Saiyan stowaways on the Ark

"Anyway, the one you mentioned is probably with another of our companions, so he should be fine... probably."

Skadi sensed Tomat's presence, and also Garcia's presence, which is why she made that statement.

"Is Garcia with your allies? The Agorians, or the Deepsea Hunters!?"

"No, he's not an Agor, nor is he a hunter. In short, you won't encounter any danger with him, although sometimes he's the source of the danger..."

However, this one-sided account did not convince Alfonso. Just as he was about to ask Skadi why she was so certain, Tomat suddenly appeared in the hall, carrying a large, deep pot used for making broth.

"Shh."

With a buzzing sound as he suddenly appeared in space and bounced through the surrounding air, Tomat slammed the pot down in front of everyone and laughed:

"Hahaha, the fish soup is here! Oh, you're all here."

[Event] Fool's Tale: Chapter Thirty-Three - The Fool's Banquet

"I went to the kitchen to try my luck and found something good. Want to try it?"

A rich aroma filled the air. Everyone else was surprised by Tomat's appearance, but Alfonso seemed to subconsciously ignore this strange entrance. Instead, he walked to the pot and questioned it with a look of panic mixed with anger:

"Where...where did you get all this meat? Where's Garcia?!"

"Garcia?"

Tomat looked down at the pot, then at the unfamiliar Alfonso, and said calmly:

"You might still be able to find it in the kitchen now; it's quite suitable for cooking."

Unexplained meat broth, the missing Garcia, the sudden appearance of a deep-sea hunter's accomplice carrying a large pot, Garcia in the kitchen, and the mysterious assessment that it's "suitable for cooking"...

Alfonso hadn't smelled anything like this in a long time; now, the only fish on board were the occasional tough, unpalatable, and rotten-sour tuna caught over a long period of time...

Could it be that the meat in this pot is...?

"You, you, you... what did you do to my first mate!?"

Alfonso staggered back as if struck by lightning, his hand trembling with rage as he raised it to point at Tomat's nose and questioned him again.

"Nothing much, I just discussed 'cooking experience' with it for a bit, and then I brought the finished product over."

When Tomat said this, there was no extra change in his tone; he simply stated the facts in a very plain manner.

"...Don't worry, you'll see each other again soon."

But these words, when heard by Alfonso, not only shocked him but also ignited his grief and indignation.

This intruder killed Garcia, cooked him, served him to me, and then tried to kill me too!?

Even the legendary Nightmare Khan, a tyrant, wouldn't necessarily go to such lengths to commit such a vicious act!

"Garcia—my first mate—my friend, you...you've ended up as a meal?!"

Alfonso gripped the edge of the stockpot, staring intently at the haphazardly boiled contents, and spoke in a sorrowful tone.

However, the smell was truly enticing. Despite his grief and anger, the irresistible aroma couldn't fool Alfonso. If he had to admit it, he felt he could eat three large bowls of rice with tears in his eyes.

However, even though the hunger he felt during this period made him have an almost insane urge to devour Garcia, he restrained himself and instead drew his jeweled sword, charging directly towards Tomat's position with astonishing speed.

"You too shall be devoured by the fish, and die with Garcia!!!"

"...Afonso...Captain?"

But the next moment, Garcia, with its somewhat clumsy-looking molten body, pushed a food cart full of delicacies into the captain's cabin.

However, it was slightly taken aback by the large group of unfamiliar faces that appeared in the captain's cabin, which made its bean-sized eyes shrink even smaller.

"Garcia!?"

Alfonso stopped a step away from Tomat, looked at the steaming pot next to him, then at Garcia pushing the food cart, and showed the same incredulous and confused expression.

…………

"So, after realizing there really wasn't much food here, you just made do with those awful-tasting dinosaurs?"

Although it was clear that the atmosphere among them was still somewhat awkward, they still forced themselves to sit together at the large round table used for banquets.

The table was set with a variety of delicious-looking hot dishes. Although it was impossible to tell what they actually looked like at a glance, they were certainly appealing in terms of color, aroma, and taste.

“I thought…this gentleman…was going to eat me…but he only reached out…to untie me.”

"Then... he and I... used these kitchen utensils and... the leftover seasonings... to process the dinosaurs... Incredible! They... became delicious..."

"He said... he needed someone to help... taste it... and then he disappeared... I thought the taste... was already pretty good, and I don't know... where he went... so I just sent it over..."

It was quite difficult to understand Garcia, but the group managed to hear him in his plural form. As for why they didn't let Tomat speak for himself, it was because he was busy eating and not wolfing down his food, but savoring it.

Skadi and the others agreed that "don't disturb Tomat while he's eating." So when Ulpian got impatient and was about to ask Tomat directly, Goredia stuffed something that looked like a fried meat patty into his mouth and shut him up.

Those words that sounded incredibly insane to Alfonso were actually just literal. The phrase "I'll be able to meet Garcia soon" didn't mean anything like "I'll send you to hell with me." It was simply that Tomat kindly reminded Alfonso, who was concerned about Garcia's whereabouts, after sensing Garcia's presence approaching.

"Anyway, that's it." Tomat said, smacking his lips as he savored the taste of the dishes. "You know my teleportation isn't suitable for carrying living things, so I brought a pot myself to see if it suits your tastes."

Alfonso sipped his red wine and devoured the food, then invited Garcia, who was holding a glass of red wine next to him, to sit down as well.

Skadi and Specter, who had also eaten the food on the table, each gave a thumbs-up to indicate that it tasted good.

"Hmm...it looks delicious, but the terror fish is still...although there are no records of observations on cooked food, ingesting the body tissue of the terror fish will cause changes in one's own body..."

Alene, sitting at the table gazing at the delicious food and muttering to herself, glanced at Alfonso and Garcia sitting by the window.

Clearly, their current state is a result of this feeding behavior.

There is no doubt that swallowing raw fish is harmful. Even when heated, it is difficult to completely kill the cells of the dinosaur. If consumed over a long period of time, the accumulated cells will gradually become activated, which will transform a person into a dinosaur and cause symptoms of marine transformation.

Carmen and Dalio also showed slightly conflicted expressions. Although Dalio had eaten some at Tomat's invitation when he was in Saltwind City, the types of Terrorfish and the dining environment were very different now, so he couldn't take the initiative to eat as an example.

"Eat up. They're just ordinary meat and bones now. The cells have completely surrendered and submitted. They no longer have any rebellious thoughts. They have accepted the reality that they are just food. Their only value and destiny is to be eaten."

Thomas seemed to sense the apprehension of Enelly and the others, so he briefly explained in some difficult-to-understand words and with a rather confident tone.

Of course, these words were only meant to dispel their concerns about food.

What they are probably more concerned about is the "complexity" of this dining table.

Master and apprentice, weak and strong, superior and subordinate, commoner and hero, daemons and hunters, monsters and mortals, Agor and Iberia...

Looking at the round table, which is only about ten square meters in size, one can see that it contains some of the most complex and contradictory elements in the entire Iberia and Agor region.

[Event] Fool's Past: Prelude to Chapter 34

The dinner party, which started inexplicably, also ended without anyone noticing.

The long-awaited feast not only satisfied Alfonso and Garcia, but also successfully pleased their rather discerning palates. After all, when they were freely sailing the seas in the past, they had always enjoyed the finest cuisine.

Alene overcame her reservations and savored the taste of the terror fish. Carmen also remarked that they were much more delicious than she had imagined. Dario, on the other hand, calmly ate the dish but inadvertently revealed that he had eaten terror fish before, and was therefore severely reprimanded by Carmen for not reporting it.

Jody thought the dishes made with the dinosaur were delicious, but only "ordinarily delicious." This was probably because he didn't know much about dinosaurs and didn't have high expectations or preconceived notions that they were "unpalatable."

However, what they all shared was that what they had expected to be a tumultuous journey, even one that could cost them their lives, turned out to be as easy as a regular group tour.

The first attraction was the Iberian Eye, the second was the Fool's Ship, and then we enjoyed a top-notch seaside banquet...

This is so different from what they had envisioned.

But... this isn't so bad.

Rather, it's not that they expected any truly arduous battles, painful experiences, or even fatal accidents—these were merely the worst-case scenarios they had envisioned and were mentally prepared for.

This is enough to prove that Dario's invitation was correct, because none of these worst-case scenarios have occurred, and things are constantly improving.

While great power can certainly accomplish many things, the only drawback is that this power belongs to others. Even if they help solve problems, one cannot rely on it indefinitely. The safest approach is to become stronger oneself after realizing the necessity of power, until one can cope independently without relying on others.

In that case, Iberia, and other places suffering more, would probably be able to resolve their current difficulties more easily.

Similar thoughts lingered in the minds of Carmen and others. Forcing it to happen was unrealistic, and power alone could not necessarily solve everything. However, in the case of Tomat and his group, it seemed not so bad to regard it as a feasible and worthwhile attempt.

While Goredia and Ulpian were inspecting the Fool's ship, Carmen, Dario, and Alfonso were discussing the various events that had occurred over the past sixty years, as well as whether to sail the Fool's ship back to Iberia.

Out of curiosity, Jody wandered around the control room after obtaining Alfonso's permission, with Eleanor accompanying and protecting her.

After dinner, Thomas picked his teeth and stood on the deck gazing into the distance.

Because the lighthouse was already lit, the sea surface was still somewhat illuminated even on a cloudy night.

Specter and Skadi, who didn't have any particular mission, came over to Tomat and started chatting casually.

“Speaking of which… you can actually cook.” Skadi asked, slightly surprised. “I thought you could only make those big, sloppy grilled meats, but your grilling skills aren’t bad either.”

“That’s what we do when there’s no other option. We have so many kitchen utensils and plenty of seasonings left. Even though we don’t have many ingredients, we might as well use them,” Tomat replied matter-of-factly.

“No, I mean your skills…you’ve also learned to cook?” Skadi continued to ask.

At this point, Tomat paused briefly to recall, then replied somewhat awkwardly:

"Well... it wasn't my choice to learn. I told Yelena before that her learning pace was too slow, that she hadn't made much progress after studying for so long, and then she..."

Then Tomat put his hands on his head to pretend they were ears, and imitated Frostnova's tone, saying:

"You make it sound so simple. Why don't you give it a try? You're such a clumsy, wooden person. You're probably not even as good as me. Come and take a cooking class with me this week. Once you get there, you'll see that talking like that is just a way of saying things without thinking."

"And then?" Ghost Shark asked from the side.

"And then? Then I took some time each week to attend classes there for more than two months in a row. The instructor, Xi, said, 'You have graduated,' and even drew me a certificate in front of Yelena."

Thomas smiled wryly:

"In the end, she got so angry that she only cooked boiled carrots for me for a week. Whenever I complained, she would say sarcastic things like, 'Of course Master Thomas would complain that my cooking is bad.'"

"Ugh—it smells sour and stinky. I'd better go get some sea breeze." After listening to the story, Ghost Shark chuckled and fanned his nose with his hand. "But you actually managed to understand that sea-transformed guy's words. I had a hard time understanding him."

"It's easier to hear than what my father-in-law says, isn't it?" Tomat waved his hand and said with a helpless expression.

But Skadi chuckled softly at the story, and then asked:

"However, ordinary cooking methods are meaningless, aren't they? The body parts of the dinosaur are not meant to be eaten. Did you use a similar method as before to make it 'submit'?"

"That's right. Simply frying or cooking them won't make them taste better. It won't work without changing the fundamental premise. To put it bluntly, dinosaurs are very stubborn, so stubborn that they never think they will be preyed upon. I'm just making them realize this fact."

The life form of the dinosaur cannot be simply equated with conventional life. They have a stubborn instinct that seems to be engraved in their DNA, and they will still follow it even when they are cut into pieces.

It's almost like a curse, and as long as this curse isn't lifted, they won't have the characteristics of being "suitable to be eaten," but will instead continuously develop characteristics of being "unsuitable for consumption," such as bitterness, toxicity, stench, and hardness, stubbornly resisting.

They see themselves as superior predators, the end of evolution, and certainly not as food for other creatures.