Chapter 353

Early the next morning, the mist had yet to completely clear from Alcanretia.

Haruto brought Kagura and Kanna to the largest carriage dealer in the city. Rather than purchase an entire carriage, he selected a sturdy oak carriage with a well-built frame.

Afterward, he opened the Gourmet Restaurant, and a Rapidash stepped out.

The Pokémon affectionately rubbed its head against Haruto.

"All right. I’m counting on you."

Haruto patted Rapidash on the head before harnessing it to the carriage.

As Rapidash pulled the carriage through the streets of Alcanretia, it immediately attracted the attention of everyone they passed.

Pedestrians stopped to stare at the horse with its blazing mane, pointing and whispering among themselves.

Fortunately, creatures even stranger than Rapidash were hardly uncommon in the world of KonoSuba.

Most people simply gave it a few curious looks before continuing on their way. Nobody panicked or tried to surround them, saving Haruto quite a bit of trouble.

By the time the carriage pulled up outside the Axis Cathedral, Cecily was already waiting at the entrance with an enormous bundle strapped to her back, standing on tiptoe as she looked down the street.

The sight of Rapidash pulling their carriage immediately caught her attention.

After staring at it in amazement for a moment, Cecily recovered and waved excitedly.

"Haruto-san! Kagura! Little Kanna! Over here!"

Haruto and the others approached.

His gaze fell on the enormous bundle beside Cecily, and he raised an eyebrow.

"Cecily, did you pack your entire house?"

Cecily pouted and patted her luggage as though his question were ridiculous.

"Of course not! I just brought some everyday necessities and a few Axis Cult membership applications."

Haruto slowly examined the enormous bundle.

The corner of his mouth twitched.

He strongly suspected that her so-called necessities occupied less than a tenth of the available space.

The rest was probably stuffed with Axis Cult membership applications.

After all, recruiting new believers was practically a sacred duty for these people.

Just then, Zesta emerged from the cathedral with a large crowd of followers.

Cecily’s mission this time was to travel to Axel and search for Lady Aqua, so naturally, the cult was taking her departure very seriously.

"Cecily!"

Zesta shouted as he hurried over.

He stopped in front of her and began delivering instructions with an unusually solemn expression.

"Be careful on the road! Don’t forget your mission, and remember to pray to Lady Aqua every single day!"

Then his expression brightened.

"And most importantly, you absolutely must find a way to recruit those three!"

He looked toward Haruto, Kagura, and Kanna with eyes full of anticipation.

Haruto completely ignored him.

Instead, he stepped forward, casually lifted Cecily’s enormous bundle with one hand, and placed it inside the carriage.

He dusted off his hands.

"All right. Let’s get going."

Kagura and Kanna immediately jumped into the carriage.

Seeing that everyone was ready, Cecily hurriedly waved goodbye to Zesta and the assembled believers.

"I’m off! Don’t worry, I’ll definitely complete my mission!"

With that, she climbed into the carriage and found herself a seat.

"Let’s go, Rapidash."

Haruto climbed into the driver’s seat and gently patted the Pokémon.

"Next stop, Axel!"

Rapidash let out an excited neigh and reared up, raising its front hooves before bringing them down firmly.

The carriage immediately accelerated, its wheels rattling across the stone-paved road as they departed.

Zesta and the other followers remained outside the cathedral, waving enthusiastically.

Only after the carriage had completely disappeared down the street did they reluctantly return inside.

Once the carriage passed through Alcanretia’s gates, the bustling city quickly gave way to open countryside.

A winding dirt road stretched ahead, eventually disappearing into the distant horizon.

Endless green grasslands extended along both sides, dotted with colorful wildflowers. Whenever the breeze passed over them, waves rippled through the grass, carrying the refreshing scents of earth and greenery.

Rapidash maintained an impressive speed, yet its movements were remarkably smooth. The passengers could barely feel the carriage bouncing.

At first, Cecily enthusiastically leaned against the carriage window and admired the scenery.

After a while, however, she grew bored and settled against the interior wall, gradually dozing off.

They continued along the dirt road for most of the morning.

By the time the sun approached its highest point, the air had grown noticeably hotter.

Just then, Rapidash, which had maintained a steady pace throughout the journey, suddenly came to an abrupt halt.

Its ears stood alert as it released a low warning neigh toward the open ground ahead. Its fiery mane flared slightly, and the temperature around its body rose.

"What happened?"

The sudden stop jolted Cecily awake.

She rubbed her eyes and looked toward Haruto in confusion.

"Monsters. Nothing particularly strong, though."

Haruto answered casually.

Then, with barely concealed enthusiasm, he jumped down from the carriage so quickly that his movements almost left an afterimage.

Almost the instant his feet touched the ground, the earth ahead began violently swelling.

Seven or eight gigantic earthworms burst from beneath the surface.

Each was more than two meters thick and over ten meters long.

Their enormous bodies were pale pinkish-white, and their front ends opened into circular mouths lined with viciously sharp fangs.

They were thoroughly unpleasant creatures to look at.

Upon spotting Haruto, the giant earthworms twisted their massive bodies and lunged toward him.

Cecily poked her head out of the carriage and examined the emerging monsters.

"Oh, they’re just low-level monsters. Giant Earthworms!"

She wrinkled her nose in disgust.

Their appearance certainly wasn’t doing them any favors.

But before she could say anything else, Haruto began weaving between the enormous creatures.

He moved so quickly that Cecily could barely distinguish his figure from a blurry black shadow.

He didn’t even bother drawing a weapon.

Instead, he casually struck out with several palm attacks.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

A succession of heavy impacts rang out.

The Giant Earthworms that had been lunging at him moments earlier released agonized cries before their massive bodies crashed to the ground, throwing up clouds of dust.

Within seconds, all seven or eight creatures lay scattered across the clearing, completely lifeless.

After disposing of them, Haruto approached the largest earthworm and crouched beside it.

He gently placed his right hand against its cold, slimy body.

The Gourmet Restaurant’s ability quietly activated.

Information about the creature immediately flooded his mind, revealing everything from its muscular structure and nutritional composition to the most suitable cooking methods.

After a moment, Haruto withdrew his hand and nodded in satisfaction.

Although these Giant Earthworms were undeniably ugly, they spent most of their lives underground, feeding on mineral-rich soil and plant roots.

As a result, their flesh was exceptionally firm and pleasantly chewy.

Better still, it lacked the unpleasant earthy smell normally associated with earthworms, making it an excellent ingredient for grilling.

Haruto looked up at the sky.

The sun was now almost directly overhead, its golden rays beating down on the surrounding grassland.

"We’ll continue after lunch."

He looked back toward the carriage.

Hearing that, Kagura and Kanna immediately jumped down and began making preparations with practiced efficiency.

Cecily reluctantly followed them.

She was just about to ask what they would be eating when she noticed an enormous kitchen knife suddenly appear in Haruto’s hand.

He placed the blade against one of the Giant Earthworms.

"...?"

Cecily stared.

A terrible suspicion suddenly arose in her mind.

She swallowed nervously before asking in a trembling voice, "Y-You’re not planning to eat those Giant Earthworms, are you? Seriously? They look disgusting!"

"What’s wrong with them?"

Haruto gave her a puzzled glance without interrupting his work.

With a smooth turn of his wrist, the enormous kitchen knife traced an elegant arc through the air and sliced lengthwise through the Giant Earthworm.

He then used the tip of the blade to remove its internal organs and digestive tract, which contained a powerful earthy odor and needed to be discarded completely.

Next, he scraped away the remaining membranes and blood vessels, since leaving them attached would negatively affect the texture.

Once that was finished, Haruto cut a section more than a meter long from the thickest, meatiest part of the creature’s body.

He stored the remaining sections, along with the other Giant Earthworms, inside the Gourmet Restaurant for later use.

Haruto then brought out some coarse flour he had prepared earlier and sprinkled it evenly across the exposed meat.

Using both hands, he began vigorously massaging the flour into its surface.

The flour absorbed the remaining mucus and impurities while helping eliminate any lingering earthy odor.

Before long, the flesh, which had originally been unpleasantly slick, became noticeably cleaner and drier.

Cecily watched his preparations in disbelief.

She turned toward Kagura and Kanna, intending to say something, only to discover that Kagura had already started a roaring charcoal fire.

She was gently fanning the coals to help them burn evenly.

Kanna, meanwhile, was busy assembling the barbecue grill beside her.

Both moved with practiced efficiency.

Clearly, cooking and eating ingredients that looked this strange had long since become perfectly ordinary to them.

Cecily fell silent.

After massaging the meat with flour for approximately three minutes, Haruto thoroughly rinsed it several times.

With the remaining mucus and impurities removed, the Giant Earthworm meat had become a much more appealing shade of pink, its surface displaying an attractive sheen.

He dried the cleaned meat with a fresh cloth before taking out several long metal skewers.

Carefully threading them through the meat from one end to the other, he secured each section to prevent it from twisting or deforming during grilling.

Meanwhile, Kagura had already adjusted the charcoal to the ideal temperature.

The glowing red coals produced no open flames, only a steady, consistent heat.

It was exactly what Haruto wanted for barbecue.

He arranged the skewered Giant Earthworm meat on the grill, positioning it approximately twenty centimeters above the charcoal.

Sssss—!

The meat immediately began sizzling as it touched the hot grill.

Transparent juices gradually emerged from its surface and dripped onto the glowing coals, sending up thin curls of smoke carrying a surprisingly appetizing meaty fragrance.

As the meat continued cooking, its color slowly changed from pale pink to light brown.

Its surface began contracting slightly as the heat worked its way through the muscle fibers, releasing an increasingly noticeable roasted aroma.

Haruto took out a bottle of his specially prepared barbecue sauce, which he had previously blended from a variety of spices and seasonings.

He dipped a brush generously into the sauce and began coating every side of the skewers.

The moment the barbecue sauce touched the scorching meat, an even richer fragrance rose from the grill.

The complex aroma of the seasonings intertwined with the meat’s natural savoriness, producing a mouthwatering scent that was becoming increasingly difficult to resist.

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