Chapter 322

“Finally, the main dish is here!”

“I didn’t even touch the other appetizers just to save room for the main dish!”

“I can still eat twice as much!”

At the news of the main dish’s arrival, everyone at the celebration party lit up with excitement, their eyes fixed on the dish in Kurt’s hands.

After all, it was a dish worthy of the title “main course” at the Inn ‘Red Shell,’ known as the best restaurant in Leila.

It was a fact acknowledged by everyone in Leila that the innkeeper’s cooking skills were exceptional.

However, while acknowledging the innkeeper’s skills, people had a preconceived notion that his signature dish was the Clam Chowder made with explosive clams.

The fame of the Clam Chowder overshadowed the reputation of other dishes, and unintentionally, the innkeeper’s reputation became tied solely to the Clam Chowder.

But today, at this moment.

The dishes presented by the innkeeper at the party celebrating the safe return of the Kraken subjugation team were enough to shatter all their preconceptions.

The numerous party dishes that had been overshadowed by the Clam Chowder.

From the meal menu to the drinking snacks.

From fried dishes to stir-fries.

They were truly diverse, and each one was a delicious dish without any shortcomings.

Thus, the partygoers who tasted these dishes began to wonder if the innkeeper’s cooking skills had been underestimated, having only been recognized for the Clam Chowder until now.

It was as if the innkeeper had been hiding such skills while running the Inn ‘Red Shell’ for so long, or perhaps there had been a sudden, remarkable improvement in his cooking skills over the past year.

In any case, the main dish had arrived.

The main dish of the Inn ‘Red Shell,’ which had already impressed the partygoers with the other party dishes.

Just how much more amazing would the dish be to confidently claim the title of “main course” over all the other delicious foods…?

With such expectations, the partygoers all looked at the large tray Kurt brought out.

And then.

“…Huh?”

“That’s…?”

They all looked at the food on the tray and, as if cold water had been poured on them, were at a loss for words.

The large tray Kurt brought.

The size of the tray was so large that it could feed all the partygoers to their fill and still have leftovers.

It was probably used for banquet dishes like whole roasted pig.

But the important thing wasn’t the tray.

It was the contents of the tray.

“Is this… today’s main dish?”

“That’s a Kraken’s leg, isn’t it!?”

Yes.

What was generously piled on the tray wasn’t a whole roasted pig but a squid leg.

Even just the tip of the Kraken’s leg was much larger than a pig.

The leg that had been attached to the Kraken was served in its original form.

The only saving grace was that the squid leg Kurt brought seemed to have been at least minimally cooked, as it was steaming with a reddish hue.

The overwhelming visual impact left the subjugation team members unsure how to react.

“Ah! Did Kurt cook this?”

“Indeed. I thought it was strange that Kurt didn’t cook anything for such a large gathering, but now it makes sense.”

“This is a dish I’ve never seen before. Kurt! What’s the name of this dish?”

In the already frozen atmosphere, Kurt’s party members each added their own comments.

At their words, the subjugation team members finally began to react.

“A, a dish made by a Lizardman!?”

“What? That Lizardman? The one who eats meat dripping with blood, paired with bitter-tasting grass that hasn’t even been properly cleaned?”

“Entrusting the main dish to a Lizardman… Innkeeper, are you out of your mind?”

But having a reaction didn’t mean it was a good one.

The already shocking visual, combined with the fact that cephalopod dishes were unheard of inland, and the chef being Kurt, a Lizardman.

On one hand, the shocking visual of the dish was understandable, but at the same time, an even stronger shock began to spread among the subjugation team members.

“Ah! What a shame! I wanted to try the main dish, but I’ve already eaten too much of the other dishes!”

“I, I really like this crab croquet!”

“A dish made by a Lizardman! I’ll have to eat something else!”

“Ahem…!”

Some adventurers and soldiers, mindful of Kurt’s presence, tried to phrase their refusal politely, while others quietly coughed and averted their gaze.

They each expressed it differently, but they all shared a common rejection of the main dish Kurt had brought.

“K, Kraken… Do coastal people really eat dishes like that?”

“Ugh… Of all things, a cephalopod. Last time it was the Abnormal Bird dish, and now this. Does Kurt have to cook every monster he hunts?”

“Come to think of it, I heard something before. Hunters from the western continent believe that by consuming their prey, they absorb its soul and power. Maybe Lizardmen have a similar culture?”

“…I’ve never heard of that.”

Even Bram and his group, who respected Kurt and knew his cooking skills, were appalled by the fact that Kraken was used as an ingredient.

In a way, it was a very rude thing to do, but considering the notorious reputation of Lizardmen’s taste buds and the unfamiliarity of squid as an ingredient inland, it was somewhat understandable.

Kraken, an almost uncooked appearance, a dish made by a Lizardman.

Each element alone would divide opinions, but all three combined?

But Kurt seemed indifferent to the subjugation team’s attitude.

His demeanor suggested he didn’t care about others’ opinions, as if confident that once they tasted his dish, it would all be meaningless.

“Kraken dish! I wonder what it tastes like! Kurt! Give me a plate!”

“I can’t even imagine. I’ll have some too.”

“Then me too! Ah, but how do you eat this?”

“Me too, please!”

“Wait a moment. I’ll cut it into portions first.”

Meanwhile, the ones who wanted his dish were his original party members: Mari, Karina, Serena, and the carefree Marin.

The four of them, ignoring the atmosphere, eagerly asked for the dish, and the other subjugation team members watched them as if they were looking at some incomprehensible creatures.

“Do they really think that dish looks delicious?”

“Maybe they’ve been adventuring with a Lizardman for so long that their taste buds have changed to a Lizardman’s level…”

“Hmm… If that’s true, it’s a bit scary.”

As the other partygoers watched them with curiosity, the atmosphere in the inn’s hall shifted to one of interest, as everyone stopped chatting and watched their seemingly reckless challenge with fascination.

Amidst the many gazes.

Kurt prepared plates for the four and then lifted a carving knife.

The Kraken’s leg, despite being cooked, began to be sliced as easily as tofu.

And at that moment.

As Kurt’s carving knife cut through the Kraken’s leg, the hidden contents inside began to reveal themselves.

What appeared to be simply a steamed leg, when split open, revealed something no one had imagined.

After cutting through the first few centimeters of Kraken meat, something entirely different in color, tightly packed, began to emerge, like the boundary between land and sea.

Overall brown, but inside, red and green speckles of colorful contents.

No one had imagined such a thing would be inside, so realizing its identity was inevitably delayed.

Thus, the subjugation team members only realized what it was after the savory and salty flavors of meat and vegetables reached them.

“That’s… minced meat and vegetables…?”

“Why is that in there?”

Murmurs spread.

Only then did the subjugation team members realize that the Kraken’s leg Kurt had brought wasn’t just a simple boiled leg.

“Come to think of it, we asked for the name of this dish earlier, right?”

Yes.

“The name of this dish is Kraken Sausage.”

What they thought was simply a giant squid’s boiled leg was, in fact, a squid sausage, with the inside of the Kraken’s leg hollowed out and filled with various vegetables, meat, and other dishes.

Except the ingredient was Kraken.