Chapter 53: Pirate Scavengers (Part 1)
"Mm… so good… mm…" Akame's mouth was stuffed full.
'I… lost to someone like this?' Esdeath looked at Akame, whose mouth was overflowing with food, and felt a bit stifled.
"Even though Esdeath doesn't cook often, that grilled meat tastes pretty good," Eric said, trying to cheer her up after noticing her gloomy expression.
"When I used to go hunting dangerous beasts on my own, I would grill meat to fill my belly. That's the only cooking I'm good at."
"Ara ara, then I'll claim this victory," Kurumi said with a smile . Her dishes looked like they came from a five-star restaurant, complete with food carvings and elegant plating—beautiful presentation, vibrant colors, delicious flavor. It had it all: color, aroma, and taste!
"Hmph, maybe it just looks good but tastes bad." Esdeath wasn't about to admit defeat before tasting anything. She grabbed a bite with her chopsticks and took a taste. "...It's actually really good."
"So go ahead and admit defeat."
"Admit defeat? Not a chance. Let Eric judge."
"Me? You didn't say I was the judge when you proposed this contest!"
"So, whose food tastes better?" they both asked in unison.
"...I might misjudge due to personal bias. I suggest we have everyone who tasted your food participate in the vote." Eric hoped to Dragon the others into this mess—this way, if someone got mad, it wouldn't just be at him. Better yet, the voting should be anonymous, so neither woman would take it out on him. Genius!
"We made this food for you to judge. What others think doesn't matter."
"Exactly. And forget your anonymous ballot scheme. Quit your little tricks."
"…" Eric hadn't expected the people he summoned to be so absurdly smart. Not only had they seen through his current thinking—they'd predicted his next move too.
Watching Akame happily devouring food and fighting with great energy, Eric felt a heavy weight on his heart. "Let me finish all your dishes before I give a final verdict." When in doubt—stall.
"Here, eat more. With your strength, you still need a lot of training." This wasn't feeding—it was stuffing. Esdeath's way of feeding was wild and rough.
"Mm mm!" Eric 's mouth was so full of meat he couldn't speak. He could only wave his hands in protest.
"Look at him waving with joy. So cute."
Everyone else watching silently commented in their minds: 'No, he's clearly asking for help.'
"What are you doing!" Kurumi, distressed, pulled Esdeath away and gently rubbed Eric 's back with her right hand to help him swallow.
"What? What did I do?" Esdeath asked innocently, with no awareness that anything was wrong.
"Hahaha, Esdeath-chan, that's not how you feed a man. Looks like you need some serious lessons in how to win a guy's heart," Da Vinci laughed, hoping to give Esdeath some romantic pointers while also helping relieve Eric 's suffering.
"You've got time to teach love advice? Aren't you busy gathering lab materials and designing ship propulsion systems?" Eric finally swallowed everything. No more "mm mm mm"—though his mouth felt stretched like it had been inflated.
"Don't worry, it won't affect the schedule. Thanks to Chiron's help—ah, that sage really saved me a lot of trouble."
"Seeing these advanced designs really makes me realize how far behind I am. Don't worry, Captain, I'll do my best to study these new technologies and help Da Vinci build a great warship."
"No—let's build it together!" Eric corrected, raising his cup. "To our future ship!"
"Cheers!" Everyone clinked glasses, laughter and joy filling the room.
…
"So, whose food was better?" No surprise—the queen was as aggressive as ever.
"...Kurumi's," Eric said quickly, then explained, "It's not that your grilled meat wasn't good—it's just that her dishes considered every aspect: flavor, health, and complementary pairing. The overall taste and texture were better."
"Ara, thank you for the praise." Kurumi lifted her skirt slightly in a graceful curtsey and thanked Eric . Then she turned to Esdeath. "So now you understand—my food is tastier, right?"
"As expected… someone with a pure smile doesn't lie," Esdeath once again blushed with a girlish expression. Then she turned serious and said to Kurumi, "I knew I lost when I tasted your food—but don't get cocky. The next win will be mine!"
"You really don't give up. But that's fine. Without a rival like you, victory wouldn't be so sweet. I'll keep defeating you—I'm Eric 's other half, after all!"
Red lightning flashed from Kurumi's eyes, meeting the blue lightning shooting from Esdeath's. Bzzt bzzt—was this a clash of Conqueror's Haki?
…
LoGabk: Sea Circle Calendar Year 1511, January 1st—New Year's Day.
Eric was woken up early by the system:
[Ding… You have a new message]
[Monthly Mission 5: Pirate Scavengers]
[Objective: The seas are cluttered with too much trash. Within a month, eliminate at least three pirate crews alongside your companions. There's no upper limit on the number of pirate groups you can eliminate—the more you take down, the greater the reward. Rewards: Total bounty of defeated pirates ×3 / Achievement points = number of defeated pirate crews ×1 / Bond points ×1]
'Hmm, by that math… defeating one pirate means earning four times their bounty?'
The system gave no response.
While this task was perfect for "grind lords," for a semi-slacker like Eric , it was a nightmare. He wanted to farm but was too lazy to move. While others had hundreds of rolls already, Eric only had fifty socks saved up by the end of the event.
In the past six days, Eric had been sparring with Esdeath and was utterly beaten down. Esdeath was training him like a man possessed—seriously pursuing the title of strongest in the world. Who said that was just a catchphrase? She meant it! Eric now realized that Chiron's training had actually been relaxing. But Chiron was busy helping Da Vinci with ship design, so Eric had no choice but to rely on Esdeath.
"Eric , time for training," came that dreaded, death-like voice.
"Uh, Esdeath, I have an announcement I need to share. Could you gather everyone, please?"
…
"I'm busy, so if it's not important, big sis won't forgive you, Captain Little Bro."
"Well, we've been here for more than ten days. Some companions might not be able to handle the cold of this winter island. So I've decided to take a few people and explore the nearby islands this month. We'll be back by the end of the month—no later than the 5th of next month."
"Oh, then go ahead. I'll stay here and focus on designing and researching the new ship," Da Vinci replied. She wanted to finish the ship design ASAP, and most scientists preferred to work in solitude.
"I'll stay here to protect the place—and help Da Vinci finish the design. Please be careful out there, Captain," said Chiron, confirming his decision.
"We're a little short on funds, so we might take on some threatening work to earn money—meaning we'll likely run into pirates," Eric added as a heads-up.
"Eww~ then I'll stay here." Polky, who initially wanted to go out, chose to stay behind.
"…I'll stay too." Kullikay, cigarette in his mouth, glanced at Eric , Kurumi, and Esdeath, deciding to steer clear of this storm.
"So, it'll be me, Akame, Kurumi, and Esdeath heading out, while Da Vinci, Chiron, Kullikay, and Polky stay behind?"
"Yeah." "No objections." "Sounds good."
Everyone agreed.
"Then let's head out!" Leaving half of the funds behind, Eric 's group of four departed from Vegapunk's lab and headed toward the small boat docked at the edge of the ice.
(END CHAPTER)
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