Side Story: Fran and Kune 09

First things first, I went ahead and stored the Largemouth that Kuna had taken down.

「Man, that was a great battle! We even caught the biggest catch here, nya!」

「Nn.」

「Woof.」

Kune still seemed to be in high spirits, but her feet were wobbling. She probably failed to realize her exhaustion due to the adrenaline rush.

Not surprising, considering how long she had been fishing, followed by that powerful technique.

『For now, let’s take a break on the beach. Want some tea?』

「Nn. Tea.」

「Woof woof!」

Fran excitedly rubbed her stomach while Urushi barked expectantly.

Uh, you guys understand that tea means tea right? Not a meal.

Oh wait, maybe that’s not quite true for beastmen. Some species do consider steak to be an appropriate snack for tea time. I guess anything that isn’t a full blown meal might count.

Well, whatever. They seem hungry so we might as well have lunch too.

『But do I have anything that might suit Kune’s palate?』

Her sense of taste likely differed from the norm. Or rather, if you’ll allow me to put it bluntly, Kune’s tongue lacked the ability to taste subtle flavors. Do I even have anything in my storage that Kune might like?

「Curry!」

『Isn’t it a bit too soon to give her curry? Wouldn’t it be better to ease her into the spices?』

「No, because curry is the best. Any real person will find it delicious.」

That’s taking it a bit far! Curry is very popular, yes, but some people are turned off by its spiciness, smell, or appearance!

Of course, there also existed a population of curry-haters on Earth. However, Fran’s faith in curry seemed to be excessive.

「It’ll be fine. Curry will win.」

『R-Really?』

「Nn.」

Well, I suppose Kune hasn’t tried it yet, so we may as well give it a shot.

「Kune, let’s have some tea.」

「Oh! Great idea, nya! What’s the snack? Grilled fish, nya?」

「Curry.」

「Curry? Never heard of that, nya.」

We headed over to the sandy beach with Kune and sat on some driftwood. Then, Fran took out some curry and handed it to the confused girl.

「Here.」

「This is curry? Sniff sniff… the smell is pretty intense, nya!」

「It’s the ultimate food.」

Leaving only that one-liner, Fran began chomping down her own curry. Urushi was also engrossed in the large serving of curry I had given him.

「Nom nom.」

「Chomp chomp!」

「Nya? Is this really food…?」

Kune seemed hesitant at first, but decided to give it a taste after watching Fran and Urushi eat so enthusiastically. She scooped some curry with a spoon and slowly brought it to her mouth.

「Hmm… nya!」

After giving the spoonful one final sniff, she took a bite.

「Unyah…」

Kune continued chewing on her first spoonful for quite a while… Was the taste too foreign after all?

「Nya…」

Please don’t say it’s awful or anything like that! I’ll have to be one consoling Fran if you do!

「Nya! What’s this? It’s delicious, nya! I don’t know why, but it’s so good, nya!」

Eh? Seriously?

I guess curry ended up matching her taste buds.

「But it’s so spicy, nya! Super spicy! I can’t stop, nya! Too spicy and too tasty!」

Kune scarfed down the curry while somehow being able to yap all the while. It didn’t even take a full three minutes for her to finish it all.

And surprisingly, Kune found it spicy. Sure, all curry has some spices, but this one should taste more sweet than spicy, since I made it to fit Fran’s preferences.

Honestly, this was the kind of curry that the children of Japan would get from a kid’s meal.

Kune must have very little experience with spicy foods. Also, her tongue was likely sharper at perceiving the spices than the sweetness.

Either way, her compliments were clearly no lie. Kune was patting her belly with curry sauce still smeared onto her satisfied smile.

Then, for some reason, Kune started rummaging through her pockets. She took out a small wrapped item and handed it to Fran, who opened it to find something resembling a small gem.

「A thank you for the curry, nya.」

「What’s this?」

「Honey candy, nya! This is my second favorite thing! The meal was delicious, but my mouth is still on fire, so I need something to cool down, nya.」

Apparently, this was a candy made from hardened honey. Kune popped one into her mouth and began blissfully sucking on it.

『How is it, Fran?』

「Sweet. Delicious.」

「Woof!」

Sounds like a simple honey flavor, I guess? The beekeeping industry is widespread here, so these should be easy to produce. Wait a second…

Is this a divine sign telling me to make ultra-sweet curry? I can kinda imagine the Goddess of Chaos actually saying something like that.

『Oh dear. So curry was the right choice after all?』

It seems Fran’s faith in curry will only be growing deeper…

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