Chapter 41

Summary of the previous episode ------------------------------------------------------

Natsuki and Yuki fight a Task Boar as part of their training.

Natsuki's spear skills were as expected, but Yuki needs more practice.

Naoto and Toya go to hunt birds for lunch.

When they return to Haruka and the others, the two boars have already been neatly dissected, with the meat, skin, and tusks separated.

The internal organs seem to have already been buried, as there are holes dug nearby.

A fire has already been started, probably for lunch.

"Welcome back. It looks like you managed to hunt successfully."

"Yeah, we managed."

I put down the Cooras I was holding and the firewood I had collected along the way, and Toya did the same with six Cotas and firewood.

"I thought about roasting the boars, but it seems like waiting was the right choice."

"Hahaha, I did say I'd go hunting, didn't I?"

We don't need to mention how close it was, right?

"Our roles are as we just placed them."

"Wow, great! So, this is, you know, a division of labor, right? I found the prey, didn't I?"

While pointing out Toya's slip-up, I tried to regain some ground.

Since I found all the prey with my scouting, it would be nice to get a little credit, right?

"But, it was better that Toya, not Naoto, finished them off, right?"

"Yeah, there were circumstances beyond our control."

Indeed, my magic still has a low hit rate.

"Alright, let's leave it at that. Since you've brought them back, Natsuki, why don't you try dissecting them?"

"Ah, yes. I understand."

"What about Yuki?"

"Sorry, I've already got the [Dissection] skill, so let me off this time..."

"Wait, you can use it now?"

"Yeah, somehow."

When I asked Yuki, who looked a bit groggy, she said that the skill became effective after dissecting two boars under Haruka's guidance.

However, it seems that the dissection became much smoother from the middle of the second boar, so it was probably effective by then.

"To be able to get it just by doing that, it's quite convenient. Naoto still hasn't grown one, you know."

"Sure, it should be growing soon. But if it's this easy to learn, shouldn't we all take some time to teach Yuki the skill?"

"Definitely. I don't want to be useless!"

"Right. Let's all teach each other. Even if Yuki can't get it as a skill, it might still be useful to know."

Even if it's not a knowledge skill, knowing even a little about physical skills like [Evasion] could reduce the risk.

We should be able to earn enough to take the time for training.

"Hey, let's leave that for later. Let's start processing the birds. In a way, they're more troublesome than the boars."

"That's true. The division of labor is... Yuki and I will each take one Cota and teach while dissecting. Naoto and Toya will take two each. And the Cooras... Natsuki, can you do them?"

Everyone nodded at Haruka's suggestion.

"First, we'll soak them in hot water... Toya, did you bring a pot?"

"Yeah, I've got it."

The pot we bought to make preserved food.

Since it doesn't take up much space when placed at the bottom of the backpack, we brought it just in case.

Toya took it out, and Haruka used magic to fill it with hot water.

It's not boiling, but it's much hotter than bath water.

We put all the birds in it.

"Hey, Haruka, is that magic? What kind of magic?"

"Technically, it's based on water magic's [Water Jet]. But it's not really relevant. Yuki, you know that magic is quite flexible."

"But it consumes a lot of magic power, right? What about this?"

"This isn't that heavy. The temperature is high, but since it's just a steady stream, the consumption is reduced."

The relationship between magic and magic power is somewhat like the law of conservation of energy.

For example, [Light].

The magic power required to make it shine at 10 lux for 10 minutes is roughly the same as 100 lux for 1 minute.

For [Water Jet], the faster the water is ejected, the more magic power is needed, and the less water, the less magic power is required.

However, this doesn't always apply.

For example, it's impossible to make it shine at 60,000 lux for 0.1 seconds, as the required magic power would skyrocket.

Conversely, 0.1 lux for 1,000 minutes is also impossible, and generally, it's thought that "magic efficiency worsens outside a certain range."

Of course, this is only measurable by the intuition of those who use magic, and no quantitative experiments have been done.

"Well, it should be ready now, right?"

We pull the birds out of the pot and pluck their feathers.

This step is done to make plucking easier, but we've been skipping it because we haven't been carrying a pot.

If you don't do it, it just makes plucking harder, so you have to make up for it with effort.

"Next, we'll remove the internal organs. Be careful not to damage them."

This is the same for boars; if you damage the intestines or stomach, it can get really messy.

Think about what's inside them.

We've made this mistake a few times during practice...

Thanks to Haruka's [Purification], we managed to avoid any issues, but we sold the meat rather than eating it ourselves.

What, is that dishonest?

No, no, it's not dirty because it's been properly [Purified].

It's just a matter of feeling.

If you don't know, it's fine.

"The offal can be eaten, but let's just take the heart and liver this time."

Boar offal doesn't keep well and can be smelly if not cleaned properly, so we usually discard it.

For birds, skewering and salting them before roasting makes them delicious, so we usually take these two parts.

Ah, the liver is the actual liver, not the gizzard.

"Throw the parts you don't need into this hole."

"Thanks."

Yuki used earth magic to create a hole, and we threw the remaining organs into it.

The feathers that had been left lying around were also collected and thrown in by Yuki.

"Then, cut off the legs, and if there are any down feathers left on the skin, lightly singe them with fire. Finally, wash the whole thing, but I'll do that with my [Purification], so it's fine."

"---Done."

We, who have already processed a few, are working on the second bird, but Natsuki, who did it for the first time, finished the first one at almost the same speed.

"Good job. Keep up the good work and try the Cooras."

"Understood."

Natsuki nodded and immediately started plucking the Cooras.

From the look of it, she doesn't seem to have much aversion?

We had already experienced dissecting boars, so we thought "birds should be easy."

Well, if you can cut up a big fish, cutting up a bird might be similar.

"I'll start cooking in the meantime. Yuki, help me. Copy the [Cooking] skill. It's level 1."

"Sure, I'd be happy to help with cooking! But, is there a skill for cooking? I can cook, you know? Natsuki is good at it too, right?"

"In our original world, I did some cooking, but I don't have the skill. I think I just haven't taken it..."

By the way, Natsuki's cooking skills were not just "some."

Although we didn't get to eat it often, I think she was probably better than Haruka.

I would say she was at a professional level.

"What about you, Haruka?"

"To be honest..."

"Go on, tell us."

"Completely different. I'm just cooking normally, but for example, when I sprinkle salt, it somehow makes the dish delicious. Honestly, it might be the most mysterious."

Magic is mysterious, but it's accepted as such.

In contrast, since cooking was something we did normally in our original world, it feels even more strange.

"Wow, that's impressive. I'm looking forward to it!"

"I'm very interested... Can I get it?"

"It seems that cooks in this world have it, so maybe it will grow with effort?"

"Okay, if I have time, I'll try hard to cook!"

Natsuki clenched her fist and declared with a determined look.

It's quite a rare sight.

Given how good she was, she must have really enjoyed cooking.

"Sure, we can do that when we get back to town. For now, Yuki, let's make some skewers."

"Okay!"