WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 118: In Tantalus, First Things First

──────

"Hey, Azzy!"

"Woof..."

"Did I or did I not tell you not to steal food behind my back?"

I scolded Azzy with feigned anger. This time, she had no excuse and could only roll her eyes.

Last time, I had accused her without evidence and suffered the backlash, but this time was different. It was not even mealtime, yet I caught her wandering into the dining hall and lifting the lid off a pot.

She had been caught red-handed.

"Food has been disappearing in the middle of the night lately. Was that you?"

"Woof? I'm not a thief!"

"Don't talk back!"

After snapping at her, I left Azzy where she was and headed for the stove.

"If you're hungry, just tell me! Then I'll..."

Swish.

Golden grains of rice appeared.

Fresh Rice. One grain was said to fill you up as much as an entire meal. That was an exaggeration, but it was still an excellent ingredient.

I mixed mashed beans into the Fresh Rice, slowly added broth steeped with herbs and meat, and simmered it into risotto. It looked a little like dog food, though.

After scooping out a fresh portion, I lightly stir-fried it in a pan.

I did not use much oil. Azzy did not care much for greasy food. Instead, I mixed in canned bean soup from the large pot to make it thick, then served it on a plate.

Having grown used to eating with us, Azzy immediately took her seat at the table. I set the plate in front of her and rang a bell.

Ding.

"That way, I can heat it up and give it to you!"

"Woof woof!"

The bell had become a signal by now. At its sound, Azzy's eyes sparkled, and she immediately buried her face in the plate.

They said generosity came from a full granary, did they not? Thanks to the regressor's investment, we had acquired more luxurious ingredients than ever before and started spending them like newly rich fools.

We had only been cautious for a little while when faced with ingredients we had only heard of in rumors. Already accustomed to them, we abandoned our former conservatism and marched toward progress. We were not afraid of failure, cheered fresh attempts, and threw frugality out the window.

Since I had served Azzy, I dished out some risotto for myself and took a spoonful. The flavors were not refined, but the lavish ingredients gave it a memorable, wild richness.

"With ingredients this good, even dog food tastes great."

I had wasted a little this time, so perhaps I should make something more reliable next time.

If I could not eat it, I could always give it to Azzy or Nabi.

"Meow. It's still dog food, meow."

That was when Nabi appeared in the dining hall, licking her front paw. She frowned when she saw the food in the pot and pan.

"Meowww. Every single dish is displeasing, meow. Only a stupid dog would enjoy it. It's too low-quality to enter my mouth, meow."

I tilted my head.

"Didn't Shei give you your medicine? Why come all the way here just to be irritable?"

"I'm complaining about the food, servant! Being forced to eat it once was enough, meow!"

"You just called me a servant? You, a beast?"

"If preparing food and doing chores does not make one a servant, what does?"

Nabi waved her front paw in dissatisfaction.

It was not that I could not understand. Nabi was a carnivore. She barely ate anything besides meat. We had more grain than meat, so I had mainly used grain. She must have come to complain about the grain-heavy diet.

That did not mean I had any reason to indulge some drug-addicted cat. I gestured to Azzy, and after swallowing the food in her mouth, she rose from her seat.

Unaware that a shadow had fallen over her, Nabi continued whining about her meal.

"Meowww! My patience ends here, meow! The next menu should be something more for me..."

"Chomp."

"Meowak?!"

Azzy crept up behind her and bit Nabi on the neck. With her lifeline seized in an instant, Nabi's fur stood on end, and she froze as if she had been taxidermied. Only her eyes rolled anxiously about.

Having subdued Nabi in one move with Azzy's help, I shook my head and walked over.

"You little bastard. If our investor had not generously provided food ingredients, you would have been the first one thrown out."

"Meowah. Meowah. Meowah..."

As I approached the pitifully crying Nabi, I reached into my clothes. Her eyes widened even further.

"Still, even if I don't celebrate my own birthday, I have to celebrate the birthday of the dog at a prime minister's house. I can't mistreat our investor's pet."

What I took out was a can. It did not contain cooked chimera beans, though.

A military state special compressed can. Anyone knowledgeable in alchemy could reuse one. I opened the can of food I had spent all last night preparing and held it out to Nabi.

Inside was a special treat for cats: wet meat food made by thinning salted meat with canned beans.

"Meowah?"

"Cooking something separately just for an animal is no different from disgracing humanity, but... I would never normally do this. Know that I'm only doing it as a special favor for our benefactor. Got it?"

"Meowah..."

When I held out the can, Nabi stuck out her tongue to taste it despite being bitten on the neck. She apparently liked it, because she kept licking it.

Once Nabi became absorbed in her snack, Azzy was left awkwardly hovering there and slowly released Nabi's neck. Then she stared at me and barked resentfully.

"Woof..."

"Huh? Hey, what's wrong?"

"I listen well... I'm good... Woof... But..."

Azzy looked at Nabi and the can with the wounded expression of someone betrayed by the world.

Dumbfounded, I asked, "You sit at the table and eat the same meals we do. You even eat with us."

"Woof! That's a meal! This is a snack! Woof woof!"

"A dog that distinguishes between meals and snacks. Just eat what you're given."

This was why you should not be nice to beasts from the start. I should have put them in their place early on.

With a sigh, I slowly moved the can in my hand. Nabi's face followed it as if stuck to the can. When I set it on the table, Nabi ended up with her face planted against the table too.

Then I took another can from my clothes and handed it to Azzy.

"...Fine. You eat too, you pig. But I'll open it after you finish your meal."

"Okay! Woof!"

As if even barking wasted time, Azzy immediately began stuffing herself with the food on her plate, carefully resting one front paw on top of the can.

What was I supposed to do with these animals? Just as I sighed, Rashy and Callis entered the dining hall.

Callis had recovered enough to move around, but walking on her own was apparently still too difficult, so she was still supported by Rashy...

'Rashy is only a barbarian in name. He doesn't mind physical contact, but he's excessively considerate. I've recovered enough to do military state drill exercises, but I should keep pretending I haven't and stay close to him until I fully recover. Three months should be enough...'

That was how it was, anyway.

Without noticing Callis's thoughts, Rashy strode into the dining hall.

"What is this! You're all eating! Is it mealtime already?"

"When do beasts have set mealtimes? If there's food in front of them, they eat."

I glared at the two beasts sitting together at the table and devouring snacks. Rashy laughed heartily.

"Ha ha! They eat well. Teacher, you will be blessed! Since ancient times, kindness shown to beast ladies has returned twofold!"

"I don't even have kindness to spare for myself. I only give them leftovers."

"You draw a sharp line! There is no one like you, Teacher, for seeing beast ladies as beasts!"

"They are Beast Kings. They are beasts."

While we talked, Rashy carefully seated Callis in a chair before heading toward the pot. As he filled a plate, he said, "Still, they took human forms to converse with humans, did they not? They can speak and understand meaning, so how can you treat them exactly like beasts?"

"Mr. Rashy, how would you treat a letter if it stood up and spoke?"

"I don't think I could treat it like a letter!"

"But you wouldn't treat it like a human either. It's similar."

Rashy scratched his head.

"Ha ha! Put that way, I have nothing to say! But are all military state people as good with words as you, Teacher?"

"Yes. I am the military state average."

'Lie...!'

An impertinent thought came from Callis.

What was that for? It was better than your lie. You had recovered enough to do military state drill exercises, yet you were pretending to be sick.

"Callis! Can you eat solid food today?"

At Rashy's question, Callis deliberately delayed before answering in a strained voice.

"Rashy, I... Urgh, I would like... soup, please."

"You still haven't fully recovered? Heh heh. This is why those who die easily have to be careful."

Shaking his head, Rashy scooped bean soup from the large pot into a bowl. He set it in front of Callis with a spoon and asked, "How is it? Can you eat by yourself?"

Callis raised her hand. As though she had not fully recovered, her hand trembled weakly...

The trembling was subtly artificial, but Rashy had never experienced shaking hands before and did not notice.

After trying and giving up on holding the spoon, Callis saw Azzy and Nabi scraping their cans clean at the other end of the table and murmured, "...It's fine. If I bend over and eat like the Beast Kings... Urgh."

"Heh heh. How can someone stabbed in the stomach bend over to eat?"

Clicking his tongue, Rashy picked up the spoon. He filled it with soup, then brought it smoothly to Callis's mouth with a delicacy that did not suit his burly body. The sloshing soup stopped just before touching her lips, without spilling a single drop.

"Thank you..."

"Eat. Ah, it may be hot, so cool it first before eating. I don't really know how dangerous hot things can be."

"Your arm will hurt..."

Rashy vigorously shook his head. Though his head moved wildly, the spoon did not budge in the slightest.

"I am immortal. I don't get hurt, nor do I tire. I've never experienced an aching or numb arm. Sometimes I don't even know whether my right arm is attached to me or not."

"...That..."

"In other words, I can hold a spoon forever without trouble! Cool it for as long as you want!"

At the small act of warm consideration, Callis's expression briefly clouded.

'...He is too good for me. Still, I am used to dreaming dreams beyond my station. And for that sake as well.'

Having made up her mind, Callis opened her mouth, stuck out her tongue, and slowly licked the underside of the spoon first.

Rashy did not show it, but he was a little conscious of the motion.

'...Do all military state officers eat this way? Officers are even worse. I think other people ate normally!'

'Soup alone isn't enough... I need to recover quickly, and to make it an established fact, I should sneak back tonight and eat again.'

So it was you. You had been stealing food at night.

Sigh. Still, it was one of the people I was feeding anyway, so whatever. The number of mouths to feed was the same, so as guardian of the dining hall, it was within the range I could tolerate.

I rose first and took the empty plates to the sink.

That was when Tyr entered the dining hall, accompanied by a black-painted coffin.

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried