"Hahaha! Did you hear that, you Demons, my Lord he... huh?" Alto Tai's laughter stopped abruptly.
"My Lord, what are you saying?! I don't understand!"
It leaped up from the corner, looking at Mino, whose eyes were filled with tears, and then at Fim, whose eyes were glistening.
The two looked at each other, completely ignoring him in the middle.
It was like... a world-famous painting.
"My... wait, my Lord! What are you saying?!" Alto Tai was anxious.
"You've eaten the rye bread, and passed the Sword Saint trial! Now you're saying you don't love the rye bread anymore? It will cry!!!"
"I know, I know ah!" Mino clenched his fists and choked out.
"But... it's really awful..."
"People need to change their taste occasionally, even breakfast can't be the same every day. Just because I ate rye bread for a month... afterwards, whether it was battlefield rations or trial food, they all switched it to rye bread for me, hey!"
"It's like you eat noodles every day at a breakfast shop, but occasionally you want to eat something else, right? The result is when you say you want fried rice, the boss immediately looks at you with a 'you've changed' look, which is very unreasonable, right!"
"Why is it that when I tell them 'I don't want to eat rye bread', they look at me with an expression like 'don't joke around', making it seem like I'm falling in love with someone else? What do they understand about me!!!"
Regardless, Brave Mino decided to stick to his guns, saying with tearful eyes:
"In short... I've never felt happy eating rye bread!"
A tragic and heroic atmosphere spread in the prison cell.
Fim slightly clenched her stiff hands, her empty eyes looking at Mino, tears welling up.
"Hero, so pitiful."
Claytina didn't expect Mino to have such a miserable past. Although they were Demons, they still had food they liked and disliked. No one wanted to eat food they hated year after year without any choice.
No, I can't empathize with the enemy... Claytina complexly removed the sympathy from her heart.
Since that was the case, it was a good thing for them, indicating that the Hero's resistance to delicious food was far from as strong as rumored.
"Fim, begin."
The zombie maid Fim nodded vigorously. She came to the stove, picked up a short knife with her right hand, formed a cat's paw with her left, and quickly chopped out afterimages on the cutting board.
Ingredients turned into neat shreds, cubes, and fine crumbs in her hands.
"My Lord... you, you wouldn't..."
The Holy Sword Artotai, who had been silent for a while, came back to its senses, hesitating to speak.
"Don't worry, Alto Tai." Mino turned his head at this moment and smiled freely:
"I was just reminded of things by your words just now, but that doesn't mean I will yield under the Demon Clan's interrogation!"
"What's more." Mino looked at Fim cutting vegetables in front of him, his tone calm yet confident: "No matter what you say, I'm a Hero. I've attended countless royal banquets and eaten high-class food."
"And look, the ingredients Demon Fim is handling now are the most common ingredients. I don't think I'll be attracted by such simple dishes."
As she spoke, Fim, who had been busy for a while, wiped the sweat from her forehead and let out a sigh of relief.
Alto Tai looked at the ingredients the other party had prepared: shredded ghost lantern peppers, a small amount of bamboo forest wild boar mince, agate corn kernels... It didn't see any staple food at all.
Fim's tender little hand gently lifted a large wooden lid, and then, glistening granules were densely spread out before their eyes.
This... This is?!
Alto Tai's eyes widened instantly, and Mino immediately understood what it was.
"Could it be, this is... leftover rice from yesterday!!!"
In an instant, Mino's gaze towards Fim became serious.
"I know what you're going to do... You've actually mastered the essence of making egg fried rice."
"It... It's actually a commoner-level dish like egg fried rice..." Alto Tai stammered.
Despite this, Alto Tai's mind flashed with the evaluation of the previous holy sword owner, who was also a great gourmet who had traveled the continent.
"Don't underestimate egg fried rice, this dish contains countless possibilities!"
As a Demon, could Fim truly grasp the soul of egg fried rice?
Surging flames blossomed in the stove, the dark iron pot glowed red, Fim's hands became infinitely more agile at this moment. After heating the pot with cold oil, she immediately cracked in the eggs, letting the freshest cool egg liquid directly contact the hot oil!
Rich and enticing smoke rose up.
Fim slightly scrambled the eggs in the pot, poured them out and set them aside, the distinct golden color constantly flowing.
The next moment, the cut ingredients were added to the pot one after another. Under the boiling flames, distinct layers of aroma were released.
At this time, the rice that had lost moisture overnight seized the opportunity, entered the scene at the most suitable heat, and was stir-fried with ingredients developed to their utmost diversity!
For a moment, the rich aroma filled the air.
"This looks so delicious..."
"My Lord!!!" Alto Tai didn't know if it was an illusion, but it saw a momentary look of gluttony on Mino's face.
"Ah! No!" Mino woke up with a start, his expression struggling intensely, then his forehead was covered in cold sweat, and he forced a smile:
"This level of delicious food... simply... cannot attract me."
"You're clearly wavering terribly!!!"
Claytina's dress, interwoven with roses, swayed slightly, and countless rosebuds among her hair bloomed joyfully:
"holy sword, you cannot understand Mino's current situation. Fim's interrogation was effective from the very beginning."
"What?"
"As a zombie Demon, Fim's pain, taste, and other senses are severely suppressed.
But precisely because of this, she can easily amplify your Human senses. The aroma Mino is smelling right now, hehe... is already dozens of times what an ordinary person's nerves can perceive."
Claytina slightly curled her lips, revealing a Demon's smile:
"Facing food with an aroma tens of times stronger than royal cuisine, do you think he can resist?"
"Despicable..." The Holy Sword Artotai glared at Fim.
Fim looked a little lost, and quickly shook her head, explaining: "Fim, just, wanted to make, delicious food."
"Don't explain! This... *slurp*... Demon cuisine is simply impossible to refuse." The holy sword's blade seemed to be trembling with anger.
Claytina coaxed:
"How about it, Mino, as long as you're willing to reveal information about the Magic Tower... you can eat Fim's cooking to your heart's content~"
[Ding—Stage one mission completed]
[Reward will be issued after the interrogation]
The moment Claytina issued the interrogation, the system's mission was finally judged complete.