The Meat Field

The last strip of jerky hung in the yard.

"......"

Ji-oh clapped his hands.

"It's a meat field all its own."

"Kkureuk."

"Your dad agrees—it's a beautiful sight."

That didn't mean he had turned every scrap of meat into jerky. Trusting the forest where ingredients never spoiled, he had stashed a few cuts of raw meat in the ice cellar, and besides...

"The leftover meat will have to become sausage or get stored properly."

The system had said the effect would trigger so long as it was "sun-dried processed meat." So he had marinated the sliced cuts and hung them out like dried fish, deliberately choosing only the tender parts so they would be easy to eat later.

Now it was time to deal with the scraps left over from making jerky.

"I deliberately set the intestines and stomach aside and cleaned out the gamey smell, so they should be ready to use soon."

He hadn't given the water birds every single organ from the deer. He had reserved the long, rope-like intestines and the stomach—still bearing the obvious traces of a very hearty meal.

Everything that reeked had been removed and soaked in water grated with apple, lemon, and onion, so no weird smells would come back to haunt him.

"As far as I know, there's plenty of meat left over too."

"Kkurrrr."

"I'm still clumsy at butchering... so there are a lot of irregular scraps. Perfect for sausage."

Using them for soup wouldn't have been bad either, but hadn't the system said that if he wanted to boost the Tree-Horn Deer's effects he should make them into "sun-dried processed meat"?

Rather than drying every little scrap one by one, bundling them into sausages and hanging them out looked far more efficient. It was also an excellent way to preserve leftover meat.

"We'll boil the leftover bones and meat for soup later."

"Kkurrrrrrr!"

Making bone broth ahead of time seemed like a fine idea too.

"Then the real question is how to season them."

Honey brightened with joy.

"Kkul."

"Pig?"

"Kkur."

"Right."

Had it finally accepted its own identity?

"While we're at it, I'd like to look for some unusual spices..."

Even a casual glance showed that the cabin forest was vast.

Ji-oh always walked the same paths; there had to be plenty of places and fruits he had never seen.

"Shall we go exploring for the first time in a while?"

"Kkuk-kkuk-kkuk."

"Of course I'm taking you with me."

Remembering the way Honey had wolfed down the deer's organs like a warrior made him feel extremely secure.

The animals of this forest might be friendly toward me... but there's no law saying creatures that wandered in from other dimensions will be the same. It's scary, so Honey has to come along.

Yes—Ji-oh was a coward.

"No matter how I think about it, invasive species are too much."

"Kkuk...?"

"If a deer whose antlers and hooves are made of metal goes berserk, I am one hundred percent confident I'll be dead in ten seconds."

"Kkung-kkung..."

"Protect your fragile dad."

So where exactly should they go looking for what spices?

"If we just start moving, something we want to do will probably turn up."

Having reached that clear conclusion, Ji-oh rummaged out his cloak and put it on. He wore it whenever he planned to go a little farther, yet the cloak remained as spotless as ever.

I should upgrade this later too.

He was pretty sure he had thought that more than fifty times already. Usually that meant he never actually touched it.

"......"

"Kkur..."

"I'll do it someday."

Basket in hand as always, Ji-oh set his top priority.

"I'd like to find new spices or sauces. There must be unique ingredients that only appear in this fantasy world—like Lurupu or Mangdung Fruit..."

Things like pepper, salt, sugar, for example.

"There's a limit to how much I can keep freeloading off the cabin."

The cupboards and storerooms were stocked with basic ingredients and spices. But there was no telling how long they would last, or whether they would refill automatically the way they had at the beginning once they ran out.

"Better to prepare ahead of time than end up having to draw every single one later."

"Kkurrr."

"Especially salt—it's essential for survival, but..."

The water of the water-bird lake was salty; if he could evaporate some of it somehow, salt might come out.

I haven't tried yet, but it shouldn't be impossible.

Ji-oh muttered to himself.

"Wouldn't mind if a dairy cow or a chicken dropped out of the sky either."

He was even wishing for livestock now.

"Then I could get milk and eggs whenever I wanted."

"Kkurrrrr?"

"You... weren't you a male?"

He had no real basis for thinking so, but could it lay eggs if it was a male?

"Were you a daughter instead of a son?"

"Kkung."

"Ah, not that."

"Kkung-kkung."

"...Oh..."

Apparently it had no gender at all.

"Amazing."

Then again, watching the water birds of the lake multiply by splitting their eggs like amoebas, mating hardly seemed necessary.

Ji-oh nodded.

"Thinking too hard is a pain, so let's just stick with son. Agreed?"

"Kkureuk."

"Great."

For a moment Ji-oh nearly felt afraid of his own boundless power, then realized that the only thing he would ever make with it was roasted potatoes and relaxed again.

"There's no way a harmless guy like me could be some creature that threatens world peace."

"......"

"Agree with me right now, Honey. Dad is a harmless organism."

Honey refused to agree to the end.

"Stubborn little thing."

Honey was the sort that could say no when something wasn't true.

The cabin forest was wonderfully cool. Stepping into the shade brought a refreshing breeze; standing in the sun wrapped them in air as soft and warm as a quilt aired out in spring.

Wandering without any particular destination felt as pleasant and carefree as going on a picnic.

"Ah."

Trudging along without a plan, Ji-oh finally scored a decent harvest.

"This looks edible."

"Kkurrruk."

"Right? The scent is unique too..."

It was a plant whose small, transparent tetrahedral fruits hung in cascades like lily-of-the-valley bells.

"......"

First discoverer?

There was a first discoverer named Mary?

Information that suddenly expanded the world. It meant that the plants—or even the animals—growing here might exist in some other dimension as well.

"So this ecosystem wasn't made from my imagination alone."

"Kkureuk?"

"No, I'm not upset about it."

The ridiculously broad world-building was just a little funny.

"Heaven and earth..."

Where on earth had he fallen?

"Life really is a roller coaster."

The system also provided the alchemy method, but Ji-oh had little interest. He focused solely on the taste and aroma.

"So basically it's pepper?"

Fatigue recovery and the rest didn't even register.

Delighted to have found a spice after so long, Ji-oh promptly plucked the Galaxy Mary fruits. They were fully ripe; a light tap sent them raining down.

"I should remember this spot."

Having gathered more than a handful, Ji-oh straightened and muttered.

"Looks like this is a Galaxy colony."

The flower bed glittering with tiny transparent fruits was almost too beautiful to enjoy alone. The forest was so dark that the fruits' clarity stood out even more—so much so that they truly looked like a galaxy.

"It would be even prettier at night."

"Kkurrr..."

"Anyway, pepper's taken care of."

He sniffed, but right now there was no scent.

"...Does the aroma develop only after drying?"

Just like Mangdung Fruit.

What kind of heat will it have?

It was supposed to be hot and tingling, but he had no idea of the exact character.

"Could be more like a small hot chili than black pepper."

"Kkurrr?"

"Or maybe closer to Sichuan peppercorns? But those are more numbing than spicy... I'll have to dry some myself before I know what dishes they'll work in."

The tiny fruits sparkled like transparent beads, yet they felt fragile and rustled like thin plastic. Inside, the flesh felt firmer than the skin... but it looked ready to crush at the slightest pressure.

"And they say it hardens when dried."

Strange vegetation straight out of a fairy tale—looks and all.

"I'll try it the next time I grill meat."

Feeling the joy of living, Ji-oh carefully cradled the basket against his chest.

Back on Earth, pepper had once been treated almost like gold; that was exactly how Ji-oh felt right now.

"Wonder if there are any other spices around?"

"Kkur?"

"Even so, making sausage with only pepper would be too bland."

"Kkuk."

"Let's go a little farther in."

Sausage could be made in countless ways.

"Meat and fat are the basic ingredients, of course."

He had already portioned those by cut. To keep them from spoiling he had left them in the cool storeroom under a large cloth. Once every other ingredient was gathered, he planned to start the grinding.

The meat from this butchering had no gamey smell, but he still needed other spices to bring out the umami. Making sausage with nothing but salt, pepper, and meat would be far too boring.

"A proper sausage must have deep aroma and flavor."

Fortunately he had already found Galaxy Mary, which would serve as both chili and pepper.

"But that alone isn't enough."

The fun of making sausage lay precisely in how completely the taste and aroma changed depending on which herbs and spices went into the filling.

Galaxy Mary alone—presumably a mix of chili and pepper notes—would produce a decent sausage, but...

"Shall we keep going for now?"

"Kkurrrrr."

"If any dangerous animals pop out, you have to warn me."

As Honey's parent, so to speak, Ji-oh instinctively knew that this round little water bird was anything but weak. Small and precious as Honey was, it still served as a reliable bodyguard.

Strolling through the forest, Ji-oh continued.

"There are important conditions for making good cured meat."

First: adjust the salt to the storage period and climate.

"In a forest where ingredients never rot, that might sound pointless, but..."

"Kkuk?"

"Too much salt in the cure and it keeps forever but becomes hard to cook with; too little and the curing fails and the meat spoils."

"Kkung-kkung-kkung..."

"Yeah, it's a hassle."

And that was what made it fun. Every fussy cooking technique in the world held a fatal charm that sparked Ji-oh's competitive spirit.

"The temperature here is mild enough, and once the curing is done I don't have to worry about spoilage—which I really appreciate. I don't like jerky or sausage that's too salty anyway."

"Kkureuk..."

"If it's too salty you can't eat much. Your stomach fills up right away."

"Kkuk."

"I knew you'd agree with me."

Father and son confirmed their mutual trust.

"And second: dry according to the intended use."

"Hng?"

The reaction roughly meant, "Cured meat has different uses?"

"Not all sausages are the same."

Having his son along meant he didn't have to monologue alone; the company made him genuinely happy. That was why people needed friends.

"The longer you dry it, the tougher the meat gets, so of course there are many kinds."

"Kkururu..."

"Sure, you'll eat anything, but try thinking from a human perspective."

There were more cooking methods in the world than there were people.

"Some sausages are eaten while still soft and fresh; others are dried rock-hard and then cooked."

The former were usually boiled or grilled; the latter might be boiled like fresh sausage or steamed.

"Fresh sausage gushes juice with just a little heat, but fully dried sausage doesn't. Nobody wants to chew on a hard stick, so people try every way to put moisture back into it... something like that, I guess."

And third.

"This is the most important one. Taste and aroma."

"Kkurrrrrr."

Honey agreed with fierce enthusiasm.

"Such a little gourmet."

In fact, he considered this condition 99.9 percent of what made an excellent sausage.

"Your dad hates anything that tastes bad."

"Keuhng."

Honey agreed just as fiercely this time too.

"So since we're making them anyway, I want to do them well again."

The form of the ingredients changed slightly depending on the type of sausage.

"There are endless ways to make sausage. If you want clean meat flavor, just a little salt and enough spice to kill any off-notes will do. If you need a punchy side dish, add spices that hit the nose and leave a tingle on the tongue."

"Kkeung..."

"If you want even more variety you can add vegetables too. Of course if they release too much water it gets tricky... but in my experience, if you salt them first, squeeze out every drop, then mix them in, you don't get water or mold inside the sausage and it turns out great."

Ji-oh rolled his eyes, already imagining the sausages he would make.

"I'm starting to crave something spicy, so if we find a spice or vegetable that can set the tongue on fire I'd like to bring it back. When you make that kind of sausage, adding something with a slight bitterness makes the flavor richer. Of course too much and you get a disaster dish, but..."

His self-confidence was far too high to worry about such things.

"An artist with a soul as brilliant as mine would never make that mistake. Just trust me."

"Kkureuk?"

"...Worried the heat might not suit your beak? Fair enough—it could be too intense for a bird."

Ji-oh nodded.

"Then we'll have to make a mild sausage as well. Same principle applies: if you want deeper flavor, add ingredients with a gentle, soft aroma. Mild herbs would be perfect."

"......"

"But I still want something with a kick. How about one spicy sausage and one super-salty one? I hope we find ingredients that pair well with Galaxy Mary or ginger."

"......"

Under Honey's bright, "Can you really pull that off?" stare, Ji-oh nodded firmly.

"There's nothing this dad can't do."

For the sake of delicious food, what wouldn't he attempt? Ji-oh was confident.

Then something promising caught his eye.

"A perfectly clear explanation."

(To be continued)