Isekai Ryouridou 013

“Alright, It’s finished!”

I could declare it after my biological clock said that it’s about 1 hour and 20 minutes after I threw giba’s meat into the pot.

During that time, I single-mindedly removed lye, adjusted the fire, checked the firmness of the meat, soothed the hungry Ai Fa, sometimes did a serious talk with her…..It was a fun and painful 80 minutes.

The intolerable smell of giba’s meat was filling the house.

(TL: If you guys remembered, although his last night’s dinner was the worst, the smell is not)

Well, trivial things like that didn’t matter.

At any rate, It’s time for real food!

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Please eat to your heart’s content.”

I stirred the contents of the pot with the ladle and poured it to Ai Fa’s bowl first.

Actually the potato poitan, in the end, wasn’t put in the soup yet.

60 minutes after the pot began to boil, I put the thinly sliced onion aria and black pepper from pico leaves to the pot.

Still the soup became cloudy.

Translucent meat’s broth came out. It’s a white soup.

Yep. Let’s call this “Giba soup” not “Giba nabe”.

As I thought about it, there were only salt and spice as the seasonings, the name soup matched more than nabe. There was also that one side. If it’s soup, then there’s no problem if the only ingredient was onions. Though it’s better if poitan had not only the same appearance but also the flavour, I came to think about it.

Well in short, self suggestion was also important to enjoy the meal.

With that said, I presented the cooking that I named “giba soup” to the mistress.

“.....When poitan isn’t put in, It feels somehow strange.” Said Ai Fa while sniffing the soup with a deep face.

Well, because yesterday the smell itself was also the best, there was no great difference right now.

After I poured my share to my bowl, I sat down in front of Ai Fa.

“To be honest, this is sample number one. I can’t say I have full confidence in it. Because I intend to study more in the future about this guy’s foundation, please tell me your honest opinion.”

“.....Delicious or bad doesn’t matter, it’s useless to ask me for opinions.”

“Okay okay…..Then, itadakimasu!”

Ai Fa closed her eye, brought her left fingertip to her mouth and showed a gesture like drawing a horizontal line.

After that she recited or grumbled something inside her mouth.

Maybe, it’s the “Itadakimasu” sign of this world, though I didn’t think I had seen her do this yesterday.

But well, I was happy somehow. Because a world without the concept of “itadakimasu” or “gochisousama” was too sad for a cook.

Anyway, this was a real food.

First, I tried to scoop the soup with the wooden spoon.

The transparent fat membranes s.h.i.+ned sparkly, whitish liquid.

Black powder that scattered there and there, pico leaves.

The smell and look were the best.

However, it’s not much different from yesterday.

Though I sampled it several times, how was the completed taste. I placed my expectations and slurped…..It’s delicious without problems.

An unsophisticated soup without miso or soy sauce, with giba’s meat flavour as a peculiarity and pico leaves became its accent. It’s rather lightly flavoured but rich and it stimulated my appet.i.te excessively.

(TL: アクセント accent there means pico leaves emphasize the taste)

Because ⅓ of the water inside the pot had evaporated, the boiling process had to be carefully calculated. The water was also unplugged. It’s a relief that I was able to made an extremely rich and thick flavoured soup as the result.

Then, the problem: Giba’s meat.

Because I only checked the firmness with wooden sticks instead of chopsticks, it’s my first real food.

When I scooped the sliced meat not the meat pieces that was sc.r.a.ped from the bone, the meat that was dyed with ivory color, whitish fat, was cutely shaking. (TL: there is actually *purupuru sfx here)

The size was 4 cm and the thickness had shrunk to 5 mm. I threw it into my mouth with determination.

When I chewed, the meat breaks apart.

Soft. It’s softer from what I imagined.

But when I bite, it’s quite chewy.

When the gelatinous fat was combined with the lean-rich elastic meat in the mouth, the flavour rapidly spread.

Ah.

As expected, they were high quality ingredients.

Even though the meat hadn’t matured. The taste didn’t lost to the boar nabe I eat 3 years ago at all.

Of course, the difficulties, physical fatigue as well as hunger helped making it more delicious…..But still, I couldn’t bring myself to change the evaluation.

Because seasonings were hardly used, the flavour of the meat was being transmitted directly.

The violent flavour of a wild meat. In a certain sense, this was the true value of a game…..was what I wanted to say. Though it may seemed impudent that I who hadn’t eat many cooking made from game said that, I wouldn’t mind argue about this in my mind.

(TL: game is animal hunted for food. in case you guys didn’t know about it)

When I ate it together with aria, a texture that was a little tender than yesterday came out and the soup was also just right with this.

When you ate meat with the soup, the depth of it’s taste increased a lot. The onion (although it wasn’t an onion) had a strong sweet flavour than sharp. I couldn’t claim the taste was strong for the sense of touch, but it could improve the quality of a cuisine.

(Un. As sample no.1, it’s too well made)

When I thought about it and returned my gaze to the front. Ai Fa was going to stand up with the bowl on her hand.

With her always sulky face, still silent, and went to the pot like that.

Was she suppressing the “seconds” feeling.

It’s a good thing if she had good appet.i.te, but I was anxious whether she tasted it properly or not.

After pouring two cups to the bowl, she came back to the same place.

Her eye didn’t try to see me.

Here, inside me my anxiousness had already reached the level where I couldn’t suppressed it anymore.

“Hey, how is it? I think it’s quite well made.”

After sipping a mouthful of the soup, Ai Fa tilted her head to one side.

“What is it? …..I said that it’s useless to get an opinion from me.”

“Geez, though it might be so….”

Somehow my pelvis area was itching.

A Unknown feeling of pa.s.sion, it’s the feeling that made me feel gooseb.u.mps.

Anger,sadness, pain, anxious….I didn’t know what is its ident.i.ty. But there was no mistake that this was a “negative” feeling.

“Uh umm...was me having spent a long time cooking, that, possibly, was it meaningless?”

Ai Fa’s face became more and more doubtful.

The she dropped her line of sight down to the contents of the bowl abruptly.

Orange flame made a flickering shadow on her cheek.

What should I do.

My heart was excessively throbbing.

I was feeling bad.

“.....To me, meal is neither delicious nor bad. Meals are the means to live.”

“.....Yes.”

“To me who is like that, if you asked me my opinion about the taste, I am troubled. I don’t have the words to talk about these kind of things.”

“Ah. I guess so.”

“But, the only word that I know…..”

Ai Fa’e eyes raised slowly

Her beautiful blue eyes were looking straight at me.

“.....Delicious, the meaning of it, I guess it’s like this kind of thing.”

Her pink lips, after faltering a bit, spun out more words.

“Eat, the act itself becomes fun…..pleasant…..and happy. Is this what it’s meant to eat something delicious.”

I was speechless.

Ai Fa made a slightly pained look with her eyebrow.

“The reason why you put your heart into cooking, the reason why you become stupidly serious, I understand…..I understand, I think. I may actually didn’t understood, but at the very least, I don’t have the feeling of denying your actions.”

“Ai Fa…..”

“I can’t find the words to tell you. I can’t explain it more than this. But, I think you did the right thing.”

(TL: Oh Ai Fa xD d.a.m.n it)

And then Ai Fa, just a little bit…..slowly opened her lovely mouth.

“That’s why, Don’t make a pained face like that. This cooking is delicious.”

After I nodded back, I was immersed in eating in silence.

Somehow, I didn’t understand.

Though the ma.s.s anxiety that appeared inside me was cleared cleanly, this time the back of my neck became hot and my back had become cold.

If I relaxed my guard, I would feel that my chest would become tight.

Maybe…..I was extremely happy.

And, my emotions were shaken unreasonably.

I was sure stronger than what I had imagined. In the deepest part of my heart, I wanted Ai Fa to acknowledge me. I wished for it.

Ai Fa, The only understanding person in this world I have met.

Ai Fa, the benefactor of my life.

Obstinate, bold and rough like a man, but when I thought about it, she was gentler than anyone I had seen so far. She possibly had a wound deep in her heart and tried to live without having to depend on anyone. Strong, beautiful, brave and delicate, I wanted this mysterious girl, Ai Fa….. to accept my existence. I hoped for it.

(d.a.m.n it…..I still have much to learn!)

For some reason I felt a hostile feeling, so I chewed giba’s meat violently.

My fight...was not finished yet.

With my new determination, I stared at my hated enemy.

It rolled next to the kitchen range, potato…..no, poitan fruit.