Chapter 19

Summary of the previous chapter ------------------------------------------------------

After collecting the Dindles and climbing down the tree, Toya had already caught a wild boar.

While cooking, they tried the Dindles, which turned out to be even more delicious than expected.

To fill Toya's backpack, Naohiro headed out to collect more.

As he climbed down from the Dindle tree, a wolf was waiting, drooling.

Needless to say, it was Toya.

"Welcome back! Let's eat!"

As soon as I touched the ground, this happened.

"Mmm~ It's delicious!"

As he bit into the meat, he closed his eyes in delight and groaned.

"Busy, huh? Naohiro, good job. Thanks."

"No problem. I'll have some too, then."

I put down my backpack, sat next to Haruka, and took the skewer she offered.

On the glowing embers, large stones were placed, and bread was warming on top.

"Let's eat."

As I bit into it, the crispy sound was accompanied by the overflow of meat fat.

It was as delicious as the last time, but this time it seemed even better... with a faint fruity aroma?

"Haruka, are you using Dindle fruits?"

"No, but... it does have a faint scent. Maybe they've been eating the fallen fruits?"

Natural premium feed!?

I've heard that high-grade Wagyu beef is made more delicious by feeding the cows beer, but this is even more premium.

I took the bread, made a light cut, and inserted the meat, then bit into it.

The crispy surface and fluffy interior of the bread, combined with the rich meat fat, made it a perfect dish.

It was delicious even with just salt.

"Isn't it a waste to sell this? At least, it's too cheap at the same price!"

"I agree, but we can't preserve it."

"That's true..."

Even with Haruka's advanced skills, the best she can do is create ice to cool things down.

Direct cooling is only effective for chilling drinks, and freezing for preservation is out of the question.

Even if we could freeze, it wouldn't be very useful without a freezer.

"Naohiro, you'll have to work on it."

Indeed, it's my area of expertise.

The Magic Bag created with time-space magic primarily increases capacity, but as you become more skilled, it can also reduce weight and create a time stop. Once I reach that level, I can store large amounts of food, including perishables.

Conversely, a beginner's Magic Bag can hold more items, but it will also be heavier.

"Damn! I'll master it by next year and come back to hunt boars during this season!"

"Sure. Then we can also store Dindle fruits... but, Toya—"

Thinking about the meat, Toya, who usually jumps at the chance, was unusually quiet. I looked over and saw that the three skewers were already gone, and he had started grilling more meat he had cut off.

"Huh? Such delicious meat, you should eat as much as you can, right?"

Toya, noticing our gaze, continued grilling without any guilt.

"Stocking up, huh? Well, it's fine."

Toya caught the boar, and we're not as financially strained as before.

However, as elves, we can't eat as much as Toya, unfortunately.

"Toya, I'm not saying you can't eat, but at least let us know. It's not as tasty if you just eat it like that, right?"

Haruka, exasperated, took the meat from Toya, made cuts, and sprinkled salt before returning it.

"I think it will be a bit better, but it will take time because it's so big. Naohiro, why don't we try some spare ribs? The stones are just right for grilling."

"Sure—"

"I want to eat too! I want to eat too!"

Interrupting my response, Toya raised his hand and asserted himself.

Haruka, seemingly expecting this, shrugged and started cutting the meat, seasoning it, and grilling it on the stones.

"Honestly, I think the belly is more delicious with just salt, but—"

While saying this, she added more firewood and flipped the meat on the stones with chopsticks.

These chopsticks are homemade, of course.

They are simple to make and multi-purpose, truly great.

They can perform the functions of various cutlery.

The learning curve is a bit steep, and they can't match specialized cutlery in certain areas.

"Almost done, but what should we do?"

Thinking about it, we didn't have plates or chopsticks.

After a moment, Haruka picked some large leaves and wrapped the spare ribs, handing them to us.

"These leaves are used as plates in food stalls, so they're fine."

She seemed to have chosen them carefully.

No mistakes.

The spare ribs... yeah, they're delicious.

Delicious, but a bit lacking.

"Still, I think grilling belly meat on skewers is more delicious with just salt. It's not as fatty, and it's a bit in between."

"But the texture is good, right?"

...Toya, that's not the meat, it's the bone.

If you find it delicious, it's probably because you're a beastman.

I wouldn't even think of gnawing on it.

"Should I give Toya a thigh bone?"

"Treating me like a dog!?"

Toya looked shocked, but you're the one who caused this.

"Actually, are bones really that tasty? There are stereotypes of dogs holding bones in illustrations."

"No, it's more like the feeling of gnawing is pleasant? The taste is a faint umami. It's not super delicious, but you just want to keep gnawing..."

Like gum? But gum has a proper taste...

Is it instinctive? Hamsters gnaw on hard things even though they don't eat them.

"Sure, I don't get it. As long as it's not visible, enjoy it."

It doesn't cost anything, but it would look bad if my acquaintance walked around gnawing on a big bone.

"No, I don't usually do it! If there's bone-in meat, I just want to gnaw on the bone a bit!"

It seems we don't need to worry about appearances.

But, seeing him gnaw on the ribs is quite shocking.

It's not cooked for a long time, just grilled, so the bones are quite hard. It would probably damage a human or elf's jaw.

"Well, bones are fine. More importantly, the leftover meat. Can we make jerky?"

"Jerky!"

I was thinking about refrigeration and freezing based on modern standards, but in the past, it was different!

With primitive methods, we could still do it now—

"Thinking about it, how do you make it? Toya, do you know?"

"No idea. ...Slice it and dry it in the sun?"

That seems off.

It might rot, and even if it dries well, considering it's a boar, it might not be edible.

Well, let's rely on Haruka.

We looked at her, and she smiled wryly.

"Given the level of this world, start with salt-curing. If you have suitable herbs, you can cure them together. Once the salt has penetrated, wash and dry them. That's about it."

"What about bacteria and parasites?"

"Like with prosciutto. Strong salt can handle it."

If we had the time, we could experiment with curing liquids or smoking to make it more delicious, but with our current situation, it's likely to be just salty and not very tasty.

"Can we try it?"

"Sure, if you want."

The drying process, which usually takes the most time, can be done with the Drying magic we used to dry Dindle fruits, so it's possible to make it.

"Then, can I ask you? Jerky sounds pretty fantasy-like and a bit dreamy."

"Agreed! Black bread and ale were quite disappointing!"

"Disappointing fantasy... but jerky might end up the same."

Haruka added that it would still be better than buying it, and agreed to make it.

"But this world lacks a fantasy feel outside of magic."

If I had to say, the status check and help functions are mysterious.

"It's not enough to be fantasy. Even the town and daily life. What are our races, anyway?"

Elves.

And Toya has beast ears.

Pretty fantasy.

However, the town and daily life feel more underdeveloped and inconvenient than fantasy. If you actually enter a fantasy world, it might be like this.

"Well, yeah, but we haven't seen anything that screams 'fantasy'..."

"Agreed. There's nothing that couldn't happen on Earth!"

"I think magic is enough. What else?"

"Like mithril or a sword that can cut anything?"

Toya, who is a blacksmith, suggested these.

Indeed, those things defy the laws of physics.

Descriptions of cutting down thick trees with a sword are unrealistic!

If you cut a tree with a saw, you'll know that the saw blade has a structure with teeth that are angled to the left and right, allowing it to cut a wider path than the blade itself, creating a gap for the blade to pass through.

What about a sword that can cut anything?

A sword with a diamond-shaped cross-section, even if it can cut anything, would only cut a path as wide as the tip. The thicker part would not fit through.

To cut, the sword would need to be extremely thin, like a beam saber, or it would need to defy physics and pass through the object.

"Dragons and dungeons, I guess."

These two are unavoidable in fantasy.

Toya nodded strongly, so I think it's a fairly common image.

"Naohiro, you should consider it a stroke of luck that you haven't met them. If you did, you'd be dead."

I received a very exasperated look and a big sigh.

It's fine to dream, though.

"Dragons are legends. We don't know if they exist, but meeting one is thought to be fatal. Dungeons do exist, though."

"Really? Dungeons?"

"Seriously!? I want to go!"

Yeah, I agree.

"Why they exist and how they were made is unknown. If the starting point was a dungeon, we'd be dead."

That's true.

Even in a game, starting with a cloth shirt and 10 silver coins is quite harsh, but it's even worse in reality.

"So, Toya, I won't say it's impossible, but going to a dungeon should be a long-term goal. You don't want to die, right?"

"That's... yeah. I'll leave it to you."

Our basic strategy is to follow Haruka's lead.

This is what we've learned in the past week.