Ch 101 – Choosing the Route for a Trip to the Sea
"So have you decided where you plan to go when you leave?" asked the Guild Master. We were sitting opposite him in his now-familiar office in the Guild.
"We're heading for the sea, apparently." I glanced down at Fer, lying beside my seat.
"Umu, the sea." He opened his mouth, baring his impressive fangs and licking his muzzle. "I fancy eating some Kraken and Sea Serpent." Stop drooling Fer, you're in the Guild Master's office, I prompted him telepathically. Some poor flunky is going to have to clean that up, you know.
"That's why, basically." I explained to the Guild Master as Fer closed his mouth again.
"Kraken and Sea Serpent?" The Guild Master raised an eyebrow. "Those are the names of impressive monsters, indeed."
"Well yes, sorry. I don't know myself but Fer has told me they're very tasty..."
"Umu, they're truly delicious. Besides, it's good to eat seafood once in a while. If you cook it properly for me it will surely taste even better than raw." Yeah yeah, you've told me this before. Lots of times.
"So anyway that's why we're heading off to the sea." I finished.
"Oh, wait a moment." The Guild Master got up and pulled out a sheet of paper from a cupboard, spreading it out on the desk between us.
"This is a map of this country and the Erman Kingdom." he explained. It was quite a detailed map compared to the only other map I had seen in this world, the one I had bought for an inflated price from some rogues ahem fellow Adventurers some months ago. The Guild Master explained that this map was commonly sold by the Adventurers Guilds of both the Leonhart Kingdom and the Erman Kingdom. The Guild Master traced a path across the map with a finger as I watched.
"If you're headed to the coast I would appreciate it if you would follow this route. I recommend this route because the roads are well-maintained but it also passes through three large cities. It's likely you would receive subjugation requests from the Guilds in those cities which would be convenient for us."
"That seems reasonable but what are the three major cities?"
"Leaving here you'll first arrive at a city called Claire." The Guild Master's finger paused on a city on the map, then moved on. "After that the next city is Doran which has a dungeon." He pointed at another city. "And the next city is Neihof and after that you'll reach Berleean which is a port city on the coast."
The city of Claire, our likely first destination was smaller than our current location, Carerina. It seemed to be a busy city famous for spinning and weaving, a popular destination for merchants in search of colorful threads and cloth. The next was the Dungeon City of Doran which as its name suggested has a dungeon in it which attracts both Adventurers and merchants so it seems to be quite a big city. The city of Carerina was the fifth largest city in the Leonhart Kingdom behind the Royal capital and the three Dungeon Cities of this country. Having a dungeon means a city will prosper and grow. I was looking forward to visiting some larger cities.
The third city on our proposed route, Neihof was a pottery town with many ceramics workshops. Apparently they made baths like the one I had bought (MY bath!). Finally we would arrive at Berleean, a fishing port which was a popular destination among those who loved fresh seafood.
The Guild Master explained that this world's seas are plagued by dangerous monsters so fishing isn't a common business but the fishermen of Berleean go to sea despite repeatedly encountering such monsters in their working lives. They must be truly dedicated to their jobs, I decided. They would have to be extremely brave to face such terrors and I admired them for their efforts. The dangers of fishing meant that there was little seafood for sale anywhere though, and as a Japanese person who naturally loved fish I was looking forward to eating fresh seafood in Berleean when we got there. Oh yes.
"I suggest stopping by the Dungeon City of Doran for other reasons." The Guild Master went on while my mind was distracted by the idea of seafood. "There are many weapons and armour stores because it's a popular destination for Adventurers. The food there is very good too," the Guild Master said as Fer's ears pricked up, "and you can sell rare items more easily at the stores. If you've got time you should definitely explore the dungeon there."
"Nu, a dungeon?" Fer interjected. "I've never been in a dungeon in a human city before. Sounds interesting." Fer, that's the wrong thing to say. I had a bad feeling about where this was going...
"Dungeon? Are we fighting?-" Sui started to crawl out of her satchel.
"Umu, that's right Sui. We're going to a dungeon." Fer said recklessly.
"Dungeon~" Sui said, jumping around excitedly.
"Hey Sui, stop jumping around. We're not going to any dungeons." I said telepathically. My previous experiences of dungeons had soured me on going down one willingly. I'll never enter another dungeon ever again.
"Yeah Sui, a dungeon." Fer went on, ignoring me completely like always. "We'll be there soon."
"Yay, Sui wants to go into a dungeon too-"
"No, no, I said I won't go." Change the subject quick, I though desperately. I turned to the Guild Master who was laughing since he hadn't heard the part of our conversation where I was speaking telepathically to Sui, only what Fer and I had said out loud.
"Once we've received the price for the Wyverns purchase and subjugation as well as the last six monsters Johan-ojisan is disassembling now we'll be leaving. That should be the day after tomorrow." I told him abruptly.
"I can see you're really in a hurry to get to that dungeon," he said with a smile, misunderstanding my disagreement with Fer. I forebore to correct him on the subject, reserving my efforts for the future discussions with Fer and Sui about the non-entry of dungeons. "I will ask the Guilds in the other cities about suitable requests for you on your way to your final destination of Berleean. I'm sure there must be some requests in Doran because of its dungeon which, as you know, attracts high-ranking monsters." No I didn't know, I didn't need to know that...
"I understand." Fer said. "Any piffling requests like that won't take me any time at all to take care of. After that we can go into the dungeon there?"
"Yes, of course." the Guild Master said. "I will inform the Guild Master of Doran of your plans."
"Good. I'm looking forward to conquering a dungeon in a human city."
"Sui is also looking forward to it-" Battle maniac Sui chimed in.
"No no no, I will not enter the dungeon," I protested telepathically but Fer wasn't listening, his eyes closed and starting to snore. I wondered if he was just pretending to sleep to avoid listening to me. He'd go to great efforts to do that, I had started to notice. He really was a pain sometimes.
"Ha ha ha, you have your own problems, Mukouda-sama." the Guild Master laughed.
"Yes, it's not easy travelling with these two." I agreed.
"Since you'll be needing this map on your travels I'll entrust it to you." he said, rolling it up and presenting it to me. I accepted his gift with thanks.
"I understand and thank you. Please contact the Guild Masters of the various cities on our journey to let them know we'll do our best to assist them."
"Oh, I will." the Guild Master said. "Thinking about it there's a possibility the Adventurers Guild in Doran might be able to disassemble that Earth Dragon for you. I'll inform Doran's Guild Master about that as well."
"Thank you very much." I said. "Oh, is it possible to pass on a message to me if the merchant Lambert-san wishes to get in touch?"
I had found out earlier that the various Adventurer Guilds could transmit messages back and forth using some kind of magical tool and they'd be using this to inform other Guilds we were coming. I hoped I could use this messaging service for my own purposes. Hopefully Guild staff member and intercontinental blabbermouth Sandra-chan wouldn't inform everyone about our plans...
"Ha-, are you acquainted with Lambert-san?" the Guild Master asked. It seemed he was familiar with Lambert-san, another indication of the merchant's high standing in the city.
"Yeah, we've got a business arrangement. I've asked him to make me a cloak with Wyvern's skin but it will be some time before it's ready for me to collect."
"I understand. We'll pass on a message if Lambert-san wishes to get in touch with you."
"Thank you. We'll come back the day after tomorrow then." As I said that, Fer woke up from his pretended sleep and we left the Adventurers Guild.
"Right then, will we head back to the inn?" I asked Fer.
"Yes. Today's dinner is Wyvern meat." he declared authoritatively, drooling again.
"Yeah, I know." I agreed, starting to wonder myself what Wyvern's meat would taste like. I had no idea but Fer had been very emphatic on the subject. When inspecting the Wyvern meat we had collected from the Guild's warehouse it resembled well-marbled Japanese wagyu beef more than anything. How could something looking that good not be delicious? I was looking forward to it too.
Ch 102 — Wyvern Meat = Wagyu A5 Quality Beef
"Right then Fer, I have to deliver a Wyvern's skin to Lambert-san's store so I'll be stopping by there for a moment."
"I understand. Please do it quickly." Fer was drooling again. Was Wyvern meat really THAT good?
Lambert-san was the only person in the front part of the store when I entered. I got straight down to business, Fer's enthusiasm for dinner was starting to get to me too.
"Lambert-san, I brought the Wyvern skin as agreed."
"Oh, excellent. This way please." Lambert-san led me through to the drawing room at the back of the store where I laid the bundle of Wyvern skin on a table.
"I'd like a cloak and a belt with a sheath and shoes made from this, please."
"Yes, indeed." muttered Lambert-san, tearing his eyes reluctantly from the bundle of raw leather on the table. He didn't drool like Fer, quite. "Very well, can you please wait a moment?" He was quickly back to business and left the room before returning a few moments later.
"Right then, here is a receipt for your order and proof I have taken in the Wyvern skin."
Lambert-san handed me a wooden tag with the day's date and the details of my order burned into it. The fact I had handed over a Wyvern skin to Lambert-san was also recorded on it.
"Since we will give you the goods in exchange for this tag in half a year's time, please do not lose it." Lambert-san laughed. "Well, in your case even if you lose the tag it should be all right as I'm not likely to forget you or your order, Mukouda-san."
"No, I will be very careful not to lose it." I said. "I am looking forward to collecting my order in half a year's time." I thought for a moment. "I'm intending to leave this city soon, Lambert-san. If you need to contact me or know my whereabouts you should speak to the Guild Master of the Adventurers Guild. I've told him you may wish to get in touch with me and I said it's all right to pass on any messages from you through the other Adventurers Guilds in the cities I'll be visiting. I can pass any replies back to you in the same way."
"Oh, are you going to leave us?" Lambert-san said in surprise. "I am much in Mukouda-san's debt for various things."
"No no, thank you for your help. This city has been a delight to stay in." Well, apart from the Wyvern attack and rampaging Bloody Horn Bulls and the goblin village and... but those downsides were mostly attributable to Fer's battle mania. "I will return in half a year's time when the cloak and other items should be ready." I bowed to him. "Thank you again."
"No, it's me that should be thanking you. I will have your tailor-made goods ready for your return."
"Yes, thank you." After handing the Wyvern skin over to Lambert-san we left the store.
"Hey Fer, since we're heading to the ocean, should we just get started when I get the money for the Wyvern's subjugation and purchases the day after tomorrow?" I didn't know, maybe he wanted to hang around for a bit longer here.
"Yes." Fer replied promptly. "I got interested when I heard about the Dungeon City. I want us to go there right now, in fact."
"No, I don't care how many times you say it, I won't enter another dungeon. Anyway, we're going to visit a city called Claire before we get to Doran where the dungeon is. You're going to have to wait."
"Muu, that's right, that's what you agreed. We have to take those requests?"
"Yes we do. But are they really going to be so easy for you, Fer?" I was a bit worried although I'd seen Fer knock down assorted high-ranking monsters the way only a thousand-year-old super-powered Fenris monster blessed by a Goddess could.
"Hey, there's nothing out there I can't deal with. I'll polish off any requests waiting for us at Claire quick and then we can head straight towards the Dungeon City."
"We won't get there soon." I corrected him. "This country's given us permission to go where we want in return for handling a few requests. I'd like to indulge myself, do a bit of sightseeing while visiting Claire." I looked down at the drab clothing I was wearing. "That city's famous for spinning and weaving so I want to get some new clothes as well. I'm going to stay there for a few days."
"Muu, a dungeon..." Stop whining, Fer. It doesn't suit you and that expression isn't going to work on me.
"The dungeon in Doran won't run away so we don't need to be in such a hurry. It's a good idea to take a look around as we go and take our time." I said firmly.
"Nuu, it can't be helped." Fer moped.
* * * * *
We got back to the inn a few minutes later and Fer perked up.
"So then, what do you want to eat?" I asked, redundantly. I knew that Fer had been thinking of nothing else all the way back from Lambert-san's store, looking at the ropes of saliva hanging from his muzzle.
"Umu. Wyvern meat."
"Yeah yeah." I took some Wyvern meat out of my Item Box. No matter how you looked at it, this meat was obviously top-quality material. It looked exactly like Wagyu A5 ranked beef which you sometimes see in magazines and TV gourmet special feature shows. The fat marbled through the meat made it look truly exceptional.
It is said that the meat quality will depend on what the animal was eating and just looking at this meat I guessed Wyverns must have been regularly eating something good. It was a powerful monster though so I had to wonder about that. This kind of meat may just simply be the most delicious regardless of the creature's diet. Magic? I remembered the Wyvern mana stones Johan-ojisan had presented me with, did they have something to do with it? I tore my eyes from the vision of marbled Wyvern meat before me, thinking hard about what to cook but there was only really one answer.
"Steak." I muttered, opening the Net Super. Given the obvious excellence of the meat I'd only use salt and pepper, but it had to be the best salt and pepper for this dish. Looking through the sales listings for salt, one particular product caught my eye. What's this "sea salt evaporated in a salt pan for over a year by the Sun"? Okay, I bought a pack of this high-priced gourmet salt. After that, pepper. I chose black peppercorns, still in the bottle to keep them fresh. Turning the top of the bottle milled the corns and ground them directly onto the product below.
There would only be these two additions to the meat, no sauces or sides. I also bought some wine to enjoy with such a simple dish because, well, I would enjoy it. Time to get cooking. Firstly I cut the Wyvern meat thickly into steaks then I put a little oil in a frying pan, turning the heat up high. I figured the fat in the Wyvern meat would compensate for the small amount of oil I added. I dashed salt and pepper on both sides of a steak and cooked it. Meat of this quality cries out to be cooked rare so I quickly scorched both sides before removing it from the pan and letting it rest on the plate for a minute.
It looked really delicious. OK, first of all, a taste... Munch.
...Well. I couldn't believe it, how deliciously delicious it was. It melted between my teeth, the meat flavours filling my mouth. It tasted as good as it looked, no, better. I recalled the domestically produced Wagyu steak I ate once in a famous store when I got a bonus at work. This Wyvern steak was tastier than that.
"Hey, hurry up, I want to eat that too."
"Sui wants to eat it too-"
"Oh, I'm sorry. I'll cook it right now for you." I heated up the frying pan again. "Because this meat is delicious by itself I think that it's better to cook it simply with just some salt and pepper for seasoning." I explained unnecessarily. I felt unworthy, as if the Wyvern's meat was too good for the likes of me to be cooking it never mind eating it.
"Anything is good, just do it quick." Fer the Glutton ordered, the drool from his muzzle reaching down to the ground.
"Aruji, hurry-" Sui the Glutton chimed in, jumping around eagerly.
I grilled Wyvern meat steaks after quickly salting and peppering them and put them out on plates.
"Oh, Wyvern's meat is even more delicious cooked." Fer announced as his steak disappeared into his mouth.
"This meat is soft and delicious, isn't it?" Sui agreed, her own steak disappearing as if by magic too.
Wyvern's meat is truly delicious. That taste can not be imagined, only experienced. While I was cooking additional steaks for Fer and Sui even before they could demand "Seconds!" I dug into my own steak. Bliss. I sipped a glass of wine, red wine of course with steak. Melting delicious meat and red wine, I felt like a sybarite.
Thus we enjoyed the Wyvern meat. Fer and Sui kept eating until they were satisfied while I cooked steaks for them over and over again.
Ch 103 — 100% Wyvern Meat Hamburger
Since we were leaving this city the next day I wanted to prepare a lot of assorted dishes for the trip. I borrowed the inn's courtyard again to carry out all the cooking I'd need to do. What to cook though?
Well, I knew deep-fried food was a sure thing for my two companions (and me too of course) so kaarage it was. I started with Red Serpent, Black Serpent, Rockbird and Giant Dodo each with salt and soy sauce marinades. Pork cutlets and the ever-popular cheese IN chicken cutlets were next up. I dug out the remaining ground-up meat from my Item Box and made mincemeat cutlets before deep-frying them too. I experimented by making some mincemeat cutlets with cheese IN since Sui liked cheese. What next? Hamburger? But I had just used up all the ground meat... ah well, I can make more. I fed Orc General meat and Bloody Horn Bull meat into the mincer and started turning the handle round and round. Eventually my arm hurt but I had a large amount of minced meat ready to use.
"Is this enough?" I shrugged. "Fu ~ I'm tired. It'll do for now." What next? Remembering the taste of the Wyvern meat from yesterday I thought that cooking it shabu-shabu or sukiyaki hotpot style, thinly-sliced and boiled quickly in soup then dunked in sauce might work. The thick steaks of seared Wyvern meat had been delicious, cooking them that way should be good too. I sliced a lot of Wyvern meat ready to cook shabu-shabu later, piling it up on plates, covering it with clingfilm and storing it back in my Item Box. I reckoned that hotpot would be a welcome change along the way as we travelled.
Slicing the Wyvern meat this way I ended up with a lot of cut-offs. Staring at them I had an inspiration — I'd make some 100% Wyvern meat hamburgers. I had seen a teevee program once where the presenters turned trims and scraps of Wagyu beef left over from preparation of other gourmet dishes into 100% Wagyu hamburger so me doing it with the leftover Wyvern meat should work the same way. As I remembered it the teevee show presenters put nutmeg in their recipe so I'd follow their example. I don't usually put nutmeg in hamburgers, it's not a good idea to just throw everything you might think of into a recipe after all but in this case it was worth a try since I was using such high-quality meat. The presenters had said it improves the flavour after all. I didn't have any nutmeg to hand since I don't normally use it in cooking so I bought some on Net Super.
First I chopped up some onions finely, fried them until they were well-browned and then set them aside to cool. I didn't run the Wyvern meat through the mincer, instead I chopped it up with a sharp knife. If I minced it too finely the fatty marbling in the meat would make it fall apart when it was fried.
I'm a true believer of the 'onions in hamburger' faction so I stirred lots of browned onions into the roughly-chopped Wyvern meat. The chopped meat might seem a little bit lumpy to some hamburger enthusiasts but I reckoned it would add to the taste since you'd be exposed to the texture of the meat a little. I added breadcrumbs and egg for a binder and some nutmeg, salt and pepper to finish and stirred the mixture thoroughly before rolling it into balls and pressing them flat to make patties.
I cooked some of the patties, about a minute at medium heat and then at low heat for about 4 minutes then flipped them and repeated that cooking on the other side. I added some sake and ketchup to the sauce as usual before covering the pan to steam the meat but this time I included some butter too. I figured it would complement the tenderness of the Wyvern meat.
"Right then, where have Fer and Sui got to..." I wondered, looking up from the stove as the hamburgers finished cooking.
"Ahem." "Aruji-". They were both waiting right behind me. What a surprise. Not.
"Here you are." I dished out some 100% Wyvern meat hamburgers which they immediately started to eat.
"Umu."
"Wow – it looks delicious-"
They both began to eat 100% Wyvern meat hamburger. Watching them I couldn't stop myself from eating some too since I knew from bitter experience there'd be little left for me if this was a success. Memories of three meagre pieces of kaarage between two slices of bread floated through my mind as I took my first bite of the hamburger.
Wow, the juicy hamburger overflowed with gravy. The roughly-chopped texture of the meat felt good in the mouth. It's a pain to chop up meat with a knife rather than mince it but it definitely added to the enjoyable flavour of the hamburger.
"Mmmm, is this Wyvern meat?" Fer inquired.
"Oh, that's right, you can taste the delicious Wyvern meat, we can eat it like this too?" Sui chimed in.
"Sure, it's delicious isn't it? Because the meat's chopped up you can feel the firm taste."
"Yeah yeah, this is delicious~. Sui wants more."
"Me too." said Mister Redundant.
I started cooking more 100% Wyvern meat hamburgers for Fer and Sui (and myself). In the end all the surplus Wyvern meat cutoffs and trims that I had planned to store in my Item Box for the forthcoming trip had been turned into 100% Wyvern meat hamburgers and stored in the bellies of Fer and Sui (and me too, of course).
I shrugged, wiping the last of the gravy off my lips. They both ate their fill and the Wyvern meat scraps didn't go to waste, a double bonus.
Ch 104 — Setting Off.
The next morning we went to the Adventurers Guild and, as had become commonplace, as soon as I appeared a staff member went off to call the Guild Master. After greeting him we went down to the familiar warehouse to meet with Johan-ojisan.
"I'm all done, sonny." He waved a hand at the pile of materials nearby. "There's the meat from six Wyverns, the six mana stones and six skins for ya." I put the meat, mana stones and skins away in my Item Box as the Guild Master started to explain the details of my payment, reading from a sheet of paper.
"The breakdown is like this," he said, "The first part is the subjugation request payment. It was an urgent request so it's a premium payment, 840 gold coins. Now buying in the materials, there's 13 sets of fangs making 169 gold coins, 13 poison sacs making 143 gold coins, 13 poison stings are 169 gold coins as well, that's from all the monsters." He traced a line on the paper with his finger. "You're selling us the skins and mana stones from 5 Wyverns, that's 1000 gold coins for the skins and 1650 gold coins for the mana stones. That comes to a grand total of," he paused dramatically, checking the paper again, "3971 gold coins." He folded the paper with some satisfaction. "As before we'll pay you with 397 large gold coins and a single gold coin if that's all right with you?"
That's a lot of money. Having that much money was a bit troubling but it wasn't as bad as having too little, I supposed. We were going on a long trip so I'd get a chance to spend some of it on the way. Something worried at me, what the Guild Master had said previously... ummm, think, think, oh yes...
"Wait, didn't you tell me the payment was going to be more than 2,500 gold coins? What you're paying me is a lot more than that, surely?" I wondered if he had made a mistake somewhere.
"Oh, my estimate earlier?" The Guild Master nodded. "That was based on the regular purchase prices for Wyvern materials but the skins were in better than usual condition hence the higher price we're paying for them. There's also the urgency of the subjugation request." Oh, I see. "Having you and your contracted beasts staying here when the Wyverns arrived was a lifesaver. I could have conscripted all the Adventurers over C rank and with the aid of the Knight's Order we would have fought the Wyverns but we would have suffered many casualties trying to defeat them. I've increased the amount we're paying you for the subjugation for that reason."
So that's why the payment is so high? I'm sorry. Fer and Sui were knocking those Wyverns out of the sky and slicing their heads off, chop chop chop, they weren't even able to fight back ha ha ha. I'm glad you didn't see Fer and Sui enjoying themselves like that when you were back here in the Adventurers Guild worrying about us. I'd have to buy something for Fer and Sui as a reward, I decided. It would have to be food related, knowing those two gluttons.
Fer and Sui are too strong, really. Sui especially has evolved and is still getting stronger. Would she evolve some more? I couldn't guess but it was likely. It was almost scary how powerful she had become already. She's still cute though so I shouldn't worry.
A staff member appeared carrying a large and very heavy-looking hemp bag. "Well then, here's 397 large gold coins and 1 gold coin." The Guild Master said, handing the bag of coins off to me. I didn't bother counting it in front of him, I didn't want to appear greedy and the Adventurers Guild had always been properly correct in their dealings with me before so I just put the bag into my Item Box.
"Are you leaving Carerina immediately then?" The Guild Master enquired.
"Yes." I confirmed. We had everything we wanted here and Fer was eager to eat seafood. I wanted to see more of this world too.
"Claire, Doran, Neihof, we have already sent messages to the Guild Masters of the Adventurers Guild in each city on your route to Berleean on the coast. Please don't forget." The Guild Master reminded me.
"Yes, I understand. We'll listen to requests while we're visiting each city, don't worry. I plan to do a lot of sight-seeing."
"I'm indebted to you." The Guild Master said formally. "The Guild Masters of each city are eagerly waiting your arrival." Well, what they're waiting for is for us to turn up and deal with outstanding high-ranking subjugation requests but it was the same thing, sort of, they'd still be pleased to see us.
"Fer, Sui and I are alll indebted to you and the Adventurers Guild here in Carerina for many things." I replied equally formally. "Remember that we'll be back in about half a year's time to collect the items I've ordered from Lambert-san so I'll be able to meet with you again."
"Of course of course, I'll be waiting." The Guild Master smiled, shaking my hand. "Please come back safely."
"Yep sonny, sooner you get back here the sooner I can get to work and make more money." Johan-ojisan grinned as he pumped my hand. I finished saying my farewells to the Guild Master and Johan-ojisan and left the Adventurers Guild.
"Well then, shall we go?" I said to Fer.
"Umu. The sooner we're done at Claire the better. Get on." Fer was eager to get moving. Yeah yeah, I guess you just want to get to Doran, the Dungeon City as soon as possible. Tough, I'm planning to stay in Claire for a few days, I thought to myself as I climbed on Fer's back and we headed off, leaving Carerina behind.
Ch 105 — The First Day of the Trip and Shabu-Shabu
Fer sprinted along the highway connecting Carerina to our first destination, the town of Claire. I kept telling him to slow down in case I fell off but he was in a hurry and ignored me as usual. I had spent so much time riding on his back and I'd never fallen off before but still... the merchants, Adventurers and other travellers we encountered (briefly) on the road looked surprised at the sight of us passing them so swiftly.
Fer finally stopped. "This is far enough for today." he announced. I climbed off his back and sat down on the solid unmoving ground with a sigh of relief. I squinted at the sun, it wasn't evening yet...
"Aren't you stopping a bit early?"
"Nu, it's maybe a bit early but you were getting tired and I thought you might fall off." Fer's consideration for my well-being surprised me a little and naturally made me suspicious.
"I wasn't planning to fall off," I told him, "but if I had I'd be seriously hurt at that speed. That's why I was holding on so hard." I poked him in the ribs. "Take it easier tomorrow, hey?"
"I got it. Anyway we'll get to the city called Claire tomorrow."
"Eh, really?" The distance on the map had made me think it would take us longer than that. Just how fast had Fer been travelling?
"Umu, there are more and more signs of human activity along the road, that means there's a city up ahead and it's got to be Claire. Not much farther." Well, 'not much further' for Fer probably meant quite a distance to us mere mortals.
"If that's so why stop now? There's still quite a bit of daylight left." I wondered.
"It would be nice to get there today but I'm hungry right now." Fer said. I got the feeling he wasn't telling me the absolute truth but I let it go. I was getting hungry myself.
"Well, hang on while I make dinner." Today's meal was going to be shabu-shabu hotpot with thinly-sliced Wyvern meat as the main ingredient. Before going to bed yesterday I had soaked konbu seaweed in a big pot of water in preparation for making this dish. Now I had to buy vegetables and the like from the Net Super. What would be good, hmmm, Chinese cabbage, mizuna mustard greens, carrots, oh and of course green onions and maybe some enoki and shimeji mushrooms? Yoshi. As for the shabu-shabu sauces they were a given, they had to be citrus ponzu and gomadare sesame seed.
First of all I had to prepare the vegetables. I cut the Chinese cabbage into pieces then trimmed the mizuna mustard greens, removing the roots and chopping it into pieces about 5 cm long. The carrots were julienned into short thin strips, the same for the green onions to make them quick to cook but crisp to eat. I removed the root tips from the enoki and shimeji mushrooms and broke them up into easy-to-eat pieces ready for cooking.
I heated up the big pot of water then removed the konbu kelp before quickly shabu-shabuing the Wyvern meat and the vegetables in the boiling stock. I piled up the shabu-shabu meat and vegetables on dishes, adding citrus-flavoured ponzu sauce to start with.
"Fer, Sui? You awake?"
"Of course I'm awake." Fer was in his usual pre-dinner position, staring over my shoulder at the dish of food I had just prepared.
"Dinner, dinner-" Sui appeared from her satchel. Time to eat.
"Here you go." I presented the shabu-shabu dishes to the Gluttonous Duo, piled high since I knew their appetites.
"Umu, is this Wyvern meat?" Fer asked after taking a large mouthful. "It tastes a bit sharp somehow..." the rest of his comment was slurred as he was muzzle-deep in the shabu-shabu, "but I'll eat it anyway."
"Yeah yeah, it's got a sour flavour but that refreshes your mouth so you can eat as much meat as you want." Saying that I helped myself to my own dish of shabu-shabu, not wanting to be left behind before the inevitable demand for "seconds!" came. The ponzu sauce had a cleansing flavour that made me feel hungrier somehow and I dug in, unable to stop myself.
Hmm, I'd have to try the sesame sauce soon but first I shabu-shabued some more vegetables and dunked them in the ponzu to accompany the Wyvern meat. Munch munch, ohhh that's very tasty. Some more Wyvern meat and ponzu, more veggies, mmmm. The citrus sauce kept the fatty meat from being overbearing, the crisp veggies provided a good feel in my mouth. The meat was fantastic but the vegetable sides kept changing the taste of each bite. Delicious!
"Seconds!" came the chorus. Shabu-shabu, shabu-shabu, into the boiling stock pot and out again, dunking it into the gomadare sesame sauce this time.
"Here you are." I handed out two more dishes loaded with shabu-shabu, thankful that it was fast to cook.
"Oh, it tastes different~. But delicious too."
"Umu, it's delicious."
I made some more because I wanted to taste it myself. Shabu-shabu, veggies and mushrooms as well as meat. The enoki and Wyvern's meat in the sesame seed sauce... well, it just worked. The savoury fragrance of the sesame seed sauce meshed with the tender juicy meat flavours. I decided that both ponzu and gomadare sauce were delicious with Wyvern meat, in fact I couldn't choose between them despite them being so different in taste. I'd have both kinds of sauce for the next shabu-shabu, I told myself.
""Seconds!"" So fast? Sure enough the two dishes in front of Fer and Sui were empty again. I shouldn't let my mind wander like that otherwise I'd never get seconds of my own. Right then, I set to work, shabu-shabu shabu-shabu shabu-shabu shabu-shabu...
* * * * *
After the meal I made a box type 'house' to sleep in with my Earth magic, laying out Fer's futon inside beside my own.
"Hey Fer, I'm going to take a bath, you can go to sleep first if you want."
"Understood. I'll go to bed first then." Saying that Fer went into the 'house'. Right then, it's bath-time for me.
"Aruji, is a bath like in hot water?" Sui piped up.
"Yes, that's right. Do you want to come in too, Sui?"
"I want in-" Sui bounced happily while I made an enclosure with Stone Wall and took out the bath (My bath!) from my Item Box.
"Will you put some water here for me Sui?"
"Yes-" Sui filled the bath with fresh water and I heated it up with a Fireball. This time I judged it better and the temperature was just right first time. I reached into my Item Box and pulled out another Net Super purchase, something I hadn't thought about the first time I had taken a bath. Tadaa! It was a bath mat. My bare feet wouldn't end up all muddy afterwards.
"Right then, jump in first Sui." I offered.
"Understood-" Splash! "S'warm, aruji-" Sui floated in the warm water like a large plastic bath toy, seemingly enjoying the experience.
I took off my clothes and thoroughly washed my hair and body. Rubbing the lather into my hair until it bubbled left me feeling refreshed. I rinsed myself off with more hot water from the bath. Oops, I nearly forgot the bath salts... it was my favourite sort, with a yuzu-based citrus-y smell, a bit like the ponzu sauce for the shabu-shabu, I thought to myself as I sniffed the fragrant warm vapour rising from the bath water.
"That smells nice." I said.
"Nice-" Sui agreed as I climbed in beside her.
"Ahhhhh"
After having enjoyed a bath with Sui I was getting ready to go to bed immediately after but I remembered something I had to do, unfortunately. That thing. I sighed but I knew I'd get no peace from certain personages if I put off any longer. It can't be helped, You made a deal didn't you? I told myself.