LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 424
“So, are you still thinking about eating unicorn meat?”
“Um… I think this is enough for me.”
Unexpected reaction.
Even though I rejected the raw meat because it reminded me of Onager, I thought I had given up on the unicorn sushi after seeing others eat it provocatively.
“Then it goes back to Catherine? If I wanted to eat it later, there wouldn’t be any left?”
Karem asked Alicia several times just to be sure, but Alicia’s decision remained firm.
She found it tastey, but it felt off because of Onager.
Ultimately, she concluded that if the thought came back later, she’d be fine with just regular meat.
I almost said that the unicorn might have been hostile towards Onager, but…
Then Alicia left first.
With no other choice, Karem returned the leftover meat to Catherine.
It had a unique flavor, but it was still just horse meat, and if the thought ever crossed his mind again, Karem was fine with settling for horse meat.
Above all, he preferred cow, chicken, and pork equally without any hierarchy over horse meat.
From then on, Karem didn’t laze around in his familiar environment.
He felt the inadequacies of the Borderedge.
If Gordon, who was enduring a burning winter in his territory, heard about him strangling a unicorn, he would berate him for his foolishness. But Karem was serious.
Forgetting something like this for not using divine arts.
It was an undeniable oversight.
[Oh my! Karem! Sit down. Even if you have no interest in wealth, honor, or strength, forgetting how to wield the power you possess is ridiculous! What a spectacle is that!?]
[I think this is the first time I’ve seen the heir of the All-Father acting like this. It’s a bit strange.]
[Hahaha! Well, it’s been a while since I laughed like this. When a wife’s patience explodes, it tends to look like that. Just leave it be, she’ll calm down by herself.]
[This time, Karem was at fault.]
“No, wait a second. Mysterious Traveler?”
The Mysterious Traveler, who usually conveyed will through supernatural noises, wasn’t speaking like a deity now.
More than that, he thought it was a male deity, but it turned out to be a goddess.
Anyway, Karem reflected and decided to go find Elder Iona to remind himself of various spells.
“Wait, you forgot the basics of spellcasting?”
“I relied too much on blessings and protections…”
“Sit down, Karem. No matter how favored you are, it doesn’t give you the right to be arrogant or complacent.”
Like being lectured by Skadi, Karem had to endure a lecture from Iona before being allowed to retake his lessons.
Seeing the typical lazy genius absorb everything taught once again made Iona exhale deeply.
“Really… If you had become a priest, you would have had the talent to hold the seat of the chief of the Triune God.”
“Ah, I’m not really interested beyond cooking.”
“By the Triune God.”
“No, I’m not belittling that religion. I actually respect it.”
“The more you say that sincerely, the worse it gets.”
“Skadi said something like that too.”
“…Hmm?”
“Oh.”
During the lesson, a secret unintentionally came to light.
For that reason, Iona, with his wrinkled face and beard, was half-seriously bowing down to Karem, which made him sweat cold in another sense.
Even though he’d gotten used to being treated that way, it felt serious hearing him speak with such honorifics.
Since Iona was half-joking, he had to stand up with a sigh.
“Was some of that serious?”
“Wouldn’t it be sincere if it was you? Just think if someone outside heard your words in the training hall.”
Other priests would likely fall prostrate after Iona.
Karem shivered at the mere possibility of such a scenario occurring.
“Well, I had thought it would take at least a month, you know, Elder Iona? Why are you looking at me like that?”
What a look that seemed to say, “How can you even say that?” Iona shook his head and opened the training hall door.
“More importantly, it’s been quite some time, so I’ll ask—”
Stepping out into the temple and glancing around to confirm there were no people, Iona whispered to Karem.
“Is it true that you ate that?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You don’t need to hide it. The princess told me. The unicorn, I mean.”
Karem blinked, then nodded slowly.
Well, there was no way this person could have missed that. He could confidently state that the fact that he attended the basics of divine arts – the Triune God – was largely due to the unicorn.
“Although, I’m not sure there’s any left.”
With a different answer than with the mammoth, Iona’s hand stroked his beard nervously.
“Karem. What exactly do you mean by that?”
“About a week ago, Catherine went out carrying a lot of stuff.”
“Ugh. If that’s the case…”
Iona lamented for the exact reason as Olivier.
However, she couldn’t even resent Catherine. Ultimately, the decision-making power had passed to Catherine, and she surely knew that the unicorn was a treasure trove that could be utilized in many ways from head to toe.
It was just disappointing.
“I had left the blood and innards behind.”
“Hmm.”
“But just a few days later, they were all taken along with the meat.”
Karem replied nonchalantly.
“Did they take that much? Ugh. Seems I can’t even complain about it.”
“Looks like she’s working on something, right?”
“That’s likely.”
Karem scratched his head for a moment.
The unicorn that had come running willingly from Borderedge was bigger than a typical horse. He could assure that since he moved it himself.
Even if divided into small portions to sell, unicorn materials command a price.
Since Catherine took everything except the raw meat and sushi, whatever she was making wouldn’t be ordinary.
Most importantly, the fact that she was going outside the city was significant.
The implication that it couldn’t be done alone indicated the need for collaboration with experts in different fields.
Catherine could probably make various potions, magic tools, scrolls, or small self-defense magical devices alone, but no matter how grand a wizard she was, she could not create serious equipment.
After all, a wizard is just a wizard.
They can’t treat leather or forge metal.
“Well, there are wizards like that.”
“Excuse me? Like who?”
“Well, it’s said that long-lived elves or dwarves are pretty typical.”
Karem took it as a matter of course.
He had encountered stories about dwarf blacksmiths who forge runes or high elves who refine weapons using magic many times through novels and cartoons in his past life.
“Well, if there are leftover materials, maybe I could ask her for a favor?”
“Would you really do that for me? I would certainly pay for it.”
Iona appeared desperate, grabbing Karem’s hands with an intensity utterly different from her usual gentleness.
“You realize that I can’t guarantee anything, right? It could end up with nothing left but blood and innards.”
“Well, even if it’s not meat, I’d be happy with just blood and innards.”
It was something Iona also took into consideration.
Pouring every bit of attention wishing there’d be meat, instead preparing for a scenario where there’d be nothing and only blood or innards would be crucial for mental stability later on.
Since Karem had some interest in cooking with blood and innards, he engaged in a conversation with Iona until they parted ways at the stairs.
‘Innards, huh.’
A part that tends to evoke extreme preferences based on taste.
Though Karem had no particular aversion to it, he didn’t have it often.
In his past life, the price skyrocketed due to a rise in reputation, and in this life, he generally avoided thinking about rats and bugs; now that his fate was better, he didn’t think about it at all.
Unless he was utterly crazy about it, he didn’t reach out for innards if there were other dishes available.
“I’d eat something like pig liver paired with sundae.”
Due to not having much of a focus on innards, Karem had far fewer recipes for it compared to other recipes, making interest relatively low.
The national origins of innard recipes came from the algorithm’s guidance without specific searches, which led to a lack of consistency.
Arriving at the Wizard’s Tower.
On his way to the kitchen, he bumped into Mary.
“Ah? Karem junior?”
Actually, it was this side that was befuddled.
“Weren’t you supposed to go out early this morning? You said you’d have snacks and that lunch was a way off.”
“That’s because the contractor’s job ended, right?”
Oh, that means…
“Has the collaborative equipment been completed?”
“Well—uh? Wait a minute.”
Mary’s eyes grew wide. She must have never imagined that those words would come from Karem, her genuinely astonished face resembled that of a cat hearing another cat meow.
“Karem junior. How do you know that? Did someone slip out the secret? But surely information control was perfect…”
“Uh, I just blurted it out. Guess I was right.”
Now surprised by the reaction, Mary shut her mouth. Quickly blinking her eyes, she turned her head around, then grabbed Karem by the shoulders and leaned in close.
“Whoah. What’s this all of a sudden?”
“Exactly clarify it. How did you know that?”
“I only guessed.”
“Junior says that?”
“No, it was Elder Iona.”
With that, a sigh escaped Mary’s lips as if she had been caught trying to hide something but was relieved that she hadn’t been.
“Indeed, I’m glad the surprise wasn’t discovered. I was worried that situation had occurred. Phew.”
“…What are you saying? Surprise?”
“Well, then that’s good.”
Clap!
Mary clapped her hands, unconcerned.
“Since it can’t be kept a secret any longer, let’s do this—Karem junior. Follow me.”
“Excuse me?”
“I told you to follow.”
The sentence was commanding, yet had an air of cheerfulness.
Karem couldn’t comprehend the current situation. Mary seemed frustrated too, striking her chest before heading down the stairs, pushing Karem along.
Despite the noise drawing attention from the wizards in the tower, they thought it was just another of Mary’s antics and ignored it.
“What!? Wait, where are you taking me!?”
“You’ll see. You’ll see.”
Where was she leading him, but as he was pushed further up the tower, Karem’s options narrowed down to just one.
“Wait.”
Karem pushed Mary away as they stood in front of the office.
“Are you causing such a ruckus just to come to the office!?”
Creak—Mary opened the door and shoved Karem inside the office.
Karem, unable to hide his astonishment, turned back only for Mary to gesture toward the right side of the office.
“Ah, Catherine. This was all Mary suddenly pushing me—”
“No, what the heck is that surprise!?”
In that instant, an ice chunk thrown from Catherine’s hand zipped past Karem’s head before he could finish his line.
“Contractor. Why are you wearing armor!?”
Bang!
Silence fell on Mary in an instant.
Catherine, lowering her staff aimed at the house fairy, had her face flushed with embarrassment, humiliation, and shame as she approached swiftly.
“…Uh, did Mary mess something up again?”
Before Karem could ask, Catherine pressed her index finger against his mouth, trembling as she flicked her finger down to his sternum.
Thwack!
The result of the clothing transformation magic yielded—
…A bikini armor?
Somehow familiar. The details were different, but…
“Didn’t I say that!?”
Bang!
The second projectile of icy rage shot from Catherine’s staff, mercilessly striking Mary’s head.