It was the fifth day since the start of the dismantling.
After having finally sunk their teeth into the long-awaited Leviathan, the Gluttonous Quartet finally calmed down a little. However, this did not lessen their enthusiasm for Leviathan at all. Instead, after eating their fill, I could still hear talk about ‘Let’s eat more Leviathan again’ and ‘I’m going to lots and lots of Leviathan tonight’.
I feel kind of nervous about what this would mean for me, especially since I was the one who had to cook the Leviathan meat for them.
Just how long did I spend grilling up Leviathan Meuniere yesterday?
I ended up being too tired to properly enjoy the so-called delicious Leviathan. I can’t bear to think that I have to face that kind of non-stop cooking again today.
Let’s not think about that anymore.
Anyway, according to Elland-san, today’s job was focused on removing and preserving the Leviathan bones.
Speaking of which, this guy looked as fresh as the first day I saw him. Maniacally happy and cheerful without a single sign of fatigue. All I could think of was the large amount of Leviathan meat that would be entering my [Item Box] soon. Last night, respite came to me once the meat ran out, tonight, however…
The Gluttonous Quartet were dancing around in anticipation of tonight’s dinner. Should I start thinking of a simpler dish to make? Maybe I could just salt and pepper some Leviathan slices and stick ‘em into the oven?
If only Guild Master Willem-san was here. He’s the only person I felt like I could complain to, but he was too busy for me. Moreover, he said something about having to sleep at the Royal Capital Guild tonight due to work… however, I get the feeling that he may be avoiding me, not wanting to catch a glimpse of whatever it is that he thinks is out of this world’s ‘common sense’…
He even said something like ‘I’m too busy to be caught up in something unusual with you’.
[1] What’s with that weird and ambiguous phrasing!?
[1a]
“Are you seriously making a fuss about eating Leviathan meat?” I asked him once.
“Well…”
“Wait, really?!”
“Ahem, I don’t think you really understand the value of what you have in your hands, Mukouda-san…”
“What about dragon meat?”
“Hahhh… here’s the thing, nothing you or your familiars ate can be considered ordinary, but a Leviathan is… a cut above the rest. Not a few people would make a huge fuss about it.”
“A fuss…”
“Yes! Yes, you understand now? Don’t you think it would be annoying if people (Elf) started clinging to you and saying something like ‘Me too! Me too!’? What would your familiars say?”
[1a]
There was an odd glint in Willem-san’s eye, but I must say his arguments sound valid. Just thinking about others making noise at me about making food for them makes me kind of angry. That said, however, it doesn’t look like I could avoid using a certain ingredient tonight.
As I watched the white flesh being removed from the long white bones, I wondered, “What should I make for dinner tonight?”
Today, just like yesterday, I was driven off to the kitchen the moment we set foot into the house.
I haven’t even decided what to make yet…
“Will it be like this every day from now on?” I thought as I stared at the pile of Leviathan meat in front of me. To be honest, looking at all this oily white meat makes me feel kind of queasy. In fact, this was not the last of it. More Leviathan meat would come as soon as those people removed more of the bones…
I could not help but shiver at the thought of all those meats.
Let’s not think about it anymore. Who knows, there might even be enough to make the Gluttonous Quartet grow tired of eating the same kind of meat over and over again.
Cough, I think people might faint if they heard me saying that we’ll get tired of eating Leviathan…
Right… I still have to cook something tonight… let’s go with Foil Grill.
There’s a large margin of error when it comes to Foil Grilling, so I can make lots at once and not worry about over or undercooking anything. It’s also a great dish to make with lots of vegetables.
I’ll have to get lots of foil paper from [Net Super] and some enoki mushrooms, maybe some sauces…
After making my purchase at [Net Super], it was time to trim and slice the vegetables. First, thinly slice the onions, the cabbage should be roughly chopped since it would be cooked with the fish- I mean, the Leviathan meat. After cutting off the bottoms of the enoki mushrooms, I loosened them up into clumps.
These are all vegetables that would absorb grease and oil, and you bet I’m not going to use butter in my Foil Grill today.
Fufufu, look at these piles of vegetables~
Time to make the sauce~
Since we have so much Leviathan meat, let’s make two types of sauces. First, a Ponzu-Soy sauce and a Miso Mayonnaise sauce. The Ponzu-Soy sauce is meant to be poured onto the Foil Grill after it is done, so let’s set it aside for now.
To make the Miso-Mayonnaise, just mix the miso paste and mayonnaise into a beige colour paste and dredge the cuts of Leviathan meat through the paste.
Alright, fine, in the end, I did use some butter for the Foil Grill, but just enough to grease the foil before arranging a layer of Leviathan meat, cabbage, onions, enoki mushrooms and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
Ok, so after making the Miso-Mayo Foil Grill, I decided to make another type with a cube of butter in it. Somehow, even though I had resolved not to use more butter, it just didn’t look right. Anyway, I’m sure my familiars would appreciate this fatty, buttery version better.
Once I have piles of these Foil Grill packages prepared, time to bake them in the oven. I even made use of the stove and lined my largest, flattest pans with these Foil Grill packages to facilitate the cooking process. The more I could fit on the stoves and in the oven, the sooner I would get to rest. Anyway, I don’t want to slave for a long time over the stove like yesterday.
Also, for your information, instead of making one steak slice per foil, I went all out and stacked three to five pieces together in one large foil, that way, I could quickly serve the food too.
After a few more rounds of wrapping and grilling, I left the kitchen to greet my hungry familiars. “Right, today I’m trying out the Foil Grilling technique on the Leviathan. Anyway, this is a Butter Foil Grill, I think? Just open it and, woah~”
The smell of butter seemed to burst into the air.
“You can eat it on its own or pour this Ponzu-Soy sauce over it first,” I said as I opened more foils over individual dishes. No sense in moving the food from the foil to the plate since the charm of the Foil Grill is to enjoy the ‘grilled’ taste that is the Foil Grill.
“”Yummy~~♪””
Sui, who was able to eat very hot food, was the first to taste the deliciousness of Foil Grilled Leviathan. She was so ecstatic that her entire body was vibrating with joy.
“Umu, both are delicious. It’s hard to compare which is more delicious,” said Grandpa Gon as he nodded to himself.
“”I like this one more!”” said Dora-chan, indicating the Miso-Mayo Foil Grill.
And finally, Fer, who had been busy cooling down the Foil Grill with his wind magic finally took a bite. “Umu, delicious. The vegetables are the only flaw here, but I supposed Leviathan is delicious enough to overcome these inferior ingredients.”
“What are you talking about? Vegetables are a must when it comes to Foil Grilling! Whatever, I’ll have one too,” I muttered as I opened up one of the smaller ‘single serve’ Mayo-Miso Foil Grill. I already have a bowl of rice next to me as I opened up the foil.
As expected, the sweetness of the vegetables coupled with the savoury miso and luxurious mayonnaise is just too irresistible. It goes without saying that the umami of the Leviathan meat had seeped into all the other ingredients as well.
Ufoh~ I’ll need a second helping of rice like this~
“Seconds! Seconds!”
Ah, I’m being interrupted, but that’s alright since I come prepared!
“Hahaha! Prepare to eat a lot today!!” I said as I opened up more jumbo-size Foil Grill.
“Woah!! I’ll eat more today!!”
“I shall as well,”
“”Keep it coming! Keep it coming!!””
“”Sui wants to eat more too~~””
“What the- that’s not an invitation for you to eat more. Moderation is the key to life, you know? Moderation!”
“Hmm, if Master does not mind, perhaps a beer?”
“”Sneaky! Sui wants sweet fizz~! Sweet black fizz~!””
“”Same here! Same here!!””
“Umu, I prefer the clear cider. That’s a more elegant drink. And seconds, of course.”
“”Here, here!!””
“”Levy~ Levy yummy~~””
“Oi, didn’t you guys hear me at all? Moderation, moderation!”
Eguchi Ren: Everyone, the hot days seemed to be endless, how are you doing? I am exhausted. I will be taking my second C Vaccine shot soon. I had some side effects such as slight pain in the arm and body, and a bit of sluggishness with the first dose, so will be taking a break next week (16th May)
Thank you for reading my story.
I have no idea how many times the virus will reinfect, but the number of C virus victims are increasing, so please take care of yourself.
(This is a message from Eguchi Ren from 09 Aug 2021)
Gumihou: Thank you for thinking of us, Eguchi-san. We’re thinking of you too!
[1] Gumi’s contribution, it could be interpreted in different ways. *Smirk*
[1a] Make the argument more ‘natural’
Comments