WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient First-Person's Viewpoint

Chapter 118

──────

In Tantalus, First Things First

"Hey, Azzy!"

"Woof...."

"Did I or did I not tell you not to sneak food behind my back!"

I scolded Azzy with feigned anger. This time there was no excuse, so Azzy's eyes just rolled around.

Last time I accused Azzy without evidence and got burned for it, but this time was different. It was not mealtime, and I caught Azzy red-handed wandering into the cafeteria and lifting pot lids.

A criminal caught at the scene.

"So it was you. I thought food had been disappearing at night lately!"

"Woof? I'm not a thief!"

"Don't talk back!"

I snapped, then left Azzy there and headed for the stove.

"If you're hungry, just tell me! Then I can-"

Shrrk.

Golden rice came into view. It was that Immortal Grain people said could make even a single grain feel like a full meal. There was exaggeration in that, sure, but it really was that good an ingredient.

I mixed Immortal Grain with mashed beans, slowly poured in broth brewed from herbs and meat, and cooked it down into risotto. It looked a lot like dog porridge, though.

After plating it, I lightly stir-fried it in a pan.

I did not use much oil. Azzy did not like greasy food. Instead, I mixed in bean tinned food soup from the big pot to thicken it, then served it on a plate.

Now used to sharing the table, Azzy took a seat right away. I set the plate down in front of Azzy and rang the bell.

Ding.

"So I can heat it up and serve it warm!"

"Woof woof!"

That bell had become a signal now, and Azzy's eyes lit up as Azzy buried a face in the plate.

Maybe the saying was true: when the granary is full, people get generous. With the regressor's investment, we got more luxurious ingredients than ever and started spending like nouveaux riches.

At first, we were cautious, since these were ingredients we had only heard about in rumors. That did not last long. We got used to them quickly, threw away our old conservative habits, and pushed straight ahead. We stopped fearing failure, cheered for fresh experiments, and tossed thrift out the window.

Since I was already feeding Azzy, I plated some risotto for myself too and took a spoonful. The flavor was not refined, but because I had used premium ingredients without restraint, the wild, rampaging richness stood out.

"Good ingredients really carry the dish, even if you make dog food."

I had been wasteful this round, so maybe next time I should make something more stable.

Even if we could not finish it, we could always feed Azzy or Nabi.

"Nya. It's still dog food in the end, nya."

That was when Nabi appeared in the cafeteria and licked a front paw. After one look at the food in the pot and pan, Nabi frowned.

"Nyaaa. Every single dish is awful, nya. A stupid dog might like this, but it's too low quality for my mouth, nya."

I tilted my head and asked, "Did Mr. Shei forget your meds? Why come all the way here just to snap at people?"

"I'm complaining about the food, attendant! Being forced to eat this was tolerable once, nya!"

"You're calling me an attendant? You, an animal?"

"If preparing food and doing chores isn't an attendant's job, then what is, nya!"

Nabi waved a paw in irritation.

I understood the complaint. Nabi was a carnivore. If it was not meat, Nabi barely ate. We had more grain than meat, so I had mostly used grain; Nabi had probably come to complain about the grain-heavy menu.

Still, that did not mean I had to indulge some junkie cat. I gestured to Azzy, and Azzy swallowed what was in the mouth and stood up.

Unaware of the shadow falling behind, Nabi kept whining.

"Nyaaa! I've tolerated enough, nya! The next menu should be more for m-"

"Nom."

"Nyahk?!"

Azzy crept up from behind and bit Nabi by the neck. In an instant, Nabi's lifeline was caught. Every hair stood on end, and Nabi froze like a mounted specimen. Only the anxious, rolling eyes moved.

Using Azzy, I subdued Nabi in one move and walked over, rolling my neck side to side.

"You little brat. If our dear investor had not been giving us plenty of food ingredients, you'd have been the first one kicked out."

"Nyahh. Nyahh. Nyahh...."

As I walked toward the pitifully crying Nabi, I reached into my coat. Nabi's eyes grew even wider.

"But even if you skip your own birthday, you still celebrate the minister's dog's birthday. We can't rough up our investor's pet."

What I pulled out was a tinned food can. But this one did not contain cooked chimera beans.

A military state special compressed tin. Anyone versed in alchemy could recycle these tins. I opened the tinned food lid I had made overnight and held it out to Nabi.

Inside was a special snack for cats: wet meat feed, made by thinning salted meat with bean tinned food.

"Nyahh?"

"Putting in extra effort to cook separately for an animal is basically a disgrace to humanity... I never do this kind of thing, but I'm making a special exception for our patron. Got it?"

"Nyah...."

When I held out the tinned food, Nabi stuck out a tongue and tasted it, even while still being held by the scruff. Then, apparently satisfied, Nabi started licking nonstop.

With Nabi fully absorbed in the snack, Azzy ended up awkwardly suspended there and slowly let go of Nabi's neck. Then Azzy stared at me and barked resentfully.

"Woof...."

"Huh? Hey, what now."

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

Azzy looked at Nabi and the tinned food as if betrayed by the world.

I asked in disbelief, "You sit at the table and eat the same food we eat. We even share meals."

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

"A dog sorting meals from snacks. Unbelievable. You should just eat what you're given."

This was why you should never treat beasts too well from the start. I should have set the tone earlier.

Sighing, I slowly moved the tinned food in my hand. Nabi's face followed it as if glued to it. When I set it on the table, Nabi's face ended up planted on the tabletop too.

Then I pulled out one more tinned food can from my coat and handed it over.

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

"Okay! Woof!"

As if even barking was a waste of time, Azzy immediately started chomping down the food on the plate, one paw carefully resting on top of the tinned food can.

What was I supposed to do with these beasts? I was sighing over that when the immortal and Callis came into the cafeteria.

Callis had recovered enough to move around, but walking alone was still too much, so Callis was still being supported by the immortal....

'Rashy is a barbarian only in words. He doesn't mind physical contact, but he's overly considerate. I've recovered enough to do military state standard exercises, but until I'm fully healed, I should keep clinging to him and pretend I'm still hurt. Three months should be enough....'

Anyway, that was how it was.

Without noticing Callis's thoughts at all, the immortal strode into the cafeteria.

"Well now! You've already started eating! Is it mealtime already?"

"Since when do beasts have set mealtimes? If food is in front of them, they eat."

I said that while glaring at the two beasts sitting side by side at the table, stuffing themselves with snacks. The immortal laughed heartily.

"Haha! They eat well. Teacher, you'll be blessed! Since old times they say kindness to beast ladies comes back double!"

"I don't even have spare kindness for myself, so why would I give any to beasts? I just give them leftovers."

"Your boundaries are sharp as a blade! You won't find many people like you who still see beast ladies as beasts!"

"They're Beast Kings, so yes, they're beasts."

While we talked, Rashy carefully seated Callis in a chair, then headed to the pot. As he filled a plate, he said,

"Even so, they took human form to talk with humans, didn't they! They speak, and they understand intent, so how can you treat them exactly like animals?"

"Rashy-ssi, if a letter stood up and started talking, how would you treat it?"

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

"But you wouldn't treat it like a human either. Same thing."

The immortal scratched his head.

"Haha! Can't argue with that! By the way, are all military state people as good with words as you?"

"Yes. I'm the military state average."

'Lie...!'

That rude thought came from Callis.

What's with that look? It's still better than your lie. You'd recovered enough to do military state standard exercises, yet you were still pretending to be in pain.

"Callis! Can you eat solid food today?"

At the immortal's question, Callis delayed on purpose and answered as if struggling.

"Rashy, I... urk, please give me... soup."

"Still not healed? Heh. That's why the easy-to-die folk always have to be careful."

Shaking his head, the immortal ladled bean soup from the large cauldron 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 a hand. Maybe because the body was not fully recovered, the hand trembled weakly....

For that kind of tremor, though, it looked subtly deliberate. But the immortal had never experienced shaky hands, so he did not notice.

Callis tried to hold the spoon, then gave up. Looking at Azzy and Nabi scraping the tinned food clean on one side of the table, Callis muttered,

"...It's fine. If I bend over and eat like the Beast Kings.... urk."

"Heh. How is someone with a stabbed belly going to bend over and eat?"

Clicking his tongue, the immortal lifted the spoon. He filled it with soup, then moved it smoothly to Callis's mouth with a delicacy that did not match his hulking body. The sloshing soup stopped just before the lips without spilling a single drop.

"Thank you...."

"Eat. Ah, it might be hot, so cool it first, then drink. I don't really know how dangerous heat can be."

"Your arm will get tired...."

The immortal shook his head hard. Even with his head whipping side to side, the spoon did not move an inch.

"I am immortal. I do not get hurt, and I do not tire. I've never experienced arm pain or numbness. Sometimes I can't even tell whether my right arm is attached or not."

"...That..."

"So what I mean is, I can hold this spoon forever! Cool it as long as you want!"

At that small act of warm consideration, Callis's expression wavered for a moment.

'...He's too much for me. But I'm used to dreaming dreams beyond my station. And for that too.'

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

The immortal did not show it, but he became a little conscious of that motion.

'...Do all military state officers eat like this? Officers are even worse. I thought everyone else ate normally!'

'Still not enough with just soup.... I need to recover quickly and make it a done deal, so I should sneak back tonight and eat again.'

So it was you. The one stealing food at night.

Sigh. Still, at least that's a person eating, so whatever. The number of mouths to feed is the same anyway. As guardian of the cafeteria, that's within acceptable limits.

I stood up first and carried my empty plate to the sink.

Just then, Tyr entered the cafeteria, accompanied by a coffin painted pitch black.

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

Store