What Do You Mean I'm The Captain Of A Yandere Mercenary Company? Chapter 873: Is The Dragon Ok?

Enough food to ensure no one felt left out and to normalize my girls eating with us had been prepared by me when I finished cooking.

However... I did put in extra effort with the presentation and plating for Vieretha’s dishes, thinking it might cause issues if she felt treated the same as everyone else.

The taste of all the food, I knew for certain, remained unchanged, so it wasn’t as if I was serving my girls inferior meals in favor of Vieretha.

Still, I must admit, I prepared a substantial amount of food. This was unavoidable because Vieretha was utterly enthralled by my culinary display, clapping continuously and requesting more.

Truthfully, her captivated expression was quite adorable, and I found myself unable to refuse her requests.

Before I realized it, plates of food were stacked high on the counter, which is why everyone is now enjoying the meal I prepared.

And, as could be expected by this point... the outcome of my efforts was a collective reaction exactly as we had anticipated…

"Wh-What is this?!! How can this be so delicious?!"

"I... I never imagined food could reach such a level of flavor!"

"Is this even scientifically possible?!"

"Am I dreaming? This must be a dream..."

"To have tasted something like this in my lifetime... I have no regrets..."

Vieretha’s bodyguards were exclaiming their praises with every mouthful, like a skipping record, while my girls savored my cooking, filling the room with blissful sighs.

Meanwhile... Vieretha had taken a single bite of the food served to her before coming to a complete halt. The young Black Dragonling remained frozen in that very posture for several minutes, unmoving.

I worried briefly if the food might be poisonous to Dragonlings, but her bodyguards, who were also Dragonlings, were devouring their portions without any issue, so I dismissed that thought.

Therefore, either she was so taken aback by the unexpectedly poor taste that she couldn't move, or the food was so exquisite that she was rendered speechless in awe.

If this were my past self, I would have assumed the former, but having accepted that my cooking might be inexplicably powerful, the latter is likely the true reason.

I waved my hand before the Black Dragonling. "Hello? Lady Iceborne? Are you there? Are you quite alright?"

Yes, I decided that addressing her simply as 'Vier' wasn't the most appropriate approach now, so I refrained.

She finally reacted by blinking, then slowly turned her head towards me. "What... What was I doing? The last thing I recall, I was being guided through a white gate by a beautiful woman with white hair and attire, holding my hand..."

I let out a chuckle. "Ahahaha~ That’s quite the vivid imagination you have there, Lady Iceborne. Alas, that did not occur; you are still here in my restaurant. Perhaps you should eat the food while it's hot, as it’s best enjoyed fresh."

She blinked at me once more, as if struggling to process my words, so I simply left her to her thoughts.

Instead, I seized the moment while everyone was occupied to begin savoring my own portion of the meal.

Hmm~ This is exceptionally delicious~ They certainly didn't hold back on the high-quality ingredients~ Everything tastes wonderful~

Indeed, indeed, these are all top-tier components~ I’m so glad I had the opportunity to cook with them~

Just as I finished the last mouthful, I noticed the room had abruptly fallen silent.

Turning back, I saw my girls looking utterly content, lounging on the floor, while Vieretha’s bodyguards were slumped over, seemingly in despair.

Vieretha, too, had gone quiet, but at least the food before her had been completely cleared, not even a crumb remaining on the plates.

She was still gazing into the distance, so I suspected she was experiencing another bout of vivid hallucinations.

Eh? What in the world happened?

I mean... my girls are behaving as usual, but why do the bodyguards look as if they've just heard their cherished family dog passed away?

Wait... in this particular world, possessing a pet dog is already an extraordinary rarity, so perhaps that saying doesn't quite translate here anymore.

Whatever the case, it doesn't truly matter.

I approached to check on Vieretha first. "Lady Iceborne?"

"I can't..." she murmured.

"Hmm? Can't what?"

"I can't... This can't be... I can't..." she repeated.

Err... Is she feeling alright? Hello? Perhaps some water? Stomach medicine? Or maybe she simply desires a second serving?

While I pondered the nature of her distress, she suddenly whipped her head around to face me, her eyes wide and unblinking.

"Lady Tera... There is a matter of great importance that requires my attention. Would it be acceptable if we concluded this meeting now?"

Eh? Well... I don’t mind but... You look kind of scary right now... Did I do something wrong?

I didn’t answer her immediately since I was still surprised by her sudden change in attitude so she continued, "You do not need to worry, Lady Tera. I have already arranged for a room to be prepared for you. I will have someone guide you to it tonight, please do not hold back. Any expenses you have today will be waived."

That wasn’t what I’m worried about but it’s clear Vieretha wasn’t going to tell me the reason for this sudden change of plans so I doubt I would be getting the information I want from her right now either...

Thus, I excused myself and gathered my girls before leaving the place.

There was a staff member outside waiting for us and he immediately took us to the lift to show us up to our room.

My girls were still a little out of it even when we reached the room, but at least they managed to get there on their own two feet.

The room that was given to us for the night was as luxurious as the one that we stayed at the Grand Honpeki. Even the layout was a little familiar so I wonder if one of them took inspiration from the other?

"So... What are your thoughts about her?" I asked my girls, ignoring Yumiko who was currently laying on my lap so I could give her belly rubs. "Do you girls know anything about that Dragonling?"

I was already expecting Mara to speak about it but the contents of her words were quite surprising.

"All I can say about her is... If you intend to take her as one of your harem, Captain... I would rank her just above or below Yumiko in terms of having weird tastes."

Eh? What does that even mean?

Before I could clarify, Amber was the next to answer my question.

"I heard about their family before~ To put it in a blunt way, their family are ruthless business magnates. They have their finger in almost everything that you can imagine and there’s a saying that goes if you dig into a business entity deep enough, you will find traces leading back to the Iceborne family~"

"I didn’t know there was such a family like that."

Amber shrugged, "Well... They don’t really show themselves to the public and it’s not like they do anything that would make them stand out on the GalaNet anyway. They just do their businesses quietly."

Hmm... So basically people all know about them but they don’t really pay attention or follow them.

"So what is known about them? Can they be trusted?" I asked.

Ries poked her fingers together, "I don’t think they’ve done anything bad like hiding big guns from people so maybe they’re good?"

I’m not sure if you can just base it on whether someone is good or bad just on that though... But I guess she turned out to be correct about Kaito so what do I know?

Mara nodded at me, "I cannot say for sure about the entire family itself since my information network does not extend to them... But I can tell you that the Vieretha girl has no malicious thoughts against you at least, Captain."

I tilted my head at her, "Then what is she trying to do with me? She seems to be really interested in me for some reason."

Mara actually averted her gaze and took a moment before finally answering me, "I... Don’t think it would be a good idea for me to share it, Captain... I think you will figure it out soon anyway so it’ll be fine..."

Figure it out? Why does it sound so ominous? Are you sure this is going to be ok, Mara?

Heck... Am I going to be ok?