Chapter 173
Chapter 173
Outside, the snowstorm howled like a beast, but the moment I stepped into the cave, the noise died down as if it were a lie.
Cold air still flowed inward, yet the wind itself did not directly cut inside.
This cave was terrain carved purely by nature.
The interior was wider than I had expected. The ceiling was not very high, but it was enough to light a single campfire and warm our bodies.
The ground was a mix of frozen soil and rock, with thin sheets of ice forming here and there, softly reflecting the light.
Old marks remained on the cave walls, but none of them looked recent.
At the very least, it seemed there was no presence occupying this place right now.
I looked around one more time, then nodded.
“Doesn’t look like there are any monsters. Seems like a good place to rest for a bit.”
I had confirmed it was safe. Still, the cave itself was cold, so staying here too long as it was might cause hypothermia if we fell asleep.
As if to prove it, Rapin had her arms crossed and was shivering slightly.
“……Wait a bit.”
Remembering that there were a few trees near the cave, I left Rapin behind and stepped back outside for a moment.
I stood in front of a tree that stubbornly remained upright despite the raging snowstorm.
I opened subspace, reached inside, and pulled out a hand axe.
‘Shuck.’
When I grasped at the air with my other hand, an obsidian-like light flickered, and Shuck’s card appeared in my hand. Black energy focused itself tightly around the arm holding the axe.
Using it this way, I had learned to control the ability to a certain degree.
With my arm wrapped in dark energy, I swung the axe at the tree.
Thunk—! Thud—!
The tree collapsed on the spot.
I trimmed it down to a suitable size, turned it into firewood, then carried it back into the cave.
‘Fire.’
When I lit the campfire with blue flames, the dark cave brightened at once.
The cold chill gradually faded, and warm air wrapped around us.
“So warm.”
Rapin sat down in front of the fire, warming herself.
Polia also sat near the campfire and asked me,
“Isn’t your younger sibling sick? Shouldn’t she avoid climbing up here?”
“……I’m not sick today.”
Rapin answered in my place.
“Well, there are days when it doesn’t hurt. That’s why I came along.”
“I see.”
Polia seemed to accept it easily, as if it wasn’t something she was particularly worried about.
After some time passed like that—
Grrrrk…….
A sound came from someone’s stomach.
We had already spent a lot of energy climbing the snowy mountain.
Hunger was something I felt as well.
As I pulled out more firewood from subspace, I spoke.
“Shall I cook something?”
“Cook? You don’t even have tools, do you?”
“I have enough for what we need.”
I took out cooking tools from subspace as well— a pan, a pot, and a kitchen knife.
“……Boy, that storage magic really does look convenient no matter how many times I see it. Anyway, what are you going to cook?”
“The octopus outside.”
At my calm reply, Polia crossed her arms and smiled.
“Oh? You’re planning to eat something that was a monster just a moment ago?”
“There’s nothing else to eat. Besides, adventurers don’t really have a problem with that, do they? As far as I know, adventurers sometimes eat the monsters they defeat.”
“I’m fine with it. Other people tend to avoid it, though. Especially since you siblings look like you grew up in a well-off household, I thought you’d dislike eating monsters.”
“I don’t really mind. Rapin doesn’t either.”
“Yeah. I like it too.”
Rapin nodded in agreement.
After all, we had even ground up the King of Namsan and eaten it as slush before.
Honestly, monster or not, as long as it was safe to eat and tasted good, wasn’t that enough?
The body of the ‘Ice Rishi Eight Leg’ had turned into black ash and disappeared, but its massive legs still remained as loot.
Even in the game, it had been possible to use those as cooking ingredients.
“I’ll prepare the cooking here. Polia, could you cut off one of the octopus legs and bring it in?”
“Alright. I’ll bring it, boy.”
Polia stretched and headed outside the cave.
While I was pulling out various things from subspace to get ready, Polia returned, dragging something along the ground.
“This is the only leg left.”
A single octopus leg, nearly the size of a human body.
“That’s more than enough.”
Even if the three of us ate, more than half would still remain.
‘Octopus dishes…… what should I make?’
Since the number of recipes I had on hand was still quite limited, my options weren’t very wide.
‘Still, I should be able to make something decent.’
In the game, ‘Agility’ was the stat that affected cooking the most.
Thankfully, agility was also the stat I could proudly boast about.
‘According to the settings…… understanding ingredients, quick judgment, and adaptability were why it had such a big influence on cooking, right?’
I wondered if that was the reason my cooking skills had improved at some point.
Anyway, after finishing my plan, I got to work on the octopus leg.
There were patches on the leg stained with a purplish color here and there.
‘It’s technically edible, but there are quite a few contaminated parts, aren’t there?’
It definitely needed to be processed.
If I cut away all the toxic parts and washed it thoroughly before cooking, there wouldn’t be any problems.
First on the list to remove was…….
‘The freezing sac and the venom glands.’
Unlike ordinary marine octopuses, it had adapted to extreme environments and developed special organs inside its legs.
If the venom glands entered the human body, they would cause long-term paralysis, and the freezing sac induced hypothermia. In an environment like a snowy mountain, they were toxins that would send you straight to the other side.
‘That can’t be allowed to happen. I need to remove them properly.’
The removal method wasn’t difficult.
I cut the leg open up to the middle section.
‘……As expected, it’s here.’
Something like a blue pouch came into view.
Carefully, so it wouldn’t burst, I removed it and set it down on the ground.
‘Freezing sac removed. Now the venom glands…… here they are.’
After examining the round suction cups for a while, I found one in particular that gave off a bluish hue.
I carved it out completely with the knife.
‘Now, if I just cut away the parts tinged purple because of the contaminated mana…….’
I cut away every section with a purplish hue, reducing the flesh by roughly 20 percent.
With this, all risk factors had been eliminated.
I cut the octopus legs into bite-sized pieces.
The first dish I planned to make was butter octopus steak.
It had been a recipe that existed in the game as well, so I could just use it as it was.
‘If I grill it like this, it’ll turn tough.’
Because of the nature of octopus dishes, once it became tough, it was hard to chew, and eventually people avoided eating it.
‘Let’s make it tender.’
Just like I had done in the game, I put the cut legs into a pot filled with water.
I added salt and herbs as well, and it seemed that boiling it like this for about 30 minutes before grilling was the way to maintain a tender texture.
While watching the boiling pot and keeping track of the time, I felt someone’s gaze and turned my head in that direction. Adventurer-like curiosity had surfaced in Polia’s eyes.
“Boy, you look strangely familiar with cooking?”
“I ended up doing it more than necessary, unintentionally.”
“Yeah. Bilred cooked for us every day.”
When Rafin answered as if she were proud, Polia let out a sound of admiration.
“Oh, a big brother who cooks for you himself. That’s full of sincerity.”
Looking at her, something naturally came to mind.
Swordsmanship that wasn’t flashy, yet was noble and beautiful.
And also the reason why she, who possessed such overwhelming ability, had climbed this mountain.
“……In the end, we couldn’t find Bedervel.”
A knight with shining blue eyes and silver hair flowing in the wind, Bedervel.
The sight of her searching for Moonlight Herb was nowhere to be seen.
The reason Polia had guided me all the way here had been to find Bedervel.
From my perspective, I had gained a great deal, but in the end, Polia was in a position where she had to go down the mountain with nothing to show for it.
However, Polia smiled leisurely.
“You can’t fill your stomach with the first bite. I didn’t think I’d be able to find Bedervel today either, boy. But did you find the Moonlight Herb?”
“Yes. Thanks to you dealing with that thing, Polia.”
I took out two Moonlight Herbs from subspace to show her, then quickly put them back in.
Polia blinked, then opened her mouth with a dry laugh.
“……That’s hard to believe. So it really existed. Magic that can detect Moonlight Herb, huh. Then, how many Moonlight Herbs are left that you sensed, boy?”
“There are two left now. One each on the highest mountains to the west and north.”
“Two, huh.”
Polia said with a relaxed smile.
“I hope I’ll run into Bedervel while climbing those mountains.”
“Yeah. She’s someone who’s hidden herself so thoroughly that it probably won’t be easy just to see her, though.”
Before I knew it, 30 minutes had passed. I took out the octopus legs, wiped them dry, and placed them on a pan where butter had been melted.
‘It’s not a particularly difficult dish, but.’
This butter was a precious ingredient obtained through the ‘Animal Farm’ ability.
Butter Blessed by the Goddess Lv. 1
The finest ingredient that would give wings to my cooking.
Even though I wasn’t a first-rate chef, using ingredients like this meant there was no way it could taste bad.
As the octopus sizzled, Polia and Rafin’s eyes sparkled as if they were competing with each other.
“Ooh, amazing…… The cave’s already filled with a delicious smell…….”
“Polia, you’re an adventurer, aren’t you? Don’t adventurers usually know basic cooking?”
Polia blinked, then scratched her head and laughed.
“When it comes to cooking, all I know is putting things over a fire.”
“What about when you can’t light a fire?”
“When there’s no fire, I just tear into it raw.”
“……Don’t you get stomachaches or anything?”
“I’m fine. My stomach’s tougher than bacteria or parasites.”
“You’ve lived quite wildly. We don’t like eating dangerous food like that, so we’ll cook it properly.”
“Sure. I like cooked food too.”
When the steak was nearing completion, I added minced garlic, pepper, and finally herbs on top.
“And that finishes it.”
I divided it precisely into three plates.
“Oh.”
“Smells great!”
The eyes of the two people holding the plates were filled with anticipation.
I cut a piece of the octopus steak and put it into my mouth.
At the same time as the rich aroma of butter spread through my mouth, the octopus chewed softly, and the more I chewed, the umami unique to seafood rose up.
‘It turned out pretty well. It’s probably because the ingredients were good too.’
And the reactions of the two of them burst out almost simultaneously.
“Bilred, it’s delicious.”
“It’s delicious……!”
Polia’s eyes, in particular, sparkled excessively.
“Boy Bilred, there’s nothing you can’t do. Once you graduate from the academy, want to join my adventuring party?”
“No, thanks.”
“Hm, I really want to take you with me. I’ll be generous and give you the vice-captain position!”
“I’m not interested.”
“That’s a shame.”
It was right after Polia finished speaking.
Rafin put down her fork. Then she fixed her gaze toward the cave entrance.
Polia also turned her head toward that direction without a word.
“What is it?”
“……Someone’s coming.”
At the same time as Rafin’s voice, a sound was heard.
Step, step…….
The other party slowly revealed its identity from within the shadows.
A ferocious beast with a silver mane, a snowy mountain wolf.