Chapter 354

Haruto continuously rotated the skewers, brushing the meat with barbecue sauce three times throughout the grilling process.

As the heat worked its way into the meat, the sauce gradually penetrated the muscle fibers. The flesh slowly turned an appetizing reddish-brown, its surface developing a glossy sheen as the glaze caramelized.

The rich aroma spread across the surrounding grassland.

Kagura and Kanna watched the grill intently, anticipation written across their faces.

Cecily, meanwhile, stood nearby with her brows furrowed, still looking thoroughly opposed to the idea of eating Giant Earthworms.

But as the fragrance grew stronger, her nose began twitching almost involuntarily.

Gulp.

She swallowed.

She knew perfectly well where the meat had come from, but the aroma was simply too tempting. No matter how hard she tried, her eyes kept drifting back toward the skewers on the grill.

Another two minutes passed.

Once the exterior had developed a beautifully crisp crust and rendered fat began dripping steadily onto the charcoal, Haruto swiftly removed the skewers and transferred them to a clean cutting board.

Using his kitchen knife, he cut the grilled Giant Earthworm meat into evenly sized pieces roughly as large as his palm.

The exposed surfaces revealed tightly packed muscle fibers, with steam rising from the meat and juices glistening along every cut.

He neatly arranged the pieces on a serving platter, drizzled them with another layer of sauce, and finished with a light scattering of white sesame seeds.

"Charcoal-Grilled Giant Earthworm Skewers, ready!"

Haruto placed the platter on the picnic blanket they had spread across the ground and dusted off his hands.

"Come on, everyone. Give it a try."

He calmly picked up a fork, speared a piece of Giant Earthworm meat, and took a bite.

Crunch!

The first sensation was the crisp exterior. Perfectly grilled, the surface carried a delicate charred fragrance and broke apart easily between his teeth.

Then his teeth sank into the firm, elastic flesh beneath.

The meat was pleasantly chewy without being tough, offering just enough resistance to make every bite satisfying.

Rich juices burst into his mouth, while the Giant Earthworm’s natural savoriness blended perfectly with the barbecue sauce’s balance of sweetness, saltiness, and spice.

The flavors unfolded across his tongue in distinct layers.

The charcoal also contributed a subtle smokiness that gave the dish an entirely different character and left a lingering, appetizing finish.

Haruto nodded in satisfaction.

The Giant Earthworm’s texture was even better than he had anticipated. It genuinely was an excellent ingredient for barbecue.

Beside him, Kagura and Kanna picked up their forks and began eating as well.

Satisfied expressions soon appeared on both their faces.

Cecily watched the three of them enjoying the meat while the irresistible aroma continued drifting toward her.

A fierce struggle began inside her.

On one side was her disgust at the Giant Earthworm’s appearance.

On the other was the overwhelming temptation of the food in front of her.

In the end, appetite won.

Cecily swallowed, cautiously picked up her fork, and speared a piece of meat.

She squeezed her eyes shut and bit down decisively.

The next second, her eyes flew open.

Disbelief spread across her face.

’This... this is delicious!’

The exterior was charred and crisp, while the meat inside was astonishingly tender and juicy.

Its resilient texture became more flavorful the longer she chewed.

The rich barbecue sauce coated every strand of meat, balancing saltiness and sweetness with exactly the right amount of heat.

There was none of the earthy or unpleasant flavor Cecily had imagined.

Instead, the meat possessed a faint and distinctive sweetness of its own.

Layers of flavor continued spreading through her mouth, bombarding her taste buds from every direction.

Cecily immediately began eating in huge bites.

With her cheeks stuffed full, she mumbled, "S-So good! I never knew Giant Earthworms could taste this amazing!"

"Haruto-san, you’re an incredible cook!"

Haruto smiled faintly at the sight of her devouring the food she had been refusing only minutes earlier.

Before long, the entire platter of Giant Earthworm meat had been cleaned out.

Cecily even used pieces of bread to wipe up every last trace of sauce left on the plate.

Once she had eaten her fill, she leaned back with a blissful expression and rubbed her round stomach.

After cleaning everything up, the four returned to the carriage.

"All right. Let’s keep going."

Rapidash neighed and set off once more, pulling the carriage along the road.

Inside, Cecily continued reminiscing about the grilled Giant Earthworm.

At the same time, she silently made a firm decision.

She absolutely had to get Haruto to join the Axis Cult!

If she succeeded, maybe she could eat food this delicious every day!

Lady Aqua would surely bless her efforts!

Haruto had no idea what she was thinking.

At the moment, he was sitting at the front of the carriage and looking eagerly toward both sides of the road.

Unfortunately, the entire afternoon passed without a single worthwhile low-level monster appearing.

"That’s strange."

Haruto scratched his head.

"I thought this road was supposed to have plenty of monsters."

He had not spoken particularly loudly, but Cecily still heard him from inside the carriage.

She poked her head out and looked at him in confusion.

"Haruto-san, are you actually hoping we run into monsters? Most people would be thrilled if the whole journey stayed peaceful."

Haruto turned around and answered as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Of course I want to encounter monsters. Monsters mean new ingredients to try."

"Don’t you think traveling around and tasting monsters you’ve never eaten before sounds incredibly satisfying?"

Cecily fell silent.

"..."

There was no question about it.

Haruto was definitely not a normal person.

Then again, that was exactly the kind of "talent" the Axis Cult needed!

Cecily became even more determined to recruit all three of them.

The sun gradually sank toward the horizon, painting the sky brilliant shades of orange and red.

The distant horizon glowed gold beneath the sunset, while the wind sweeping across the grassland became pleasantly cool.

Eventually, night completely settled in and countless stars appeared overhead.

Still, not a single monster willingly approached them.

Haruto finally gave up.

He sighed and slumped against the driver’s seat.

"Forget it. We’ll camp here tonight."

Just as the four began preparing their tents, a faint noise suddenly came from the distant night sky.

Moments later, a large mass of dark shapes flew toward them.

As they drew closer, the creatures began circling above the carriage, apparently searching for an opportunity to attack.

"Giant Bats!"

Cecily cried out and immediately hid behind Haruto.

Each bat was more than a meter long, with a wingspan approaching two meters. Their eyes glowed red in the darkness, giving them a particularly menacing appearance.

Haruto looked up.

Instead of excitement, disappointment spread across his face.

"Tch. Just these things."

He could not even be bothered to attack.

Haruto simply released a tiny amount of pressure.

An invisible presence descended upon the circling bats like something tangible.

The Giant Bats reacted as if they had suddenly encountered their natural predator.

They screamed in terror, immediately turned around, and fled into the distance, disappearing into the darkness within seconds.

"All right. Problem solved."

Haruto dusted off his hands and went back to setting up the tents.

"Let’s get some sleep. Hopefully we’ll find something worth eating tomorrow."

Cecily stared at his back in amazement.

Although the pressure Haruto had released had not been directed at her, she had still vaguely sensed it.

Only now did Cecily realize that Haruto might be far stronger than she had initially imagined.

The next morning, the first rays of sunlight had barely broken across the horizon when the four packed everything away and resumed their journey.

The early-morning grasslands carried a slight chill, while the air was fresh with the scents of grass and dew.

Rapidash ran energetically along the road.

Haruto sat at the front as usual, constantly scanning the surrounding wilderness.

They had been traveling for less than two hours when Haruto suddenly narrowed his eyes.

A massive cloud of dust had risen along the distant horizon and was rapidly approaching them.

"Hmm?"

Haruto straightened and focused his attention ahead.

As the distance closed, the silhouettes inside the dust cloud gradually became clear.

They were enormous bird-like monsters.

Each stood more than two meters tall, with an ostrich-like body but the head of a hawk or falcon, complete with a sharp beak and powerful claws.

Their thick, muscular legs carried them across the ground at extraordinary speed.

More than a hundred were charging together, creating such an impressive stampede that the earth itself trembled faintly beneath them.

"I think these monsters are called Running Hawks."

Haruto rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"So they’re doing their ’test-of-courage race.’"

"During breeding season, male Running Hawks search for the hardest thing they can find, charge straight toward it at full speed, then veer away at the very last moment before impact."

A smile gradually appeared on Haruto’s face.

His current physical durability had long since surpassed ordinary stone and steel.

Even the scales of a dragon might not necessarily be harder than his body.

And as the Running Hawks continued approaching, Haruto could clearly sense that every one of them had fixed its attention directly on him.

"So I really am the target."

Haruto chuckled and jumped down from the carriage.

He stood in the center of the dirt road, watching the rapidly approaching flock with eager anticipation.

More than a hundred Running Hawks thundered toward him like a living flood.

Their eyes burned with excitement as they accelerated even further.

Fifty meters.

Thirty.

Ten—

At that exact moment, Haruto extended his right hand and swept it lightly through the air.

A passage into the Gourmet Restaurant opened directly in front of him.

The Running Hawk at the front was already sprinting at full speed and had no chance to react.

It charged straight through the opening.

The others followed immediately behind it, one after another, without a single bird slowing down.

In barely a dozen seconds, more than a hundred Running Hawks had all rushed directly into the Gourmet Restaurant.

Haruto casually waved his hand and closed the passage.

Then he dusted off his palms with a satisfied sigh.

"If every ingredient I find from now on could be this cooperative, that’d be great. It’d save me the trouble of catching them myself."

Inside the carriage, Cecily stared at everything that had just happened with her mouth hanging open.

She already knew Haruto possessed an enormous storage space capable of holding tremendous amounts of material.

But she had never imagined it was this large.

Yesterday, storing seven or eight Giant Earthworms more than ten meters long had already seemed ridiculous.

And now he had casually swallowed up more than a hundred Running Hawks, each over two meters tall, all at once.

Despite her shock, Cecily had no intention of asking questions.