Isekai Ryouridou 012

When I woke up, the surrounding had already become pitch dark.

Ai Fa who was lighting up the fire in the kitchen range was giving me a sharp glance.

“Finally waking up huh. I was thinking of pouring water onto you if you don’t wake up yet.”

“Don’t say nasty things….How many hours did I sleep?”

While silently inclining her head, Ai Fa threw a new firewood to the stove.

As expected, the people of Morihen didn’t have the custom of separating time with human scale. When the sun rose, they got up, when the sun set, they prepared to sleep. It naturally became an absolute unwritten law.

“Giba’s carca.s.s was thrown in the valley and the door panel was washed properly…..My stomach is already empty.”

“Understood. This time, it’s my turn to work.”

While thinking this was quite a good labour system, I headed towards the food storage room with pleasant feelings.

6 b.a.l.l.s of Onions.

4 b.a.l.l.s of Potatoes.

I also put the rubber tree-like leaf on one of giba’s hind leg.

And of course, the giba’s meat that I used was not the one on the storage but the one from a while ago. Although usually I had to use the old meat first, I wanted Ai Fa to experience the joy of meal and wonderful cookings as soon as possible. I asked earnestly.

“Now then, This is the right norm for vegetables right?”

Whether the meaning of norm was transmitted to Ai Fa, she only said “You will die if you only eat meat.”

Of course, Human beings were living organisms that needed well-balanced nutrition to live.

However I still couldn’t a.n.a.lyze the processing method of these vegetables yet.

(Well...It’s ok. I will just do what I can)

I washed the big wooden board that was going to be the lid for the pot with water where giba’s meat would be put.

And….I grabbed the “Sakaki-ya” santoku knife.

“Sakaki-ya” santoku knife, father’s soul.

(TL: just a note. Asuta always call his father with "Oyaji")

I grasped the ebony handle and unsheathed it from it’s shirasaya, the blade became bare. The length of the knife was 21 cm. Although it had been used for 20 years, the sharpened blade was not distorted at all. 2 Characters, “Sakaki-ya(榊屋)” was engraved there.

(Father...Let me use this knife.)

I dabbed giba’s meat with the point of the blade. Compared to the quite hard meat of an aged pork, Santoku knife’s blade point easily slipped in without any resistance.

While being uplifted with its sharpness, the meat was softly cut down from the bone first.

Though the surface was covered with white fat, the contents of the body were filled with red thigh leg heavily. As to not apply the point of the blade to the bone, it was cut as far as possible. This time to slice the meat a bit thin.

Even if I had said it’s a hard meat, it’s a raw meat after all. I couldn’t cut it too thin, 7 or 8 mm was the limit of my hand. But that thickness was reasonable for stew.

After 500 grams were sliced, the rest was left on the block as it was and was brought back to preservation room. After that I stripped off the remaining part of the thighbone. It should be enough for 2 people’s dinner.

“Ah right. I haven’t heard an important thing yet. Hey, Ai Fa. Are there any other seasoning ingredients that exist in this house?”

Ai Fa who had been observing me quietly, was giving me a doubtful look.

“If you eat giba, aria and poitan, you don’t have to worry about disease for the time being.”

“Un. But, aren’t you also letting out some other smell? I don’t know whether it’s flowers, fruits, or herbs. But there is still something else right?”

As I said that, Ai Fa’s face become red.

“Asuta. I was gonna say this from yesterday. Saying my smell with strange words, stop it.”

“It’s okay. Because I am complimenting your good smell.”

“.....My body won’t last if I nearly get eaten like that!” (TL: Ah...that delicious nape)

While placing her hand at her nape, Ai Fa stood up.

I wondered if that bite mark had not disappeared yet. I also became a bit embarra.s.sed.

So, Ai Fa went to the food storage with a violent step and soon returned with strange thing.

An earthenware teapot with long spout and round body, rubber tree like leaf which had been rounded like a ball.

The earthenware probably had a capacity around 1 liter. The leaf wrapping was around the size of a human fist.

“Fruit wine and salt.”

“Saltttttt!

When I involuntarily raised my loud voice, Ai Fa gave an unpleasant look.

“Salt is used to make dried meat. To exchange for this amount, 1 giba’s horn is needed.”

The wrapping was opened while fanfare sound was sounding inside my head. A ma.s.s of beautiful blue crystals were revealed.

It’s probably rock salt.

Although the rock salt I knew was pink and yellow. I had heard of the existence blue rock salt.

When I shaved it a bit with my nail and tasted the powder, the taste of vivid salt exploded.

“Salt is precious. Don’t waste it.”

“Of course! and this is fruit wine right?”

When I pulled out the wooden cap like cork, the fragrance of a wine with strong sour taste came out.

“Give it to me” Ai Fa s.n.a.t.c.hed the earthen tea ware from my hand, drank it with a gulp and threw it back to me.

“Umm. Now that I think about it, how old are you Ai Fa?”

“17” She said it while licking the corner of her lips.

It’s wild and s.e.xy.

“I see. I am also 17. So we are at the same age…..Is this fruit wine also precious?”

“That was exchanged after I bought everything important. I just don’t want to bring home things like copper coins from the village…..Compared to salt and food, it’s not as important.”

“I see. This will also take an active part greatly…..But, both of the smell don’t seem to be unrelated to your smell.”

“I don’t know! Either it’s the insect repellent poison or the herbs that was used to make dried meat. I don’t touch any of them!”

Why was she so angry about everything so much.

Well, this was enough for the time being. I was endlessly grateful to the appearance of salt.

“Ai Fa. can you lend me the blade one more time?”

I received the blade from that girl with the sullen look and sc.r.a.ped the remaining meat from the bone. With this, the preparations were complete.

Giba’s thigh meat, around 500 grams.

mountain of leftover sc.r.a.ped from the bone, around 400 grams.

6 Onions.

4 Potatoes.

A pinch of dried pico leaves with black pepper flavor.

And rock salt.

These were today’s ingredients.

First I grounded the rock salt that was on Ai Fa’s hand and was allowed to put only 1 serving of teaspoon into the pot.

I was satisfied with this for now. Whether the salt could be felt or not, the taste would be completely different when the flavor tightened after all.

The amount of the hot water was half of the pot, the same as last night. Although it’s better to add a little bit more, I had no other choice but to learn with trial and error for this part.

Then I threw around 900 grams of giba’s meat to the pot.

Red and white meats were dancing and flickering.

“Ah, Ai Fa. You don’t have to add the firewood yet.”

Ai Fa who was going to move to the front of the stove, looked back with a questioning look.

“If you don’t boil giba’s meat carefully, It will become something that can’t be eaten at all, you know?”

“Un. That’s why I planned to carefully simmer it.”

Last night, Ai Fa cooked it with an over high heat. It’s probably for around 20 minutes.

Still, although the textures became soft and easy to torn when bitten, it basically had a rubber-like textures.

Wild boar had a kind of meat that became softer as you boil it.

I thought that was the thing that differed it the most from farm pigs.

“Uwaa….It comes out, it comes out.”

After a few seconds when the meat was thrown in, the lye had came out.

The lye and froth was removed with wooden ladle and container that was prepared beforehand.

Maybe it’s because of the fat, but it had tremendous momentum compared to yesterday.

Yeah, when I thought about it, last night’s thigh meat was a red meat with almost no fat.

Wild boar and giba, At it’s thigh, there was no fat between its meat and skin, Ai Fa’s way of cooking was to strip all the meat on the surface and eliminate all of the fat at once.

Boar’s meat that had little fat (maybe giba is the same) was not suitable for hot pot. That’s why last night’s meat texture became rubber-like, I guessed. If that was the case then it’s better to make last night’s leftover yakiniku. I extended the plan while working hard at removing the lye.

“Now then. The problem is this guy after all.”

When I had almost removed all of the lye, I put the lid and left it for a while.

I sat down and confirmed the fire at the kitchen range. I confronted the potato and onion like vegetables.

“Onions...no, is it aria. These guys are the same as onions, so it’s not gonna be a problem for now. The problem is….this guy, this poitan, what is this?”

“.....Poitan is poitan.”

Ai Fa was sitting and leaning to the wall again while having her hands to her chin and a sullen look.

“2 poitan and 3 aria. When you eat those with giba’s meat covered with pico leaves powder. It’s possible to recover your energy in one day. That wisdom is the result of 80 years of Morihen’s life.”

“Fumu….By the way, how long is the life expectancy of an average Morihen?”

“Heikinjumyou? If you are asking about the average lifespan, something like that is mixed. Because many people of Morihen’s life was lost from being attacked by giba or other beasts. Not from disease or old age.”

Ai Fa’s eyes turned down abruptly.

Maybe she remembered something about her father.

“But…..there is also no death from starvation nor a corpse appearing at the forest. I heard that there is no person at age more than 60 that lose their life. The oldest people of Morihen, Jiba-Ruu has already exceeded age 80.”

“Fumu….compared to my world. It’s not that high.”

I was on four feet just under Ai Fa when I said that.

Disregarding the girl who had an unpleasant look, I inspected the upper side of her left arm.

Brown glossy shining skin that was being illuminated by the orange fire.

Although there were white scars in some places, but the skin was very smooth.

“Umu.” when I poked and touched her skin.

A fist was dropped at my head.

“Sorry sorry. Flexible and tender muscle, it’s a very fine muscle. I think it’s the best muscle for an athlete.”

In order to break the air, I dared to say silly things like that, but apparently I took the wrong direction. Ai Fa’s face which was exhausted turned into a dangerous wildcat with bristling fur.

“No, I mean. I wanted to check the health status of the people of Morihen. At least, there is no big mistake in Ai Fa’s eating habits.”

It was to say, cooking a daily quota of vegetable was the norm.

“Un, this is homework! I will study a way to capture poitan tomorrow. Because I am busy with the capturing method of giba’s meat today.”

Ai Fa’s eyes still gave a serious look so I hurriedly fled to the kitchen range.

I removed the newly risen lye and adjusted the firewood so that it’s not to weak. I had to repeat this for a while.

“.....I am hungry. When can it be eaten?”

“Hmm? My aim is around 60-90 minutes….It’s about 3 or 4 times longer than last time’s.”

Ai Fa’s face became astonished and sighed in a very dissapointed state.

“.....I am sorry. I am also starving too…..If it’s like this, I should have started cooking immediately after dismantling work.”

“.....I am the one that asked you to take a rest anyway, I am also the one that said that I leave the cooking to you. You don’t need to feel responsible.”

While saying fair words like that, Ai Fa’s face looked in pain.

Whether she was starving or not, I felt a little strange feeling.

Hunger is the best seasoning.

If Ai Fa is not satisfied with this, I would earnestly say that I was incompetent. Whether I won or lost, It’s one hour before the match began.