Chapter 351

351 – Basilisk Roast Chicken

After we return to the nest, I line up the basilisk’s body from the head down and the bucket of fruit and herbs. Is the basilisk…edible? If you only look at it now, it looks just like a chicken, so I can eat it now… But above this cut section, there was a white-haried old man with deep red eyes.

『There a problem?』

There’s nothing but problems… Its appearance is one thing, but its insides are also packed with poison. The black lizard might have happily eaten it though.

…Well, it took effort to bring it up here, so we might as well try roasting it. Once the deadly poison evaporates and is floating in the air, even my partner should realise that it’s dangerous. Though if she doesn’t relent, then I will.

As my body is so big as an ouroboros, I still haven’t eaten to the point of satisfaction. I had quite a lot of masked bird, but even so I’m still feeling a little calorie deprived. It’s not like I can’t go on for a few days without eating, but it’s no longer the time to be putting it off. The prey this time is big, and looks just like a chicken. It might not be a bad idea to stock up on nutrition while I can.

…Besides, in this place, there’s probably hardly any decent monsters, right? I already know. The adams and eve, sirens and basilisk. I wonder if they have some sort of impulse that they need to grow a human head somewhere or they won’t be satisfied.

I pluck all the feathers from the basilisk and cut off the ends of its legs. Pale magenta chicken meat is exposed. I cut its abdomen vertically, opening it up. Magenta blood oozes out.

Touching it with my forefoot, I feel pain. The scales of my forefoot are a little bit melted. I shake my forefoot to remove the poisonous blood.

Sticking my forefoot into the opening, I rummage around in its organs, pulling out entrails. I find a magenta, balloon-like organ, so I grip it with my forefoot and bring my face closer… Is this the poison sack? It looks like it makes poison which then mixes into the blood. As I hold it, the poison spills over. I toss it below the branch.

Owww… The poison really is quite bad. Now that I’ve touched it, I know that it would definitely be bad to eat. With that in mind, I stop working and my partner brings her face close.

“Gaah”

My forefoot is wrapped in a gentle light. It’s the [High Rest] skill. O-oh, thank you…

『Hurry up and do it.』

She restlessly swings her head as she she sends her thoughts to me. Ah… Right, you didn’t like that I stopped moving my hand. You’re going to be obstinate about eating it to the very end, aren’t you?

I have the nightmare hang the basilisk from the overhead branch. The poisonous blood leaks out. It would be great if this would drain the poison and make it a bit more palatable.

When we were out collecting, there were some herbs that were meant to mitigate poison. Maybe I should crush them and stick them in its belly.

I ask Aro for help and get her to line up each of the herbs we picked up. As a result, I decide to use [Poisoning Herb: Value E-], [Admirab Mandragora: Value C+], [Harber Grass: Value D], and [Red Hot Grass: Value E-].

Poisoning herb is a medicinal herb with an antidotal effect. It should mitigate some of the basilisk’s poison. Harber grass is a herb with a soporific effect. Red hot grass tastes like chilli peppers. I decided we might as well be proactive about throwing in everything that might be useful.

Admirab mandragora is a pitch black human-shaped root. It’s about the size of a fat puppy, and its appearance is close to a carrot. To be honest, it was a monster, but as an E rank, I could defeat it without any difficulty.

From God’s Voice’s explanation, it’s treated as a high-class ingredient due to it giving off a peculiar appetite-inducing scent. Bringing my nose closer, I can tell that it smells similar to garlic. If so, then I can use it just fine.

The herbs are too small for my claws to chop up, so I ask Aro to mince them for me. In the blink of an eye, she chops up the poisoning herb, harber grass, red hot grass, and the admirab mandragora with [Gale]. It takes her only an instant. A tiny tornado appears from her hand and cuts up the four types of plants together.

A-amazing… As I stand dumbfounded, she looks up at me proudly. I-I want [Gale] too…

To the mixed herbs, I add some salt produced from seawater. I ask Aro to make another pot for them, and then when she’s done, we store the spices in it.

I take the basilisk down and rub the spices all over its body. To finish, I stuff some poisoning herb into its belly. There wasn’t enough, so I briefly head back beneath the tree. Poisoning herb isn’t very rare, so a short search is enough to find plenty.

I heat up Aro’s handmade oven with [Scorching Breath], then stuff the basilisk inside. Soon, the smell of roasting meat mixed with the aromatic fragrance of the admirab mandragora wafts out. I unconsciously follow the rising fumes with my nose.

I-it smells so nice, the admirab mandragora. It smells more potent than garlic, or rather I can see why people would use it for the richness of its odour, but it also works for me. It works quite well in fact. My partner seems to be of the same opinion, as drool is dripping from between her teeth.

I repeatedly glance into the oven, and then when the skin is starting to look a little bit burnt, I take it out. The basilisk’s surface is covered with a beautiful lustre, and it is transformed into a giant roast chicken. I pull the poisoning herbs out of it and toss them onto the branch.

I then stick my nose over the basilisk and sniff. The odour of well-cooked meat combined the scent of the admirab mandragora engulf me. Oil clings to the end of my nose.

W-wonderful… It’s perfect. It’s no longer basilisk. No matter what anyone says, it’s a splendid roast chicken.

“Gaaaah!”

My partner moans, as she bites into the roast basilisk. It seems she finally reached the limit of her endurance. But I am also the same. I resolutely bite into the opposite side of it. The aroma of the admirab mandragora presses against the inside of my nose. I’m also unable to endure as the piping hot juices soak into my tongue and cheeks.

It’s my first time eating such decent cooking in this world. I’m glad we brought you back, basilisk. The taste of poison is hardly present, probably thanks to the countermeasures.

…No matter what it takes, we need to collect some more admirab mandragora. As I stuff my mouth with meat juices alongside my partner, that it what I decide.