114: Eating Sashimi

February 3, 2021 - 14 minutes read - 2867 words

“Hey, stop joking! I can’t believe that’s delicious? It shouldn’t be something humans can enjoy!” Mark screams.

“I know children can be curious, but aren’t you being crazy?” Irving yells.

“It’ll be fine, once you cook it properly, it’s very delicious! I’m sure you’ll love octopus.” Al

“I don’t believe you!” Irving and Mark deny vehemently.

I guess when you look at the undulating brown body studded with suckers, you’d question my sanity…

It really looks inedible, the ancestors who figured out the method of eating octopus deserve a lot of admiration. Properly prepared and boiled, the meat turns red like shrimp, so it will look better. When you go that far, it won’t look revolting, but instead tasty.

“It’s fine to let the joke go, ok?” Irving stresses.

“Don’t worry, I really will show you how delicious it can be.” Al reassures.

I’ve had friends that loved fishing, so I’ve prepared octopus before. Unless there’s something funky with this world’s octopus, it should be fine. There’s less work to prepare it than fish.

“Are you going to make me the taste tester?” Irving asks.

Was Irving thinking this was some kind of prank? We’re square now, so I wouldn’t do anything.

“Not at all, I’ll taste it myself first.” Al volunteered with a carefree smile.

Irving looks visibly relieved.

“Al seems braver than a hero from a fairy tale.” Mark

“Are ya really gonna eat that?” Douglas questioned.

“Well, Al think he can make it delicious? If it works, I’ll eat it!” Rumba

“Rumba ain’t worried?” Douglas

“Al has developed new dishes before. Didn’t Irving and Mark eat at the Koriat Village restaurant? Remember Spaghetti and Tamagoyaki?” Rumba

“Yeah, they were good… Did Alfred come up with them?” Irving queries.

“That’s right” Al answers confidently.

Well, I did get help from Bartolo on the precise recipe for spaghetti, since I was only able to remember the broad strokes for the recipe.

“That’s a lie. A guy who is trying to eat something like an octopus couldn’t come up with spaghetti! It’s the most popular new dish in the Misfilt Kingdom! What?” Irving

Stop ragging on the poor octopus, it’s about to get eaten. That being said, I wasn’t aware of how popular spaghetti had gotten. Well, it’s a dish that’s usable as a bread substitute, so it makes sense that it became popular.

“If Alfred came up with that dish, then maybe he’ll be able to pull out a miracle here… Nah, octopus isn’t edible, right?” Mark wondered.

Mark is making groaning noises while looking at the octopus. If you don’t want to eat it, don’t worry about it. You just have to try a bite to see if it’s good. You’ll definitely want to eat it when I’m done cooking it though.

After that, I asked Captain Douglas and the ship’s cook to borrow a corner of the kitchen. They were a bit worried about me trying to cook it by myself, so I was provided with an assistant cook.

His name is Elam and he had been working as a cook for five years. He’s a young man with blond hair and gentle blue eyes. Since he’s a cook, he’s not as muscular as the sailors and wears a clean white clothes and an apron.

“Ah, are you really doing this?” Elam

“Yes. I’m going to cook the octopus.” Al reassures.

Elam looks terrified, he almost looks ready to bolt. The other cooks and Irving are listening to our conversation and regard Elam with sympathy. It’ll be fine, he’s not going to die.

So, the procedure for cooking an octopus is pretty simple.

Kill the octopus by piercing between the eyes
Remove the beak and internal organs by cutting around the beak.
Remove the eyes
Wash with water to remove the slime
Season with salt
Boil until a knife slides in easily.
Cool

Following the previous directions is simple and makes a tasty octopus.

“Ok, Elam. Please pick it up first, then cut around the beak to remove the internal organs from the head for the first step.” Al instructs.

I instruct the stupefied Elam on the first step when he suddenly turns to me.

“Are the internal organs in the head?” Elam

“Where else would the internal organs be?” Al

“Well, there’s isn’t much other than a head and legs.” Elam

An octopus has eight legs that also serve as arms and a head that is also the torso, so all the organs will be in the torso.

“So, Mr. Alfred… How do I begin?” Elam asks with a suspicious expression.

“There should be a nerve between the eyes, so stab it there with the kitchen knife. It should be a touch below the bottom of the eyes.” Al

“So around here?” Elam

“Yes, the body should turn white if you’ve hit it.” Al answers without hesitation.

“Ok, I’ll try it.” Elam

Elam brings the knife closer to the octopus slowly.

“Oh, I almost forgot. Stick the octopus’s suckers to the cutting board. Otherwise the octopus will rampage around.” Al

“Hiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” Elam screams.

I just remembered an important precaution, but it seems I was too late. The octopus had wrapped itself around Elam’s right arm. Elam screams out and flails his arm in a fruitless attempt to dislodge the slimy tentacled creature. He’s not going to get the suckers off by doing that, the octopus will simply grab on more of his arm.

Elam realizes that the octopus is grabbing on more, so he tries to pull it off using his other hand, but it’s too slimy to grip. Wow, his right arm has been covered by the octopus.

“Please someone help me! I can’t get it off and it’s too slimy to pull it off!” Elam

“Wait, Elam! Don’t come over here! If you come near me, you won’t be going on another voyage here!” Head Cook

“Head?!” Elam

Elam tries to ask his kitchen friends for help, but they’re scared and refuse to do anything. Elam’s scared expression looks a bit funny, but I don’t want to let him do anything dangerous, so I’ll step in.

“Hey, Elam! I’ll kill it, reach your arm out.” Al

“Yes!” Elam answers as he immediately reaches out his arm.

I carefully analyzed the octopus, then grabbed the torso with my left hand. I stabbed the kitchen knife I had in my right hand into the nerve between the eyebrow area of the octopus. It seems I was able to hit the nerve cleanly on the first attempt, as the octopus’s color changes from reddish brown to grayish white. As it lost its color, Elam was able to pull the octopus off his arm.

“…Tentacles…” Elam

Elam touches all over his arm while taking ragged breathes. His right arm is covered with sucker marks, since it was attacked by the octopus a minute ago. I don’t want to comment on it, but the atmosphere is uncomfortable. I stop myself from getting discouraged and focus on a more cheerful tone of voice.

“Well, now we’ll take out the internal organs.” Al

“Yes” Elam replies woodenly.

It seems Elam’s spirit has been diminished, but he’s still going along with the flow. I bet he’s cooked a variety of sea creatures that aren’t fish, so Elam should get used to it before he knows it.

“Put your finger in the head and flip it over. Then take the organs out by hand since they’re slippery. Be very careful not to break the black ink sac.” Al

As I explained, Elam was able to flip the octopus over and pull out the organs. It’s a shocking picture for the modern people who don’t clean the meat they eat, but you’ll get used to this sort of work quickly enough. Elam then cut out the octopus’s eyeballs and the preparation steps were complete.

“Since we’re done cleaning the octopus, we’ll wash it off to remove the slime.” Al

Elam takes the octopus off the chopping board and moves it to the sink. The other cooks move closer to watch this step. When I push the switch on the sink, it pull a bit of magic energy to make the water flow.

“Ok, assistant Elam. Please wash the octopus thoroughly with water.” Al

“Uh, yeah? So, I have to?” Elam

“It would be difficult for me to wash it while standing on a wooden box. It can take a bit more strength than I have as well.” Al

It’s not because it’s too much of a hassle to clean off the slime or that I don’t want to touch it. It’s just so much more efficient for Elam who has much larger hands and stronger hands as well.

“…I don’t want to touch it anymore…” Elam

“I’ll use aristocratic privileges?” Al commands in a solemn tone.

“Usually aristocrats will demand fresh meat, expensive alcohol, or to eat a sea serpent (the noted delicacy of the sea)? But you…” Elam

What? So ordinary aristocrats demand unreasonable things like that? How nonsensical!

“Elam, please wash the octopus.” Al

“I was told he was a friendly aristocrat, but…” Elam replies tearfully.

“Wash the sides of the octopus, make sure to wash it from head to foot.” Al

I understand his feelings, I had the same opinion when I first washed one. When you wash it, it’s so slimy.

Elam screams for confidence, washing the octopus thoroughly with water, then salting it as well. When the salt was kneaded in, Elam had stopped screaming. It seems Elam has gotten used to the octopus.

By the time we were done cooking, the sky and sea had turned a red color. The sky had changed from sky blue to reddish to reflect the setting sun. It seems that a lot of fish were caught while I was working with the octopus, so it looks like there will be a feast on the deck tonight.

The deck was polished by the sailors and long tables were lined up. The sailors and Silver Wind adventurers were sitting at the tables and having a good conversations around the colorful fish dishes. It seems my octopus dish was placed in the middle of each table, possibly for bets of courage.

“Hey, Al. Your seat is here.” Irving calls out.

Irving is waving at me from a table with a lot of octopus and dos tuna sashimi.

“Come on, eat up! Y’all caught a buncha fish today, so there’s tons of tasty food for everyone! Everyone can eat to they burst! Tomorrow we’ll keep sailing, so you can’t drink til ya drop.” Douglas

Everyone groans at Douglas’s last statement. If the sailors get too drunk on alcohol, they won’t be able to run up and down the rigging properly.

“Ugh! Why is there so little alcohol in front of all this food…” Irving

“It’s it fine since it’s just weak alcohol? Douglas says this is the way it’s done.” Ilya

“Be patient. If you’re worried about alcohol, you had enough for a while in Esprit, right?” Alisha

“It’s no good since there’s barely enough for both of us to have a good glass each.” Mark moans.

This is a banquet to re-energise our spirits during the sea journey. I forgot to mention that earlier. I still can’t drink alcohol, so I’m feeling a bit down. Luckily, I have sashimi to eat…

“Then, let’s toast!” Douglas

“Cheers!” Everyone

Everyone raises their glass of fruit water or wine to match Douglas’s cheer. Of course, I’ve got fruit water, but I’m joined by Mark and Irving. In front of my seat is fried octopus over rice, octopus carpaccio, raw octopus sashimi, octopus salad, and octopus legs grilled with salt.

By the way, I had checked with Elam that the octopus was tasty, and didn’t find any issues. Rather, it’s one of the most delicious octopuses I’ve had, that was surprising. I’m chalking that up to the fact that it was caught earlier today. Elam ended up muttering delicious when he tried it with a complicated expression.

The rest of the dishes in front of me is dos tuna sashimi, dos tuna steak, grilled whitefish with salt, and a gorgeous fish dish.

“Huh? What’s this? I can tell it’s carpaccio, but I’m not familiar with this red color…” Alisha

“You’re right. What is the red thing? It looks different from fish.” Ilya

It seems Alisha and Ilya have noticed the octopus carpaccio in front of us. They were making a lot of noise on the deck, but it seems they didn’t notice the discussion around the octopus. Irving and Mark notice their ignorance and smile.

“It’s delicious, try it.” Irving

“It’s sweet and crunchy, isn’t it good?” Al

I repeated the words I had said to Elam earlier. Of course, these two haven’t tried the octopus yet. It seems Irving will try it after Alisha and Ilya have been tricked into trying it. It seems that Mark and Irving want to watch the other two try the dish first. Everyone is watching them while chatting.

“Is that so? Then I’ll get some.” Alisha

“I’m looking forward to it.” Ilya

Irving and Mark are trying to hide their black smiles, while Alisha and Ilya are smiling while eating the octopus carpaccio. I can hear a nearby sailor swallowing in fear.

“Oh, it’s crunchy and delicious! Is this a type of shellfish?” Alisha

No, it’s an octopus.

“This doesn’t smell weird at all! I like the chewy sensation, though I don’t know if everyone will like it.” Ilya

Certainly, there’s people who aren’t good at this sort of texture. Anyway, the two look to enjoy the octopus and continue to eat the octopus carpaccio.

“Seriously? It’s that good?” Irving leaks out.

Irving and Mark looks suspiciously, but then reach for the grilled octopus legs.

“This is actually really good. The more you chew, the more sweet and salty the flavor becomes.” Irving

“Oh, it looks weird, but it tastes fine.” Mark

Irving is chowing down on the octopus legs, a bit is sticking on from the edge of his mouth. Is he enjoying them that much?

“I want some wine!” Mark and Irving

The two slam down their cups of fruit juice in a desperate voice. At the same time, sailors are also checking out the octopus dishes and a number of them are remarking on the deliciousness of them.

See, it’s tasty when properly prepared. I observe the situation with great satisfaction.

I decide to reach for the dos tuna sashimi now. I lightly drip some of the soy sauce on it then put it in my mouth. The fatty body melts in my mouth, it’s a rich fish meat that doesn’t smell fishy. The soy sauce acts well to add an accent that complements the fat of the meat nicely.

“Oh, it different from the river fish.” Al

The deliciousness of the dos tuna will take your breath away. It’s regrettable that there isn’t a sea anywhere near Koriat Village. Well, I can always visit the sea with Transfer magic now. I’m looking forward to that in the future. I want to think positively and enjoy my life.

After enjoying the dos tuna sashimi, I reach out for some of the raw octopus. It’s a bit difficult to balance it on my fork because of the slipperiness, but I managed to get a serving by spearing it with the fork. I add a little soy sauce to it before putting it in my mouth.

Every time I chew the bite, the rich taste of the octopus spreads. The squishy and squeaky feel when chewing on the suction cups is interesting. It’s a rich taste that blows away the octopus that you can buy at a supermarket… Irving fished up a nice octopus.

“Oh, so you can eat octopus raw…” Irving moans when he sees that I’m eating the octopus sashimi.

“Wait a minute… What did you just say?” Alisha asks Irving.

Ilya has frozen while putting a bite of octopus carpaccio in her mouth. Ilya’s face is pale, since she seems to be imagining various things.

“nothing…” Irving

“Spit it out” Alisha

“I don’t want to” Irving

“I won’t get angry if you say it now” Alisha

Well, I don’t see that promise being kept. Irving, don’t believe her!

“That a lie! If I say it, Alisha will definitely get angry!” Irving

As expected, Irving realizes the trap Alisha is trying to set. Alisha is smiling, for some reason.

“I won’t get angry, but if you lie to me and I find out later… I’ll be very angry.” Alisha

Irving doesn’t know how to respond. Please don’t be fooled, don’t listen to her sweet whispers.