Chapter 54: The Sweet Potato That Haunts Dreams

Alec hurriedly approached him.

The fire wasn’t just lit—it was roaring.

“How in the world…!”

Normally, even with bone-dry kindling it would take at least ten minutes to get a proper flame.

Yet in the brief moment Alec had looked away, the fire was already blazing fiercely.

“Now I finally feel alive. Warm enough for you too, Dorori?”

“HH!!”

“Alec, come warm yourself up too.”

He hadn’t chanted any spell. If it wasn’t magic, what kind of trick was this?

More than that—this human was acting completely nonchalant despite shocking him like this. 

He really wasn’t ordinary.

The guy had a knack for catching people off guard.

Alec’s suspicion only grew thicker.

“If you’re busy, feel free to go ahead. We’ll stay here a bit longer before leaving.”

“No. I’ll leave after seeing you off safely.”

Alec wanted nothing more than to get away, but the chief had ordered courteous treatment—he had to confirm the human left safely.

“Ugh… trembling so much made me hungry. Oh, right!”

Fabir rummaged through his bag and tossed something into the dying flames.

At a glance, it looked like a root crop humans liked to eat.

He planned to cook and eat right here.

“That spear you’re holding—was it made by carving monster bone?”

“Yes.”

“I heard the bones of large monsters are harder than most steel. How do you work them?”

“We use hydra fangs. They’re not quite dragon-level, but hydra is still pretty tough.”

“That’s fascinating. I’m currently learning blacksmithing in the dwarf village myself. If the chance comes, I’d love to see a hydra fang.”

“…”

Alec tried not to let his frown show.

Now he was claiming to be learning smithing in the dwarf village? 

Dwarves would never take a human apprentice.

This guy was definitely a braggart. 

As expected—an untrustworthy fellow.

Alec’s suspicion was turning into certainty.

“This should be nicely roasted by now.”

Fabir picked up one of the root crops, split it in half, and white steam rose from the bright yellow flesh.

“Alec, this is roasted sweet potato. Try one.”

“Ah, sure?”

Alec took the sweet potato he was handed in a daze.

The skin looked charred black, but the inside was golden yellow.

“Dorori, this’ll give you some energy.”

He gave a large one to the giant bird, then bit into the yellow flesh himself.

“Mmm! Delicious! Nothing beats this snack when it’s cold! Go ahead and eat, Alec.”

Alec felt reluctant.

Was he trying to bribe him with something like this? He was underestimating the pride of a wolf warrior.

Alec silently swore he would never fall for any trick this human tried.

But…

Gulp—

The sweet aroma had been wafting from the sweet potato in his hand the whole time. 

Saliva kept pooling in his mouth.

As a carnivore, the fact that he was drooling over a mere root crop wounded his pride.

“They say roasted sweet potatoes are best right out of the fire.”

That was tempting.

Best right out of the fire… meaning now was the time to eat it.

Shake shake.

He absolutely must not give in.

…Ah, no good.

Chomp.

Before he knew it, Alec had taken a bite.

The instant he did—

ZAP!

A soft, sweet flavor melted across his tongue.

There was no seasoning at all—just roasted—yet how could it taste like this?!

This wasn’t some ordinary root crop.

He had lived his whole life on monster meat and fish, but he had eaten vegetables before.

Yet this was on an entirely different level.

Even Alec, a renowned warrior of the wolf tribe, felt his iron will waver before this terrifying food.

Alec glared fiercely at the sweet potato.

This was a bewitching potion in food form.

The pride of a wolf warrior was shaking.

***

Fabir tilted his head.

For a while now, Alec had been staring at the sweet potato with a deadly serious expression.

Did he really dislike it that much? 

Back in his old neighborhood, dogs went crazy for sweet potatoes. 

Maybe wolves were different?

It seemed sweet potatoes weren’t to his taste. Since his staple was meat, root crops might not suit him.

Fabir fell into deep thought.

The guy was already extremely wary of him, and now he was a picky eater too. 

Total disaster.

It looked like satisfying beastmen palates would be even harder than elves’. 

Doing business in the beastman village would require serious resolve.

“Alec, next time I’ll treat you to a proper meal.”

Flinch!

“Huh?”

…Why did he look so horrified?

Alec’s face gradually twisted, and he muttered under his breath.

“Damn it.”

He looked like someone who had just received a challenge.

It must have slipped out accidentally.

So it really did taste bad. 

He hated it enough to be shocked—this was serious.

At this rate, business would be doomed before it even began.

Before anything else, he had to figure out how to satisfy beastman taste buds. 

But he still lacked understanding of their preferences.

First, he needed to learn what Alec liked.

“Alec, what kind of food do you enjoy?”

…

After that, Fabir tried talking to Alec here and there, but Alec struggled to answer.

Not only picky, but he didn’t even seem to have clear preferences.

He had seen monster meat being sold at the market earlier.

This wouldn’t be easy…

Deep contemplation was needed.

That day onward—

***

Contrary to Fabir’s expectations, it was Alec who fell into deep torment.

Heavens! Why do you test me like this?

Alec sighed inwardly.

“Captain, is something wrong?”

“You’ve been out of it lately. Always spacing out.”

His energy was drained, and he spent days in a daze.

It was all because of that human con artist. He never should have touched that roasted sweet potato.

Ever since eating it, Alec had been plagued by nightmares.

“Look at my sweetness. How’s my golden flesh? Don’t you want to eat me?”

In his dreams, the sweet potato kept seducing him.

He fought desperately not to give in, but his body wouldn’t listen.

No matter how hard he tried to resist, his body kept turning toward the sweet potato.

“Ah, no…”

Chomp.

Then suddenly he’d have it in his mouth.

He would wake up screaming after discovering himself happily wagging his tail.

His wolf warrior pride crumbled over and over.

The roasted sweet potato haunted his thoughts so much that he could barely function in daily life.

***

“Good morning.”

When he opened his eyes, Elenia was smiling brightly at him from beside the bed.

“Good morning.”

“You look a little tired. Is it because of what happened in the beastman village a few days ago?”

“I stayed up late worrying, so I didn’t sleep well. But after sleeping, my head feels clear.”

“No need to rush. Keep trying different dishes on that Alec fellow—you’ll definitely find something he loves.”

“Thanks. That really lifts my spirits.”

Yeah, moping around doesn’t suit me.

Fabir got out of bed and stretched long and hard. His sluggish body woke up.

When worried, it’s good to do something else instead.

After quickly having breakfast with the family, he headed to the underground cave for the first time in a while.

Rush—

Upon entering the third underground floor, a mushroom hermit crab spotted him and instantly vanished between the walls.

“No need for that. I’m not bullying you today.”

The crab cautiously poked its head out from the crevice, tilting its head in disbelief.

Today he planned to explore the third floor. There had to be more “byproducts” hidden here.

Since this level was larger than the previous ones, he needed to stay sharp to avoid getting lost.

Gripping his pickaxe tightly, he walked forward.

Normally, the deeper you go underground, the scarcer oxygen becomes and the damper it gets—but this place felt surprisingly fresh.

There might be ventilation holes leading outside.

Or perhaps the Floating Island itself was breathing.

Not long after starting, he spotted the walls completely covered in massive coal deposits.

They must have accumulated over a very long time—the quantity was immense.

“What a jackpot.”

Rolling up his sleeves with joy, he began mining enthusiastically.

Clang! Clang!

Just as he was getting into it—

Freeze.

His body suddenly stiffened.

A chilling presence crept up from behind.

He whipped around.

“What the hell is that?”

Something was writhing in the darkness.

A bug?

He wished.

A mass of brown liquid extended multiple tentacles, squirming.

Ding.

[A Mud Golem has appeared.]

[Emergency Mission! Defeat the Mud Golem!]

The spirit was playing another prank.

There was no time to think—a tentacle shot toward him without warning.

But his reflexes were fast enough to dodge easily.

Whoosh—

The tentacle barely grazed his side.

“That all you got?!”

Even though the surprise attack failed, the creature didn’t give up.

More tentacles came flying.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

“Persistent bastard!”

Dodging forever wouldn’t end this. He needed to counterattack.

Watching for an opening, he slipped between the whipping tentacles and closed in on the main body.

“Take this!”

He swung the pickaxe with all his might.

Splat!

It felt like striking thick mud—the impact was completely absorbed.

The bigger problem was the pickaxe. It seemed to embed, then got sucked straight into the body.

“Hey! Let go!”

He pulled with everything he had, but it just kept getting dragged deeper, like into a swamp.

Fearing he’d be pulled in too, he reluctantly let go and jumped back.

“You swallowed my pickaxe?!”

For some reason, the creature suddenly stopped attacking.

Was the pickaxe its goal from the start? To disarm him?

“You think I’ll give up just because of that? Persistence is my specialty!”

He quickly scanned the surroundings, picked up chunks of coal from the ground, and hurled them.

Thump! Thump!

As expected, every piece got sucked in. 

This was just wasting strength.

“Give me back my pickaxe!”

Even his shout didn’t faze it. Instead, it waved its tentacles as if telling him to leave.

“That pickaxe means something to me! I’m not going anywhere until I get it back!”

He was thoroughly pissed now.

The mud golem seemed to find his anger amusing and wiggled its tentacles even more provocatively.

“Argh!”

Calm down. Getting worked up plays into its hands.

“Phew…”

He forced himself to calm down and think of a solution.

How to defeat this thing?

Swinging the pickaxe or throwing rocks did nothing—no impact registered. 

He needed one powerful blow to break through.

A different approach.

If physical impact didn’t work, what else?

You can wash away mud with water… but there was no way to get that much water here right now.

“Hmm.”

He swallowed hard.

Then—

Spark!

“OH!”

A brilliant idea flashed into his mind.

He immediately began stuffing scattered coal chunks into a sack.