Chapter 115

The octopus yokai skillfully sliced off one of its own legs with a sharp knife, cutting it into very thin pieces. It clearly wasn’t their first time doing this.

【Maou Guburi】─?

【Handsome Licker】─Lick lick?

【Yoho】─Huh?

【Big Girl】─???

【Drifting AI】─I am questioning this.

【Meng Yao】─Ouch. That looks super painful.

【Se-hoon Defense Team】─Wow, that scared me. What the hell is that octopus doing?

【Min Ji】─They must’ve lost their mind…

【Qkrnfl892】─What’s this? A self-harm show?

【Balloon Gum Collector】─Wow! They’re slicing their own flesh!

【Maid】─Wow! What a crazy b*tch!

【Reverse Rape Mania】─Maehwa, why are they like that?

【Maehwa Tree】─Dunno. Probably just a lunatic.

The octopus yokai raised the knife with a piece of flesh still attached, furrowed its brows, and examined it closely.

［Hmm.］

Perhaps satisfied with the cleanly sliced flesh, the yokai smiled contentedly and lightly swung the knife toward the plate.

［One piece first!］

*Plop!*

A piece of octopus flesh stuck to the plate.

【Handsome Licker】─One piece. Confirmed.

【Min Ji】─Ugh… That’s grotesque…

【Maou Guburi】─Are they seriously expecting us to eat that? What a psycho.

【Balloon Gum Collector】─Wow! That’s gotta taste awful!

【Maid】─Wow! It’s probably gonna smell terrible!

【Big Girl】─Hmm. At least it’s technically octopus sashimi…

【Drifting AI】─I declare. I did not anticipate this development.

The octopus yokai’s antics continued.

They thinly sliced their own arm.

Threw the pieces onto the plate for plating…

After repeating this dozens of times…

［Here! One serving of octopus sashimi!］

The plate was now piled high with the octopus yokai’s flesh.

The yokai slid the plate toward me and said:

［Please, enjoy! It will suit your taste perfectly!］

【Maou Guburi】─You eat it, you damn freak.

【Se-hoon Defense Team】─Se-hoon, let’s just not eat this and go somewhere else.

【Maehwa Tree】─Yeah, don’t eat it. Something feels off.

【Reverse Rape Mania】─Are we having steamed dishes?

【Maehwa Tree】─Just shut up.

【Reverse Rape Mania】─Okay.

【Maou Guburi】─This bald octopus-headed freak is trying to serve some messed-up food.

【Balloon Gum Collector】─Wow. Why’s Guburi freaking out? Didn’t they just say they’d eat yokai sashimi earlier?

【Maou Guburi】─That was just talk, you idiot.

【Qkrnfl892】─A yokai that feeds itself to humans instead of eating them… This is rare.

【Min Ji】─Not rare at all.

【Big Girl】─Didn’t they say humans sometimes visit this restaurant? They must just eat this stuff and leave.

【Drifting AI】─I declare. It’s highly likely they ran away without eating.

“……”

I was utterly baffled.

I had expected regular octopus sashimi.

I never imagined they’d serve their own body.

‘…Should I just not eat it, like the viewers said?’

I couldn’t help but hesitate.

This yokai may look like an octopus, but it’s not a real octopus.

Of course, the sashimi looked normal.

If I hadn’t seen the preparation process, I would’ve eaten it without a second thought.

‘I’d rather decline, but… refusing food made by someone who went through the trouble of slicing their own body would be rude.’

As I pondered whether to eat it or not, silently staring at the plate, the octopus yokai spoke up.

［Why aren’t you eating? Is there something wrong with the food…? Oh, is it because there’s no chili paste? I’ll bring it right away!］

The octopus yokai hurriedly brought the chili paste.

They seemed completely oblivious to the real issue.

“The lack of chili paste isn’t the problem… There’s a more fundamental issue…”

［A fundamental issue? Are you worried about hygiene? Don’t worry, I washed my body thoroughly! Please, eat up!］

Under the yokai’s urging, I reluctantly picked up my chopsticks.

But since I hadn’t made up my mind yet, I decided to buy some time by asking another question.

“By the way, doesn’t it hurt when you cut your body with a knife?”

［The areas I cut don’t feel pain. Plus, they regenerate quickly. Haha.］

I glanced at the yokai’s arm.

It was indeed regenerating rapidly.

［Oh, but if I get injured repeatedly, the regeneration slows down. So I can only serve up to 10 servings a day. Please keep that in mind.］

【Maou Guburi】─I wouldn’t even eat one serving, let alone 10, you octopus freak.

【Balloon Gum Collector】─Wow. Getting ahead of yourself, huh? LOL.

【Handsome Licker】─Is it really okay to eat that? Lick lick.

【Yoho】─It’s probably fine, right? Even Maehwa’s junior, the cat, ate it.

【Qkrnfl892】─Maehwa, ask your junior if they ate that stuff.

【Maehwa Tree】─I tried calling, but they’re not answering. Probably napping.

【Drifting AI】─I declare. I recommend feeding it to the yokai first.

I decided to think about it a little more.

***

In the end, I decided to try it.

At least I confirmed there was nothing wrong with the food.

Just moments ago, the octopus yokai had said, “Are you worried there’s something wrong with the food? Absolutely not, see!” and demonstrated by eating a piece themselves.

“Then, for the first bite, I’ll try it without chili paste…”

【Yoho】─How is it? Tasty?

【Maou Guburi】─They haven’t even put it in their mouth yet, you idiot.

I placed a piece of octopus sashimi on my tongue.

As I slowly chewed to savor the flavor…

［Haaah!］

The octopus yokai standing beside me twisted their body and let out a moan.

With an expression of pure ecstasy.

【Yoho】─What’s wrong with them?

【Qkrnfl892】─Why’s that octopus suddenly moaning?

【Maou Guburi】─Disgusting freak.

【Min Ji】─Ugh. Gross.

【Reverse Rape Mania】─Maehwa, why are all these yokai so weird?

【Maehwa Tree】─Nah.

At first, I ignored it.

But the more I chewed…

［Hah! Haaah! Heeek!］

【Maou Guburi】─Shut up already.

【Handsome Licker】─So annoying. Spit spit.

【Min Ji】─Why do they keep doing that? I feel like throwing up.

【Drifting AI】─I declare. I demand that someone immediately shut that octopus’s mouth.

The octopus yokai’s moans grew even more intense.

At this point, it was impossible to ignore.

I swallowed the sashimi I was chewing and spoke to the yokai.

“Excuse me.”

［Heeek?］

“…Are these flesh pieces still connected to your nerves or something?”

［Huh? No, of course not. The nerves aren’t connected. They’ve already been separated from my body, right?］

“Then why are you making those weird noises? It’s unpleasant to listen to.”

［Oh, that’s…］

The octopus yokai awkwardly scratched the back of their head and continued.

［Actually, all the yokai working at this restaurant have… unique tastes. We get excited and feel pleasure when our bodies are eaten, haha… That’s why we serve the food for free.］

【Drifting AI】─I am questioning this?

【Se-hoon Defense Team】─Insane.

【Meng Yao】─Oh wow…

【Maid】─Wow! Such unique tastes!

【Balloon Gum Collector】─Wow! The guests eat for free, and the staff fulfills their desires by serving food! This is true mutual benefit!

【Qkrnfl892】─What mutual benefit? WTF.

【Maou Guburi】─Damn, these are some extreme perverts. What kind of psycho fish are these?

【Min Ji】─Eww! So gross! Bleh!!!

【Yoho】─Min Ji, your language is gross too.

【Maehwa Tree】─I want to go exorcise them right now.

【Reverse Rape Mania】─In a way, their tastes are similar to mine.

【Handsome Licker】─Not similar at all. Spit spit.

【Qkrnfl892】─Why didn’t the cat exorcist exorcise these freaks and just leave?

【Big Girl】─Cats like fish, after all.

［If it made you uncomfortable, I sincerely apologize.］

The octopus yokai bowed deeply in apology.

Seeing that, my discomfort eased a bit.

“…Well, everyone has their own tastes, so I’ll try to understand. But please keep the moaning to a minimum. It’s distracting while I’m eating.”

［Thank you for understanding. I’ll try to restrain the moaning.］

【Maou Guburi】─They didn’t say they’d stop moaning, huh?

I decided to respect their tastes.

The food was free, after all.

And the octopus yokai seemed genuinely sorry for their unusual preferences.

***

［Hah! Heeek! Eh-heung!］

【Qkrnfl892】─Se-hoon, this restaurant is weird…

【Maou Guburi】─If I learn magic, I’m coming back to teach these freaks a lesson.

I finished all the octopus sashimi.

At the same time, the octopus yokai’s moaning stopped.

［Phew… How was the meal, guest?］

【Min Ji】─Would you be okay with that?

【Maou Guburi】─Damn, they’re shamelessly asking.

The octopus yokai asked with a satisfied expression.

I nodded and replied.

“Yes. It was the best sashimi I’ve ever had.”

【Maou Guburi】─Don’t lie. WTF.

【Yoho】─Huh. Was it really good?

【Min Ji】─You thought that was tasty? Amazing!

【Maou Guburi】─Amazing my ass. I’ll smash their head.

【Se-hoon Defense Team】─Unexpected.

【Handsome Licker】─You kept shoving it in your mouth without a word. I thought you were just trying to finish it quickly and run. Lick lick.

【Balloon Gum Collector】─Wow! Are you just being polite?

【Maid】─Wow! Gyesekkihoon pretending to have manners!

【Big Girl】─It doesn’t seem like a lie. You really seemed to enjoy it.

【Drifting AI】─I declare. I speculate that the taste was average. It only seemed good because your expectations were low.

It wasn’t an empty compliment.

If I hadn’t seen the preparation process, I would’ve praised it highly.

It wasn’t exceptionally special, but the texture was incomparable to other sashimi.

It was fresh, straight from the source, and not fishy at all. I really liked it.

As expected, you have to try food yourself to know.

［Haha. I’m glad you enjoyed it! Then, shall we serve another round of octopus sashimi…?］

［Wait!］

Suddenly, another yokai cut in and interrupted the octopus yokai.

It was the yokai who had been eyeing the octopus yokai enviously earlier.

［Why are you serving octopus sashimi again? You’ve already served one portion, so be satisfied and let us have a turn!］

［Right! Fish!］

［Give us a turn, Fish!］

The other yokai joined in, shouting.

The octopus yokai awkwardly coughed, took a step back, and gave in.

［Ahem… I was just trying to serve the guest more since they liked it, but you guys are so noisy…］

After that, the other yokai crowded around my table.

With eyes full of desire, they stared at me and said:

［We were deeply impressed by how elegantly and deliciously you ate the octopus sashimi! Could you give us a chance to be eaten too?］

［Me too! I don’t usually serve to guests who eat messily, but… I’d even serve my head to someone like you!］

【Maou Guburi】─This is overwhelming.

［How about salmon for the next dish?］

［Salmon isn’t that tasty, guest. Mackerel is better.］

［Skate is delicious too! Fish! Eat it, Fish!］

【Reverse Rape Mania】─Eat me too!

［Fishy… Octopus is tasty too… You don’t have to eat a whole portion, just one bite…］

The yokai surrounded me, knives in hand, begging to be eaten.