kscans

Chapter 38 - # "Helmet Crocs Taste Like Chicken and Crab"

After leaving the Pantheon Temple, I, Mamoru the Hobgoblin, was dragging my heavy, sunken feelings along with me.

"...I guess talking things out just wasn't going to work after all."

My faint hope that a path would open through dialogue with a fellow reincarnator had been easily shattered by the cold words of the law. To make matters worse, Tiris had been taken hostage and imprisoned. Her face as she quietly nodded, her hands bound in magic cuffs, was still burned into my mind.

Losing a Dark Elf from our party was a blow we couldn't avoid. No, honestly, it was extremely tough. Still, we had to keep moving forward. To defeat the Rainbow Dragon.

It was at that moment.

"Gyaooo!"

From deep within the forest, a giant beast appeared, shaking the ground with heavy thuds. A body covered in a heavy-looking carapace, sharp claws, and scales like iron, a Helmet Croc.

"I-it's here! A Helmet Croc!!"

"Whoa, it's huge...!"

"...This one's mine!" Amy shouted bravely, and Koni-chan raised her hammer high.

"Uooooooh!!" Zdon!

Koni-chan's blow shattered its skull, and Amy finished it off with an all-out kick. The Helmet Croc collapsed on the spot without so much as a scream.

When the battle was over, there was one figure staring at the prey with shining eyes...

"It's cooking time!!"

The one who shouted was our cook, Defray.

Without hesitation, he pulled out the frying pan at his waist, skillfully tied his loincloth, and switched from 'combat mode' to 'cooking mode.' As soon as he found a spring in the forest, he washed the bottom of the pan over and over with great care until it was sparkling clean.

"Alright, good. Now, let's start butchering."

With the dexterity of a surgeon, Defray separated the Helmet Croc's thick shell and muscular torso. He removed the joints with a sharp boning knife, carefully took out the organs, and washed away the smelly blood with water multiple times.

"The belly meat here tastes like chicken. We'll flavor it with lemongrass and forest cress. And these pincer-like front legs are probably like crab. You can steam 'em, or they're great pan-fried with butter."

Amy used her water magic to create clean water, and the prep work was perfect. He placed slices of citrus fruit between the meat, wrapped it in leaves, and slowly grilled it over a charcoal fire. The savory aroma gradually spread through the area.

Koni-chan's nose twitched as he drooled.

"Hey, something smells like crab..."

"Right?" Defray laughed.

The grilled Helmet Croc meat was plump, juicy, and faintly sweet, with the scent of spices and fruit wonderfully intertwined. The skin was crispy and fragrant, while the inside was tender and flaky. When a knife was put into it, the juices gushed out.

"Th-this is delicious...! Chicken... and crab? It has the flavor of both...!"

"Hehe... this is 'Grilled Helmet Croc with a Forest Aroma.' I call it, 'Croc-katsu.'"

As everyone fell silent and greedily devoured the meat, Defray narrowed his eyes and said softly.

"Cooking is love. It must be prepared properly, carefully, and savored, you see!"

Mamoru's spirits were lifted a little thanks to Defray.