Chapter 450 - Let's Cook
After we finished the bare minimum of setting up our base, more time passed, and dusk began to fall.
Considering the time elapsed since the event began and the look of the sky, it seems safe to assume that the first of our four days and three nights is set for a neat eighteen hours.
That leaves a full three days, which is thirty-six hours times three, for a total of one hundred and eight hours. All in all, that's one hundred and twenty-six hours, which means the event will likely end late at night.
—And so. As darkness gradually fell, preparations for the ‘greatest pleasure’ of survival were steadily underway in the large log house that doubled as our banquet hall.
After a break, Nia and I went out to gather more plants. We now have a plentiful supply of vegetable-based ingredients, enough to last us through tomorrow without worry.
Not only that, but the guys who had gone out on a foraging trip successfully brought back a massive haul of protein… and while the meal from a few hours ago had its own charm, if possible, I’d prefer to eat something delicious.
In that regard, the boar they brought back this time holds a lot of promise—or rather, according to our chef who has already appraised it, the quality is ‘excellent.’
My expectations are high. It’s practically a guaranteed win. Awesome.
"Whoa…"
"From that reaction, it seems you're not used to seeing cooking in the virtual world."
"I'm embarrassed to say I've been all about battles until now."
—Once again. I was watching with great interest as Tetsu-san prepped a mountain of meat when he, who was busy poking the ingredients with his knife, chuckled at me. I was so engrossed in the path-clearing work that the monkey stew from before had been prepared while I was busy, so this was my first time seeing a ‘chef’ at work in this world.
It has a different feel from magic… in a way, this might be the most game-like sight of all.
"Is that knife special? Or is it the power of a skill?"
"Both, but the skill is more important."
"Huh."
In the corner of our makeshift kitchen—a place I wouldn't dare call a proper kitchen—on a large table serving as a cutting board, the meat that Tetsu-san's knife touched was transforming before my very eyes.
He wasn't cutting it with the blade. The moment it literally touched the meat, the huge block of it glowed faintly and was reborn into various cuts, from thick slices to thin ones.
"As you can see, cooking in Arcadia doesn't require ‘technique’."
He kindly began to explain as I stood there next to him. Without missing a beat in his prep work, Tetsu-san continued.
"What's required is raising your skill proficiency through repetition. It's the knowledge you hammer into your head by trying out an absurd number of combinations to learn how all sorts of ingredients interact with each other—and, most importantly…"
As he spoke, he picked up a large chunk of meat—and in the next instant, a roaring flame erupted and completely engulfed his hand.
"Huh, what?"
It was so sudden that I was left stunned.
The flame was a cute little thing compared to the lethal explosions I've seen on the battlefield, but it was still a scorching red that seemed completely inappropriate for ‘cooking’… also, as a side note, the relationship between color and temperature for fire in this world is completely unreliable.
Sora's flame sword and Hinayo-san's heat rays are both basically red flames, but they can easily melt metal as if to say, ‘Incomplete combustion? Who cares.’
Therefore, the ‘red’ I just saw probably wasn't a realistic temperature—see, even though it was just for an instant, the meat is now completely charred.
"The common sense of the real world doesn't really apply to cooking here. You can use magic to ignore the laws of physics in your cooking process, and sometimes, crazy cooking methods can produce crazy delicious results… In other words, ‘inspiration’ is key. Here, have a taste."
Then, Tetsu-san poked the charred lump of meat with his knife again—and what appeared, looking like a plate of sashimi, was perfectly seared, bright red, raw meat.
My brain instantly threw an error trying to process this contradictory information.
The savory smell of cooked fat was clearly reaching my nose, yet visually, the meat was completely raw. Where did the charred outside go?
"Uh… wait, is this safe to eat? Wild animals, raw…"
"Don't worry. It's cooked through."
"Ehhh…?"
Well, if he says it's fine, I'll eat it. It’s wild boar, and pork at that, so I can't shake a certain aversion that's different from the monkey meat, but…
"Just like this? Any seasoning?"
"It's already seasoned. Lightly."
When did he do that? Is that another skill I don't know about? As I wondered, I hesitantly picked up a slice of the mysterious grilled raw meat and popped it into my mouth.
—After a full thirty seconds of savoring it.
"Tetsu-san."
"Yeah?"
"Please, add me as a friend."
"…Well, I don't mind."
I didn't care in the slightest that he was smiling faintly at me again.
Because in my mind at least, it had been irrevocably decided who the ‘boss’ of our group was for this event.
I was seriously blown away. So blown away I was blown away.
To put it one way, it was a sashimi steak. You might doubt my sanity for saying something so ridiculous, but that’s the only way to describe that impossible culinary experience.
The juicy savoriness of grilled meat and fat, combined with the supple elasticity that should have been lost from the cooked red meat. The positive characteristics that can only exist in ‘raw’ food were perfectly preserved even after an irreversible cooking process, and the flavor enhanced by grilling coexisted without contradiction—no, it coexisted through a massive contradiction.
It must be a characteristic of the boar meat itself, as there was a slightly wild flavor, but I didn't mind it. In fact, it was such a shocking experience that I was far too preoccupied to care.
It was a strange sensation I'd never felt before. The texture was both rare and not rare; the feeling of being able to sink my teeth into it and the crisp, clean bite were present at the same time, confusing my brain. There was no unpleasant toughness at all.
It didn't make any sense.
It didn't make any sense, but it was endlessly delicious. The seasoning, which must have been applied somehow, was a subtle saltiness that delighted my tongue and was infinitely good.
It wasn't that the meat was delicious because of the salt; it was that the meat, enhanced by the salt, was delicious.
This must be a special feature of the event. Combined with the feeling of ‘food actually filling my stomach,’ which is unusual for virtual world meals, I was overflowing with an almost comical level of emotion.
There was only one thing I wanted to shout at the top of my lungs at this very moment—
"I need carbs…!"
Rice, bread, anything to complement this unknown delicacy…! A main dish, from the bottom of my heart, I desperately need it…!
"I wonder if there's any around here…?"
"In the forest? Whether it's rice or wheat, the chances seem slim."
"I know, right…!"
I'm sure there are plenty of people who are fine with just meat, but I'm the type who needs rice! The type of guy who orders a large rice at an all-you-can-eat yakiniku place…!
I was crushed. Tetsu-san let out a quiet chuckle, looking amused.
And—
"Hmm… I thought he was a super energetic and crazy person, but he's actually a considerate, kind, and normal-seeming young man—but then again, he is still pretty lively and fun, isn't he? Hmm?"
"What's with that face? Stop looking at me with that grin."
Beside the men who were noisily making their way to their ‘seats’—the floor—their stomachs growling, I made eye contact with Nia, who was, as always, playfully bantering with her friend. Her companion blinked, then stuck her tongue out at me.
What was that for? I didn't even do anything just now.
She was just covering up her embarrassment from watching him have so much fun.
Also, the boss says 'technique isn't necessary,' but it totally is. He actually activated four skills simultaneously the moment he set his hand on fire to cook that meat.