Fate/Ultimate Antagonist

[17] Delving into Her Stomach is Delving into Her Heart

"..."

It wasn't because she was defeated that she gave up.

It was because... she was hungry.

Dropping the sword for such a reason inevitably plunged Alvin into a difficult and unspoken silence. Indeed, more potent than Artoria's sword was her stomach, and he had forgotten such an important matter.

"Ah, I really got beaten up badly, Sir Alvin..."

The girl, rubbing her exhausted stomach, although sore all over, was nothing compared to the agony of hunger.

"...Don't call me Sir."

"Alright, Sir Alvin!"

"I'm not older than you... well, whatever..."

He sighed, rubbing his forehead.

Today, this hurdle was insurmountable, Alvin chose to abandon the training.

Soon after, both of them heard the loud and prolonged moaning emanating from the girl's abdomen.

Gurgle~

"Uh, hahaha..."

"Hungry... being hungry is unavoidable. You need strength to practice after all... If you don't mind, would you like to come back with me..."

The golden-haired girl, somewhat embarrassed, hugged her arms. Then, her gaze froze suddenly, as if frozen, as she saw Alvin bend down and reach into his own shadow, groping around.

Soon~

Mushrooms, bird eggs, vegetables, chestnuts, berries...

All meticulously preserved by Alvin's shadow magic, a whole bag of fresh ingredients was thrown directly in front of the girl.

"Tidy up, I'll start a fire."

In Artoria's surprised expression.

Alvin pulled out an iron pot from the shadow, skillfully set up a makeshift stove.

He ignited the straw, blanched the ingredients in water, stir-fried them with melted animal fat, and finally simmered them in clear spring water. Although the handling was simple, the natural wild game quickly emitted a rich aroma.

Cooking smoke is the best way to attract bandits. Alvin had used this method to catch several big fish, the nearby bandits were almost wiped out by him. Now, whenever they saw smoke, they would run for their lives.

Tsk, all the fish were gone...

He grabbed a handful of coarse salt and sprinkled it into the soup, creating a burst of fragrant aroma. The girl's esophagus began to unconsciously swallow saliva.

"Eat, there's nothing better on such short notice."

Handing a wooden bowl to the girl, Alvin began to taste it without much confidence.

Indeed, after tasting a small sip of the mushroom meat soup, he couldn't help but furrow his brows slightly.

Even if it's not delicious, it shouldn't be so bad.

Unfortunately, this wasn't intentional, nor was it accidental or a problem with handling the ingredients. It was simply a limitation of the era.

Britain in the 5th century had not developed a systematic cultivation of spices and seasonings. In simple terms, except for salt, Alvin had to search for seasonings in the forest.

The makeshift stove was also hard to compare with professional cookware.

Therefore, insufficient heat, bland taste, and only the seasoning of coarse salt this dish taste a bit monotonous.

The natural flavor of the ingredients was indeed delicious, but for a stomach trained by modern technology, it was not particularly impressive.

How should he put it? The taste... the taste is not good for his preference.

However...

"Gurgle... this is... gurgle... so delicious...! Sir Alvin!"

Accompanied by intermittent swallowing sounds.

The girl's sincere admiration echoed from her side.

The rich flavor of the meat juice combined with the deliciousness of the mushrooms melted in her mouth. The fragrance of salt and spices blended with a hint of nutty sweetness, repeatedly stimulating the undeveloped taste buds, until it went down, the infinite aftertaste still filled her mouth...

In this world... in this world, there can still be such delicious food!

The golden-haired girl, who usually filled her stomach with coarse grains, took small bites of the mushroom meat soup, and the overly wonderful taste made her pupils seem to shine.

Already too busy to care about her dining etiquette, she quickly finished the entire bowl, licking her lips as if she was not satisfied.

This child, who had never had a full meal since childhood, made Alvin feel a sense of pity.

A stomach worthy of a king, how did it fall to this?

"Could it be..."

Alvin couldn't help but think of such a possibility.

"Artorius, are your family treating you harshly..."

An adopted child, subjected to the cold treatment of the original family, such a plot was quite common in various senses.

"Ha... why do you ask that, Sir? There's absolutely no such thing."

"Just a feeling..." Alvin chose his words carefully, "You seem... to have a good appetite."

"No no, it's just that I've never eaten such delicious food... Sir Alvin's cooking is like magic."

"...It's just a skillless hand, nothing to mention."

Alvin did speak the truth. As a person from the modern period, this level of cooking, even scrambled eggs with tomatoes would be harder...

Not to mention, can a dish that doesn't glow be considered a good dish? At least it should make people blush and burst their clothes on the spot.

"Ah... modesty, righteous deeds, superb swordsmanship, and even impeccable culinary skills. When can I grow up to be as excellent as Sir Alvin..."

"I'm not a good person. You'll regret thinking like that sooner or later."

"How could that be? I will do my best to try to catch up with your figure!"

...Yes, how could that be?

He hopes that when the time comes, she can still think like this.

The breeze gently rustled the golden wheat field.

The girl and the boy sat on the ground.

Observing her profile with the corner of his eye.

Alvin clearly saw the longing contained in her expression.

Good, just like this...

Chase, yearn, admire...

The more longing, the more the moment of disillusionment becomes extremely delightful.

If he couldn't defeat her physically, then he would use a heart-wrenching method.

He was really looking forward to the moment when his identity was revealed...

Looking forward to her face, revealing an expression of disbelief, astonishment, and indignation?

In this way, gradually delve into her heart through the way into her stomach...

Alvin thought, maybe he was truly a villain filled with evil, perhaps.

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