The Dark Continent on the Tip of the Tongue (3)
Five hours later, in the Arid River Valley.
"Meat Sucking Bug?" Menchi held a voice recorder to Buhara's mouth and pressed the record button.
Buhara sat on the ground, picking his teeth with a toothpick as thick as a stick while rubbing his round belly.
"It was okay. The initial burst of juice might put people off, but once you got used to it, it was like eating a juicy fruit."
"On a scale from A to E, how would you rate it as food?" Menchi pressed. "Be honest, but also consider how acceptable it would be to people—in other words, how popular it might be."
"Hmm... C, I guess." Buhara licked his lips. "My Taotie Stomach tells me it's very nutritious, but the flavor's still a little too niche."
"Do you remember the sandworms we ate before? They were delicious even without cooking or special seasoning. The Meat Sucking Bug's texture is slightly worse."
Menchi tried a piece of the cooked insect meat herself and nodded, basically agreeing with Buhara.
"It's not as good as the sandworms, but maybe the cooking method and seasoning are the problem. There's room for improvement. We should try it again sometime."
She continued, "What about the Poison Mist Centipede?"
"E." Buhara gave his rating without hesitation. "Unless you've got nothing else to fill your stomach, I wouldn't recommend eating it. It's tough and sour, and hard to swallow."
Menchi didn't try another bite this time. "That's unexpected. I thought it would taste like shrimp or crab... Hmm, next up: the Gale Ripple Moth."
"The body's an E, but its eggs are a C. They're edible when cooked." Buhara considered for a moment, then added, "But the eggs still aren't as good as the