Chapter 23

The feast kicked off and it was a very lively atmosphere. As it should be for a feast. There were various fires lit all around the village to accommodate all the villagers for this feast. 

The hunting group did an outstanding job getting all the food. I wonder how much work Ranga did when getting all the food. There was no problem with any orcs out there from what I heard. 

This was a "calm before the storm" kind of situation. After this, the orc situation will get too big to ignore and Treyni will have to come and ask us for help. But we'll worry about that when the time comes. Right now, it's time to enjoy a feast.

I was setting up a big firepit. I had all the wood ready. I just needed to set it on fire.

Rimuru came up to me in his human form when he saw what I was doing. "Hey Artoria, what are you doing? There are other fires around. You don't need to make one yourself."

"Rimuru, this one is going to be different." I picked up the grate I had Kaijin make for me and got ready to set everything up.

"Is that a grill?" 

"No, it's a legendary artifact that could bring about the end of the world with but a mere thought." 

He looked at me with a deadpan glare after hearing my totally real and not sarcastic tone. "Alright, that was on me, I shouldn't have asked something so obvious when the answer was staring at me."

"Do you need help setting up a fire?"

"No. I can do this really easily. Just watch." I looked at the wood in the pit and took a small breath and as if I were shooting something from my mouth a small, but blazing stream of fire came out. It stuck to the wood before setting it on fire instantly. I tried my best to control the output of the fire since I didn't want to turn it into charcoal.

The fire took a very nice shape and it felt like just the right temperature for what I wanted to do. I put the grate over the pit and everything was officially ready. As ready as it could be with the resources and time we had for this. 

'I knew that would come in handy. The perfect skill for this situation.' I laughed a tiny bit at my thoughts not imagining that this would be the first use for my dragon breath skill. I can only think about the reaction when a skill like this is used for grilling.

"You couldn't have done that for the other fires? Also, since when could you breath fire like that?"

"I could do that since we first met and you never asked me about it Rimuru."

Since everything was set up for me, it was time to get the meat. Luckily for me, I had a perfect person to go fetch them for me.

"Rimuru, would you go fetch me some meat?"

"Sure. how much do you want?"

"Yeah."

"What do you mean 'yeah'?"

"I'll be here waiting making sure the fire is maintained. I'll make you something when you get back."

RImuru looked confused but just went to get some meat as I requested. I was getting excited for the opportunity to eat a lot of food. One thing I like just as much as cooking if not more, is eating. 

It was a short wait for Rimuru to come back with the food. He came back with four big trays of meat. They looked like steaks of various cuts and there was a lot stacked on top of each other. I was a little excited again at tasting the meat of the animals here. 

"Hey Artoria, I'm back. I got some meat here. I asked for meat and this old white haired ogre came and made some cuts and gave this all to me." 

'He can do that? I thought he mostly shined with seafood and stuff. Good to know. I thought I would have to cut it myself and I'm not really good at that.' I looked at Rimuru carrying those four trays. He was holding one with each hand and the other two were being balanced on his arms. He had some wooden plates stacked on his head as well, "That's good Rimuru, just set them down and I'll start cooking."

Rimuru set down the trays and plates near me and went to take a seat on some chairs nearby, but he called out to me. "Artoria! Look who's here!"

I turned around and froze a little bit out of surprise. The ogre princess was here and she was sitting on a chair. 'When did she get here?'

She looked so cute and adorable sitting there. She was wearing what she usually does, but it didn't affect how I saw her. 'Yeah, this fated one thing is really trying to put us on a fast track with our relationship. I'm trying to take it slow, but it seems fate is trying to do something different here.' 

We just stayed there looking at each other. I couldn't really think of what to say at this moment and she also appeared the same. She started to cover her mouth with her arms and sleeves. She was a little shy it seems. I wouldn't describe this as awkward, it was more like a sort of tension that was present. 

Rimuru spoke up, sounding excited, "Artoria, she's yo-" 

I quickly made my way to him and shut him up by patting him lightly on the back which caused him to fall face-first to the ground. "Are you okay Rimuru? It seems you tripped on something." 

I pretended to help him up, but we were having a conversation with each other using thought communication. 'Rimuru, don't say anything about her being my fated one.'

'Why? This is something that both of you should know.'

'Look. I don't know if she knows that I'm her fated one. She no doubt feels some kind of bond with me, but the last thing I want is for her to feel forced or obligated to have to be together with me.'

'But won't saying that you two are fated ones, just solve all that though? She'll understand everything when she hears that.'

'I just want to make this relationship progress as normal as possible between us. I know us being fated ones already throws a complete curveball into that, but I at least want to try.'

'I guess I understand a little bit. Can you please let me get up then? I want to eat some food.'

'Sure.' I helped him back up and he went to sit down. He was just sitting there trying his best to not interfere between me and the princess.

I looked at her and she was looking a little confused by what she saw between me and Rimuru. 

"So princess, what brings you here?" I tried to make her focus on something else.

"Uh, I came here since there weren't as many people here and I saw you here as well." She put her head down after she realized what she said and how it sounded.

'Does she know? Also, not too many people?' I looked around and saw that it was only me, her, and Rimuru here, but we weren't completely isolated. We, as well as anybody else, could easily travel from one spot to another with no trouble whenever we wanted. I could see some goblins and ogres getting along from here. 

We just happened to be in a spot where it was just us three.

"Well, since you're here, would you like me to make you something? I was just gonna start cooking."

"Yes. I'd like that."

'I forgot Rimuru is also here.' I looked at Rimuru and he was just observing us.

"Do you have a preference for you like your steak cooked?"

"I was starting to worry you would forget about me. Can you make mine well-done?"

I froze a tiny bit in thought after what he told me. 'Is he being serious? Nah, he might be trying to complement me or something.'

"Rimuru, I haven't done anything yet. Why are you complimenting me?"

"Huh? No, I meant that's how I want it cooked."

'He's being serious. I know what to do in this situation though.' I walked towards Rimuru and I looked down at him. I leaned toward him as if he was a child. "Rimuru, I would like you to please leave and go somewhere else."

"What? Why? What did I do?"

 I gently grabbed him and took him to another place that wasn't here. "Use this chance to think about your actions." 

I quickly went back before he had a chance to say anything back to me. 

The princess looked even more confused. "Is that how you're supposed to treat him? He's the leader of this village along with you no?"

"That was different." I noticed that this was my chance to impart to her the teachings of someone very important. "Listen princess, when cooking a steak and someone asks you to make it 'well-done' you ask them politely yet firmly to leave. That goes even for someone like RImuru."

"I've never seen or heard of leaders acting like that before. It's…unusual."

"Don't worry about it princess. It's a feast. We're here to have fun and play around. Just sit back and I'll make you something delicious."

"You know it's just us two here right? Are we supposed to finish those four trays by ourselves?"

'She's right. It is just us two here. Why?' I decided to stop thinking about it since it doesn't really matter.

"Don't worry about that. We have a long time and we can just get more."

"Get more?"

I don't know why she's worrying about the amount of food. It's a feast for a reason. 

/\\//\\//\

There were a few steaks being cooked right now and normally I wouldn't be able to keep up, but now it's no problem with some of the skills I have. 

There wasn't a variety of seasonings and stuff so I'm relying on the natural taste of the steak. It should be fine since these steaks are a little bigger than what I'm used to, but it's fine. Must be some of that magical stuff for animals.

I look over the steaks and they are ready. I touched the middle and it felt right. I was going for a medium rare. I felt confident that I got it right.

"Hey princess, how many do you want?"

"Uh, I just want one piece."

"Sounds good."

I grabbed one of the plates nearby and put one piece of steak on there. I grabbed another and put five pieces. We have quite a bit here right now, so I can take it slow for now.

When she noticed the difference in serving sizes between us she was looking at me as if something was wrong with me. 

"Isn't that a bit much?"

"No, it's not. This is just a light appetizer or snack. Something to ease into the mood."

She looked at me as if she couldn't believe what I said. 

I sat down next to her and proceeded to take a bite. I have to say it was delicious. It was nice and juicy. It still had a lot of flavor despite not having many seasonings with me to cook with. 

Magic animals for the win.

I was trying to eat more, but I noticed that my five steaks were nowhere to be seen. My plate was completely empty. I looked at the princess and saw that she had barely taken a bite.

She looked absolutely shocked at me.

"What is it princess? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You finished so fast. I barely had a chance to eat."

"Did you like the food I made? I'm going to make more, so feel free to ask me for as much as you want."

"It was delicious, but I don't know how much I can eat. They're so big."

"Don't worry about that, we have a long night ahead of us."

I got up and put on some more steaks on the grill. I could easily finish them with my skill, but it's about the experience and atmosphere. The only thing missing is some cheesy country music.

I grilled ten more steaks and put them all on my plate. It was kind of comical how they looked, but it didn't matter to me. I went back to the princess and she looked so happy eating her food. She seemed to not be able to get enough of it. 

'You seem to be enjoying yourself, princess."

"I am. This is absolutely delicious. It tastes better when I take bigger bites than small ones."

"Don't hold back eat as much as you want." I sat back down and went to town on these steaks. It tasted better when I was enjoying them with her.

/\\//\\//\

The feast was still going on and the princess reached her limit. She could only eat four steaks and she was full.

I was still eating and grilling. I had gone through three of the trays full of the steaks of different cuts and I was going through the fourth one.

It kind of sucked that there wasn't some kind of drinks, but it's not like it was necessary. 

I didn't spend the whole time eating though. The princess and I talked with each other. I was right in thinking that she would come out of her shell a little bit by using the atmosphere of the festival. 

We talked a little bit and she told me a bit about her. She was raised in a very sheltered way as I already knew before. She was raised in a very "traditional" setting and was taught some more feminine traits. This would be fine normally, but I don't think we're fated to be normal, so some things might change. 

I told her a bit about myself as well. I didn't tell about me being reincarnated, but I'll tell her eventually. I told her that I come from "far away". Not exactly the best answer, but it'll have to do for now.

We were still talking until I noticed Rimuru coming back and this time he was coming with some racks of ribs. 

"Hey Artoria, I brought some more meat and I was wondering if you could cook these."

"Rimuru, what are you doing here? I assume you thought about your actions?"

"Uh, yeah I did. I brought some more stuff how long do you think it would take you to make these?"

"A short six to eight hours."

"Short? What about those trays of steaks? I want to try so-" Rimuru looked at where the trays were and noticed that they were completely empty. Not a single piece was left. All the food he brought before was gone, nowhere to be seen. "Where are all the streaks? I brought so much."

He looked at me and the princess and started piecing some things together, but looked more like he was in disbelief. "No way right?"

"I swear I only ate two plates." 

"Does that mean she ate the rest?"

"No, she ate less than me. She got full fast."

"So where did the everything else go?"

"Who knows Rimuru? I certainly don't. Maybe some ghost or spirit ate everything when I wasn't looking."

"You know what? I'm not going to question it further. I feel like it would lead me nowhere."

Rimuru set down the ribs on the empty tray and sat back down with us. "Do you really need like six hours to cook those?"

"It can be done in less, but the good ones are cooked for that long, at least in my opinion. But do we have enough spices and seasoning?"

"We have some herbs, but it's not exactly like what I know. Are you having a good time though."

"It's good, but I want some good drinks."

"We have some ale and beer going around. Why not drink that?"

"I don't like those drinks, so in my book they don't count."

All three of us continued talking and for some reason, Rimuru just now found out that the princess is the daughter of the ogre chief. A shocking revelation I know. 

Rimuru was really insisting that I cook those ribs, so I just gave it a shot with what we had. I let them know that it would take a while, like probably two to three hours. 

We were just talking and then Gobta and some of his friends came over. It's about time more people showed up, I was wondering why it was so empty when there were a lot of people here.

Gobta saw us three and noticed all the food that was being grilled. "Wow Rimuru, eating all that food will probably make your boobs grow as big as Artoria's."

Everyone froze at what he said. His friends made the very wise decision to get as far away as they could from here. The princess looked away and had her head in her hands from the secondhand embarrassment at what she heard. 

I was not going to let this slide and Rimuru seemed to have the same idea.

I walked "calmly" towards Gobta and before he could do or say anything I grabbed his head. He let out a yelp and started to say that he joking and playing around, but that wasn't going to help him. 

I summoned my sword and threw it to Rimuru. He caught it and held the handle with both hands. He made sure to use the flat part of the blade and not the edged part. 

"Get ready Rimuru, I'm going to throw a fastball at you."

"I'm ready."

I got in a pitcher stance as best as I could and threw the ball as fast as I could. It was an absolute laser. It probably would have made Randy Johnson proud.

Rimuru looked unfazed at the speed of the ball as he got ready to bat. As Gobta went flying Rimuru got in position and at just the right moment he hit Gobta. It was picture-perfect form.

The most satisfying sound could be heard throughout the entire village as he made contact with Gobta's head. Gobta went flying through the sky. I don't know how far he went, but I'm absolutely sure he was in another country. "Big Papi" David Ortiz would've shed a small tear at what Rimuru did. 

I got my sword back from Rimuru and we returned to the feast. 

"Ribs are almost ready, so just sit tight and relax a little."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

(Note)

Question: Chicken Alfredo or Shrimp Alfredo? 

I prefer chicken alfredo.