The MRE that I cooked wasn't the self-heating ones, although it can be eaten as it is. In my experience, every food was better when warm, except for beer. Maria and Minako were clearly in a good mood, ever since we all talked about our own situations. To be honest, I never thought that everything would be as simple as this, after all getting married was never a simple matter, Yet, here I am already about to get married to 2 very willing women.
The durations of us getting to know each other was too short for any normal people back on earth to consider marriage. But her, it was another different thing, Getting married in BlueWall was a way to secure a very smooth sailing life, more even so when a woman was married to a man. Monogamy in BlueWall was scorned to the core, it was seen as disgustingly selfish and most society will opt to banished such couple, as they were deemed unproductive and only after the government incentives.
"Okay guys~..it's ready..let me..Maria hand me that bowl…
Although the Meat Curry Rice was packaged as one, the portion of rice and Meat Curry were separated. I have eaten this type of meal many times, whether it was a normal restaurant Curry Rice or the MRE one, I tried the MRE one because I saw someone on the internet eating it and it looks delicious so I bought one. The taste was okay at best, As I rip the plastic and pour the rice into the wooden bowl, it was a sight to behold, the thick rice aroma wafted into the air, the steam of it made not only Maria and Minako glued their eyes at every single grain and gulping their saliva, but also me.
"...Azmel…what is this white grain?…". (Minako)
With a shining gaze, she asked me.
"This is Rice…it taste delicious and quite filling, also very nutritious…Why?..didn't you ever had these before?…".
Of all people, Minako should know about it, after all, Minako was someone who hails from the Island of Red Sun, which if compared to Earth, were like Japanese people.
"This is Rice?!!…No...I never had it ever in my life!…in fact, most Red Sun people don't even have a chance to eat it or even sees it…it was the food for the royal family…also Rice can only be found there…and according to the lore, only a little bit of the rice plant was saved as the Great Flood started…Wow…so this is rice..". (Minako)
The fact trivia was a little bit shocking for me to hear, but still, it makes sense to me. BlueWall right now was a water world, surely many things have been lost. I continued, I flipped the package and rip the plastic again, and this time a thick orange-reddish liquid pours onto the bowl of white rice, covering the top of it. The spice aroma then thickens, spreading all over the boats, the smells were intense and very inviting. As if the curry were freshly cooked, the soup volume was just right, and the filling was, even more, I can clearly see, the chunks of beef meat, carrots, onions, and potatoes all cut into dice. It was simply perfection, the wooden bowl was filled to the brim.
"And~..this is Beef Meat Curry~….now, this is Beef Meat, this is Carrot…..".
I know both of them don't know what the ingredients were, all they know was it got to be delicious, if it's smells great, looks great, surely it will taste great. But still, with me introducing every single ingredient to them, I will have the chance to know, whether these ingredients still exist or not. If I wanted to sell something like this in the future, better know the basics. If not I might bring harm than good.
"...I realized, these dishes that you served for us were nothing short but impressive, Azmel…Onion, Carrots, Potatoes…these were expensive foods, that usually cost 5 to 10 Lower Grade Crystal each!…". (Maria)
"Each?!…you mean all these ingredients were sold by singles, not by bulk or weight?..".
"That's right, Azmel…it was sold by singles…because not only these ingredients were delicious and good for our body…but also because, It can only be planted on soil…and fertile soil is something that is very hard to find, even in Milk Town Anchors..only 200 meters of the 600 meters were Soil..that is why...green produce is rare and extremely expensive…". (Minako)
If anything that was about Milk town and its wisdom, Minako is always the good person to asked for.
"...I see….then what about this Beef meat?…this comes from a Cow…does Cow exist?..".
"Cow?…do you mean the Ancient grass eating mammal, with black and white color that was all over the green pasture?…if it was before the Great Flood..then yes…but now, unfortunately not…it's already instinct…is this chunk…really come from cow?…". (Maria)
"...Yeah..this is cows….oh boy~…".
My head was spinning from all the revelations. At this point everything that I may pull out from my [Shop] probably considering rare and ancient in this world. Maybe whatever I pulled out of my [Inventory] will be brought nothing but a danger to both of these poor ladies and even to myself, I can feel my feet wobbly.
"Azmel!…please sit down…here…although, it seems that, whatever you are going to show us..was all extraordinary by nature…it's okay…it's us..me and Maria…your wives…we both know that you are extraordinary, different from any other male out there…The Moment I saved you I know…you were different..". (Minako)
Minako sat me down back on the stool and sat to my right on the floor and hold my hand to calm me down.
"Your wound was clearly fatal, but you didn't die and healed…then, you even agreed to get married at both of us old women…treating us nicely..serving us food and even cooked for us…which something that no man will ever do…you don't have to worry now…we will get through everything together..". (Maria)
Maria sat on the floor to my left, and take my left hand and brought it to her cheeks, and smiled. It's true what both of them said, although I might cause some sparks in the future, I am no longer alone, I have a family now. I'm, no longer privilege to act cowardly and lax, As a man, I need to provide for them, give them a better life. In this world, I already decided to be different than before and I need to show that.
"Thank you..both of you..I'm kinda lost myself there…but I'm okay now...come let's eat..after all this is a celebration…".
I caress their cheek and steeled myself with a comforting smile. Both of them were matured women, they can easily see what is troubling me, But, seeing me smiled does comfort them. We sat back up and continued our dinner, but since there are only 2 bowls available, I just ate from the package. Which cause both of them to panic and a little bit upset, they wanted to treat me as well as possible, naturally it means giving me everything that they have. It was the role of a wife and a woman, in this society of BlueWall. But I won't have it, because, to me, they were the ones who were supposed to get everything nice.
As the night went on, the three of us sat close to each other in the living room, have our back to the water barrels, and calmly watched the fire cauldron. And speak to each other, getting to know each other even deeper, Maria full name was Maria Hamlet, 36 years old and she comes from the Kingdom of Ingland, which located in the middle of the Western Sea, From what she described, Kingdom of Ingland was the same as Europe back on earth.
Apparently, both of them meet, about 14 years ago. Maria was banished because of her appearance, then ended up in Milk Town, Minako was the one who saved her, and invited her to live together on her boathouse and the being together ever since. Sharing their ups and downs together, Minako on the other hand, was a divorcee, her husband married her but as soon as he saw her appearance he divorced her instantly and picked her sister who is lean, after a few years she was then banished at the age of 14 and were sent here, by her mother.
We talked about many things as we watched the fire burns to the cinder. I also asked them about the status of Warrior and Wizards in Milk Town, and according to Minako, there are only close to 200 000 warriors and wizards in Milk town, which are at level 5-20 mostly. And almost all of them were women just like them, the Unwanted. From what I know and what they said, Milk Town was a very good place to live, it was well guarded, the entire town supported each other, friendly people and the law here was well maintained. But the fact that the soldier was weak and the whole town was simply poor, is true, which if looked in a positive way, I kinda like this place.
"Azmel…I know you were concerned to sell you items right?…afraid that it would bring us trouble right?..". (Maria)
"Emm..".
I nodded.
"If you enter a dungeon, then everything will be okay…you can just say that all the items you obtained were from the dungeon..that way, people won't ask much and believe you…". (Maria)
"Huh?…as simple as that?…does dungeon have everything in it?..".
"Yeah..wood, food..old items…can be found all over the places in dungeon…just by killing a monster in there, many kinds of items will drop…also, people will less to questioned when you become a Warrior that cleans a dungeon…". (Maria)
Maria explained as she clings to my arm.
"MARIA!..are you telling Azmel to dived into that hell hole?… Azmel…please, don't listen to her…Look at me…Azmel…dungeon is dangerous…you might get hurt if you do that…if you need money..we both can work…we will work hard for you to provide anything you need...Please…Maria, look at him…do you want him to harm himself?..". (Minako)
Minako yanks my arm, nervously and really concerned about the idea. She gently holds my cheeks with both of her hands and speaks, she even scolded Maria who gave me the idea. She was pleading at me seriously. Maria on the other hand already shrinks, covering her face with my arm.
"...Minako…look, everything is going to be okay…What Maria suggests is a great thing…I won't lie…I have many things that I can sell to make us some money..and also I am a level 3 warrior…I can defend myself even if I looked like this…".
I pointed at my fake leg and smiled.
"I know, you worried something bad will happened to me…and I know both of you wanted to provide for me as any good wife did, you even willing to tire yourselves to death if have to right?…. I know that…but, as your husband…I can't do that…I saw, how tired and hurting you both were when you get home..every single day…Look here… Maria's palm was filled with callouses…and you, I know that your breast has been hurting and bruised from all that working….it pains me to see my wife, tiring themselves….arent both of you my wife?..".
This time I wrap my hand around both of their waists and pulled them closer to me. Which made both of them blush and giddy like a teenage girl.
"Yes..". (Minako & Maria)
Both of them answered and avoid my gaze.
"From now on, as your husband…I wanted to provide both of you with good life…I will make sure that you 2 will eat good food, wear a new dress and live in the comfiest boat house….to me, that is my responsibility as a man of this house and a husband…Minako, Maria…can you accept that?..".
I spoke with my utmost confidence, and I was resolved to prove that I will make sure it became a reality.
"Yes..
"Yes it is…but from now on..he is our Odd man…". (Maria)
It was peaceful tonight, the three of us don't move, and watch the fire turned into embers, with the symphony of the waves playing. The 3 of us fell asleep in the living room, sleeping together in each other arms. Waiting for our wedding day tomorrow.