“Hmm? When did that house become so new? And they even put so many dining tables out?” Ivan the rock troll, who just came home after quarrying, said in astonishment as he stared at the brand-new house next door and the tables and chairs in the garden with wide eyes.

  “Maybe we have a new neighbor. That house has been abandoned for so long, and who knows what kind of people have moved in.” Ivan’s wife Gemina, who was holding a huge sea turtle, also looked at that new house.

  “Forget it. Our island doesn’t have the tradition of greeting our neighbors, after all. If this neighbor has a bad character, it may even cause us trouble.” Ivan shook his head and continued walking to his house.

  “I agree.” Gemina nodded and followed Ivan in.

  A little rock troll stumbled out of the house when he heard the door open. Even before he could lift his stubby leg over the threshold, he fell onto the floor with a bam, and made a crater in the ground. He stood up with a single scratch. Looking at the giant sea turtle in Gemina’s hands, he instantly said in disappointment, “It’s a giant sea turtle again. We’re eating giant sea turtles every day, and soon we are going to turn into ones ourselves.”


  Ivan rubbed that little demon’s head, and said, “Justin, Father will buy other nice food tomorrow. Let’s have the sea turtle today. The sea turtle that your mother makes is delicious, and one giant sea turtle is enough to last us a whole day.”


  Justin snorted, and complained, “You said that yesterday and the day before yesterday, but we’re still eating turtles every day, and it’s always stewed turtles. We even have to eat it for the entire day. I’d rather eat rocks.”


  Ivan’s expression froze on his face, and a hint of guilt flashed across his eyes. He hemmed and hawed as he didn’t know how to reply.

  Gemina only knew how to stew turtles, so what could he do? He, too, felt hopeless.

  “What’s this, Justin? Do you think that the turtle stew that I cook is not nice?” Gemina had a cold expression, and her brownish-green eyes were staring at Justin.

  Justin, who was initially very fierce, turned into a coward instantly.

  “N-no, Mother. I just feel that…… we could eat something else or go out for a meal……” he said weakly with a shifty gaze.

  “Eat something else? Go out for a meal? Is there any other food that is more tasty than the turtle stew? Is there anyone better than me in cooking?” Gemina said with a ridiculous expression before turning her head to ask Ivan, “You tell me, is there?”


  Ivan sensed the deadly glare, and even when his conscience was hurting, he shook his head with conviction. “No.”


  “Father, you traitor!” Justin gave Ivan a disdainful glance. It was him who told him to do this yesterday, and he actually backed out at the very last minute now.

  “Did you see that? Even your knowledgeable father said no.” A smug smile appeared on Gemina’s face. She placed the giant turtle on the floor, and commanded, “Go. Bring me the big pot. I’m going to show you all my real culinary skills. I’m going to make a pot of delicious turtle stew for you.”


  Ivan and Justin, who failed in their resistance efforts, had to walk into the house and carry a big pot out with resignation. In the center of the yard was a simple cooking bench stacked up by three big rocks.

  Right then, they could hear a voice talking in the yard next to theirs.

  “Today, we will be having grilled fish and grilled prawns,” Mag said to Amy and Irina, who were carrying the ingredients, as he came out with a grill, and placed it in the empty field in the middle of the courtyard.

  “I wanna eat meat. Grilled meat!” Amy said, raising her hand up in the air.

  “Meow~” Ugly Duckling who was sitting next to Amy’s feet, raised its paw up in agreement.

  “Alright. Then I will prepare some beef kebabs later.” Mag nodded with a smile. The theme for tonight’s dinner was outdoor barbecue, and that made him regret a little that he hadn’t chosen a house next to the sea. After all, it would definitely be more pleasant to barbecue facing the sea.

  “Is that our new neighbor?” Upon hearing the voices in the neighbor’s courtyard, the rock troll family who were in the midst of lighting up a fire stood up and looked toward the adjacent courtyard.

  Both Ivan and Gemina were over three meters tall, and even the little guy Justin was one and half a meter tall. Therefore, the one-meter-tall fence couldn’t block their sight at all.

  A young weird-looking demon, a beautiful female demon, and an adorable little demon. This family of three should be their new neighbors who had just moved in today.

  However, Ivan’s and Justin’s gaze was already totally attracted by the big prawns and big fish on the table. The seafood that was marinated with condiments was already giving out an aroma of the spices. To this family whose only daily condiment was salt, it was akin to a fatal temptation.

  Mag also noticed the three rock trolls were standing in the courtyard next door, smiled, and called out, “Nice to meet you. We’ve just moved in today.”


  “Nice to meet you. I’m Gemina, and this is Ivan. This is our child, Justin,” Gemina replied, introducing her family. Their new neighbors seemed to be rather easy to get along with.

  “I’m Hades. This is my wife, Ina, and this is our child, Ay.” Mag, too, did a self-introduction smilingly. This was their first step of blending into Carapace Island. Establishing a good neighborly relationship could be considered as the first step.

  “How do you do.” Amy waved to them.

  “So adorable!” Both Ivan’s and Gemina’s eyes lit up. They looked at Justin and then at each other as they seemed to have reached some consensus. It seemed like it was time for them to try to have a daughter again.

  After greeting each other, the rock troll family continued to cook their dinner, and didn’t try to interact with Mag and his family. On Carapace Island, the demons wouldn’t trust any other demons apart from their family members.

  “Mother, I see that they have big prawns and big fish on their plates, and they look delicious.” Justin gulped.

  Ivan was observing them sneakily from the side.

  Gemina smirked. “Humph. What’s nice about those things? They smell fishy after they are stewed. Only the giant turtle stew is the perfect delicacy. They will be so envious after the stew is done later.”


  Justin and Ivan looked at each other.

  The giant turtle that was cleaned and processed was tossed into a pot of clear water. Natural sea salt was scattered into the pot, and the cover was placed on it. Gemina clapped her hands with a relaxed expression.

  Alright, they only needed to wait for the delicacy to be ready now. Among the rock trolls, only a beautiful and competent female demon like her could grasp such a perfect and complicated method of stewing the turtle. Many of their people were still eating stones.

  Meanwhile, Mag had already lit up the fruit charcoal with Amy’s help. He rubbed a layer of oil into the grill, and then placed the marinated fish on it.

  Pfft~

  A beautiful sound appeared, and the fish’s skin began to sizzle. The aroma of the fish and the fragrance of the spices began to drift over to the neighboring courtyard.