I Am A Gourmet: Just Eight And You Want Me To Start A Roadside Stall? - Chapter 172 - Braised Octopus

[WSA 2025 Entry]Aiden Chase has always lived in the shadow of his family’s legacy. As the eldest son of the renowned Chase family, celebrated for their relentless pursuit and capture of Magi- beings cursed with extraordinary powers- he was raised to uphold their name. But everything changes when Aiden awakens to a power of his own, a fire within that marks him as the very thing his family hunts. When his father hunts him down, Aiden is rescued and taken to Genvah Academy, an illustrious academy for Magi hidden in the outskirts of Soleil. At first, Aiden hopes the academy will offer him solace and a chance to reclaim a semblance of peace. But Genvah Academy nor Soleil is no haven.Beneath the city's golden spires lies darkness- secrets, betrayal, and a looming war that threatens to consume everything. As Aiden unravels the truth about his powers and his family’s legacy, he must navigate a world far more dangerous than he ever imagined.Peace is fleeting, and survival comes at a cost.

Religious and cultural schisms wreak havoc on its internal politics, while revolutions are brewing in neighboring kingdoms. The aristocratic houses play endless power games amongst themselves, and the Emperor desperately abuses what little influence he has left to keep his rivals down.Amidst all of this, Arnold von Hohenfels, first son of the Margrave of Hohenfels, finds himself in the unfortunate position of having to attend the Imperial Academy, a notorious battleground of wits and brawn for ambitious young nobles.Armed with a magical gift that is as much a blessing as it is a curse, he must learn to navigate the treacherous waters of aristocratic entanglements. In the name of his family’s ambition, he must represent House Hohenfels' interests in this microcosm of Imperial politics, deal with his formidable enemies, form alliances of his own, and somehow keep his brash cousin Friedrich out of trouble.Frankly, he would much rather be anywhere else.

Fate and destiny; no one can foreshadow the terrifying challenges on the road to the Pure Land. Instead, one may unearth the evil within the road of light towards paradise.

A King’s Holy Sword, bringing light to the darkness,

An unyielding soul, igniting the fiery hope of the world,

As his soul awakens, the youth fiercely battles the gods of darkness and evil,

As the surging dark clouds gushed out like a phantom, their conflict swept the world like raging tide!

The clash of darkness and light, a massive war on the verge of exploding,

The decisive battle of gods and deities rewrite the creation of the world into one destructive epic!

- Description from Novelupdates

Saying 5000 year-old-dragon has an impressive ring to it, yet that dragon was an extremely harmless, herbivorous being. However, because of his uselessly giant figure and scary appearance, he was mistaken for the Demon King’s executive and provided by the nearby village with a sacrificial maiden.

Fundamentally cowardly and timid dragon tried to send her away, but the extremely enthusiastic sacrifice didn’t want to give up. Inevitably, he lied: “Okay, I just ate a small portion of your soul, so you can go back already”, but the maiden with outrageous assumptions has misunderstood that she became the dragon’s kin.

Then, out of all things, she began to manifest strange power on the basis of her wrong assumptions – in turn, the helpless dragon, by some mistake started a rebellion against the Demon King.

Rebellion or whatnot, he wasn’t even his subordinate in the first place.