Dina revealed a plate from somewhere and showed it to me. On the plate was a steak that seemed almost grilled to perfection, and the smell alone stirred my appetite.
“It’s a steak I made using orc meat. It’ll be delicious with rice.”
“Indeed, We shall have it.” I agreed with no hesitation and sat down on a nearby stump.
Now that I think about it, I still haven’t eaten anything ever since I was summoned here. So much has happened, so I almost forgot that it hasn’t even been one day since I came to this world.
I snapped and formed a wooden table before having Dina place the plate in front of me.
“Oh yes, does it keep its effect even if you cook it?”
“That’s fine, yes. You must only avoid damaging it while the orc is still alive. It seems that the orc’s fillet, or the softest and best part of its flesh, works to gather its vitality, but if it’s damaged while the orc is alive, it loses its effect and releases all the stored vitality into the rest of the orc. But, if the orc is dead, all the vitality stays inside the fillet.”
“What kind of mystery being are they...?”
While Dina was talking, I created a wooden fork and knife before cutting into the steak. It was surprising how soft the meat was when I touched it with the knife. It only raised my expectations before I even got to eat it.
Then, after a bite— Saying that the meat melts in your mouth is an old and clichéd expression, but now, I see; it’s so soft that’s the only way to describe it.
The meat’s umami was overwhelming, and I was rendered unable to speak. The salty-sweet sauce on the steak was absolutely irresistible as well. It wonderfully brought out the tastiness of the meat.
Unable to take it anymore, I scooped up the rice with a spoon and put it in my mouth, and it was actually fun how well the rice paired with the meat. The strong flavor of the meat mixed in with the rice changed the flavor, and they both heightened the other to new levels.
“Is this sauce homemade?”
“Yes. Did it not suit your tastes?”
“No, well done.”
I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of this meat. I prefer beef steaks, but really, you can’t just dismiss pork steaks either. Orcs look pretty awful, but if their meat is this good I feel like I can forgive that.
“Dina, you’re not eating?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Hmm...”
Is she being considerate, since I’m here? Or maybe she just really hates orcs? Well, if she says it’s fine then I suppose I don’t really need to force it out of her. Everybody has one or two things they hate.
I finished up the orc steak, and then checked my stats.
【Lufas Maphaahl】
【Level】: 1000
【Race】: Heaven-Winged
【HP】: 335000 → 335300
【SP】: 44300
【STR (Strength)】: 9200
【DEX (Dexterity)】: 8750
【VIT (Vitality)】: 10300
【INT (Intelligence)】: 8300
【AGI (Agility)】: 10778
【MND (Mind)】: 9550
【LUK (Luck)】: 9280
Great, my HP actually went up.
This time, I managed to get another four fillets by completing the job, so at the very least, my HP would go up by another 400.
My HP was already higher than most players, but I still felt like it could go higher.
Actually, since there’s no one else competing for orcs here, I can hunt them as much as I like, so if I’m lucky, I think I might be able to break 1 million HP. ......No, I guess that much is impossible. No matter how good it is, I don’t think I’d be able to stand eating that much orc meat. Also, if I actually went that far, even orcs would go extinct, probably. In fact, I’m impressed they haven’t done that already in these two hundred years.
“Thank you for the meal. It truly was good, Dina.”
“I’m happy you enjoyed it.”
After I finished the meal, Dina cleaned up the table and utensils before teleporting away. Then, after a few seconds, she came back without any of the luggage. She probably just left it somewhere in the tower.
......I wish I had teleportation magic. I can’t use magic at all, so I just get really jealous of that stuff.
“Now, let’s go back, Miss Lufas.”
“Let’s.”
Ushered on by Dina, I started moving.
But going back in silence was just sad. I decided to ask Dina about that memory manipulation technique she talked about as a conversation starter.
“By the way, about that memory manipulation talk from earlier: will it ever come undone once you apply it?”
“My memory manipulation magic won’t stop working as long as nothing too unusual happens. However, once they’re formed, memories are really resilient...... It’s not unusual for memories to come back thanks to some small thing that happens.”
“We see. Then, even if you were to erase those women’s memories, they might still remember that they were kidnapped by orcs if their memory was jogged by something?” I muttered, after hearing Dina’s explanation.
It seemed that even if it was called memory manipulation, it wasn’t perfect. Most likely, it didn’t truly erase memories but instead sealed them deep down. That was why, if something caused them to regain their memories, the person could quickly go back to how they were before.
“What a convenient, but hard to use, magic.”
“Exactly.” Dina laughed, looking troubled.
Memory manipulation, huh? ......Sounds like it’d be good for use in caring for people after traumatic experiences or for removing evidence. There might be a time when I’ll have to rely on that, eventually.
While continuing our conversation, we carried the unconscious women back to the village. Well, I say carried, but since I couldn’t move my arms at the moment, I was just floating them along with my Esper powers.
“Ohh, you’re back! And with the girls, too! So, they were all right!”
When we got back to the village, I spotted the chief running towards us happily. I placed the women down in front of him and took a step back.
As always, I left all the conversation to Dina.
“Yes. Apparently, the orcs haven’t laid a hand on them yet.”
“Ohh, that’s great to hear. There’s nothing that makes me happier than hearing that our girls are safe.”
Dina told him about the condition of the girls before handing them over. During the few days while they were kidnapped, they just ended up being endlessly wooed by the orcs. But their faces were twisted in fear, and it didn’t seem like any of the orcs managed to capture their hearts.
In the end, this game is all about faces, you orcs. You all’ve been given an insurmountable handicap from the moment you were born. No matter how gentlemanly you are or how gallantly you act, you’ll never win against some hot guy that’s just standing there.
The world is filled with unfairness like that.
“Well then, here is your 1500 el and our thanks.”
“Yes, this looks right.”
“Also......uhm, what is that golem that’s been standing there like it’s protecting the village? It somehow looks incredibly powerful, even to these amateurish eyes...”
“That’s just my master’s kindness. Don’t worry about it, and let it protect your village.”
While listening to them talk, I started thinking.
With this, we’ve managed to secure funds and food for a while. I felt like the things I needed to think about myself have increased as well, but that was only natural on someone’s first day.
For now, let’s just rest for today and set out tomorrow.
Today was really long.
＊ ＊
If the times change, so do games.
Ever since Space Invaders came out in 1978, games have endlessly evolved to fit in with the times and their needs.