Chapter 1003: A shocking cuisine?
Giant Beast Forest, a base…
The forward operating base is calmer now after the previous chaos. Things fell back into order…
There were three captains in charge of the base. They were tasked with organizing the resources and then offering them up to the Ailu empire's royalty. With two captains killed, Pelosi is the only one running the base.
Pelosi looked like he walked away with the biggest cut of the pie. He didn't waste the other captains, they betrayed the camp and got ended. Through the evil actions of the other two captains, he came the sole person in charge of this camp.
Who wouldn't want such a lucrative position, he had a monopoly over the resources coming out of the Giant Beast Forest.
Pelosi no doubt had the lion's share when it comes to profit.
Only Pelosi knows the pain and responsibility his position entailed.
Reaping profit?
Sure.
However, he'd rather share the profit with the previous two captains than running the base by himself. At least back then he still had time to himself.
Now, he needs to keep an eye on the Giant Beast Forest, handle the levy of all the resources coming in from the Giant Beast Forest, look for the Beast King's trail, and various other tasks. It is tiring to oversee so many projects at once.
That's not the most important point.
More importantly, there are a bunch of individuals in his camp that he had to make sure not to cross. He had to station guards and eyes to ensure nobody did anything to anger them. His captain position won't protect him if these super-powered individuals are out for his blood.
The base looked peaceful but that couldn't be further from the truth.
As the sole person in charge, the other noble houses weren't pleased with Lori's authority over this lucrative camp. The royalty might send other captains in due time.
With this possibility on the horizon, the other noble houses naturally got ready to pounce on any opportunity.
Lei Wang saw this coming and he warned Pelosi multiple times to run the base properly. Don't give the other houses any chance to complain.
If internal affairs cropped up while external matters are unresolved, it's not hard for the base to get pulled apart by internal strife and external threat.
This heavy responsibility fell upon Pelosi.
Indeed, he became thinner in a short span of time since taking over his expanded job scope.
Fortunately for him, the most troublesome guy is gone for now. He hadn't heard from Wu Yan for a while now, otherwise, he would have lost more weight by now.
Wu Yan stayed in Strike the Blood for about two months. That's more than half a day in Silvaria time, accounting for the time dilation effect between other worlds and Silvaria.
The internal politics didn't concern Hinagiku & co. As long as the other forces aren't making a move against them, they will stay neutral.
Moreover, they were also busy dealing with an internal issue.
In a large tent belonging to the girls…
"Let go of me!"
Shokuhou Misaki struggled, she's exerting herself judging by her blushing face. She's not calling it quits though. She might be bad at sports but the strength she's exhibiting right now is unbelievable. By sheer will, she inched forward.
Shokuhou Misaki wasn't taking baby steps. No matter how bad someone is at sports, walking a step forward while exerting oneself is hardly realistic. It's more realistic when you look at the three girls holding her back by her waist…
"Shokuhou! Calm down!"
Kinuhata Saiai is also exerting herself, she's red all over. She's not using her abilities because she didn't want to use it against Shokuhou Misaki.
"Why are you so stubborn!"
Frenda held onto Shokuhou Misaki too.
"You're just bad at cooking, it's no biggie, you're the queen, right? A queen doesn't need to bother making meals. Just wait for your helpers to get the food to you, isn't that how it is normally?!"
"Yea! Shokuhou!"
Takitsubou Rikou also glomped Shokuhou Misaki while trying to persuade her.
"If you're hungry then I will help you make…"
"No!"
Shokuhou Misaki denied them outright. She continued her arduous journey forward.
"How dare you belittle my culinary perfection…"
Shokuhou Misaki leered at a certain corner of the tent where Kurumi is sipping black tea with a cheeky grin on her face. She drank her tea like she won it. Without a doubt, Shokuhou Misaki was triggered by Kurumi.
When she saw Kurumi's smug look, she struggled even harder.
"Let go of me! Kinuhata! Frenda! Takitsubou! Just this time! I am going to make something that will blow you all out of this world!"
"Nooooo!!!"
The three started clenching down on Shokuhou Misaki as if their lives depended on it. They staked their lives on keeping Shokuhou Misaki here.
"Blow us out of this world…"
Hinagiku and Mikoto listened with twitching lips.
They recalled her marvelous art just this morning and their faces turned dark.
That thing certainly blew their minds…
"That looks fun…"
Flan bit her index finger. She saw Kinuhata Saiai and her two sisters holding onto Shokuhou Misaki and she suggested something to Yoshino who stood near Flandre.
"Yoshino, wanna go play with the nee-sans?"
"E-erm…"
Yoshino grabbed Flandre's hand.
"I don't think we should bother our sisters for now…"
"Why?!"
"Eh…"
Yoshino couldn't come up with an excuse. Meanwhile, Yoshinon, her puppet spoke up.
"They are improving their relationships with one another, they might even spark a different kind of flare…"
"A different kind of flare?"
Flan had a question mark floating above her head.
Astrea and Tohka were hugging each other while shivering in a corner.
"Shokuhou-nee's cooking, that's scary…"
"It's not good at all! I don't want any!"
The two bottomless pits gave their reviews. It seemed like they tried Shokuhou's avant-garde art.
The four girls continued playing while the others giggled. Two others watched with speechless looks and the two kids stood by the side with curious looks. Then, there are the two bottomless pits who were trembling together. It's a weird scene for sure.
When Wu Yan and Kotori returned to this scene, they were puzzled.
Kotori asked Wu Yan.
"Are they fooling around?"
"Hmm…"
Wu Yan chuckled.
"I am not entirely sure…"
"Yan!"
Hinagiku and Mikoto greeted Wu Yan and Kotori when they saw the two world travelers came back. Hinagiku and Mikoto dashed over while Wu Yan expected a passionate hug from them. Instead, the two ladies grabbed him by his collar and pushed him forward.
"What are you doing standing around doing nothing?!"
"Do something! Stop that crazy woman!"
Wu Yan used his wrinkled brain to think about the situation. His gut told him it's best to not think about this too deeply. Instead, he changed the topic.
"Where's Ikaros?"
"Ikaros?"
Hinagiku and Mikoto exchanged a look.
"She was just here a moment ago?"
"Maybe she went to take a bath in the lake?"
Wu Yan's eyes lit up…