Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 66
“Oh, really? So meat is sold directly by the guild?”
“Yes, that’s right. Monster meat is just as tasty as regular livestock meat, so the guild sets up shops like this to make it available for ordinary households. Most of the livestock meat ends up in high-end restaurants or with nobles.”
“I see. So monster meat doesn’t have any strange taste or anything?”
This butcher stall, larger and grander than others in the market, caught my attention.
One of the staff wore a uniform I recognized, which led to this conversation.
So the guild really is involved in a wide range of things…
“Some monster meat can have a gamey flavor or be a bit tough, but that can be easily dealt with through cooking. Today’s recommendation is some poultry brought in to the guild recently—specifically, meat from the wing segment, like drumettes. It’s from a variant monster, but originally it’s called a ‘Karavari Cook,’ which is actually a monster commonly used for food. It’s already been tested and tasted by both the Alchemy Guild and the Adventurers’ Guild, so I can vouch for the quality.”
“Oh yeah? Then maybe I’ll take some—wait a minute…”
Drumettes are usually small, right?
But this thing… it’s huge. It’s the size of a beef roast.
A big pinkish block of meat. Is this really from a wing?
Oh!
“Wait, could this be from that giant monster wing people were talking about recently?”
“Ah, so there were rumors. Well yeah, dragging that thing through the main street tends to draw attention.”
Ah, this is from that monster Sheele took down.
So part of it made its way to the market, huh?
“That meat was really good. Light yet rich in flavor. Even though the guild only seasoned it with salt for the tasting, the staff were practically devouring it.”
“Haha… I’ll look forward to it, then.”
And with that, I loaded my cart full of ingredients and headed back toward the south gate.
Alright, with this haul, I can really boost my count of “dishes made.”
Marinades, meunière, stews…
Braised dishes, gratin, salad… oh boy, recipes just keep popping into my head…!
…Wait!
I forgot to buy seasonings!
“Morning! Have you guys been waiting long?”
That morning, Melt rushed full speed to the General Guild and successfully reunited with her three friends.
Now that she’d mastered how to ride shared carriages, she quietly congratulated herself, thinking, “I’ve really become part of this city.”
She felt accomplished and fulfilled.
“Morning, Melt-chan. Don’t worry, we haven’t been waiting at all.”
“By the way, where are you living now? Weren’t you staying at that adventurers’ inn before?”
“Oh right, I think you said you left that inn recently.”
Hearing their curiosity, Melt lit up like she’d been waiting for this question and began to speak excitedly.
“Hehehe… I’m living in the house that Same bought. He told me it’s our house!”
She reported this so happily—but apparently, the three of them interpreted it a bit differently.
“Eh!? Wait, so… you two are together like that?”
“You mean you’re not just partners, but now a married couple!?”
“That’s great news… Congratulations, Melt!”
“??? What do you mean?”
It wasn’t clicking.
Melt didn’t get what they were implying.
“Married…? No, no. That’s not it. Same told me we’re family, so I didn’t need to hold back about living in the house. We’re family.”
“Hmm? So basically… you two are just super close, huh?”
“Ahh, I get it now. Still, congratulations, Melt-chan. Having a place of your own is a big step.”
“Yeah, for sure. I’d also like to move out of the inn and buy a small place someday. My family home is a bit far off in a farming village, unlike you two.”
From Melt’s tone and expression, the three realized there was no romantic angle here.
Still, for an adventurer to have their own home—it’s a kind of milestone. A mark of independence.
“Right now, Same is away on work outside the city, but someone’s house-sitting for him. That person said they’re going to make lots of food, and I can invite friends over! So… after today’s quest, why don’t you guys come over?”
“Oh, I’m in! I’ve been wondering what kind of place you live in!”
“There’s food!? I’m absolutely there! I’ve never had homemade cooking except from my parents!”
“I feel a bit guilty, but hey—consider it a housewarming celebration. Count me in.”
Melt beamed with joy as she invited them.
She looked so genuinely happy—like a child excited for a party—as they all agreed to come.
“Yay, I’m so glad. Then let’s give today’s request our best shot!”
“Yeah! Today’s job is—”
At that moment, Grant pulled out a quest notice and showed them.
“This one’s technically a disciplinary mission, so it’s not posted on the general board. Apparently, there was a large-scale monster subjugation in the western wetlands yesterday. Our job is to investigate the area and gather plants from the swamp. They want us to collect a large amount of a plant called ‘Explodemos.’”
“Wait… what’s with that name? Is that a real plant?”
“Sounds like something a kid made up! If it explodes, isn’t it dangerous?”
The silly plant name made the two of them chuckle, despite Grant’s serious tone.
But Melt stared curiously at the sketch of the plant on the quest flyer.
“Huh… this drawing… it’s my grandmother’s. And this name… I remember it from long ago… What’s going on here…?”
She muttered to herself, tilting her head in confusion.
A familiar drawing, a strange name—something seemed to be clicking for Melt.
“It’s not actually dangerous, despite the name. It’s a cushioning plant, used as packing material. With the New Year Festival approaching, shipments will be coming in from all over the continent, so demand is high.”
“Oh, I see. So it’s used for cushioning. Interesting.”
“This thing? Huh. Well, whatever. Let’s go!”
“Yeah, let’s. The house-sitter said they’re going to make tons of food tonight, so I better work up a good appetite!”
With that, the party cheered up and set off down the western road.
Wow, I’m amazing… no, I guess it’s thanks to Seira’s experience.
After safely bringing the groceries back home, I stored what I could in the house’s refrigerated magic tool and put the rest into my item box. I figured I’d at least prep the ingredients a bit, but before I knew it, I had already cleaned the giant fish at an incredible speed, beautifully filleting it and separating it into parts.
“Carpaccio from here… the skirt meat… marinade from the back fillet… the head for kabuto-yaki, the tail for steak, the scraps around the ribs for acqua pazza… glad I bought those dried tomatoes.”
Apparently, greenhouse farming isn’t that common here, so summer vegetables weren’t available.
Still, maybe a small amount circulates. At the very least, flowers are being selectively bred, so there must be greenhouses somewhere.
“These shellfish look like clams, so I’ll steam them in white wine… shrimp is best grilled with salt. Looks like you can eat the shells too.”
The finished dishes, the recipes, the plating, the flavors—everything floods into my mind.
Even before I start cooking, I can’t help but smile as happy images overflow in my brain.
“I guess we can skip meat for today. That’ll be for tomorrow.”
This already guarantees six dishes. If I make a few sides with baguettes, I’ll have at least eight.
Still, even after all this, I haven’t acquired the skill “Glutton” yet.
The requirement for “Glutton” is “eat ten types of self-made dishes.”
I don’t have to eat them all, right? Just a bite of each should be fine… right?
Ah, if I count yesterday’s steak and this morning’s French toast, that makes ten!
So I’ll finally get my first skill now.
But with just this skill, it’s all downside.
It reduces the stamina recovery effect from food.
In short, I won’t feel full unless I eat a lot.
Well, whether I can actually unlock it using Shizuma’s body remains to be seen.
“At the very least, I can use this to test it. If Shizuma gets the Glutton skill… that’ll confirm the condition is correct.”
But there’s a major problem.
I… I’ve always had a huge appetite—or rather, bad fuel efficiency.
It’s like all my sleep needs were replaced by hunger. That’s the kind of life I lived.
“Man, the memories… eating portable food while camping in dungeons or camping out on field bosses…”
MMO addict behavior. The three basic desires—sleep, hunger, and bathroom—get cut.
My fellow addicts used to call it “brute-forcing with youth.”
Shut up, you bottle users! At least I didn’t throw away my human dignity!
“Next, I need to see if food in this world gives buffs too.”
Probably, normal food won’t activate any buffs. I’ve eaten dishes I made yesterday and today, and nothing seemed to change.
So maybe only dishes that existed in the game era can trigger buffs.
“Hmm… acqua pazza existed in the game too. If it activates today, I’ll know for sure.”
Ingredients may differ. But if it works, then broadly speaking, similar dishes will be valid.
I’m not sure what I can use that for yet, but it’s worth testing.
“Maybe I’ll open a food stall selling buff-granting meals someday…”
I probably have retained the knowledge of setting up stalls from the game.
That’s why the idea of running a food stall doesn’t intimidate me at all.
Come to think of it, I haven’t seen a street in this city filled with food stalls, even though there are many restaurants.
“…Not like me at all. Stop thinking unnecessary stuff, man…”
Just imagining a “street filled with food stalls” made me remember Muraki.
That guy was really looking forward to Fukuoka’s yatai street on the school trip, wasn’t he?
Turns out, I was kind of excited about it too, deep down.
I wonder… can that guy ever turn back into a human?
“…I thought I didn’t care what happened to those guys anymore.”
Well, that’s fine. People change with time.
Though, there are definitely some I still have no desire to help.
“Alright! I’ll do the kabuto-yaki out in the yard!”
With a shift in mood, I resumed prepping the rest of the food.
“Thank you for taking the time to speak with us.”
“Don’t worry about it! Good luck, rookie!”
Meanwhile, back at the western marsh, Melt and her group had split up to handle the investigation, questioning, and gathering.
“Grant’s really reliable, huh?”
“You think so? Hmm… Maybe it’s because I grew up on a farm and dealt with merchants as a kid.”
“I see!”
Melt and Grant were gathering information from senior adventurers who had also taken gathering and extermination requests in the marsh.
They were trying to learn the details of the recent extermination mission and information about the monsters.
“Shame the person who took down the monster has already left town… From what we heard, the monster was extremely aggressive and relentlessly targeted people.”
“Scary… I wonder who took it down?”
“The senior adventurer we talked to said it was a woman skilled with a bow. I’d love to see that kind of archery with my own eyes.”
“Hmm…”
Hearing it was someone good with a bow, Melt pictured Sheele in her mind.
She remembered that Sheele had gone on a hunting quest yesterday, but didn’t know the details.
Still, she concluded it was probably unrelated to Sheele and let the thought go.
“Just looking at the encounter situation, I don’t think there are multiple of them, but what do you think, Melt?”
“Um, they said it reacts to incense, right? Hmm… I thought birds didn’t have a very good sense of smell, but… maybe the incense gives off a lot of smoke?”
“No, I don’t think that’s the case… Still, yeah, reacting to scent is kind of strange. I’ll suggest to the guild that they analyze the incense too.”
“Sounds good~ Also, if it only attacks under certain conditions, then I don’t think it’s nearby anymore.”
“So it seems… We don’t have detailed info on what kind of monster it is, but if it’s that big, it would probably avoid territorial conflicts.”
“Yeah~ That crash site from earlier? The damage was really bad. Ah—speaking of which, the Axebreaker trees! That area was pretty messed up too, right? Maybe it was there.”
“I see… that’s a possibility. I’ll include that in the report.”
Having wrapped up their investigation and interviews, the two of them reunited with Rikka and Kash, who had gone gathering.
The two had large baskets strapped to their backs, now stuffed full of plants.
“Hey, are we sure this thing actually explodes? It kinda just looks like a frankfurter or something.”
“Right? It’s like this long stem with something on the end, kinda like a bulrush head.”
It was a waterside plant that closely resembled a common cattail.
However, its size was clearly larger, and its surface was smooth and sleek—looking almost as if it were deliberately mimicking a frankfurter.
“Looks like a bulrush, huh? But the way it bulges is different. Mind if I take one?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
“Okay, watch this~”
Saying that, Melt placed the “Exploding Mokoko” (the name of the plant) on the ground a little ways off and threw a small stone sharply at it.
The moment it hit, a loud popping sound rang out like a bursting balloon, and from the ground, with a sound effect that might as well have been “mokoko!”, it released a massive amount of fluff and dense foam.
“Whoa! What the hell!? It expanded so fast, a grown adult could get buried in it in an instant!”
“Whoa… this foam’s pretty tough. It really might work as cushioning.”
“Hmm… I’ve never seen anything like this. How come I didn’t know about such a weird plant…?”
“Hmm… I think it’s an alchemic plant. So it probably only grows in certain places and doesn’t spread to other regions.”
With a slightly puzzled expression, Melt explained.
The others looked confused at the unfamiliar term “alchemic plant.”
“It’s a plant that’s been transformed by absorbing magic and the power of the land. I think someone must have planted it. So this stuff works as a cushioning material, huh~”
“Oh, kind of like selective breeding? One of my favorite vegetables was created that way.”
“So it wasn’t naturally occurring after all…”
Satisfied with the explanation, they burned the expanded “Exploding Mokoko” and cleaned up before heading back to Lindblum.
“Alright! Once we’re back, I’ll invite you all to my house! Hehe… Seira’s cooking is so good!”
“Oh, so someone named Seira’s taking care of the house? Wonder what she’s like.”
“Kash, you’re not thinking anything weird, are you?”
“Still, I’m starving now. Talking about frankfurters really didn’t help—my stomach’s totally empty.”
Happily, excitedly, and with just a touch of lingering curiosity, Melt’s day continued to unfold.