Sharks are definitely edible—especially their fins. That's the legendary "fish maw" most people have only ever heard of; ninety, even ninety-nine percent have never seen it in person.
But Shichen had no reason to kill a shark just for that.
He could sense there wasn't the slightest trace of human in this shark's body, so it had never eaten anyone. Under normal circumstances, it's rare for people to get eaten by sharks anyway. So there was no need to take its life.
It wasn't that he was overflowing with compassion—it was just that shark fin didn't tempt him as much as little blue lobsters did.
He'd caught so many little blue lobsters he could eat himself sick in one sitting if he wanted.
"I've never heard of shark being edible," Kotegawa Yui said.
She came from an ordinary family, so she'd never come near shark fin in her life—probably assumed "shark fin" was literally just the fin of a regular fish.
"What? Sharks really aren't edible?" Lala was devastated by her words.
Coming from a native of this planet, it carried weight—unlike them, who were all aliens.
"Eh? I don't remember sharks being… mmph!"
Frieren had just recalled something and was about to say it when Shichen clapped a hand over her mouth. She did know shark fin was edible—and a delicacy.
"Frieren, what were you saying?" Lala turned to her.
Shichen pulled Frieren into his arms, keeping his hand over her mouth. "Don't mind her," he said. "She probably just thought of something fun again."
"…If you say so. Still, I lost," Lala pouted unhappily.
"Fine, we'll say you win," Shichen soothed.
"Eh?" Lala looked at him in confusion.
"Anyway, nobody here eats shark—it's just that people don't catch them often, so they haven't had enough chances to try. Who knows if they're good or not? Let's just call this one your win."
"Really?" Lala's smile bloomed instantly, bright and radiant. A young girl's smile really was the cutest.
"Of course," Shichen nodded with a smile.
"Hehe~ Shichen is the best!" Lala happily threw herself at him, hugging one side of his body. Her head rubbed against his shoulder, her softness pressing against his arm.
Skin-to-skin really was the nicest.
Coming to this deserted island had definitely been the right choice.
"Since you've won, is there anything you want me to do?"
"Mm~ I haven't thought about it. How about… later, Shichen, you feed me?"
"That's it?"
"That's enough. You already let me win, after all~" Lala replied, satisfied.
"Alright then, I'll feed you until you're full," Shichen said, letting go of Frieren's mouth and placing his hand on Lala's head, gently ruffling her hair.
"I'm really looking forward to it! By the way, if we can't eat shark, what are we going to eat later?"
"Look over there." Shichen pointed toward the dense pile of little blue lobsters.
"Whoa—so many lobsters!"
"Those aren't lobsters—they're called little blue dragons."
"They look about the same as lobsters. Are they good?"
"Of course."
"Then hurry and cook them, Shichen, I'm starving."
"Alright… you go let the shark go."
"Okay~"
Lala let go of him and happily walked over to the shark, easily hefted it up, and then just flung it.
The shark flew dozens of meters and hit the sea with a splash, water spraying everywhere.
"Try not to drop it to death, would you?"
"Aren't sharks really strong? How would it die that easily?"
"Even a shark can only take so much of your abuse…"
Shichen winced more and more, sensing the shark's lifeforce—it really did seem a bit low. Just in case, he tossed a healing pulse after it to restore it to normal.
Splash—
The shark immediately perked up, thrashing and throwing up huge waves before swimming off.
It probably never wanted to see Lala again for the rest of its life.
"Lala, where'd you even catch that?" Shichen waited until the shark vanished completely, then couldn't help asking.
"I dunno. I just kept swimming and ran into it."
"…Next time don't swim so far."
"Okay~ Now hurry up and do those little blue dragons, I'm hungry!"
"Got it."
Shichen nodded and went over to the grill. He'd already lit the fire. With the flames going strong, he didn't need to fuss—he just fixed the little blue lobsters to the rack and started roasting.
Their screeching was deafening—those on the rack, those tied beside it—nearly a hundred all bawling at once. Incredibly annoying.
"They sound so weird."
"So awful…"
"Bear with it. These are their last cries—let them scream themselves out," Shichen said.
"I guess…"
Before long, the ones on the grill fell silent, their blue shells turning a mouthwatering red. The smell spread, drawing everyone over.
At some point, Koizumi had also come ashore, nosing up to the rack and staring at the reddened lobsters.
For the first batch, Shichen grilled seven—no seasoning, just pure flavor. When they were done, he separated the tails and peeled the shells, handing the meat out.
The shrimp flesh was white and tender, faintly fragrant, steaming hot.
"Shichen, feed me!" Lala, of course, didn't take hers—just leaned in with her little cherry mouth open.
Shichen blew on it a few times and held the nearly half-hand-sized chunk up to her lips.
"Aaah—" Lala didn't bother with ladylike; she chomped half of it in one bite. Two chews and her eyes went wide, pupils sparkling. "So good!"
"Right?" Shichen fed her the rest.
"Brother-in-law…" Momo, who'd been staring at them this whole time, finally couldn't hold back.
"What is it, Momo?"
"I want brother-in-law to feed me too… is that okay?" Momo fluttered her lashes, asking softly.
"Why not?"
Shichen chuckled and took her tail, lifting the meat to her lips.
"Aaah~" Momo beamed, nibbling a small bite. She cupped her face, chewing gently, expression utterly satisfied.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Nana snapped immediately.
"Doing what? Getting brother-in-law to feed me," Momo said matter-of-factly.
"Why are you sticking your head in? It's only natural for Sis to be fed by him—what are you trying to pull?"
"What's the big deal? Sis, do you mind?"
"Not at all. I'm thrilled Momo and Shichen get along so well," Lala replied with a smile.
"See?" Momo arched a brow at Nana, smug.
Nana: "…"
"If you want to be fed, just say so. Brother-in-law wouldn't refuse you," Momo said.
"You just mean fed with food!" Nana shot back, face red.
"Suit yourself. It's so much better this way. Brother-in-law, I want more~" Momo leaned in for another bite.
The tails weren't that big, but she somehow made hers last several bites. Nana watched from the side, teeth grinding, then glared at Shichen.
He'd said he wanted to date her—then this is how he acts?
Flirting with someone else right in front of her—even if it was her twin, that didn't make it okay.
"Nana, do you want me to feed you too?" Shichen noticed her gaze and asked.
"I do not!"
Nana bit into her own food as if it were an enemy, refusing hard—but honestly? It tasted fantastic.
The little blue dragon feast went on for more than an hour before it wrapped up, and half their stock vanished. No worries, though—they could always catch more.
Afterwards, everyone's bellies were slightly rounded—not enough to ruin anyone's look; if anything, it made them oddly more alluring. Frieren's was the most obvious—tiny as she was, after eating so much, her tummy was clearly bulging. Shichen couldn't resist; he pulled her into his arms on a lounge chair and gently kneaded her little belly.
Frieren didn't protest, letting him rub while she slept and digested.
The afternoon passed in peaceful laziness.
By dusk, the sky dimmed. When Shichen woke and saw everyone still sleeping, he decided to give them a surprise. He laid Frieren down and slipped into the sea alone.
By the time he came back it was full dark, and everyone was just waking up. Shichen hung holy fire in the sky for light, then started prepping dinner.
"Shichen, what are those?" Lala noticed the new additions among the ingredients as soon as she woke.
One type looked like a brown spider-crab with extra long legs; the other was a large red crab with big claws.
"Aren't those… king crab and snow crab?" Kotegawa Yui said in surprise—she recognized the species.
"King crab? Snow crab? So they're crabs?"
"Mm, really expensive ones!"
"So they must be really good?"
"I've never eaten them… but I'd bet they are."
"Hehe~ we'll know soon enough, won't we?" Shichen said with a grin.
"Shichen-nii, you caught these? There shouldn't be any around here, right?"
"Who says I can't go a little farther?" he replied with a smile.
"…Pretend I didn't ask."
"Yui, don't you want to be like the rest of us?" Shichen suddenly asked.
~~~
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