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“As soon as we eat, we’re heading out,” Ai Fa stated, looking roughly 40% more displeased than usual. Well, it was my fault that she was angry in the first place, though, so there was nothing I could do about it. Still, she’d already whacked me on the head at least five or six times with the grip of her knife, so you’d think she would hurry up and snap out of it already...
By the way, the breakfast Ai Fa provided was giba jerky, which proved to be quite tricky in its own way. Despite the fact that it was sliced super thinly like they do with dried squid snacks, it was unbelievably tough to chew. Honestly, it was more like meat-flavored rubber than anything. On top of that, it had a real animalistic stink to it, so it must not have been properly bloodlet.
Ai Fa was on the opposite side of the room giving off a “don’t come near me” aura, so I just stood stock still next to the stove all by myself, chewing my giba jerky. As I peered into the freshly cleaned metal pot, I thought back on last night’s dinner. That dinner... was seriously the worst. To me at least, it was practically torture.
I mean, that was just way too much...
That may well have been the first time in my life that I ever blurted out, “Gross!” about food someone had given me. Normally, the event would’ve sent me into a spiral of self-loathing. The only reason I was spared that fate was because Ai Fa herself ended up feigning ignorance.
“...When it comes to food, there is no good or bad taste.”
It was the third time in one day that she uttered those fighting words.
Maybe all of the people of the forest’s edge really did just think of eating as a means of gaining nutrition and nothing else.
But still... Even still... That food was just way too awful.
The first problem was the giba meat. To put it bluntly, it was hard. It also had an unusually strong animal stench to it. No matter how bad a cut it may be, no pork or beef would ever stink this bad. And it was heated enough that it wasn’t too hard to chew, but the surface was all mushy, while still sinewy on the inside, making it sort of like eating melted rubber... In other words, the texture was just the absolute worst, too.
The pseudo-onion, on the other hand, had a nice, crisp texture... but that was all there was to it. My number one impression was honestly just, “Onions really just don’t belong in a stew.” Of course there were stews like a motsunabe or a kimchi hot pot where they did fit just fine. But at least in my household, we just plain didn’t use them in stews.
The real issue, though, was that pseudo-potato. Just what was that thing? There wasn’t anything solid of it left in the end. All that remained was a sort of cream-colored floury substance, which felt like she had just thrown it in to completely ruin the balance of the dish. The closest thing I can think of is water that had wheat flour dissolved in it.
Go on, just imagine it. Oozy soup made from diluted flour. Crisp, crunchy onions. Smelly, slimy meat. And the only thing used for seasoning is black pepper. Now does that sound appetizing to you?
Sad to say, I wasn’t able to grasp even a fragment of deliciousness from it.
The roughest part of it all for me, though, was that the smell alone was so amazingly good. It was just the absolute best. I had zero doubt that the delicious flavors of the meat and fats had seeped plenty enough into the cloudy liquid. And when paired with the smell of the black pepper-esque spice, it made for a scent so powerful that smelling it alone was as satisfying as eating a bowl of white rice.
And yet, it tasted awful.
The second I brought the meat and soup into my mouth, that wonderful scent was blown to smithereens by the animal stench.
And so, it ended up feeling like absolute torture.
My hunger had been so thoroughly stimulated, and yet my mouth was rejecting the substance entering it. To be honest, if it weren’t for my gratitude towards Ai Fa and the ingredients she had used, I likely wouldn’t have even eaten half of my portion.
And yet, I ended up eating three bowls of the stuff. By the end, it was a real battle with my gag reflex.
Thanks to that, even though my stomach was full, my brain kept on mumbling, “So, when’s dinner?” all the way until I fell asleep. And it was probably why I had that dream last night, too...
“What’s with that stupid look on your face? Come on, it’s time to get going.”
I looked up in response to the thorny voice, and saw that Ai Fa’s fur cloak was already draped over her shoulders, with her large blade and knife dangling from her hip. She was 100% ready to head out.
“Ah, hold on a second! What about my kitchen knife?”
“Kitchen...?”
“My blade. I entrusted it to you yesterday, remember?”
Ai Fa silently gestured with her chin towards the doors in the rear of the room.
From what I could recall it was the one that was furthest to the right, so that was the direction I headed.
Ai Fa and I both ended up sleeping out here in the reception hall, so those three inner rooms were still a mystery to me.
I carefully, slowly opened the door... And in that instant, a tremendous smell exploded forth.
Gah... This is seriously something.
Just like I’d expected, it was a pantry. There were various bags around that were made of some sort of linen-esque material, with what looked like onions and potatoes peeking out of them. And there were also a variety of plants dangling from the walls. There were pitch black ones that looked like shrivelled up seaweed and ones with strangely long, thin vibrant green leaves all packed into the crowded room.
And in the back of the room was an area about 2 meters square blocked off by square boards, which was packed tight up to around the height of my knees with black powder. That was the source of the smell.
It was the black pepper-esque spice that had coated the giba meat.
Rather than the scent being something I could judge as being good or bad, it was just plain overwhelming. Those particles had thoroughly blended into the air of this windowless room, so it felt like I could easily wreck the mucous membranes of my eyes, nose, and throat if I wasn’t careful.
I see. So this is how they preserve the giba meat...
Despite that aforementioned danger, my natural curiosity won out and I continued to investigate with slightly watery eyes. There must have been giba meat sealed away in this mountain of spice, right? So rather than pickling meat in salt, they did it in pepper. Well, without any sort of refrigeration device, you absolutely needed to do something like this. The climate around here was like it was at the start of summer back in Japan, so raw meat would surely spoil in no time at all.
Hmm... Is this dried stuff what it’s made out of?
I was looking at those shriveled leaves hanging from the walls. It looked like a weirdly black-ish seaweed, but when I went to touch it, the fibers started to crumble.
I see. So when you dry out these leaves, they turn into a spice that’s akin to black pepper. I’m sure if Europeans from the Age of Exploration saw this, they’d get so excited they’d have a convulsion.
As I jumped to that abrupt conclusion in my head, a voice called out from behind, “What are you doing?”
Ai Fa’s silhouette was standing in the door to the pantry, backlit by the morning sun. She was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed and her head tilted just a bit, with the greatest look of doubt in her eyes that I’d seen yet.
“Your blade is right here. Now hurry up and get out of there. You’ll end up wrecking your sense of smell if you stay in there too long.”
“Ah, sorry. There was just all sorts of stuff in here that caught my attention.”
When I followed Ai Fa’s suggestion and stepped outside, I found the morning sunlight to be blindingly bright. I couldn’t have been in there for more than a minute, but I already felt like I had been pickled in pepper, too.
“Gah, my nose seriously stings! That spice sure is no joke!”
“...Are you some sort of idiot? What’s so enjoyable about staring at food that you aren’t even going to eat?”
“It is enjoyable. I told you yesterday, right? I’m the son of a chef.”
“Chefs don’t exist outside of the walls of the city of stone. If that’s how you wish to make a living, then you should learn the ways of this world as soon as possible, and then depart immediately from the forest’s edge,” she said with a pout, shoving my knife at my chest.
“Nah, it’d probably be impossible to try to become a chef in a world where I don’t even know my left from my right... By the way, why’d you choose to store my knife in such an overpowering room?”
It wasn’t like I was thinking the spices would cause the blade to rust or anything. Though I was a little worried about the smell sticking to it...
“...That’s the only room without a window. Of course, it’s rare for anyone to be as shameless as Diga Suun and break through a window’s bars in order to sneak into someone’s home, but still, it’s the most secure location in the house.”
“Ah, so that’s it. I see you really were treating it well... Thanks.”
Ai Fa’s brows furrowed a bit, telling me that she probably wasn’t the sort who was all that used to getting thanked.
“We’ve already wasted plenty of time. We have to gather up pico leaves and firewood by the time the sun reaches its peak. And if you don’t want to be called a freeloader, then you better be of at least a little use.”
“Aye aye, sir! But... do you mind if I make a request before that, Ai Fa?”
Naturally, Ai Fa looked incredibly annoyed. She was seriously ruining that natural beauty she exuded...
“So, you intend to impose on me ever further? You’re a surprisingly shameless man, Asuta.”
“No, I was actually thinking it’d be good if I could take even a tiny fraction of the burden off your shoulders, so... From tonight on, could I handle the dinner?”
Ai Fa had been frowning, but when she heard my question, she made a face like a pigeon that had been hit with a peashooter. Honestly, it was kind of cute...
“What sort of question is that? It’s not exactly much of a burden to prepare dinner. Even a ten year old child could handle it.”
“Right, then I suppose it wouldn’t really be helping you out, huh...? So is it no good, then? I kind of wanted to test out if the cooking techniques from back home would work with this world’s ingredients.”
Ai Fa’s eyebrows slumped down in a bewildered manner, and she looked me up and down. The expression on her face made it look like she’d run into a dog walking on two legs or something. Maybe our standards differed, but I thought I was pretty cute...
“I don’t get it... Is that how so-called ‘chefs’ think?”
“Well, I’m ultimately still just in training. But I’m sure full-fledged chefs would feel the same way, too.”
“...Do as you please. I honestly don’t care in the least how dinner preparations are carried out.”
After saying that, Ai Fa walked off towards the door. As I hurried after her slender figure, I couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. It was kind of like I had just told her, “your cooking tastes awful, so let me handle it,” so I’d been half ready for her to start swinging her knife at me. But apparently Ai Fa really didn’t concern herself in the slightest with culinary matters. It made for an odd feeling, like I was both happy and sad about it at the same time.
Still, it really is true that I’m fired up to take on the challenge.
Last night I felt dissatisfied and just plain gloomy, and I wanted to wipe all that away by my own hand. The way I saw it, giba meat was an ingredient that could make for an incredibly delicious dish. And at least in my mind, it was pure blasphemy to eat such a tasty smelling ingredient in such an awful form. I may not have figured out how to tackle those pseudo-onions and potatoes just yet, but I could say with certainty at least that none of the giba meat’s potential had been utilized.
I only had cursory knowledge on how a boar stew should be prepared. Just how well would those techniques be able to draw out the true potential of the giba meat? That thought alone was enough to get me all excited and make my stomach growl.
And... I thought to myself, sneaking a peak at Ai Fa as she wrapped that leather belt-esque footwear around her feet. I want to have her eat my cooking, too.
As a mere chef-in-training, there wasn’t a whole lot I could make. And since Ai Fa didn’t have any interest at all in the subject of food, there’s a chance she just plain wouldn’t care. But still, there isn’t anybody alive who would pout because they had a delicious meal.
I guess I’ll say I’ve earned a passing mark if I can make this perpetually displeased girl look even just a little happy. Yeah, I’d cook up the giba meat and bring my savior a bit of joy.
It’s definitely ridiculously extreme to think of it this way, but right there, I’d found a purpose for my life. Just like that, I felt like the dark clouds that had been accumulating inside me cleared up just a little.
“By the way, is your foot alright?” Ai Fa suddenly asked, having finished putting on her footwear.
“Yeah. Seems like it’ll be fine for walking, at least... Thanks for worrying about me.”
“I did no such thing. It’s just that if we head into the forest and you suddenly say something like ‘I can’t walk anymore,’ then I’m leaving you right then and there.” Then, with an serious pout, she added, “...So if anything feels wrong, don’t push yourself and tell me right away.”
Man, I really was saved by someone it was worth paying back my debt to.
“Got it,” I replied, then I stepped out into the bright morning light of this other world.
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