The Frontier Feast: A Kitchen That Enchants Monsters and Adventurers Alike - Don't bring a live boar!

The restaurant's prosperity was delightful. Truly delightful. But there was a problem creeping up, slowly tightening its grip around his neck—one he couldn't just smile away. Merieur Shion stood before the shelf with his arms crossed, before the morning prep work began. The hearth fire wasn't even lit yet. In the pale candlelight, he stared at the shelf. Stared. And stared. Wheat flour. A pittance of dried meat. Salt. That was it. "It's over," The words escaped unbidden. Over the past week, the adventurers Ruve Garon had brought along, and villagers drawn by the scent of smoked meat, had been coming to the restaurant almost daily. Several days had passed since that night—EP2—and Shion's Restaurant was taking root in Milva Village. Not a bad trajectory. Except the ingredients were gone. What could be obtained in Milva Village amounted to wheat, sheep, and whatever dried meat and salt Mutts kept in his general store. Being asked to create different dishes every single day with only those ingredients was torture for a chef. Yesterday was wheat porridge. The day before, stewed sheep. The day before that, salt-grilled sheep. The monotony was driving Shion himself to the brink. (If only I had soy sauce... No, forget soy sauce—miso would do. Even vinegar would work.) He muttered like a soliloquy, his sigh heavy. Just then, the door swung open, and Garon bounded in with morning energy. His silver hair bounced, his golden eyes gleaming. Seven in the morning with that kind of enthusiasm was almost enviable. "Yo, Shion! What's for breakfast today!?" "I'm stuck without soy sauce," "...Soy sauce? What's that?" "A liquid seasoning with concentrated umami. You ferment soybeans, salt, and koji—" "First of all, what's a soybean?" His opening was cut short. Soybeans. Right—he hadn't even considered whether the concept of soybeans existed in this world. "...Then miso. It's a similar fermented food—" "Fermented?" "You draw out umami just before it spoils—" "You deliberately let it rot!?" "It's not rotting! Fermentation and decay are different!" His voice had risen. Garon's ears twitched, and he flinched slightly. Shion took a deep breath. Calm down. It's not his fault. The concept simply doesn't exist here—there's no way to explain it. "...In short, I want a liquid seasoning with concentrated umami," "Umami... liquid... salt water?" "No!!!" Garon's wolf ears folded back. He had the face of a scolded dog. Shion took another deep breath, moved to the hearth, and began thinking of breakfast with what ingredients he had. Behind him, Garon cautiously called out. "...Alright. I'll go to the forest and hunt something delicious," "Yeah, that'd help. Vegetables or nuts are fine. And—" "Leave it to me!!" "I'm not done yet. I need the meat already processed. Drained of blood, organs removed, butchered—then bring it. Don't bring it alive," "Got it! Leave it to me!!" Garon slammed the door shut dramatically and bolted out. His footsteps faded into the distance. Shion stared after him for a moment, then muttered under his breath. (I did say "processed," didn't I...) An uneasy feeling spread slowly through his chest. 　　＊　　＊　　＊ It happened in the early afternoon. From the direction of the village entrance, Garon's booming voice echoed out. "I got it—!!" Shion was doing the midday prep inside the restaurant. The moment he heard that voice, he set down his knife and headed for the door. His bad feeling was solidifying into certainty. When he stepped into the street, several villagers were pointing toward the village entrance, murmuring nervously. He saw it. Garon was pulling a thick rope. Behind him—a massive magical boar, easily three meters long, thrashed while bound. Its four legs scraped against the stone pavement, rough breath snorting from its snout, its eyes bloodshot. A mana boar. A wild boar that had absorbed excessive mana from the atmosphere and transformed into a magical beast, with a body more than twice the size of a normal pig. The kind that lived in Nocturne Forest. And this one was, unmistakably, alive. "Kill it before you bring it here!!!" Shion's scream split the village air. Garon started to say, "But wouldn't it be fresher alive?" That was the moment. *Snap.* The rope—broke. "Oh," The three-meter mana boar was unleashed. 　　＊　　＊　　＊ *BOOM!!!* The mana boar charged down the village's main street. The ground shook. Stone pavement shattered. Villagers shrieked and scattered in all directions. "Run—!!" "Something huge is coming—!!" *CRASH!!!* The mana boar slammed into the communal well, blowing apart part of the stone structure. Water erupted. The village square was flooded in an instant. Next, it charged into Mutts's general store. Mutts screamed, "Nooo—!!" and merchandise flew into the street. Bags of salt burst, white powder swirling into the air. Dried meat scattered across the pavement. Village Chief Holtz desperately tried to close his house door. Too late. *BANG!!!* The door flew clean off, and Holtz was sent tumbling into the back room. Garon gave chase at full speed. His silver hair whipped in the wind, his golden eyes sharp with focus. His 185-centimeter frame, honed by training, kicked off the stone pavement. But the mana boar, infused with mana, moved with surprising speed for its size. It darted through alleys, weaving between houses. "Wait! Stop—!!" As if a boar would wait. There was no way a boar would obey. *Thud-thud-thud-thud!* Garon chased after it through the alleys. Villagers panicked, running back and forth. Children cried. Chickens scattered. The entire village had ground to a halt because of one giant boar. "Garon! Can't you track it by scent? Use your nose to—!!" "I'm too excited—everything smells the same!!" Shion paused at the phrasing "smells the same," but there was no time for that now. He changed direction. The boar's movements followed a pattern. Panicked animals ran in circles. If that was the case—the corner in front of the restaurant. It would come out there. Shion ran. He cut through the alleys and reached the corner ahead of the boar. It had been a while since he'd run at full speed. His lungs burned. But—he could do this. He hid in the corner's shadow and waited. The ground tremor approached from a distance. The vibration of stone pavement traveled through his feet. Almost there. *Thud-thud-thud-thud—!!!* The mana boar rounded the corner, charging straight at him. Dead ahead. A three-meter wall of flesh bearing down. A normal person would run. Absolutely run in this situation. Shion didn't run. He reversed his grip on the knife. Blade pointing down, he pressed the spine with his thumb. He identified the boar's neck—the critical point where thick blood vessels ran. He locked onto the spot. For just a moment, time seemed to stretch. He stepped forward and struck. The blade sank into the boar's neck. *SLASH!!!* The mana boar's legs buckled. Its massive body tilted. *CRASH!!!* It collapsed to the ground. Stone pavement cracked. The impact rattled windows in nearby houses. Silence. The mana boar didn't move. 　　＊　　＊　　＊ Just after Shion steadied his breathing and withdrew the knife, it happened. "Your knife just glowed," Garon, who had just arrived, said it flatly. Breathing hard, his eyes fixed straight on Shion's hand. His golden vertical-slit pupils were serious. "There's no such thing as a glowing knife," "No, it definitely glowed. A pale blue light," "It's your imagination," "It glowed!!" "Your imagination," "You can't fool my eyes! Don't underestimate wolf-folk vision! It definitely glowed! A pale blue light came from the blade!!" "It's your imagination," Murmurs rippled through the gathering crowd. Villagers and adventurers drawn by the commotion had assembled, watching the giant mana boar lying on the ground from a distance. Seeing the two of them arguing about something in the corner, one villager whispered to another, "What are they doing... why are they arguing after taking down the boar?" "We're calling it imagination and moving on," Shion forcibly ended the conversation. He wiped the knife on the edge of his apron. The blade was just ordinary steel, silver in color. There was no pale blue light anywhere. Garon wasn't convinced. He muttered quietly, "It definitely glowed," but still began helping with the butchering. Shion examined the knife in his hand for a moment. (The blade is just steel. No light came from it.) But. On that night in EP1, after giving soup to the dog, he'd seen it glow pale blue. He knew that wasn't his imagination. But now—for now, there was a three-meter boar carcass in front of him. He could think about it later. (Cook. That's my job.) 　　＊　　＊　　＊ As the butchering began, villagers gathered around. When Shion started making incisions along the boar's back, an elderly man tilted his head. "Why are you cutting from the back?" "I'm breaking it down by parts. Belly meat, loin, shoulder—separating them," "Belly... meat...?" In this world, people either roasted or boiled animals whole. The very concept of dividing them into parts and using them differently didn't exist. Roast it whole, or cut it into chunks for the pot. That was it. "The belly meat is here—" Shion pointed to the abdominal section, and one of the adventurers said, "Isn't that right next to the organs?" "I use the organs too," "You don't throw them away!?" "Why would I throw them away? Do you know how much umami is packed in there?" Murmurs spread. In the frontier village, animal organs were either discarded or given to dogs. The idea of humans eating them simply didn't exist. Garon, watching Shion work beside him, asked, "So what do you do with the belly meat?" "Braise it for hours until it's tender. Kakuni—slow-cooked pork belly," "Kaku... ni?" "The loin goes straight to steak. High heat, seared quickly. The bones and remaining meat become broth for soup," "Steak? What's that?" "Broth?" "Steak and kakuni? Sounds like spell names," "They're not spells. They're dishes," No one knew the words. Of course not. These dishes didn't exist in this world, so the words meant nothing. Shion gave up explaining and simply said, "You'll understand when you eat it." Hours later—an unbelievable aroma began drifting from around the hearth. 　　＊　　＊　　＊ First, the scent of kakuni leaked from the restaurant. A villager on the west side of the village muttered, "Something smells amazing." Then the broth from the boar soup began rising, and the people gathered in the square all turned their noses in the same direction at once. Finally, when the fragrant smoke from the seared loin steak in butter rose into the sky, a considerable portion of Milva Village's population had gathered in front of the restaurant. Shion set tables outside. Garon said, "I'll help as an apology," and remarkably, didn't break a single plate all evening. Three dishes: kakuni, boar steak, and boar soup. Garon reached first. He popped the kakuni into his mouth and—froze. "...What is this?" "What's wrong?" "It melts. The meat melts. It melts without even chewing," Next, a young adventurer bit into the steak. An "Wow" escaped him, and then he fell silent. His eyes were slightly moist. Village Chief Holtz picked up a bowl of boar soup. His stern face unchanged, he took a sip. His expression softened—just slightly, just a little. Without a word, he poured himself a second bowl. The village chief, whose door had been destroyed, silently poured a second bowl. Shion, seeing this, relaxed. The matter of compensation was separate, but at least tonight would be fine. It became a feast. Someone brought alcohol. Someone added more candles. People gathered around the tables in the village square, eating, drinking, laughing. For such a small frontier village, it was quite a lively night. The old man who'd drunk the boar soup spoke quietly. "I've never

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Episode 3

Name: The Frontier Feast: A Kitchen That Enchants Monsters and Adventurers Alike
Author: Novelia

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