Chapter 35: Carpaccio

Chapter 35:
Carpaccio

In the great blue deep that separated the Eastern and Western Continents was the Continental Passage, the singular naval route that connected the two different land masses. Despite its frequent use, it was a dangerous area that all sorts of monsters called home. Ultimately, it wasn’t nearly as dangerous as the Dragon God Sea, demon territory to the south ruled by the Blue Emperor. Nonetheless, every year upward of ten or so ships would vanish into the deep, never to reach the mainland.

The sirens who called the Continental Passage their home had wings upon their backs, bird feet, and faces that resembled beautiful young girls. Their powerful songs were laced with magic capable of charming anyone who heard them. They were a race of monsters feared specifically by seamen for their ability to sink entire ships into the ocean.

It was a hot summer day when one such siren, a young boy named Arius, decided to settle on Chimera Killer Island to make his new nest.

It all started when his friend, a siren girl named Iris who had hatched on the same day as Arius, suggested it to him.

“Hey, Arius! About our new nests… What d’ya say we check out Chimera Killer Island?”

Arius looked away after hearing Iris utter the name of the island where a legendary, dangerous creature lived. “Are you serious? Grandma always told us that place was super dangerous!”

Grandma was an elder siren who had lived the longest among their kind, nested in countless locations, and had the knowledge to prove it. She had told them all about Chimera Killer Island.

The Chimera Killer was a being that defeated the former master of the island, an impossibly powerful chimera, by itself. Although technically human, they had managed to become the one true ruler of an island filled with all manner of dangerous beasts. Given how sirens were perceived by humanity, there was little doubt that, should they encounter the Chimera Killer, they would likely meet their end.

The relationship between humans and sirens could hardly be called “good.” While they weren’t actively enemies, humans, especially those who made a living on the open seas, felt that sirens were dangerous, bothersome creatures.

Sirens were feared as monsters that charmed and ate humans with their songs, sunk boats, and took the form of beautiful young girls, but that wasn’t at all the truth of the matter. While it was true their songs were capable of charming humans and other creatures, they had slim bodies designed for flying, with little difference between males and females. No doubt this was the source of the humans’ confusion over their appearance. While it was true a siren could use its powers to defend itself against a human who came at them, they would never eat them. They wouldn’t even think to.

That rumor likely came to fruition because of the fact sirens loved eating fresh, raw fish. Or at least that’s what Grandma theorized. According to her, humans felt that eating raw fish was something only beasts did. And so, sirens went hundreds of years with barely any human interaction. Iris’s suggestion to visit Chimera Killer Island was in direct violation of this way of life.

“Aw, c’mon!” she said. “Don’t worry. I mean, think about it. The Chimera Killer appeared way before we were born, right?” Iris began explaining her reasoning to her friend.

“Well, yeah, but…”

“Which means no matter how big and strong the Chimera Killer used to be, they’ve gotta be way older now, right? And weaker! Plus, they may’ve already died from illness or something! It won’t kill us to just fly overhead and check things out, right? If tough monsters like chimeras make it their home, that island must be something special!”

Iris piled on the logic, sensing her friend’s resolve weaken. She said, “We’ll check things out from above, and if it looks dangerous, we can just fly away. The Chimera Killer is a human, right? That means they can’t fly!”

“Y-yeah, I guess you’re right,” said Arius.

“Awesome! It’s settled then! Let’s go!”

And so Iris dragged Arius into the air with her. Their destination? Chimera Killer Island. What they didn’t know was that its master had left it months ago, rendering it a deserted island…

The sun had risen to the very top of the sky by the time the pair landed on Chimera Killer Island.

Iris looked around. “Wow, so this is it, huh? It looks pretty swell!”

“It looks like the Chimera Killer isn’t anywhere to be found either,” said Arius. “Thank goodness.”

The pair of sirens had circled the island multiple times in search of humanoid creatures. Once they confirmed there were none to be found, they made their way to the front of a cave. It was the single place on the island that appeared to show signs of human presence.

“So this is where the Chimera Killer lived?”

“I’m sure of it.”

The nest had been modified by human hands to make it more livable.

Underneath a hole for light was a large container meant for catching rainwater. Clumsily constructed wooden shelves lined the stone walls, and in the corner of the cave was some sort of bedding made of dried vines. Next to that was a wooden box, likely brought in from outside the island. There was a series of lines carved into the walls, signifying how many days had passed since the Chimera Killer came to the island. The lines were so plentiful that they covered almost the entire cave. The sirens could feel in their bodies just how long the Chimera Killer lived there.

Hm? There’s something strange about the way these lines are scratched…

Arius inspected the carvings carefully. There were six vertical lines, and a single horizontal one running through them, almost erasing the others.

“Huh? What’s this?”

Meanwhile, Iris was peeking into the large box. She raised her voice upon discovering something and immediately brought her findings over to her friend.

“Hey, Arius. Do you know what these are?”

She showed her companion the insides of the bag she pulled from the chest. The bag was filled with shining flat rocks of some sort. There were tons of silver ones and even a handful of gold ones, too.

“Ah, these are gold and silver coins. Humans trade them for all sorts of stuff.” Arius had a wealth of knowledge about the humans thanks to Grandma’s teachings.

“Oh, and this looks like a letter written in human language.”

Deeper inside the bag was a new-looking piece of parchment that had been rolled up.

“Let’s see.”

Arius began reading the letter out loud so Iris could understand as well.

I leave this behind for anyone who visits this island after me. To the unlucky, pitiable castaway who arrives on this island: do not give up hope. Live on. I lived here for twenty years. This money is my gift to you. Use it when you pass through the door on the top of the hill on the Day of Satur, on every seventh day. I wish you good fortune.

Alphonse Flugel

“The Day of Satur?”

Arius tilted his head in response to the words he’d never seen before. Was it some sort of legend passed down between humans? Supposedly it came at the end of every seven days.

“There wasn’t anything at the top of the hill when we flew over, right?”

Iris was also puzzled. They’d circled the island to check for the Chimera Killer before landing, so they both knew exactly what hill the letter referred to. The problem was that there had been no such door when they passed overhead earlier.

“Hrm. I’m guessing that Alphonse is the Chimera Killer, but…” With the mysterious letter in hand, Arius began thinking about their next move.

“So? Whatcha wanna do? It doesn’t look the Chimera Killer or any other dangerous monsters are here.”

“Right? I think we can stick around for a while,” Arius gave his siren companion his verdict.

Iris nodded happily in response. “Sounds good to me! I was just looking for a new place to make a nest, and this island looks perfect!”

And so, the pair set out to make sure everything on the island was in order. They confirmed locations for drinking water, checked to make sure the fish in the area were edible, and kept an eye out for any dangerous monsters. After finally finishing prep to set up their nests, the so-called “Day of Satur” arrived.

A black door suddenly appeared at the top of the hill. Iris and Arius noticed it during their third morning on the island.

“What’s this thing doing here? It definitely wasn’t here yesterday,” Iris remarked and tilted her head in confusion, rushing to check things out after Arius mentioned it to her.

Up until yesterday, this mysterious black door with its golden handle and cat illustration didn’t exist.

“Today’s probably the ‘Day of Satur’ mentioned in that letter, which means this is the same door Alphonse mentioned,” said Arius.

It must be some sort of magic. Unfortunately, the letter left behind didn’t explain what existed beyond the door itself.

“Let’s go in!” Iris said. “Seems like fun!”

“Hrm… Well, I guess it’ll probably be fine,” Arius said.

Arius thought on Iris’s plan for a moment before quickly deciding to check things out. If the information in the letter was to be trusted, there was something wonderful on the other side of the door. He couldn’t bring himself to believe that the letter was a trap.

“All right, I’m opening it up.”

Arius put his hand on the golden handle and turned it, opening the door.

The sounds of ringing bells greeted them, along with a brightly lit room.

“Ah, good morning! You’re quite early! Welcome to Western Cuisine Nekoya!”

A young lady with two small horns growing out of her head stopped wiping one of the many tables in the empty room, looking up and greeting the siren pair with a big smile. Her face showed no signs of fear or surprise in response to the monsters in front of her. Instead, it seemed like she was truly glad that they had come.

“Y-yeah, um…what is this place?” Arius asked nervously.

“Oh, it’s a place where we serve food to visitors. We even have plenty of monster-kind customers like yourselves,” Aletta replied confidently.

While sirens were monsters, she had grown used to dealing with everything from ogres to lamia, faeries, and even lizardmen. Given how everyone was welcome at Nekoya, what was there for her to be surprised by?

“So what do you say?” she asked. “Would you care to grab a bite?”

Arius and Iris glanced at each other and nodded.

“Well, since we’re here and all…” Iris said. “What kind of food do you serve?”

“All kinds, really,” Aletta responded, a somewhat troubled expression on her face.

Nekoya served so many dishes that she’d only really memorized about half of them. There were still plenty of menu items that she had difficulty explaining by herself even now. The fact that the two sirens in front of her had never visited before only made this situation all the more difficult.

Arius asked, “What do you mean by that?”

“U-um, uh, oh, I know! If you tell me what kind of food you like, I can get the master to recommend something!”

Questioned into a corner, Aletta finally came up with an idea. The master knew everything there was to know about Nekoya. Heck, he would even make dishes not on the menu sometimes. Aletta was confident he’d be able to come up with something for the pair.

“Um, then…”

“I want fresh fish! Raw, please!” Before Arius could even assemble words, Iris blurted out her request.

“Huh?! You can eat fish raw?! Ah, n-no, I mean, let me go ask the master!”

Surprised for a moment by the request, Aletta quickly regained her composure and nodded her head. She went to the back to talk to the master, who was likely still preparing for the lunchtime rush.

“What are you thinking, Iris? You know humans don’t eat raw fish,” Arius hissed.

“Huh? Really? That’s so weird! Raw fish is great.” Iris couldn’t wrap her head around Arius’s explanation. All she did was order her favorite food.

“Geez.”

It wasn’t worth getting frustrated over. It’s not like they were going to actually serve raw fish. Arius let out a sigh. He knew full well that humans didn’t make dishes like that. What he didn’t realize was that he was only thinking within his own world’s “common sense.”

After a brief period, Aletta returned to the pair. “Um, he says we have a raw fish dish called ‘carpaccio.’ Would you like to try that?”

“What? Really?” Arius raised his voice in shock. Not once did he actually think the restaurant would have anything to serve them.

“Yeah! Hurry and bring it to us!” Iris, on the other hand, immediately requested the dish before her companion could snap back out of his shock.

Aletta smiled with relief at Iris’s response. “Understood! Please wait a moment. I just finished wiping down those seats over there, so feel free to make yourself at home.”

She vanished into the back to deliver the order.

“I can’t believe they serve raw fish,” Arius said.

Iris nodded. “Right? It’s awesome!”

The siren pair shared the sentiment. Arius’s eyes were open in surprise, while Iris had a huge smile on her face at the thought of eating something tasty.

“Maybe because this is another world?”

“Maybe! But isn’t it great that we found out humans eat raw fish, too?” Iris was clearly pleased by this new discovery.

Before long, a human man, likely the master of the restaurant, appeared before the pair and set down something on the table.

“Sorry for the wait,” he said.

Before the two sirens was a plate of thin, red slices of fresh fish topped with oranie.

“This is tuna carpaccio. Take your time and enjoy yourselves,” the master said, then left them to it.

Arius’s and Iris’s eyes were glued to the plate in front of them. This strange fish dish looked incredibly appetizing.

The pair began digging in the moment the master left. They used the pointed human utensil known as a fork to dig into the slices of fish meat and lift them up. It would have been truly unfortunate if the fish were on the verge of going bad, but, as luck would have it, it was as fresh as fresh could be. The red color of the fish meat was reflected in their eyes, causing them to inadvertently gulp. The young pair took their first bites.

“It’s delicious?!” they shouted simultaneously in surprise.

An incredible amount of savoriness was contained within the fish, and each bite helped draw it out. That savoriness fused with the unique saltiness of the seasoned marinade in their mouths. But it wasn’t just that the fish was fresh: the blood had been carefully drained from the fish, and the meat itself was cut very deliberately. It was clear the master hadn’t just arbitrarily taken a knife to the creature. The cutting style on its own was enough to turn this into a brand-new dish.

Neither siren was capable of uttering words at this point. They simply dug into their servings. The fish’s savoriness, the oranie’s spiciness, and the sourness of the juice that rested atop the entire dish… These three sensations made it certain that Arius’s and Iris’s hands wouldn’t stop moving anytime soon.

Before long, their plate emptied out.

“Excuse me, would you like another serving?” Aletta asked.

“Absolutely!”

“Pretty please!”

They nodded not once, but twice.

“Wonderful. Then I’ll be right back.”

“Whew.”

“Whoa.”

By the time their hands had stopped moving, Arius’s and Iris’s stomachs were filled to the brim with fish.

So the Chimera Killer was talking about this place in his letter.

All the pieces fell into place for Arius. He finally understood why the Chimera Killer left behind all those silver and gold coins. The young siren glanced at Iris across the table. She, too, looked satisfied.

And so Arius came to a decision: he would make this island their new nest from here on out. After all, there was no way Iris would say no at this point. He was sure of it.