Tensei Shite Inaka de Slowlife wo Okuritai

Chapter 259: Second Clash of Tongs

Now, the meal won’t be eaten if we keep on talking.

Freshness is important for sashimi after all. Let’s eat the sashimi first.

Besides Crowana, is that Doss Tuna, I wonder? There is something like a red tuna and something like orange-colored salmon.

For now, I take one each from all kinds of sashimi on the plate with tongs to check their tastes.

And Eric also started to take the sashimi with his tongs from the other side, perhaps he also considered the freshness of the sashimi.

He used his tongs with the same timing as in the royal capital party back then.

Oh well, there is a lot of sashimi this time, so there shouldn’t be any fighting with tongs again.

When I was taking the portion of sashimi while thinking about such a thing, I suddenly realized that there is only one sashimi left.

……what’s this? It looks like a white-fleshed fish, but it’s faintly shining and appear beautiful.

It’s like the rainbow color at the back of a shell.

I’m curious about it so I try to take it with my tongs, but then something bumped into my tongs.

When I look up, there are two tongs that were trying to take the same sashimi and were tangled with each other.

Eric and my tongs had clashed with each other again.

What the heck? Again?

When I raise my face with a fed-up expression, Eric also made the same kind of bitter expression on his face.

As we stiffen with complex expressions on our faces, the gazes of everyone are piercing at us somehow.

No, I understand the reason why their eyes are gathering on us. They are probably thinking ‘So they are going to fight with tongs again, after all’, right?

……fuu, as expected Eric and I are not so stupid that we will do the same thing again, y’know.

I exhaled and says with a calm smile on my face,

「Eric, what is this beautiful fish?」

「Aah, this is a fish called Kygnus (キグナス). Look, there are also Kygnus fish around here. And this one is the belly part of the fish, so it’s delicious since it has a nice amount of fat in it, y’know?」

Eric tries to blatantly divert the subject from the rainbow-colored sashimi when I ask him.

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This is definitely suspicious.

「Heeー, so it’s like that. By the way, this rainbow-colored sashimi is also a Kygnus, right? Why is there only one here?」

「Th, that was……umm, that……」

As I question him directly, Eric stutters.

What is ‘that’? Eric. What exactly is this?

「……there is only a small part from the rare Kygnus that can be taken to consume. It is pretty but it’s not as delicious as Crowana」

Luna-san - who watches us - muttered when I was asking him in silence.

I see, so it was a part that made people aware of its appearance, huh? A dish can also be a feast for one’s eyes after all. I like this kind of dish that pleases the eyes.

「So it’s like that. Then there’s no――」

「……incidentally, that’s Eric’s favorite」

「So I thought, but I want to try itー」

「Gununununu!……youu bratt, you immediately change your mind the moment you know it’s my favorite!」

Eric’s expression distorted interestingly when I request as such while smirking.

A small part can only be taken out from the rare fish called Kygnus. Despite all that, it’s Eric’s favorite.

It’s not a particularly delicious part so I should have just given it up if we were friends, but I have recognized Eric as a bad company since this evening so there is no need to hold back.

To begin with, we are the side being entertained this time. So I can eat them whenever I feel like it, and there would be no meaning in giving them to Eric.

So you better give it to me - the guest - obediently.

When I only move my mouth toward him without putting it into words, Eric groaned while holding his anger.

「Gunununu!」

Eric was glaring at me for around five seconds with a red face, but I guess he calmed himself suddenly since he calmly smiled.

「Fuuh, I don’t mind. Since it is a slice of Kynus meat there should be more in another place. So I’ll give that to you」

It was pretty much a rare part of the meat and I was worried about it so now I directly take the Kygnus sashimi.

Perhaps they all are relieved that there would be no fight with tongs since everyone’s piercing gazes are scattered.

「Aneue, please get me that Kygnus sashimi on that plate over there」

「……there’s none」

Eric asks with a calm smile on his face, but Luna-san’s decisive words make his smile immediately collapse.

「Wha, what the!? There should be two pieces left on that plate!?」

How attentive. Did you check all the plates one by one or what?

「Ah, it looks pretty somehow so I ate it」

「Me too……」

「Wh, what?」

Hearing Eleonora-neesan and Sylvio-niisan’s answers, Eric got shocked.

His calm expression at the beginning is no longer there.

From the two’s perspectives - who chose casually -, they probably reach out to take it since it was so pretty.

「Th, the one on the other side……」

「Ara? This fish here looks so pretty」

「You’re right. Shall we try it?」

Eric looked further into the back, but it was just when Elna-kaasan and Nord-tousan are sharing the sashimi over there.

But still, guess he can’t aim at the sashimi over there right now.

Which means, the only one left is the one on my plate……

The moment I thought so, Eric grabbed his tongs and brandish his tongs vigorously.

This brat, he’s prepared to take the meat even without balking at another duel of tongs? If this place only has the two of us, then I won’t hesitate to beat him up, but both of our parents are watching us now.

If we repeat ‘that’ again we will get scolded, so I don’t want that to happen.

So instead of having a match of tongs with Eric, I quickly stab the sashimi with my fork and threw it into my mouth to settle the current situation.

「Aah!?」 I heard Eric’s wailing voice, but I keep on chewing the Kygnus sashimi without minding him.

Hm, the peculiar elasticity that is similar to engawa1 is interesting, but as for the taste……

「It has an interesting chewy texture but it’s somewhat lacking when you compare it with Crowana, isn’t it?」

「Then don’t eat it!」

When I commented on the taste with a subtle expression on my face, Eric shouted with a frustrated look on his face.

Ahaha, when I see Eric looks so frustrated like this, it might make this tastier than the taste of Crowana.

◆

「Eric, sorry. Don’t keep on sulking like that」

「I’m not sulking」

So he said, but his eyebrows are closer than usual, and there are wrinkles between his eyebrows.

He’s usually a person with a sullen look on his face, but he’s clearly in a bad mood right now, and he appears to be sulking.

I don’t think that eating the rare sashimi before will turn out to be this bad, but it’s hard for me to eat if you’re looking displeased like that in front of me.

「Then, stop that pouty face」

「My face is originally like this」

「Oh well, that’s true I guess」

「But I wonder why? I get a little angry when I saw you saying that with that dead look in your eyes」

Oh? What’s with this guy? Is he trying to pick a fight with me?

However, if I were to retort now our conversation will certainly grow worse. So let’s just obediently apologize here as the adult.

「Sorry」

「Fuun, there’s no need for you to apologize. Since unlike you, I can always eat fresh seafood after all! Although it was my favorite rare part from the Kygnus, I could just eat them again later」

Wh, what a drag. Even though I’ve behaved myself modestly, he took the chance to assert his dominance.

Though, it’s also the same with me……

I’ve remembered most of the sea in Eric’s territory, so I can always use Space magic to Teleport here anytime. And besides, if I store the freshly caught Crowana in my subspace, I can eat sashimi in its most delicious condition whenever I want. It will be the same with fish or even shellfish other than Crowana.

Eh? Isn’t this the same or even better than Eric’s situation?

Even though he’s the son of the lord who ruled over a territory that faces the sea, the son of a lord who rule over a territory that was surrounded by mountains is living in even more luxury.

Somehow Eric seems kinda pitiful.

「Yeah. That’s good then, Eric」

「Y, you! What’s with that look of sympathy in your eyes! I don’t really know what you’re thinking, but stop looking at me with those eyes!」

Despite replying to him to show that I’m paying attention to what he said while grinning, Eric says those kinds of things to me instead.

It seems that my true thoughts were faintly visible in my eyes.

「That's right. If you think it’s your fault then bring out the soy sauce-thing you brought out onto the ship before as an apology. I'll forgive you after that」

「Ehh? But you said that I don’t have to apologize before, right? Then I won’t give it to you, okay?」

「You brat! This guy!」

When I clearly say that to Eric who was playing innocent, he shouted at me.

His life could become easier if only he could be a bit more honest.

Note : キグナス, Kygnus, Cygnus, Kignus, Cignus. 0.O

1. Meat at the base of a fin (esp. flatfish).