Chapter 540: The Two’s Date
Tauro and Aeris were on their first-ever date in the city of Swen.
That said, Tauro had never been on a date before, so he did exactly what he always did: stroll through the city, checking what was where, which shops were cheap, and which ones carried high-quality goods—using his ability True Eye to appraise everything.
He then shared the results to Aeris, and if there was anything the team needed, they would decide whether to buy it.
Whether that really counted as a “date” was debatable.
Still, Aeris was smiling the whole time and clearly in a great mood, so Tauro felt relieved that he wasn’t doing something wrong.
At one point—
“This shop sells high-quality distilled alcohol. Would it be okay if I bought some?”
Tauro asked Aeris, as if something had just occurred to him.
“Distilled alcohol? Are you planning to make liquor? You’re underage, Tauro—you’re not going to drink it, right?”
The ones who actually drank alcohol were Ankh and Ragune. Aeris only drank occasionally, and Tauro and Zion were still underage.
“I was thinking of making mirin.”
“Mirin?”
Aeris tilted her head.
As usual, Tauro would suddenly say things like this out of the blue.
“Yeah. Mirin can be used in a variety of dishes. And this time, I want to make something in particular.”
Tauro spoke as if he’d just had a brilliant idea.
“Something?”
“Yeah. By the way, what would you say is an easy dish, Aeris?”
“An easy dish? Hmm… maybe a salad or a meat dish, I guess? Meat is simple—just grill it and sprinkle some salt.”
“Exactly, right? When you think of simple, classic dishes, meat comes to mind. So I thought I’d make something that would make meat dishes even better—something everyone would love.”
“And what you need is mirin?”
“Yes. I’ll leave the final product as a surprise. I’ll buy the distilled alcohol now. —Excuse me! I’ll take this medium barrel, how many do you have in stock?”
Tauro’s shopping style was always “buy in bulk.”
He was especially generous when it came to food; once he knew something was good quality, he often bought out the entire stock.
Aeris knew this well and watched calmly—but the shopkeeper was stunned to see a child accompanied by a beautiful young woman trying to buy distilled alcohol by the barrel.
“young master, you planning to brew alcohol or something?!”
“No, it’s for cooking, so don’t worry.”
Tauro replied with a smile to the shopkeeper’s surprised question.
“I’ve got three of these medium barrels on display in front of the store, and eight more in the big warehouse out back… but there’s no way you could carry all tha—”
“Then I’ll take all of them.”
Tauro said this as he took out a pouch full of gold coins.
“Whaaat?!”
The shopkeeper was shocked by Tauro’s spending—but what shocked him even more was seeing all eleven medium barrels vanish in an instant, thanks to Magic Storage.
He was just about to ask for a delivery address, so this completely blew his mind in every sense.
“Alright! I’ll make mirin now.
♪ Tararatta tattatata ♪ Tararatta tattatata ♪ Tararatta—”
On the outskirts of town, in a public square, Tauro took out a cooking stove, a table, and chairs from Magic Storage, and in high spirits began humming a tune from some cooking show he remembered from his previous life.
Since this was typical Tauro behavior, Aeris forgot they were even on a date and watched him with a smile, enjoying herself.
“First, we prepare glutinous rice, rice malt, and distilled alcohol. Since we have all the ingredients, I could make it with Creation Magic, but since you’re watching, Aeris, I’ll mix them together properly so it’s easier to understand… Then I’ll age the mixture with dark magic. —And that’s it. Finished.”
With that simple explanation, Tauro made a full barrel of mirin in no time.
“Wait, it’s already done?”
Aeris asked, stunned by how quickly it happened.
“we’re just getting to the real event. We’ll make something using this mirin.”
As he said that, Tauro began pulling out various spices from Magic Storage.
Then he continued.
“We’ll take garlic, ginger, and chili peppers I got from the market in the royal capital and Graundewald capital, finely chop them, and stir-fry them. Then we add pepper, sugar, honey, white sesame seeds, sesame oil, the contents of the soy sauce berries we made with creation magic, and the mirin we just made. Heat it to evaporate the alcohol, then mix everything together.”
Tauro cooks the ingredients with practiced hands, taking into consideration the amounts, and then places them in the barrel.
“…Looking at the ingredients, this doesn’t seem like a dish,”
Aeris tilted her head, having assumed he was coming up with a new recipe.
“Hehehe. Aeris, this is something revolutionary—prepare to be amazed.”
Tauro answered confidently as he kneaded the contents of the barrel with a mixing stick.
Aeris leaned in to peek inside.
A strong garlic aroma rose up.
“Finally, add lemon juice to give it acidity and flavor—and it’s done!”
The garlic smell was strong, but the lemon added a refreshing note.
“So… what is it, in the end?”
Aeris couldn’t tell what it was beyond “some kind of liquid.”
“Hehehe! This is—something that makes meat absolutely delicious: yakiniku sauce!”
Tauro declared proudly.
“Yakiniku… sauce?”
“Yep. Just grill some meat, dip it in this, and you’ll have rice disappearing in no time! Oh—and it’s also great stuffed between bread.”
Acting on that idea immediately, Tauro took out fresh monster meat from Magic Storage, placed a griddle on the stove, and began to grill it.
He handed Aeris a fork, a plate, and a small dish for sauce, ladling some from the barrel into it.
“The meat’s done. Dip it in the sauce and eat. You can also eat it between bread this time.”
As he said this, Tauro placed thin slices of grilled meat onto Aeris’s plate and handed her some bread in a basket.
“…It’s a very simple dish, but…”
Even with Tauro’s encouragement, the dish was so plain that Aeris hesitated, carefully bringing the meat to her mouth, unsure how to judge it.
But her worries vanished instantly.
“…Huh? …I-It’s delicious! What is this?! Is it really just meat with yakiniku sauce on it? It has a slightly spicy kick and a rich flavor that brings out the flavor of the meat. The sourness and flavor of the lemon leaves a refreshing aftertaste…!”
Following Tauro’s urging, Aeris tried sandwiching the meat in thin bread—and was once again delighted by how delicious it is.
“…I see what you meant about it going well with rice or bread. The strong flavor becomes just right when you eat it with bread!”
She now praised it enthusiastically, a complete turnaround from her earlier skepticism.
“And with that, I have the ultimate meat sauce I’ve been looking for!”
Tauro said happily, satisfied by Aeris’s glowing smile, as they enjoyed the grilled meat together.