V11 Story I – Part 10
“The dinner party is canceled,” Towa announced as she swung the dining hall doors open. “Everyone, please head home. We’ll send out new invites soon.”
Heads turned towards her. The old lady’s mouth gaped open. The brother bit the end of his fork, while the sister cocked her head to the side in confusion.
Mayuzumi sat there, unfazed, munching on the chocolate she’d brought. Mikage was notably absent.
On the table sat what appeared to be dinner: dried bacon, fried eggs, and cutlery. A glass of golden liquor sat in front of the sister, Kaya.
The cook nodded silently in response to Towa’s announcement. He carefully collected the glasses and placed them back on the serving cart. The guests’ gazes turned sharp, but Towa pressed on, undeterred.
“The return ship is due in two hours. Please wait for it.”
“What are you… What are you saying?!”
The old lady grabbed her knife and threw it, sending it skidding across the table and clattering to the floor. Her face twisted hideously. Beside her, Kaya’s brother pounded his fist on the table, causing plates to shatter.
“Easy, brother,” Kaya said, then turned her attention to Towa. “We can’t abide by your decision. Do you think we can leave?” Her voice was calm, the only composed one in the room.
But her gaze sent an intense chill down my spine. There was something in her strange eyes, a bizarre, unsettling gleam.
“I said we cannot leave. Not when we haven’t partaken of your flesh yet,” Kaya said matter-of-factly.
Her gaze raked over Towa. She didn’t see her as a person, but as food. Her eyes held the same blatant desire as the guests in my nightmare. A profound and primal hunger.
“Our fate has been twisted since the day we first attended this banquet with our father. Nothing in this world tastes as exquisite as your flesh. Once you’ve had a taste, you can’t forget it, and you spend your life craving it. And yet, you… you had the audacity to send out those invitations.”
Kaya gritted her teeth, her previously cool visage contorted with hatred for the first time. She directed her fury towards Towa, the one they once feasted upon.
“Our resolve is firm. We’ll eat your flesh, even if it means sacrificing everything. You know our hunger, but ask us to leave?! That’s not happening!” she screamed, grabbing a knife.
Her brother seized a champagne bottle from the cart. The cook remained motionless. I stepped forward to shield Towa. Tension hung thick in the air.
Crack!
In the midst of it all, Mayuzumi quietly nibbled on her chocolate. She alone emitted a different aura, drawing all eyes to her.
Crunching on the sweet candy, she spoke in a calm tone. “That’s great and all, but even if you stay, you won’t be able to feast on her flesh.”
Her words earned her sharp glares from all sides. Unperturbed, she continued nibbling on her chocolate.
“What are you getting at?” Kaya asked with a frown. “If the dinner party continues…”
“Didn’t you notice? And here I thought you were the smarter one.”
Mayuzumi’s shoulders slumped in disappointment. She reached for another piece of chocolate, shaped like an eyeball. Then, almost casually, Mayuzumi uttered a vicious fact.
“If you think about it, it’s pretty simple. The only thing intended to be served to you was your own organs.”
The dining hall went silent in an instant.
None of the guests seemed to comprehend Mayuzumi’s words. I struggled to wrap my head around them myself. What did she mean by being fed your own organs? Then, a chilling realization dawned on me.
Tatenashi’s lungs were chilling in the refrigerator. Like they were waiting to be cooked.
“If you just think about it for a moment, it all makes sense, doesn’t it? There were oddities scattered all over this so-called banquet. Despite it being a dinner party, the meat was to be served privately in rooms late at night. Separately. And those other guests seemed to know the layout of the place too well, as if they’ve been here before. Doesn’t that strike you as odd? Why would she bother inviting back previous guests? Weren’t they the ones who greedily devoured her flesh at previous banquets? Weren’t they supposed to be pigs she didn’t want to lay her eyes on?”
As Mayuzumi spoke, I strained to connect the dots. Why invite guests, serve meat, and tell them to kill themselves? And why did Towa smile and tell me it couldn’t be done?
“You’re being ridiculous.”
Mayuzumi snapped her chocolate bar, clicking her tongue. Then, she addressed the stunned guests.
“The answer’s pretty straightforward. This isn’t a dinner party.” She paused. “It’s a revenge drama.”
What she said took everyone’s breath away. All eyes shifted from Mayuzumi, landing squarely on Towa.
Towa didn’t flinch. She placed a hand on her stomach and stood her ground. A faint smirk played on her lips.
“I can’t stomach anything but chocolate,” Mayuzumi said. “But it seems your flesh has quite the addictive quality to it. You kept serving that meat to people. But you’re not immortal, are you?” she asked languidly.
My eyes widened. That couldn’t be true. I’d witnessed past banquets where the girl’s belly was sliced open, and her meat served to guests.
If she weren’t immortal, she would’ve died ages ago.
Mayuzumi shook her head. “Immortal espers are a rarity. Despite being different from human flesh, those who’ve eaten yours don’t seem to gain any special benefits. You haven’t eaten mermaid flesh, have you? Most likely, you just have the ability to manipulate cells to regenerate. A healer, so to speak. Put to good use, and your ability could’ve made a fortune. But the man who raised you didn’t find value in that. He made your flesh addictive by meticulously controlling its quality and blending it with his unique narcotics. He fed your flesh away and let you heal. Over and over. Your flesh tastes heavenly, apparently. Now that was just speculation, but your father did something similar, didn’t he?”
Mayuzumi sneered. Towa remained silent, keeping the same enigmatic smile.
As the bizarre truth unfolded, I swallowed hard. It was fucked up. But at the same time, it all made sense. The meat vanished once eaten. If it healed over and over, people would crave it endlessly, and the man would keep serving it. With money in the bank, it was a rational decision.
In a sort of tribute to Towa, Mayuzumi raised her cup, offering the tea she wouldn’t drink herself.
“But then, one day, your father passed away. Surprisingly, he left everything to you. Whether it was meant as recompense or twisted affection, it’s hard to say. But you didn’t leave. Being eaten alive is that excruciating. Gruesome pain can sometimes turn humans into demons. And you became one.”
“You sought vengeance against the guests. But it seems your only remaining servant is this cook. Your options are limited. That’s why you abandoned brutality and opted for a simpler, yet ghastly method.”
What was that method? My gaze naturally drifted to the glasses on the serving cart.
After drinking alcohol last night, I passed out and dreamed of the cook holding a butcher’s knife. I thought it was just a continuation of the nightmare, but apparently it wasn’t.
“First, you’d serve them drugged liquor, then slit open the stomachs of the intoxicated guests. You’d remove their organs, not heal them, and just close the wound. Then, you’d cook the organs and serve them to the awakened guests late at night.”
The old woman’s lips quivered, and she threw up. Kaya shot a sharp glare at Towa, while her brother remained lost in his own world, drooling.
It hit me like a cold wave. I understood why Tatenashi, after attending the first dinner party hosted by the girl, felt unfulfilled. I understood why, after escaping to a place of refuge, he had returned solely to eat meat.
He didn’t get the food that he wanted.
“You must have found it amusing, serving guests their own stolen organs. Tatenashi’s liver had been missing since the first dinner party. That’s why his face looked so dark.”
I vividly remembered Tatenashi’s ashen complexion. A part of his liver had been missing. He hated doctors, so he carried on, unaware that a vital organ of his was missing.
“It worked like a charm until this time,” Mayuzumi elaborated. “But then came the anomaly.”
“The anomaly… you mean…” I stuttered.
“Yes, Odagiri and Tatenashi swapped places. The cook must have been surprised when he entered your room. Imagine his shock to find a man alive and well, demanding meat.”
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