Lord of Rot

At the lunch table, seafood was laid out before Leech. The crabs had been bound so crudely that their claws and legs had fallen off.

The oysters had been boiled open, and the small shellfish gathered from the sea were still in a wooden basin in the back kitchen, purging themselves of sand. They would become a thick soup for the evening meal.

Minced garlic sat in a small cup, and to his right were two halved lemons.

Leech picked up a crab, cut the ropes with a small knife, and then gently cracked it open with his bare hands. The sight of the plump, rich crab roe made his eyes light up. The taste of the sea instantly pulled Leech back into his memories. Was it the delicacy from a past nobleman’s table? Or the lively atmosphere of a 21st-century seaside food stall? It was probably a bit of both.

The only thing he knew for sure was that he could never go back.

He squeezed lemon over the oyster meat and added a dab of minced garlic. ’Steamed oysters with garlic would be good too, but for the first time, I shouldn’t make things more difficult and fluster the cook.’

...

”Are you sure this stuff is edible?”

In the castle’s back kitchen, the servants were gathered. The Baron’s leftovers would be given to them to finish, a perk they were more than happy to enjoy.

There were pan-fried steaks, and the occasional roasted crow or heron. After a hunt, they might even get to eat venison.

They didn’t get it often, but the taste was something that haunted their dreams.

But today, what lay before them were... demons... hauled up from the sea.

Lady Sparrow looked skeptically at the cook, Wine Barrel. ”Wine Barrel, are you sure this is our lunch?”

”This is a delicacy specially arranged by the master. He said that in East Port, all the important people eat this.” Wine Barrel had worked in Iron Stone City before and began to recount what he had seen. ”I saw oyster peddlers in Iron Stone City. Drizzle on some lemon and vinegar, and one of these things sells for three copper stars!”

Wine Barrel picked up an oyster to show them, and the maids immediately gasped in astonishment.

Three copper stars? Why wouldn’t you just buy bread instead of eating something like this? The rich were truly extravagant!

Basking in the ladies’ attention, Wine Barrel proudly shucked an oyster, casually drizzled it with vinegar, and then slurped the whole thing down.

He had used too much vinegar, and his face contorted for a moment, but the burst of savory flavor that followed quickly spread a smile across his face.

The ladies followed his example, but there weren’t many oysters left for them. Each person only got one, barely enough to get a taste.

”Can these sea spiders be eaten too?” Lady Sparrow asked. She wasn’t full at all. She had simply tipped her head back, and the smooth, tender meat, slick with vinegar and lemon juice, had slipped into her mouth. Her teeth failed to catch it, and her tongue only brushed against a hint of sweetness before the oyster slid down her throat and into her stomach.

Seeing the looks of enjoyment on the others’ faces, she desperately wanted another, but there were none left.

Wine Barrel looked at the bright red, steamed crabs he had tied up, hesitating. ”They... should be edible too, I think.”

”I’d rather die than eat that!” The speaker was a tall maid, a woman nearly as tall as Baron Leech himself. She had a stubborn, somewhat childish personality. ”That thing is disgusting, like a demon! I can just imagine the white goo from its body quivering in my mouth... UGH...”

She gagged. No one ate land spiders, let alone these terrifying, fist-sized ones from the sea.

”I’d rather eat white clay.”

During famines, when there was no grass or tree bark left to eat, people would resort to eating white clay. The price, however, was that it was indigestible, and they would eventually die of impaction.

Lady Sparrow felt she was making a fuss over nothing. ”You’re not some noble lady. How can you be picky about what you eat? If the master can eat it, so can we!”

Despite her words, she didn’t reach for a crab herself. She had no idea how to even begin eating the hard-shelled thing. She had spoken up only because she disliked hearing anyone insult their lord, especially Baron Leech, who had been so good to them.

The tall maid’s lip trembled as if she were about to cry. She knew she had likely, and unintentionally, offended the very Baron who had granted them this food.

”You haven’t eaten yet?” The male servant, Hayfork, returned with a plate and found them all gathered around. ”This stuff is delicious!”

He emptied his plate into a wooden bucket filled with water, then walked over and picked up a stone crab. He untied the rope and pried off the top shell. ”Look, this yellow stuff here. The master said it’s the roe. This is the best part.”

Hayfork put his newfound knowledge to use. Eating was instinct, after all. He scooped some roe out with his fingernail and popped it into his mouth. Then he picked up a claw, crushed it between his molars, and ate the meat inside.

”Wine Barrel, is there any minced garlic left?”

The cook, Wine Barrel, handed Hayfork the portion of minced garlic the Baron hadn’t used. ”Here you go.”

Hayfork dipped the leg meat he’d pried out with his teeth into the garlic, then popped it in his mouth.

As he gnawed and picked his way through the crab, the others watched, their mouths watering. The look of pure enjoyment on his face couldn’t be fake.

”If you’re not going to eat, I’ll take them,” Hayfork said, reaching for the remaining crabs. The others immediately scrambled to grab one.

Following Hayfork’s example, they soon found the edible parts and discovered just how delicious they were.

Even the tall maid, who moments ago had claimed she would rather eat white clay, finished meticulously sucking the meat from every last leg and declared, still wanting more, ”This is amazing!”

「Dinner」

Leech was sipping his clam chowder, thinking to himself, ’Next time, I have to make it clear to Wine Barrel that he can’t just change my recipe.’

The onions and garlic in the chowder were a bit off-putting.

”Simon, what is it?” Leech asked, looking at his steward.

He had been looking like he wanted to say something for a while.

”You are most merciful, my lord,” Simon said. ”But you shouldn’t be too good to the servants. I overheard them just now, already speculating about what you’ll eat tomorrow. They are beginning to take your benevolence for granted.”

”Was the seafood good?” Leech asked, setting down his cup.

”It was exquisite, my lord,” Simon nodded. ”I have never tasted such delicious and extravagant food. It was like...”

Seeing that Simon was about to wax poetic, Leech quickly cut him off. ”They were just leftovers, Simon. More importantly, have we gathered enough of the herbs I requested?”

”Three types were delivered at noon, and two more this afternoon,” Simon replied with a nod. ”The farmers are still searching diligently.”

”My lord!”

Hayfork burst into the castle in a panic, falling to his knees and trembling. ”My lord, the territory is in trouble!”

”What?” Leech shot to his feet.

’Who would possibly target my barren Porcupine Territory?’

”It’s... it’s a bear! A fiery-red bear!” Hayfork said, terrified. ”A farmer just ran back. They were gathering herbs in the woods when they disturbed it. The bear charged out and mauled two men to death!”

Leech frowned. ”And the bear?”

”It’s heading this way, toward Porcupine Territory.”

”I’m going to take a look.” Leech grabbed a torch and the longsword that a male servant handed him with trembling hands.

Outside the castle, the able-bodied men of Porcupine Territory had gathered, holding torches aloft.

They had assembled on a flat piece of ground away from the houses, preparing to intercept the terrifying beast.

The territory’s guards were also there, clad in leather armor and armed with axes and pitchforks. In normal times, they maintained order; in times of war, they would be the first to follow the Baron into battle.

”My lord!” Wheel saw Leech approaching and bent his already hunched back even lower.

Just as Leech was about to ask a question...

”ROAR!” The sound of the bear’s roar ripped through the air.

The ground trembled slightly.

In the flickering firelight, a giant bear with crimson fur charged toward the crowd. It was larger by far than any bear Leech had ever seen. He couldn’t tell if its fur was naturally that color or if it was stained red with human blood.