Chapter 14
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Hungry Slayer 14
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The deboning and portioning were done in an instant, and the cuts of meat were neatly arranged on the clean hide of the Galaromotor. It looked just like a makeshift butcher shop set up outdoors.
‘The meat quality is too good.’ Dane thought as he sliced the pork belly into perfect strips. The lean meat and fat layered together in ideal proportions, beautiful to behold.
Whether grilled, boiled, stir-fried, or simmered in a stew, every part would be delicious. His mouth watered as he cut.
“Slurp…….”
Bankers, who knew good meat when he saw it, was drooling too, curious about the taste. At the sound, Dane and Bankers’ eyes met.
“Dane, there’s nothing decent around here for firewood.”
“Why not use that?”
Dane pointed to the stake they’d used for hunting.
“Ooh, right! Perfect.” As Bankers went to fetch it, River just stared at Dane and the meat, entranced.
‘I’ve never seen work that fast. And with just a crude cleaver…….’ She was purely amazed by Dane’s skill.
He divided it by cut in seconds, slicing with precision and stripping the flesh without any waste. It was almost divine craftsmanship.
Meanwhile, Bankers trimmed the stake and started preparing to light it. River, who’d been lost in admiration, finally snapped back to reality and remembered what the meat was.
‘No way these guys plan to eat this?’ Doubting it, she inspected the meat.
Not a single crushed spot anywhere—perfectly cut along the grain, the cross-sections a vivid crimson, boasting their freshness and flavor.
It was confusing.
Just from looking, she couldn’t tell if it was monster meat or something edible at all.
‘Then…… I have to try it.’ It was the right attitude for a chef: skeptical of new ingredients but boldly experimenting.
River knew that curiosity, imagination, and fearless trials led to greater culinary worlds.
“Bankers! Come with me a sec.” She suddenly called Bankers, who was about to start the fire, and dragged him off somewhere. When they returned, he carried a thin, wide stone slab.
“Stone grill?”
Dane reacted.
“It’s slate from the northern regions. Dense and even, perfect for a griddle.” River, her mind made up, explained. She was quick on the uptake—judging how to cook just from the meat’s condition.
Dane highly approved of her eagerness to join the monster meat tasting without hesitation.
“Eating monster meat…… You guys are definitely crazy.” River shook her head as she opened her backpack.
She pulled out small and large bowls, tongs and a handheld grater, little jars of assorted powders, and packets of dried herbs, one after another.
“Ha ha, you carry all that around?” Bankers marveled at River, whose words and actions didn’t match.
“You never know when or where you’ll have to cook.” River replied casually.
“Can’t wait already!” Bankers said as he kept feeding the fire to heat the stone.
-Sizzle!
River started rubbing a white lump over the hot slab.
“It’s rendered pork fat, solidified.” She added.
‘She even knows how to use lard.’ A true meat lover and an unbiased, skilled chef. Dane felt proud that his eyes hadn’t failed him.
As they admired, the slab glistened and turned dark. Dane didn’t hesitate, laying the meat out on the wide surface.
-Sssshhhh!
Excitement buzzed in his hands as he placed it and in his eyes as he watched. The delicious sizzle and aroma filled the smoke, lifting spirits.
“Try it.”
Dane generously offered the first piece to River.
She hesitated again.
As a chef, she’d tested monster meat before. A few times, then gave up. Concluded it was inedible.
But this was clearly different. Every sense except taste had already passed it. So she reached out.
“Mmm…….”
Eyes closed, she chewed silently, engaging every sensation in her mouth.
The springy resilience to her bites, the texture against her palate and tongue, the hot juices flooding in, the nutty savoriness giving way to clean sweetness laced with a subtle saltiness.
All the flavors and nuances piled into her mind via her mouth, then slid down her throat.
Satisfaction surged, mingled with longing. A single bite had given her so much.
“It’s insane…….”
Her body trembled; she couldn’t speak. Unable to wait, Dane and Bankers shoveled meat into their mouths too.
“Tastes good?”
“Whoa……! The juices are incredible!” Dane stuffed his mouth full and chewed rapidly.
The flavor was great, but the rising energy was no joke. It was as if the Galaromotor’s life force had seeped into the meat, now infusing Dane’s body.
‘As expected from a mid-sized monster. Better than six or seven Epups.’ He savored each bite, packing them away relentlessly. The radiant meat stacked up neatly in his stomach.
When the first slab of plain meat finished, River busily went to work.
“The quality’s so good, let’s keep it simple—just light seasonings.” She pointed to dipping sauces she’d prepared.
“This is dried truffle mushroom powder. This is lemon zest pickled in salt. These are herb and pepper salt blends, and this is dwarf chili juice……” To Dane, who’d only known sprinkling sea salt as luxury, these were fascinating novelties.
River sprinkled bits of the powders over the cooking meat.
“Try it.”
The juices infused with faint mushroom aroma added new depth. He hadn’t expected lemon’s tang to pair so well with pork belly. Bite by bite, the seasonings tamed his palate. Unexpected delight kept his hands busy.
Yet they never overpowered the meat’s natural taste. They enhanced umami and kept the flavors from growing stale.
“All delicious!”
“I like this mushroom salt. The subtle savoriness feels so good.” Sincere praise.
“Hold on, don’t cook it all.” River jumped up and dashed off. Rummaging through the brush for a while, she returned clutching handfuls of nameless greens and roots.
“With meat this good, even just this on top will taste great.” She picked a greenish root, swiftly peeling its dirt-covered skin with her dagger. Into a palm-sized bowl from her pack, she grated it with the handheld tool.
‘Her hands are fast too.’
As Dane admired, a familiar scent wafted out. Like wasabi.
“Isn’t this gelrabi?” Bankers asked.
Glancing at Dane’s expectant face, River topped some pork belly with a dab of grated gelrabi and handed it over.
One bite, and nutty richness met sharp pungency, delighting the mouth. An unforeseen pairing.
“You really know how to eat meat! Glad you joined the Lucas Hunting Party!” Dane clapped her shoulder in genuine awe, flushing her cheeks a bit.
No hierarchy between vice captain and newbie existed between them.
Just the bond between slicer of meat and enhancer of its glory.
Hiding her blush, River thrust forward the bowl of vegetables.
“This is relra stems and pataka leaves tossed in dwarf chili juice salad. Pair it.” Bitter like cress and scallions, spiked with spicy freshness, it cleansed the palate.
They wrapped meat in leaves, then started grilling veggies in the meat fat too.
“Ah…….”
“O…….”
“Mmm…….”
Mind-blowing.
* * *
After a storm of a meal, the Lucas Hunting Party regained their senses.
One massive Galaromotor had vanished into their bellies, leaving only offal behind.
“Unbelievable…… How’d we eat all that?” “You ate the most.” As Bankers shook his head and stuck out his tongue, Dane chided him.
Dane had to eat a lot out of necessity, but River was no slouch either. A chef who loved making and eating.
And Bankers matched both combined. Gluttony beyond imagination.
“Species trait, forgive me. We fill up and fast for long stretches.” “But you keep eating.” “Growing phase.”
“…….”
Different species, nothing to say. River ignored their banter, lost in thought.
‘Amazing. Never imagined monster meat could taste like this.’ When she’d asked while eating, Dane said he’d been eating it for ages. Others tasted good too, he added.
Ideas and possibilities swirled endlessly in her head. Overwhelming.
Regaining composure, she focused on vice captain duties.
“Galaromotors fetch top dollar for those horns. Hide’s valuable too. Decent prey…….” Now add meat. Quick sample showed promise.
“Take that meat to the butcher shop.” River said.
Dane’s first Galaromotor was perfectly portioned too.
“……I set some aside for me.” Dane said wistfully.
“Then…… sell just enough as a test.” He’d caught one whole, portioned it all. No forcing it, so they decided.
Bankers shouldered most of the meat and hides—bigger than him, yet no strain. They’d earned their keep.
They stopped at HQ to sort sales, then headed to town. Toward the secret butcher shop, movements stealthy and cautious.
“Different route?”
“Workers need back doors.” More treacherous maze than Dane’s first narrow alley. Tense even normally, moreso with monster meat.
Eating was risky; selling worse. Elf crime.
No shop busted yet, but some town eaters fined heavily.
The butcher, handed the monster meat, gaped.
“Whoa…… What’s this? Quality’s insane?” River dodged: bison from afar.
Hard to spot monster meat by look alone. Except Dane and his patron Kaipatu.
Displayed, it outshone others—snapped up fast, keeping River busy.
Dane and Bankers sat in a corner, eating River’s Galaromotor skirt steak stir-fry, watching reactions.
Like them, most lost reason, devouring. Meat sold out quick.
River and the newbie hunters shared one thought.
Taste in food matched.
And this made money.