I met up with Odeta at our usual spot for lunch.
It seems like something happened to her while she was doing some self study in the field in the morning.
She took a big bite out of the meat she was holding in her hand before turning to me, “Uhuh, so this guy came up to me and started saying something like someone like we shouldn’t be a special student or something. Then he challenged me to a duel tomorrow that will be held tomorrow morning.”
I tilted my head, “Eh? Really? It’s not even a week and someone’s already challenged you?”
“Uh huh… This guy seemed to be really pissed off with me for some reason, even though I never saw him before.”
“Hmm… Maybe he doesn’t like the fact that you’re an Amrap?”
Odeta shrugged, “I dunno, but I’m just going to kick his ass tomorrow.”
“Eh?! You accepted his challenge?”
The Amrap took another bite out of her food and swallowed, “Yeah, I did! He wagered something really good for the challenge so there’s no reason not to!”
That caught my attention.
For someone to challenge a special class student, they are required to place something on the line in order for the challenge to be valid, something that the special class student might be willing to risk their own position to obtain.
So what could that student have wagered that could get Odeta’s attention?
I asked her that and she grinned at me while giving me a thumbs up, “He’s offering an entire cut of Sky Cow meat for the challenge!”
A minute passed as I stared at her in silence before I finally comprehended what she just said.
“A… Sky cow?”
Odeta nodded her head vigorously, “Yeah!! They’re like, one of the top few meats you can eat in the world! Only the really strong or the really lucky can eat one in their lives you know?! It’s said that the meat just melts in your mouth!”
“So… How does the sky cow look like?”
“Oh, it’s a cow with wings! They’re really big and strong so it’s really hard to kill one!”
An image of a gigantic cow with wings comically stuck on its back entered my mind. That can’t be how it actually looks like, right?
Then again, this is a different World after all so anything is possible.
Odeta then grinned at me, “Sister Aster? Do you think Katsuki can cook that Sky Cow for us?”
“I don’t know… I’ll ask Katsuki when I get home–“
“You called, Mistress?”
I jumped at her sudden appearance.
“Katsuki? Where did you come from?”
“I heard Mistress call for me and thus I am here.”
“I thought Mary could do that because of her Astromancy so she could teleport around, but how…”
“It is natural for a maid to appear by their Mistress’s side when they are called.”
Huh… I guess that means she never actually left the area and she was probably hiding herself somewhere nearby where she could appear when called. But for Odeta who had the tracking and hunting skills to not be able to notice her, Katsuki’s hiding skill must be pretty high.
Oh well, putting that aside…
“Katsuki, do you know about a type of animal called ‘sky cow’?”
“Oh? I do, Mistress. It’s said to be one of the top delicacies that only the extremely fortunate can taste in this World. Does Mistress wish to get your hands on one?”
Oh… So they really do exist by that name… I was thinking it might be known by another name and the ‘Sky Cow’ term was just something Odeta came up with.
I gestured to Odeta, “No, but Odeta might be able to get her hands on one tomorrow. Someone challenged her for her special student status with a cut of Sky Cow meat as the wager. We were wondering if Katsuki knows how to prepare such a meat?”
Katsuki bowed her head, “Unfortunately I do not have the confidence to prepare such a meat properly, Mistress. I would have to rely on Head Maid Mary to help with it.”
Well, I suppose that is to be expected when her cooking skill is literally at tier four, it would be weird if she couldn’t prepare that. I guess we’ll just have to take the meat back home for Mary to prepare it.
“I do have to warn Odeta to check the meat first though,” Katsuki continued. “It is not uncommon for some people to substitute the meat of a Flying Bull to pass it off as the meat from a Sky Cow.”
The heck?
I made a confused face at her, “What’s the difference?”
“A Flying Bull is a monster, Mistress. You can find them in dungeons easily enough but they are also almost as strong as a Sky Cow. To the uninitiated, both meats would taste practically the same but the value is not. What’s more, there’s the danger of mana poisoning for the Flying Bull meat if the mana had not been drained from the monster properly prior to eating.”
Ah… So it’s like an imitation product compared to the real thing.
Odeta looked at Katsuki with concern, “How do I know if it’s the real meat?”
“I believe there should be an official present during the challenge with identification magic that would be able to check the authenticity of the meat. Just be sure to have them check the meat first before you accept his challenge, otherwise it would be seen as you accepting whatever they presented as the wager, even if it’s the imitation meat.”
I had to cut in there, “Identification magic?”
Katsuki nodded, “Yes, Mistress. It’s a specific branch of magic that allows the caster to see the information on the objects they cast it on, including the information about a specific person. This is part of gate inspections in the major cities too where spell casters would be able to search for wanted criminals that way.”
So… Is this what the [Screen] boon was derived from? Or is it a spell that was modelled after this boon that the gods created?
But if there was a spell that allows us to see this information, does it mean I didn’t even need to take this boon and I would have had something similar to it if I learnt this magic?
Odeta beat me to asking that question, “How could I learn it?!”
Katsuki shook her head, “It is a restricted branch of magic that only magic users working for the government are able to learn. Although other places might be a bit more loose with this requirement, this is the case within the Lehcarouc Kingdom.”
Odeta sighed in disappointment at the answer, most probably not liking the fact that she has to depend on another person’s word to know if she was being scammed.
Well, I suppose that is to be expected.
Information is power so it would make sense that this power wouldn’t be given to anyone easily, otherwise there would be people out there who would abuse it.
I wonder what would happen if I revealed that I could use something similar to that magic?
Better not, just to be safe I suppose.
Katsuki turned to Odeta, “Could I ask what is the name of the boy who challenged you? Perhaps I could do some searching on my end to see if he indeed has such a luxurious piece of meat in his possession before you meet him for your challenge?”
The Amrap shrugged, “Heck if I know. I don’t even remember if he told me his name but he already feels weak so I wasn’t interested in what he was saying. I only started paying attention when he said he would challenge me with that meat as his bet.”
“Then his physical characteristics?”
“Ehh… He looks weak.”
“I mean his looks.”
“Oh! Errr… I guess he had reddish hair? I dunno, I wasn’t really paying attention.”
“Hmm… There’s too many noble students here with reddish hair to narrow that down. Anything special he was carrying?”
Odeta made a face, “You give me too much credit girl. I really don’t take note of people who are as weak as that guy is, especially when they’re stupid boys.”
I guess that’s an Amrap’s thinking for you… They are primarily females in the first place…
“Hmm… I suppose that we’ll just have to see what happens tomorrow. Does Mistress require anything else?” Katsuki asked.
“Eh? Ah! Not at all. That would be all, Katsuki. Thank you~”
“It is my pleasure, Mistress. I shall go ahead and inform Head Maid Mary of the possible Sky Cow preparation.”
Odeta thumped her chest proudly, “Wahaha! Leave it to me! I’ll make sure to win it so that sister Aster can taste it!”
I’m not really that interested in the meat though… If it was something like sweets then I would be more interested in it.
KAtsuki spoke up right before she left, “Do not worry, Mistress, I will prepare suitable desserts that will go with the meat. Please look forward to it.”
Ahhh! That’s why I love you, Katsuki!! You’re the best!!