CH 122

Chapter 122 : Banquet

After we finished bathing, Kai returned from the village square.

「I came to pick you up… Are you sleepy?」(Kai)

Children like us should already be sleeping at this hour, so no wonder Kai looked a bit worried.

However, I wasn’t sleepy at all, probably because I slept a little after I fought the lord of the lake.

「Not at all. How about you, Nicola?」(Mark)

「Me neither! I want to join the banquet!」(Nicola)

Nicola answered with her usual angelic smile.

Well, she slept all the time with Celine on the way to this village at noon, so I guess she will be fine.

「Alright then, let’s go.」(Kai)

「Okay.」(Mark)

「Sanmina-mama, we’re going~」(Nicola)

「Have fun~」(Sanmina’s mom)

After Sanmina’s mom sent us off, the three of us headed for the village square.

――――――

The village square, where Gauche oji-san and I installed a seesaw and a slide on our last visit, had become a magnificent banquet place.

Torches had been set around the square, and various dishes and drinks had been lined up on a large number of wooden tables.

Many villagers were laughing and drinking together, enjoying the banquet.

「Ohh! The hero has finally arrived!」(village mayor)

The village mayor seemed to have already drunk. His face looked a bit red.

As he shouted, the surrounding people stared at me all at once and started making noises.

「That little kid? Are you serious?」

「Yeah. The fishermen saw him fighting the lord.」

「I saw it too. That was an awesome battle!」

「He seems to be about the same age as my kid.」

「Wasn’t that boy the one who made the slide?」(villagers)

Umm… People are staring at me… Well, I knew this would happen though.

I lowered my head and smiled embarrassedly at the surrounding people as I entered the village square. I didn’t have the confidence to walk proudly like a hero.

『Pfft. Onii-chan, you look like an amateur boxer who suddenly made his debut in a professional match.』(Nicola)

『It can’t be helped! Their gazes make me nervous!』(Mark)

To distract this uncomfortable feelings, I looked around for someone I know, and thenー

「Aa!」(Mark)

ーI found Celine sitting on a nearby table.

As soon as she noticed me, Celine waved her hand while gulping down the glass of liquor in her other hand.

She seemed to be a little drunk. Her face was red and looked kinda sexy.

By the way, there was a man about thirty years old lying down on the ground near Celine. Next to him was a bearded old man trying to wake him up.

I have no idea what happened, but I’ve seen a scene like this many times in our dining hall. For some reason, the men who annoyed Celine would always end up like this.

「I heard from Kai that you have woken up. How are you feeling?」(Celine)

「After taking a potion bath, I’m feeling good now.」(Mark)

「Ara~ You made a potion bath? Can I use it after this? My body smells like Tentacles after I dismantle the lord’s corpse.」(Celine)

「Of course.」(Mark)

「Celine onee-chan, can I smell you?」(Nicola)

Nicola suddenly hugged Celine from behind and started sniffing her body.

「Hey, Nicola, stop it!」(Celine)

Celine always let Nicola hug her, but it looked like she was a bit ashamed of her body odor right now.

She twisted her body, trying to get Nicola away from her, but Nicola stuck on her body like a leech.

『Uhehe~ The smell of squid drifting from a beautiful woman is unexpectedly pleasing.』(Nicola)

…I don’t understand her fetish anymore…

I’m sorry for my annoying little sister…

「Geez….. Oh, right. Mark, I have something for you.」(Celine)

Celine gave up on getting Nicola off her body and looked at me.

She then put her hand on her chest and took out several vials with black liquid inside.

「This is the lord’s ink that I took from its ink sac. According to the fishermen, the lord wasn’t the only one who had poisonous ink. The ink from ordinary Tentacles is also poisonous, but is not as deadly as the lord’s. The old man in the hut usually removes their ink sac before he sells their meat. This kind of body fluid from monsters is usually useful for something, so you can keep this. You might need it someday.」(Celine)

Poisonous ink, huh…?

I don’t know what I can do with it, but as Celine said, it might be useful for something.

「Okay. Thanks.」(Mark)

I took the vials from Celine’s hands and put them in my item box.

Soon after, my item box registered the ink as “Greater Tentacle’s Ink”.

I see. So the lord of the lake was a Greater Tentacle, huh?

After I talked with Celine for a while, a man pulling a cart came from the other side of the square.

The village mayor noticed the man and shouted to people.

「Folks! It’s time to enjoy the main menu!」(village mayor)

The man brought the cart to the village mayor.

There was a big tentacle (leg) on it. Apparently, it was one of the lord’s tentacles.

「Alright, go ahead.」(village mayor)

After the village mayor gave the man a signal, the man carried the big tentacle and put it on a large table.

Then, the old man who usually sells Tentacles meat in the hut appeared out of nowhere with a knife in his hand.

He then stood in front of the table and started cutting the big tentacle dexterously. It was like a tuna carving show.

「Eh? Why can he cut it?」(Mark)

「It’s been quite a while since it died, so probably its skin lost its tension and became as soft as ordinary Tentacles’ skin.」(Celine)

「Is that so?」(Mark)

Maybe Celine is right. My attacks barely hurt the lord when I fought it, but the old man kept cutting it into fillets like it was an ordinary Tentacle. He then skillfully threw the fillets onto the huge heated iron plate next to him, and thenー

Csssssshhhhhhーー

ーan appetite-stimulating scent started drifting from the iron plate along with the pleasant sound of meat being fried.

「Uwoohh! It smells so good!」

「Dammit, I can’t stop drooling!」

「I feel like I can drink as much beer as I can with just this smell!」(villagers)

Apparently, the lord’s meat seemed to be exceptional even for the residents of Secard Village who eat Tentacles meat every day.

When the square was completely filled with the delicious smell, the village mayor beckoned me.

After I approached him, he put his hand on my shoulder and shouted.

「Everyone, please listen!」(village mayor)

The noisy village square immediately became quiet. Everyone was looking at the village mayor.

「For many years… Even since I was little, we had been haunted by the giant monster in the lake who sometimes appeared and interfered with our fishing… And as you’ve heard, that monster was subdued by this boy, Mark, a little magician who came from the town of Fatia! Today is the glorious day that will be engraved in the history of Secard Village forever! Let’s eat, drink and make noises to celebrate this wonderful day!」(village mayor)

「「UUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOー！！！」」

When the village mayor raised his glass of liquor, the villagers responded to him with a loud shout and began to drink, eat and make noises, enjoying the banquet to their heart’s content.