"But, Mr. Yila... Split Shells were toxic, and the small-shelled clams held a lot of Mana that wasn't good for living beings. The Purple Sea Cucumber was also toxic in winter, though it was a delicacy in spring and summer."
The translucent green Lime said as he picked out a few types of seafood that were not edible... Yes, Yila had overlooked this. Although Vera came from a noble family that didn't do much cooking, Mr. Lime was indeed a professional chef.
He knew very well which seafood was toxic and which wasn't.
"The rest should suffice. Keep enough for the castle, and distribute the rest within the Demon King Territory. It should be enough to sustain everyone until the next trade convoy arrives. I'm really grateful to you."
Lime said emotionally as he threw the selected seafood through a door in the kitchen. There was a distinct "plop" sound of water, so it was likely thrown into a pool connected to the kitchen.
*Speaking of which, what could be behind those wooden doors?*
*Yila thought curiously, eyeing the few wooden doors in the kitchen. He inexplicably got the notion of opening one of them to find an endless prairie, which was quite counterintuitive.*
"But, Yila, how did you manage to dig up so many shellfish in just one morning?"
asked Lime. Clearly, the magical beings in the Demon King Territory also liked to supplement their meat with seafood. But they hadn't considered "scouring the seashore," and since Sea Demon-type magical creatures had maxed-out fishing talents, everyone still ate mostly fish.
Living by the mountains meant relying on the mountains, and living by the water meant relying on the water. All intelligent beings understood this principle. If the food crisis continued, Hilena and Satan Ye would think of converting Battle Port and trade ships to also suit fishing.
They just weren't as skilled as the sea-dwelling magical creatures and wouldn't do something as taxing as "scouring the seashore" because they couldn't think of using charm abilities either.
*By the way, could using Mana to capture a wide range really be considered "scouring the seashore?" It didn't require salting clam holes or quickly digging them up.*
*In that case, they would soon be in a state with a glut of seafood. They would just need to remind everyone not to take the young ones after some time.*
"That's what I wanted to say. With charm abilities, shellfish could easily be coaxed to the surface from the sand. Perhaps to address the urgent need, a few charm-using maidens could collaborate with other magical creatures."
Yila said, continuing as a sudden realization appeared on Lime's face, "However, I might have forgotten one thing… We're low on spices, so it might be tough to handle the fishy odor."
"..."
"Mr. Yila, do you live inland?"
*Inland? Why? The Empire was always in an inland city, right...?*"
Yila nodded lightly, a bit puzzled by Lime's question. "Yes."
"In fact, fresh shellfish don't have a strong fishy smell. The fishy odor comes from the transportation process or imperfect storage. Besides, we do have some spices."
Lime said, clearly in a great mood. He lightly pushed Yila out of the kitchen, saying, "The Demon King loves grilled food. I'll prepare a barbecue for you tonight; please look forward to it~"
"..."
*For some reason, Yila felt there was something odd about Lime's words. What did he mean by "prepare a barbecue for you"? He wasn't having dinner with Satan Ye tonight.*
"Mr. Yila."
Satan Ye's voice came from behind. Yila paused and turned to see Satan Ye along with Hilena. She seemed to be heading this way for something… To find some food?
"It's good you're here; I need to talk to you."
*So, it's me she's looking for.*
Realizing this, Yila nodded, motioning for Satan Ye to continue. He seemed to notice that her tail was straightened behind her, the tip swaying slightly from side to side.
*Magical creatures were like many animals. Their traits reflected their emotions. But Yila didn't know much about small animals. He never kept cats or dogs in his past world, so he couldn't tell what Satan Ye was thinking.*
*Was she curious or something else?*
"Can we have dinner together tonight? I have something to ask you."
Satan Ye said, making Lime's earlier boast a reality. This time, it really was "prepare a barbecue for you." But Yila saw no reason to refuse.
"Of course, or... if you have something to ask, you can do so anytime."
Yila said, unconsciously dropping the preliminary condition. He no longer added "as long as it's about combat and Mana knowledge" as a prerequisite.
"No need, tonight will do."
It was worth mentioning that Satan Ye was very cute. She always appeared so strong and serious... But Yila knew she had once given up on herself, wishing to use her life to create trouble for the Empire one last time.
*But at this moment, she seemed to have completely healed. Magical creatures' self-adjustment abilities were indeed much better than humans, who tended to get stuck on things.*
Yila attributed Satan Ye's condition to her self-adjustment abilities. He didn't realize the biggest change in the Demon King Territory was his arrival. He looked at Hilena and said, "It seems I used your Mana earlier."
"..."
"Uhm~"
Hilena's face still flushed red. She instinctively touched her face, then spoke a bit helplessly, "Indeed, I was scolding the maids for their mistakes. You suddenly drew Mana from me... uhm~ uhm~"
*Come to think of it...*
Yila nodded, recalling how Hilena was gently admonishing the maids for their mistakes when he suddenly drew Mana from her. Her face turned red while enduring the strange sensation, barely holding back odd noises.
*It felt somewhat thrilling.*
"Sorry, perhaps I should have informed you beforehand or used other magical creatures' Mana."
Yila said. Though he didn't know what being drained of Mana felt like for a charm user, he could imagine that making an odd gesture in public due to it would be extremely embarrassing.
"No, if my Mana could help you, Mr. Yila, then feel free to keep using it."
Hilena said, but her tail twitching behind her revealed her inner turmoil. Magical creatures were fascinating beings.
*So, do you want me to continue using it or not? Charm users are truly hard to understand...*