That’s what Rindo decided.
But…
“Only one thousand? That’s hardly anything. Is it a small village? In that case, I don’t know if we can expect any good food or amazing art that would draw our interest.”
“Master, I guess this world is a miss after all. I mean, they seem too busy with their war to build an interesting culture.”
“Hmm… You are probably right. But, well…we should still check it out anyway.”
“That’s true. We came all this way, after all…”
That is what Veldora and Ramiris started to say upon hearing Sharma’s answer.
Rindo could not hide his confusion.
It was not what he had expected at all.
Their purpose was the search for new entertainment. They had no interest in their military power at all—but as Rindo knew none of this, he was left to be confused.
“Oh, right-right. We still haven’t finished thanking you yet. We cannot offer you much, but we prepared a little meal for you. I’ll bring it right now.”
Zaza seemed to have sensed the awkward atmosphere, and he said this as if to help lighten things up.
This was one of their bases, and it had the facilities for several people to live here for a few weeks.
Food was very valuable at this time, but as long as there was a need to monitor the Empire, it was necessary to keep this place stocked.
And yet Zaza meant to serve this valuable food to Veldora and the others.
It was his way of showing his appreciation.
Zaza prepared the food himself and set it out in front of them.
However–
“I do not require food. Ramiris, you can eat it if you want.”
“Oh, really? Thank you.”
“Hmph. So you do spoil her after all, Beretta? Oh, well…”
He did not need food–but that meant he could eat it–and yet Beretta pushed his food towards Ramiris.
Veldora watched this with jealous eyes, but the real problem occurred after that.
“Let’s eat then! Huh, what is this? It feels like playdough and has no taste! And this water is muddy!?”
“…Disgusting. What is this tablet?”
“Hey! Hey! What is the meaning of this!? Are you trying to bully me?”
“Exactly! Someone as great as I will not allow this insult to go unpunished!!”
To Veldora and Ramiris, the food was of unbelievably low quality.
It wasn’t poison.
It was actually very well balanced in terms of energy.
However, it did not seem like the kind of thing to give to guests as a show of grat.i.tude.
Hate based off of food was strong. And Veldora and Ramiris were very gluttonous.
They had been served something inedible, and now the fires of rage burned hot within them.
Zaza became frantic.
“Hey, hey. Please wait! This is our precious ‘water,’ ‘energy tablet’ and ‘solid food’! Taste? Who would ask for something so luxurious!?”
Zaza was truly shocked as he fired back at Veldora and Ramiris.
Their resources were so scarce now, and a single meal was very valuable.
One of the reasons that they attacked the Empire was so that they could take food supplies from the enemy’s food production plants.
In this situation, taste was hardly important.
They were lucky to be able to eat enough to survive.
As a cyborg, Zaza only needed a cup of water and one energy tablet to run for an entire day.
However, this was not the case for most of the residents. A full meal consisted of water, energy tablet and solid food. It was the bare minimum for them to survive.
It was the same for Automata, who had enhanced cells through cultivation.
Unless the majority of your body was a machine, like Zaza, you had to consume valuable food resources.
Zaza was so serious that even Veldora and Ramiris saw that it was not a joke or an attempt to offend them.
“Ramiris. Perhaps this food really is incredibly valuable to these people…”
“That’s a surprise, master… He wouldn’t be lying, would he?”
Ramiris and Veldora looked at each other with amazement.
Just then, Sharma opened her mouth with a gentle expression.
“Calm yourself, Zaza. It seems that the food was not to our guests’ liking. But this is the best that we can do. And…if you don’t mind, may I ask you one thing?”
She sounded gentle, but firm.
And she was now looking straight at them.
“Yes. Ask whatever you like.”
Veldora said. And so Sharma did.
“Then let me ask you this. You put the tablet in your mouth just now. Does that mean you do not know how to eat it? I am sure you find me rude, but can you answer me that?”
She said.
Zaza and Rindo were more surprised than Veldora and Ramiris by this question.
“Sharma, what did you just say?”
“No, no. I am a cyborg with no taste buds, but normally… Now that I think of it, you took the solid food and… What? Could it really be…?”
Veldora and the others had no idea what Sharma meant.
“How to eat it? What are you talking about?”
“Huh? What’s wrong with just putting it in your mouth?”
They were very confused.
After that, Sharma demonstrated it for them.
While it was fine to just swallow the tablet, it was considered normal to mix it in with the solid food.
The tablet dissolves into the dough and adds some flavour to it.
“These tablets are incredibly expensive tablets that allow you to enjoy five different flavors. The taste changes with every bite.”
Sharma explained as she demonstrated.
Oh! Veldora and Ramiris were quite impressed, and they imitated her.
As Veldora had already swallowed his tablet, he put Ramiris’s tablet into his solid food and mixed it. Then they tasted it together.
As for the result…
“Oh? It’s not bad at all.”
“Hohoho. Very interesting. It sends false information to your tongue and makes you think it has taste. I think it would be quite fun to research this as a gag toy.”
They were both quite excited by this new food experience.