Chapter 57: When Boar Meets Doenjang and a Wolf Meets Temptation

I was walking down the adventurer street.

“Wow! It’s Mr. Fabir!”

“That’s definitely the person who opened the Healing Restaurant, right?”

“If it weren’t for him, we would never have discovered Korean food.”

“He’s way more handsome in person than the rumors said.”

“I wonder what dish he’ll make next. I’m already excited.”

Whisper whisper.

In just a few days, the number of adventurers who recognized me had increased dramatically. 

It was probably due to the influence of the “Healing Restaurant.”

Their stares were quite burdensome, so I quickened my pace.

Step step.

After passing the training ground at the end of the adventurer street and entering a quiet area, a large warehouse came into view.

“Is this the place?”

Creeeak—

The moment I opened the door, a fishy, bloody smell stabbed my nose.

I forced down my gag reflex and stepped inside.

“Welcomeee.”

A man with a long beard that nearly touched the ground. 

He wore an apron and held a razor-sharp cleaver in his hand.

The bright red bloodstains on the apron were so vivid that I couldn’t help but tense up.

“I-is this the magical beast dismantling site?”

“That it is. Did you bring a beast to dismantle?”

“No, actually… I was wondering if I could buy some magical beast meat.”

“Magical beast meat?”

The man’s eyebrows shot up.

“Are you perhaps an alchemist? Which shop should I deliver to?”

“Ah, no. I’m not an alchemist.”

“You’re not? Then… what are you planning to do with magical beast meat?”

“Well, you see…”

For some reason it felt awkward to say.

“I’m going to cook it.”

“Co-cook it?”

Shock spread across his face.

Just like beastmen, humans also hunted magical beasts. 

However, it was mainly for materials, not for eating.

Only certain parts were occasionally treated as delicacies and served to a very small number of gourmets.

“You have quite… unique tastes.”

“Haha… yeah, I guess so.”

I laughed awkwardly.

Magical beast meat was notoriously difficult to cook. 

It had a strong gamey smell, thick hide, and sinewy tendons that made both preparation and eating a challenge.

And here I was, trying to eat exactly that.

“I was just working on a horned boar. Want to take some of that?”

“Yes, please!”

“Wait just a moment.”

The man brought over a huge chunk of horned boar meat, placed it on a massive cutting board, and brought the cleaver down with force.

THUD! THUD!

“Will this much do?”

“Yes, that’s plenty.”

“Come anytime you need more. I’ll keep it a secret from the others.”

“Huh?”

“Having unusual tastes isn’t a crime, is it?”

“Ah… thank you very much.”

I quickly took the meat and fled the dismantling site.

***

I returned to the Floating Island with the horned boar meat.

“Hmm.”

Even though the hard-won magical beast meat was right in front of me, I could only swallow nervously.

Sniff sniff.

The gamey stench had been assaulting my nose ever since earlier.

Horned boar meat had a much stronger odor than domestic pork. 

Still, compared to other magical beasts it was mild.

Now I understood why the Red Dragon’s burps smelled so awful. 

And with meat this tough, no wonder it would cause indigestion.

“Hmm… how on earth do beastmen eat this stuff?”

Well, with their sturdy teeth and jaw joints, maybe it’s fine for them.

Anyway, to understand magical beast meat, I had to taste it myself. 

Just looking at it, I could tell a normal kitchen knife wouldn’t cut it cleanly.

Shing!

I drew the relic I had recently forged, the mythical-grade “Vulcanus’s Dagger.”

Since it was a mythical item, surely…

Slice slice—

“Whoa! It cuts beautifully.”

As expected. 

The meat was sliced cleanly and satisfyingly.

I started grilling the sliced pieces over charcoal.

Sizzle—

The fat dripped onto the charcoal, giving off a rather savory aroma as it cooked.

The browned meat looked appetizing on the outside, but…

Sniff sniff.

“Ugh—”

Even grilled over charcoal, the gamey smell still came through strongly. 

Nausea rose from deep in my stomach.

“What are you hesitating for?”

Elenia, standing far away with her nose pinched, shouted.

She didn’t want to eat it herself, but she was clearly curious about my reaction.

“Eat it before it gets cold!”

“Y-yeah, I should.”

Why was I so nervous over something like this?

I swallowed dryly, then brought a piece to my mouth.

Chew chew.

My face scrunched up after only a few bites.

“Blech. So tough and fishy.”

It wasn’t impossible to swallow, but my tongue, now accustomed to delicious food, fiercely rejected it.

The texture was like chewing rubber, and the intense gamey smell was overwhelming.

“There’s no way I can eat it like this.”

I need drastic measures.”

***

“You have to boil it for a long time.”

Yujin’s mother dropped pork into a furiously boiling cauldron. 

She added garlic, green onions, and dissolved doenjang (fermented soybean paste).

“Doenjang seasons it and removes the gamey smell.”

“Oh! So that’s the secret of doenjang?”

“You can add medicinal herbs too if you like. We’ll boil it for a long time. The meat will become meltingly tender.”

“I see.”

So they made the meat soft by long boiling.

Beastmen mainly ate boiled meat, and now I understood why.

Whoosh—

I added more charcoal to the stove and stepped out into the yard while the boiled pork cooked.

As I sat on the wooden porch, Yumini asked with eyes full of curiosity,

“Big brother Fabir, what’s the West Continent like?”

“I want to hear too! Please tell us!”

Yujin chimed in as well.

I thought for a moment about what story to tell, then opened my mouth.

“The West Continent is largely divided into three. There’s the neutral ‘Kingdom,’ the ‘Empire’ famous for its dragon knights, and below them the magical city-state ‘Magocracy.’”

“Wow!”

The brothers’ eyes sparkled.

“Each nation has very distinct characteristics. For reference, I’m from the Kingdom.”

Because the Elf Forest lies between the West and East Continents, the actual travel distance is much longer.

It’s not a journey one can make without great resolve, and especially for a rural village like Yujin’s, stories about the West Continent were almost nonexistent.

“Amazing! I’ll definitely visit the West Continent someday!”

Yumini burned with enthusiasm.

“Good. When you’re older, come find me. I’ll take care of food and lodging!”

“Really? Wooow! Big brother Fabir is the best!”

Yumini jumped up and down in excitement.

“Big brother! What about me?”

Yujin slyly cut in. He clearly wanted to go too.

“Of course you’re included.”

Only then did Yujin flash a big smile.

We laughed and talked until the sun began to set in the west.

“This should be enough—the boiled pork must be ready.”

I went back to the kitchen with Yujin’s mother.

We lifted the cauldron lid and took out the meat.

It was glossy, meltingly tender, and had a bouncy texture. The gamey smell had faded, replaced by a rich savory aroma.

When sliced, meat juices flowed generously from the cross-section.

“Boiled pork has to be eaten with kimchi.”

Mother brought out a whole head of well-fermented kimchi from the jar.

Boiled pork, ssamjang, and kimchi—a full table was set.

“Eat it while it’s warm.”

“…Itadakimasu!”

I dipped a piece of pork deeply in ssamjang and put it in my mouth. The fat was chewy, the lean meat tender.

Every chew burst with meat juices.

Amazingly, there wasn’t a trace of gamey smell; instead, the meat juices mingled with the savory depth of ssamjang, bringing out pure umami.

“It’s so delicious!”

“Try it with kimchi too. This is last year’s batch—perfectly fermented.”

Before she finished speaking, I placed a piece of kimchi on top and ate it.

Crunch crunch!

The spicy heat of the kimchi cut through the richness of the fat, while the tangy sourness refreshed the entire mouth.

“With kimchi, I feel like I could eat this forever!”

“I’m glad it suits your taste. Eat a lot.”

The kimchi was insanely good. I silently vowed to make my own kimchi someday.

Nom nom, smack smack.

For a while we focused only on eating.

Boiling was clearly the cooking method suited to beastmen who ate tough meat.

If I added a few more ingredients, I was certain I could make magical beast meat delicious.

The next day.

***

“One, two, one, two.”

As usual, the wolf warriors were in the middle of morning training.

Lately, though, they had one big question.

“Hasn’t Captain Alec been acting strange lately?”

“He looks like his soul’s half gone.”

“Right? He seems like someone who just got dumped.”

“Could he have lovesickness?”

“No way. If anything, it’s the opposite—how many women have suffered because of Captain Alec?”

“No, look at his eyes. They’re completely enchanted.”

“Really? What kind of woman could have shaken Captain Alec’s heart like that?”

—It was roasted sweet potatoes.

Alec, leading the training at the front, had been half out of his mind lately.

Ever since the day he first tasted roasted sweet potatoes, the temptation had kept him awake at night, leaving him drained.

Occasionally—very occasionally—the craving for another sweet potato would creep in.

Each time, he clenched his teeth and stabbed his thigh with a bone needle to endure.

He absolutely could not allow a wolf’s pride to collapse over mere roasted sweet potatoes.

“õtít, §, ôt—”

He was giving commands so soullessly that he didn’t even notice the whispers around him.

Shiver—

Suddenly his whole body trembled.

When the commands stopped, one of the wolf soldiers in front asked,

“Captain, are you all right?”

Flinch.

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

Even as he said that, his pupils were shaking violently.

The reason he suddenly panicked was an unknown ominous feeling creeping up his spine.

This was the animalistic instinct that beastmen with heightened senses sometimes felt—a kind of alarm that warned of danger like earthquakes or natural disasters.

‘No, it can’t be…’

Alec shook his head, trying to dismiss it as imagination.

But they do say an ominous premonition is never wrong.

“Captain!”

A familiar voice.

“I-it can’t be…”

His stiff neck creaked as it turned.

There, in the direction he looked—

“Captain Alec! It’s me!”

The human merchant was waving cheerfully.

“W-why are you here?!”

“You haven’t eaten yet, right?”

Gasp!

Every hair on Alec’s body stood on end.

“As promised, I brought food!”

He smiled brightly.

But to Alec, that smile looked like a devil wearing an angel’s mask.

Gulp.

Alec swallowed hard.

Once again, the human was clearly trying to tame him—Alec was certain of it.