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Tl: Sam

…

“Okay, then, let’s get to grilling.”

　I put the grill on a stone platform and lit it on fire.
　When you BBQ, there will be soot and grease, but the dungeon has a self-cleaning system, so even if it gets a little dirty, it will be clean in a while. So it was okay to do this.

“……Yeah, it’s getting to be a nice fire.”

　While I was happily making the fire, Hoshino was peeking at me with interest.

“Did you also prepare that wood you’re burning?”
“Oh, that?　No, no, no. This is something I got in the dungeon.”
“What?　Did you cut down any trees?”

　Hoshino tilted her head.
　It seems she didn’t realize that I had taken it.

“That’s not quite right either. This is a Treant.”
“I see……. eh!　You’re using Trent as firewood?”

　Hoshino rolled her eyes in surprise.

　Treants are monsters in the shape of trees.
　No, it would be more correct to say that it is a tree turned into a monster as it is, rather than just having the shape of a tree.
　It has a face on its trunk, moves by moving its roots like legs, and attacks by swinging its branches.

　It looks not so scary and is slow, so it is easy to escape, but if it catches you, it will suck your life force until you die.

　It is not uncommon to find yourself surrounded by treants while moving through the forest …….

　Treants are mostly the same as plants, so even if you kill them, the woody part of the treant remains. The trunk part is dry and makes good firewood.

“Remember that one time you got tangled up with a treant while we were moving around?”
“Come to think of it, it might have been ……. I didn’t remember it at the time because Mr. Tanaka took him down in an instant.”

「I certainly didn’t remember it either.」
「He took down quite a few different ones.」
「Treants make good firewood. I learned something new.」
「I’m sure you could really use that knowledge if you’re an explorer.」
「Fire is its weakness, so it makes sense that it burns well.」
「Treant: “Burn my corpse.”」
「Oh man, that’s cool ……」
「Is it as cool as it sounds?」
「I bet Treant didn’t expect to be used as firewood either.」

“In addition to food, there are many other things you can pick up in the dungeon that you can use. Especially for those explorers who don’t have a bag with dimensional extensions, it is better to be able to procure things locally. It is an essential skill if you want to go below the lower levels.”
“I understand!　I’ll study!”

　Hoshino took out a notebook and wrote down my words.
　It’s nostalgic, I used to write down what my mentor told me too.

「Well, but there are almost no explorers who go below the lower level …….」
「Even if they do go, it’s more than one person, so the baggage problem is going to be relatively easy to solve.」
「But then, if you stray, you’ll die instantly.」
「Shachiken was sent to the depths alone, so he would have died without this skill set.」
「I think this story should be spread more widely because getting lost in dungeons is a totally common occurrence.」
「Indeed. There are a lot of explorers out there who starve to death.」

“Now that the fire is lit, it’s time to start grilling. Let’s follow the custom of roasting meat and start with the tongue first.”
“Yes…….”

「Mimic tongue.」
「Yui-chan, you look so cute all of a sudden.」
「It looks delicious, but ……」
「I’m getting hungry.」

　As I placed the mimic tongue tongue on the net, I could smell the good smell.
　Mimic’s tongue is full of flavor and still tender. It is fatty and has a different taste than beef tongue.

“Here, you can eat it.”

　I sprinkled some salt from the dungeon on the medium grilled tongue, put it on a plate, and handed it to Hoshino. (TL: Turned out it was medium)
　Hoshino accepted it with some hesitation.

“I’ll take it.”

　She lifted it up with her chopsticks and slowly put it in her mouth.
　She had eaten in the dungeon before, but there was no meat. I guess she still had some resistance to eating monsters.

　But that would end today.

“…… Eh!　Oh, it’s delicious!”

　Hoshino’s eyes lit up as soon as she put the mimic tongue in her mouth.
　Huh, you fell for it. ・・・・

“Do you like it?”
“Hah, yes. The texture is good, but every time I chew it, the flavor spreads in my mouth,…… I’ve never eaten anything like this before.”

　Hoshino said in surprise.
　Monster meat has a unique flavor.
　This is my guess, but I think the magic element combines with the meat component to give it a unique flavor. And it suits the taste buds of the awakened who are resistant to magical elements.
　The higher the rank of the monster, the stronger the flavor. The Mimic is an A-rank monster, so it has a strong flavor.

“That’s good to know. There’s plenty more where that came from.”
“Let’s see………, then, just a litttle more………”

　She’s a precious demon-eating friend.
　I’ll feed her until her belly is ripped open and drag her into the swamp. (Tl: basically saying he’ll get her hooked on it, he coupld have probably phrased it better)

　I’ve always wanted to have someone to share this taste with. No mercy. (Tl: Seems the phrasing was on purpose)

「They’re eating so much grass.」
「Wow …… I’ve been fed …….」
「Seriously, it tastes good?」
「I’m so hungry …… I’m going to yakiniku today.」
「I’m there now.」
「I just got here, what are they eating? (English)」
「He’s eating a mimic. That’s funny.」
「Mimic!　Are you kidding me?　What part of it do you eat? (English)」
「Even the gaijin nikis are surprised.」
「『#DungeonMeals 』 and 『#MimicMeals 』 are trending …….」

“Look, the rocket bull is cooked too. This one is sweet with lots of fat.”
“Oh, thank you. Whew, whew. Mooooo …… mmmm!　This one is delicious too ♡♡”(Tl: Get you a man that can cook)

　Hoshino, completely hooked on dungeon food, put the grilled meat in her stomach with a bang. Her initial reservations had completely disappeared.
　The strategy was complete.

「She eats so much!」
「Girls who eat a lot are cute.」
「Shachiken with a bad face lol.」
「You’ve got my stomach.」
「No, No!!」
「Why is Tanaka the one who grabs the food?……」
「Yum!」
「Let’s open a restaurant specializing in dungeon food. I’ll open a restaurant that specializes in dungeon food, and I’ll have Riri on the back menu.」
「Ha ha ha, I want to be eaten by Riri-tan…….」
「Ia… fungurui… (a hideous string of characters that seems to match)」
「Oh, Riri-tan is eating too. So cute.」
「Seriously, if we’re good at this, we could save the food crisis.」

　After that we continued to enjoy our meal, and we were all exhausted.
　Next time, I’ll ask Hoshino to try something a little more sophisticated. I’m looking forward to it now.

….

Tl Note: Tl Note in pinned comment this time

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