Chapter 200: Purus

Xiao Tao seemed uncomfortable under all those beastmen’s gazes. He still had not gotten used to this world, so perhaps an atmosphere like this was particularly difficult for him.

I got used to it without even realizing it after spending so much time surrounded by adventurers.

"Here you go, nya! Sorry to keep you waiting! Fresh raw fish, nya! Please enjoy it to your heart’s content!"

"Eh...?"

When the dish finally arrived, Qiu Nuoya froze for a moment.

There was certainly fresh fish on the plate.

In fact, it was so fresh that its tail was still wriggling.

But it was a fish.

Just a fish.

It was not even prepared as sashimi or anything resembling a proper dish. There was simply a large plate with a lively fish sitting on it.

...Is this really what they mean by raw fish?

"Eh... this?"

"Fresh raw fish, nya? Caught just now, nya."

Sitting on the plate in front of Qiu Nuoya was a lively fish, still wriggling vigorously.

Wait, this really is fresh, but it’s not even a dish!? If you’re just going to serve it like this, then what’s the point of coming to a restaurant? If I was going to eat a fish like this, I could have just bought one at the fresh fish market!

"Um, is it really supposed to be served like this? Don’t you cut it up or prepare it in some way...?"

"Our raw fish is properly treated before being served, nya, so you won’t get an upset stomach from eating it. This is a perfectly respectable raw fish dish, nya."

Seriously...? The whole fish...?

Qiu Nuoya swallowed hard.

"Haha, that’s certainly something. Nuoya, think you can eat it?"

Igor looked at him with a mischievous grin.

Well, cats do eat fish whole without bothering to cook them.

Thinking of it that way, there was no doubt that this counted as a feast.

But still...

"At the very least, I want to fillet it..."

And the scales are still on! Even Qiu Nuoya can’t eat it like this!

The employee had just said that the fish was properly treated before being served, but what exactly did that treatment involve?

Visually, the fish looked no different from the ones sold at the fresh fish market. Normally, fish had to be cooked before eating, yet this one was apparently safe to eat raw.

So what exactly is the difference? What kind of treatment makes this possible?

"Excuse me, can I ask you a question?" Qiu Nuoya quickly raised his hand and called out to the cat beastman employee. The employee did not seem surprised at all and simply smiled.

"Yes, nya? What can I help you with?"

"What’s the difference between fish that can be eaten raw and fish that can’t? What kind of treatment do you use to make them safe!?"

"Nya nya? Are you perhaps a culinary researcher or something, nya? But if you want to eat raw fish, that’s the most basic thing you need to know, nya! Trying to eat raw fish without knowing that is practically disrespecting the culinary arts, nya!"

Oof. That’s a complete rejection. It’s not Qiu Nuoya’s fault! Everywhere he went in this world, people had only ever told him not to eat raw fish. Nobody had ever actually taught him how to prepare it!

"Still, I admire the determination of a young man like you who wishes to master the culinary arts, nya! So I’ll teach you, nya! Raw fish isn’t recommended for consumption because of toxins and parasites, nya. But by applying Purification Magic, it becomes safe to eat, nya!"

"Purification Magic...? Wait, do you mean Clean?"

Purification Magic was a type of household magic, and Clean was one of its most common applications. People normally used it to cleanse themselves when they could not take a bath or to clean dirty clothes.

Using it for cooking had never even occurred to Qiu Nuoya.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Clean is indeed one type of Purification Magic, nya. But when preparing fish, we use the advanced Purification Magic called Purus, nya! A chef who can use this magic can safely be called a first-rate chef, nya!"

Purus. That’s a new spell to me. So that’s how they do it. As long as the fish is properly purified, any fish can be eaten raw if you want to! That’s good to know!

"So, this fish has already been properly treated, nya, so you can eat it without worry."

The employee puffed out his chest proudly.

I understand the logic, I really do. But that doesn’t mean I can just eat a whole raw fish alive.

The fish in front of him was simply too large for that.

The beastmen, with their larger bodies and sturdy teeth, could probably bite into it whole without any trouble, but Qiu Nuoya just could not bring himself to do that.

"Um, if you want, I could prepare it for you."

A hesitant voice came from beside him as Qiu Nuoya stood there wondering what to do with the whole raw fish.

"Huh? Xiao Tao, you know how to prepare fish?"

"My father loves fishing, so I learned a little from him. My mother taught me how to clean and fillet fish because she said, ’A man who only catches fish and leaves all the cooking to someone else isn’t going to get anywhere in life.’ So I can handle something like this... Do you have a knife?"

Qiu Nuoya took his favorite kitchen knife out of his Magic Bag.

Xiao Tao skillfully removed the scales, cut off the head, split open the belly, and removed the entrails. Before Qiu Nuoya could even properly process what he was doing, Xiao Tao had already filleted the fish into three pieces and begun cutting the meat into individual slices.

Qiu Nuoya was astonished by Xiao Tao’s unexpectedly impressive skill.

The slices were not arranged in any particularly beautiful way, but there, right in front of him, was ordinary sashimi.