The legend of the Crimson Demon clan started from Suqing

Chapter 23: It Was Me First, Clearly It Was Me First... [Seeking Bookshelves, Seeking Recommendations]

The new year.

Kazuma wanted to plant something different.

It's not that corn and potatoes are bad; as staple foods, they are already excellent, but he had to consider crop rotation. This meant systematically rotating the planting of different crops or combinations of crops between seasons and years to ensure soil vitality.

In addition, the planting time for corn was in June. He couldn't possibly let the land lie fallow for so long, and Megumin's food reserves wouldn't last that long... Rather, judging by the rate of consumption, she should already be hungry now.

It was just that there were still four months until the corn planting season, and he didn't know what to plant during this period.

Looking at the three plots of land that had been reclaimed, he asked his good (useful) friend, who was covered in sweat and had rosy cheeks, "Yunyun, what do you think we should plant?"

"Eh? A-ask, ask me? Well... um... how about planting saury?"

"Good idea, that's a great suggestion... Wait a minute, saury? You mean the one with scales that jumps around, the one that gets really fat and delicious in the fall?"

"It's that saury, yes...?"

Yunyun tilted her head cutely, not understanding why Kazuma looked constipated.

—Don't look down on people!

Although Kazuma really wanted to say that, the saury in this world grew in the fields. The Crimson Demon Clan's agricultural area also had saury, and those lively fish wriggled in the fields, which was especially absurd.

"Can't we plant something normal?"

"But saury is already very normal; it's just an ordinary crop..."

"I'm not saying saury isn't normal; I'm saying it's not normal for fish to grow in fields... Forget it, you wouldn't understand even if I explained it. Ahh, Goddess, this world's planting system really has a big BUG!"

Seeing Yunyun's blank expression, Kazuma felt like he was talking to a cow.

...No, just like Yunyun, who was a freak among the Crimson Demons but actually the only normal person, was he also a freak? Maybe the further it goes, the more confused he'll become, and what will happen when he can't tell the difference anymore!

Perhaps sensing that Kazuma was a little unwilling.

Yunyun changed her suggestion again, saying, "T-then, how about planting chestnuts? Although it might attract a lot of chestnut monsters to snatch them, and the chestnuts are covered in thorns, making them difficult to harvest, they are very nutritious and expensive. Everyone in the Crimson Demon Village plants them."

"...Forget it, let's just plant corn and potatoes."

After thinking for a long time, Kazuma still gave up.

It wasn't that he didn't want to, but the conditions didn't allow it. Without magic, planting rare ingredients would always be dangerous. As for the saury planted in the fields, it was too incongruous, and he couldn't accept it.

Besides, this was a magical world. If the soil didn't have enough nutrients, wouldn't it be easy to solve with magic!

Yunyun had no objection to this.

No, it was that she didn't care what they planted at all. As long as she could be with her "friend", it was the happiest thing for her.

The two were busy all morning.

During the midday break, Kazuma took out the bento he had prepared for today: a tempura set meal.

Tempura was very easy to make. Just coat the various ingredients you have prepared in advance with a thin layer of batter and fry them in a pot of oil until they are crispy.

Today, Kazuma's set meal included shrimp, okra, potatoes, eggplant, and so on, making it very rich in variety. In addition, because he had a large appetite, he prepared a considerable amount.

He handed the bento box over.

"Here you go."

"T-thank you."

Yunyun carefully took the bento box, looking as nervous as if she were holding a treasure in her hands.

Could this be the first time she had ever received a gift from someone else? If Yunyun said that she planned to treasure the bento for the rest of her life, Kazuma would really cry with heartache.

To prevent such a thing from happening, he quickly said, "Try it; I'm quite confident in my cooking."

"O-okay."

Yunyun picked up a fried shrimp with a reverent expression and slowly put it into her mouth.

She ate very elegantly, showing that she had good manners and upbringing, which was completely different from Megumin, who turned into a berserker and stuffed food into her mouth like crazy when she saw it.

"So, so delicious—-"

Yunyun's eyes lit up, and she became a little excited. Sure enough, everyone who had eaten his food praised his cooking.

"Is that so? I'm glad you like it."

Kazuma, however, had no expression.

Ever since he was reincarnated into Konosuba, the food he made had been very delicious, and this deliciousness was inexplicable. After all, his cooking skills hadn't improved, nor had he used high-end ingredients, which made him wonder if he had some kind of skill related to making delicious food.

Unfortunately, there were no job cards, so he couldn't see the relevant skills. But improving his cooking skills was not a bad thing after all, at least it could satisfy his appetite.

While the two were enjoying their delicious lunch, they didn't notice someone sneaking up behind them until Kazuma heard a slightly hurried panting and what sounded like someone swallowing saliva, and he suddenly turned around.

Then he saw a pair of scarlet eyes.

"Wahh——-"

Please forgive Kazuma for screaming incoherently. For him, who was afraid of ghosts, he would rather see hordes of zombies outside the window than see a pair of embroidered shoes placed at the door.

So, seeing these scarlet eyes, Kazuma was frightened and trembled all over, his hands and feet were cold, and he was covered in cold sweat on a hot day.

But when he saw who it was, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but shout:

"What are you doing? Ouch~!"

The one who appeared behind him was Megumin.

However, she didn't greet him as usual, but lowered her head and remained silent, her slightly long bangs covering her eyes, but casting a faint red light mixed with a deep, dark black aura.

"M-Megumin?"

Kazuma couldn't help but take a step back.

When he saw the hatchet in the little loli's hand, he couldn't help but tremble all over, fearing that she would say something like, "Let's split him up."

But——

"Why did it turn out like this? It was me first, clearly it was me first... Whether it was planting or eating lunch together, it was me first..."

White Album!?

The little loli's scarlet eyes stared intently at Yunyun. Her body trembled slightly, and the hatchet in her hand also shook randomly, reflecting a bright cold light in the midday sun.

At this moment, Yunyun was too frightened to speak. She held the bento box in her hands, her body stiff and unable to move.

Suddenly——

Megumin, holding the hatchet, suddenly rushed towards Yunyun.

"Don't!"

Kazuma quickly extended his Erlang hand, trying to stop Megumin from doing something stupid, but the little loli, who was already possessed, couldn't listen to anything and rushed towards Yunyun recklessly——

Snatching the bento from her hand.

"...Eh?"

Yunyun stared blankly at her empty hands, obviously not understanding what had happened.

But when she turned her head and saw Megumin burying her head in the bento box and gobbling it up, the fear disappeared, replaced by a feeling of wanting to cry from grievance.

Her tears fell involuntarily.