dmims Page 7
Page 7
Then, Fim, dressed in a maid outfit, walked step by step to the "execution platform" and, with some difficulty, placed a dark iron pot on it.
Eh?
Something feels off about this art style.
Mino continued to observe cautiously until Fim carefully tied the apron embroidered with cute rabbit patterns around his neck, at which point he suddenly realized what was going on.
"Is this... cooking?"
“Hmm, um.” Fim nodded seriously. “As long as, make some delicious food.”
"The hero will... reveal the information."
“Fim, a little, is afraid of fire.”
"But I will try my best."
The fragmented words reached his ears, and Mino's body trembled violently, causing him to involuntarily take a few steps back.
The interrogation was actually... cooking?!
A moment of silence fell over the cell, followed by an unrestrained burst of laughter from the holy sword Altote.
"Hahaha! My lord, look! What a stupid demon!"
"How could anyone think of exchanging cheap food for information representing human loyalty? It just goes to show that demons are truly beyond redemption."
Fim stood there dumbfounded, looking at Kletina with a bewildered expression.
Her petite figure looked somewhat pitiful at that moment.
Mino looked at the stove fire in front of the other person, her eyes filled with complex emotions, as if she were recalling some distant memory.
Meanwhile, Altotai continued to contribute:
"Let me tell you, you demons!"
"The man before you is the strongest hero in human history, Mino Lake. In order to get rid of the evil dragon entrenched in the western desert, he once carried the lowest quality rye bread and ate it for more than a month without any supplies!"
During this time, he neither ate nor cared to eat any delicious food.
“Ah,” Fim’s empty eyes seemed to twitch, and her voice trembled for the first time.
With her hands, clasped slightly together in front of her chest, shod in lace sleeves, she said timidly, "Then, it must be very hard."
Mino remained silent, his shoulders trembling slightly, as if he had tacitly accepted Altottai's praise.
"Hmph! What's that?!" Altotai became even more confident: "What's more, in the so-called hellish Sword Saint Trial, our lord survived for a whole year on just rye bread, exhausting all the competitors and successfully becoming the youngest Sword Saint in history."
When Kleidina heard this, she finally couldn't help but complain, "He must be the swordsman with the best stomach in history, right?"
This announcement struck Mino like a blow to the heart, and his throat tightened even more.
"So, just a simple zombie maid," Altote declared condescendingly.
"Your food has no effect on my lord."
Fim's eyes dimmed slightly, and he lowered his head like a child who had done something wrong.
At this moment, Mino's deep and complex voice rang out.
The voice trembled slightly:
"Actually, I've never felt happy eating rye bread..."
Chapter 9 The Abilities of the Zombie Maid Fim
"Hahaha! Did you hear that, you bunch of demons? My lord... um?" Altothai's laughter abruptly stopped.
"My lord, what are you saying?! I don't understand!"
It suddenly jumped up from the corner, looked at Mino with tears in her eyes, and then at Fim with glistening eyes.
The two looked at each other, completely ignoring him in the middle.
It's like... a world-famous painting.
"Wait... my lord! What are you saying?!" Artotai cried out anxiously.
"You've eaten the rye bread, and you've passed the Sword Saint Trial! Now you're saying you don't like the rye bread anymore? It'll cry!!!"
"I know, I know!" Mino clenched her fists and choked up.
"But...it really tastes awful..."
"People need to change things up sometimes, even breakfast. You can't eat the same thing every day. Just because I ate rye bread for a month... they replaced all my battlefield rations and trial food with rye bread!"
"It's like you eat noodles at a breakfast shop every day, but sometimes you want to eat something else, right? When you say you want fried rice, the owner immediately gives you a 'you've changed' look. It's incomprehensible!"
"Why do they give me that 'don't be ridiculous' look when I tell them 'I don't want rye bread'? It's like I've fallen for someone else! What do they know about me?!"
Regardless, the brave Mino decided to follow his own path, his tiger eyes filled with tears as he said:
"In short... I've never felt happy eating rye bread!"
A somber atmosphere permeated the prison cell.
Fim clenched his stiff hands slightly, his empty eyes looking at Mino with tears welling up.
"The hero is so pitiful."
Kleidina hadn't expected Mino to have such a tragic past. Even though they were demons, they still had their favorite and disliked foods; no one wanted to eat their hated food year after year without any choice.
No, I can't empathize with the enemy... Klaitina complicatedly suppressed the sympathy in her heart.
If that's the case, then it's a good thing for them, indicating that the hero's resistance to delicious food is not as strong as rumored.
"Fim, let's begin."
The zombie maid, Fim, nodded vigorously. She went to the stove, picked up a short knife with her right hand, and cleaved the cutting board with her left hand into a cat's claw, creating afterimages as she swiftly chopped.
In her hands, each ingredient is transformed into neat strands, cubes, and fine powder.
"My lord...you...you wouldn't..."
After a moment of silence, the Holy Sword Artotai came to his senses, but hesitated to speak.
"Don't worry, Altottai." Mino then turned his head and smiled nonchalantly.
"Your words just now triggered my memories, but that doesn't mean I will succumb to the demons' interrogation!"
“Besides,” Mino said calmly and confidently, looking at Fim chopping vegetables in front of him, “I am, after all, a hero. I have attended countless banquets in the royal palace and have eaten high-class food.”
"And look, the ingredients that Demon Fim is currently using are the most common ones. I don't think I'd be attracted to such simple dishes."
As they were talking, Fim, who had been busy for a while, wiped the sweat from his forehead and breathed a sigh of relief.
Altotai looked at the ingredients the other party had prepared: thinly sliced devil bell peppers, a small amount of minced wild boar meat from the bamboo forest, and agate corn kernels... but he couldn't see any staple food at all.
Fim's small, tender hands gently lifted a large wooden lid, and then, a dense array of glistening grains spread out before his eyes.
This…what is this?!
Altottai's eyes widened instantly, while Mino immediately understood what it was.
"Could this be... leftover rice from the night before?!"
In an instant, Mino's gaze toward Fim turned serious.
“I know what you’re going to do… You’ve actually mastered the essence of making fried rice.”
"It's...it's actually a commoner's dish like fried rice..." Altottai stammered.
Nevertheless, the evaluation of the previous owner of the Holy Sword flashed through Altotai's mind; that person was also a great gourmet who had traveled the continent.
"Don't underestimate fried rice; this dish contains countless possibilities!"
Can Phim, a demon, truly capture the essence of fried rice?
The flames roared in the stove, and the dark iron pot glowed red. At this moment, Fim's hands became infinitely more nimble. After heating the pot and adding cold oil, he immediately cracked in an egg, allowing the freshest, cool egg liquid to come into direct contact with the hot oil!
Thick, enticing smoke billowed and rose.
Fim gently scrambled the eggs in the pan, poured them out and set them aside; their golden color flowed continuously.
The next moment, one after another, the chopped ingredients were put into the pot, and as the flames boiled, a variety of distinct aromas were released.
At this time, the rice that has absorbed all the moisture after sitting overnight is brought in at the perfect time and stir-fried with a variety of ingredients that have been developed to their fullest potential!
In an instant, the air was filled with a wonderful aroma.
"This looks delicious..."
"My Lord!!!" Altotai wondered if it was just his imagination, but he saw a fleeting look of craving on Mino's face.
"Ah! No!" Mino woke up with a start, struggling violently for a moment before his forehead was covered in cold sweat. He forced a laugh and said:
"This level of cuisine...it doesn't appeal to me at all."
"You're clearly very hesitant!!!"
Klettina's rose-embroidered dress swayed gently, and countless rosebuds bloomed joyfully in her hair:
“Holy Sword, you cannot understand what Mino is going through now. Fim’s interrogation worked from the very beginning.”
"what?"
"As a zombie demon, Fim's sense of pain, taste, and other senses are severely suppressed."
But precisely because of this, she can easily amplify your human senses. The fragrance Mino is smelling right now... heh... is already dozens of times more perceptible to the average person.
Kleinera curled her lips slightly, revealing a devilish smile:
"Faced with a food that smells dozens of times better than royal cuisine, do you think he could resist it?"
“Despicable…” The Holy Sword Artotai glared at Fim.
Fim looked somewhat bewildered, hurriedly shook his head, and explained, "Fim, I just want to make delicious food."
"Don't explain! This... slurp... devilish delicacy is simply irresistible." The blade of the holy sword seemed to tremble with rage.
Klaitina patiently guided her:
"How about it, Mino? As long as you're willing to reveal information about the Mage's Round Tower... you can eat as much of Fim's cooking as you want!"
[Ding—Phase one mission completed]