Chapter 85: Golden Dragon Mash Sautéed in Butter and Soy Sauce

The Golden Dragon Mash.

A mythical mushroom that grew on the shells of Behemoths and was said to be unbelievably delicious.

“We’ve already set aside enough for everyone from the orphanage, so why don’t we eat some too?”

“Hooray!”

We had brought home a mountain of Golden Dragon Mash, so I decided to serve it to the rest of the village as well.

“Is there anything in particular you’d like me to make?”

“I desire takikomi gohan!”

“I want it simply grilled over charcoal with soy sauce.”

“We want it sautéed in butter.”

“Father! I want mushroom stew!”

“Mm… Anything… as long as it tastes good…”

Suggestions poured in from every direction.

Since we had so much, perhaps I could simply make everything.

I decided to start with the easy takikomi gohan.

“First, tear the Golden Dragon Mash apart by hand… Tear it… Hnnngh…!”

I placed one on the cutting board and tried to pull it apart.

It didn’t budge.

The thing was horrifyingly hard—far harder than any mushroom had a right to be.

“Eight, what are you doing?”

“This mushroom is so tough that I can’t tear it. In that case, I’ll use my knife…”

I drew the faithful companion that had served me for years from the knife rack and drove it into the mushroom.

But—

“I-It won’t cut!? My knife can slice straight through hard root vegetables!”

“Maybe you’re doing it wrong, Onii-san. Let me try.”

“Wait—”

Eve snatched the knife from my hand and swung it down.

A sharp metallic crack rang through the kitchen.

The blade snapped in half, and the broken tip buried itself in the floor.

The knife my grandfather had bought me—the one I had used ever since—had reached the end of its life with shocking ease.

“H-Huh? That’s strange…”

“Eve.”

“I’m sorry! I really didn’t think it would break!”

“…No snacks for a while.”

“What!?”

Eve slumped as if the world had ended.

I was the one who wanted to slump, but first I had to figure out how to cook this mushroom.

“How are we supposed to cut something this tough? Village Chief, do you have any old-man wisdom that might help?”

“I recall reading a book about the Golden Dragon Mash long ago. If memory serves, it can be cut only with a blade made of orichalcum.”

“…It never hurts to ask.”

Orichalcum.

In games and manga, it was always treated as a legendary metal.

“Orichalcum is an extraordinarily rare metal. Even with my connections, I could perhaps obtain enough for a single knife. Few smiths know how to work it either. In other words, this is impossible.”

“If smithing is the issue, we shall handle it.”

“You know how to forge metal, Hinoka?”

“I’m skilled with my hands. It’ll require experimentation, but it shouldn’t be impossible.”

Come to think of it, Hinoka had manipulated her shadows with extraordinary dexterity when she built Amate’s shrine.

She really might be capable of it.

But without any orichalcum, that didn’t solve the problem.

As I clutched my head in frustration—

“I have… a great deal of orichalcum.”

The voice belonged to Saril, floating in the air with her half-transparent body.

“Where do you have that much orichalcum?”

“Most of the weapons I use… are made from it. Melt them down… and remake them into a knife for Eight-dono.”

“Are you sure? Orichalcum is extremely valuable, isn’t it?”

“To me… the weapons are merely expendable supplies. Don’t concern yourself.”

I didn’t know whether to be more astonished by Saril’s connections or by her wealth.

Raphiel could barely gather enough metal for one knife, yet Saril treated entire orichalcum weapons as disposable.

Hinoka built a forge in our yard, and the process of remaking Saril’s weapons into a kitchen knife began.

After repeated experiments and three days of work—

“Eight, the orichalcum knife is complete.”

“Oh…”

Hinoka handed me a knife that gleamed like gold.

Apparently, orichalcum was gold infused with magical power, and working it had been extremely difficult.

Perhaps because Hinoka had shaped it exactly like the knife Eve broke, it settled naturally into my hand despite being completely new.

“With this…”

I placed a Golden Dragon Mash on the cutting board again and brought the orichalcum blade down.

The mushroom split cleanly in two.

“Yes! Now I can cook it!”

Time for the preparation.

I removed the tough base and sliced the Golden Dragon Mash into pieces of an easy thickness to eat.

Next, I added vegetable oil and finely chopped garlic to a frying pan and placed it over low heat.

Once the garlic grew fragrant, I added the mushrooms.

I left them mostly undisturbed at first so they could develop a deep golden sear, bringing out their flavor and aroma.

When the slices softened, I seasoned them with salt and pepper.

Then I added butter at the edge of the pan, letting it melt before tossing it through the mushrooms.

Finally, I poured soy sauce around the pan. The instant its toasted fragrance rose, I turned off the heat.

“Here you are, Hinoka. Golden Dragon Mash sautéed in butter and soy sauce.”

“Then let us eat.”

Hinoka and I sat across from each other and took our first bites.

The pleasantly firm texture resembled king oyster mushrooms. The slices were thick and mild, without any unpleasant aftertaste.

Combined with butter and soy sauce, they were certainly delicious.

But…

“It’s good, but I wouldn’t call it delicious enough to deserve all those legends.”

“Agreed. Considering the cost and effort, ordering king oyster mushrooms online would be faster, cheaper, and tastier.”

“Pfft.”

“Heh.”

Hinoka and I looked at each other and laughed.

“Still, how can we chew it normally when an ordinary knife couldn’t cut it?”

“Orichalcum contains a faint trace of divine power. That power likely acts upon the Golden Dragon Mash and softens it.”

“Ah, I see. That explains why only orichalcum can cut one.”

As we chatted, Raphiel and Eve arrived.

“Something smells wonderful!”

“I want some too!”

“Father, I want some as well!”

“Mm… Hungry…”

…At some point, our house had filled with gluttons.

Not that I minded. For the person cooking, it was gratifying.

“All right. I’ll make plenty of mushroom dishes today.”

“Hooray!”

Several days later, the orphans from the royal capital arrived together with the sister who would serve as their guardian.

Afterword: Golden Dragon Mash

A mushroom that grows naturally on a Behemoth’s back. It isn’t as delicious as the legends claim, but eating it temporarily enhances physical ability. The weaker a person’s natural physique, the smaller the improvement. For Eight, it produces little more than the feeling that he has gained some energy. If the Village Chief eats one, however, his muscles double in size.

The knife Eve broke was also repaired by Hinoka.