19-017 Step Up? (4)

When I came down from the dindle tree, there was a wolf drooling in my care.

Needless to say, it was Toya.

"Welcome home!　Bon appétit!

As soon as I set my foot on the ground, there it was.

"～～～～, yum!

As soon as I took a bite of the meat, his eyes narrowed and he roared with joy.

"You're so busy. Thanks for your hard work, Nao. Thank you.

"No, I'm fine. No, I'm fine. I'll have one too.

I put down my backpack, sat down next to Haruka, and picked up the skewer that was offered to me.

I see a large stone on the fire, on which a loaf of bread is being heated.

"Bon appétit.

As soon as I took a bite, the fat from the meat overflowed with a crispy sound.

It's just as good as the last time I ate it, but this time it's even better. ...... There's a slight fruity scent to it.

Haruka, do you use dindol fruit in this?

No. But ...... it does have a hint of ....... Does that mean they're eating fallen berries?

Natural high quality feed?

I've heard that high end wagyu cattle drink beer to make the meat taste better, but this is even higher end feed than that.

I took a piece of bread, cut a slit in it, put the meat between the slices, and bit into it.

The crispy surface of the bread, the fluffy interior, and the fragrant fat of the meat soaking into it.

It is exquisite.

It's seasoned only with salt, but it's still delicious.

Isn't this a waste of money to sell it?　At least it's too cheap for the same price!

"I agree. But it can't be stored.

That's true. ......

I'm not sure what to make of this.

Direct cooling is limited to making drinks cold, and there is no hope of freezing or preserving them.

In the first place, freezing is almost useless since we don't have a freezer.

I'll just have to ask Nao to do her best there.

Yes, that's definitely my area of responsibility.

The basic idea of a magic bag made with space-time magic is to increase the capacity of the bag, but as you get better at it, it will also reduce weight and slow down time. Once you get to that point, you will be able to store not only a large amount of luggage, but also food that has an expiration date.

Conversely, a rudimentary magic bag may be able to hold a lot of stuff, but it will make the bag heavier.

"d*mn!　Let's master it by next year and come back to hunt boars this time of year!

"Yes. Then we can store up the dindle berries ...... and Toya can--

When I looked at him, I noticed that he was strangely quiet, as if he was the first one to talk about meat, but before I knew it, the three skewers had already disappeared and he had taken the liberty of starting to grill the meat himself.

Hmm?　It's a shame we can't eat as much of this delicious meat as we can.

Toya noticed me and Haruka looking at him, but he didn't take offense and continued to cook the meat.

"You're not eating enough? It's okay, though.

It's not as bad as it sounds.

But as elves, we can't eat as much as Toya, unfortunately.

"Toya, I'm not saying don't eat it, just say the word. It doesn't taste good as it is, does it?

Haruka also said in disgust, taking the meat from Toya, slicing it and sprinkling salt on it before giving it back.

I'm sure that will make it a little better, but it's big and it will take time.　Well, Nao, why don't we try the spare ribs?　We've got some stones that are cooked just right.

Oh.

Me too!　I want some too!

As if to interrupt my reply, Toya raises his hand and asserts himself.

He shrugged his shoulders lightly, cut out the meat, seasoned it, and began to grill it on the stone.

To be honest, if all you season it with is salt, I think the ribs taste better.

As he said this, he added more wood to the fire and began to grill the meat on the stone, turning it over with his chopsticks.

Of course, these chopsticks were made by myself.

Chopsticks that are easy to make and can be used for many purposes are great, aren't they?

They can perform the functions of various cutlery with a single type.

There is a drawback that the learning cost is a little high, and that it is not as good as cutlery in specialized fields.

What should I do with ...... when it's almost done?

On second thought, there were no plates and no chopsticks for each person.

Haruka thought about it for a while, then tore off a large leaf from around the corner, wrapped it around a spare rib, and offered it to us.

He tore off a large leaf and wrapped it around the spareribs and offered them to us, saying, "Don't worry, it's just a leaf used in food stalls instead of dishes.

I thought it was just a leaf, but he had chosen it carefully.

I thought it was just some leaves, but he had chosen them well.

Now, as for the spare ribs, ...... yes, they are good.

It's good, but not quite good enough.

If you're going to grill them with salt, it's better to grill the ribs on skewers. It's not as light as it should be, and there's not as much fat as there should be.

No, but it's got a nice crunch to it, don't you think?

...... Toya, that's not meat, that's bone, okay?

If it tastes good to you, it's probably because you're a beast.

At least, I don't think I'll bite it.

...... Should I give Toya a femur bone or something?

"Like a dog?

I don't think I'm going to give her a femur bone.

I'm not sure if bones are actually good to eat or not.　There is a stereotype of a dog with a bone in its mouth.

No, I don't know. I don't know. Is the feeling of crunching pleasant?　The taste is slightly delicious?　It's not super tasty, but it makes you want to chew it for some reason. ......

It's like gum.　But it does have a taste. .......

It's instinctive.　I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing.

Yeah, I don't know. I don't know. Just keep it out of sight and have fun with it.

It doesn't cost a lot, but it's too bad for the public to see someone I know walking around with a big bone in their mouth.

No, I don't usually do that.　I don't usually do it. I just like to nibble on bones when I find them.

There seems to be no need to worry about publicity.

However, it was quite a shocking image for me to see him chewing up the ribs while saying that.

It's not like it's been stewed for a long time. It's just roasted bone, it's pretty hard.　A human or an elf would have a jaw like that.

Well, don't worry about the bones. But the bones are fine. Can't you make this into dried meat?

"Dried meat!

I was thinking of refrigeration and freezing based on modern standards, but it was different in the past!

But in the past, it was different! But in the past, it was different!

"Come to think of it, how do you make it?　Toya, do you know?

I don't know. ...... slice them up and dry them in the sun?

I don't think so.

I'm sure you'll be able to figure out how to do it.

I don't know.

I'm not sure what to do.

If you're on the level of this world, you should first pickle them with salt. If you have the right herbs, you can pickle them together. Once the salt has penetrated, wash and dry them. That's about it.

Is it safe from bacteria and parasites?

It's like cured pork ham. Strong salt will help.

If you can afford it, you might be able to make something tasty by using a different pickling liquid or smoking it, but as it is now, there is a high possibility that the dried meat will be salty and not very tasty.

If that's okay with you, I'll try to make it.

The drying process, which normally takes the longest time, can be managed by using the magic of [Drying], which was tried and tested in order to dry the dindle fruit, so it is possible to make it.

Can you do it?　Dried meat, it's like a fantasy, I'm a little bit in love with it.

I agree!　Kuro bread and ale were pretty disappointing fantasies.

"Disappointing fantasy"... even dried meat would have the same result.

I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's better than anything you can buy.

But this world doesn't have much in the way of fantasy other than magic.

If I had to guess, I'd say that the status check and help functions are strange, but .

"It's not fantasy enough. It's not fantasy enough. What's our race anyway?

We're elves.

And Toya has beast ears on her head.

It's all very fantastical.

However, the townscape and the way of life give the impression of being underdeveloped and inconvenient rather than fantasy. I guess that's what you get when you actually enter a fantasy world.

I'm not sure what to make of it.　I've never seen anything like it. ......

Yeah, I agree with you. There's nothing like it on Earth!　I don't think magic is enough.

I think magic is good enough for me. Like what?

Mysterious metals like mithril, or swords that somehow cut like crazy?

Toya, who was a blacksmith, mentioned those kinds of things.

It's true that those things are fighting against the laws of physics.

There's a description of a sword cutting down a big tree, but it's going to get stuck!

If you cut a tree with a saw, you will understand that the saw blade has teeth called claws that are tilted to the left and right. This allows the saw blade to cut a wider area of wood than the saw blade, and the saw blade can pass through the gap.

What about an extremely sharp sword?

Even if the tip of a sword with a diamond-shaped cross-section can cut anything, the width of the cut is only the width of the tip. Of course, the peak is thicker than the tip, so there is no way it can pass through.

If it can cut, it should be a sword with a very thin blade, or a beam saber that can cut even if the blade is not part of the blade, or a mysterious sword that transcends the laws of physics and the blade part can slip through the target.

No, I'd rather see such a sword in fantasy.

For me, it's dragons and dungeons.

Speaking of fantasy, these two things are inevitable.

When I turned to Toya, he nodded vigorously, so I guess it's a relatively common image.

"Nao, you're lucky you didn't meet ....... If you had, you wouldn't be alive, would you?

He looked at me in disgust and sighed heavily.

It's okay to talk about your dreams.

"Dragons are a myth. "Dragons are, well, a myth. I don't know if they're real or not, but people think they'll kill you if they see one. There are dungeons, though.

"Oh, you do?　A dungeon?

Seriously?　I want to go!

Yeah, I kind of agree with you.

"I don't even know why it exists or how it was created. By the way, if the starting point was a dungeon, I would have died.

That's true, isn't it?

Even in the early Wee Dolly, where the initial equipment for attacking a dungeon was cloth clothes and 10 large silver coins, I think it was a bit better.

Besides, even if you can manage it in a game, in real life you'll die.

"So, Toya, I'm not saying you can't go to the dungeon, but it's not for a while. You don't want to die, do you?

"That's ....... I'll leave it to you.

I'll leave it to Haruka.

This is what we've learned in the past week or so.