Chapter 454: Dismantling Project
「Dragon meat, huh~. Yeah, haven’t tried that before. 」
Dean replied after listening to the circumstances.
「Which part do you want? 」
「Probably the back, just below the shoulder. Wait, if it’s the flying type, then maybe the thigh? 」
「Do loin or shank? 」
Dean was all in for eating the dragon. He even picked his preferred cut without any qualms whatsoever.
「Dean makes it sound like he’s talking about dragon anatomy, but when Jean talks about it, it just sounds like regular cuts of meat! Amazing! 」
Chris exclaimed while staring at the two of us with wide-eyed admiration.
「Such flexibility… Is this the power of youth? 」
Hauron mumbled, sounding half-resigned to whatever we did, and a bit pitiful at that.
「Uh, pretty sure I’m the same age as Dean, though. 」
Retze retorted under his breath without even glancing at Hauron.
In this world, people look about five years older than I’d expect from a Japanese perspective, but those with a spirit bonded to them tend to look younger. So, to me, Dean looks pretty much his age.
I figure it’s because being possessed by spirits keeps you healthier ー well, unless the spirit happens to be one that can age you instantly from a baby to an adult… which happens more often than you’d think.
「Sigh… If you’re really gonna eat it, at least get the black spirits removed at the temple. Unless you can do it yourself, of course. 」
Retze sighed deeply.
Oh yeah, both adventurers and regular folks visit the temple regularly. Anything harvested from strong monsters, including food, is usually taken to the temple to have black spirits purified.
「Strong monsters tend to have strong black spirits, and if the spirit is deeply assimilated, it won’t leave the body easily even after death. Dragons are powerful, and so are the black spirits that possess them. For those of us with spirits, we can ward off some of it, but… 」
Hauron explained.
「Got it! So if we remove the regular spirits too, we can have a tasting party with everyone?」
「… 」
Hauron facepalmed with both hands, slumping over until his head hit Retze’s shoulder.
「Why? Why are you so obsessed with eating dragons? And making everyone else eat it too? 」
Uwuwu ー he faked a dramatic sob.
「Well, when you have something rare, isn’t it more fun to share it with everyone? 」
Sharing the experience and talking about it is great, right?
「There are a lot of steps you have to take before you can actually eat that rare thing, you know… Grand Sage-sama, maybe chill for a second.」
Retze said as he pulled Hauron upright again.
「If Dean’s in, then count me in too! It’s supposedly delectable, after all! 」
Chris dramatically placed one hand on his chest and raised the other with flourish in a sparkly declaration.
「Ou! You gotta eat good meat with a crowd! 」
Dean shouted energetically.
「This is dragon meat that even the great wizard Hauron’s never tried! Although we probably won’t tell anyone, we can still totally brag about it, even if it’s just to ourselves! 」
Dean, already pretty tipsy, added while chugging from his mug. He’s the last one to come and first one to get drunk.
He was drinking a lot, sure, but he always got cheerful quickly and stayed that way for hours. He didn’t really get knocked out, so you couldn’t say he was bad at holding his liquor either.
「…!! Fine! I’ll eat it! Yes, this is the joy of discovering the unknown…! 」
Hauron shrieked dramatically, still covering his face with both hands. Wait, is he actually crying?
Khan, who had been silently sipping his drink, paused and raised a brow at Hauron’s outburst.
「You serious? 」
Khan muttered in a low voice, muffled by his cup.
「Don’t go losing your mind over this. 」
「Retze, you’re gonna join me while butchering, right? 」
Retze was looking at Hauron with an expression that says ‘come on, dude’ before turning to me.
「 ー I’m curious about the dissection process. But with the black spirits, I’d just get in the way, so I’ll pass. 」
I see, so that’s why he’s making it clear from the start he wasn’t planning on diving too deep into this?
「Gotcha. I’ll remove the black spirits first, then I’ll call you. I brought a few diagrams on how to butcher a dragon—which one do you think is good? 」
I laid out the dismantling diagrams in front of him.
I’d copied some from books that detailed the use of dragons as ingredients, materials for weapons and armor, and even ones for potions.
「Heh, so there’s flying dragons and non-flying ones, huh. I figured the non-flying ones were just like big worms, but these diagrams shows a whole range. 」
Retze said, pushing his wine and food aside to study the illustrations.
「Looks like these two are the closest match to what I’ve got. 」
「Ah, right, you’ve got two of them. 」
「Yeah, the monster is the one that can’t fly, like this one here. 」
「I can’t tell just from the diagrams, but if the bone structure’s similar, the organs are probably in the same spots too. If we mess up and puncture the organs, or don’t drain the blood properly, the meat’ll be ruined. Though there’s a way to leave blood in on purpose for making certain potions. 」
Retze added as he flipped through the pages.
「You wanna prioritize the meat, right? What’s next on the list? 」
「Weapons and armor would stand out too much, so maybe potions for emergencies? But if Dean and the others want dragon gear, we can go for that first. 」
Retze pulled out a few more pages from the stack.
「Legendary dragon gear…」
「Yes, like the gears that the heroes used in the past! How many of those are still around? 」 Dean and Chris.
「Retze… so you’re on their side too, huh? 」
Hauron mumbled, sounding utterly heartbroken.
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I Got Transferred in the Middle of a Mountain
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