55 - Fifty-three pieces of meat.

I bought some grilled skewers from a food stall and quickly cut short my stroll through the otherworldly city. I'm curious about the city, but I can't help it when I smell the smell of roasted meat for the first time in a long time. All I can think about is meat.

Even though I know that the time-stopping magic bag will keep the meat hot, I can't help but speed along. Back at the inn, Martha gives me the key and I enter the room.

"Yuta. Meat!" "Coo-coo!" "Meat!" "Coo-coo!"

The belles can't wait to see me, and they're circling around me. So cute.

"Okay. First up is the grilled chicken we bought. Rain and Tamamo can wait while I take the skewers off."

Sylphy. BELLE. I hand Tulu the yakitori, and Rain and Tamamo remove the meat from the skewer and serve it on a plate. The yakitori is quite large, unlike the yakitori at bars. I guess you could call it a jumbo yakitori.　It's as big as a barbecue skewer. Oh, no, I'm drooling.

"Okay. You can all eat. Belle and Tulle be careful with those skewers.

Yes. - Okay.

Do you really know what you're doing?　Belle and Tulu bite into the meat with gusto. I'm worried. ...... spirits are immune to attack. Even when they are eating, can they be hurt by a skewer or something?　What do you think?

"O-guy, o-guy, o-guy, o-guy, o-guy, o-guy, o-guy, o-guy, o-guy, o-guy, o-guy, o-guy, o-guy, o-guy, o-guy, o-guy.

Bell and his friends are all smiles. They were really tasting it. They were devouring them.

"Aren't you going to eat it, Yuta?"

Oops. I was just admiring it. I have to eat too, or it'll get cold. I gobbled up a big piece of meat with a big mouthful.

Mmm. I bite and chew the meat. The taste is simple and salty, but the meat is amazing. The texture is elastic and chewy, like that of a chicken.

The more you bite into the meat, the more the thick meat extract and fat floods your mouth. The more you bite into the meat, the more the rich meat extract and fat floods your mouth. I want to sprinkle pepper as well as salt. Yakitori sauce would also go great with it.

Grill it over a charcoal fire on a net until it turns black and eat it with a dash of yuzu kosho (Japanese citrus pepper) and you can drink all night long. Roughbirds...... are in the sixth level of the labyrinth, right? I'm going to catch them.

"Yuta. I'll eat more."

Bell's voice brings me back to consciousness. I look at them, and their eyes are begging for more food. They have big appetites. Growing up ...... I thought you said spirits don't need to eat things. Maybe they don't grow up eating.

...... Well, okay. If a child wants to eat, it's our duty as adults to let him eat. Maybe.

"Okay. Now we're going to have grilled orc skewers."

I hand him the orc skewer as before, and remove the skewers from Rain and Tamamo. He bites into it again with all his might when I tell him it's okay to eat.

Orc. I was puzzled at the thought of a bipedal pig-faced monster, but I decided to give it a try after hearing from the man at the stall that it is the most popular meat on the continent of El Triudo.

My intuition was whispering to me that I should try it before I saw the real orc. I'm afraid I'll hate eating it if I see it first. Now is the time to eat.

The grilled orc skewer is simply seasoned with salt. It is a pity that they are usually cooked on a wood fire, but they look quite tasty.

I was a little hesitant to try it, but Belle and the others seemed to enjoy it, and Sylphy was also eating it normally. I decided to take a bite of the grilled oak skewer.

An overwhelmingly delicious taste spreads in my mouth. ......The oak meat is not good. As it looks like a belly, it has a lot of fat, but the fat itself is not at all tough.

The fat itself is silky and sweet. The taste of the meat has a slight animal smell, but the combination with the taste of the fat keeps the wildness at bay and makes it meaty to the point of being overpowering.

It would be delicious if you make a stew with this meat. I also want to eat pork cutlets. I think I can make crispy pork cutlets with oak fat. We must get orc fat, too. I'm surprised that demon meat tastes better than I expected.

Hey Sylphie! Hey, Sylphie... Orc and roughbirds are both tasty but they are common meats, right?　Is there meat that tastes better?"

"Roughbirds are not that common because of their habitat in the labyrinth, but they are common as a rank of meat. There are many kinds of tasty meat. Meat from high level demons tastes much better than that of orcs.

The ingredients are delicious. Then, if you combine it with Japanese cuisine, you can make something terribly tasty, can't you?　For example, that meat you've been longing for in the fantasy world: .......

"Sylphy. There are dragons in this world, right? Dine once mentioned sea dragons. What about dragon meat?　Is it good?"

Dragon meat is the best in the world. Well, the taste depends on the type of dragon, but in general it is delicious.

Dragon meat tastes good after all. Dragon steak. How can you come to another world and not eat it?

Sylphy could beat a dragon, couldn't he?

"Hmm. You want some dragon meat?　I can beat most dragons. But be careful, some dragons have a role to play that you shouldn't fight."

Oh, wow. It looks like most dragons can eat. I can dream. I can't even imagine what it tastes like.

"Sylphie. Where are the dragons?"

"Hmm. You can often find them in places where their attributes are strong. Like fire dragons are often found in volcanoes. There are also dragons in the labyrinth if you go deep enough. If it's a lower level dragon, Belle and her friends can beat them if not me.

There are dragons in the labyrinth? No, there can't be dragons in the labyrinth. It's not an exaggeration to say that labyrinths = dragons.

I was thinking of asking Sylphy to go hunting for dragons, but I'm not going to do that. The first taste of the finest meat will make us forget about the delicious and wonderful meat we are about to encounter.

As we proceed through the labyrinth, more and more delicious meats will appear, and eventually we will reach the best meat, such as dragons. This process is the best. I'm burning up. But if I get the meat of a dragon, I will not be able to resist eating it.

Two big skewers of meat and Belle and the others are happy and excited on their beds. Maybe they like the feel of the beds, since they are usually floating.

Unexpectedly, a leisurely time passes by. I am deeply grateful to be in a civilized world.

**** I'm so thankful to be in a civilized world.

Dinner time has arrived, so we head for the dining room. Since we can't eat with Belle and the others, we ask everyone except Sylphy to stay in their rooms.

I wish there was a place in the labyrinth city where everyone could eat dinner together. Even if we have meals delivered to our rooms, it feels strange to have six servings of food in a room for one person.

"Oh... Brother, are you going to eat?　Oak steaks today. It's good, you can count on it."

When we entered the diner, Mr. Kark proudly explained about the food and showed us to our seats. I'm covered with oak meat. I'm a little disappointed.

I thought of trying something else, but it seems that the menu changes daily, but there is only one main dish other than snacks for drinks. Not like a Japanese teishoku-ya, I guess.　

"Do you drink ale, brother?　Ale with meat. It's an extra charge."

Mr. Kark smiles and proceeds. He's a good businessman. I wonder if this eight-year-old boy understands the taste of meat and ale.

"I'll take an ale if you recommend it. But does Kark know what ale tastes like?"

Thank you. I don't know what's so good about ale, but all the grown-ups say it's ale for meat. If you're an adult, ale will do just fine.

"Oh, yeah."

...... I think as I watch Kark's back as he runs to order. Did the kid just roll me over in his hands?　Sylphy giggles at me, as if I had a pitiful expression on my face. It seems that boys from other worlds are not to be underestimated.

I change my mind and observe my surroundings. Well, maybe it's because the inn is close to the labyrinth and the Adventurer's Guild, or maybe it's because the people in the cafeteria are all very strong. They must all be adventurers. There seem to be some chemomimis here, but I force myself to look away.

I make sure to check out the chemomimi, because I prefer beautiful women anyway. All you see here are muscular men. I would rather not be impressed by the phemomimi there. While I was thinking about it, Mr. Kark brought the dishes.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, brother. Call me for more ale."

"Oh, yeah."

My eyes are drawn to the food in front of me. I have a feeling that the food is one of the reasons why there are no women to be seen at this inn.

A large, thick piece of pork loin-like oak meat is grilled to a golden brown, and sliced and cooked garlic is piled up on top of it. It looks like a Chinese-style meal. Is the accompanying vegetable stir-fried cabbage?

When the meat is cut into pieces, it is surprisingly tender and the thick meat is well cooked. With a nervous feeling, I put garlic on a large chunk of meat and stuff my mouth full of it.

As I bite into it, the meat and garlic mingle with the fat on the outside of the meat, and the meat and garlic go wild in my mouth to the point of violence. It's good, it's good, but what's the point?　I'm not sure I'd be able to sleep if I ate this stuff at night.

It's kind of hot-blooded and tastes like it's directly connected to the lower half of your body. ...... I'd get bloodthirsty if I had to eat this kind of food every day. Is this the kind of food an adventurer needs?

I chewed the thick meat and drank the ale that had been brought along with it. The ale is warm and has a strong barley aroma. The ale is warm and has a strong barley aroma. It has no carbonation and is like a barley tea with alcohol added. I think it tastes surprisingly good when chilled.

Next up is ...... bread. It has been a long time since I have had a grain. It's hard in my hand, like the pattern in novels without yeast ....... I've never made bread before, though I think I can make money with my knowledge. I've never made bread.

It would have been easier and better if I could have eaten fluffy bread as usual. Or rice would be great. When I tear off the hard bread, it is brown inside too. It looks like whole wheat bread.

The taste is better than I expected, with a simple oat flavor and a hint of saltiness with each bite. But my jaw gets tired from all the chewing.

Hmmm... If this bread is the default, I'm going to have to try to improve it, even though I don't know much about it.

We finish our meal, chewing the thick chunks of meat and the hard bread with all our might. The taste is wild but tasty. The ale could be enjoyed if it were cooled down, and if we could work on the bread, another world might not be so bad in terms of food.

I tell Mr. Kark that the ale was delicious, pay for the ale, and return to my room. It's been a while since I've had decent bedding. I'm looking forward to it.