Chapter Eighty-seven: Roasted Pork Bowl—A Bowl of Triumph
Leaving Gomamiso eagerly devouring its cave bass behind me, I finally manage to take my seat. On the table before me lay a steaming bowl of miso soup and a generous serving of bowl topped with thick slices of meat dripping with juices. The savory aroma of the meat mingled with the sweet scent of grains, assaulting my empty stomach with near-violent intensity.
“Sorry to keep you waiting!”
“No worries. Taking care of your familiar is part of the job… Well then, shall we eat?”
“Yes, let’s! Bless this bounty I’m about to consume.”
“Gratitude for thy manifold blessings.”
“Humbly accepting thy kindness, I partake of this day’s fare.”
“Itadakimasu!”
I bowed my head to everyone already seated, but they all just nodded pleasantly. Despite their hunger, they’re so understanding…! With Mr. Ville’s voice as the signal, everyone offered their pre-meal prayers in quick succession before picking up their spoons. Not to be outdone, I clasped my hands together and then grabbed the chopsticks placed in front of me.
The meat is so tender that the chopsticks sink into the fatty parts with just a light touch. When lifted, it drooped helplessly, unable to resist gravity. Somehow managing to raise a piece to my mouth, I took my first bite.
“Mmmmmm!”
“It’s delicious! The meat is so good, Rin!”
An irrepressible cry escaped through the gaps in my clenched teeth. Next to me, Ms. Aria exclaimed her delight with a spoon in hand, then immediately returned to silently devouring her bowl.
Despite being cut quite thick, the meat is so tender it could almost be torn apart with just my lips. Upon biting into it, a rich flood of fat and meat juices burst forth, mixing with the sweet and salty broth in my mouth. The amount of fat could easily become overwhelming, but there is no greasy feeling or sticky sensation in my mouth at all. Perhaps it is due to the initial parboiling that removed some of the excess fat? Or perhaps the excess fat was drained during the warming process.
Moreover, the well-stewed fatty parts crumble delicately, melting on my tongue with the heat of my body and dispersing a sweet umami flavor.
While my mouth is overwhelmed by this divine umami, I toss in some fluffy rice soaked in the sauce. The soft texture and subtle sweetness of the well-cooked rice gently enveloped the fat and meat juices, and together they went down my throat.
Survival’s words, "The meat is tender, and the high-quality fat melts into softness and sweetness when heated, making it extremely delicious," were no lie!
In fact, this far exceeded my expectations! It’s unbelievably good! Judging by how fervently the men are moving their spoons, they seem to enjoy it enough to consider planning an orc extermination campaign just for the meat.
“When it’s this delicious, it makes me want to go hunting again.”
“What? Orc Generals are a higher species, so they probably won’t be easy to find, you know? But if we could eat this again, I wouldn’t mind going hunting!”
“Indeed. Having tasted this, I wouldn’t be averse to exterminating orcs to find another General.”
“…A King might be… even tastier…!”
Ms. Aria, who had polished off her large, heaping bowl, suddenly looked up and muttered. At her words, everyone froze.
“An Orc King, huh! If there’s a King, there should be Generals as guards too…”
“…Which means we could get both King meat and General meat, right?”
“With our current strength, we should be able at least to hold our own against a King and several Generals, so our chances of victory are high.”
Mr. Ville licked his lips and muttered with serious eyes. Mr. Ed and Mr. Xenon looked ready to dash out to find orcs at any moment.
Looking around, I realize that everyone except me has already emptied their bowls and miso soup cups. So fast! And the fact that they’re coming up with an Orc King and General hunting extermination plan probably means they still have room in their stomachs. But this time, I made sure to cook plenty of extra rice! I need to announce that there are seconds available and save those poor orcs from being wiped out for their meat…! Well, whether or not the orcs are unfortunate, if everyone’s full, they might remember that we need to go meet someone important…
“Um… There’s no more meat, but we still have rice, broth, and miso soup…”
“Just having the broth is enough! Thank you, Rin!”
“I just thought, wouldn’t it be delicious to pour the broth over the rice?!”
“That way of eating… I think it would be delicious like ‘nekomanma.’ I’m already full, so please help yourselves to the rest.”
“Eh… Rin, are you sure?”
“Are you okay, Rin? Won’t you regret it?”
“After eating this much meat and rice, I’m quite satisfied!”
…Well, I consider myself a big eater, but even I can’t manage seconds after polishing off a bowl that weighs nearly 1kg…
As soon as I said this, those who had finished eating stood up with a clatter of chairs.
Just when I thought a scramble might break out, I saw Mr. Ville dividing the remaining rice into four portions, Ms. Aria pouring the broth, Mr. Xenon ladling out the miso soup, and Mr. Ed casting cleaning magic on the empty cookware… They had naturally divided up the tasks.
Yes, yes. How beautiful it is when people get along so well.
“Well, I can’t deny being curious about the Orc King’s meat, but weren’t we supposed to meet Mr. Ville’s acquaintance after this?”
“…Come to think of it, that’s right… To be honest, hunting an Orc King sounds hundreds of times more enjoyable than meeting that person…”
To tell the truth, I’m curious about this Orc King’s meat too, but weren’t we planning to report about the saint summoning and the dungeon appearance first?
When I casually asked Mr. Ville, who was eagerly eating even the sauce-soaked rice, his face suddenly clouded over, his brows furrowing tightly.
…It seems that the person we’re about to meet is someone Mr. Ville would rather not see unless absolutely necessary, like in this irregular situation…
I don’t even know what this person looks like, but how did they end up being so disliked? I wonder what happened between them and Mr. Ville…
“…For now, let’s settle the rewards we received after the meal. Then, we’ll decide on our next plans.”
Everyone nodded lightly, neither concerned nor afraid of Mr. Ville, who was chewing his spoon with a face like he’d bitten into a bitter bug.
Not that I am following their lead, but I’m okay with that too. For now, I’d like some time to organize the additional ingredients and do some shopping… If I’m greedy, I’d love to have time for fishing and exploring tide pools since we’re near the sea!
Gomamiso, having finished its cave bass, jumps onto my lap and begins grooming itself contentedly. With the rhythmic sound of it licking and Mr. Ville’s grand sighs as background music, I pop the last piece of meat from my bowl into my mouth.
No comments:
Post a Comment