The manliest of men... Rest Clover performed the greatest grovel of his life to earn Celestine's forgiveness for his rudeness.
From the start, Celestine wasn't angry at all, her usual gentle smile remaining on her face.
After lightly washing their bodies in the open-air bath, they left the inn, shaking off the lingering awkwardness.
"Ahh... I really messed up."
Once they parted ways and he was alone, Rest let out a deep, deep sigh.
He never thought he'd get that drunk.
Having experienced the terror of alcohol for the first time, Rest shuddered to his core.
Fundamentally... distilled spirits have a high alcohol content, and it's standard practice to dilute them with water or carbonated water. For someone unaccustomed to them to drink it straight was an outrageous act that could easily lead to acute alcohol poisoning.
"I need to be more careful from now on... Well, it was good that I got my hands on the alcohol. Yeah."
This would do for the wine to serve at the party.
It was certainly strong liquor. He couldn't really tell about the taste, but Celestine assured him it was fine. It would surely satisfy even those nobles with refined palates.
"Next is ingredients. Since I've come all the way to the sea, maybe I'll try looking for some fish?"
With that thought, Rest headed toward the shore.
Ideally, he'd catch another sea dragon like before... but even if not, getting his hands on some rare fish would be a lucky bonus.
When he reached the shore, a boat was just being pulled up onto the sandy beach.
"Hello, working hard, I see!"
"Oh, if it isn't Lord Rest! What are you doing out here?"
When he called out to the sun-weathered fisherman, a middle-aged fisherman answered in surprise.
"I was wondering if you'd caught any rare fish you'd be willing to part with. Anything good?"
«Well, it's not like anything that rare here.»
The fisherman scratched his head as his gaze fell on the nets loaded onto his boat.
"All we ever catch are the usual fish you see around. Of course, if you're fine with that, I can part with as many as you like."
"...Could I take a look at them, perhaps?"
Having received permission, Rest checked the catch.
The fish on the small fishing boat were all types he recognized. There was nothing particularly rare, nor were there any premium fish.
"Oh... could this possibly be...?"
However, among those fish, Rest found something unexpected.
It was a strange fish, its tentacles writhing and twisting. Its form would likely evoke a sense of physical revulsion in some people.
"Is this... could it be, an octopus?"
It was a devilfish... a fish called an octopus.
Since reincarnating in this world, it was the first time he had laid eyes on one.
"Oh my, do you know this fish, Master Rest?"
"Yeah, I've eaten it before."
"My, how rare. Not something a noble would usually eat, I'd think."
The fisherman explained in a surprised tone.
Even in this world, the fish known as octopus seemed to be regarded with revulsion.
He explained that while fishermen in coastal villages and towns would boil and eat them, merchants wouldn't buy them, and even if you tried to sell them, you'd be told, "Don't bring such creepy things here."
"Ah... so that's how it is. I had a feeling that might be the case."
Since reincarnating, he had never seen an octopus dish in the royal capital.
In my past life, too, it was only eaten in a few countries like Japan, and in this world as well, it apparently remained a rather obscure food.
(Come to think of it now... Japanese people really will eat just about anything, won't they? I never gave it much thought in my past life, but who on earth was the first person to eat sea urchin or sea cucumber?)
"If you don't mind, could I take that off your hands?"
"Why, of course! Tell you what, I can have my people boil it for you?"
"No, I'll handle the cooking myself. There's a dish I've been wanting to try making."
Rest accepted the still-living octopus and broke into a grin.
"Since we've gone to the trouble... I was thinking of having a bit of an octopus party. In its own way, this is a pretty rare delicacy too, isn't it?"