You probably killed a scrib or a little spider by accident when you were fighting. He considers that wasteful since you're not going to eat it. Oh, and rats, too!

Marcus Titus Alessian looks down at the crispy centipede lying at the feet of the now dead giant. He'd neatly bisected it instead of the giant with an overhead swing of Dawnbreaker. Now the centipede's two cauterized ends curl towards each other, and the air smells faintly of smoke.

"Rest in pieces, little ultimate-waster."

Bastian wraps up the giant's big toes he's just finished cutting off, then looking at the dead centipede, says with some disdain, "You're going to eat that, right?"

For a long moment, Marcus considers rehashing the whole conversation about "You DO realize I don't mean to unleash Meridia's smiting sword of undead smiting on a lowly rat, right?" But he's already done that, and it hasn't made a difference. So instead he squats down, takes out an empty potion bottle, and as he sweeps the centipede's remains inside, he makes sure to look Bastian in the eye. "Actually, there's a recipe I've been wanting to try."

"You're joking."

"Makes-Many-Soups says that flies in the soup only add to the flavor."

..................

That evening in their small camp in the foothills of Orsinium, Marcus makes Lava Foot Soup-and-Saltrice. The potato and saltrice is exactly the sort of meal that will stick to his ribs in the chilly air. Bastian's being drooling over it.

Then he pulls out "The Secret Ingredient!" Their travels hunting for treasure in the mountains have shaken the burnt centipede into fine black flakes, exactly what he needs.

Bastian looks at him in dawning horror. "I thought you were joking. You're going to eat that?"

"Of course."

Bastian looks away, a little green around the gills. Marcus quickly empties the bottle onto the campfire and dumps a hefty sprinkle of pepper flakes onto the soup instead.

Once the soup is finished, Marcus digs into his bowl with gusto. Bastian tries it tentatively, then eats, picking out any visible black flecks.

Finally, Bastian says, "It's not as bad as I expected."

"It was just pepper. If I wanted to taste insect parts, I'd drink Dubious Camoran Throne."

"I, uh...I knew you were joking all along!"