Inn Overlord: Reincarnated with Enhancement Magic, Now Worshipped as a Divine Messenger! - Chapter 24

(Seraph’s Perspective)

We were in the middle of building a wooden outer wall around the village using the extra trees we had cut down.

To decide how to enclose the entire village, we dug a shallow trench to get a better idea. The construction was being done by the same carpenters who had worked on expanding our inn, while we helped transport the wood. Jeanne and Luka saw the carpenters cutting the logs together and wanted to try it themselves.

Hearing this, the carpenters smiled awkwardly and said, “It’s too hard for young girls like you.” I stepped in and stopped them, telling them they should first understand how strong an average girl is. I advised them to watch Abigail work and learn how much strength was needed.

David also decided to prioritize building the outer wall before expanding the inn. He was concerned that cutting down too many trees might attract monsters to the village. If we focused on our inn first, the villagers might resent us.

Of course, the villagers didn’t think we were the ones who cut the trees. They believed our lie—that a monster called a Mantis had caused the damage. Even so, we couldn’t bring ourselves to be selfish and prioritize our own needs.

After finishing the wood transportation, I helped with preparations at the inn. I bought our usual ale, milked the newly arrived cow in Luka’s place, and received mushrooms grown by the Army Ants along with edible monster meat and other ingredients. Today, they brought me a monster called a Land Crab, which looked like a giant crab.

In the morning and afternoon, the inn mainly served drinks and light meals like bread, eggs, and dried meat for staying guests. Since it wasn’t too busy, Abigail, Laura, my mother, and Jeanne handled the service with a small team.

Just as I finished my tasks, David and Luka returned from hunting. They had caught one orc and two horned rabbits.

I showed them the Land Crab I got from the Army Ants, and they praised it.

I then helped David butcher the game, and by the time we finished, it was already 3 PM.

Since the tavern opened at 5 PM, we decided to take a break.

I asked David,

“Hey, David?”

“What is it?”

“What are we going to make with this Land Crab today?”

“Huh!? Wasn’t that just for materials?”

“It’s for materials, but… aren’t we eating it?”

To me, it looked exactly like a crab, so I naturally saw it as food.

“I’ve never eaten that before!?”

“Really!?”

“It’s the same as not eating Evil Centipedes or Mantises, right? Even the Army Ants don’t eat them…”

It did look like an insect, but I remembered how delicious crab dishes were from my past life.

“I’m helping in the kitchen today, so can I try cooking it?”

David looked uneasy but then nodded as if making up his mind.

“Alright. Give it a try.”

I took a knife and cut off the ten thick legs of the Land Crab from its body. Then, I removed the shells and extracted the clean meat.

Next, I used magic to turn regular water into cold water and soaked the crab meat for about five minutes. It was hard to control the temperature with magic—I kept freezing the water completely by mistake.

While the meat was soaking, I worked on the giant crab shell, which was as big as two ale barrels. I carefully scooped out the crab miso (crab innards), rinsed it lightly with white wine, and placed it on a plate. Normally, I would have steamed it inside the shell, but it was way too big, so I used a plate instead.

As I wiped the sweat from my forehead, David watched with a grimace, as if looking at something gross.

“We’re eating that too?” he asked.

“Yep! ♪”

I smiled and placed the plate with the crab miso into the steamer.

Five minutes later, I took the soaked crab meat, which had bloomed like pine needles. I cut it into sizes similar to the crab I remembered from my past life—though it was still huge. Then, I made a dipping sauce by boiling soy sauce, white wine, sugar, and vinegar together to create something like ponzu.

The crab was rich, juicy, and had a refined sweetness with every bite. It was just like Matsuba crab sashimi.

“So good…”

As I savored the taste, David and Luka, who had been silently watching, swallowed hard.

“Try it.”

I cut the crab meat into portions, handed it to them, and told them to dip it into the ponzu sauce just like I did.

“This is—!?”

“Mmm!?”

The moment they took a bite, their eyes widened. After exchanging glances, they turned to me and shouted,

“It’s delicious!!”

“This is amazing!!”

Their eyes sparkled as they eagerly leaned closer to me.

“I never knew this thing tasted so good!!”

David spoke excitedly, while Luka nodded furiously beside him, snorting like an eager animal.

Then, I took out the steamed crab miso and offered it to them.

“I think this will be tasty too.”

I grabbed a spoon, scooped up the crab miso, and took a bite.

It was creamy, rich, and full of deep umami with a concentrated ocean aroma.

Covering my mouth with my hand to keep my happiness from spilling out, I murmured,

“It’s soooo good…”

Seeing my expression, David and Luka hesitated for a moment before scooping some crab miso with their spoons and tasting it.

“This flavor… I’ve never had anything like it, but it’s incredible!”

“Seraph-sama, it’s delicious!!”

David was amazed, and Luka teared up as she thanked me.

Their excitement spread, and soon, my mother, Abigail, and the others joined in. Just like that, the Land Crab tasting event had begun.