“And don’t I deserve just a little extra...?” uttered Joel. “Don’t I deserve a reward?”
Joel was practically muttering to himself as he stared off into the unknown distance, and Shiori promised to give him a bottle of liver paste before sending him off to the bath with a smile.
“Well, let’s get started, then,” she said.
She hadn’t brought most of her usual camping equipment for this trip, which meant she had little more than the basic array of condiments and spices. The rest she could likely borrow from the supply unit.
“Looking for soy sauce? You can use mine if you like.”
Shiori had begun to think they’d have to go without the soy sauce karaage, and was grateful for Leo’s offer.
“The knights use soy sauce?” she asked.
“A friend recommended it to me,” Leo explained. “Told me it’s all the rage at home in Lovner. The smell is a bit strong, but it’s priceless for seasoning. Tastes good in a sauté as well.”
The use of soy sauce was taking root in Lovner, and Leo was surprised to learn that most of the popular recipes in which it was used had originated from Shiori.
“Amazing...” he uttered. “You never know how people are connected to one another, do you?”
“Indeed. I feel like I’m always in awe of the bonds that connect us.”
The group chatted as they worked. The menu was gullinkambi karaage, liver meatball soup, and liver paste. Leo offered to help for his own personal reference, and Shiori had him slice the onion and watercress while she took to preparing the liver. She removed the fat and other unnecessary parts, cut it into smaller bits, then washed them with water.
“Let me help,” said Leo.
“Okay. Can you drain the blood from these? You just have to soak them in water, then refill the water when it gets too dirty. You could also run water over them, though that’s a little more difficult.”
“In which case, let’s use magic.”
Leo quickly filled the pot with water, then kept a steady flow of it going to drain the blood from the liver pieces within while also creating a quiet, thin stream of water. Rurii and Bla, likely drawn in by the scent, began to drink the spilled water, which made everyone chuckle.
“It’s not too raw?” asked Shiori.
The slimes wobbled to say it tasted just fine.
“Well then, just make sure you don’t drink too much before dinner.”
The slimes were already well aware of the bucket of offal that was waiting for them, and trembled to indicate they’d be careful.
Violid was perhaps a little worn out, and was dozing under the shade of a tree, while the other familiars waited by his side. Alec couldn’t help but smile at the sight; there were no walls between the familiars.
“Okay... Next, let’s do the meat,” said Shiori.
Linus had already neatly cut the meat for the karaage, so Shiori separated the meat for the meatballs and flavored the rest. Half of it she soaked in a mix of soy sauce and ginger, and the other half she covered in salt, pepper, and herbs.
“Wow, it smells great already,” said Alec. “Can’t wait.”
“Yep,” said Shiori.
“We’re going to do our best so that people will say the same about our food too,” said Leo.
“Wow, okay,” said Alec.
“How’s it going so far?” asked Shiori. “I heard that things have improved.”
“We only really got started last month,” admitted Leo. “But over that time, the mindset of the supply unit has really changed. Even without detailed instruction, the troops are capable of cooking up pretty satisfying meals. The rest we still have to work on. Ideally, we want to make it so that every knight is capable of basic cooking, or if not that, then at least basic gathering skills. That’s easier said than done, however...”
“I see,” said Shiori, who then realized something and gasped. “Oh, is it okay for me to ask about that kind of thing?”
She was worried that she’d stepped into confidential territory, but Leo smiled.
“All I’ve told you is within the sphere of what’s public. Nothing to worry about.”
“Ah, that’s a relief.”
The work continued even while they talked among themselves. Shiori put oil in a large pot, to which she added onion, garlic, herbs, and freeze-dried celery. Once this was fried together, she put aside some watercress for the liver paste and added the rest to the pot. Then she added water and brought it all to a simmer.
While that was going, she pounded and ground some gullinkambi meat, chopped up the liver, and mixed them together with salt, pepper, and flour to make meatballs. Alec and Leo also helped, along with Rurii, because the slime was deft with its hands...or feelers, as it were. It wasn’t long before they had a mountain of meatballs.
“Sir Alec, Rurii...you’re both quite good at this,” remarked Leo.
“As are you,” replied Alec.
Wobble-wobble, added Rurii.
A peculiar fire of competition had lit up between the two men and the slime as they put the meatballs in the pot.
“Now onto the liver paste and the karaage,” said Shiori.
Shiori took the onion she’d put aside, which she now fried together with liver and butter. She added a dash of white wine and salt and pepper, and simmered it until it was steaming. All that was left after that was to use her food processor magic to turn it all to paste, then stir it until it was nice and smooth.
Once it was done, she took a small spoonful for each of the others to taste.