Black Iron Magician

Chapter 322 The Ultimate and Supreme Meal

We take the elevator to the upper floor as if it’s natural. Even though we only need the one that’s enough to carry us, the elevator we’re riding is quite big. To be more specific, it can fit even a tank. Well, in fact, it’s probably designed to fit a giant golem or Zex when he’s using another body.

「It’s a big elevator~」

「I wonder if it’s for business use.」

「It’ll be safe to carry food with a wagon!」

I’m sure even Haru and the others had never been in an elevator of this size before. They are looking around curiously and say something like, ‘I saw something like this in an anime!’. What kind of anime is that? SF?

「You’re not so surprised, huh. When I rode this elevator for the first time, I was so surprised that I couldn’t even stand.」

「Fuhahahaha, I made it for that sake after all!」

「No, I’m sure you didn’t build it to surprise others. In the first place, you don’t usually get visitors here….」

On the way, we kept repeating such comical dialogue over and over again. Thanks to that, I and Chinatsu, who played the role of straight man, are exhausted. In the end, we were led to a room that seem to have been designed for humans, which is unusual. The first thing I noticed was a long table covered with a white tablecloth. Tableware is already lined up, so I guess we’re going to eat here first.

「… I’ll ask just in case, you won’t serve fuel soup for golems, right?」

「Fuhahaha! I won’t make a joke that will harm your body. I will provide you with nutritious food that you can eat properly!」

「Hee, a dish with Zex-han’s stamp of approval, huh. I wanna use it as a reference for our product.」

「I also want to increase my recipes collection, so I want to use it as a reference!」

「Sure! You can use it as a reference as much as you like!」

After I was relieved that the worst scenario won’t happen, I took my seat. Now that I know it, just like Haru and Alezel, I’m curious about what kind of food would be served. After all, I saw the robots doing a lot of detailed work a while ago. So, I think I can expect a lot from the chef robot.

「Now, take a look at the ultimate and supreme meal created with our best technology!」

Zex stood up from his seat and declared so loudly. However, there’s no sign of the robot serving the meal. Ah, come to think of it, he was surprised by the maid robot proposed by Touko, wasn’t he? Then, if that kind of robot doesn’t exist at the moment, where the hell the food will come――

―――― Flop.

「…… Um, somehow, a white cube-shaped thing fell from the ceiling….」

「And isn’t it slightly melted?」

A mysterious substance was dropped on the plate without any warning. Looking up, there is a hole in the ceiling that seems to be the source of the drop. It’s just right above the plate, so the hole is probably for that purpose. It’s directly from the kitchen? I see…. Hey, you’re not going to tell me that this is cooking, are you? And seriously, what the hell is this? Melting beef tallow?

「Haha, it seems that you can’t hide your surprise at this innovative food. To tell you the truth, it’s something that we made with our all! We carefully selected and gathered nutritious ingredients from all over the world, and after going through an unimaginable production process, we finally completed this product by sacrificing the taste and texture! It’s an excellent product where you can get all the energy and nutrients you need for a day with just a drop! It’s one of the secret products that we haven’t revealed to the public yet, but this time, I specially prepared it so that everyone can taste it. The taste is very bad, but since it’s small, you will only taste it for an instant. Now, please enjoy it!」

「「「「………」」」」

I’m thankful for Zex’s explanation, but now that we know that the taste is very bad, no one is willing to each such a mysterious food. Not to mention me and Nell, even Alezel is making a face that’s saying, ‘Are you sane!?’.

「Thanks for the food~!」

「H-Haruna!?」

「If Haruna is going to eat it, there’s no way I’m going to back down…. Nom!」

「Even Touko!?」

「… Thanks for the food.」

「I knew that Zeta-san would eat it, but I think you should stop!」

Chinatsu is doing her best with her tsukkomi, huh. Haru ate it with a smile on her face without any hesitation, and Touko ate the mysterious object after she prepared herself. I thought Zeta was going to be excited, but for some reason, she’s expressionless now.

「How is it?」

「Yes, the taste is quite bad. Unfortunately, I can’t use it as a reference. The taste is bad.」

「Ugh…. It’s gooey, it’s got a strong unique flavor, and it’s gross….」

I somehow expected this, but it was a terrible evaluation. Touko is holding her mouth and is about to vomit. On the other hand, Haru said so while smiling. Also, she said that the taste is bad twice.

「………」

The rest is Zeta’s impression, but I wonder if she’s going to praise it no matter how bad it tastes?

「Zex-sama, even I can’t approve this. I can understand it if you’re trying to reduce the amount of luggage you have to carry on your journey and fill your stomach efficiently, but it’s the worst food you can serve to your guests. There’s no warmth and the amount is a little, and above all, the taste is bad! The taste is bad!」

Ooh, Zeta has taken a stand against Zex! She also said it twice! As a glutton character, she has the pride that she couldn’t compromise this line!

「Fuhahaha, what a storm of criticizing! I must reflect on this!」

「Hmm, setting the bad taste aside, it can be used as food for adventurers or as emergency food, I think? Zex-han, does this last a long time?」

「Yes. Specifically――」

Before I knew it, the two went into business negotiation mode. Alezel, you don’t have to find product value in this stuff….

「Zeta-san, are you strict when it comes to food? You made a pretty sharp point earlier, right?」

「Well, yes. I’m the only one who can evaluate the food in this facility. It’s something that the other golems and Zex-sama don’t understand after all. So, I’ve been instructed to evaluate the food developed here without regard to Zex-sama….」

So, it was an order, huh.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

「Hou, a way to travel to another world, huh?」

In the end, the dinner didn’t fill our stomachs, and we moved on to the main subject of coming to see Zex. He seems to be slightly interested in the question from Chinatsu.

「Yes. I heard from Zeta-san that she heard something like that from Zex-san.」

「I see. Indeed, I know the place where there’s a gate that leads to another world.」

「R-Really!?」

Chinatsu vigorously stood up from the chair.

「Ooh, I was skeptical, though. I and Nell don’t even know that door, you know?」

「By the way, me too!」

「The only people who know about it are the old members of the Great Eight Demons after all. The only people who know about it are those who are higher than me: Agalia-dono, Vakala-dono, Maria-dono, and Rimudo-dono. Alezel-dono joined the Great Eight Demons at the same time as Lilyvia-dono, and Deris-dono is the same generation. It’s no wonder you don’t know about it.」

「Mama knows about it, huh…. Well, even if she looks like that, she has lived a long life.」

「Fuhaha! It’s forbidden to say that in front of her, Lilyvia-dono!」

Only the old members of the Great Eight Demons know about it, huh. Is it an ancient legacy and someone is holding it?

「Excuse me, so, where is that door now!?」

「Oh, don’t worry. I think it’s on the way coming here right now.」

……… Ha?