I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 1021 Qing Deng and Elodie's "Sincere Encounter" [4500]

"Sea otter meat?"

Kondo Isami raised his eyebrows and repeated the unfamiliar term awkwardly.

Aoto, Saito Hajime and others also cast confused glances at Harada Sanosuke.

Only Nagakura Shinpachi showed a different expression. He blinked, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, and asked:

"Zanosuke, do you have sea otter meat?"

Harada Sanosuke chuckled and turned to get a bag from the pond.

On the way to the hot spring, Harada Sanosuke kept holding the bag. When others asked him what it was, he hesitated to say and pretended to be mysterious.

But then Harada Sanosuke untied the furoshiki - his movements were very exaggerated, just like a magician performing a magic trick - and revealed something inside: an animal corpse.

The body has been processed into a state where it can be put into the pot at any time.

The fur was peeled off and the internal organs were hollowed out, revealing dark red muscles and a cut open, empty belly.

Because it was so unrecognizable, its original appearance was completely unrecognizable. At first glance, it looked like the corpse of a wild cat.

Kondo Isami looked him up and down for a few times and asked:
“Is this sea otter meat?”

Inoue Genzaburo then said:

"By the way, what is a sea otter?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately received a response from Nagakura Shinpachi:

"Sea otters are creatures that live in water. They are as big as cats, furry, and cute. They have a big appetite. It is said that the food they eat in a day is equivalent to half of their body weight."

After saying that, he turned his head and carefully looked at the sea otter meat in Harada Sanosuke's hand.

"Hey, it really is sea otter meat."

Kondo Isami asked:
"Shinpachi, you know sea otters?"

Nagakura Shinpachi smiled:
"Sea otters are one of Oshu's specialties. I'm from the Matsumae domain, so of course I know about sea otters."

Upon hearing that it was a specialty of Oshu, Kondo Isami and others became excited.

Harada Sanosuke chuckled a few times:

"So it really is a specialty of Ou, it seems that the old man didn't lie to me."

"Today, when I was strolling in the market in Wakamatsu, an old man selling fish stopped me and tried to sell me this sea otter meat."

"He spoke in Aizu dialect at a fast pace, so I didn't quite understand him. I just heard him emphasize that this meat is a specialty of Ou."

"Since this is meat that only Ou can produce, I can't just turn a blind eye to it."

"And the meat looked pretty good, so I couldn't help but buy it."

After that, he raised the otter meat in his hand high and said excitedly:

“This is a rare opportunity, let’s enjoy it together!”

Qing Deng had never seen a sea otter in his life, let alone eaten one - there were quite a few sea otter emoticons circulating on the Internet in his previous life.

As far as Qing Deng knows, modern sea otters seem to be protected animals. If you just eat their meat, you may end up in jail.

At this moment, facing Harada Sanosuke's invitation, everyone expressed their opinions:

Kondo Isami grinned:
"Since it's a specialty of Ou, we have to taste it."

Inoue Genzaburo nodded slightly to show his agreement.

Serizawa Duck touched his belly:
"I just happen to be a little hungry."

Nagakura Shinpachi stood up and walked towards the small house next to him:

"There are pots and firewood in the house. I'll get them."

Saito followed closely:
"I'll help you."

However, at this moment, Harada Sanosuke suddenly said:

"Oh, I almost forgot to mention that."

“When the old man handed the meat to me, he said something to me in a very serious tone, as if he was giving me some instructions.”

"He was talking a lot, but I couldn't understand the Aizu dialect, so I had no idea what he was saying."

Nagakura Shinpachi stopped and frowned slightly:
"Zanosuke, what did he say? Can you repeat it? Although I am from Matsumae, as a fellow Ou, I should be able to understand the general idea."

Harada Sanosuke pointed to his head:
"Shinpachi, do you think my brain can remember something this complicated?"

"Yeah, that's true."

Serizawa turned his head and looked at Nagakura Shinpachi:
"Is there any taboo about this meat?"

Nagakura Shinpachi smiled bitterly:
"Don't look at me. I'm not a gourmet. As for sea otter meat, I only know that it's edible. I don't know anything else about it."

He paused and added:

"But, 'sea otter meat is edible' is an indisputable fact. I can assure you of that."

After hearing this, Serizawa Duck spread his hands:

"As long as it's edible, it's fine. Food, just eat it, there's no need to go through so many twists and turns."

His words immediately drew unanimous agreement from Kondo Isami and others.

They are all rough and unruly men who don't have many concerns about food.

As long as they know it is edible, they will eat it even if it is the legendary mermaid meat.

Just like that, everyone quickly reached a consensus: Stop wasting time! Start cooking the meat!

Whether it is an iron pot or dry firewood, everything is available in the small house by the pool.

Because the tax collector Hengshan had said in advance that everything in the house was at Qingdeng and others' disposal, they were not polite when moving pots, firewood, bowls and chopsticks and other utensils.

Everyone did their job and soon built a simple bonfire by the pool and set up an iron pot.

At this time, Qing Deng said suddenly:

"You guys take your time to enjoy it. I won't eat it."

As soon as these words were spoken, they immediately received surprised looks from everyone.

Saito Ichi was the first to speak:

"Mr. Ju, don't you want to eat?"

Harada Sanosuke added:
"Mr. Tachibana, are you not interested in sea otter meat?"

Qingdeng smiled helplessly:
"You know, I don't like eating late at night, especially greasy food like this."

Qing Deng has never had the habit of eating midnight snacks. At most, he would eat some snacks while drinking.

Kondo Isami and others knew about Qing Deng's lifestyle habits, so they didn't force him.

"This pool is quite big. It's boring to stay here all the time. I'll walk around and you guys can enjoy your meal."

After saying this, Qing Deng turned around and swam slowly towards the depths of the pool.

Looking at Qing Deng's receding figure, suddenly, Harada Sanosuke seemed to have thought of something, and a meaningful smile appeared on his face:

"Mr. Tachibana, be careful not to swim towards the director."

Qing Deng responded unhappily:

"I'm not that careless. You better be careful to prevent fires."

Kondo Isami burst out laughing:
"We are right next to the hot springs. If there is a fire here, I will bring my head to justice."

……

……

Qing Deng swam aimlessly, turning his head and enjoying the scenery with interest.

The sky is full of stars, the steaming hot spring pool, the sparse and appropriate vegetation by the pool, the occasional chirping of insects... It is such a pleasant experience to be in it.

Qing Deng felt more and more that this hot spring was a rare treasure. No wonder it became the official hot spring of the Matsudaira family in Aizu.

After a while, Qing Deng slowly stopped his hands and feet and no longer moved forward.

Swim further and you'll reach the western end of the pool where Elodie is.

He didn't want Harada Sanosuke's instructions just now to become a reality.

Just as he was about to turn back——

Gulu...

A sudden noise drew his attention away.

--Um?

Although the sound was very subtle, with the blessing of his talent "Wind Perception +4", he was sure that he had not misheard. After many years of fighting, Qing Deng has always been very sensitive to the so-called "strange noises" - in many cases, "strange noises" often represent danger!

He subconsciously stood up, got into position, pricked up his ears, and held his breath.

Gulu...Gulu...

There were two more unusual noises.

Qing Deng keenly captured the trajectory of the sound, quickly turned his eyes, and locked onto the source of the sound - the water surface three meters in front of him.

Just as he looked closely, he saw two bubbles emerging from the water, followed by the sound of "gurgle" and "gurgle" bursting.

—Hmm? Bubbles?
Qing Deng was startled, then immediately realized something.

Because it was hot spring water rich in many minerals, the water was slightly turbid, and because of the fog, he couldn't see clearly what was under the water.

Even if you strain your eyes, you can only vaguely see a golden color - there is something golden hidden under the water.

Gold... At this moment, Qing Deng understood something.

Although he suddenly woke up, it was too late.

Wow!

Suddenly, right at that place, in the pool of water 3 meters in front of him, there was a loud noise - something rushed out of the water.

Then, creamy white and beautiful gold caught Qingdeng's eyes.

"Good! I made it past 200 seconds!" (French)

But Elodie was seen wiping the water drops off her face while talking to herself with an excited expression.

"One more time, this time you have to last 300... seconds... eh?" (French)

As her beautiful eyes gradually opened wide, her voice suddenly stopped.

Elodie froze in place, staring blankly at Qingdeng who was just a few feet away.

Qing Deng on the opposite side was in a similar state, with a dazed expression and staring at Elodie with his eyes wide open.

As it happens, the bottom of the pond here is very shallow.

Even with her petite figure, Elodie would be exposed from the waist up when she stood up straight.

In other words, at this moment, Qingdeng and Elodie are truly "facing each other sincerely".

Facing each other, their eyes met...the brief silence was the end of their relationship.

After about 10 seconds, the paused time starts flowing again.

"Wow, wow, ah wow wow wow wow wow..."

The first person to react was Elodie.

Because her consciousness has not yet fully caught up with reality, she now acts like a broken robot, constantly making strange movements.

His lips trembled.

A low moan without any real content came out of her throat.

Because of soaking in the hot spring, her cheeks were slightly flushed.

And now, her face was turning red at a speed visible to the naked eye, and in the blink of an eye it was as red as the sunset, as if blood would drip out at any time.

Just before she was about to make a sharp explosion, Qing Deng quickly reminded her:
"Elodie, don't scream! If you scream, it will attract others. Then, it will be hard to explain!"

The hot spring pool wasn't big enough to silence the screams.

It is not difficult to imagine that if Elodie shouted loudly, it would definitely attract Kondo Isami and others.

If they see this scene right now... they will never be able to clear themselves of this even if they jump into Edo Bay!
Hearing Qing Deng's reminder, Elodie reacted and raised her hands reflexively, covering her mouth tightly, and forcing her scream back into her stomach.

At the same time, she finally realized that she was still "carelessly" exposed in front of Qing Deng, and hurriedly lowered her waist, and shrank back into the water with a "plop", leaving only half of her head exposed, and the part below her nose hidden below the water level.

Qing Deng immediately turned around and faced Elodie.

After that, there was another strange silence... A new dead silence fell between the two of them.

The unexpected situation made Qing Deng unable to think of appropriate words.

"Huh? What a coincidence?" was too frivolous, "I didn't see anything" seemed like an admission of guilt, and "Elodie, you've grown up" seemed too inappropriate.

At this moment, he heard a weak voice asking from behind:

"Master, you, you...you didn't see anything, did you?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Qing Deng said quickly:
"The water was murky and there was a lot of fog, so I couldn't see anything."

At this moment, the talents "Trickster +2" and "Emperor's Art" were both activated!
[Note: Fraudster +2: Can lie without blushing or beating, making it difficult for people to notice anything unusual. Emperor's Art: Excellent control of facial muscles]

While he was speaking to "clarify" himself, he couldn't help but think to himself:
——It turns out that blondes have blonde hair all over their bodies…

Strange knowledge increased.

As this thought arose, he shook his head hurriedly, as if to clear away this "distraction".

He is a man with the talents of "Fire Eyes +7" and "Eagle Eyes +7".

Not only does he have superb eyesight, but his dynamic vision is also exceptional.

There are stars in the sky and candles are lit all around, so everything is bright. There is no such thing as "too dark to see clearly".

In fact, it doesn’t matter even if the environment is dim - because he has the gift of "night vision".

Although the fog was thick, it was not so thick that you couldn't see your hand in front of you.

In this case, everything that enters his field of vision is clearly reflected in his eyes...

Although Qing Deng intended to forget the scenes he had just seen, but... with the blessing of his gift of "photographic memory", memory... especially such an impressive memory, he could not forget it just because he wanted to!

In order to leave this embarrassing place as quickly as possible, Qing Deng spoke quickly like a machine gun:
"I'm sorry to scare you. I'll leave now."

After saying this, he turned back along the same route as if escaping.

I have no time to take care of swimming or anything like that.

He used his hands as oars to push aside the water that blocked his way, taking two steps at a time.

However, before he could take two steps further——

"...Master, wait a moment."

The faint voice of Elodie called him.

Because he didn't dare to look back, Qing Deng could only stay where he was, still with his back to Elodie.

"Master, now that you are here, please... stay with me for a while..."

……

……

at the same time--

the other side--

Gulu gulu gulu gulu...

The fire burned brightly.

The iron pot on the campfire was spewing boiling bubbles.

Kondo Isami and others sat around the iron pot, waiting quietly.

The original clear water gradually turns into dark red soup, exuding a unique smell that is very different from pork and chicken.

Serizawa Duck twitched his nose slightly and frowned:
"It smells weird. Is sea otter meat really edible?"

Nagakura Shinpachi rubbed his eyes and said seriously:

"Don't make me repeat myself. I've already said it before. Sea otter meat is definitely edible."

"Hmm? Shinpachi, what's wrong with you?"

Kondo Isami cast a concerned look at Nagakura Shinpachi and continued:
"Why do you keep rubbing your eyes? Are your eyes uncomfortable?"

"I, I'm fine, I just... I just feel a little sore in my eyes, that's all, don't worry."

Kondo Isami blinked, feeling confused but not asking any further questions - he always felt that there was something strange about Nagakura Shinpachi, as if he was hiding something.

After rubbing his eyes vigorously a few more times, Nagakura Shinpachi kept thinking to himself:

——It’s really strange…

He tilted his head slightly and secretly glanced at Harada Sanosuke beside him.

——No matter from which angle you look at it, Sanosuke is... so handsome.

*******
*******
In the blink of an eye, it's the end of the month again! Book friends who have monthly tickets, please be sure to vote for this book! (crying leopard head.jpg) Please vote for the monthly ticket! Please recommend! (crying leopard head.jpg)

PS: In the last chapter, a reader asked: Why don’t you eat seal meat? Now you know why. (豹嗨.jpg) Sea otter meat has its own wonders!