The cork popped with a crisp, dry sound. I brought the neck of the bottle to my nose, lightly wafting the scent toward me with my hand.
A refreshing, sweet aroma. But the alcohol definitely makes its presence known.
This was a far cry from the cheap, watered-down swill they called liquor back in the Arcology. The dragon meat showed no signs of being finished just yet. Since the quality looked superb, I decided it would be a waste to use the wine only for a flambé. I pulled two additional wine glasses from my item box.
"Hey, can you handle your drink? The meat's going to take a while. Want an aperitif while you wait?"
The woman looked a bit younger than my real-world self—maybe around twenty. Since this was another world, I doubted there were any legal drinking age issues, but I asked just in case she couldn't handle alcohol.
"You really are a strange monster. Well, I'll take some since you're offering. What kind of wine is it?"
"It's wine made from Apples of Wisdom."
As I named the vintage, the beautiful woman went silent. I poured the wine, told her I was setting the glass down in front of her, and turned my focus back to the dragon steak's progress.
***
She stared at the glass of wine placed before her, then shifted her gaze to the back of the monster doing the cooking. He claimed to be weak, but what a sick joke. He was strong—far stronger than her, someone who prided herself on having stepped into the realm of heroes. In a straight fight, she would lose. Her best course of action was to play along and look for an opening to escape.
What is this guy?
Knowing she would lose a confrontation, she had no choice but to follow his lead. Reaching for the glass, the Ninth Seat of the Black Scripture, Clementine, muttered a curse in her heart.
This is all Nigun's fault.
Nigun Grid Luin of the Sunlight Scripture had failed to assassinate Gazef Stronoff, the Warrior Captain of the Re-Estize Kingdom, and had gone missing. With prophecies suggesting the resurrection of the Dragon Lord of Destruction was imminent, Clementine had been sent as a scout due to her specialized speed to search for traces of both Nigun and the dragon. Operating as a member of the Black Scripture meant she couldn't just walk into a town, and her food supplies were nearly exhausted. When she found a fool cooking in the forest, she thought she'd just slip in and gut him. She never expected to find a monster chef.
Wine made from... Apples of Wisdom?
She sniffed it. It smelled of fresh fruit and sharp alcohol. It certainly wasn't anything macabre like human blood, but she doubted it was truly made from legendary fruit. Still, if she rejected his hospitality, he might kill her. Terrified, she took a sip.
"What is this?! It's delicious!"
The exclamation escaped her lips before she could stop it. It was far better than any wine she had ever tasted. The refreshing sweetness and acidity of the apple, combined with a perfectly balanced alcoholic kick, proved its high quality. And the name wasn't a lie; she felt a strange sensation, as if something was permeating her very body. At her shout of surprise, the monster laughed.
"Good, isn't it? How do you like your meat? Rare? Medium? Or well-done?"
"I don't care. You decide."
She didn't understand the difference, so she left it to him. He muttered something about "medium-rare" and went back to work.
I've never seen a monster like this.
He had an odd, elongated orange body like a ball with arms and legs attached. He looked nothing like a human, yet his chef's hat and coat fit him perfectly. He was a monster she had never seen or heard of in this region. Since he could speak, he was clearly high-tier... but where had he come from?
"Alright, it's done. Sorry to keep you waiting."
Along with the sound of sizzling meat, a thick slab was placed before her on a hot iron plate. Since he was a monster, she had imagined a gargantuan portion, but it was a reasonable size for a human. The incredible aroma and the sound of the searing fat made her stomach growl loudly. The monster chuckled.
"Here, a knife and fork."
"Th-thanks."
Accepting the silver utensils, she stared at the thick cut of meat. She had decided to play nice because she couldn't beat him, but she never imagined a monster could cook something this magnificent. Perhaps he was a demi-human from another continent. With that thought, she pressed the fork into the meat.
It's... so soft?!
It was tender beyond anything she could have imagined for a cut that thick. The knife was high quality, but the meat itself was shockingly supple. She had intended to cut a small piece, but it ended up larger than expected. She considered cutting it again, but...
Wow... it looks so good...
The sight of the pink, juicy center made her mouth water. She couldn't resist any longer. She stuffed the large morsel into her mouth. It was so tender it practically melted against her lips, yet it had the satisfying weight of real meat.
"It's too good!"
She wondered what she had been eating all her life. The flavor and fat content were incomparable to any steak she'd had before. And just like the wine, she felt vitality flooding her body. She began to wonder if his cooking carried some kind of magical enchantment.
"Glad you like it. Munch... Yeah, this is great. Tastes even better when eating with a beautiful lady."
Is this demi-human hitting on me? She felt a flash of irritation at the smooth flattery, but decided it was wrong to be angry while eating something this heavenly. She cut another piece. It was marbled red meat, perfectly balanced. It wasn't beef, but what was it? Likely a monster, but the taste was so divine that she felt no disgust.
"Mmm! Delicious! Hey, monster. What kind of meat is this?"
If it was a creature she could catch nearby, she might hunt it for food in the future.
"I'm not 'monster.' I'm Kawasaki. Chef Kawasaki."
The being—whether monster or demi-human—gave his name. Kawasaki swallowed his mouthful of meat before turning the question back on her.
"What do you think it is? Hmm?"
"Uh... some kind of monster, right?"
"Well, I guess you could call it a monster. Do dragons live around here?"
"Haha... A dragon? Wait... what?"
She looked back and forth between the meat on her fork and Kawasaki. He gave a mischievous grin.
"Yep. Dragon meat. Good, right?"
She nearly choked, but the flavor didn't change. She managed a weak, "Yeah, it's delicious," before stuffing more into her mouth. Even knowing it was a dragon, she couldn't resist the taste. Besides, there was no way she could beat a freak who hunted dragons just for ingredients. She was lucky to have a meal, but she couldn't help but feel anxious about what would happen to her next.
***
She had quite an appetite. Her pace had slowed a bit after hearing it was dragon, but she was still polishing off a steak that was huge for a woman. I decided it wouldn't be enough and pulled more ingredients from my item box.
"That's enough of that."
"Aww!"
As she reached the last few bites, I held up a hand. She looked incredibly dissatisfied, making me chuckle.
"You're still hungry, aren't you? I'm going to use that steak to make you something even better."
"Even better?!" Her eyes sparkled. I gave her a firm nod and pulled out a large iron griddle instead of a pan.
"Fire!"
I ignited the flame and set the griddle on top. In cooking, performing right in front of the guest is one of the easiest ways to stimulate their appetite.
"First, I'll dice this meat."
The woman was staring so intently at my hands that I had to tell her to step back a bit. She blushed and took a step away.
"I'll toss the meat back into the steak sauce, add the rice, and stir-fry it quickly."
Normally I'd use butter and soy sauce, but I had steak sauce made from the Apples of Wisdom wine left over, so I adapted the recipe to use that.
"Add plenty of sliced garlic."
Using garlic for a lady might be a bit risky, but you can't get the authentic flavor without it. She'd just have to deal with it. I gripped a spatula in each hand.
"Now, we sear it all at once with high heat!"
There was a lot of sauce relative to the rice. To keep it from getting soggy, I cast another Fire spell to boost the heat. The sauce evaporated instantly, crackling and popping. If I stopped moving for even a second, it would burn, so I ignored the heat and focused entirely on the stir-fry.
"Whoa..."
She was wide-eyed, captivated by the scent of roasted garlic and the display before her. I loved seeing that reaction; the performance makes the wait part of the fun. I moved the spatulas with precision, finishing the garlic rice.
"Dragon steak garlic rice. Dig in."
"This looks amazing too!"
She laughed like a child. I smiled and handed her a spoon.
"Want more wine with that?"
This time it wasn't the Apples of Wisdom, but a standard grape wine. However, I had used my skills to enchant it with Strength and Physical Ability buffs. She looked like a warrior, so I figured this would be more useful than the intelligence boost.
"Yes! I'll drink!"
She shoveled the garlic rice into her mouth, shouting "Delicious!" between bites. I felt a sense of pride as I refilled her glass.
***
"Mmm... mumble... can't eat another bite..."
"That's a new one for sleep-talking."
Whether she had been that hungry or just couldn't hold her liquor, the woman had eaten and drunk her fill before collapsing onto the ground to sleep.
"I wanted to ask her some things, though."
I wanted to know where I was and if there were any towns nearby, but it was hard to interrogate someone who felt safe enough to sleep so defenselessly.
Good thing I'm a monster.
If I were in my real body, seeing a woman with such a perfect figure sleeping without a care might have led me to make a mistake.
"Well, she's a valuable source of info, so..."
I rummaged through my item box and pulled out a specific scroll. It was one Momonga had made for me: Anti-Life Cocoon. Since my job was a chef, I needed ingredients. Many recipes required wild plants or herbs, and Momonga had given me these to ensure I wouldn't be bothered by monsters or Player Killers while gathering.
I wonder if Momonga is here...
Now that the cooking was done, the loneliness started to set in. Was I the only one in this world? I decided to ask her for information tomorrow and plan my next move. I pulled two blankets from the item box, draping one over the sleeping woman and using the other for myself. After adding a large pile of wood to the fire, I lay down on the forest floor.
"What a beautiful night sky. I wish Blue Planet could see this."
He probably would have gone on and on about the constellations with that excited look of his. I stared up at the stars—a sight I could never see in the real world. As drowsiness finally took hold, I surrendered to a deep sleep.