A cute young lady's seriousness.
Dan’s Point of View
I had never once asked Ojousama for specific ingredients before. She was always busy, and whether as a souvenir or as a kind gesture, she’d bring back extraordinary materials without me saying a word.
That’s why this was the first time I ever said, “I want this.”
When I showed the list to my friend, who’s now the head chef at the royal palace, he punched me. He said the habitats for these ingredients were so scattered that it’d take ten years to gather them all and scolded me thoroughly. Honestly, I had never even considered the habitats of monsters before. As I reflected on my naivety and resolved to keep learning, I heard a familiar, sweet voice.
“Dan, I’m baaaack!”
Ojousama was back—with Geraldin-sama, Jash, and Jend. They seemed to have minor injuries… no, their clothes were just a little torn. Looks like they’d already healed up.
“Welcome back, Ojousama. I hope you didn’t push yourself too ha—”
“Got everything on the list!”
Huh?
I glanced at the royal chef standing beside me, and he was slack-jawed. Too fast. Not even half a day had passed.
“Oh, and guess what? The kind dungeon master suggested I go for the highest-ranked versions of what was on the list, so I hunted those instead!”
Ojousama had grown into a peerless beauty, but in my eyes, she would always be the adorable girl who’d bounce around asking me for praise. Like a cute daughter. I instinctively patted her head while processing her words. Dungeon master? Kind dungeon master??
“... Ojousama, what exactly did you hunt?”
“Well, let’s see… Hyper-Mega Buffalo!”
Just from looking at it, I could tell it was top-tier meat. My mouth started watering. Was it glowing? It felt like it was glowing.
“Legendary Ucockatrice Eggs!”
That… that’s from fairy tales. It actually exists? Also, why is it glowing? No, it’s outright shining at a blinding level!
“Yamata no Beast King Ox-Chicken!”
It’s massive. I’d heard it existed but never thought I’d see one. Years ago, I heard one was put up for auction, and it was said to taste incredible.
“Mm. It is delicious. I hunted one once before.”
“… Were you the one who put it up for auction?”
“? I don’t know, but I sold it to the guild, and they couldn’t put a price on it.”
“……………………”
Yep, that must have been Geraldin-sama’s doing. I’d always wanted to try it, but I never thought it’d actually happen.
“True Sea King Tuna!”
“Never heard of it…”
“The dungeon master said it’s a rare mutation of a higher-tier species, so it’s exceptionally rare worldwide.”
How in the world did they manage to catch something like that? Ojousama is incredible…
“Shining Mirage Shrimp.”
“It’s glowing.”
The shrimp sparkled like the northern lights. Stunning. And huge.
“That one was pretty tricky, right?”
“The dungeon master summoned a whole swarm of them…”
“That damn dog. I’m plucking its fur next time…”
Dog? I decided to put that mystery aside and served some sweets to thank Ojousama and her companions.
“Thank you, Ojousama. And Geraldin-sama, Jash, Jend, too. I made some madeleines. Please, have some.”
Naturally, we tried some of the game Ojousama brought back, too. And… it was incredible. Even grilled with just salt, it was beyond anything I’d ever tasted. I needed to devise dishes that would bring out the full potential of these divine ingredients.
“Ojousama, I promise to craft the finest full-course meal for you!!”
With these likely *world’s best ingredients* that she provided, I had no choice but to rise to the occasion. Anything less would be unworthy of a man.
From that day onward, I threw myself wholeheartedly into menu development.
What do you think about this chapter?
