Prepare Meal was a Tamer skill the cat god had bestowed upon Taichi. It allowed him to cook meals for monsters.
“What’s that wonderful smell?!” cried Luke.
“Hm?” Taichi didn’t have much time to appreciate how perfectly his dish had come out before Luke began eagerly digging in. The wolf had been too tempted by the aroma to hold himself back.
“Whoa, you didn’t waste any time!’” said Taichi. “Oh well, I guess that’s fine.”
“Nom, nom... This dish is...” Luke took one bite and his eyes widened, his whole body trembling.
“What is it, Luke?”
This was the first time Taichi had ever used the Prepare Meal skill. He worried that maybe he’d messed something up. Thankfully, Luke soon started inhaling the rest of the meal without hesitation.
“It’s delicious,” declared Luke. “This is significantly better than eating the meat raw! I can’t believe how much better dragon tastes when you cook it with your skill! It’s perfect for a warrior like me!”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
Satisfied, Luke jerked his chin to the remaining dragon. “We should store the rest of the meat. I expect you to make me that steak again. The dragon’s hide and claws can be used as ingredients for crafting. I’ll let you have those. Should be some decent money for you if you sell them.” He seemed to be in a good mood after that sumptuous meal, and it showed in how generous he was being.
“That would be nice, but are you sure?”
“I hear humans require coin. Since you are a recent arrival to this world, you will need it, won’t you?”
“Thank you, Luke!” Taichi’s eyes began to mist over. He hadn’t expected Luke to be so considerate. He was touched. Luke was often prickly toward Taichi, but he had the fluffiest fur and, as far as Taichi was concerned, was the best partner Taichi could’ve hoped for.
“All right, then I gratefully accept,” said Taichi. “I’m sure we’ll find someone to buy this stuff from us once we get to a town.”
“Indeed,” agreed Luke.
With this kind of loot, I might be able to achieve my dream more quickly than I expected. And by dream, he was of course referring to his plan to open a cat—or rather, fluffy—café here in his new world. To that end, he needed to find an appropriate location to set up shop. The more money he had toward that, the better. He couldn’t begin to guess how much these dragon ingredients would be worth, but they should fetch a decent price.
After conveying his gratitude, Taichi stored the dragon’s remains inside his Bottomless Bag. Despite the overwhelming size of the dragon, it fit easily.
Incredible. Although he had only just arrived in this world and hadn’t seen anything beyond this small patch of forest, he found his heart humming with eager anticipation imagining all the other magic items, like his bag, that must be out there.
✦ ✦ ✦
Taichi’s surroundings blurred around him, the wind whipping through his hair. Like riding on a roller coaster, this level of speed was one he’d experienced rarely.
“It would be a pain for me if you fell. Hold on tight!” Luke barked.
“Of course!”
That’s right—Taichi was riding on Luke’s back. Being the legendary Fenrir that he was, Luke looked majestic as he sprinted through the forest. He showed no signs of exhaustion even with Taichi’s added weight. If anything, Luke had acclimated to it and was beginning to pick up even more speed.
Why were they in this situation, you might be wondering. It all started about two hours ago...
✦ ✦ ✦
Taichi questioned Luke about the location of the town and how long it would take to get there, to which Luke responded they could make the trip in a few hours. Taichi, of course, was elated. He’d expected a much more arduous journey to their destination. Much to his chagrin, however, two hours of walking through the forest didn’t seem to change his surroundings at all.
That’s weird. He scrunched his face, confused.
Luke, who had been matching his pace the whole way, yawned. “Are you humans normally this slow when you walk?”
There was a long pause as realization sank in for Taichi. “Now I get it. You meant that you could reach the town in a few hours.” What would take a few hours for Luke would probably take more than a few days on foot for a human like Taichi.
✦ ✦ ✦
And that was how Taichi came to ride on Luke’s back.
Luke’s ears twitched, his speed slowing. This put Taichi on high alert. A howl pierced through the quiet of the forest.
“Eep!” Taichi cried.
Wh-what was that? I’m not gonna die, am I? Is it another dragon?
“Hmph. A monster,” said Luke.
“Wh-whaaa?!”
“I’ll defeat it.” No sooner did Luke say that than he darted off toward the attacker. He swiped so swiftly with his front paws that Taichi couldn’t even follow what was happening before it was all over.
Wow. Taichi sat there dazed on Luke’s back.
The monster in question was an enormous bird with bulging muscles along the arms of its wings, giving it an off-putting macho look. Another monster of this world, huh?
“Put that one in your Bottomless Bag too,” Luke instructed. “You should be able to sell its parts.”
“Really? This bird?”
“Indeed. I believe you humans call it a Wild Raptor.”
Too bad he couldn’t wing it in battle. Guess his moves were just too pre-historic, Taichi thought to himself as he tucked the monster’s carcass into his bag. I hope that the blood doesn’t get all over the rest of my stuff. Worried though he was about that possibility, Taichi continued to stow away similar spoils as they made their way through the forest.