A few days had passed since I visited Inukami-senpai.
I had gotten used to running while carrying Bluerin and my magic power consumption had also decreased.
I wondered if this was a substantial amount of growth but Rose told me âYou still have a long way to goâ.
It really made me question whether Rose knew any words of praise.
Well, that didnât necessarily mean that I wanted to be praised though.
Today as always, I was finishing up my own training menu. Rose had to go to the castle for some personal matters. It was an unusual occurrence, which was why it was just one human and one animal doing training today.
The contents of the training itself didnât change; I would still be carrying Bluerin around while jogging. Since I had gotten used to having Bluerin on my back, the training wasnât bad to the degree that I hated it, but rather than that⌠Wouldnât this lazy bear be lacking exercise when it slept like a log on my back every day? I was really worried butâŚ
I should hold onto that thought for now and temporarily return to the lodging house since morning training was over.
My stomach felt empty which was why I thought about eating lunch.
For the time being, I moved Bluerin to the stables and then entered the lodging houseâs dining roomâ
ââŚ.Nn? Oh hey, isnât that Usato? â
âI was about to go snatch some food but ended up with this.â
âWell, if it isnât Mill and Gomul.â
Inside the lodging houseâs dining room were my two of senpais, Mill and Gomul.
Although I say they were my senpais, just like Tong, there was no need to address them with any honorifics.
They didnât use honorifics at all either; they just werenât suited for guys like these.
âHey hey, as always youâre a cheeky kid, isnât that right Gomul?â
âYeah, for sure.â
The short and plump man was Mill and the one slightly taller than me and with a tough body was Gomul. Both were frightening to look at, just like Tong.
There was also the fact that seeing them next to each other, they looked even more sinister and appeared to be guys up to no good.
Appearances aside, their personalities werenât too bad actually.
âI came here to eat but⌠just telling you, thereâs none.â
From what he said, it seemed like there were no bentos.
Well I didnât really mind, I could just eat some fruits.
At any rate, I spent 10 days in a forest with nothing but rations after all. Maybe it was due to the influence of that experience but now I cared more about convenient and high in energy foods⌠the flavor was just secondary.
It seemed that my eating preferences were becoming similar to a mountain personâs even though I was still in high school.
âOi, wait a minute Usato. This is just perfect, eat some of my cooking, youâll definitely like it.â
âCooking?â
Certainly, I could smell something good but⌠Was Mill really able to cook?
While I was having my doubts, for some reason, Gomul was the one brimming with confidence as he opened his mouth,
âItâs unexpectedly good, this guyâs cooking that is.â
âHey, what do you mean by unexpectedly? But these are the results of my cooking after much trial and error. Everyone else has eaten it as well.â
âWell, if youâre going to say that much⌠I guess I should eat some.â\nAlthough Alek was the one in charge of cooking till nowâŚ
I see, Mill was able to cook too. I hadnât been into the kitchen area at all myself so that was probably why I didnât know.
Gomul vouched for its taste so I could be reassured⌠Was this really okay?
âIâll make your portion Usato, Iâm heading back to the kitchen.â
âAlright.â
Mill left and went inside the kitchen.
The only ones remaining in the dining room were me and Gomul.
I wasnât particularly on good terms with Gomul nor was I on bad terms with him. Unlike when I was in the same room alone with Tong, I didnât talk much aside from meals.
Sooner or later, weâll be comrades entering the battlefield together⌠Forming the best smile I could, I started talking to Gomul,
âWhere are the others?â
âThose guys, they have a different menu from us yeah? Well fundamentally, our training menus are all different from Usatoâs in the amount of freedom we have. Usually, weâre divided in two pairs as a team.â
âHooh, is that so⌠Gomul, do you eat Millâs cooking often?â
âYeah. Just a bit before you came here, we found his cooking tools that he was secretly hiding. That was when I got to start eating it. It was the beginning of everything you see.â
I see, it wasnât like they were eating it for a long time.
Hiding his cooking⌠hmm, I wonder why he hid it. Was there a special reason? Or was it simply that his cooking was inexperienced?
âWhy did Mill do something like hide his cooking?â
âAn? I donât know all the details but even from way before, he personally had a lot of interest in cooking. Apparently his cooking wasnât on the level where people could eat it yet though, so he hid it.â
âWell, Gomul says itâs delicious so he should have more confidence in himself I thinkâŚâ
Was he unexpectedly strict on himself?
Well he was a plump man, but he displayed feats during our trainings together that didnât match his physique.
Oops, I shouldnât make light of him since right in front of me was Gomul who was pretty much the same as him.
âItâs done, hey!â
âOh youâve finally come, Iâve been waiting for this!â
ââŚâŚSoup?â
Mill brought a wooden container that carried something akin to curry soup.
There was definitely a great smell coming from it, it felt a bit different from Alekâs usual cooking⌠It smelled close to sesame oil. Due to hearing Gomulâs praises from before, I couldnât help but gulp down on my own saliva. The first impression was good, now the essential part was the taste.
âHeh, I found some good salt in the kitchen. Which is why this time, Iâve taken this chance to use an abundant amount of it.â
Was salt really something you used in abundant amounts?
I was a bit uneasy due to Millâs words. Was this man aware of SaShiSuSeSo1 and its absolute conditions for handling flavors? No, that was assuming the fact that this world had that kind of system to begin withâŚ
While I was sitting still and holding onto my spoon, Gomul approached the container in high spirits. He scooped out something and was about to take a biteâŚ
ââŚâŚâ
âThen, Iâll help myself!â
First of all, I should let this guy test for poison before eating.\nHe opened his mouth wide and slowly savored it before he gulped it down heartilyââââ
âDelicâiouss!â
âHe suddenly started exclaiming so.
Seeing the contents from the container disappear in his mouth, I stopped focusing on it.
âAs expected, itâs good! I really like this flavor ya. I already want to eat this along with some sake!â
âI-Is it really that goodâŚ?â
âWhat are you saying!?!? You should hurry up and eat, Iâll eat it all at this rate!â
This rising tension, it didnât seem like he was saying it simply because of flattery.
Swapping places with Gomul, I made up my mind and scooped up the contents with my spoon. It was similar to stew with its gooey texture. Preparing myself, I brought it close to my mouth.
ââŚâŚGu.â
I shouldnât be getting cold feet here. There was no point of using the standards for cooking in my former world. Even this was splendid cookingâŚ.. If I ate it, itâll be delicious for sure! âŚProbably!!
Putting the spoon in my mouth, I threw it all in and gulped it down.
When I noticed it, Mill and Gomul were looking at me in expectation.
The flavor that spread throughout my mouth wasââââââ
ââŚâŚHow is it?â
âAs expected, itâs good right?â
To begin with, it tasted as salty as that time when I tasted ocean water. This wasnât normal, my mouth felt like it was overrunning with salt.
This was no good.
This was also my critique after the fact that I came back from the forest where the flavor became secondary to me. Although he said he used plenty of salt, this was obviously way too much.
And on top of that, the soupâs texture felt very rough. I felt nauseated since the water and potato starch solidified which made it seem like some foreign substance.
However, I frantically endured it because I was in front of my teammates and just when I was about to swallow it downâ The pointlessly viscous soup demonstrated its adhesive power and clung to my throat.
What was with this poisonous thing!? Were you intending to kill me!?
After a while, it finally passed through my throat, leaving behind an unpleasant sensation. I was also being continuously attacked by a feeling that was similar to heart burn. Dropping my spoon, I fell down on the ground, prostrated.
âWhatâs the matter Usato?â
âHuh, was it that good that youâre unable to stand up due to the surprise?â
ââŚâŚ.Thisââ
âBe silent, you damn fools! Does your sense of taste got a screw loose or two huhh!? No matter what kind of methods youâre using, you shouldnât have been able to make something that even a pig canât eat, hey!! This was just me sampling a taste of it, isnât this already hopeless!?!? I would like you guys to tell me what you ate for this to be considered delicious!! If itâs just me who canât comprehend this flavor, please, teach me so I can understand!! But let me tell you, thereâs absolutely no way at all you can possibly convince me that this is good!!â
âWas what I would like to say. But right now, I just really wanted to throw dangerous Object A at these two stupidly grinning faces. However, I couldnât talk at the moment because my throat was in pain. What was going on? I couldnât restore my esophagus with my healing magic? While I was remaining still, Object A was continuously destroying my insidesâŚ..
It wasnât good, I might just die.
âYou arenât saying anything? Whatâs more is that youâre shivering?â
âWell, itâs fine isnât it? Can I have seconds?â
âYeah!â
Gomul, you shitty bastard, you were fine even after eating this poisonous substance that essentially destroyed the human body?\n\nââŚâŚ..Eh? âŚâŚ.AneâŚ.goâŚ?â
âYou guys, you made me eat something like this?â
ââEh?ââ
âYou have some nerveâŚ.. This time, why donât you try some of my cooking? The ingredients are you guys okay?â
ââHeeeeeeeee?ââ
The scene afterwards, it will be omitted.
The reason was that I couldnât bring myself to watch the spectacle of my comrades being punished.
Nevertheless, I really had to give my praises to Rose, her expression didnât distort even for one moment.
âŚâŚTsk.
Still, it was unfortunate that my afternoon training time would be wasted for the sake of having one bite of this hazardous substance.
âŚâŚHuh? I wonder why I thought it was unfortunate. Normally, I should be delighted right?
âWhatâs going on with Mill and Gomul? Dinnerâs going to be wasted.â
Night time during dinner, Alec tilted his head to the side when he noticed Mill and Gomulâs absence.
In exchange, Rose arrived first and was sitting on a long table with a displeased expression.
âThose guys, theyâre skipping dinner. Thatâs all there is to it. Isnât that right, Usato?â
Rose said so while glaring at me.
I didnât show any fear towards that and with an awkward smile, I replied,
âThat is so, hahaha. Even so, wasting food is not good isnât that right?â
Mill, Gomul, I wonât forget about you guys.
1. The five fundamental seasonings used in Japanese cooking: Sa (satoh = sugar), Shi (shio = salt), Su (su = vinegar), Se (shoyu = soy sauce), So (miso = fermented soy bean paste). The order in which these seasonings are added is important, such as soy sauce and miso being added last as they are the most susceptible to being changed due to heat. Normally, not all five seasonings are used but most sauces use at least three.
Kurokata (Author): Those two arenât dead.
For this series to suddenly have a large increase in favoritesâŚâŚ I was startled.
Itâs a story with poor writing and a lot of typos, however, thank you very much for reading.
Also, Iâm thankful to the various readers who leave their thoughts in the impressions section.
Shiru: Wow, Kurokata is quite humble; I would say humility is a virtue. Where you could buy his Light Novel: (potential spoilers on the covers). You can also view the first 50 or so pages for free for each volume and they usually have at least one illustration too.
As for me⌠I was productive today. I finished one assignment, helped out at the lab, passed my Class G Road Test, and translated a Chiyu chapter, no problem.
Iâll have more time to translate during the winter break but for now, Iâll be having lots of fun with my assignments and finals.
For reference, I have five finals, with the last one being on the 20th of December. Give me a few days to relax and I should release a chapter by Christmas with more to come.
People have been e-mailing me about this, you can support .