Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 104
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 104
Even so, there was a clear limit to just cramming ground pork into a natural casing.
“…”
Lion looked at the wrinkled sausages, pitifully lacking filling.
In fact, their sorry shape made it hard to even call them sausages.
‘They wouldn’t even measure up to a cocktail sausage.’
Lion tried to force more filling in but gave up.
The intestines were slippery, and at this rate he’d end up making grilled small intestines instead.
‘Of course, there are skinless sausages too.’
But!
As everyone knows, the joy of a sausage comes from that snap of the casing when you bite into it, and then the tender meat and salty juices bursting into your mouth.
The casing was crucial!
That was Lion’s idea of a proper sausage.
“Mmm.”
Lion rummaged through his bag first.
If he’d had time, he would’ve gone to a butcher or a village and bought something useful, but he didn’t have that luxury.
‘I still have to fill the sausages, twist and boil them, and then grill them on a hot stone slab.’
There was so much to do.
“Should I try using this?”
Lion pulled something out of his bag.
[Alchemy Funnel (Rating Impossible)]
-One of the components included in the finest Alchemy Set.
-Transfer contents without the slightest loss. The width of the bottom adjusts to fit the target.
“…Maybe this could work better than I thought?”
If he could just fit the intestine over the narrow end of the funnel and push the filling in, the quality and speed would definitely improve.
The only problem…
‘I don’t have a plunger to push the ground meat in.’
Well, technically, he did have one.
Lion glanced sidelong at the staff he had carefully set aside.
[House Asteri ■■wood St■ff?]
-Size adjustable
“…”
To be honest, it was… the perfect tool.
Though old, it wasn’t dirty, and if he really minded he could just wash it in the hot spring water and dry it…
“No!”
Lion shook off the temptation.
No matter how lacking he was in tools, using his grandfather’s treasured memento—a staff that was the pride of a mage,
no less—as a sausage stuffing plunger just felt wrong.
No, it didn’t just feel wrong—it was wrong!
“Ugh, get a grip!”
Lion shook his head and closed the bag.
“I’ll just make one myself.”
Thankfully, the most essential item—the funnel—was ready.
All he needed now was a stick to help push the minced meat in.
Lion looked over the wood materials in his inventory.
[Labyrinth Wood (Small)]
These were leftovers from his last visit to the labyrinth.
They had good durability and were waterproof.
“Let’s carve it.”
He could easily shape it into a stick.
Lion took a carving knife from his tool set and moved to a different spot.
He didn’t want wood shavings accidentally getting into the food.
“It’s been a while, so I’m not sure how well it’ll turn out.”
It just had to be serviceable.
The bottom should be flat and wide enough to press the pork through the funnel easily, and the handle just needed to be sturdy…
Lion first trimmed the outer layer of the wood with the carving knife.
After removing the rough bark, the inside was smooth.
‘Just clean up the knots and any dirty spots.’
Lion finely trimmed the knots and used a fret saw to cleanly cut the piece where the handle would attach.
“Now for the flat part.”
Lion took out a slightly thicker piece of wood and, using the carving knife and fret saw, cut it into a circle about half the diameter of the funnel.
Sanding down the rough edges made it serviceable, even if it wasn’t a perfect circle.
‘Now, I just need to join these two.’
He had a handy solution.
Lion carved a groove into the center of the flat piece, just big enough to fit the handle.
He could’ve just jammed them together, but if the handle separated from the base later, it would be a hassle.
So Lion decided to use adhesive in addition to the friction fit.
The clay he’d made a few days ago!
[Asteri-Made Luminous-Stone Clay (★★)]
The description said it was great for filling gaps, and looking at how the hot spring stones and glowstone were bonded, it had clearly worked as a strong adhesive.
It had even hardened solidly.
It might not hold as firmly here since the materials were different, but it would at least fill the gap and make the handle fit snugly.
Lion pinched off a tiny bit of the luminous-stone clay, applied it into the groove, and firmly pushed the handle in.
After leaving the plunger standing to set for a while…
[Labyrinth Wood Muddler]
-Shows decent durability for something hastily made.
-Though a non-woodworking adhesive was used, it’s holding together well enough!
[Experience points increase by 30% for using a unique material.]
[Woodworking Proficiency has reached Apprentice Lv.4.]
“Phew!”
Thankfully, it worked.
‘I was worried because my proficiency was so low.’
Good materials coming together had seemingly solved the problem.
Lion washed the muddler with hot spring water to clean off any sawdust, dried it with a towel, and returned to the minced meat.
Then he fitted the intestine over the funnel, tied off the end with string, and pushed the ground pork in.
Finally, he pressed down firmly with the muddler…
“…!”
It worked!
The meat smoothly slid into the casing!
Compared to the miserable trickle from before, this felt like a massive relief.
“Good. Now I can do this properly.”
Lion smiled with satisfaction and continued the work.
After that, the process went surprisingly smoothly.
He smoothed out any air pockets or uneven spots with his hands, twisted the filled casing to the desired lengths, and formed the sausages.
By the time he finished one strand, it already looked like a proper string of sausages.
No, even better—plump!
Just looking at them made him want to grill and eat them right away, but he wasn’t done yet.
‘If I grill them now, the inside won’t cook through.’
At that point, there were two options.
Smoking them for a long time to add fragrance, or boiling them in water for immediate cooking.
The former was good for preservation and flavor, but took quite some time.
Boiling, on the other hand, only took about thirty minutes.
‘I’ll boil them.’
So this time, Lion decided to boil them.
Using that hot spring water, of course.
‘The roasted eggs had absorbed that fragrance nicely.’
Then the sausages should benefit too.
Lion filled the alchemy cauldron with hot spring water and added the sausages first.
The water was already warm, so heating it gradually would keep the casings from bursting.
It would be a shame if they split after all that work.
“And the heat…”
It was best to keep it just barely below boiling.
If he let it boil vigorously, the meat inside would rapidly swell and the casings would tear.
‘Same with blood sausage.’
Both worked on the same principle.
Fortunately, the alchemy cauldron could precisely control the heat, making it easy.
Lion watched the sausages cook appetizingly, then went to get a flat stone and set it down on supports.
“Perfect for a griddle.”
He could’ve used a grill or a pan, but nothing had the same visual appeal as this stone slab.
Lion lit a fire under it with the magic flint he had received as a freebie from the labyrinth.
Whoosh!
Soon a gentle flame rose beneath the stone.
Lion relaxed, mesmerized by the fire, watching the stone heat up.
When it was sufficiently hot…
Sssss!
He coated the stone with some reserved pork fat.
This would create an oil coating to prevent sticking and add extra flavor.
Even just rendering the fat filled the air with a savory aroma that pierced the nose and whetted the appetite.
After finishing the coating, Lion returned to the cauldron.
The sausages should be well-cooked by now…
“Oh.”
They looked plump and perfectly cooked.
Lion used tongs to take them out and placed them on a wide plate.
The oil seeping from the meat inside the casings showed they were bursting with juices.
Gulp.
They looked delicious.
He wanted to sneak a bite before that wolf beastfolk arrived, but…
‘No.’
Sharing food made it taste better anyway, and these were homemade snacks—no, homemade sausages—made specifically to lure the wolf beastfolk.
So he needed to grill them at just the right moment.
Right on cue.
[The presence of the Companion Spirit ‘Nature’ is strongly felt.]
It seemed they’d arrived at just the right moment.
Lion cut the sausage links apart and skewered several chunks.
Then, contrary to his earlier concern for the casing, he even scored them with a knife…
Sizzle!
And placed them on the griddle.
With intense sizzling, the glorious aroma of perfectly seasoned pork spread powerfully through Mimir Forest.
“Good. Good.”
The reason he decided to make scored grilled sausages for the first round was simply,
‘Nothing beats the smell.’
It was because of that violently intense aroma!
* * *
The effort paid off, as Varg fell neatly into Lion’s trap.
“Oh, you’re here? Sit.”
“Th-thank you.”
Thinking this was a dream, Varg obediently sat down.
If anything, the dreamlike state dissolved his usual timidity and shyness!
“Um…”
Just as Varg was about to speak, Nature, who had been guiding him all along, flew over and dropped something onto Lion’s hand with a plop.
“Hm?”
Lion flipped the sausage skewers once with one hand and checked the item.
[Minor Lunar Essence]
-A bead that can be created by moon-aligned beastfolk. Commonly used to enhance and heal their own bodies.
-This bead is a bit small.
-However, it may be quite effective on moon-related matters.
[Usage: Gathering, Alchemy]
[☞Click to view the recipe.]
As described, it resembled a full moon.
Depending on the angle, the light refracted to show a waxing crescent, a new moon, or even the dark absence of a new moon—it looked truly mystical.
‘I never thought I’d actually see one of these.’
Back when he raised a druid in the game, he’d used these ‘Lunar Essences’ to feed spirits special treats.
Then it had just looked like a round, glossy mochi, but now he could feel a truly unique power.
Moreover…
‘Effective on moon-related things?’
He hadn’t known that description existed.
He’d only known it as a self-enhancement item.
‘In that case…’
Lion recalled what he’d received from Rickshel before.
The Moonflower.
Perhaps he could use this to help the Moonflower bloom.