Chapter Sixty: Let’s Cook An Adventure Meal!
Of course, we continued exploring after that. The formation remained as planned: Mr. Ville and Ms. Aria at the vanguard, me in the middle, and Mr. Ed and Mr. Xenon at the rear… Though we did slow our walking pace just a bit. It’s because of me, getting all fired up about trying to use my skill consciously, even though it’s supposed to be a passive ability always active. Everyone is so incredibly considerate…!
So, after trying various things…
“It’s pretty… ambiguous…”
“In my opinion, it’s a really good skill. It’s highly effective for gathering and collecting, and it could be handy for self-defense as well.”
“It’s so frustrating that, despite you all taking the time to help me, my skill doesn’t seem useful in combat…”
For scouting, trap detection, and other exploration aspects, it falls far short of Ms. Aria’s detection range. And when it comes to identifying monster details, I’m no match for Mr. Xenon’s appraisal, especially in combat… My skill really had no strong points! Survival can tell me the name of the target, whether it’s edible or poisonous, its habits, and some hints on how to eat it, but I can’t figure out its skills or weaknesses. Plus, the skill only works if the target is within my field of vision…
Still, I consider it a stroke of luck that I’ve become adept enough at using Survival to receive alerts even without conscious effort. While limited to "within my vision," if the enemy or trap is in that range, it will automatically alert me even if I don’t notice it myself. Of course, Ms. Aria would point out the danger too, but being able to grasp the enemy and trap locations myself is really helpful. Plus, it started automatically alerting me to edible things and valuables too! For day-to-day living in this world, being able to find food ingredients and items to sell is an absolute blessing.
“The wild greens I’m cooking now are thanks to the Survival Skill too!”
“…Right, veggies…”
“Oh… I’ll add some animal protein too, like ham and eggs!”
Glancing at me as I chopped the greens on my cutting board, Mr. Ville’s shoulders slumped in dejection.
Ah… By the way, right now, we are taking a break in a small room-like area that’s spacious enough even with the Camping Car manifested. According to Ms. Aria’s floor search information, there’s a place nearby where we can descend to the lower floor, so we decided to rest before moving on. You can’t tell day from night in a dungeon, but it’s been quite a while since we entered, so it is a good time for a break.
For now, I plan to make a minestrone-style soup with the wild greens I acquired through some non-bloody training, the leftover ham Mr. Xenon bought as a souvenir from our previous seafood barbeque, and the onions and tomatoes I bought. According to Survival, this cabbage-like wild green—called hajirokanran—prefers shady areas and has a "delicious" flavor rating. Its key traits are a soft texture and sweetness.
Indeed, the sensation transmitted from my knife is not a hard crunch but a light crispness.
While it should normally be chopped into 5mm pieces, I’m deliberately cutting them larger. I want everyone to experience the satisfaction of thoroughly chewing and swallowing, you see. The onions, tomatoes, and even the ham are cut into larger bite-sized chunks for the same reason. After that, it’s just sautéing in oil, adding water, tossing in one of the infinite consommé cubes I discovered in Campy’s kitchen and dried mushrooms I bought, then simmering on low heat!
It will surely produce a perfectly blissful broth!
Having soup really enhances the dining experience, plus it helps fill the stomach with liquid, which should help stretch our food supply.
“Next, should I cook some rice and make ham and eggs…? How about half-boiled for the eggs? Anyone opposed?”
“Half-boiled sunny-side up!? I love it! Love it!”
“That drippy yolk is irresistible!”
The first to respond were the married couple Mr. Ed and Ms. Aria, who were storing the blankets and overcoats they had bought in the storage compartment of the car. As Ms. Aria, her eyes shining with anticipation, turned back towards me, I couldn’t help but wonder if I was imagining the tail wagging behind her. And there’s Mr. Ed, giving Ms. Aria that gentle, standard smile of his.
Ah… so… enviable…
“I’d be delighted if the ham portion is on the generous side.”
“Ham and eggs… For just ham and eggs, this sounds oddly delicious, isn’t it?”
“I see… Then half-boiled for everyone it is. I’ll have it ready to eat as soon as the rice is done!”
Mr. Xenon returned from checking outside and smiled, while Mr. Ville, clutching his growling stomach, muttered thoughtfully.
At this rate, everyone will probably eat a lot, so I’ll cook extra rice… And I’ll top the rice with fresh tomatoes and “cabbage” for extra volume and make it into rice bowls…! Also, while the rice is cooking, I’ll prepare some dough for the next meal and let it rest…
For now, I’ll start by washing the rice…!
It almost felt like I had developed a skill for parallel thinking, as my thoughts jumped from one task to another. Somehow, I managed to control these wandering thoughts and focused on the familiar routine of washing the rice.
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