Chapter 252
Chapter 252
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 252
Chapter Title: The Beach Butcher
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Intense stimulation coiled around my tongue and slammed into my brain at the same time!
Chew. Chew. Chew, chew and keep on chewing! I couldn't stop chewing!
"Hey, darkie, spit it out! It's gross, gross!"
Winia grabbed my head and started shaking it!
But I didn't stop!
"Agh! You lunatic, spit it out!"
The savory oiliness spread through my mouth like a film, teasing my tongue. The crushed juices soaked my throat as they went down—swallow.
—Gulp.
"...Katt?"
Claudy looked down at me with anxious eyes.
"It's delicious."
"Huh?"
"It's delicious."
Delicious.
"Wh—whooooaaaaah!!!!!!!"
I couldn't think of anything else anymore.
It had been years since I'd had sashimi. I'd immediately butchered the merfolk's flesh, slicing off the strips. Red raw fish! It tasted just like fatty tuna!
"It's so goooood!!! So delicious!!!"
There was a faint metallic tang of blood, but my long-deprived tongue didn't care one bit. This umami! This oily richness! This springy texture! I shoved a huge chunk from the thigh straight into my mouth and chomped down like I was devouring pizza.
"...It's delicious?"
Winia said with a frown.
"It's delicious! So delicious! This is the taste of home!"
"Yeah, Katt, you were from a nomadic tribe, right?"
"That's right! Back home, we ate fish raw sometimes! This is exactly that flavor!"
"What the hell kind of nonsense is this... Darkie, I don't get it."
Despite their protests, I focused on butchering the dead merfolk's flesh. Freshly caught live sashimi! You couldn't buy this even if you paid top coin!
"I'll devour every last one of these evil merfolk and wipe them out!"
Ecstatic, I ravenously tore into the merfolk.
—Rustle!
Then one that had been playing dead suddenly sat up, fell flat on its butt, and started slinking backward.
...This bastard's pretending to be dead?
I slowly approached it, still smacking on the flesh in my mouth.
—Jeeaaak! Jeeaaak!!
Its legs were crushed.
That must be why it couldn't stand.
—Jeeeeaaaak!!!
As I drew near, it spat curses at me in some incomprehensible, ominous deep-sea tongue, its tone dripping with menace.
"...Terror in its eyes."
Even without eyelids, its unfocused gaze brimmed with thick dread—I could feel it.
"Fear is the ultimate seasoning."
The emotion surging in me was pure 'hunger.'
Wonder what this one tastes like.
"Become my sustenance!"
—Jeeeeaaaak!!!!!
I jammed my knife straight into its gaping maw, severing its life. Its flailing arms went limp.
Fresh... live sashimi!
I sliced off its flesh right there and ate.
The weak get eaten!
"This is the food chain! Before the absolute superior apex predator, humanity, you lot are nothing but prey! I, Kim Katt, shall personally grant you lowly merfolk the honor of becoming my flesh and bone!"
That was the law of the jungle!
"Rejoice in my mercy! O merfolk! Be glad to become my fodder, O merfolk!"
—Rooooaaar!!
By devouring the warrior I'd hunted myself, I fully absorbed its strength! I roared long and hard while hacking apart the merfolk corpses!
And ate!
"Ah, no! Sir! The merfolk...!"
Then the merchants approached me.
They looked utterly shocked.
Was something wrong?
"You know how to eat! Were you a seafarer too?"
He said in admiration!
"Damn right! Nothing beats raw fish!"
"Bring plates!"
True men of the sea!
This world had a culture of eating fish raw too! The fishmongers swarmed over with their knives and got busy butchering the merfolk.
"Man! Eating merfolk innards raw is a flavor only us seafarers know! Never thought an outsider like you would appreciate it!"
The grinning merchant sliced a strip from a merfolk arm and popped it in his mouth.
"Wh-what the... Darkie, am I the crazy one here?"
"Katt, is it really delicious?"
Winia and Claudy were totally bewildered.
Truth be told, the idea of eating something raw was foreign to them, as far as I knew. To them, chowing down on uncooked fish flesh would seem like some bizarre custom.
"It's seriously delicious, you guys. But cultural differences can make it feel weird at first. Might not be your taste. So I won't recommend it."
I explained as rationally as I could.
Cultural differences are a delicate topic.
Ah!
Chili paste! Soy sauce! Wasabi!
Why isn't there any!!
As I kept eating the sashimi, the craving hit me.
"Seeing everyone else eat it, it must be food. Still, I'm not touching it. Sis, you're not thinking of trying it, are you? If you do too, I'll lose my mind."
"Katt says it's good, so I'm kinda curious... but I don't wanna put it in my mouth..."
"That's the right attitude. Let's go rest over there."
"Yeah..."
The two headed off and sat on some crates.
Blissfully happy, I joined the merchants in devouring the merfolk.
"You! You get the taste, but your knife work's a bit clumsy! Hold still! I'll slice 'em all up for you!"
"Whooo! Thank you!"
We dragged the least mangled merfolk corpses inside the barricade. Once that was done, it was smooth sailing. The merchant diced the bodies in seconds, filleting the flesh at blinding speed.
Not his first rodeo.
Merfolk must be a delicacy among sailors.
Soon, the red merfolk flesh was piled high on pristine white plates.
"Here! Dig in! Oh, and we've got a local special sauce—wanna try?"
"Of course! Thank you!"
"Thank us? Saving our hides is the real favor!"
He drizzled the sauce over the sashimi.
Wonder what it tastes like!
I speared a thick slice with my fork and shoved it in... Salty! With a sharp spicy kick! Not quite soy-wasabi, but just the vibe made it great!
"How is it!"
"Insanely good! This sauce is killer! Salty and spicy!"
"Hahaha! Perfect for merfolk innards!"
"You know your stuff!"
I demolished the sashimi like it was going out of style. The mouth-filling savory oiliness was driving me mad.
Still not enough..!
"We owe you a proper meal! Call your friends over!"
"No way! For real?!"
"Least we can do for our benefactor!"
I went to fetch Winia and Claudy, who were resting nearby, staring bored at the sea.
"Darkie, you done gorging? Your eyes were spinning... We didn't even register, huh?"
Winia grumbled.
"Nah. The merchants wanna treat us to thank us. Real cooked food, not raw. C'mon, it'll be tasty."
"...Fine, whatever."
"That I can handle."
They must've been hungry too—nothing but hardtack since morning, and the restaurants were trashed by merfolk anyway.
I led them into the back of the fish market.
The merchants even set up seats for us. Good deeds pay off. Killing merfolk got us coin, food, and pure joy—what a life!
We waited for the menu.
Took a bit, but watching them cook was entertaining enough.
"Try this!"
The merchant brought out plates of food.
"Ooh...! Thank you! I'll enjoy it!"
"Don't just talk—eat! Merfolk skewers!"
Seasoned grilled merfolk on the plates. They'd stripped the flesh, sauced it up, and grilled over fire and smoke. Boneless was a big plus.
"Merfolk..."
Winia wrinkled her nose at the word. As she hesitated, I sliced a piece and fed it to her. She reluctantly tasted it, then her eyes went wide.
"...It's good?"
"Told ya."
Seasoned boneless grilled fish can't taste bad.
"Lemme try."
Claudy grabbed a piece too, and like Winia, widened her eyes and declared it delicious. No surprise. We'd had grilled fish at the night market before. Merfolk couldn't be that different from regular fish.
And these merchants lived off fish.
They had their secret recipes.
And so, we unwittingly turned the fish market into a merfolk slaughterhouse feast. The merchants expressed deep gratitude for saving their market and lives from the assault.
"Truly thankful! Without you, the place would've been wrecked!"
"Heh, when merfolk invade, folks gotta stick together."
We said our goodbyes and went to sort the merfolk heads.
"Ugh, so full. Merfolk's pretty tasty."
"Can't believe it. Eating merfolk."
"As long as it tastes good."
Anyway, we'd slaughtered over twenty merfolk, give or take.
Mostly Claudy's kills, though.
I used my rope to bore holes in their jaws and strung them up like dried fish. Drag 'em to the bounty office like this.
Thirty-eight merfolk dead in one day.
Eleven silver and forty copper in hand.
War really pays.
A few more days like this, and half the travel costs are covered.
—Drag drag.
We split the strung heads three ways and dragged them back up the way we'd come. The bounty office was up top. No clue if the clerk's even working amid the chaos.
—Jaaak!
Merfolk ambushes hit on the climb—sneaking through sewers and waterways. Stomach full, I just killed 'em without eating. For Kim Katt, who'd already feasted on merfolk, these pests were child's play.
"Katt, string that one up too."
"Say no more."
Strung it and kept climbing.
Finally, the Adventurer's Guild came into view.
All eyes on us. Pros returning from massacring merfolk. No wonder the stares. The crowd parted like bees sensing a threat.
They had maybe one or two heads at most.
"Heavens. How many is that? War over?"
At the counter, a monocled middle-aged scribe gawked and asked.
"Still swarming like bees. This is just a fraction. If the soldiers break, they'll overrun here."
No idea what the merfolk wanted, but they advanced like they craved something beyond the ridge. As if something crucial lay ahead.
Just the city up there, though.
Rescuing night market or aquarium captives? Far-fetched.
"That serious, eh... Anyway, here's your bounty. Merfolk numbers are higher than expected. Funds might run dry—check the guild daily."
"Funds running out?"
"Budgets aren't infinite."
Good to know.
They must've allocated a fixed sum for merfolk bounties. Once gone, soldiers alone... looks dicey.
They'll handle it.
Not my problem.
"Twelve silver."
"Spot on. Thanks."
Cashed out and headed outside.
Claudy and Winia waited.
"Heh, big haul."
"Nice."
Twelve silver...
Buy merfolk sashimi with this? Total win!
I joked, and Winia grabbed my neck, shaking it while calling bullshit.