Chapter 24: The Weather Museum

Chapter 24: The Weather Museum

Klein had already gained a preliminary understanding of Danitz’s personality. He did not take the initiative to ask what legends there were, but continued sitting in his chair, calmly looking at him.

Without being interrupted, Danitz shook his head.

“Legend has it that more than three hundred years ago, when Loen’s army first occupied this island, over five hundred soldiers mysteriously disappeared after a heavy fog. Not long afterward, many bones appeared on the shore and in the mountains. Similar incidents happened several times, until the Church of Storms built a church here and sent a bishop.”

Although historians attributed the formal beginning of the colonial era to Roselle sending fleets to discover a safe route to the Southern Continent, in truth, long before that, the countries of the Northern Continent had been exploring the surrounding waters and colonizing some islands one after another. Those activities simply had not yet reached scale and had not become a true climate.

Mysteriously disappearing in heavy fog… Bones appearing on the shore and in the mountains… Klein inexplicably thought of the Land Abandoned by the Gods. According to Little Sun’s description, that place had no sun, only lightning and night. And when humans were “wrapped” by darkness without the slightest bit of light, they would encounter strange or terrifying events.

Danitz looked toward the lighthouse, which stood out unusually in the sunset, and continued, “According to the tombs and murals excavated on the island, the indigenous people here seem to have had a tradition of cannibalism.

“This island lies in a region of violent climate change. Earthquakes, storms, and heavy fog often strike, bringing disaster again and again to the natives. To survive, they began worshiping a self-created ‘Weather God’ and held rituals four times a year. Heh. The content of the ritual was to kill the chosen Blessed, share his blood and flesh, and bury his head beneath the altar.

“However, that tradition was long ago replaced by storm rituals, and the original language of the local natives has already vanished.”

Weather God… A conquered island that once preserved a tradition of live sacrifice… Klein made a preliminary judgment.

Danitz withdrew his gaze and casually said, “Because of these legends, Bansy Harbor has two unique customs. One is that on nights with heavy fog or violent weather changes, people shut their doors tightly, do not go outside, and do not respond to knocking.

“The other is that they love the blood of all kinds of animals. They learned from migrating elves to add salt to it, letting the blood congeal into strange blocks. Paired with several local spicy seasonings, it is tender and fragrant.”

Isn’t that blood curd? Klein froze for a second, transforming his doubt into a frown.

“Elves?”

Based on the stereotypes formed in his previous life, elves should be elegant vegetarians. Why would they study the proper way to eat blood and one hundred methods of preparing blood curd?

“Yes. Rumor says that many elves enjoy coagulated blood.” Danitz spread his hands as he answered. “Unfortunately, it is now very hard to encounter such creatures skilled at cooking.”

…Little Sun mentioned that the ancient god Soniathrym, the Elven King, held the authority of Storms. That means the elven race should be similar to Beyonders of the Sailor pathway… Mm, looking at it that way, it is not impossible to understand why elves love blood-based foods… Perhaps they also generally possess the trait of being irritable… That image is rather beautiful… Klein’s thoughts rapidly turned, and his attention gradually shifted toward the “blood curd.”

It has been so long since I last ate it… He developed the idea of disembarking to sample the local food.

At this moment, Danitz took the initiative to suggest, “There is a famous restaurant here called Lime. Their pig’s blood is especially delicious. Do you—do you want to try it?”

He always…