NOVEL NEXT Chapter 42
Chapter 42: Monster Hunting (5)
‘Meat? I can’t resist that.’
Beatrice strode confidently to an empty seat.
It was next to Argos.
Seria also followed and took a seat beside Beatrice.
“Are you alright?”
“What do you mean?”
“…I heard you were injured.”
Argos cautiously asked.
Since Seria insisted on checking Beatrice’s injury earlier, Argos knew about it.
“I’m fine. Worry about yourself. By the way, I was hungry, so this works out perfectly.”
Beatrice was filled with anticipation.
The meat grilling golden brown in front of her was enough to whet anyone’s appetite.
However, the meat was unusually large, taking a considerable time to cook fully.
“Does it look delicious, miss?”
Falcon grinned, revealing his teeth.
Beatrice nodded twice without a word.
For reference, she wasn’t the type to repeat the same gesture.
Nodding twice was a sign of absolute agreement.
“Feel free to eat, miss. You’ve earned the right.”
It sounded as if he was implying others did not have such a right.
Startled, Argos looked at Falcon and asked.
“Surely, we don’t have to… do something to eat this, right?”
“Ha-ha-ha! Of course not. Discriminating with food is the worst thing in the world.”
Argos sighed in relief.
“But what kind of meat is this? …It looks unusual.”
At that moment, Seria curiously asked.
The meat grilling on the crude grate didn’t look like ordinary meat.
[Beatrice, do not eat that meat.]
Solid spoke in a grave tone.
‘…Why? It looks delicious.’
Beatrice didn’t appreciate his ominous warning before she even had a taste.
No, why would something that looked this delicious be off-limits?
“This?”
[That is…]
Falcon blinked adorably while pointing at the meat.
Of course, his towering 2-meter frame, covered in thick fur, made him far from adorable.
[It’s monster meat, and not just any, but from a Keizaros.]
“It’s monster meat.”
“…!”
In the not-so-spacious area, Falcon’s voice was loud enough for everyone to hear.
“M-Monster.”
-Thud.
Someone staggered backward, falling flat on their rear.
“Pfft! Look at their dumbstruck faces.”
“Hilarious.”
“Wow, Falcon, your theatrics are improving. If you weren’t a knight, you’d definitely be a famous troupe leader.”
“You fools! Be thankful it’s not human meat!”
Soon after, the knights’ jeers followed.
Everyone’s faces turned pale.
However, Beatrice showed no change in expression.
‘Why does that matter?’
She didn’t understand the cadets’ reactions.
It made sense. In her previous life, monster meat was a delicacy so sought after that it was impossible to obtain.
Its unique, rich juices, tender texture, and slightly salty flavor made it a global treasure.
Moreover, monster meat had a significant advantage.
Unlike other meats that spoiled in a few days, monster meat could be stored at room temperature for a month without going bad. The taste remained nearly unchanged. In other words, wherever you ate it, it always tasted freshly slaughtered.
Now that she knew the source of the meat, her mouth watered even more.
She wanted to eat it quickly.
However…
“Y-You lunatics! How dare you try to feed a noble monster meat?!”
“Call Reiser! I will lodge a formal complaint!”
“This crosses the line. I tolerated your crude language as knights, but this is unacceptable.”
They weren’t like other cadets.
Unlike Earth, in this world, monster meat was considered food for the common folk, so their outrage was expected.
[You must not eat it, young Beatrice!]
‘I know this meat will taste incredible.’
Beatrice wore a confident expression.
‘I’d bet on it.’
[That’s exactly why you shouldn’t!]
Solid half-screamed in desperation.
‘Why?’
[…If you must eat, make a contract first.]
‘Why? Tell me.’
[Give me some too.]
‘….’
[In my current state, I can’t taste anything!]
Apparently, Solid was just envious of Beatrice eating delicious food alone.
‘…Good grief.’
Beatrice scratched her head.
She almost felt a twinge of guilt. Almost.
Solid asked hopefully.
[Are you going to make a contract?]
-Beamed.
‘The meat will taste even better.’
After all, the best-tasting food was the kind you ate to provoke others.
Solid felt dizzy from her terrible personality.
“Oh, come on. Did you rookies expect a feast out here?”
-Clank.
One knight chuckled as he rose from his seat. His chain mail clinked ominously, creating an unsettling sound.
-Flinch.
A real knight.
Not just any knight, but from the Royal Knights.
Each family’s outcasts felt a sense of intimidation.
“Stop whining and eat, alright? If you complain about being hungry in real combat, I’ll kill you.”
“Hey! You’re going to make the kids wet themselves.”
The knights burst into laughter.
The cadets stared at the ground, their faces full of shame.
“…How dare they.”
Everyone responds differently to insults.
Some suppress their anger by staring at the ground, like one cadet.
Others, like Argos, calmly observed the situation.
And then there were those like Gareth, who stood with their heads held high.
“How dare mere knights insult nobles?”
Gareth clenched his fists and retaliated.
A tense silence quickly fell over the group.
It was because of the words Gareth had chosen: “mere knights.”
To knights, who valued honor above life, it was an extraordinarily provocative phrase.
‘That fool has some nerve.’
Beatrice observed with interest.
Of course, nine-tenths of her attention was on the meat cooking before her.
“What? Did that brat just call us ‘mere knights’?”
“Wow, looks like Lord Noble has lost his mind.”
Falcon stood up as if he were enjoying the situation.
His sheer presence was overwhelming.
“Hey, my lord. We were just serving you a delicious meal. Don’t you think your words are too harsh?”
“…You call this food?!”
Gareth’s face flushed bright red.
Falcon put his hands in his pockets and walked toward him.
“If this isn’t food, then what is?”
“Are you saying monster meat is food? This isn’t fit for humans to eat.”
Gareth’s expression was deadly serious.
Falcon chuckled softly.
“That’s funny. You probably don’t know this…”
Then he twisted his face into a scornful grin.
“The so-called ‘mere knights’ and ‘mere soldiers’ you command eat this kind of food on the battlefield. They can’t have fresh steaks or stews in the middle of a war. This meat is filling, energizing, and—hah—‘unfit for humans’? That’s deeply offensive.”
-Flinch.
Monster hunting had long been the Kingdom of Krapos’s greatest endeavor.
Monsters carved out their own territories to live in.
The problem was their incredible reproductive abilities, which caused major damage to lands if not periodically culled.
Naturally, this required enormous expenses, as it wasn’t an issue confined to just one or two areas.
As a result, food supplies were often insufficient.
Many knights and soldiers found themselves fighting hunger more than monsters.
Thus, the method they chose was foraging locally.
With starvation imminent, they couldn’t afford to be picky about eating monster meat.
However.
Nobles often regarded those forced to eat monster meat to survive as nothing short of monsters themselves.
Just like they were doing now.
The knights found this attitude deeply unpleasant.
Still, they knew.
…They had anticipated how the nobles would react when offered monster meat.
‘We’ve got them.’
Falcon pretended to be angry outwardly but smirked inwardly.
That’s right.
The knights had deliberately chosen this method to provoke the nobles.
Even with the Crown Prince’s order to “do as you please,” any harsh actions against nobles required justification.
And for a knight, the most excellent justification was…
Insult.
Falcon believed he had found the perfect excuse.
-Bang!
He slammed his sword into the ground in a show of rage.
Meanwhile.
“It’s perfectly cooked…!”
“Beatrice! What are you saying in this situation?!”
Seria looked at Beatrice in disbelief as she drooled over the meat.
Her peaceful reaction seemed far too out of place amidst the brewing storm.
“They say even Mount Geumgang looks better after a meal.”
“…Mount Geumgang?”
“Ouch. Seria, heal me.”
Beatrice had burned herself while trying to grab the meat with her bare hands.
“……”
“…Never mind, then.”
Beatrice rubbed her hands together briefly before picking up her sword.
She intended to use it as a substitute for a knife.
It wasn’t unreasonable.
With her swordsmanship skills, slicing monster meat into bite-sized pieces was no challenge.
[…Could you consider making a contract?]
‘I believe delicious food should be enjoyed alone.’
Beatrice, holding her peculiar belief, carefully raised her sword and even infused it with sword energy.
Just as she was about to cut the meat into perfect portions…
-Crash!
“That rookie insulted our vice-commander! A duel it is!”
The furious knights leapt to their feet.
And they did so very dramatically.
Overturning tables in the process.
Beatrice saw it all.
The meat flying through the air.
“No, no…!”
But who was she?
She was the Sword Emperor.
The Sword Emperor who could bring down flying birds.
She quickly swung her sword to salvage at least a piece of the meat.
However…
-Snap!
“…!”
She made a mistake.
In her haste, she hadn’t accounted for the increased mana output.
The meat turned to ashes.
“Haha! Why aren’t you moving? Are your legs trembling from fear?”
Gareth looked utterly exhausted.
But it certainly wasn’t because of Falcon.
“Draw your sword, rookie! I, Vice-Commander Falcon, will face you myself!”
“…It’s not… me.”
“What? Speak properly! Stop mumbling!”
“…The problem… isn’t me.”
“…?”
Only then did Falcon notice.
From behind him came a faint but ominous aura.
‘…An enemy?!’
Falcon quickly turned around, sensing the chilling energy.
Behind him stood Beatrice.
She held her sword calmly, her gaze steady and unshaken.