Devilla
I studied my venison skewers as Lucy and I walked toward our next destination. They were simple in construction, consisting of cubed meat impaled by wood, cooked upon a grill, lightly salted and slightly charred. They smelled good, and - judging by a quick nibble - tasted decent. But were they truly worth the praise Lucy had bestowed upon them?
"Is something wrong?" Lucy asked, already halfway through the first of her meaty treats. "If you don't like the taste, I can take you somewhere else!"
"The taste is fine," I assured her, taking a larger bite. The meat was firm and smooth, boasting a surprising depth of flavor, the lack of culinary seasoning supplemented by the creature's own varied diet. A bit gamey, but not bad at all. "I'm just confused, I suppose. For as good as it tastes, I cannot help but credit that to the ingredients over the chef. And yet you called his stall your favorite? I mean no offense, but surely there are others who could do the job as well?"
"I think you're underestimating how hard it is to hunt stuff, Eena," Lucy chided me. "Hunters are basically competing with monsters! Monsters who will want to attack them, too! I mean, Wilhoon's actually an adventurer, you know? He makes most of his money selling monster material to guild!"
"Why not sell them at his stall, instead?" I questioned, taking another bite of the meat. Though I had a newfound appreciation for its rarity, I still thought it could have used more seasoning. As wonderful as salt was, even fries couldn't truly shine with that alone. Dipping sauces were essential. Speaking of which... "Could you hold this for me?" I asked, extending my skewers. "There's something I need to retrieve from my pack."
"People don't eat monster meat, Eena," Lucy informed me, lowering her voice to a whisper as she took hold of my meal. "The church teaches that it's fine to use their materials for weapons and stuff - to fight them with their own tools - but that consuming their flesh is to invite darkness into our hearts... Not that I really agree with them..." Lucy trailed off, the frown that had briefly marred her features disappearing. "But we're getting off topic! The food's not really why Wilhoon's stall is my favorite, anyway."
"No?" I questioned, digging into my pack, past the non-perishable goods that filled it, to reach the Empty Bag hiding within. "Then what is?"
"The way he treats me! He's always been way more casual with me than the other vendors!"
I had to bite my tongue to keep from questioning Lucy's words. I didn't wish to disparage her favorite stall further, but if
that
was her idea of a 'casual' interaction, then I had to wonder whether my manner of speaking even registered with her as
formal.
The man hadn't even called her by name! And he'd clearly been nervous the entire time, albeit to varying degrees... But I had no wish to endanger whatever joy she found in frequenting the place. Especially if the other vendors were, indeed, bad enough to make Wilhoon seem friendly by comparison.
"If it's more the vendor than the flavor that drew you," I said instead, "then perhaps you won't mind me making a minor adjustment to the taste?"
"What do you mean?" Lucy asked, eyeing my pack. Her eyes widened as I drew forth a glass bottle, curiosity written clearly upon her brow as she studied the red liquid within.
"This is called hot sauce," I apprised her, tugging its cork free from the narrow neck. "A spicy topping that goes well with meat."
I watched Lucy for her reaction, just as she in turn studied the condiment I held. I was a little concerned that she might question its presence in my possessions, deviating as it did from standard adventurer fare, but thankfully, she seemed more curious about its contents than confused as to why I had such a thing in the first place. I could only hope that she'd be as accepting of the other sauces, spices, and herbs that Lenora had helped to procure. It would be best if I probed her acceptance carefully, so as to avoid breaking my promise with Abigail to be discreet.
"Can I try some?" Lucy asked after a moment of study.
"If you'd like," I assented, proffering the bottle with one hand as I reached out to retrieve my two remaining skewers from her. She had, I noticed, finished the first of hers. "Though I'd be careful with the quantity. It's quite potent."
"Don't worry," Lucy replied, confidence puffing up her chest, as she proceeded to pour a generous heaping upon the first chunk of her skewer. "I have a really high tolerance to spicy stuff!"
Or so she said. And yet the very moment her teeth cut through the meat... "Spicyyyyyyyyyy!"
"I did try to warn you," I sighed, trying not to chuckle at the Heroine who'd been brought to tears with a single bite. It was hard to imagine that her presence had ever struck me with terror, seeing her like this.
"I thought you were just underestimating me!" Lucy explained, levitating the bottle over to me via arcane magic, so that her hand would be free to fan at her overheated tongue. A futile gesture, but one I understood all too well - though only via my memories as Jacob. "I mean, I've had hot sauce before, and usually I need at
least
that much just to feel it!"
I replied with a noncommittal hum, unsure how to justify the differences in strength between Lenora's concoction and those that Lucy was more familiar with. It made sense to me, now that it had been pointed out. Lucy's people didn't have dryads, capable of producing entire fields of peppers almost at will, and as such were no doubt stingier with their supplies. Not to mention the fact that we demons of the tower had long been forced to compensate for a lack of salt in our cuisine, with other, stronger flavors. And yet, as obvious as it seemed to me, none of it was fit for open discussion, while I was hiding my identity.
And speaking of the inexplicable...
"You can't seriously be planning to go back for another bite?" I queried, voice weighted with disbelief as I watched the Heroine slowly bringing the skewer back towards her face. Her eyes were
still watering!
Not to mention the emotions contained within them - a combination of determination and terror.
"I don't want to waste it!" Lucy told me, her resolve blazing ever brighter, as if she were gathering the courage to face her greatest enemy. Which I suppose wasn't too far off base, considering the snack's origin, but it was still not an expression befitting the consumption of good food. "Wilhoon put his all into hunting this meat! And I bet you don't have a ton of that sauce, either, right?"
"Well..." I obviously did - a near unlimited supply, in fact
.
But there
was
a limit to what I could explain having on me.
"This meal isn't just meat and sauce! It's filled with the feelings of those I care about! So there's no way I'll ever let that go to waste!"
Saying so, Lucy opened her mouth wide to take another bite. The skewer, however, never entered her maw, as my magic quickly pulled it back.
"Don't be stupid," I grumbled, snatching the hot sauce from her magic's grasp, pouring a singular drop upon the skewer that I had bitten into, so that I might offer it to her. I would have gone for the untouched skewer, but I didn't want to hear any complaints about taking more than she was giving. "Our feelings are meant to bring you
joy,
not pain."
"Eena..." Lucy hesitated, her eyes traveling back and forth between the sauce drenched skewer she currently gripped, and the one I'd offered her in trade. "Are you sure? Wouldn't that just put you in trouble, instead of me?"
"As if such a small amount of sauce could possibly trouble me," I replied with a derisive snort. A bit excessive, perhaps, but I wanted to ensure she took me seriously. Especially since I was speaking truthfully - while there was some risk of the sauce washing out the meat's flavor profile, there was no chance of its heat debilitating me. I could drink it straight and be fine. In fact I'd done just that, on multiple occasions, in order to judge Lenora's foray into sauce making.
"Well... If you're sure," Lucy said, overcoming her reluctance and making the trade.
She watched me, nerves obvious, as I raised the oversauced meat to my lips and bit into it. The heat washed over me, and while my fear of losing the venison's taste proved true, the spice itself did me no ill. Indeed, I'd simply need to finish the chunk of meat she'd drenched, and then move onto the lower ones, which had merely caught the dripping excess. I could even switch between the two skewers I now held, so as to enjoy the taste in both its classic and altered forms.
The smile that thought brought to my lips must have alleviated Lucy's concern, for she was soon raising the meal for a bite of her own. It was only as I watched her bite consume the marks I myself had left upon the meat that something occurred to me - that this might, perhaps, count as an indirect kiss.
My face turned red. Then redder yet, when I saw that Lucy herself seemed to hold no such concerns, her focus entirely on the consumption of hot sauce and venison. I was being ridiculous, I realized, allowing thoughts of lips on lips to pass through my mind, while Lucy herself blissfully enjoyed her meal. To think about what it would feel, if a more direct variant of the concept came to pass.
Did this even
count?
We were biting the food, not sealing our lips upon it. And even if it did, did Solla even have such a concept to begin with? I wasn't sure how much of Earth did, for that matter, having never really come across it outside of the anime that Jacob used to watch. And Lucy certainly didn't seem to be thinking about such ridiculous things as our mouths... sealing against one another...
"Can I have some more?"
I nodded, rapidly, my cheeks on fire as I pushed the embarrassing notion from my mind.
"Eena?" Lucy queried me, her hand yet to reach for the sauce. "Are you okay? Your face is all red...?"
I shook my head, in lieu of a verbal response, not trusting my voice to remain steady. Similarly, my eyes avoided Lucy's, taken as I was by the irrational fear that she might give her some clue as to what was going through my mind.
"Oh no... Don't tell me the sauce got to you after all? I knew I shouldn't have let you take it!"
"N-no!" I squeaked out, cursing the quivering of my voice. I was being
