Chapter 587 – Strange Mineral

It was a busy day at Claw and Tail, but Kanae's party didn't wait long before a table opened up to accommodate them. Qoro rocked back and forth with excitement, anticipating their lunch. For him, this would be the first meal from his birthland since childhood.

Kanae sometimes craved traditional Japanese cuisine. The feeling resurfaced every now and then. She missed the taste of soy sauce on a meal, the savory aroma of curry, and being able to wash down a mouthful with a gulp of miso soup. But with every passing year, her taste buds forget little by little.

That feeling, however, suddenly came back in force as waiters carried over giant platters of seafood. The tray was so large that it took five men to slide it onto the table. Crabs, lobster, shrimp, clams, and more were drenched in an array of spices and seasoning that made everyone salivate.

"I do not expect mainlanders to have had seafood made this way. Please, enjoy!" The elven chef bowed.

As if on cue, everyone around the table reached in with their bare hands to grab something. Kanae pulled out a whole fried crab, twisted the leg to pull out the meat, and started digging in. The tender meat tasted heavenly. It carried the subtle seasoning absorbed through the shell, slightly spicy and very buttery.

To Kanae's left, Vestrid yanked out a lobster as large as her arm. She tore the meaty tail off and breathed fire on it until the shell turned nearly black and brittle, then shoved the whole thing into her mouth. Kanae winced at the chip-like crunch after every bite.

"Aren't you eating charcoal at that point?" Kanae asked.

"Hm? Not even close. The shell's burnt, yeah. But the meat? Scorching hot just how I like it." Vestrid licked her fangs and went in for more.

Kanae rubbed her chin. She ripped off every limb of her crab and cracked open the belly. The innards had been cooked to the point of being liquified, leaving behind a steaming yellowish green goop.

"Gross. Just toss that aside. Merely looking at it is destroying my appetite," Hilde said from Kanae's opposite side.

"Now, hold on a minute. Every part of a crab is a delicacy. Watch." Kanae poured some butter and water over it, scooped in some roasted spices from the tray, and tapped Vestrid on the shoulder. "Could I borrow your flame breath on low heat?"

Vestrid eyed the turned over crab head and quickly caught on. She puckered her lips, and breathed out the thinnest flame possible over the concoction. Kanae signalled her to stop just as the juices began to simmer, then mixed the contents with a spoon. With the exception of Motta, the others around the table watched with a hint of skepticism.

When Kanae gulped down the broth, she shuddered as if on the verge of an orgasm.

"I feel like I'm going to cum." Kanae sighed blissfully.

Nearby patrons overheard and choked on their food.

"I don't trust you." Petyr glared while eating with the most perfect table manners possible. "For all I know, it stinks just like that potion you gave Vesh."

"That wasn't even from me! The apothecary Imael said it would work, and it did!" Kanae argued.

"Yeah, what's important is that I'm up and good now!" Vesh, who was back to his regressed form, flashed a smile.

"Kanae's right though. It's like broth. Or a sauce if you put less liquid in it." Motta did the same to his crab, but using it on legs and claw meat as dressing instead.

Only half-convinced, they gave it a try anyway and loved it. Gretchen seemed to enjoy it the best, having claimed most of the crabs for herself. By the end of lunch, the only thing left on the tray were discarded shells and bones. But even those were slowly and leisurely consumed by the sole drakeling of the party. If Sivvy Brenhallow was here, there would be nothing left.

"I'm stuffed! Everything tastes just as incredible as I remembered." Qoro leaned back on his seat, cradling a bulging belly.

"We have you to thank for bringing us here. I haven't eaten anything as delectable in Ortesia or Kandis before." Gretchen wiped her chin with a napkin.

"It was alright," Petyr said while picking at the bits. "So, when are we heading to Moroi? The cultist fucks already have a head start on us. Is it really a good idea to eat in leisure right now?"

"I'd have thought the same yesterday. But every time we tried to hurry, things went badly wrong for us. Qoro, how long does it take to get from Kazhai to Moroi?" Kanae asked.

The prince thought for a second. He thought hard, shutting his eyes to search distant memories.

"Last time I came through here it was to leave Nu-hauta under secrecy. I'm pretty sure it takes one whole day if the winds are blowing to our sails. Moroi is accessed by traveling up the Kazhai Delta east of the city," Qoro explained.

"There we have it. Moroi isn't far. We should take this time to get to know Azor and Kazhai. Maybe suss out any cultists hidden in the city that might be watching us. If Jhene and the others got here first, it's not a stretch to assume they planted spies. Who better to root them out?" Kanae grinned.

Gretchen, Motta, and Vesh straightened their backs. An inquisitor and two incubus were perfect for the job.

"We're not putting Vesh in harm's way again," Petyr said.

"What?" Vesh gasped.

"And Vesh turned out fine. You can't baby him. He's literally an adult," Kanae reasoned.

"Nobody cares about my safety? Fuck me, I guess." Motta slumped into his seat.

Kanae and Petyr glared at him.

"Right, uh… I shouldn't complain…" He slumped down even lower.

"Shouldn't my choice count for something? I came to Nu-hauta to be useful, and that's exactly what I'm going to do," Vesh said.

Petyr folded her arms and pouted.

After lunch, Kanae paid the hefty bill which turned out to be much more expensive than she expected. So much in fact that the only thing left in her coin purse was lint.

"Great. I don't suppose people will accept IOUs here?" Kanae groaned.

"Well, then. Shall we get started?" Gretchen asked.

"What? We can't even rest off all this food first?" Motta pointed to his stomach.

"You three start at the docks. A port of entry is certainly going to have gossip about who's coming in and out. Be conspicuous though. We haven't had any trouble yet, but a succubus and incubi going around questioning people will raise some eyebrows," she explained.

Gretchen casted High Elven Form. The horns, wings, and tail disappeared. Vesh in Elven Form and Motta in Orc Form removed any traces of their incubus features, too. The trio made their way down to the docks to begin their search.

"And us? We're not about to sit on our asses, are we?" Vestrid asked.

"Well, not us." Kanae spun around to Hilde and Petyr. "It's going to sound silly, but I'd like you two to take the day off and stay at the inn."

"Why?" Petyr squinted.

"If there are cultists in Kazhai, they'll definitely be wary of you. None of them can match your strength and will lay low. They also probably wouldn't want to risk being noticed by Hilde, who can recognize many of them by face. But they don't know who Vestrid is. As for me, I have in my possession two items that can serve as bait." She patted her satchel.

That being Isabella and Cockcalibur.

"If you insist, then I don't mind. However, this sounds like an unnecessary risk to take," Hilde said worriedly.

"I actually feel pretty safe with Vestrid around." Kanae thumbed at the drakeling.

They both acquiesced in heading back to the inn.

Kanae and Vestrid made their way to the Kazhai marketplace. At midday, the vendor stalls were bursting with merchandise, produce, and fresh fish. Locals flooded in to peruse the vast selection. Unlike the city-states and Savir, there was a lot more bartering going around.

An elven man traded a bag of herbs for a couple of fish. A mother pushing a cart of oysters with her daughter on it exchanged their catches for a few things from every stall. The glint of pearls caught Kanae's attention. She shuffled past the crowds to the seemingly less popular stand compared to others.

"Greetings, mainlanders!" An older elven woman lifted her gaze.

"Pearls not popular among Nu-hautans?" Kanae asked.

"Every native has hundreds of pearls in their home. They are about as worthless to us as pebbles in a riverbed. To you mainlanders, however, goodness. I've never seen such greed!" She laughed boisterously.

"You're not convincing us to buy anything with that sales pitch," Vestrid chided.

The elf lifted a finger asking for a moment of their time. She reached beneath the stand and pulled out a crate containing beautiful shells, conches, and minerals.

"Perhaps you would be interested in this." She grabbed a chunk of stone with pieces of red metal sticking out of it. "They call this manathine. You won't find another without delving deep underwater. Take this to a jeweler to make a very unique trinket for yourself!"

"Manathine… where have I heard that before?" Kanae muttered to herself.

Vestrid shrugged.

"I'm intrigued. How much?" Kanae asked.

"Fifteen gold. Or a bucket of fish. I'm not spry enough to catch my own anymore," the woman explained.

Kanae patted her empty coin purse and frowned. She looked at Vestrid, who own pouch was empty.

"Wait right here," Kanae said.

After a quick look around, Kanae found a fisherman manning his own stall. She went over, flashed her tits at him, and he gladly parted with four carps.

"Will these do?" Kanae asked after hoisting them onto the table.

"Mama's having fish stew tonight and fish pie in the morning! Here you go, missy." The elf plopped the mineral into her hand.

Kanae thought long and hard about where the word 'manathine' had popped up before as they walked away.

"Are you sure you didn't just get scammed?" Vestrid asked, looking over her shoulder.

"I pretty much got this for the price of showing someone my boobs. If anyone got scammed, it's the fishmonger," Kanae said.

When Kanae slipped the ore into her satchel, Isabella exclaimed, "Ouch! Hey, it's crowded in here— whoa! This rock of yours is emitting some potent magic."

Kanae quickly zipped up the bag to muffle Isabella up. They hurried to a secluded spot away from the marketplace overlooking the harbor. She opened the bag and pulled the living grimoire out.

"Spill it. Do you know anything about the manathine?" Kanae asked.

"That depends. How much and what are you willing to fuck to learn about it? I feel it in my pages, Mistress~ Just a bit more sexy time, and you might just find out," Isabella teased.

"Your living grimoire is just as annoying as Lanil's." Vestrid clicked her tongue.

"Well, Vestrid. Change of plans. It's not on your job description as a Saint Priest, but we're going to find me an orgy to have," she said.