”


We wandered around, searching for snacks that looked tasty.


“That one looks okay.”


The princess pointed to a bear-shaped manju.


“Hmm... Seems safe enough.”
“That should be fine.”


Still reeling from the shock of the previous day's Brash Brigade, the group absolutely didn't want to put anything looking too substantial in their mouths.


So they bought a bunch of manju and bit into them.


“Hmm. What's this filling...?”
“It's sweet...”
“Hmm... this is red bean.”
“Bean?”
“Yes. It's a type of bean called ‘pat’ in the eastern lands.”
“Pat...?”
“Beans are sweet…?”


Koh chuckled softly, watching the group stare dumbfounded at the eastern bean filling they were tasting for the first time.


“Yes. There are things you wouldn't know about the eastern lands. I've never been there myself, though…”
“You've never been, then.”
“Well, it is a distant place…”


Koh's profile, speaking with a manju in his mouth, radiated profound experience.
All three stared at Koh, momentarily swept up in that sense of depth.


“Right. Let's get going.”


Koh finished eating, brushed himself off, and stood up, gesturing for the three to rise as well.


As night deepened, the expressions of the two male students lying side by side in the room had changed significantly from their first day.


“Sleep well.”
“...You too.”


They still regarded each other with some awkwardness, but the hostility they once shared had greatly diminished.


Wingester was unaware, but Romulus had quietly found a new goal in life.
Until now, it had been a vague dream of becoming a great Archmage, like an older brother or sister...


Now, the very presence of Wingester, standing in his way, was showing Romulus an entirely new path.


-To be continued-