Transmigrated As A Beautiful Cannon Fodder Omega To Marry An Evil God Alpha In Place of Another - Chapter 19

When the steaming hot dishes were laid out on the table, the dozen or so sailors surrounding them couldn’t stop themselves from swallowing hard.

Because supplies on the ship were limited, seafood like fish and shrimp predominated. Additionally, having sailed for some time through the waters of the Dark Moon Continent, an area tainted by the spells of the Witch-Demon tribe, there were some unknown marine creatures present. They were strangely shaped and vibrantly colored. Bai Rui didn’t dare touch them.

Ultimately, the table featured steamed grouper, garlic oysters, braised prawns, red-cooked squid, white radish and white jade fish soup, cold shredded seaweed, and some simply blanched but beautifully carved carrots and potatoes.

Beyond those, there was a plate of rather poorly presented hot cocoa coffee mashed potatoes, which looked sticky enough to glue one’s teeth together.

These dishes were arranged on the large table, making the space feel cramped all at once. Every plate seemed to shimmer with tiny specks of light, perfect in color, aroma, and taste. Due to the variety, some dishes sat at the very edge of the table, looking like the petals of a simple sunflower sketch.

Fortunately, the storm had passed, and the sea was now calm. The ship sailed steadily without jolting; otherwise, these plates certainly wouldn’t have survived.

“Heavens… you made all of this?”

Captain Jayne sat in his oversized chair draped in thick fur, his neck straining forward as he stared at the full table. His Adam’s apple bobbed rhythmically.

“It’s incredible… Eastern cuisine. It smells… so fragrant…”

“I caught the scent at the kitchen door just now. How did the brothers on guard duty manage to hold back…”

The surrounding sailors crowded in, swallowing their spit. They looked like they were on the verge of losing control and devouring everything.

Captain Jayne’s eyes were fixed on the food, but he couldn’t bring himself to believe it immediately. Naturally suspicious, his small eyes darted around. He forced his gaze away from the meal and looked at Bai Rui.

“Miss Batella, you are from Hanoi. How do you know how to cook Eastern food?”

He had found Bai Rui suspicious from the start. First, as someone born in Hanoi, Annam, not blackening one’s teeth was a sacrilege against the gods. Second, how could a high-ranking official’s mistress, a delicate, fair-skinned beauty in sophisticated clothing, know how to cook?

A ruthless, cold glint appeared in his eyes as he watched Bai Rui.

Bai Rui, however, remained indifferent. He slowly put on his gloves, lifted his gaze, and looked at Captain Jayne with eyes like autumn pools.

“Distinguished Captain, as I said, I am not from Hanoi. I am fashionable and noble, my food, clothing, and lifestyle are different from others. I associate with the elite, so naturally, I have nothing to do with Hanoi.”

Hearing him calmly deny his origins, Captain Jayne didn’t react much. In his view, this little mistress had climbed into the beds of wealthy nobles and naturally forgotten her roots.

“Heh,” Jayne sneered, revealing a mouthful of black teeth. “True. If you were from Hanoi, how could you be so fair and tender?”

“Tell me, then, why do you know Eastern cooking?”

As for why, it was entirely because Bai Rui’s family had run a small restaurant before he traveled to this world.

His father had little affection for him. After marrying a stepmother and having a B-class Omega, the whole family was so overjoyed they wanted to beat drums to tell the world. Bai Rui became the redundant one, helping in the kitchen every day after school. His stingy father wouldn’t hire extra help, so Bai Rui developed the skill to cook anything.

From washing and chopping to tossing a wok, and even occasionally serving tables, making a quick and fragrant meal like this was no difficult feat.

But he couldn’t exactly tell the truth.

Who would believe him? Could he say he was a modern person who had transmigrated into a manga he helped draw as a part timer? Could he tell them they were all NPCs in a book? If he said that, they’d think he was a madman.

Bai Rui tilted his chin slightly and gave a gentle smile.

“Distinguished Captain, if I didn’t have some skill, how could I be so beloved? How could I make them fall deeply in love with me?”

Captain Jayne narrowed his eyes, seemingly accepting this logic. Indeed, if one had no ability to capture hearts, how could one be the mistress of five successive sheriffs? Being able to cook such exquisite dishes was a powerful tool.

“Miss Batella, you are quite right. However…” Jayne paused, squinting at him. “So, what did you secretly add to the food just now? Care to tell me?”

This short Annamese was full of craftiness, but after years of living on the sea, anyone without a bit of cunning would have ended up at the bottom of the ocean.

But Bai Rui didn’t panic. He knew the other was bluffing. Consequently, he became even more composed, putting on an expression of aggrieved vulnerability, his eyes shimmering with a “pity me” look.

“Distinguished Captain, wasn’t there someone you sent watching me the entire time I was cooking? If I added anything abnormal, could the guard really have missed it?”

Captain Jayne’s small eyes darted to the side, looking at the two sailors. Both sailors, while swallowing their spit, shook their heads. Meaning, they saw nothing.

Jayne turned back to Bai Rui, narrowing his eyes again.

Because of the heat from cooking, Bai Rui’s fair face was damp with light sweat at the temples, and his hair was slightly disheveled. This only served to highlight his shimmering eyes, the corners of which were tinged with a delicate, watery red, giving him an air of fragile beauty.

When a beauty shows such a “broken” expression, most observers feel they have been wronged. A thought immediately arises: Did I falsely accuse them?

After a moment, Bai Rui parted his crimson lips and spoke: “Distinguished Captain, you know exactly what I had on me when I boarded. And surely you know if there is poison on your own ship?”

When they boarded, both Bai Rui and A-Wu were searched. The rough sailors had even tried to get handsy with Bai Rui. But for some reason, those who touched him ended up with a type of neuropathic pain, no wounds, just an unbearable agony that made them nearly want to jump into the sea.

“There really was nothing on him,” the one eyed sailor interjected. “Only a pocket watch, an expensive item. Probably a memento from one of those sheriffs.”

This made Bai Rui seem even more innocent. Since he brought no poison and there was none on the ship, and since the ship was in the middle of the vast ocean, the possibility of someone smuggling poison aboard was non-existent.

In that case, there was nothing to worry about.

Captain Jayne gave a cunning smile, making his ugly, dark face look even more visually jarring.

“A pocket watch won’t kill me.”

He leaned in closer. Though he felt reassured, his inner cruelty made him want to bully the little beauty. “However, I am the most distinguished person on this ship. My skin’s durability has been blessed by the Great Witch Emperor himself. His Majesty favors me, and I cannot let him down. I must be responsible for myself. Your food…”

“What?”

The silent A-Wu, standing there hunched in a large cloak with a very low profile, suddenly twitched his neck. A series of cracking sounds echoed from his throat.

“You called the Witch Emperor an old man? How old?”

Suddenly interrupted by this old servant woman, Captain Jayne flew into a sudden, inexplicable rage. “Damn it, do you have a right to speak here?”

“The Witch Emperor is tens of thousands of years old. If he’s not an old man, who is?”

“It’s over, it’s over. This guy is really looking for death.” “I bet this ship is going to sink. No one can stop His Majesty’s foul temper.”

The onlookers had already begun to mourn for the foul mouthed captain.

The cabin fell silent. Outside, the wind suddenly grew urgent, howling as it lashed against the deck boards. Everyone grew tense, their attention drawn to the commotion outside.

“Not again!?”

The people on the ship fell into chaos. After all, the wooden boards torn open by the previous wind were still letting the gale whistle into the cabin, this was the terrifying power of the sea.

Coincidentally, at that moment, the ship tilted as it was hit by a wave. Bai Rui’s slender body staggered toward A-Wu.

In the next second, A-Wu supported Bai Rui. A refreshing fragrance wafted over, the waist beneath his hand was thin and soft. As Bai Rui suddenly leaned in, his lips brushed against the corner of A-Wu’s mouth.

The fragrant breath instantly replaced the stale air around them, feeling remarkably refreshing.

Bai Rui’s face turned pale. “Are you angry? Stop it, I’m seasick…”

The sound of the waves outside ceased. A sailor who had just fallen climbed up cursing and glanced outside. “What the hell is with this weather? Is it haunted? It cleared up just like that, like flipping a page in a book.”

In the next moment, the sun shone brightly outside. A bright rectangle of sunlight slanted into the cabin, illuminating the wooden floor near the entrance. The ship suddenly became incredibly steady, without a single wave or jolt.

A-Wu helped Bai Rui stand firmly, then whispered into his ear: “Don’t worry. The Witch Emperor isn’t old at all.”

Bai Rui’s stomach, which had been turning moments ago, finally settled. He was a bit dazed. “What?”

He thought he had misheard, but more importantly, he didn’t understand why A-Wu would say such a thing. The Witch Emperor… whether the Witch Emperor was old or not, did he need to worry about that?

Bai Rui hadn’t quite processed what had just happened, especially the way his lips brushed A-Wu’s. It caused his long dormant gland at the back of his neck to throb wildly for no reason. He had no time to think about anything else.

He looked up at A-Wu. Because of the cloak, he could only see a pair of beautifully shaped thin lips. For a moment, his heart fluttered.

“Ahem,” Bai Rui coughed, withdrawing his gaze. “I’ve seen portraits of the Witch Emperor too. He looked quite young.”

Heavens, someone save him. His heart was racing from nerves, and he didn’t even know why he had followed up with that line. He had only seen one oil painting in it, the Witch Emperor’s eyes were covered with lace, so he couldn’t see clearly. Though the features looked handsome and the skin firm and fair, he didn’t know if it was just an idealized painting or a flat-out lie. He really had no right to comment on the Witch Emperor’s actual age or appearance.

The panic caused a faint blush to creep up the back of Bai Rui’s ears, making his fair skin look even more luminous.

The pirates in the cabin all scrambled to their feet, some clutching bruised heads. When they looked at the floor, it was a disaster!

Half of the dishes had fallen off the table during the sudden jolt. Soup and food were splattered everywhere. Because they had hesitated so much, no one had even gotten a taste before the meal was ruined. The sailors’ faces twisted into grimaces of pure heartbreak.

Jayne stared at the scene, stunned. He grew flustered and pointed at Bai Rui, shouting angrily: “You! Come over and test the food. I’ll eat once I know there’s no poison.”

Currently, only three dishes remained on the table. Fortunately, the largest plate, the steamed grouper had survived. Beside it was a half-spilled bowl of radish and white jade fish soup, and that sticky, super sweet mashed potato dessert.

Bai Rui recovered from his earlier heart palpitations and sighed. Just as he took a step forward, Jayne shrieked again: “No! Not you! Let that old servant of yours taste the food!”

His stubby finger shifted, pointing directly at A-Wu. “You do it! Test for poison for the distinguished Captain, blessed by the Witch Emperor!”