saikyokantei 10: Seems Like He’s Won Over Their Stomachs.

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Saikyō no kantei-shi tte dare no koto?~ Manpuku gohan de i sekai seikatsu ~
Author: Minatose Tsukasa
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Seems Like He’s Won Over Their Stomachs.

A/n: It seems like Yuri’s food is too delicious.

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Finishing his duties, Ali went to the dining hall to have a bit of a late dinner. This base’s dining hall is connected to the kitchen. Rather than saying it’s connected, it was made so that food can be handed over from the kitchen, like a cafeteria. As for why it was made that way, it’s because there are a lot of people living here. The number of tables were made so that all the members can gather together to eat. …But then they’re a clan of treasure hunters who will go diving in the dungeon one way or another. They don’t often gather all the members together.

Oh yeah, today’s the end of the month; Ali became depressed as he walked. Even though he picked up a troublesome ‘lost item’ today, it’s the end of the month so their food reserves would be empty, and it’s been confirmed that there won’t be a decent meal. … It seems that the idiots among the apprentices had done it, grilling an excessive amount of meat for lunch while Ali and the others were dungeon diving. Ali guessed correctly that, thanks to that, there’s probably no ingredients left.

 

“… Good grief. Tonight will be steamed potatoes I guess…”

 

The currently lowest ranked Yack is an impressive boy who understands the how important food and rationing is since he was raised in a farming community. But he’s not the only person on cooking duty. As his foolish seniors’ extravagant usage depletes the ingredients, he tearfully makes his meals to balance it out. Therefore, there are a lot of potato, egg, and milk sets when Yack is on cooking duty. It’s not Yack’s fault. Those are the only three things, plus bread, that they have a lot of.

While he headed to the dining hall, he realized there were a strangely large amount of presences. Usually all the members would quickly eat dinner and withdraw to their own rooms, but it seems some have stuck around. The presences he sensed in the dining hall were roughly 10 people. Excluding Ali, that’s all the members left in the base.

 

“… What are they doing?”

 

Pondering as he walked, he thought it might be that they’re welcoming the newcomer. Today he’d inadvertently picked up an abnormal lost boy. By appearance he was a simple boy in his teens with no special features and a poor sense of danger. If that’s all he was, Ali would have treated it as sheltering an unfortunate child who’d gotten lost, and felt like he’d done a good deed.

 

If only he wasn’t so full of abnormalities.

 

He should stop thinking about it, Ali thought. He didn’t even have anyone to discuss it with. Rather, THAT was more than even Ali could handle. If he was going to consult with anyone, it would be those higher-ups, like the Adventurer’s Guild’s Master, or the Head of the Appraisers Association. Honestly, he knows that it will only be trouble, so he doesn’t want to meet up with them.

 

“Ah, Leader! Thanks for your hard work!”

 

Yack noticed Ali immediately. Rather, he alone was poking his head out from behind the dining hall door, as if he was waiting to see if Ali had come yet. The moment he saw Ali he withdrew, and Ali could hear a voice.

 

“Yuri! The Leader came!”

“I got it. Then I’ll begin the preparations.”

“Please do~!”

 

Oi. What are you doing?

Ali swallowed the tsukkomi that almost escaped his throat. He should stop caring about the details. That’s what he thought. He hoped he’d heard wrong, but unfortunately, Ali had good ears. His memory was also good. The voice he heard was without a doubt that previously mentioned lost child that Ali had met today.

As Ali entered the dining hall, he was greeted with all of the members of Scarlet Lynx currently in the base. All of them. Before he could tsukkomi, ‘What are all of you doing?’ all of his comrades yelled loudly.

 

“ “Leader, don’t ever kick him out of here!” “

 

The lower ranked lot was especially desperate. Not understanding, Ali glanced at Brooke and Frau, two talented adventurers he’d known for a long time, and they smiled bitterly. They smiled bitterly, but neither of them refuted the statement. Ali really didn’t understand.

 

“Well, if you eat, you’ll understand, Ali.”

“Ah?”

“It seems he was unable to stand watching Yack being troubled, so Yuri helped out with dinner. Although I said he helped, Yuri basically made all of it.”

“…. … What is he doing, that guy…”

 

Ali sighed at Brooke’s explanation. What is he doing, working on his own without even being assigned a job yet? But now Ali had a bit of anticipation. Since Ali knew that Yuri had the Cooking Skill.

And so.

 

“Thanks for waiting. It’s hot, so please be careful while eating.”

“… Yeah.”

 

Yuri brought the food over while smiling. There were lots of things he hadn’t seen before, but the smell is unmistakably delicious. There were two golden-brown, deep fried somethings. The first had an irregular shape, and the other had an oval shape. The soup in the bowl was white. He had never seen such a soup before, so Ali’s eyes narrowed just a little. The only thing that was normal was the bread on the plate.

He thought of appraising it for a moment, but he knew that would definitely be rude. This airheaded boy wouldn’t have brought him poison. Also, he knew this was edible due to the reactions around him.

 

“Then, I guess I’ll eat.”

 

As Ali used a fork to stab the irregularly shaped fried food and bring it to his mouth, everyone watched him, immensely curious. It had a strange mouth-feel to it. It felt both crisp and crunchy. Furthermore, when he bit down, he realized it was vegetables stuck together and fried. The seasoning was probably salt, but this simple flavor brought out the sweetness of the vegetables further.

 

“… What is this?”

“There was nothing left but vegetable scraps, so I made kakiage.”

“… Kakiage?”

“Food from my hometown. I only seasoned it with salt, but is it alright? I’ll bring the salt if it’s not enough.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s pretty good.”

“That’s a relief.”

 

Ali was impressed with the simple seasoning of the crispy kakiage. As he said, there were all sorts of vegetables used. Also, they were cut thinly. … There probably isn’t any other decent way to use these if he didn’t do so.

Next Ali took the similarly freshly fried elliptical mass. He tried cutting it into bite sized pieces with a knife and fork. Compared to the golden-brown surface, the insides were white-ish. It felt soft. Thinking that he could see brown meat here and there, he ate it.

The sweetness of the potatoes and the savoriness of the meat. And the fragrance from being fried; Ali’s eyes widened. In the first place, it was a miracle that he realized this was potatoes. It was because this kind of had the same texture of mashed potatoes (boiled potatoes smashed up, a bland item). Furthermore, he doesn’t know what it is, but the crunchy outer part was extremely delicious.

 

“… What about this?”

“Croquettes made from potatoes and meat off the bones, minced. I didn’t have breadcrumbs for the breading, so I made it by grating a loaf of bread.”

“… … Breadcrumbs?”

“Yes, crumbled bread.”

 

Faced with the brightly smiling Yuri, Ali decided to ask about the details afterwards. For now he just wanted to savor this delicious meal. He thought there was only going to be steamed potatoes, but a much more delicious meal came out. It should be savored.

While alternating between the bread, kakiage, and croquette, Ali took hold of the white soup. That’s probably potatoes bobbing in it. … As expected, there was no proper ingredients other than potatoes left; Ali pitied Yack. As well as respected Yuri for making this meal in that sort of situation.

The mysterious item that was the pure white soup didn’t smell bad, so Ali drank it as is. It was a truly mysterious flavor. The savoriness of the meat, mildness of the milk, and the seasoning of salt, pepper, and herbs made for a taste he couldn’t describe. But it had a gentle taste that mysteriously warmed his heart. When he tried eating the large potatoes in it, they had absorbed the flavor and were tender, undeniably delicious.

In the end, Ali continued to eat silently. It was delicious. It was truly delicious. It was so delicious he could never have imagined eating this meal in this base. It was a meal he’d normally have to pay money at a restaurant for.

And then, when Ali finished eating, the lower ranked kids began yelling again. Actually, they were begging so desperately they were sitting on the floor.

 

“Leader, don’t send him anywhere else.”

“Please, Leader! Not being able to eat his food will be awful!”

“For me too, it would be awful to lose this kind of meal.”

“Me too!”

“… … You guys…”

 

Their stomachs had been completely won over. He understood their feelings. He understood, but they’re adventurers, even if provisionally. Ali wanted to say, ‘Don’t be so easily won over, fed, and then come begging so desperately.’ … But there was a boy among them, not saying a word and simply staring seriously at Ali. It was Yack.

 

“… What is it, Yack?”

“Leader, Yuri is amazing. His meals are amazingly delicious. And he’s even able to cook with leftovers.”

“Yeah. I can tell. … This dinner would have been impossible for you alone, right?”

“Un. … That’s way, Leader, I want Yuri to stay. And I want him to teach me all sorts of stuff.”

 

Compared to the other members wanting Yuri to stay with the goal of improving their own meal situation, Yack said that he wanted to study under Yuri in order to improve himself. It really was the correct answer to let him join them, Ali thought. Yack was still young, and thin to the point where he has to start building muscle, but his foresight is profound, confirming Ali’s assessment. Even now, he’s the only one looking at the future.

Ali patted Yack’s head. Even Ali will think that a newcomer who has proper priorities is cute, compared to the other idiots. Also, he has no intention to kick Yuri out from here. … Because he has no idea what Yuri will get up to after he kicks him out.

 

“Yuri.”

“Yes?”

“It was good. Thank you for the meal.”

“Oh no, it was nothing.”

 

Yuri’s smiling face, that looked like he wanted to say, ‘I’m happy you liked it,’ was like a young child’s. Ali thought he’d normally think it was charming, if he didn’t know about all those abnormalities. Not that he can do anything about it even though he knows.

 

“For now, do the apprentice work together with Yack. During that time we’ll teach you all sorts of common sense.”

“Thank you very much. Working together with Yack, does that mean cooking and cleaning?”

“That’s right. … Yack, this guy has way too many things he doesn’t know about. Teach him about them.”

“Yessir!”

“I’ll be in your care, Yack.”

 

Yuri and Yack shook hands happily. It seems they hit it off while making dinner together. Ali decided that leaving Yuri’s lacking common sense to Yack would be fine. Yack is bright, and he took care of his younger siblings at home, so he should be good at teaching others. The two also seem to get along well, so Ali thought it was fine to leave all the little things to Yack.

Now Ali turned his attention to the apprentices who were delighted that Yuri would stay. Those fools that don’t understand the importance of ingredients time and time again.

 

“You guys are to thoroughly study the way Yuri cooks. In particular, how to use ingredients.”

“ “Heh?” “

“Every single time, thanks to your thoughtless consumption, there’s never a proper meal. … Don’t even think that any of you can become independent like this.”

“ “Understood!” “

 

Ali narrowed his eyes, and the apprentices nodded frantically at his declaration. With their Leader who had a rough mouth and watched over them, they properly knew how scary Ali was when he really got mad.

 

Thus, it was decided that Yuri will cook at Scarlet Lynx.

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A/n: There’s likely some talent in preparing food in the other world.
But the Cooking Skill level 50 probably holds major influence…
Even so, well, Yuri’s comfortable live begins now…
I am awaiting your opinions and impressions.

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<t/n: (7/7)
This amount of chapters is not going to be a regular update amount, but I thought it best to get this ‘arc’ out in one go.
It’s always fun to see how different each author’s writing style is.>