Chapter 7: Meat from the Garden
“This… this is a home garden…?”
“Yeah. That’s right. This is my home garden.”
“But… it looks like meat is growing on the trees…?”
Anii was pointing, and my eyes followed her finger. Hanging from the branches of the trees sprouting from the garden were chunks of beef and pork. Just like with fruit, they grew as if the tree itself bore the meat as fruit.
This type of crop admittedly took a little time to harvest, but even then, it was only around two hours at most. Watching the trees shoot upward at such an incredible speed was strangely exhilarating, almost mesmerizing.
If we were producing the same kind of meat in the same spot repeatedly, there was no need to wait for the tree to grow each time, which saved a significant amount of time. Efficiency, in its own bizarre way.
“Ah… looks like it’ll be ready for harvest soon.”
“Harvest!? No way! Meat doesn’t just… grow like that!”
“Oh? Is that so?”
“Huh?”
“…Huh?”
I exchanged a glance with Anii.
“Don’t tell me… you actually thought meat grows on trees?”
“…Of course not.”
I quickly looked away, trying to mask my embarrassment.
“You definitely thought that! Are you stupid or what!? Meat comes from cows and pigs, not off a branch like that!”
“Except… it is growing like that…”
“That’s because your garden is weird, that’s why!”
Ah… so that was it. I’d never seen raw, unprocessed meat before—just the packaged cuts lined up in stores—so I didn’t know.
I glanced at Sena.
“I didn’t know either…”
“Right? No one really would.”
Relief washed over me. Apparently, not knowing this was the normal state of affairs.
“It’s not normal! You two siblings are the weird ones! Hey, Shifa!”
“…I didn’t know.”
“Shifa, you too…?”
Anii sank into her hands like a betrayed dictator, utterly exasperated.
“Well, anyway, the meat harvested here is amazing.”
“I-I mean, it does look really fresh and delicious…”
By the time we finished chatting, the moment for harvest had arrived.
〈Do you want to harvest?〉
Yes.
As usual, a simple, straightforward harvest.
“Huh? The meat… it’s gone!?”
“Yeah, because we harvested it.”
“When did you even—!?”
“Well, since we’ve got it, we’ll grill it. You should eat some.”
“R-Really… we can eat that…?”
I ignored Anii’s nervous stare and set up the barbecue kit that had been tucked away in the corner of the shed. It was probably something Dad had bought a long time ago. The kit used special flint stones to ignite the fire, making it surprisingly easy to start.
“Hey, Anii, stop spacing out and help me. Can you cut the meat?”
“Sure… but isn’t that usually Sena’s job?”
“I can’t. Last time, my brother told me to try using a knife, but I nearly sliced his meat by accident.”
That had been terrifying. Since then, I’d made sure Sena never touched a knife again.
“You totally did that on purpose… well, fine. I’ll do it.”
“I’ll cut the vegetables.”
Shifa would help too. Together, they skewered the meat and vegetables onto the prepared sticks and placed them over the grill.
“Mmm… smells amazing.”
“Yeah… it looks so good.”
“It is good!”
The rich, savory aroma of the grilling meat made my mouth water. I almost drooled without even realizing it.
“Think it’s ready?”
“Let’s eat!”
“Hey!”
Sena, as usual, reached for the meat before anyone else, and I couldn’t help scolding her, but she completely ignored me and bit in with gusto.
“Mmm—so good~~~!”
Sena’s happiness showed in every expression and movement, even kicking her feet gleefully.
“I’ll eat too.”
Next, Shifa nibbled delicately on the meat, in stark contrast to Sena’s messy enthusiasm. Her tiny mouth took a bite, and her eyes widened instantly.
“!? I-It’s… delicious…”
So cute… no, wait—I was glad she liked it.
Finally, Anii, hesitant and half in disbelief, carefully put a piece of meat into her mouth.
“Wha… what is this!?”
Her family ran a small diner, and having helped there since she was little, she was reasonably skilled in judging food. Her verdict would probably be the most accurate of all.
“It’s… amazing! Too good! I’ve never had meat this delicious! The juice… it just gushes out, it’s insane!”
For someone as harshly critical as her to praise the meat this much was rare. Anii had no choice but to admit—it truly was exceptional.
“Beef is delicious, but the pork is incredible too! How… how is this even possible? I can’t believe this actually came from a tree!”
“Yeah. I’ve never had meat this good either.”
“And it’s not just the meat! The vegetables and mushrooms are amazing too! All of this came from here?!”
“Of course.”
And with that, the three of them continued eating at a furious pace. Even Shifa was eating far more than I expected—adventurers have impressive appetites.
Come to think of it, Sena herself seemed to be eating more than ever these days.
Even though I had prepared a decent amount, the food disappeared in an instant.
“Ugh, so full… burp.”
“Yeah, we ate a lot. That was delicious.”
Sena burped without hesitation, as always, while Shifa politely wiped her mouth with a cloth—classy, as expected.
“Ugh… I can’t eat anymore…”
Anii pressed her bloated stomach and collapsed onto the ground. Clearly, she’d eaten too much.
“You okay?”
“Probably… But, Geo, I’ve got a favor to ask…”
A favor while lying down—what a lazy request.
“Can we use the ingredients harvested from your garden in our restaurant?”