Chapter 133: Burger Party
"Hrm." Nick sighed deep as he looked at the assortment of vegetables on his kitchen table. Some were luscious and juicy, even if he didn’t recognize them. Others looked a little less tempting but still as delicious as alien vegetables could look.
A few he already knew. There was the tomato stand-in, a cucumber/eggplant thingy, and oversized leaves that added a bit of crunch to any salad they were in.
It was a mix of things that had already sprouted in his garden and gifts from Issa and the Seg Tribe. The end result would be one hell of a salad.
But there was one key figure missing from this gathering of greens.
The potato!
There was no replacement for the potato in this forest as far as he could tell. He glanced at the cupboard.
Fortunately, it wasn’t the end of the world since he had a few left from before the move. But the odds of potatoes growing in the soil of another world were low.
To the naked eye, the dirt looked no different than the dirt on Earth. But there could be differences in germs, bacteria, and even the molecular makeup of the dirt itself.
What if he wasted his few remaining potatoes?
But what if he ate them instead and there was no replacement to be found on this new world?
Unable to decide, Nick raised his gaze toward the dazzling beauty sitting next to the vegetables while looking at him with an enchanted expression.
"Eo," He said seriously.
"Yes, sweetiebuns?" She asked, still looking at him with a slightly dazed expression. Seeing him so focused did something to her.
Nick sat down opposite her and clasped his hands.
"Will potatoes grow in my garden?" He asked, his heart heavy like a rock.
"You will need to plant them for that to happen," She answered lightly.
"So, potatoes won’t be affected by the soil being different from Earthen soil?"
"Ah." Eo nodded once in realization of Nick’s troubles.
"The chance of success is not as low as you fear, especially not here with all the power crystals under us," She said, shining a beam of hope onto Nick until she continued.
"However, the results in case of successful growth might not be what you expect."
"Hmm."
"They should still be edible, but they might undergo some type of mutation," She explained with a light shrug. It was vague, but she refused to guess and give an answer based on such a guess when Nick was taking this so seriously.
"Is it worth the risk do you think?" He asked.
"Don’t you have more than one potato?" She asked back.
A light went off inside Nick’s head.
With that settled, he immediately set a few potatoes aside while preparing the rest for planting by moving them to a container he could spray some water mist into. Once the moisture made them sprout, he would add them to his garden.
Nick looked at his growing plot. He had a good feeling about it after talking with Eo.
But it could also be the hunger rumbling gently in his stomach telling him to do something with the remaining potatoes. Fortunately, he already knew what he wanted.
It wasn’t optimal, but it was delicious.
He was going to make homemade potato chips. He had run out of chips long before the move and had never bothered buying more, so he hadn’t had any in months. He could also feel that Eo would love them.
The only problem was that chips on their own weren’t really a meal. But it had been a few days since their burger supply ran out. And chips weren’t that different from fries.
He didn’t have any bread, though.
Nick’s eyes narrowed as he glanced out through the window.
"Burger party?" He asked Eo.
"It would be my pleasure," She smiled widely, sending bubbling butterflies straight into his stomach.
It seemed it was finally time to officially introduce Eo to the forest, and not just a few individuals.
Mijko was never far away from the center of the forest. All Nick needed to do was whistle a short tune, and she already knew what was up. It was already noon, so there was no time to waste if they wanted food in their bellies before dark.
Nick didn’t even get an answer.
It didn’t take long, though, before the members of the Ursa tribe bumbled through the forest, carrying a wild bovine. Nick still wasn’t sure if it was right to call it a forest cow or not, despite its similarities. Nonetheless, it was meat that made great burgers.
But that wasn’t all they brought.
The Ursa tribe, due to a lack of other chores and entertainment, had thrown themselves at the cooking Nick had shown them. They had even prepared bread to the best of their abilities. They had baked some of it and brought dough for Nick to bake in his oven inside since it made more even bread.
The bread Kavam and Lora brought wasn’t as soft and fluffy as Nick’s, but it was still more than delicious enough to slap a chunk of meat inside.
Everything went so fast, and everyone showed up so quickly that Nick barely had time to peel, slice, and put his potatoes in salted cold water before it was time to start grilling patties and cuts of meat.
The only ones a little late to the party were Sosora and Malak, but that only meant they could enjoy the food without needing to prepare anything other than the next helping of herbs for the next round of patties. Assuming Kai didn’t steal their burgers, of course.
Before long, all the regulars were there, including Monkey, who took a seat on the porch stairs with a bottle of fragrant liquid. Next to him, though, was a member of the Ursa tribe that Nick didn’t recognize when he stepped out with a tray of hot burger buns.
At first, he thought he was looking at Muhso’s hairy back, but this man was, if possible, even larger than Muhso. He almost filled the entire stair with his massive body, making Monkey look like a child pushed to the side by a gangster.
But his fur was darker with streaks of grey and white running through it like specks of salt and snow. He also had scars marring parts of his body.
Sensing Nick’s presence, the large bearman hurriedly stood up with surprising grace. Even when standing on the ground in front of the porch, he was still taller than Nick, who stood up on it. He hunched his shoulders and lowered his head to fit under the roof and look Nick in the eye before offering a sincere bow.
"You have my sincere gratitude, Nick, Honored Guest of the Forest. I am Chal, Elder and reluctant spokesperson of my tribe, and I speak for all of us when I say that we are at your beck and call should you ever need us."
Chal was more bear than man, and would easily have been mistaken for one if not for the clothes he wore, but he still spoke with a clear human voice before straightening up and retrieving a blade from inside his vest.
The glint of the sword made Monkey’s eyes widen, and he almost dropped the bottle of liquor. If not for his superhuman reflexes, it would have clattered onto the porch.
"Chal..." He was about to say something, but Chal just shook his head and held out the sword to Nick with both hands.