The Grill-Wielding Saintess of the Dead

Chapter 141 Blade Centipede Soup 4 – Achievement (?)

“As Shia faded away like a mirage, I said to her, ‘I will follow you soon, my light.’”

“Sniff…”

“Sob…”

“Oh my gosh…”

“That was such a beautiful story…”

The participants listening to the story wiped their tears, clearly moved.

Some of them even looked at Menelapie with eyes shining in admiration.

Even though Menelapie wasn’t a Sound Awakener, her voice carried the charisma of an empress and the allure of a siren.

Listening to her story alone felt like having one’s ears caressed in real time for ordinary people.

“Hehe, sometimes, sitting on a rock and telling stories like the bards isn’t so bad.”

Menelapie didn’t dislike the songs and tales of the bards.

Though, in the previous world, she didn’t have many opportunities to hear them due to her position as an empress. However, as the war against the Demon King and the Malevolent Army dragged on, bards began appearing on the battlefield to boost the soldiers’ morale, so their songs became familiar to her.

Bards sang songs, composed poems, and told stories.

In the previous world, they held a similar status to entertainers who create novels, comics, music, and movies on Earth.

Furthermore, most bards were from the aristocracy or upper classes, so their storytelling skills were quite impressive.

To tell a good story or sing a song, one needs a wealth of knowledge and experience, wouldn’t you agree?

In the previous world, even though Shia wasn’t particularly focused on food exploration, she liked the stories told by bards.

Disguised to blend in among the soldiers, she would sit by a large campfire, holding Menelapie’s hand, listening to the bards sing.

She enjoyed hearing hidden stories, histories, and tales of heroes from that world.

Even after the war ended, she visited elves to hear their stories, and sometimes even dwarves with their tales tinged with the smell of alcohol.

Today, Menelapie was reminiscing about the bards as she entertained the participants with fitting stories.

Of course, they were a bit nasty.

Though Menelapie might call them twisted fans of Shia, affectionately warped followers at best.

Telling stories to them was no big deal.

“Even if she couldn’t hear me, it didn’t matter. It was a vow I made to myself. Whether I abandoned my title of Empress or that of Hero, it was all the same.”

Though she left out many parts, the story of Shia and Menelapie’s short-lived past came to an end.

Naturally, she omitted anything that could be unfavorable to Shia.

The brutal parts, like eating humans, were glossed over as minor trials, and she didn’t even bring up the Dark Witch.

“But from what I’ve been hearing, is it wrong to call our leader the Empress’ stepping mat…?”

Bam!

At that moment, the bold participant who made eye contact with Menelapie abruptly stopped talking and collapsed backward.

“Huh, what’s with him?”

“Why’d he suddenly collapse?”

“Who knows? He must have been exhausted.”

No one else noticed, but Menelapie had gathered a small orb of aura and struck the bold participant’s head at an imperceptible speed.

Of course, the attack was non-lethal, but it would be a while before he got up.

If you get two chances, you should know how to take them.

That crazy guy had already been warned twice—once in the chat and once in reality—and yet he remained unfazed.

Even though he wasn’t dealing with an ordinary human but Menelapie Hailam herself.

Others were already overwhelmed, as if their very souls had been subdued the moment they felt Menelapie’s killing intent.

They had succumbed to the allure of her voice.

The fact that this guy kept bringing up the “stepping mat” despite facing a person like Menelapie showed that he had a tenacity rivaling the golden spirit of the Hero who fought the Demon King.

“Uh, Empress? Is it alright to be talking about this so freely?”

“Come to think of it, isn’t this the kind of thing the Returnee Management Bureau usually handles?”

“There are probably many Returnees who hide their pasts. Even Yujin hasn’t really revealed much…”

“It’s fine. While it’s true that one should be careful with the past, the stories of Returnees are a different matter, aren’t they?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

Menelapie smiled like a fully bloomed rose as she looked around at the people.

Just moments ago, her expression had been filled with killing intent, making her seem terrifying. But now, with that radiant smile, it felt like her beauty was overwhelming everyone, regardless of age or gender.

Indeed, she possessed a different kind of fraudulent appearance compared to Shia.

“And besides, you are all Shia’s followers, people who like her. If the stories are passed on properly, wouldn’t that improve Shia’s image in the public eye?”

If a few people spread the story of Shia’s brilliant exploits in the previous world, it could elevate her reputation and create a positive image.

On the other hand, some might distort the story or spread bad rumors, but that wasn’t a problem.

‘Even if they harbor impious thoughts, it won’t matter.’

Menelapie always had countermeasures in place against slander, rumors, and false accusations.

After all, she wasn’t an empress for nothing.

As a last resort, there was always Yeonhwa.

“Hey guys!!!”

At that moment, the clear and bright voice of the Saintess of the Dead echoed.

“Oh, you’re back.”

“….!”

“…….”

[5252, what’s up?]

[Still hanging in there?]

[Wow, I’m really envious!]

[For real, lol. So jealous, hahaha.]

Seeing Shia approach with a large pot, Menelapie’s face brightened up, but the participants suddenly looked nervous.

“Um, well? It doesn’t smell bad…”

“But is that really fried centipede I smell?”

“Didn’t the Leader go to make Blade Centipede tempura?”

The nasty ones didn’t seem too concerned yet.

Yeah, it should be fine.

If it’s just Blade Centipede tempura, it should still be edible.

Even when they had seen it on the broadcast, they thought that as long as they didn’t know it was a centipede, it would be something they could eat without much fuss.

In fact, didn’t they say it actually tasted pretty good?

Assuming it tasted like a mix of shrimp and crab, it’d be odd if it didn’t taste good when fried.

Just close your eyes, forget it’s a Blade Centipede, and…

“Tada!”

“Oh! Is that… soup? It’s been a while since I’ve had soup.”

What? Soup?

“Hehe, did I do well, Menelapie?”

“Don’t be too hasty. Let’s taste it first before I praise you.”

“…Soup…?”

“…Wait…”

“Is this Blade Centipede soup…?”

“No way. How could anyone make soup out of that?”

Participants who glanced at the pot Shia brought immediately turned pale.

The butter and flour smell, typical of a fragrant soup, was quite harmonious.

There was even a faint mushroom scent, as if she had added some mushrooms.

Up to that point, it was fine.

However, the moment they saw the soup bubbling with a deep purple hue, the participants realized something was terribly wrong. And the second they spotted something resembling blades poking out among the chunks, their instincts confirmed it.

Legs… There were too many legs.

Far too many legs.

Not only that, but those blade-like sharp things were the hundreds of legs of the Blade Centipede. The large floating object they had mistaken for a mushroom was, in fact, the head of the Blade Centipede.

[Hahahahahaha]

[LOL]

[Oh my god!]

[My sister screamed after seeing that.]

[Honestly, it looks more like chemical waste than soup.]

[Shh. Do you want to get kicked out of the broadcast?]

[LOL]

Seeing the grotesque sight, the nasty participants felt nausea welling up. Was this really soup? Or had the Leader stolen a plague cauldron from hell and served it to them?

“Ugh… Blech…”

One of the more sensitive participants let out a small retching sound, which immediately triggered Menelapie’s sharp killing intent to rush toward him.

“Ugh…”

“Eek…!?”

The meaning behind that nearly tangible pressure was clear.

Behave yourself.

React properly.

Shia may be kind and compassionate toward you all, but I am not.

‘Oh crap…’

‘I’m screwed…’

Despite the viewers and participants realizing they were in trouble, Shia and Menelapie’s expressions remained completely serene.

“Hehehe, alright, everyone come over here. I’ll serve you one by one.”

“Ah, y-yes…”

“I-I’m not that hungry…”

Thud!

At that moment, the man who had tried to refuse Shia’s soup could feel the menacing gaze of Menelapie behind him, forcing him to shut his mouth.

Cleverly, at an angle where Shia couldn’t see it, Menelapie was glaring at the participant.

[Whoa, those eyes…]

[Is this filtered through some kind of perception filter? That’s scary…]

[No joke, when S-rank Hunters send out killing intent, it sometimes distorts the screen. It’s happening now too, LOL.]

[If I got that look, I would’ve passed out.]

[For real, hahaha.]

Not hungry?

Come on.

You’re hungry, aren’t you?

Right?

Say it.

Say it already.

‘D-damn it, that’s terrifying…’

“Hmm? Are you not hungry?”

“No, I’m incredibly hungry!”

“Really? That’s great!”

Damn it… this is awful…

Of course, knowing it was dangerous to say that aloud, the participants had no choice but to swallow their tears and accept the bowl Shia handed them.

Despite the participant’s inner despair, Shia, genuinely happy, served each one of them a heaping portion of the purple-tinted Blade Centipede soup.

Her smile was bright and benevolent, making everyone who saw it feel a bit happier.

It was a holy and kind smile, full of purity, like an unspoiled natural landscape.

If only she weren’t serving purple Blade Centipede soup…

“Uh… thank you.”

“Thank you, Leader…”

“Thank you, Stepping Mat…”

Thud!

[?]

[??]

[What just happened?]

[What’s going on??]

[What just vanished right in front of my eyes?]

“Huh? Where’d that person go, Menelapie?”

“Person? Was there such a thing?”

“Huh, I guess not? Next!”

Shia enthusiastically continued to serve the soup to everyone, even giving the final portion to Menelapie.

Though the participants were smiling under Menelapie’s silent pressure, none of them dared bring the monstrous Blade Centipede soup to their lips.

‘…Is this for real…?’

‘Seriously…’

‘Are we really supposed to eat this?’

They were serious.

Despite everything—their leader, Shia, and their esteemed Empress—it was undeniable that the quality of the food they had seen before was decent. Sure, they might have laughed at it a little, but they had thought, ‘At least I won’t die from eating it.’

But this Blade Centipede soup was a deep purple, with hundreds of Blade Centipede legs floating in it. To top it off, Shia had placed a huge Blade Centipede head in the middle of each bowl as a decoration, or something.

How could they eat this?

But they couldn’t just throw it away.

They couldn’t spit it out.

The participants had spent enough time with Menelapie to realize what kind of person she was.

The moment they dared discard the precious food Shia had made, there was a real chance they’d die.

Finally, when Menelapie received her portion of the soup, the participants clung to one last shred of hope.

‘Yeah, no matter how tough you are, you can’t eat this.’

‘Go on, taste it. Say something.’

‘Please say it tastes awful…’

They secretly hoped for this outcome.

“Then, I’ll eat well, Shia.”

“Okay!”

What…?

Slurp, gulp.

Chomp.

Gulp.

[Oh, damn.]

[Does it taste good?]

[How’s she eating that so easily??]

[Wasn’t that something only the Leader could eat, LOL?]

[She’s actually enjoying it, though?]

[Could it actually be tasty?]

[They say the Blade Centipede meat tastes like crab, so maybe it’s like crab soup. Just looks weird.]

[Now that you mention crab soup, it sounds tasty…]

Stop spouting nonsense! How does this even resemble crab soup?!

The participants watched the chat explode with comments, their stomachs churning with disgust.

But… how?

How was she eating it so casually, without hesitation?

She was eating it like it was nothing.

Not just eating—it seemed like she enjoyed it.

Within seconds, Menelapie had finished the bowl Shia had given her and was holding out her plate for more.

“One more.”

“Hehe, hehe…”

Shia looked overjoyed, her happiness evident.

Indeed.

Menelapie was an empress and a hero, but she had traversed all kinds of hellish swamps in the previous world, and there wasn’t much she hadn’t eaten.

There had been times when, due to the Demon King Army cutting off their supply lines, she had survived on rat meat. She had made soup from poisonous mushrooms, and even after the war with the Demon King ended, she had occasionally joined Shia on some ridiculous food expeditions.

It was only her deep affection for Shia that had helped Menelapie endure all those food-related disasters.

So how could Blade Centipede soup defeat Menelapie?

As Menelapie devoured the Blade Centipede soup, Shia beamed with her signature bright smile.

Of course, it was only natural that Shia would be overjoyed to see Menelapie eating the food she made.

Her smile was as pure, beautiful, and radiant as ever, enough to make the nasty participants momentarily forget the dire situation they were in.

‘No, wait! This isn’t the time to get lost in that smile!’

And as Menelapie started on her second bowl, Shia’s gaze slowly turned toward the nasty participants.

They had been holding their bowls of soup, frozen in place.

……

‘…Oh no…’

‘I made eye contact…’

‘What do I do…?’

Shia’s sparkling eyes carried a silent pressure.

Eat it!

Your happiness is my happiness!

It’ll be delicious!

Come on, eat!

Eat!

Now!

‘D-damn it…’

But there was no escape.

Behind Shia’s sparkly eyes, Menelapie’s golden ones glinted with a murderous gaze, staring down at the nasty participants.

And then, her lips moved silently.

If you dare say it tastes bad…

If you say you can’t eat it…

And make Shia sad…

I will rip your head off.

‘I’m screwed…’

‘…This whole broadcast is a nightmare…’

[LMAO]

[Oh god…]

[The expressions on their faces are priceless.]

[Remember, folks, be kind so you don’t get dragged into this.]

[For real, hahaha.]

○○○○○○○○○○

Thus, the broadcast ended briefly but successfully.

All of the participants ate the Blade Centipede soup “happily.” Since their happiness was Shia’s happiness, Shia was immensely satisfied as she cheerfully announced the end of the stream.

After the broadcast ended, Yeonseo took all the participants back to where they originally were.

‘By the way, I feel like Yeonseo had something she wanted to tell me…’

Well, I’ll think about it later.

If it’s important, she’ll bring it up again.

“Hehehe.”

“What’s making you so happy?”

“Of course, I’m happy. Other people have eaten my food before, but Menelapie ate mine this time! It’s a special day.”

“That Blade Centipede soup, was it? It had quite a unique taste. While the basic flavor was excellent, the subtle bitterness, reminiscent of herbal medicine, blended surprisingly well.”

Although it looked bizarre, the taste itself was genuinely good.

All those Blade Centipede legs, while they looked intimidating, had been simmered for so long that their texture was soft, almost like pupae.

With a taste reminiscent of crab and pupae, the soup was quite delicious.

For reference, Menelapie had eaten the pupae Shia made several times in the previous world.

“Really?! Right? That’s what I thought too!”

[Screech!]

For the record, Yane, who had been acting as Shia’s food taster for the Blade Centipede soup, had fainted earlier, and they had to pick her up later.

‘By the way, why was that bug girl Yane here in the first place?’

“Huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

“I missed a lot of calls from my mom…”

On the way home from the Rotten Mountain Dungeon, Shia checked her smartwatch and noticed that she had over ten missed calls from Yoon-jung.

What happened?

Just as Shia was about to call Yoon-jung, she sensed her presence nearby.

Ever since Shia had rescued Yoon-jung from the San Guild, she had applied her holy power to leave a trace on Yoon-jung, allowing her to locate her anytime she wanted.

“Sh-Shia!!”

“Huh? Mom?”

“Shia! Something terrible has happened! Yane… Yane…”

“Yane?”

“Yane, you mean…”

[Screech?]

“Ah…”

From behind Shia, Yane popped her head out, munching on the legs of the Blade Centipede. Yoon-jung’s words abruptly halted.

“Huff, huff…”

“………”

[Screech…?]

At that moment, Menelapie, utilizing her golden eyes and quick mind, swiftly analyzed the situation and understood what had happened.

It was clear why Yane, who should have gone to the Korean language academy and returned home with Yoon-jung, was here instead.

Yane had either followed a scent or been driven by some other reason to crawl into the Rotten Mountain Dungeon where Shia was. However, during this process, Yane had not informed Yoon-jung, leaving her to search frantically.

The proof of this was Yoon-jung, who was out of breath, teary-eyed, and wore an expression of half-relief and half-exhaustion.

Yane, despite having acquired much knowledge, was still like a newborn in terms of experience and emotional sensitivity. She likely hadn’t even realized that she should have told Yoon-jung where she was going.

Experience, wisdom, etiquette, and social customs are things that accumulate over time as you live with humans. It wasn’t something Yane could have learned quickly.

If Yane had just told Yoon-jung where she was going, or if Shia had noticed her smartwatch earlier, none of this would have happened

. But because of small oversights, Yoon-jung had spent hours in anguish, searching for Yane, feeling guilt and worry.

“Huff… huff… sniff…”

Yoon-jung, who was still trying to catch her breath, looked like she was about to burst into tears.

Of course, that was only natural.

She had probably spent the entire day searching frantically for Yane, thinking she had been lost. Even though she had run around everywhere, she found nothing. In desperation, she had called Shia, but Shia had been streaming and hadn’t seen the notifications.

She couldn’t reach anyone.

Unable to track Yane with her own senses and skills, Yoon-jung had probably been tormented with guilt, imagining all sorts of terrible possibilities, like Yane being kidnapped or harmed by bad people.

Yet here was Yane, calmly following Shia, her face smeared with soup and chomping on Blade Centipede legs. No wonder Yoon-jung felt like crying.

“Thank… goodness…”

But Yoon-jung didn’t get angry.

Even though her eyes were filled with tears, and she was still out of breath, her face wore a relieved, grateful smile, as if she was just happy that Yane was safe.

“Let’s… go home…”

[Screech…?]

“…Huh, Mom? What’s wrong…?”

Thud!

And then, Menelapie grabbed the heads of the two oblivious people and slammed them into the ground.

Of course, she included herself in the apology.

Now that you mention it, Menelapie had been the one who taught Shia imperial etiquette in the previous world.

“Ugh…?”

[Screech…? W-what’s going on…?]

“I apologize, Mother-in-law. I have failed to properly educate your daughters!”

“No, no… it’s fine…”

Though Menelapie had once again mistakenly called her “mother-in-law,” Yoon-jung decided not to correct her this time.