CH 13

Chapter 13 – Fantasy Ingredients Are Just on Another Level

After returning home, I heaved a large sigh.

To think that I would meet Totoki in such a place… When I had gone to see what was happening at school, I had seen several dozens of people being saved. She must have been among those people.

Totoki Koine. We had certainly been on friendly terms as classmates during our first year, but as circumstances changed, people changed as well. That was true for her… and for me.

I would probably never be involved with her ever again. But as everyone became hostile to me and abandoned me, in the end Totoki was the only one who had ever tried to approach me.

In spite of her fear for Ohsaka, it seemed to be true that she had been concerned for me, at least in the times when he wasn’t around. I suppose I was honestly happy that she was safe. If Ohsaka didn’t exist, it might have been the case that our connection wouldn’t have been cut off even now.

Well, now that things had reached this point, it didn’t matter.

“… I’m feeling kind of down, so in times like these, it’s gotta be some of this.”

From the <Box>, I took out cooking utensils and some food ingredients. But this time, it wasn’t ordinary food ingredients.

I planned to make a dish with [Orc Meat] and [Princess Love Taro] as the main ingredients.

(TL: This [Princess Love Taro] is most likely a play on words that references the legend of Urashima Taro. It’s a famous Japanese fairy tale that involves a princess and a fisherman named Urashima Taro. The pun is that “taro” is also the name of a root/tuber veggie like sweet potato or yam. If you want to read more about it: wiki.)

I had obtained the [Orc Meat] from that killing that Orc that one time, and the [Princess Love Taro] had been purchased from the <Shop>. Ingredients that weren’t from this world could be bought from the <Shop> just like this, and every once in a while, I could buy them and eat them if I wanted to.

I had never cooked with these ingredients before, but there was a description provided upon purchase that could help me to figure it out. Fantasy ingredients were more expensive than regular ingredients so I couldn’t eat them every day, but I could eat them every once in a while to serve as a little stress reliever.

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Furthermore, they were more delicious than ordinary ingredients, and the seasonings were clearly a grade above. They were all items that a chef would definitely want to get their hands on no matter what.

“Let’s see. Today, I’ll make Hamburg steak with mashed potatoes and pork miso soup, I guess.”

I prepared the ingredients in a practiced manner, unknowingly starting to hum to myself during the process.

“W-What a delicious smell~” (Sol)

“…You’re drooling, Sol.” (Bouchi)

“Ah, excuse me!” (Sol)

“I made your portion too, so wait just a bit longer.” (Bouchi)

“Yesh!” (Sol)

I wanted to try [Dragon Meat] or [Phoenix Rice] one day. Once I had enough money and a day worth celebrating came around, I would definitely buy some.

The Shop was also selling cookware, which weren’t ordinary items. This time, I was using something called the [Fire-Storing Iron Plate]. After setting it on fire beforehand, it would absorb and store the fire. Then, whenever I wanted to use it, it could emit the stored heat for use during cooking.

Incidentally, the stored fire had been provided by Sol’s breath. With an abundance of such convenient cookware, I could cook with the best ingredients and tools no matter where I was.

“Alright, it’s ready!”

“Here, this is your portion.”

I put the Hamburg steak, mashed potatoes, and pork miso onto a large plate.

“Then, time to dig in!” (Bouchi)

“Thanks for the food~!” (Sol)

Naturally, I had to start with the Hamburg steak. It was made from minced [Orc Meat], so I guess it was more like an Orcburg steak instead of a Hamburg steak. Upon breaking it open with my chopsticks, an incredible amount of meat juices began to flow out onto the plate.

It was truly an amazing sight to behold. Just looking at it, I felt like I could devour an entire bowl of rice with this delicious Hamburg steak mixed in.

“Mmmmm! Mogumogu…! So yummy!” (Sol)

It had a completely different depth of flavor compared to regular beef or pork. The degree of marbling of the [Orc Meat] was far superior, and the texture of it melting on my tongue was irresistible. The more I chewed, the more flavor filled my mouth.

By the time I noticed, I had already wolfed down half a bowl of rice from just one delicious, savory bite of the Hamburg steak.

“Next up are the mashed potatoes. Let’s see the potential of the [Princess Love Taro].” (Bouchi)

I had tasted a little bit while I was making it, so I kind of knew what I was getting into.

“Mmmm, this smooth, velvety texture is exactly what mashed potatoes is all about. And that faint sweetness. It would seriously be the best if I made some candied sweet potato from these.”

That was due to the sweetness that the [Princess Love Taro] had. The taro was infused with a hint of sweetness that was reminiscent of a princess’s fleeting romance.

(TL: Japanese candied sweet potato)

“Master! Sol really…! Sol really, really likes this white one!”

As it turned out, Sol became a huge fan of mashed potatoes. Next up was the pork miso soup, which was also made from [Orc Meat]. But the vegetables I had put in there were from the fridge.

The excellent flavor extracted from the meat gave rise to a delicious warmth that spread throughout my entire body. Unlike the Hamburg steak, the [Orc Meat] in the soup had been simmered and stewed, so it had a different tenderness and juiciness that imparted the pure, characteristic taste of pork.

In the blink of an eye, the large amount of food that I had cooked was completely gone in less than an hour.

“Puuu. The food that Master makes is so delicious~” (Sol)

“I’m glad to hear that. You worked hard today, so this is your reward. Hey, there’s still dessert. You want some?” (Bouchi)

“I’ll have some!” (Sol)

Sol was sprawled out, her stomach filled to the point of almost bursting, but she still said she wanted to eat dessert. Well, you know what they say about having a second stomach for dessert.

The dessert was a pudding made from ordinary ingredients, but Sol was devouring it with glee.

In the meantime, I opened the fridge and checked its contents.

“With this, I guess we’ve almost used up all of the ingredients and seasonings now.”

The electricity was cut off, so I had purchased ice from the <Shop> and put it in the fridge to keep it cool. As I gazed into the bare fridge, I decided to put as many of the ingredients as possible into the <Box> from now on.

In fact, the <Box> was the perfect location to store food because things inside of it never spoiled nor deteriorated in quality. However, there was a limit to the number of items that could be stored in the <Box>, so it wasn’t practical to keep too many items in there. I had to buy and store only what I really needed.

“Master, what are you going to do tomorrow?” (Sol)

“Hmm. Now that I know what you’re capable of, I probably won’t really do anything worth mentioning tomorrow.” (Bouchi)

But staying home all the time meant I had a lot of free time. Continuing to always play games and read manga was far too self-indulgent, and I would probably get bored of it quickly.

“….In that case, maybe I should earn some money.” (Bouchi)

“Puuu?” (Sol)

“Nothing. Do you want to go out tomorrow?” (Bouchi)

“Yes! Please let me accompany you!” (Sol)

It might still be a little too early, but the quickest way to earn money was to use other people. I felt like it would be a good idea to use tomorrow to gather information for that purpose.

―The next day.

After breakfast, I immediately left the house and walked around town with Sol, looking for a dungeon. Yesterday, we had gone in the direction of the community center and run into something bothersome, so I decided to search in the exact opposite direction.

Eventually, at a house about two houses down the street, we saw a couple running out while screaming. I wondered if it was what I thought it was as the man and woman ran in our direction.

“What’s the matter?” (Bouchi)

When I asked that, the man’s face became as white as a sheet.

“S-Something appeared!!?” the man stammered out.