I Don't Eat Fish

"What did you say?"

The respectable facade on Lu Hong's face shattered in an instant.

This wasn't a demand a human could make—or rather, it wasn't a demand made of a human!

"Why, was what I said too much?"

Cartethyia tilted her head, her voice gentle and her expression innocent, like a little girl who knew nothing of the world.

But Lu Hong was no fool. He had seen Lu Sha's fear just now, and he absolutely couldn't underestimate this woman.

"All right, please wait a moment. I guarantee you'll be satisfied!"

He lowered his head, concealing the resentment in his eyes, and backed out with impeccable courtesy.

"Start the timer!"

Cartethyia meant what she said. Soon, an hourglass was placed on the table. When the sand ran out, three quarters of an hour would be up.

If all thirty-seven fish weren't served as requested by then, they couldn't blame them for showing no mercy.

Before long, the clatter of pots, bowls, ladles, and pans rang out from outside. It was quite a commotion.

The clanging mingled with the roar of the cooking fires, occasionally punctuated by a muffled curse or an urgent command.

"Three... two... one..." Cartethyia counted down on her fingers, watching as the last grain of sand fell.

"Time's up!"

"Coming, coming..." Hurried footsteps sounded outside.

The door opened, and thirty-seven servers entered one after another, presenting thirty-seven fish.

Just as requested, they were whole, without scales or bones, and no two were of the same species or cooked the same way. Steamed, red-braised, grilled, marinated raw, stewed in soup, doused in hot oil—every dish was different and exquisitely plated. Even the curve of each fish looked as though it had been measured.

Heavy panting came from outside the door, some of it angry, some relieved. Clearly, this had kept the people of the Neon Tavern running themselves ragged.

"Honored guest, everything has been prepared according to your instructions. Please enjoy your meal."

"Heh..."

Cartethyia smiled at the sight.

She had to admit, these people really did have some skill. Just as the rumors said, the people of Ashihara prized the spirit of craftsmanship.

But that didn't matter. This was only the first test. Don't laugh—no one could pass the second.

"Boss, are you trying to provoke me and deliberately make a fool of me?!"

Cartethyia's face darkened. Becoming a master table sweeper, she casually swept her hand across it, sending every fish to the floor.

"Crash!!"

Plates shattered, broth splashed everywhere, and fish flesh rolled across the floor.

The steamed fish broke in two, the red-braised sauce splattered against the wall, and the fish doused in hot oil landed face down on Lu Hong's shoe, sauce streaming down its polished leather.

Lu Hong jumped and shrank back a step. Some of the servers couldn't help screaming, covering their mouths as they retreated against the wall.

"You... what makes you say that?"

"I don't eat fish!"

The brief, flat answer was so absurd that everyone present froze.

For a moment, they were utterly baffled. Was that even something a person would say?

"Everyone in Rinascita knows that I, the holy maiden, don't like fish, yet you went out of your way to serve it. Weren't you trying to put me in my place?!"

"But... you ordered all of this yourself!"

"So what? Just because I ordered it myself, does that mean you can serve me these disgusting things?!"

When she said that, everyone present turned to stone.

The warriors of Septimont couldn't hold back their laughter. Now the loop was closed! Even if Imperator descended in person, she couldn't untie this dead knot!

"I'd say you came here looking for trouble!"

At last, Lu Hong completely lost his patience. His refined facade shattered, his features twisting as his viciousness showed in full.

Back in Ashihara, they regarded mere Resonators as pigs and dogs. Now he had humbled himself to keep the peace, yet the other party still dared to push their luck. This was clearly the same tactic they had once used against Resonators, now coming back to strike them like a boomerang.

If he could endure this, what couldn't he endure?!

"You shameless wretches, do you really think we're easy to bully? I'm giving you one last chance. Every one of you, get the hell out of here, or else..."

"You still dare talk back?!"

Cartethyia smiled. This was the moment she'd been waiting for. She sprang to her feet and, with a flying punch, turned Lu Hong into a one-eyed man, slamming him against the wall.

"Aah!!!"

He could no longer hold it in and screamed, his resentment impossible to conceal.

"Get someone! Quickly, summon the Septimont troops stationed outside and have them kill every one of these unruly wretches!"

As if grasping at a lifeline, Lu Hong roared at his subordinates.

"Boss, we can't..."

"Why not?"

"One of their accomplices has the Septimont troops occupied. They can't get in at all."

"What? A bunch of useless fools! Aren't Resonators supposed to be good at fighting? Why can't they deal with one person?!"

"Boss, they didn't fight."

The server delivering the report trembled, his face pale and his lips quivering, as if he had seen something terrible.

"What happened? Speak, quickly!"

"It... that black-haired person with golden eyes just stood there, and the Septimont troops saluted him and addressed him as Lord Duelist. Only the governor has ever received such treatment."

"Gulp..."

The people of Ashihara swallowed hard, their heads spinning. Only now did they realize they had truly kicked an iron plate.

The sky over Septimont seemed to have darkened—or at least, their sky had!

"Enough with the formalities. Get them! Show these scum what happens to those who bully the weak and torment children as they please!"

"Stay back! Or we'll all go down together!"

Lu Hong's face suddenly turned ferocious. He raised his left hand high, revealing a remote control in his palm.

"I installed a detonator in every collar. One light press, and everyone wearing a collar dies!"

At those words, everyone stopped and stared at him as though he were a monster.

"Do you know what you're doing?"

"Hmph, you're the ones who forced my hand, so I won't hold back anymore! Now, you bitch, get on your knees!"

As if he had finally had his revenge, he looked down at Cartethyia. His remaining eye was swollen to a slit, but the madness shining through it was more frightening than ever.

"You still dare mention fish to me!"

"Shut up! I told you to kneel! You don't deserve to stand while you speak to me! Or do you want to get them killed? You..."

Before he could finish, he suddenly fell silent.

Cartethyia had turned blue, and sacred power surged through the entire tavern.

Light poured from her body, washing over every inch of the floor like a tide. The air grew crisp and heavy, and even breathing carried the pressure of being scrutinized.

This was unmistakably the power of a Sentinel. It couldn't be faked.

The dark red patterns on the collars hissed in the blue light, dimming one by one as if something were forcibly suppressing them from the outside.

"Congratulations. You've successfully earned yourself a death sentence!"