After Stella dodged Luna's hand
"Hahahahaha! That's too bad!"
"Hmph! Unlike me, she wasn't even interested in you!"
"What?"
"Oh…"
They started to argue again.
Then Yuti opened her mouth.
"Challenge. I'll touch her, too."
As soon as she said that, Yuti stared at Stella.
"Nya?"
"….."
Stella tilted her head to look at Yuti, but neither of them looked away.
After staring at each other for a while, Yuti reached out her hand to Stella.
And then…
"Nya."
"….."
Stella slapped Yuti's hand away as well.
Another moment of silence passed, and Yuti reached out to Stella with tremendous speed, a complete change from the previous moment.
But…
"Nya, nya~"
Yawning, Stella easily dodged Yuti's fierce attempts.
This sight made Yuti's pursuit even more fierce, but she still couldn't catch Stella.
Seeing such a tremendous battle, Luna and the others opened their eyes.
"Th-that's amazing…"
"O-oh… I knew that Yuti was awesome, but I never thought that Yuti would be so helpless…"
Yuti's lack of facial expressions made it difficult to read what she was thinking.
However, it was obvious to everyone that she was now pissed off at Stella.
On top of that, she's surprised and impatient about the situation where she couldn't touch her at all.
"Nya!"
"Uu!"
The attack and defense continued for a while but finally came to an end when Stella pushed Yuti's hand away.
Yuti rubbed the hand that had been hit and muttered in frustration.
"…Defeated. Stella, strong."
"Nya~"
Stella's attitude, as if to say, "You can come anytime," made Yuti frown more and more.
In the midst of all this, Iris-san, who had been watching the exchange between us until now, opened her mouth.
"Everyone, you are not ready yet. Leave this to me!"
"Iris-sama!"
"Surely… Iris-sama would be able to touch her."
"…Observe. Find the weak spot."
"Nya?"
The eyes of Lexia-san and the others lit up as Iris-san showed her motivation.
"I've already watched Stella-chan fight, so don't expect me to do the same as the others."
"Nyaaa."
Iris-san smiled fearlessly, but Stella was completely unconcerned and yawned.
Stella was so careless that Iris-san twitched her cheeks and reached out her hand even faster than Yuti had done.
"Just be quiet and let me stroke you!"
It was truly a move that could be called divine speed.
Was that unreadable, even for Stella?
That's what I thought…
"Nya, nya!"
Stella jumped back slightly and dodged Iris-san's hand.
But Iris-san seemed to have anticipated that and had already moved on to the next action.
"If you jump, there's nowhere to run!"
She mercilessly extended her hand to Stella, who was still in the air, unable to land on her feet.
Her spirit could be compared to the time when she fought against Whips.
…No, why was she so serious about just patting Stella?
While I was unintentionally looking far away, Stella, who I thought had been cornered… brilliantly dodged Iris-san's hand, using her hand as a foothold.
"Wha-!?"
As expected, this was completely unexpected to Iris-san, and her eyes widened.
Stella, who had lost the pursuit of Iris-san, landed lightly on the ground and started licking her fur again.
"Nya, nya."
Her attitude, as if to say that she's still naive, brought out a frustrated expression on Iris-san's face.
"Kuh… I really tried, but I lost…!"
"No, um… You don't have to be so serious to pet her…"
Then, after the exchange so far, Lexia-san raises her voice.
"Hey, Yuuya-sama! This child won't let anyone touch her at all!"
"I know, right? Is this fellow really a family member?"
"Eehh!?"
It's up to Stella to decide if she wants to be touched, not me…
As if looking for help, I look at Stella, who is licking her fur.
"Nya? Nya~"
"Wha-?"
When Stella caught my gaze, she immediately came over to me and showed me her belly without hesitation.
Seeing Stella's defenseless appearance, I patted her reflexively.
"Good girl, good girl."
"Nn! Purr…"
Stella purred happily as I stroked her.
"Wait a minute! Isn't she looking too affectionate with Yuuya-sama!"
"In fact, isn't she too attached? It hasn't been that long since you two met, has it?"
Luna was right; Stella and I have only just met.
I really don't know why she's so fond of me…
Anyway, we're no different than a nice family.
After that, Lexia-san and the others challenged Stella, but in the end, none of them could touch her.
While we were explaining about Whips and playing with Stella, Meiko brought in the food.
"It's ready!"
"Oh, it smells so good!"
What was brought before us was… tonkatsu. [T/n: Japanese pork cutlet].
It was served with a salad, miso soup, and other dishes that were very nutritious and well-balanced.
Lexia-san and the others, who were not familiar with tonkatsu, looked at the dish with great interest.
"What kind of dish is this?"
"Tonkatsu!"
"Tonkatsu?"
"Yes! It is a dish made by coating pork and frying it in oil."
"Hmm… I thought I had eaten a lot of different things since I came to Earth…"
"It looks delicious! But why did you choose this dish?"
When Lexia-san asked this, Meiko replied shyly.
"U-um… There is something in my knowledge that says that this is the only dish I should choose before competing…"
"Ara. It is perfect for the fight against Shu."
Certainly, tonkatsu was a dish that was often eaten as a good luck charm.
More than that, the knowledge of the sinners in the underworld was a mystery… like giving Meiko the knowledge of the maids and giving her the knowledge of the lucky dishes.
Before it got cold, we ate the food brought to us.
"Mmm! It's tender and delicious!"
"The crispness of the crust and the juiciness of the meat are amazing…"
"Affirmation. Eating it makes me feel better."
After Yuti told us this, I noticed that I did indeed feel strangely full of vitality.
Then Meiko answered the reason.
"Oh, I used the King Orc meat that Master gave me!"
"Buhh!"
"Th-that's a super high-quality ingredient…"
Luna gushed at Meiko's words, and Lexia-san's cheeks twitched.
Come to think of it, I had given Meiko the monster ingredients I had left in my Item Box.
I've eaten monster ingredients several times, so I don't feel repulsed by them now.
In fact, the monster ingredients were so much tastier than Earth food. I wonder if it had something to do with their magic power?
Whatever it was, I felt full of energy.
Then Iris-san, who was also eating, looked down at her own body.
"As expected from the meat of King Orc… my strength was restored immediately."
"Well… I'm glad I kept it."
"With this, I think we can leave right away."
Thanks to Meiko's quick thinking, Iris-san was able to regain her strength.
I wasn't particularly aware of it, but I'm glad we used the ingredients from the Item Box.
Then Luna, who had a mouthful of miso soup, opened her eyes.
"Mmm! What, what is this soup!"
"U-um, did I do something wrong…?"
Luna's reaction made Meiko ask anxiously.
Seeing Meiko's reaction, Luna hurriedly continued.
"Ah, no, there was nothing wrong with the cooking. This miso soup. The taste of the soup is certainly unfamiliar to me, but it is delicious."
"That's right. I've never tasted it before, either. But it is very comforting!"
Lexia-san was right; there was something so comforting about miso soup.
But…
"Then what's wrong with it?"
"The problem is the meat in it!"
As Luna said, there was meat in the miso soup this time.
I hadn't touched the miso soup yet, so I didn't know what it tastes like…
"What is this meat? It's so delicious that it makes King Orc's meat taste hazy!"
"Huh?"
I was surprised by the unexpected words.
That's because the King Orc meat was also very tasty, to the point of being impressive.
And that kind of meat tastes hazy…
I took a sip of the miso soup, feeling that Luna's words were exaggerated.
"!?"
My eyes widened at that moment.
W-what is this?
I thought it looked like pork, but it wasn't.
While pork was much lighter, this meat had a unique flavor, and it immediately spread in my mouth.
But it was not bad at all.
Rather, it was too delicious.
"Me-Meiko! What kind of meat is this?"
When I asked without thinking, Meiko replied in surprise.
"L-let's see… it's the King Mithril Boar meat that Master gave me."
"Ah!"
Hearing Meiko's words, I was convinced.
If I remember correctly, I got something like Demon King Boar Meat as a drop item from the King Mithril Boar.
I also heard that the meat has a strange taste and smell, but once you eat it, you would be captivated by its flavor.
After trying it, I could understand that explanation.
The meat was that good.
While they were impressed by the taste, Lexia-san and the others were even more surprised than when they ate the King Orc meat.
"Ki-King Mithril Boar, you say…?"
"It's a monster that hasn't been defeated in the past few hundred years. I never thought that I would eat the meat of such a monster…"
"Delicious."
While Luna was on the verge of giving up, Yuti continued to eat without a care in the world.
Since the meat of King Mithril Boar was originally obtained during my training with Master Usagi, Iris-san, who was also a Holy, enjoyed her meal very calmly.
"Well, now that we have eaten our fill… let's get going!"
──After enjoying a short rest in this way, we once again made our way to Shu's place.