Chapter 308 : Turtle Meat
「Alright, guys. Let’s go back now.」(Celine)
After wrapping the Land Turtle’s body with a rope, Celine began to drag it with the shell facing down.
It looked heavy, but Celine didn’t seem to have any trouble dragging it while walking.
「Celine, I can put it in my Item Box, you know?」(Mark)
「No, it’s fine. It won’t cool down if we put it in your Item Box. It’s still quite hot after all.」(Celine)
「I see. Alright then.」(Mark)
「Celine onee-chan.」(Nicola)
While following Celine from behind, Nicola looked at the roasted turtle and called out to Celine.
「What’s the matter, Nicola-chan?」(Celine)
「Are we going to eat this turtle?」(Nicola)
「Yup. It’s delicious, so you should look forward to it~」(Celine)
「Yaay~! I can’t wait to eat it!」(Nicola)
『…Seriously…? I didn’t know that this monster was edible…』(Nicola)
Nicola replied to Celine with a cheerful voice, but she didn’t sound excited at all when she talked to me with telepathy.
She is gluttonous but she seems to be hesitant to eat unknown monster meat.
I moved my gaze away from Nicola and looked at Ester who was walking next to me. She was tilting her head and folding her arms. She seemed to be thinking about something.
「Ester, what’s wrong?」(Mark)
「Hmm… After witnessing how ferocious this turtle monster is, I’m thinking about how I can defeat one… I can’t use fire magic like Celine, so I need to get close and aim for its head, but… I’m sure it will quickly hide in its shell before I get close and counter-attack me when I’m off guard. Fighting it at close range is very risky. It can heavily injure my legs with its fangs. Hmm…」(Ester)
「Ester, I think your calculation is accurate. It’s important for an adventurer to be able to analyze whether they can defeat a monster with their current ability. You don’t have much experience in fighting monsters, but you already have good sense as an adventurer. You should be proud.」(Celine)
Celine, who listened to our conversation, cheered Ester who lowered her shoulders in disappointment with a compliment.
Certainly, an adventurer needs to know their limits. You might lose your life if you force yourself to fight monsters much stronger than you.
「Hehe, thank you, Celine. By the way, Mark, how about you? Do you think you can beat a Land Turtle?」(Ester)
「Hmm… My Stone Bullet can destroy a boulder, but I doubt it can even crack a Land Turtle’s thick shell. Anyway, I will try to destroy its shell with my Stone Bullet first, if it doesn’t work, then I need a different strategy… Maybe I will make a pitfall trap in the ground with my earth magic and trap the turtle in it… Or maybe I will make it float with my Levitation Magic to prevent it from moving and shoot it with Fire Balls until it dies of heat.」(Mark)
After I finished explaining my strategy, Celine turned her face around and smiled at me as if she was proud of her disciple.
「As I said earlier, it would normally take a few C-ranked adventurers to take down a Land Turtle, but someone as talented as Mark who can use various spells would be able to defeat it easily.」(Celine)
「I see! Mark, you’re amazing!」(Ester)
Ester looked at me with sparkling eyes.
She seems to think highly of me, but people have their own strengths and weaknesses.
She might not be able to use magic as well as I am, but she can move quickly like a ninja and neutralize a dozen bandits without getting hurt. I think that’s really cool. I’ll never be able to do what she did.
「Mark, I still think you should become an adventurer. You should register together with Ester once we arrive at the capital.」(Celine)
「Eh? But I’m still underage.」(Mark)
「Don’t worry. We can just lie about your age. I don’t think they will notice it. Khu khu~」(Celine)
While saying that, Celine grinned suspiciously.
「Umm… Nah, I won’t do that. I want to think carefully about my future.」(Mark)
「What a shame~」(Celine)
Celine sometimes can be serious, but I think she was probably joking this time.
「Can you even lie about your age when you register?」(Mark)
「Of course, especially if you look older than your actual age and you came from another town. The data about the age of the adventurers in the guild is self-reported after all.」(Celine)
「I see.」(Mark)
The Adventurer Guild allows people to register from the age of ten, but there’s not much difference in appearance between a nine-year-old and a ten-year-old.
Even if I declare myself to be ten years old, I don’t think the people in the Adventurer Guild in the capital would doubt it.
Well, I can’t do that in the Adventurer Guild in Fatia because some people there know me, especially Liza-san, the receptionist.
ーーーーー
It was already night by the time we returned.
Garrett-san who was lighting a bonfire in front of the simple stable I built greeted us.
「Welcome back. Hm…? That’s a huge tortoise! …No, it’s not a tortoise. Don’t tell me it’s a… Land Turtle!?」(Garrett)
He looked surprised when he saw the big turtle monster we brought.
「Yup~! I once hunted them when I passed through this area while I was on a mission quite a while ago. Its meat is delicious, you know!」(Celine)
「I, I see… I heard that you need a few experienced adventurers to defeat one. You guys are impressive as always.」(Garrett)
「Fufu~ It was nothing compared to defeating those bandits. Alright, let’s start cooking, shall we?」(Celine)
Saying that, Celine untied the rope and put the turtle on a rock with a flat surface nearby with its shell facing down.
「Ester, can you hold it still?」(Celine)
「Alright.」(Ester)
「And…」(Celine)
Celine turned toward me while muttering.
At that moment, I just realized that Nicola, who was standing behind me, suddenly disappeared. She definitely ran away before Celine asked for help.
Seems like her power of laziness allowed her to make a quick decision to escape.
「Mark~ Can you come over here and help us out a little?」(Celine)
「Okay. What can I do?」(Mark)
「I’m going to cut off its neck. Please hold this leather bag under its neck so the blood doesn’t spill on the ground.」(Celine)
「A, Alright…」(Mark)
I took the slightly large leather bag that Celine handed to me and nodded. Then I held it under the Land Turtle’s neck as Celine asked.
「Ester, Mark, hold still, okay? Here we go.」(Celine)
Celine pulled out her dagger, swung it down, and cut off the turtle’s head in an instant. Soon after, blood started to burst out.
「Hiiiyy!!」(Mark)
Seeing so much blood flowing out from the severed neck and head, I couldn’t help but flinch.
「Hold it tight, Mark! This blood sells for a pretty high price, so don’t spill any of it.」(Celine)
「You can sell it? Ughh… I’ll try my best…」(Mark)
I didn’t expect that the blood would flow out like a small waterfall. It looks gross…
After about a minute, it finally stopped. The leather bag was almost full. I wonder how much money we will get from selling it…
I tied the bag close and put it in my Item Box.
「Thank you, Mark. Now it’s time to cut it open. Its shell is ridiculously hard, but there’s a small opening between the upper and the bottom part where you can stick in a knife like this.」(Celine)
While explaining, Celine stuck the tip of her dagger into the small opening and slammed the handle of the dagger with brute force to stick the blade even deeper.
After that, she slid the blade around one rotation and opened the shell, showing the meat in the inside.
I don’t know what it tastes like but since Celine said it was delicious, then it should be something worth trying.
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