Volume 13 Chapter 26 Interlude 17： Cooking Of The Rootless Weed (Dorachine)
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
*Iska’s perspective
The large-scale monster hunt in the Southern Region was entering its final phase.
We, Rootless Weed (Deracine), had hunted countless monsters, and were ranked 6th in hunting results among the Hunting Groups participating in the hunt.
Rosalinda said that it was thanks to Lord Blackdagger’s financial backing that everyone’s equipment was upgraded, and that my Devouring of monsters and the hunting of many S-class and A-class monsters had paid off.
Before being taken in by Lord Blackdagger, Rootless Weed (Deracine) was a group that could have become a mid-tier one, but never did.
Now, we had grown without complaint to become one of the top-class Hunting Groups in the South District.
”Iska, it seems Renge has made her cooking performance. She hunted an S-class monster again today, so it seems she’s made us delicious monster cooking as a reward.”
After finishing the hunt, we returned to our tents, and it had become a daily routine to celebrate with the monsters we defeated that day.
Especially when we hunted an S-class monster, Renge would happily start cooking, providing us with Cooking that was so delicious we couldn’t taste it in a normal meal.
Today’s hunt was a Dragon Fish, a 20-meter-long monster that could be called the master of the Nirei River.
Even though it was called a fish, it was actually a giant crocodile with a ferocious temperament, always hungry, its jaws capable of easily crushing metal, its scales as strong as or stronger than pure silver, and it could swim on the ground by vibrating its scales to cause liquefaction, allowing it to be active on land while being an aquatic creature.
Its attacks were biting using its strong jaws and unleashing vibration waves.
The latter attack was particularly powerful, turning hard objects like rocks into sand and causing liquefaction in soft objects like the human body, making it a troublesome monster with such ability.
”Honestly, I never thought we’d be able to hunt down a Dragon Fish… And thanks to Renge, we were able to enjoy a monster before its mana drained… I’ve been Monster Hunting for years, but this? Never experienced anything like it.”
Heta introduced Renge to us.
She closed her Abyss Vena shop just to join us on this southern expedition.
According to Renge, her goal for coming was simple: “There are ingredients in the southeast I’ve never seen or even butchered. I want to cook them up and make them delicious,” she said.
Well, for me, Renge’s the third most important person, right after Lord Blackdagger and Rosalinda.
She feeds me amazing food!
”Rosalinda enjoys Renge’s monster cooking too, doesn’t she?”
”Oh, absolutely. The taste is… addicting. Even today, just thinking about it makes my mouth water. It’s crazy how you can make a monster taste so good once it’s properly prepared. Of course, people call us ‘Rootless Weed’──we’re known for eating weird stuff.”
Rosalinda, too, had her first taste of monster cooking on this southern expedition.
She was so moved by Renge’s cooking that she couldn’t stop thinking about it.
She’s completely hooked now.
The rest of the group──though they were hesitant at first──are now all devout fans of Renge’s monster cooking.
It’s safe to say they’ve become its biggest supporters.
The other hunting groups look at us like we’re weirdos, whispering behind our backs about our “strange eating habits.” But once anyone tastes Renge’s cooking, there’s no turning back.
Of course, we don’t share it.
Gotta keep our portions to ourselves.
”Rosalinda! Iska! Hurry up, or it’s gonna be gone!”
”I’m coming, just wait! Don’t touch it yet! I hunted it, so I get to eat first!”
As we were talking, Heta couldn’t wait anymore and called us out in a loud voice, eager to dive into the meal.
The others watched us eating with a look of disgust, but we didn’t care. We just headed straight for the table.
* * *
”Alright, today, Iska took down a lively Dragon Fish, so I went all out making this Cooking! Dig in, everyone!”
Once everyone was gathered, Renge, now in her cooking whites, began introducing each dish laid out on the table.
”First, try this Dragon Fish Head Pot Soup. I didn’t have the right size pot this time, so I used a cauldron for boiling water, but the broth is amazing. The secret ingredients are monster-grown herbs and spices.”
The Dragon Fish head was simmering in the cauldron, and the soup was a murky, dark brown color.
But the aroma wafting from it had been assaulting my stomach since earlier.
Renge ladled the soup and distributed it to everyone.
I couldn’t wait, and took a sip of the soup as soon as it was my turn.
…Oh, wow…it’s delicious…I thought it might be a bit off-putting, but the herbs and spices have completely masked any unpleasantness, successfully drawing out the rich, meaty flavor into the soup… This is addictive…
”Wow…this is amazing, Renge! This soup is so good!”
”Of course it is; I made it! But, that soup has another use. Try dipping the Dragon Fish Fried Chicken on the table into the soup.”
Everyone followed Renge’s suggestion, dipping the Dragon Fish Fried Chicken on the table into the soup, and then taking a bite.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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