Welcome to Hell!

Chapter 109: The Carnela Port Recapture Operation (16)

The tasting of the seafood, which also served as poison check, continued until Mika intervened to stop us. He had a reason for forcefully halting everyone, which was unusual for him. You see, Decius was feeling queasy watching us devour the creatures that didn’t make it into the craters.

His complexion had truly turned pale. It seemed that witnessing us greedily devouring what appeared to be grotesque creatures, and not only that but consuming them raw, had made him feel unwell. Decius, usually calm and composed, had an unexpected side to him.

“But it’s delicious, you know? Hey, how about we agree that anything not sent to the main camp can be eaten by us? That’ll give us more motivation. What do you guys think?”

We had stopped eating upon seeing Decius’ pale face, but suddenly Tigar made such a suggestion. Other demons voiced their agreement as well.

In response, Decius didn’t give an immediate answer. He hesitated because it meant he would end up witnessing the sight of those repulsive creatures being consumed again. So, he granted permission for us to eat them as long as he wasn’t present.

“Ugh… For now, let’s start moving the carts. Those who are confident in their strength, please take turns pushing it. Those who can fly, scout over the sea, and the rest, please spread out the net so we may use it again. Let’s go.”

Since those chosen to move the cart were selected based on their strong physical abilities, I joined their ranks. Led by Decius, we began our march westward, aiming for the main camp.

The main camp wasn’t too far from the coast, so we arrived after just half a day of walking. Meanwhile, a long-range battle was raging at Carnela Port. The front lines of the imperial army were riddled with holes, and the second outer wall was filled with dents, attached on top of the existing damage.

I wonder if we could win this war of attrition just like this. Such thoughts crossed my mind, but then a beam of light was emitted from the outer wall, causing an explosion upon impact. The blast engulfed several imperial soldiers, sending them flying through the air.

Ah, If the siege takes too long, that would affect the soldiers’ morale. To prevent needless soldier casualties, I also believed it was a good strategy to dig underground passageways and launch a surprise attack, disregarding the outer wall.

Decius, who led us, spoke to someone in the main camp and ordered us to unload. Following his instructions, we unloaded wooden crates filled with fish from the carts, which the imperial soldiers would take somewhere. Whether they would use them as preserved food or eat them as they were, I didn’t know… Either way, it didn’t concern us since it wouldn’t end up in our mouths.

We only came here to transport the fish, so our task was now complete. After stacking empty crates on the carts again, we returned to the coast.

For the next ten days or so, we repeated this cycle of fishing, packing, and delivering to the main camp. The abundant sea seemed to have plentiful prey, as the amount of seafood caught in the nets showed no signs of decreasing despite us fishing in the same spot.

“I’ve returned. There are no signs of ships approaching near Carnela Port.”

“Understood. It’s your turn next, Ms. Tuhru.”

“Yes, yes~~!”

While we were hauling the dragnet, Mika, who had been monitoring the sea, returned. In exchange, Turu set off on her scouting mission. Mika and the others kept a vigilant watch over the sea, day and night, looking for any incoming ships at the port.

However, so far, there seemed to be no signs of new battleships approaching. Not a single one had been spotted in the past ten days. Decius kept reminding us tirelessly that we shouldn’t let our guard down, as he couldn’t believe that the naval power of the Republic army would come to an end with just that. Mika and I shared the same sentiment, so the flying demons never slackened in their surveillance.

“Yo-ho, there we go! Another massive haul this time!”

“Let’s quickly sort and pack them up! Then it’s time for a meal!”

“Yay!”

“Well then, I’ll start preparing the food. Can someone help me?” Mika asked.

“I’ll help as usual,” Sharl said.

After pulling up the dragnet, we skillfully retrieved the fish from within, removing their entrails with our nails and then packing them into crates. This kind of task was something we had grown accustomed to.

While we were engaged in that task, Mika tossed the unpacked seafood into a stone pot and started cooking. The stone pot was a modified piece of rock that I processed with my spiritual arts, and the hearth it sat on was a makeshift construction put together by Mika.

Mika placed shrimp, crabs, octopus, and squid, which had been scrubbed with salt made from dried seawater to remove any sliminess, into the pot. Then, with the assistance of Sharl, who had come forward to help, he filled the pot with water conjured by her spiritual arts and ignited the driftwood he had collected as firewood. Additionally, he sprinkled dried wild herbs over the pot.

The moment the wild herbs were added, the aroma emanating from the simmering pot seemed to suddenly intensify. When my companions caught a whiff of that fragrance, their hands started moving faster.

“Wow! I’m getting hungry!”

“Food! Hurry for the sake of food!”

“I understand the feeling, but don’t slack off on your work.”

The reason behind their heightened motivation lay in Mika’s cooking, which incorporated seafood. They were enchanted by the delicious dishes he created, even with limited ingredients. Even Decius, who had been avoiding the seafood as something exotic, started eating Mika’s food before going back to the cart’s transport. Truly delectable food has the power to captivate anyone.

Even I, who didn’t pay much attention to taste, found Mika’s cooking to be delicious. Or so I thought…

“You can’t.”

“…”

When I stealthily reached out to grab a raw shrimp and indulge myself, Mika somehow managed to sneak up behind me and snatch it away. Come on! I preferred the sweet taste of raw seafood over cooked, so it would have been better for me!

Frustrated, I looked up at Mika, but he seemed to understand my desire and simply ignored it. While I continued to watch him, he opened his mouth with a wry smile.

“Even if you’re a demon, I cannot recommend eating raw food. After all, Mr. Gora, who indulged himself too much, ended up complaining of stomachaches.”

“…”

“Indeed, the cause of the stomachache may not have been the raw food, but rather overeating. However, as your servant, it is only natural for me to advise against anything that might cause you to fall ill.”

Mika was admonishing me against eating raw shrimp based on his own beliefs. I understood his concerns, but all I wanted was something sweet!

Although I thought my feelings were clear, it seemed that Mika had no intention of retracting his earlier words. Convincing him was impossible… how disappointing. Reluctantly giving up on eating the raw shrimp, I focused on processing and sorting the fish with the others. It didn’t take much time before we finished handling the fish we had caught this time.

“Phew~~, it’s so warm~~!”

“Delicious, delicious! I’m glad to be alive!”

After we finished processing the fish, Mika treated us to a warm seafood soup. The broth served in a makeshift bowl made of driftwood was comforting, and the rich flavors of the seafood seeped through the soup, making it undeniably tasty. However, it wasn’t sweet. As I ate the peeled shrimp and shellfish, I couldn’t help but think about wanting to try them raw.

“Well, you shouldn’t judge without trying. I didn’t expect it to be this delicious.”

Decius smiled and joined us, savoring the soup. After finishing the ingredients in the soup, he showed us another way to enjoy the hard bread we were provided with: by soaking it in the soup to soften it before eating.

It seemed that the method he demonstrated was a common practice in the empire during the winter. However, for Tigar and the others, who had only eaten tough bread and dried meat that had gone bad since they were born, it was a great revelation. They eagerly imitated his actions, looking joyful.

However, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease when it came to the bread that had softened in the soup. So, I continued to gnaw on it, just like it was before—tough and hard. If I ate too many soft things, my jaw might weaken, after all.

After finishing our meal, it was time to get back to work. We pushed the carts stacked with wooden craters filled with fish and made our way on foot toward the main camp. Oh? Today, it seemed unusual that there was no battle going on. There were no sounds of explosions, and no screams or shouts. The pleasant spring weather enveloped us.

“Vice Commander?”

“Yeah, good job. Although I would like to thank you… there’s something I have to tell you first. The underground passages are all clear. The full-scale attack operation is about to begin. The demon unit would need to cease their monitoring and supply missions to return to the main camp.”

It was Marcellus who greeted us upon our arrival at the main camp. From his words, it was clear that the real battle was about to commence. Tension ran across our faces.