Chapter 196

“Haa……. Haa…….”

Arisa, still feeling the lingering effects of the Evil Eye, clutched her tingling arm and exhaled roughly.

It had been a close call.

But in the end, she was the one who emerged victorious.

The reason Arisa could finish off the Cockatrice was thanks to the trump card she had prepared in advance.

The most threatening ability of the Cockatrice was its Petrifying Evil Eye.

Anyone exposed to the gaze of this monster for too long would slowly turn to stone, starting from their extremities—a terrifyingly powerful ability.

But to put it another way, aside from that Evil Eye, the Cockatrice was just a large, oversized chicken.

That’s why, from the very beginning, Arisa had prepared a glowing necklace she had discovered in the Ancient Empire as her trump card.

She had anticipated that the necklace would be the key to definitively defeating the Cockatrice.

That’s why, even as she exchanged blows with the Cockatrice, Arisa kept the existence of the necklace hidden until the very end.

If she had carelessly revealed it, the Cockatrice might have grown wary.

Revealing your trump card too early is amateurish.

So, Arisa concealed the necklace until the very last moment, only using it when the Cockatrice was convinced of its victory and let its guard down.

And the result was a perfect success.

“The Cockatrice’s Evil Eye was more persistent than I thought, but…… in the end, it’s my victory.”

“Good work.”

At that moment, Liche approached from behind, smiling as if relieved.

In truth, it wasn’t just Arisa who let out a sigh of relief when she narrowly defeated the Cockatrice.

Though she couldn’t actively step forward due to her disadvantage against monsters, Liche, who had been supporting from the rear, also felt reassured by Arisa’s efforts.

“To think you had such a trump card hidden away. That was an impressive move.”

“Ah, th-thank you, Clarice…… Your timely magical support allowed me to exploit the Cockatrice’s opening and turn the tide.”

“No, I didn’t do much. If anything, I feel sorry for not being of more help.”

Liche warmly praised Arisa for her performance in the recent battle.

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Meanwhile, Yuri, who had been quietly observing the scene from behind, swallowed hard.

While Arisa had been fully immersed in the battle with the Cockatrice and her senses dulled by the Petrifying Evil Eye, Yuri, who had been able to objectively observe the battlefield from a safe distance, had clearly seen something.

It was the sight of Liche chanting magic, not just double-casting, but triple-casting, in preparation for the moment Arisa might fall.

Double-casting alone is considered an advanced technique that most mages wouldn’t even attempt, yet Liche had gone beyond that to triple-casting.

But what truly shocked Yuri wasn’t just that Liche had triple-casted.

As someone who wasn’t a mage, Yuri couldn’t fully grasp how extraordinary that was.

What truly horrified Yuri was the sight of the sky filled with ice spears just before Arisa and the Cockatrice clashed for the final time.

As if thinking, “If one gets dispelled, then just overwhelm them with so many that they can’t dispel them all,” Liche had unleashed an absurd number of ice spears without any regard for moderation.

And the moment Arisa confirmed the Cockatrice’s defeat, Liche instantly dispelled all those ice spears.

At that sight, Yuri couldn’t help but gulp.

“…Uh, isn’t it strangely chilly today?”

“Huhu. Is that so? I didn’t notice.”

“R-really……? Well, it is still summer, so it shouldn’t be chilly. I must still be recovering my senses.”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. More importantly, it’s a relief we managed to obtain the Cockatrice’s meat without damaging it.”

As Liche calmly inspected the Cockatrice’s corpse, Yuri quietly shuddered.

‘Th-this is the power of an adventurer of the same rank…! Truly, the path of an adventurer is long and treacherous!’

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With the Cockatrice hunt completed, the three returned to Astram.

Incidentally, it was Yuri Blossom who had volunteered to carry the Cockatrice’s corpse down.

The sight of a noble lady pulling a cart containing a massive avian monster larger than herself was quite striking.

Though, of course, Liche and Arisa, who had entrusted Yuri with the task, had no idea of her true identity.

In any case, the three returned to the Adventurer’s Guild.

They had successfully completed the Cockatrice extermination request, proving their skills.

But even though the Cockatrice request was done, their work wasn’t over.

There was still one more thing the three had to do.

It was to prepare the secret dish that would defeat Kurt, a personal matter for Liche.

And the two who had willingly offered to help with Liche’s personal matter.

Though, of course, their “help” amounted to little more than taste-testing the dish, so it wasn’t exactly a grand gesture.

In any case, Liche took the Cockatrice meat she had entrusted to the Adventurer’s Guild for preparation and headed into the kitchen.

After a while, Liche emerged from the kitchen with a tense expression and placed the dish on the table.

Clatter.

“It’s a Chicken Steak made from Cockatrice breast.”

It was a Chicken Steak, grilled to a mouth-watering perfection.

Though the main ingredient wasn’t chicken, the skin on the steak’s surface was crispy, chewy, and perfectly rendered, just like chicken.

The skin, coated with the oil that had seeped out during grilling, shimmered with an orange reflection under the guild’s lanterns, gleaming brilliantly.

Even without tasting it, one could confidently say that the skin alone would be a delicacy.

“Gulp…….”

“Th-this…… looks delicious.”

The aroma of herbs followed.

True to her skill as a cook, Liche had meticulously prepared the meat to remove any gamey smell.

Instead of any unpleasant odor, the steak emitted a light, savory aroma of poultry, mixed with the scent of spices, stimulating the appetite.

“Here. Arisa, Yuri. Please eat before it gets cold.”

“Ah, okay.”

“Th-then, I’ll…….”

The two, who had been staring blankly at the beautifully gleaming Chicken Steak, quickly snapped out of it at Liche’s urging and began to slowly pick up their forks and knives to cut into the steak.

Slice, slice.

As they cut into the Chicken Steak, the perfectly cooked interior greeted them.

As expected from the well-grilled exterior, the inside was also cooked to perfection, with no undercooked spots.

Even though grilling the surface well is one thing, cooking the inside evenly is another matter entirely. Yet, Liche had managed to grill both the exterior and interior to an exceptional level.

Seeing the cross-section of the steak, the two couldn’t hold back any longer and quickly took a bite.

Haaap.

Chew, chew.

The crispy texture of the chicken skin was just as they had imagined from the first glance.

But the crispiness of the skin was only momentary.

Soon, the collagen-rich chicken skin created a unique, chewy, and slightly melting texture that clung subtly to the mouth.

And the rich, savory flavor of the chicken skin.

That flavor, combined with the salt and pepper used to season the steak, created a taste that couldn’t be found in beef or pork.

It was a special flavor unique to poultry meat, rich in collagen.

And then, the taste of the meat itself was unmistakably that of the Cockatrice.

The flavor of the Cockatrice exploded in their mouths.

The Cockatrice, with its appearance far removed from birds of prey and more like a mix between a chicken and a duck, had a taste that was similarly a blend of chicken and duck.

The light, savory flavor of chicken and the rich, umami-packed chewiness of duck.

The Cockatrice Steak carried both flavors.

The heat control during grilling was perfect.

The seasoning with salt, pepper, and herbs was just right—not too much, not too little—eliminating any gamey smell without overpowering the natural flavor.

If the marinade had been slightly weaker, it wouldn’t have fully masked the Cockatrice’s gamey taste. Conversely, if it had been stronger, the flavor of the meat would have been overwhelmed by the spices.

But Liche’s Chicken Steak walked a fine line, perfectly balancing the two flavors.

And so,

“Th-this is delicious! I’ve never had such a tasty Chicken Steak before!”

“Th-this level of quality would surely force even the adventurer you’re opposing to admit defeat!”

The two, having tasted Liche’s cooking, sent positive signals as they continued to slice into the Chicken Steak.

But Liche, who had only taken one bite of the steak, sat frozen in place.

“…No.”

Perhaps sensing that something was off with Liche,

the two, who had been enthusiastically praising the meal, soon turned to look at Liche with puzzled expressions.

“This isn’t the taste!”

“What do you mean!?”

“Wh-what’s wrong with this Chicken Steak……?”

“No! The taste of the dish that adventurer fed me that day wasn’t like this!”

Ignoring the bewildered looks of the two, Liche roughly set down her fork and knife.