"It really was delicious... no, seriously..."
After finishing his meal, Rest let out a deep sigh.
It was delicious. Incredibly delicious.
He'd never had it before, but... the steak was as good as A5-rank Wagyu beef.
"I never would've guessed that thing would taste so good... I'm genuinely surprised."
He'd already heard about the ingredient from the person who provided the meat — Yuri.
He never imagined that a Corrosion Beast, a servant of Sabnock, could transform into such a delicious steak.
"Monster meat... I've heard some gourmets are really into it, but I'm genuinely amazed."
"Yes... it was so good I'm worried I might get hooked."
Viola and Primula were letting out sighs of admiration as well.
The two of them had been making an absolute racket during the cooking, but that supreme-quality meat had left even them speechless.
In this world, the culture of eating monster meat wasn't very common.
It wasn't completely unheard of, but... since many monsters were poisonous, it generally hadn't caught on.
Even so, he had heard that a select few connoisseurs were fond of eating monster meat.
Rest himself had eaten monster meat back when he was at House Eberun and had trouble finding food.
(Some of it had tasted good, but... he'd gotten an upset stomach more times than he could count. At least it gave him plenty of practice with the [Antidote] spell...)
Chewing on those bitter memories, he took a sip of the after-dinner tea Primula had brewed for him.
"Still... I'm more surprised that Yuri actually volunteered to eat that meat."
"Really? I don't think it's that unusual, though?"
Yuri tilted her head with a puzzled expression.
"I've always been good at finding delicious things. Back at House Cattleya, I wasn't free to do as I pleased, and my range of movement was limited... but I used to eat all sorts of insects I found in the flower beds and at the base of trees."
"That's... surely not befitting of a young lady of a marquis house?"
Viola's face twisted awkwardly.
Beside her, Primula was nodding vigorously. "Mhm, mhm."
"The dependent of the Sabnock evil lion... the Corrosion Beast, was it? The moment I laid eyes on that monster, I thought the same thing. This is edible."
"............"
"So I cut off a reasonable amount of meat and brought it back, but if it tastes this good, I really should have brought back everything. I'm regretting it just a little."
"Y-yeah... I feel the same way..."
How a monster that spits corrosive saliva could taste so delicious — truly, the world was a strange place.
(Well, some people eat snakes, apparently... Even eel and konjac are poisonous unless heated properly, so maybe it's wrong to look at things through the lens of prejudice...)
The Corrosion Beast was a monster that hindered frontier development.
Ideally, it was a creature one would want to eradicate, but if the flavor was that good, exterminating them felt like a waste.
"Just to be on the safe side, I should cast an antidote spell on everyone. Can't rule out the possibility of a slow-acting poison entirely, yeah."
Savoring their tea time, Rest cast healing magic on everyone present.
"Come to think of it... Rest, how is the frontier development going?"
Viola changed the subject.
The topic was the work Rest and the others had been doing — specifically, the development of the plains.
"I heard you were assigned to investigate the center of the plains. Isn't that the place where the lord of the demon realm resided?"
"Aren't you in danger? I'm so worried..."
After Viola, Primula spoke up with a worried tone as well.
Rest took a sip of his tea, then shrugged.
"It's no problem at all. It's honestly underwhelming."
He wasn't putting on a brave face.
He had expected somewhat powerful monsters to appear — not necessarily on par with Sabnock, but formidable ones nonetheless.
However, the ones that showed up were neither powerful nor even Corrosion Beasts. They were all monsters that Rest and his companions could handle with ease.
"It's only the first day, so I can't let my guard down, but... at this rate, the overgrown grass might end up being the tougher opponent. As long as we stay reasonably careful, we should be fine, so there's no need to worry."
"Really? Well, that's a relief then..."
"If there's anything we can help with, please don't hesitate to ask."
"Thanks. I'll take you up on that if anything comes up."
Rest appreciated the sisters' goodwill, then looked down at the campfire that had lost its vigor.
"Shall we head into the tent and rest soon? I'm pretty tired today."
"Yes, let's. If your body feels stiff, I could give you a massage?"
"I-I can do it too! A massage for Rest...!"
"Oh, that sounds fun. Should I give you one too?"
"...Yuri, I'll have to pass. I feel like my shoulders would be crushed."
While chatting like that, the four of them stood up and began to move toward the tent.
"Tonight, Lord Clover... sir..."
But at just that moment, they were called out to.
When they turned around, a young girl stood there with several servants in tow.
"It's... a pleasure... to meet you. I'm... sorry for coming so... late at night..."
Was she nervous?
The girl with the purple bob cut spoke in halting, uncertain tones.
She was short and slender — so slight she could pass for a grade-schooler based on her build.
"Oh, good evening. Um... who exactly are you..."
"I haven't... introduced myself..."
The girl placed a hand on her chest and looked up at Rest with an expressionless, doll-like face.
"Urla Lavender. I am the granddaughter... of Margrave Lavender..."
"Margrave Lavender, you say..."
Rest's eyes went wide at the name of the great noble who guarded the eastern border.