"Hey… Do you mind if I have a bite?"
Mustering her courage before the others could, Ginny walked up and asked Blaine.
After pausing for a moment, he nodded his head.
Lifting his arm, Blaine offered Ginny the large chitonous leg.
Seeing the irresistible meat juices spill out from the sections where Blaine had already bitten, Ginny swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
Quickly washing her hands, Ginny took it from Blaine's hands and brought the delicacy to her mouth.
As the crab leg approached her nose, she was assaulted by the delicious aroma of spices and the faint, sweet smell of the crab meat underneath.
Unable to hold herself back, Ginny took a large, ravenous bite of crab meat.
Almost immediately, her eyes lit up with wonder as she chewed the mouthful of white flesh.
While cooking, the flesh of Magical Creatures and unknowns often softened their muscles and made them easier to chew. This flesh was so soft that she felt like she was biting into a cloud.
Normally, a dish so perfectly prepared would only be provided at high-class restaurants or the royal palace itself.
Certainly not in the middle of nowhere amid a top-secret mission!
The dish's chef didn't even bring many ingredients to prepare it.
It was like the auburn-haired youth possessed some kind of divine touch.
Instead of turning the things he touched into gold, the dishes he created turned absolutely delicious.
Ginny couldn't help but try to remember eating anything tastier in her life before quickly giving up.
Just then, Lorie and the other captains got up to their feet and approached Blaine and Ginny.
Only Lyn and Cecelia remained sitting, watching the sight before them with conflicted looks.
They threw the large crab leg a voracious look before approaching the dish's chef.
Delsie pointed to the crab leg in Ginny's hands.
"Would it be alright for us to have some too?"
Blaine nodded his head again.
However, he got up after seeing how the captains were eyeing the single chitinous arm like hungry vultures. He walked over to a nearby Rock Crab.
Which was the same one that graciously donated the long red arm currently consumed by the four captains.
Blaine pulled out his sword and cleanly severed the remaining limbs of the Rock Crab, leaving only its two giant pincers behind, judging that they would be too large to properly fit in his pot.
Walking over to the group with the severed limbs in tow, Blaine quickly washed one of the limbs before tossing it into the pot and turning the Magitech stove back on.
Witnessing this, Rick couldn't help but ask.
"Are those… For us?"
Blaine nodded his head.
The eyes of the four captains lit up with elation as they threw Blaine grateful looks.
"Wow, you'd do that for us? Thanks!"
"Yeah, there was no reason for you to make it for us, too, so thanks for that."
"I really appreciate you doing this for us."
"I'll leave you a 5, no 6-star review!"
Blaine's face didn't betray any emotion, but inwardly, he felt a tinge of happiness.
It had been a while since he had had the chance to cook for someone else.
Just as he was lost in thought, another figure slowly approached him.
It was none other than Lyn, the princess's aloof bodyguard.
After exchanging a look that lasted several seconds, Lyn slowly opened her mouth to speak.
"Would you be able to make two for the princess? I was well."
Blaine nodded his head.
But just as this happened, a voice rang out from behind him.
"Sorry… But I'm not too hungry at the moment. Sir Blaine doesn't need to waste time preparing one for me."
Throwing Cecelia a confused look, Lyn sighed and turned her attention back to the boy before her.
"Well, I guess I will only need one then."
Just as Blaine was about to get up and grab another leg for Lyn, Lyn stopped him and pointed at the cluster of Rock Crabs with her dagger.
"I'll go grab it myself. It's the least I can do after you're going through the trouble of cooking it for me."
Leaving Blaine and the others behind, Lyn went to harvest her early breakfast before walking back with it in tow.
Placing it on top of the pile of the other crab legs, she walked back to the van and wordlessly sat next to the princess.
Now, it was up to Blaine to finish preparing the following meals.
***
After over an hour straight cooking, Blaine picked up the last cooked crab leg and bit into it.
The leg he had prepared for himself earlier ended up being passed around as an appetizer as the group members waited for their respective legs to finish cooking.
Even Lyn took a bit or two while waiting, becoming just as surprised as the others by the dish's heavenly taste.
As the six people sat and ate their meals, it was hard to imagine that they weren't on a simple picnic together but on a deadly mission from which they might not return alive.
Their usually taut nerves were considerably loosened as they ate and talked peacefully.
Such was the effect of a good meal.
As Blaine watched his surroundings with a hint of nostalgia, he couldn't help but try to remember the last time he felt this peaceful.
As he was thinking this, he sensed another figure coming up behind him and entering his peripheral vision.
Considering that everyone was already in the midst of greedily consuming their respective crab leg, except for a certain princess, Blaine had already assumed the approaching person's identity.
Perhaps she had changed her mind and instead wanted to grab a bite to eat.
Turning around to greet her, Blaine suddenly froze as the colour drained from his face.
The figure behind him… Was not the princess he had been tasked with protecting.
After all, the princess was not a rotting corpse with hollowed-out eyes…
The corpse gazed at Blaine with a lifeless smile before its teeth parted.
"Say… Doesn't this sight look familiar…"