“Umu” I muttered, how many times did do this today?

Before my eyes, the hateful poitan is rolling. (sfx : gorori~)

It’s now early afternoon of the 5th day since I came to this different world.

After finished cleaning the tablewares and managing the food storage today as daily routines, I was making dried meats.

My idle talk take too long, surprisingly the meat I dried didn’t become a dried meat, the meat become smoked meat.

Roughly explaining, rub the surface of giba’s meat with rock salt and piko leaves, and then wrap it with gomunokimodoki leaves (Now that I think about it, I haven’t confirmed it’s official name). Wash away the salt and herbs on the night of the third day. The next morning, hung the meat on a tree outdoor and burn riro herbs and piko leaves under it and then smoke it away until the sun rise to the middle of the sky. After that, the smoked giba meat is ready to be served.

(TL note : ゴムノキモドキ : gomunokimodoki)

So, today was the morning of the 4th day, I was entrusted with the task of finis.h.i.+ng smoking the meat instead gathering firewoods and herbs. Although the said work is very simple, because it’s only adding firewoods and herbs and also not to let the fire died. But because I have to watch the fire for several hours, it’s not easy by any means.

But still, there are no unexpected things happening until the sun reach the middle of the sky, so I was able to finish a large amount of smoked meats safely.

While waiting for Ai Fa’s return from collecting works for everyday use as usual, I stored the finished smoked meats in the preserved meat s.p.a.ce, work completed.

After doing that until mid day, I devote myself to study poitan from early afternoon until dusk.

This time around, Ai Fa goes to the forest to hunt giba again. Though there is still a mountain of giba’s meat left, giba has to be hunted once in 5 days pace in order to obtain aria and poitan. So, I am here with free time since an amateur like me is just a burden in giba hunting, it’s like that.

Of course, what I mean is, Ai Fa still hasn’t hunted any giba in these 5 days. Because the mouth that has to be feed increased because of me, the pace increased from 10 days 1 giba to now, it’s probably not that easy to hunt them I guess.

Though there is also that giba we hunted 5 days ago (although it’s an unexpectedly bad situation), Ai Fa said that it’s not a problem if it isn’t hunted today or tomorrow.

And then there is me.

It’s been 4 days since the day where I first dismantled giba. I always devote myself to study this poitan on the early afternoon everyday. It was quite a formidable opponent.

If I have to say it directly, I don’t know what this guy’s ident.i.ty is.

In my world, I don’t think this plant exist, I think.

Externally, it looks like a potato.

It has a lighter shade and the size is bigger, but the texture and the shape on its surface feels the same as potato.

However the contents is completely different.

When I bit it raw, the astringency was terrible, taste like flour, this is something that should not be eaten. To the point it make me doubt whether this is actually a plant or not. I can’t taste any moisture and flavour.

So, as you know, this guy melts when it’s boiled.

It becomes half-liquid, and it tastes like a tasteless muddy water.

Even if it was put in the “giba soup” I created, there isn’t any improvement at all. 

Still there are important nutrition in this guy that I need to take so 4 days until today, after I ate meat and aria, I dissolved the it in the remaining soup and drank it.

Even though my heart was fluttering because it looks like a porridge with vegetables and udon inside a pot, this is just something like a punishment game. Why did I have to drink this muddy water like thing, somehow I feel miserable.

Because of that, I am troubled.

I still haven’t found a countermeasure.

I have gotten permission to use 1 per day for research, but even though I tried various things, It was useless.

It it’s boiled, it will collapses into a muddy substance.

If it’s burned, It will collapses to pieces.

Even if it’s put into water, there doesn’t seem to be any changes.

When it get fried with grease, it become something powderlike.

Other than that, I also tried grounding it, roasting it without fat, or exposing it to the sun, I tried anything I can come out with, but I still haven’t got any enlightenment yet.

“Umu!” When I raised my voice like that.

My head got chopped from behind.

“You’re too noisy. Can you not make a noise for every little thing?”

Of course, it’s Ai Fa.

Looks like she isn’t going to the forest like usual today, she seems to be rustling something in the back shed, but apparently the business is finally finished. Though as usual dressing only with light clothing that covers her breast and waist and standing with an intimidating posture, and glare at me.

“It hurts… It’s not like I want to…”. When I said that, I just noticed Ai Fa holds some baggage on her arms..

What is that? It’s a bunch of cloth with beautiful color shades.

I wonder if she notices my gaze, She spread one of them.

“These are clothes that my father left behind.”

I see. It looks like a sleeveless with bare front clothing, It’s the so-called vest.

(TL:need help. How to describe the clothing. The clothes is like Disney’s aladdin's clothes)

There are no b.u.t.tons, it was made by binding strings together at the bottom. Although the design is simple, as expected there are multi colored and complex spirals, It’s actually in quite small in size.

“Ho hou, It’s good. I am sure it looks good on Ai Fa.”

I answered what came into my mind, but Ai Fa’s cheek reddens for some reason.

“Ho...How can I wear this kind of clothing! Certainly I am doing “Giba hunting” as the patriarch of this house, but I am still a women!”

“Eee? I didn’t said to only wear that!”

I don’t know whether it really is a vest or not, but this looks similar to what Aladdin wore, it’s a vest without front cover design, If she wears that vest that has no breast cover…..It’s out, an out. Do you really dislike thinking about decency.

“Of course if you wear it, it will be on top of the clothes you are wearing now! In the first place, Someone with a beautiful face like you wearing it like a man is….”

“I said you are too noisy! This is, clothes for you!”

She explode and throwing a tantrum after a long time, and then Ai Fa throw the clothes on my face..

“Your clothes stands out too much! It’s unpleasant to be seen with strange eyes together with you!”

I see. I can see how my white cooking clothes greatly attracts attention, I realized it this morning at the water source.

And because I don’t have any other clothes to change while was.h.i.+ng, I wear T-s.h.i.+rt and cooking attire every day, and when it comes to pants and trousers, I had no choice but to wear it even though it’s wet after I wash it.

This place’s temperature is high so it will only take a few hours, but as a precaution, because it’s a life where I don’t know when concentrated rain like a squall comes. That alone didn’t make me give up….It’s just that, the pure white cooking clothes is gradually becoming more dirty because my work in the forest, it makes me feel sad.

That’s why, I lower my head deeply to my mistress that is angry because of that.

“I...I will gratefully accept this. But, isn’t this important?”

“This is also something that father left behind.”

I receive it silently.

A penknife with length about 20 cm sheathed in a patterned leather sheath.

When I removed it from the leather sheath, both the cutting and back blade are sharpened to the point it was s.h.i.+ning beautifully.

“Can I….also use this?”

“I just lends it to you! It’s troublesome for my knife to be always covered in fat forever! If you neglect the knife’s maintenance and the blade becomes dull and rusty, I will cut your ear off!”

“I understand. Thanks. I am really grateful. I will never handle your father’s memento shabbily. I promise.”

Although Ai Fa sulk and face the other way, she doesn’t go somewhere else and just sit next to me.

“.....So, Have you found any way to make a poitan delicious to eat?”

“Un. It was quite a hard opponent. After all in the world where I came from, vegetables similar to it didn’t exist. Even though giba is just like a wild boar and aria is just like an onion, this guy didn’t look similar to anything at all.”

“Then, how about you obediently give up? I didn’t particularly….have any complaints to it’s current condition.”

I look at Ai Fa that still stubbornly face the other way and stare at her from a close range.

“Do you really have no complaints? It can’t be helped that I always complaint and complaint! Although “Giba soup” is approaching my ideal flavour, because of this thing, everything becomes a failure! Even though I am only an apprentice, my pride as a cook is torn!”

“...Pride?”

“Pride. Self esteem.”

“Fumu...That is of course even I have come to think that delicious food taste better than bad food. However, we should not waste ingredients like this forever, right?”

“Yeah. I understand about that…”

“These tusks and horns aren’t only exchanged for foods. If the sword breaks, it can be exchanged for a sword. If clothes are lost, it can be exchanged with clothes. If you got sick, these tusks and horns can be exchanged for a medicine.”

She said while shaking and entangling her fingertips at the necklace on her chest.

“Until now, it was possible to cover aria and poitan by hunting giba once every 10 day, it was possible to save extra horns and tusks this way. However, from now on we have to hunt giba every 5 days, and there is also the fear that these savings will decrease....All more of the reason to treat food ingredients with care from now on.”

“I see. And yet, you said that I can use 1 poitan once a day whenever I like.”

And yet, I spent 4 days without results.

4 poitan have been used wastefully.

It’s shameless. I feel like gnas.h.i.+ng.

“Then, I won’t waste anymore poitan from today. I will just use my eaten portion to study it.”

“That is not allowed.” Ai Fa didn’t use a loud voice, but it contained a strong will and a little anger.

I was startled and turned around when Ai Fa comes closer with monotone voice and face in front of my eyes.  

“Don’t make me say the same things over and over again. 2 poitans and 3 arias. It’s the least number necessary for people of Morihen to live healthy throughout their lives. If you reduce it, no matter how many giba’s meat you eat, one would get a disease.”

Ai Fa’s eyes are burning like a blue fire.

Sacrificing health to satisfy mind is not permitted in the people of Morihen’s ethics I guess.

No….It’s not limited to people of Morihen.

It’s something stupid that even a cook shouldn’t do.

Cook that can’t manage his own eating habits is the same as a doctor that neglect his health and a dyer that used a white hakama.

(Even though I understand about it…)

What a cook offers to his/her customer are taste and nutrition.

No matter how delicious it is, there is no meaning if it is harmful to body.

No matter how good the nutrition is balanced, there is no meaning if it tastes bad.

A cook is someone who is aiming to balance those things.

I don’t know about other cooks, but at the very least, my father was that kind of cook.

In the recent years, cynical trends like “Something that is bad for body is the delicious one.” started spreading. Like ramens smeared with lard, Izakaya’s menu, Juice that is full of sugar, chips made from potato, these are the examples.

I know that these thing exist as luxury goods.

Even I like oily pork ramen.

(TL note: Izakaya is a j.a.panese tavern or pub)

But that can’t be said as the way of cooking.

Precisely because there are nutritions that the body needs, It tastes delicious.

"For humans who have lost their primal instincts, it may be a lost sensation, but―― still, that principle alone absolutely must not be allowed to be destroyed."

Because the body is already broken, even if it’s poison, they greedily want delicious things.

Humans that think like that, then it can’t be helped.

But I don’t think like that, I don’t want to cook something like that.

I don’t want to eat such cookings, I don’t even want to try it.

Giba’s meat...is really delicious.

I can feel that it contains the nutrition necessary for the body.

I can feel that it can be properly converted to my own flesh and blood.

Something like that may only be an illusion and laughed at, but that is what I truly feel.

I, I want to make…the cooking that I pictured.

Delicious, and also, the correct cooking for the body.

To feed my important person.

(To eat poitan should be the right thing to do. That, has been approved by Ai Fa)

Ai Fa is strong and full of energy more than everyone I know.

If it’s the giba, aria, and poitan that Ai Fa grew up with....There should be a cooking method that can bring delight to our mouth.

Poitan should be able to give the nutrition that is necessary to humans.

(...Hm?)

Correct...nutrition?

To humans, the necessary nutrition?

That means....

“I see! So that’s what it is!”

I unconsciously shouted.

Unconsciously, I immediately grabbed Ai Fa’s shoulders in front of me.

“Something just caught my mind! I thought I was missing something! d.a.m.n it, so it was that!”

“.....You, why are you suddenly lost yourself.”

Ai Fa tried to pull away from me because it’s troublesome, but I unconsciously pulled Ai Fa.

“I finally found the answer thanks to you! As I thought you are the best Ai Fa!”

I swear it was not my intention.

I, unconsciously, hugged Ai Fa’s delicate body like a tight leather whip.

(TL: Pray for our brother here)

Of course, although a few seconds later my head was beaten, my heart was trembling with victory.