While helping to disassemble the monster, my clothes got covered in blood. When my mother saw this, she thought I was seriously injured and nearly fainted. As a result, I got a long lecture that day.
The next day, the villagers were preparing for the festival from the morning. Meanwhile, I had sword training. This was part of my daily routine, but I was also grounded for the morning because of the bloody incident yesterday.
Despite having camped out in the mountains for several days, my father didn’t show a trace of fatigue and went out as the supervisor of the festival. So unfair…
Around midday, I was finally allowed outside.
Since it was a meat festival, there was plenty of meat to eat. Ben had also said he’d eat until he was full.
So, I converted some horse oats into pepper.
Horse Oats (1 kilogram) to Pepper (5 grams) Conversion: 300 Mana
It was very inefficient. But since horse oats grew everywhere along the roadside, I could keep converting them into pepper as long as my mana held out.
I had a little mana left, so I could still endure the sleepiness. The pepper came out ground, coarsely. I put it into a bag and headed toward the festival.
In the village square, a large pile of wood was set up and a fire had been lit. It was a campfire! Even in winter, fires like this kept things warm.
The adult men were already drinking. My father was among them, his face flushed.
“Oh, Toma ! You got to leave the house after all!”
Even though the festival hadn’t started yet, they were already well into drinking.
“Pretty soon, the meat will be brought, and they’ll start grilling and handing it out. Eat as much as you want!”
“Sure!”
I hadn’t eaten lunch for this very reason. Today, I was going to eat and eat and eat!
“Heh heh. The lord’s son, huh?”
It was the white-haired old man from yesterday who had given the dissection orders.
“Yeah, this is my son, Toma . Toma , this old man is the village elder.”
“I’m Toma . My father is always in your care.”
“Ah, so polite. My name is Rood. From now on, please take care of me as well.”
The elder stroked his chin. He had a certain dignified air, just like the elderly characters from period dramas on TV.
“Hey, Toma ! The meat’s here!”
Suddenly, someone grabbed my arm. It was Ben, whom I met yesterday.
“Hey, Ben! Don’t go around doing things like that. You fool!”
The elder quickly scolded him with a “What are you doing?!”
“Toma , are you really the lord’s child?”
Ben tilted his head, still not quite getting it. Even though he was large, being a kid still made it seem fitting.
“Something like that.”
“No way!”
“Well, it’s fine, you can treat me the same as always.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, it’s fine.”
“Alright, let’s go then!”
“Yeah. Father, I’m off.”
“Alright! Eat your fill!”
“Yes! Oh! Please use this.”
“What’s this?”
“It’s something delicious.”
I handed the bag of pepper to my father and then ran off with Ben.
“First, we’re going there. They’re grilling the best cuts of Metal Bear meat. I’ve confirmed it!”
It seems that Ben had worked hard helping with the dissection and festival preparations, but it was all to find out where the best meat would be cooked. I didn’t have that kind of cleverness.
“Hey, old man! Give me the good stuff!”
Although there was a line, Ben cut in without hesitation.
“Hey, Ben.”
I tugged at his clothes, but the person grilling the meat shouted angrily.
“Hey! Can’t you wait in line, Ben?!”
“Do you think that matters? This is Toma , the lord’s son!”
“What!? The lord’s child? Wait right there!”
“No, no need to wait, we’ll follow the line.”
“Kids shouldn’t worry about that stuff.”
Wait, seriously? He’d been yelled at before, but now this…
“Ben’s fine. He’s always yelled at anyway.”
I’m not sure how I feel about that.
“Here you go, don’t drop it, it’s hot.”
“Thanks, old man!”
“Sorry!”
“Ben, you’re always sneaky.”
I apologized to the people in line, but they all told me it was fine. I guess it’s because my father is well-liked by the villagers that I get treated this way.
“This is amazing! I’ve never tasted meat this good!”
“Isn’t it something you catch every year?”
“Big ones like the Metal Bear are only hunted once every few years.”
“Really… So good!?!”
Although I didn’t know which cut of the Metal Bear was the best, it was rich with fat but not greasy. The fat brought out a rich and sweet umami flavor.
“Ah, this is so good! Let’s go to the next spot!”
“Hey, wait!”
Ben gulped down his meat quickly and headed to the next grill. He could’ve savored the delicious meat more, but instead, he rushed on.
“Hey, lady! Toma , the lord’s son, wants to eat Lightning Bird legs!”
“Oh, Toma from the lord’s house? Got it, I’ll bring it right over!”
Even though there was a line, we got served first. I apologized to the people in line, but once again, they just said “It’s fine.”
Soon after, other children joined us, and a group of us were eating meat without standing in line.
“Ugh… I’ve definitely eaten too much.”
I had eaten an uncountable amount of meat. All of it was delicious, but the best was the first Metal Bear meat I had.
Rubbing my belly, I went back to my father, who was laughing heartily and tipping back a wooden mug. I found myself liking how my father happily drank and laughed with the villagers.
Character Profile: Toma Rocksfor
- Species: Demi-god (Human, God lineage)
- Info: Male, 6 years old, Healthy
- Title: Apostle of ×××
- Rank: G
- Affinity: God
- Blessing: God of Conversion (Unawakened)
- Level: 68
- Skills: Conversion – Level 2
- Life: 826 (2,480)
- Stamina: 848 (2,546)
- Mana: 904 (2,712)
