88 - Episode 86 Dragon Steak

I had some free time, so I decided to cook for the first time in a while. I just roasted some dragon meat.

"Master. Good morning, Master." "Good morning, Master." "Good morning." "Good morning." "Good morning, ......."

"Good morning, Sara. Marco. Kikka. But do you say good morning when you wake up from your nap?"

"...... So what do you say?"

Marco gave me a sharp look. ...... What do you want me to say?

".................. Good morning. I've got time to cook today. Assault dragon steaks. Can you eat it while you sleep?"

Let's change the subject with the dignity of a master.

"Dragon steak!　Amazing. Hey, Master. Do dragons taste good?"

Kukk. That was an easy bite. Now you've forgotten our earlier conversation. You can roll a child in your palm so easily. I'm an adult. I'll stop now because .................. is so vain. I'm starting to feel ashamed of what's in my head that no one knows about.

"I don't know, I've never had it myself, but according to Marie at the grocery store, it's a very tasty, super-premium ingredient. I'm looking forward to it."

"Is it a super high-end food? Master. Are you going to feed it to us?

Hmm?　Why do you ask so anxiously?　......Ah, you got worried because I said it was a superfine food, didn't you?

"Don't worry. Don't worry. We got a lot of it. You can eat as much as you want."

"Yay!"

Marco is very happy to see Sara and Kikka involved. As far as I'm concerned, I can't even educate them. I'll just keep my promise to make them eat as much as they can.

"Yoota. Bo-bo!"

"Hmm?　What's wrong?"

When I turn around at the sound of Bell's voice, I see the coals in the grill burning red-hot. Perfect.

"Oh. That's great, Belle. It's perfect. Thank you."

He praises Belle and pats her head.

"Heh. Belle is good?"

"You're very good. Thank you."

I pat him on the head again and send him off to play until it's time to eat, since he has made enough fire." Belle flies to Rain and the others, saying, "I'm praised! Is she proud of herself?

"Um... Master. Please let me help you cook."

Oh, by the way, Sarah said you wanted to teach me how to cook too. But today it's steak. There are many techniques to cook a steak, but I don't have any of them, so I don't have anything to teach you.

"I'd appreciate it if you could help me, but I'm only going to cook the meat today. I'd appreciate it if you could help me next time when I cook properly.

"Yes, I understand."

He's a little pissed. Well, are you sure you want me to leave it like this?

"Oh, I'd like you to help me make a salad. Can you do that?"

I couldn't help but ask him to help me.

"Yes!　I'll do my best."

Well, he's happy, so that's good. I take out some leafy vegetables and ask them to cut them into bite-size pieces. I hesitate to let him hold the knife, but then I realize that it's a little late for that now, when he's holding a knife against a zombie. I could shred the vegetables by hand if I wanted to make a salad, but it wouldn't give the impression that I was cooking.

"Okay, then. First of all, I need to wash these vegetables, but it will be faster if I ask Lane to do that. Rain, come here for a minute.

"Cue. Cue cue?　Cu-cu-cu."

Rain flew in at high speed, flapping her fins in a very happy manner. My guess is that I'm helping him.　I think he's saying, "I'll do my best. Maybe he heard that Belle helped out and he is motivated to do his best too.

"Please help me. I want you to wash these vegetables with Rain's water magic.

"Cui cui cui. Cue."

He nodded his head happily and wrapped the vegetables in water to wash them. When I told him that I was going to help him, he nodded his head, so my guess was probably right.

After he finished washing the vegetables, I praised him and petted him. He must have had a good time, because he went back to Belle and the others with a happy "coo-coo".

"Master. Is it okay if I ask the genie to wash the vegetables for me?　I mean, won't that put you in a bad mood?"

Sarah asks anxiously. Belle and the others are happy to help, but what about you?　I don't know about Belle and the others, but there might be some spirits who don't like it.

"Sylphy. Should we stop asking spirits to do chores?"

"Hmmm. It's good to have a chance to wield power, and most of the girls are fine with it. But some of them are very proud, so it's best to check with them beforehand.

Sylphy seems like she doesn't need to worry too much about it, so I guess she'll be fine.　

"Sarah. She says it's usually no problem, but it's better to communicate well in advance.

"Understood."

This girl can now normally go through where I talk to the genie. She's very adaptable. But I feel like I'm more of an interpreter than a teacher.

"Okay. Now cut the washed vegetables into bite-size pieces. Be careful not to cut your hands."

Well, that's good enough for Sarah for now. I'll get the steaks ready. I'm gonna put the meat from the assault dragon we got on the chopping block.

I wonder how the meat ages?　I should have asked Marie. No more steaks now!　I won't stop grilling, though, because I know people will be disappointed if I say something like that.

Hmm. Looks almost fat-free. Did they give you the part with less fat?　I asked for the best part, but I wonder what it tastes like.　I'm getting nervous.

It's such a big chunk of meat, it would be a waste if we don't cut it into thick pieces. It should be easy to cook even if it's thick because of the charcoal fire. The problem is the seasoning and the degree of grilling.　　

Since you said it's a very expensive meat, would simple salt and pepper be better?　Not a heap of garlic like Mr. Torque, but garlic soy sauce. Or you can try it with grated daikon and soy sauce for a refreshing taste.

Well, since I've never had this meat before, I guess salt and pepper is the best way to go. I prefer the meat cooked rare, not to the point of dripping blood, but close to rare. ...... I'm afraid to cook the meat of an assault dragon rare for the first time.

I'm not sure how well the meat of ...... very thick assault dragon is cooked until about medium. I guess I'll have to go on a hunch. You'll be told to cut it thin, but you want to bite into a thick steak, so you'll just have to go with your gut.

Come to think of it, I've heard of steaks being called "blue" or "blue-rare", but they're almost always raw. I've never had it before, but is it possible?　Is it like sashimi?　Now I'm starting to get curious. Should I have tried it at least once? I'm too scared to try it in another world.

Oh, well. Let's cook some meat. I think you put the pepper on first and the salt right before you cook it. I don't know if it's the same with dragon meat, but we'll do the same. I'll sprinkle the pepper first and make the dressing.

"Sara. I'm going to make a simple dressing.

"Yes. Yes, please."

He ran up to me smiling. You really are interested in cooking. Under the circumstances, is a simple dressing of salt, pepper, oil, and lemon juice really enough?　Do you at least mix in some basil?　It seems Italian to me.

Let's not try to arrange it too much. If it tastes bad, it's meaningless. ......Sarah was very impressed with this simple dressing. I'm sorry.

Sprinkle salt on the steak and put it on the grill. The sizzling sound makes me feel like I'm cooking meat. Maybe next time I'll do yakiniku. But I don't have any yakiniku sauce. I wonder if that can be made by trial and error?

I wonder if we can eat dragon tongues and tails, though we only got regular meat. I've always wanted to try a big tongue steak. I'll ask Marie about that too. I have so many questions.

**

"Hey guys, it's ready!"

My voice brings them all together. The Great Spirit's table is lined with a glass of red wine, as promised. Everything is ready.

"Okay, everyone's seated. Let's eat!"

As soon as I say my words, Sarah and Belle all bite into their meat at once. The scene is quiet. What?　Wasn't it good?

I was about to ask him what he thought when he said, "Yuta. Yummy!" Bell's loud voice rang out. Marco was too busy stuffing the meat into his mouth to understand what he was saying, but he seemed to be happy, so I guess he enjoyed it.

Apparently it was so delicious that he could not speak at first. The great spirits had eaten it before or they just thought it was delicious, but the children's reactions were amazing.

Belle too. Rain. Tulu. Tamamo. Sara. Marco. Kikka. Fukuchan. Uri's all tasting the dragon steak. I hear it's really good. I've got to eat it soon.

I put my knife into the meat... it's not hard or soft, but just the right amount of elasticity. I cut a thick slice off and pop it into my mouth. As I bite into it, I feel the firm resistance of the meat, and at the same time, the juices are overflowing in my mouth.

What is this?　The overwhelming flavor is different from that of beef or pork. Every time I bite into it, I get goosebumps.

In Japan, tender and well-seasoned meat is the most expensive, but this is a different type of deliciousness. This is a different type of deliciousness. The meat is overwhelmingly delicious, not the fatty parts. This is definitely a very high quality meat.

Assault dragon is this good. What would happen if the meat was from a Fire Dragon, which is of a higher rank than this meat?　Marie said the Fire Dragon is definitely better. d*mn it. We only got one big hunk of meat.

"Hey, Sylphy. I know I said I wouldn't rely on the power of the Great Spirit too much, but the meat from the fire dragon isn't that plentiful. When you run out, will you come with me for one more hunt?　I can take down the assault dragon on my own, but the fire dragon seems impossible."

"Hmm. You like dragon steaks that much?　Well, I'll make a special deal with an extra glass of wine.

Sylphy, with a sly grin, makes an exchange. How cool is that? And very cheap. I could take a break from training and treat him to a whole barrel of sake. I won't say.

I agree and add more wine... and then he asks me to add more wine because he's going to take down the other spirits too... A glass of wine for a fire dragon or ...... cheap. But I haven't made a deal with Nomos yet.

The meal ended with all of us eating every last slice of the extra-thick steak. By the way, Sarah and the others are so full that they won't be able to move for a while. It looks like we'll be a little late in leveling up today. After that, it's either a drinking party for the Great Spirits or a thank-you party for the ...... contract, so I'll join them for a bit. I'm going to sleep late.

By the way, when I complimented Sara on her delicious salad, she was too preoccupied with the steak to respond. I guess the dragon steak had too much of an impact on her. I wonder what a fire dragon would be like.