Chapter 397

After tasting all three dishes, Haruto acquired three new skills: Stamina Enhancement and Black Iron Body from the Black Iron Bull, and Night Vision from the Cave Spiders.

Stamina Enhancement improved his physical endurance, allowing him to fight or perform strenuous work for extended periods without becoming easily fatigued.

Black Iron Body granted his skin hardness comparable to black iron, further increasing his defensive capabilities.

As for Night Vision, its function was straightforward. It allowed him to see clearly even in environments with very little light.

Unfortunately, although all three skills were useful in their own right, they offered relatively little benefit to someone as powerful as Haruto.

His stamina and defenses were already extraordinary, and he possessed numerous abilities that could compensate for poor visibility.

For him, these new skills were the sort of bonuses that weren’t particularly exciting but would still be a shame to throw away.

Fortunately, acquiring them hadn’t cost him anything, so he certainly wasn’t going to complain.

Haruto wasn’t the only one who benefited from the banquet.

Rimuru and Milim also acquired all three skills after eating his cooking.

Most of the other guests obtained one or two of them as well, suggesting that the abilities possessed by Black Iron Bulls and Cave Spiders were compatible with a fairly wide range of individuals.

Although none of the three skills was particularly powerful, everyone regarded their unexpected gains as a pleasant surprise.

The banquet continued late into the night.

Eventually, the lively conversations and laughter gradually subsided, and the enormous bonfires began burning out.

Only a few scattered embers remained, glowing intermittently among the ashes.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Haruto and his companions spent the night resting in Rimuru’s town.

Speaking of which, the settlement’s development had been surprisingly rapid.

Haruto could still remember what it had looked like when he’d first arrived.

Back then, it had barely qualified as a village, with simple wooden buildings and temporary shelters scattered across the clearing.

Yet after only a relatively short period of construction, it had grown enough to be called a proper town.

The speed was genuinely impressive.

Of course, much of that progress could be attributed to the extraordinary physical abilities of its residents.

Compared with ordinary human laborers, monsters possessed tremendous advantages when it came to construction.

Many of them could effortlessly carry enormous logs, move heavy stones, and complete physically demanding tasks that would ordinarily require entire teams of workers.

Haruto couldn’t help finding the situation amusing.

’If Rimuru took all these monsters back to the modern world, I bet a lot of construction companies would go out of business.’

After all, how could ordinary contractors compete with workers who could carry several tons of building materials without needing heavy machinery?

...

The following morning, Haruto said goodbye to Rimuru and Milim before heading back into the Great Forest of Jura with Kagura, Kanna, and Gardevoir.

Their objective remained unchanged.

They were going to hunt monsters and gather more unusual ingredients.

However, over the following half month, Haruto discovered that his peaceful ingredient-gathering excursions had acquired an additional complication.

"Haruto! Haruto! What are we eating today?"

A familiar, cheerful voice suddenly rang out from the sky.

The next instant, a pink figure descended at tremendous speed.

Milim landed smoothly in front of Haruto, wearing an enormous smile.

In one hand, she was carrying a gigantic dragonlike monster.

"...You again?"

Haruto rubbed his forehead helplessly.

During the past two weeks, Milim had been visiting him every few days.

Sometimes she appeared early in the morning. Other times, she showed up around noon.

Regardless of when she arrived, however, her objective was always the same.

She wanted to eat his cooking.

Initially, Haruto had found her frequent visits somewhat troublesome.

But after a while, he’d simply gotten used to them.

"Well, your cooking is just too delicious!"

Milim answered with complete sincerity, as though that explanation settled everything.

Then she enthusiastically held out the enormous monster she’d brought with her.

"Look, look! I brought you an ingredient this time!"

Her eyes sparkled with excitement.

"It’s called a Flamewing Dragon! Its meat has the flavor of fire in it, so I bet it’ll taste amazing!"

Haruto examined the creature.

After a moment, he nodded.

It really was an excellent ingredient.

Flamewing Dragons were high-ranking dragon-class monsters, and their flesh contained an enormous concentration of magicules.

With the proper cooking methods, the meat should produce some exceptionally delicious dishes.

"All right. Put it over there."

Haruto pointed toward a nearby clearing.

"I’ll make pan-seared Flamewing Dragon steaks for lunch."

"Okay!"

Milim immediately brightened and obediently placed the enormous creature on the ground.

To be fair, the monsters she brought him were consistently of excellent quality.

As one of the oldest Demon Lords, Milim could effortlessly capture creatures that would be considered extremely dangerous by ordinary adventurers.

And since she had no particular interest in carefully evaluating their culinary properties, she simply brought back anything that looked as though it might taste good.

Haruto was more than happy to take advantage of the arrangement.

He was already planning to cook meals for himself and his companions, so preparing an additional portion for Milim wasn’t particularly troublesome.

In exchange, he received a steady supply of rare, high-quality monster ingredients.

Milim, meanwhile, thoroughly enjoyed the process.

Every so often, she would capture some promising-looking monster, carry it to Haruto, and eagerly wait for him to transform it into another delicious meal.

For both of them, the arrangement worked remarkably well.

After seeing Milim off, Haruto and his companions resumed their search for ingredients.

However, that afternoon, Kagura suddenly heard something unusual through the wind.

Her expression became serious, and she immediately turned toward Haruto.

"Haruto, I’ve just received some news."

"What’s wrong?"

"The wind says Charybdis has been resurrected. It’s currently heading toward Rimuru’s town."

Haruto stopped what he was doing.

A thoughtful gleam appeared in his eyes, followed by an unmistakable hint of anticipation.

"So it’s finally here."

In truth, Haruto had already captured a considerable variety of monsters from the Great Forest of Jura.

He’d explored numerous habitats, collected rare ingredients, and experimented with a wide range of unfamiliar creatures.

One of the main reasons he had remained in the forest for so long was that he’d been waiting for Charybdis to awaken.

Charybdis was an unusual life-form created from the magicules released by Veldora the Storm Dragon.

Known as a ruler of the skies, it possessed extraordinary strength and was considered a terrifying calamity by the inhabitants of this world.

Naturally, Haruto was interested in its potential as an ingredient.

A creature born from a Storm Dragon’s magicules had to possess some remarkable properties.

And there was another reason he was particularly interested in capturing it.

’Charybdis might be a perfect ingredient for Kagura.’

Kagura possessed the skill Wind Envoy and had evolved into a Wind Spirit.

Charybdis, meanwhile, was closely associated with wind and storms.

There was a good chance that its unique properties would be particularly compatible with her abilities.

Perhaps eating a dish prepared from Charybdis would even stimulate the evolution of Kagura’s Gourmet Cells.

The possibility alone was enough to make Haruto curious.

"Let’s head back to Rimuru’s town and see what’s happening."

He made the decision without hesitation.

Kagura, Kanna, and Gardevoir immediately agreed, and the group turned around to make their way back toward the settlement.

By the time they arrived, the entire town had entered a state of military readiness.

The usual atmosphere of bustling construction had been replaced by hurried preparations for an impending battle.

Inside the meeting room, Rimuru and his companions were discussing the threat posed by Charybdis, their expressions unusually grave.

When Haruto and the others entered, Rimuru looked up in surprise.

"Haruto? You’re back already?"

"I heard Charybdis was coming, so I thought I’d return and take a look."

Haruto spoke directly.

"Count us in for this battle."

"Huh? Really?!"

Rimuru blinked before breaking into a delighted smile.

"That would be great! With you helping us, things should be a lot easier!"

He certainly didn’t object to Haruto joining the battle.

If anything, Rimuru was pleased by the offer.

He knew that Haruto possessed considerable strength, and having another powerful fighter on their side would undoubtedly improve their chances against Charybdis.

In fact, if possible, Rimuru wouldn’t have minded asking Milim to deal with the entire problem.

With her overwhelming power, defeating Charybdis would probably be much easier.

Unfortunately, not everyone shared his opinion.

"Absolutely not!"

Shion frowned and immediately rejected the idea.

"This is our town’s problem. We should be the ones to deal with it."

"Exactly," Shuna added.

"Haruto and Milim are both our guests. We can’t keep depending on them whenever something dangerous happens."

The two women clearly believed that protecting the settlement was the responsibility of its own residents.

They couldn’t simply rely on powerful visitors to solve every crisis.

Haruto, however, shook his head.

"You’ve misunderstood something."

He looked at them with a perfectly serious expression.

"I’m not offering to fight because I want to help you."

"Huh?"

"I’m doing it because I want to capture an ingredient."

Haruto continued as though explaining the most obvious thing in the world.

"Charybdis should be an excellent ingredient. And when it comes to capturing ingredients, I naturally prefer to handle the hunting myself."

Shion and Shuna stared at him.

For a moment, neither knew how to respond.

He wanted to participate in a battle against an enormous, terrifying monster...

Because he wanted to eat it?

If anyone else had offered such an explanation, they would have found it completely unbelievable.

But coming from Haruto?

Somehow, it didn’t seem strange at all.

After all, this was someone who regularly ventured deep into dangerous monster territories purely to collect ingredients.

"...Very well."

Shion eventually relented.

"But please be careful. Charybdis isn’t an ordinary monster."

Shuna nodded in agreement.

"Don’t worry."

Haruto smiled reassuringly.

...

They didn’t have to wait long.

The following day, Charybdis arrived near the town.

The enormous creature possessed an extraordinarily unusual appearance.

Its massive body was equipped with gigantic wings, and a single enormous eye dominated its form.

Even from a considerable distance, its presence was overwhelming.

And Charybdis wasn’t traveling alone.

Circling around it were thirteen enormous sharklike monsters, swimming through the air as though the sky were an ocean.

These creatures were known as Megalodons, gigantic flying sharks that accompanied Charybdis.

"They’re here!"

Benimaru’s voice was grim.

At his warning, the assembled monsters immediately began preparing to engage the approaching enemies.

Haruto narrowed his eyes and examined Charybdis carefully.

However, the longer he looked at the enormous creature, the more his expression changed.

Eventually, his brows drew together in disappointment.

"Uh... Charybdis doesn’t look particularly delicious."

Despite its fearsome appearance and overwhelming magical presence, there was something distinctly unsatisfying about the creature.

It looked enormous and powerful, but Haruto couldn’t shake the impression that much of its strength was superficial.

There was a strange sense of hollowness beneath its imposing exterior.

"Mm-hmm! It really doesn’t look very tasty!"

Milim nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

Beside them, Rimuru nearly tumbled out of Shuna’s arms.

’HEY!’

’Is this seriously the time to be discussing whether that thing tastes good?!’

An enormous monster was approaching the town, accompanied by thirteen gigantic flying sharks.

Everyone was preparing for a potentially devastating battle.

And these two were standing there evaluating the enemy’s culinary appeal!

Unfortunately, neither Haruto nor Milim seemed particularly concerned by Rimuru’s reaction.

Haruto activated his Unique Skill Gourmet and focused on Charybdis.

Detailed information about the creature soon appeared in his mind.

[Ingredient Appraisal: Charybdis]

[A special life-form formed from magicules released by Veldora the Storm Dragon.]

[Consciousness is unstable. Magicule reserves are in a state of overexertion. Flesh possesses a loose texture and extremely poor nutritional value.]

[Possesses self-regenerative capabilities. As time passes, its flesh will gradually improve in quality alongside the recovery and stabilization of its magicules.]

[Estimated time until complete recovery: More than one hundred years.]

As the information flowed into his mind, Haruto’s frown deepened.

’Just as I thought.’

The current Charybdis possessed almost no worthwhile nutritional value.

It was like a fruit that had been artificially forced to ripen before it was ready.

From the outside, it looked enormous and impressive.

But beneath that impressive appearance, the actual quality was disappointingly poor.

Its strength had been achieved by overextending its reserves rather than allowing them to develop properly.

Still...

Haruto rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Charybdis was undoubtedly an unusual ingredient.

Its body was capable of recovering naturally, and as its magicules gradually stabilized and became more concentrated, the quality of its flesh would steadily improve.

If it were allowed to recover completely, it could eventually become an exceptionally high-grade ingredient.

Unfortunately, the required time was absurdly long.

More than a hundred years!

Haruto certainly wasn’t going to sit around waiting for an ingredient to mature for an entire century.

Fortunately, that didn’t mean he was completely out of options.

He had other ways of dealing with situations like this.

"What a shame."

Haruto shook his head regretfully.

"Such an enormous ingredient, and I’ll probably only be able to get a little something worthwhile out of it."

His expression was like that of someone who had discovered a gigantic cake only to learn that he could eat a single small bite.

However, Charybdis wasn’t the only possible ingredient in the sky.

The thirteen Megalodons surrounding it looked considerably more promising.

Haruto immediately directed Gourmet’s appraisal ability toward one of the flying sharks.

[Ingredient Appraisal: Megalodon]

[A monster born using the corpse of a Lesser Dragon as its foundation.]

[Flesh contains a high concentration of magicules. Texture is firm, springy, and suitable for a wide variety of cooking methods.]

Haruto’s expression immediately brightened.

’Now that’s more like it!’

As expected, the Megalodons possessed excellent meat quality.

Because their bodies had formed around the corpses of Lesser Dragons, their flesh contained substantial amounts of magical energy.

The texture also sounded particularly appealing.

Firm, springy meat could be prepared in all sorts of ways, whether roasted, simmered, grilled, or used in more elaborate dishes.

Compared with the disappointing condition of Charybdis, the Megalodons were already excellent ingredients.

Haruto nodded in satisfaction.

While he was busy appraising the monsters, Benimaru and the others had already begun their attack.

Benimaru unleashed Hell Flare, engulfing one of the flying sharks in devastating black flames.

The Megalodon was immediately destroyed.

Seeing that, Haruto stopped hesitating.

’Hey, don’t kill all of them before we get a chance!’

If Benimaru and the others wiped out every Megalodon, there wouldn’t be any ingredients left for him to collect.

He had no intention of letting that happen.

Haruto turned toward his companions.

"Kagura, Kanna, Gardevoir, we’re joining in."

The three immediately looked toward him.

"Our targets are those Megalodons."

Haruto’s expression became particularly serious as he added one final instruction.

"And make sure you don’t ruin the meat."

"Understood!"

Kagura, Kanna, and Gardevoir nodded.

The next moment, Haruto and his three companions charged toward the enormous flying sharks, officially joining the battle.