CH 113

That day, I stayed at an inn in the village to recover from my fatigue.

I was a little tired from walking all night, cutting down on my sleep, so I was able to fall asleep as soon as I got into bed. I was able to fall asleep as soon as I went to bed. This was only possible because my level of physical fitness had improved, and if I had done such a reckless thing when I was in Japan, I would have been in a terrible state the next day.

The next morning, I got ready and left the inn, applying [Purification] as usual.

If there was a morning market, I would have bought something, but there was nothing, probably because the village was so small, so I decided to leave the village as it was.

The trees in the forest on either side of the road, a short distance away, were rustling in the wind, and I could hear some insect sounds. I turned my head to the right and saw a bird-like creature flying over the forest in the distance, shifting its height like a wave.

Was it an animal? Or is it a monster?

I thought as I walked.

In the first place, how many animals other than monsters can exist in this world?　I have a feeling that ordinary small animals would be destroyed by monsters and would not survive. But in the town, I’m sure I felt small animals in [Magi Locations].

“Hmm, there are still many mysteries in this world…”

As I walked along the bare dirt road, I looked directly ahead at the place that looked the furthest away from me.

The mountain, which had been small when I was in Elem, had grown considerably.

That mountain is the… No, the end of that mountain is the destination, the Kingdom of Almst.

“Let’s have lunch.”

I thought as I looked up at the sun that had just risen above us.

What should I do? I’ve been giving top priority to transportation so far, so I’ve only eaten dried meat with wine, but if I’m going to eat the orc meat I’ve reserved just in case, I need to do it quickly or it will go bad.

“Well, I should eat it once at the very least.”

I decided and looked around for rocks and dead trees.

Fortunately, this remote area was not too crowded and there were enough fallen trees that I could quickly gather the necessary dead branches. But I decided not to make a campfire, because it would be too much trouble to find and carry rocks.

I folded the dead branches into a good shape, put dead leaves inside, and ignited it with the [Holy Fire]. After confirming that the white flames were eroding the dead branches, I took out an iron pot and a lump of Orc meat from my magic bag, then I realize.

“Ah… I don’t have a cutting board.”

I didn’t expect this scenario.

I had no choice but to turn the iron pot upside down, place the orc meat on the bottom of the pot, and take out a knife from the magic bag. I then used the knife to scrape off the fat on the outside of the orc meat. Cutting the meat into two steaks about three centimeters thick, and cut it into cubes from there.

Moving the meat from the bottom of the pot, I put the fatty meat I had just cut into the pot which I returned to the front and dumped all the remaining fat into the fire. As I held the pot over the fire and waited for a while, watching the fat bouncing around in the fire, the fat started to release oil with a fragrant smell and bouncing around in the pot as well. This is lard.

“…well, is this considered lard?”

Lard is a type of pork fat. But I’m not sure if it’s okay to call orc fat lard just because it looks like a pig…

Just as you can’t treat a werewolf as a dog, you can’t treat an orc as a pig. I was wondering if pigs exist in this world in the first place, or if the fat of a Great Boar or a boar is lard, and other unimportant things.

I put my hand into the bag of salt, lightly picked it up, and sprinkled it on the meat, enjoying the sound and smell of the meat sizzling.

Then, I took out the magic bag and pulled out that thing. That’s right, the rice paddle from the orc!

Using the paddle, I rolled the meat around in the pot and sprinkled salt on it again.

“Stirring the orc meat with the rice paddle from the orc…”

While being a little impressed by the coincidence, I cooked the meat thinking that it would have been perfect if the pan also came out of the orc.

“Is it about time?”

The surface of the diced Orc meat was browned… very brown… a little charred… no, it’s a little overcooked… probably. I think I overcooked it a little, just in case there were any parasites or anything like that, but that’s okay.

I take out my knife, quickly purify it, stab the meat, and carefully put it in my mouth. If I make a mistake, should I put on a mask and ask around “Am I beautiful?” will I have to attack people too? [T/N: This is a reference to the “split-mouth woman” or “口裂け女” a monster from Japanese folklore.]

“Woah, this is delicious!”

As I chewed, the meat juices overflowed from inside and spread to my mouth.

There is a smokey aroma and sweetness from the meaty juices. There’s also the nice salty taste.

Even if I subtract my over-correction since it is a bit too burnt, the correction I did and the corrections I did due to the outdoors are have turned into positives and I got a home run.

…But.

“I want another taste.”

I can’t help but feel that it’s missing something by Earth standards, something is not enough even with the standards of the inns. Pepper is probably would not be enough if I take into knowledge from Earth. However, spices are expensive. They wouldn’t be used in the usual inns. If so, the flavors might have been added by something else like using herbs instead of spices.

“It might be interesting to find some.”

Thinking about my new, small goal, I popped the next piece of meat into my mouth.