Volume 6 Chapter 106 Four-Year Meat Day Special
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”The little king of cuisine knew the hunter’s code. Then I must accept the challenge!”
Seeing me pick the aged giant boar, the goblin from Acorn Valley goes for a similar old male.
That evens the playing field. With similar meat quality, they must be thinking along the same lines.
The hunter’s code probably isn’t all that different from the wolves’. Go for the wounded or the aged—stragglers make easy prey. Sure, they’ll sometimes target the young, but it’s usually the weak who get culled.
Cruel? Maybe. But there’s a theory that predators actually keep the deer herds healthier in the long run.
In my case, I’m under the protection of the guardian deity of hunters, you know. I try not to overhunt. Still, that’s not the only reason I went with the old boar.
――
”Good, that guy picked the biggest boar.”
”Don’t you know? The tastiest meat comes from the females. Only a bumpkin would go for a gristly old male.”
”What, someone who doesn’t even understand meat is going to challenge us to a cooking battle?”
The gallery murmurs, but the gods don’t reprimand anyone. If anything, they seem entertained by the chatter.
”Well, His Majesty Saburou picked some tough meat. I wonder how this’ll turn out?”
Tizzy’s getting fired up too.
”I’m sure he’s got something planned. I believe in him,” Ms. Nina says, clearly enjoying herself.
Everyone loves a good gourmet manga moment.
* * *
An orc warrior hauls the boar out of its pen, beating its skull with a club until it finally drops. Boar skulls are no joke.
They drag it over to the river to cool the body. That tracks.
The goblin riders are famous for charging into battle atop their boars. But they eat them too, you know. Honestly, I hope they keep it up and wipe out their own cavalry.
Humans raise pigs, sure—but I wonder if being farmed is really worth the trade-off of eventually becoming dinner. Is the wild world that brutal? Live free, and you fend for yourself while staying alert for predators.
…Maybe I’m overthinking it. Animals probably just follow their noses to food without contemplating their fate on the dinner table.
――
”Well then, I’ll take your life.”
I lead my chosen boar down to the water. It doesn’t resist. In fact, it follows along quietly. Still, I can’t drop my guard. There’s life in its eyes. It might be conserving strength, waiting for one last burst.
If it starts thrashing, its blood will get congested—blood pressure spikes, capillaries rupture, and the meat ends up bloody.
By the time I realize that, I’m already in motion. From close range, I loose an arrow with a broadhead tip, severing the carotid.
A massive gush of blood bursts forth. The huge beast crumples like a battery drained dry. The heart still beats, so it’s not technically dead. Just unconscious from the blood pressure crash. That probably spared it any pain.
It wasn’t about speed. I just took advantage of the opening—it never sensed my killing intent.
Boars have wide peripheral vision. It definitely saw me. I wonder what it thought, in those last moments.
I’ll collect the blood too—it’s still fresh, and pig’s blood can be a great ingredient.
The goblin crew doesn’t seem to use it. They’re just letting it drain into the river.
”I’ll lend a hand.”
Uno shows up, all dramatic. She’s huge now, hefting one of the boar’s legs like it’s nothing. Bigger than El these days, but hey—she’s a dragon. What did you expect?
”Yeah, big help.”
Plans got scrambled, so Rin and Oka couldn’t meet up. Oh, Ms. Ant came to help, too.
The assistant rule’s not a problem—the Demon King’s side has a whole squad of orcs pitching in.
Ms. Ant even changed into more practical clothes in the tent. A makeover? She’s clearly motivated. The other wives switched into casual clothes too once the tent went up. Planning to help? No… more like planning to gorge themselves.
The edible yield from a boar this size will top 100 kilos. Even split, that’s maybe a kilo per person—but is that enough? If Uno and El go all in, things might get… wild.
Rin’s acorn goblin boar is just as massive. Even if each person got 2 kilos, the orcs look like they could down much more. Might not be enough meat after all.
――
Once the blood’s drained, we cool the body in the waterway. I wonder if this step is even necessary for quick cooking? Still, I’d rather not take chances. A slight change in procedure could alter the whole flavor profile.
This isn’t the time for risky experiments.
I’m confident with game birds like quail, but boars? Pigs? Not much experience there. That’s why having Ms. Ant around is such a relief—she knows her stuff.
――
The goblin group starts hauling their boar out of the water, getting ready to skin it.
We should probably get moving, too.
Ms. Ant wastes no time. With fluid, practiced motions, she strips the hide. It’s almost a shame… skin-on meat is delicious. Full of collagen.
Earth has its own traditions—roast suckling pig is especially famous. They coat the skin in sugar to create that crackling glaze. Some Cantonese chefs even remove the skin entirely and roast it on its own.
――
Looks like they’ve finished skinning theirs, too. Here, the hide is valuable. Eating the skin would be unthinkable.
I had plans for braised pork belly with the skin on, but it’s already been skinned. No helping it.
Will the Demon King’s crew be floored by how good skin-on meat is? Or furious about wasting a valuable resource? Probably both.
But this is a cooking battle. If I don’t win them over with flavor, it’s meaningless. I’ll steer clear of their taboos—no need to stir up extra trouble.
If they’re not using the skin, at least that makes things even—just like goblin.
No, wait. That pun probably only makes sense to the summoned Hero.
Truth is, it’s hardly even. Nobody starts a cook-off by butchering live boars.
The goblin from Acorn Valley must do this regularly. They probably know how to bring out the flavor of freshly killed meat.
Normally, you’d let it age for days. But there are cooking methods that suit fresh cuts, too. I’m curious to see what they bring to the table.
As the Demon King’s representative, I’m stepping into a battlefield of flavors. No doubt their dishes will be amazing. That’s part of the fun—rivals make you better.
I’m gonna serve up something worthy, too. With my skill level and quality ingredients like wild boar, making something delicious is a given.
But this is a contest. Delicious alone won’t cut it—I have to win.
I think salt is the deciding factor. I prefer my flavors subtle, but in a head-to-head comparison, bold seasoning tends to leave a stronger impression.
In a course meal, you usually start with milder tastes. But the order of judging matters.
In gourmet manga, the first to serve often loses. This time, though, if I save the lighter dish for last, it could really backfire.
Maybe I’ll tweak the saltiness based on timing. There’s also the dip-sauce approach—let the judges season it to taste.
After all, a noble who barely lifts a finger and a goblin soldier who does heavy labor likely crave very different amounts of salt.
If I can bridge that gap—and throw in a dash of clever commentary at the end—the crowd, and the gods, might just eat it up.
――
Anyway—first things first—let’s taste the meat.
I sliced each cut into bite-sized pieces and seared them thoroughly in a hot frying pan. Since it’s wild game, it needs to be cooked more carefully than farmed pork. Safety first.
Low-temp sous vide? Not today. If half-baked techniques start circulating among the Demon King’s crew, it could end in disaster. What, spread hepatitis among their ranks as a tactic? No thanks—that’s just dirty. The gods are watching. Gotta keep things fair.
The dark red meat of wild boar is famous for hot pot. Same goes in this world, apparently.
Shoulder loin first. No marbling, just a delicate rim of fat—not exactly lean, but not indulgent either.
Uno, now back in human form, sidled up beside me, going, “Aaan.” Even Ms. Ant is hovering. This is gonna be a hassle.
Maybe it’s because it’s fresh, but the smell’s not nearly as strong as I feared. There’s a faint gamey aroma—honestly, I wouldn’t mind more. It’s got some chew to it, but the longer you bite, the more the umami kicks in. Wild that this is unaged. Actually, if I tried aging it wrong, it might end up reeking like death. Classic game meat gamble.
”This is delicious! Such good meat!”
”…!!”
Yeah, it is good meat. The fat’s light, not greasy at all. Just salt’s enough to draw out its flavor. Which might actually be a downside.
If the ingredient’s this good, going simple with the grill might be best. Overcomplicating it would bury the taste. Still, from a competition standpoint, I need something that stands out. Tough call.
――
The goblin chef’s starting with the innards. Figures. If it’s that fresh, Ant’ll be all over it.
That’s… a smoker, huh. Oh, they’re smoking the offal. Smart. Smoke mellows the odor—a good way to ease people into innards. Even humans who usually can’t handle the smell would find it palatable.
I’d thought about going the offal route too. Motsunabe¹ is great, but the visuals? Probably too much for Tizzy and the others. If you’re not used to it, it looks grotesque. Nobles in particular tend to flinch.
T/N Motsunabe: A hot pot dish made with beef or pork intestines, common in Japan.
I’ve got a smoker here too. So—a smoke-off, then? I’ve got a range of wood chips and flavor profiles prepped. Let’s go. But… this might end up a visually underwhelming battle.
Alright, time to go charcoal skewers. Something close to horumon-yaki², dipped in a thick sauce. Sauce is ready—I’ve been through dozens of iterations to beat store-bought. Got it down.
T/N horumon-yaki: Japanese-style grilled beef or pork offal, often served with a savory dipping sauce.
The main draw of this style? The smell. That intense, smoky punch—it’s like a hidden weapon.
Skewers are also key for this venue. It’s a standing buffet format, so presentation and portability matter. It’ll feel like a street food duel.
I wonder how they’re planning to plate their smoked offal?
Looking at goblin’s team, the smoker’s just sitting there.
Now they’re jamming a thick spit through the gutted boar’s body. Going for a whole roast. Bold move.
They’re spinning it over the fire. That does look fun. The gods’ll love it.
They’re slathering the surface in salt and crushed garlic. Yeah, I can imagine that flavor. It’s gotta be delicious.
They’re piling up skulls and long bones—probably soup stock. The orc assistant is smashing them with a hammer.
Ah, they’re going to melt the brains and marrow into a broth.
Sounds grotesque, but apparently the Hunting Tribe loves brains. High calorie, soft texture. Using it like this should create a tonkotsu-style broth. Not for everyone, but those who like it will love it.
Can’t skip the soup, then.
I was going to do a miso-based pork soup, but change of plans. I’ll go head-to-head with their approach. Makes for a cleaner comparison.
Same bone extraction base, but I’ll remove the marrow and clarify it with consomme techniques—go for a clear soup instead.
For the soup ingredients, I’ll combine the marrow with ground meat to make sausages and stuff them into casings. Wrapped up like a pot-au-feu³, I can serve a clear broth with rich marrow sausage—same flavor concept as theirs, but more refined.
T/N pot-au-feu: A French stew made with meat and vegetables, typically simmered gently in broth.
Since I’ve got fresh blood, I might try making blood sausage too.
――
Main dish: braised pork belly. My forever specialty—I couldn’t leave that out.
But that alone might be too soft-textured for the Demon King’s crew. I’ll throw in some bone-in spare ribs too. Up to the pressure-cooker stage, I’ll treat them the same as the pork belly. Then I’ll crisp them up over charcoal at the end.
Just thinking about it’s making my mouth water. No way this loses to a plain roast.
――
Now that the plan’s set, I call in El and Sar-Sar as assistants. I was going to have Rin and Oka help, so I’m short-handed.
El has lots of hunting experience and knows how to cook wild game. Strong and more nimble than Uno—dependable.
Sar-Sar’s a sausage master from Uno’s old nest. They’re twenty times faster than Uno, ten times faster than Ms. Nina, and nearly as good as me when I’m in the zone. Not just speed—the texture is on point. When you bite in, it pops.
My wives, after all. We’re totally in sync. A few words and they move like clockwork.
Meanwhile, the Demon King’s team is struggling. Makes sense—it takes patience to roast a whole animal. Sure looks fun, though. Just brute-force spinning it over fire.
”Time’s tight. Want to use the leftover ground meat for gyoza? For the staff meal.”
El, a die-hard gyoza fan, nodded with sparkling eyes. El’s allergic to wall barley, so the wrappers are made with rice flour.
Sar-Sar’s also a gyoza pro. In no time, we’ve got a mountain of dumplings.
Too many for just a staff meal—but El’ll eat it all. Heck, we could enter it as a competition dish.
If we can sneak in a bonus round depending on the opponent’s lineup, it might give us the edge. The rules are loose anyway. The point is to make the gods enjoy it.
Got extra sausage? Let’s smoke those too. goblin’s team is flaunting their smoker like it’s the holy grail—we’ve gotta answer that flex.
Ms. Ant’s requested katsudon? No problem. I’ve already got tonkatsu prepped.
I sliced the loin thinner than usual for tonkatsu and dropped it in the fryer. El’ll eat it too, so I used breadcrumbs made from wall barley–free rice flour bread.
Fresh from the oil, I cut a piece and take a bite.
”Ouch! Tonkatsu really is the best, huh?”
Is it still tonkatsu if it’s wild boar? The meat’s strong-flavored, but honestly, it passes.
”What should I do? If I keep tasting, there won’t be any left for katsudon. El likes both, after all.”
Hard to stop once it’s fried and hot. Should we just fry the rest? Skewered katsu is sounding real good right now.
――
The audience, seeing us sneak bites, starts to stir.
Well, if they want to eat, I’ll just add skewered katsu to the competition menu.
――
Looks like the goblin crew from Acorn Valley got flustered—they’re starting to pass out smoked offal on wooden plates.
Alright, it’s a challenge. We’ll hand out hormone skewers too. Let’s grill ’em up.
”You’re supposed to start with soup…”
Sar-Sar looks displeased. They’re hung up on the idea that a proper course meal begins with soup.
”That’s fine. It’s B-grade gourmet.”
”B-grade gourmet? I saw that in an anime. Is that what this is?”
El watches way too much anime. Judging by Sar-Sar and the others nodding, they must’ve watched it together.
* * *
”What is this pathetic dish?”
”Smoked offal? Is this even food?”
The nobles glare down at the wooden plates of offal handed to them by the goblin—grimy little demons not even worth getting near. The shriveled bits of meat on the plate look more like garbage than cuisine.
”If the offal isn’t fresh, it’s inedible. Only hunters can eat this.”
”Oh my, Baron Toyata. So, how does it taste?”
The round little man known as the food connoisseur, Baron, pops a smoked piece into his mouth without hesitation. A circle of nobles surrounds him, watching intently.
”Hmm… small intestine, yes? Quite the delicacy. The smoking method itself isn’t bad.”
”I see. Indeed, a delicacy.”
”It looks awful, but this is actually… pretty good.”
Once one person dares a bite, the rest start nibbling with cautious curiosity.
”No way—this is better than the skewered meat from street vendors!!”
”Now I want sake.”
Right in the middle of the growing crowd of enthusiastic humans, someone drops a bomb.
”Well, it’s cooked through, so it should be fine, but I really wish you’d cleaned out the undigested material in the intestines~desuwa.”
”This is Lady Duke Mineley. Congratulations on your marriage,” someone mutters flatly.
”Wait, what?! You mean the unprocessed stuff is, like, actual shit?!”
”What?! You fed us shit?! Damn those goblin bastards! I’ll never forgive this!”
Panic erupts. Some nobles begin gagging; others actually vomit.
”You foolish humans. Weren’t you just raving about how delicious it was a moment ago?”
Tempers flare. The flames of outrage rise—this could boil over any second.
”Preparation is the foundation of cooking, you know. Take the Hero King’s organ dishes, for instance. After cleaning with salt, they’re parboiled, then skewered and charcoal-grilled, and basted and grilled again. It’s an incredibly involved process. You can tell from the aroma alone—it’s on a completely different level.”
”As expected of the gourmet Baron. You truly know cuisine.”
”Even if it’s just skewers, there’s no comparing this to goblin cooking.”
”Look! The orcs are lining up. Even the Demon King’s people are devouring the Hero King’s skewers.”
”This won’t do! I’m gonna run out of food!!”
In a panic, the gourmet Baron dashes to line up for more grilled offal. The nobles and priests scramble after him.
* * *
”Looks like the orcs are a hit. We can’t keep up with demand!”
”They’ve got great noses. The smoke-feed tactic’s a big win.”
”I’ll call in Frapatica to help grill. The Demon King won’t mind waiting in line, right?”
The advanced spirits are all better cooks than Uno. Skewers should be no problem.
Even if it gets a little noisy with so many assistants, the orcs waiting in line—just like Uno said—will probably be thrilled.
”Alright, things are heating up!! Leave the grill to me! Oh, and here’s a care package from the enemy.”
The fire spirit Frapatica bursts in, full of energy, wearing something like an apron over her otherwise scandalous outfit.
I try a piece of smoked meat from one of the wooden plates. Hm…
The strong, gamey odor likely comes from not cleaning out the intestinal residue properly. Honestly, it’s not something I want to eat.
Was it carelessness? Or intentional?
Carnivores are said to absorb nutrients by eating the prey’s stomach and guts whole. I don’t know how true that is.
There’s a reference to coprophagy in The Decameron, but… no. That’s just wrong.
That they at least attempted to squeeze out the contents suggests they don’t recognize it as food. Maybe they skip washing to avoid it getting too watery? Or maybe a little dirt doesn’t bother them. Sure, E. coli dies when heated—but if their hygiene’s sloppy, it could contaminate hands or utensils and cause food poisoning. I can’t say for sure.
The wood chips used for smoking seem like whatever was on hand. Maybe something similar to Quercus? Nothing too aromatic—kind of a letdown. Doesn’t seem like they put much thought into it.
”Still… well, it’s tasty.”
I think I’ve won.
But half the judges are orcs and goblin. And among the gods, some believe the more “natural,” the better.
Cultural exchange is terrifying—I’m reminded of that yet again.
For now, I’ll send some faux grilled offal to the acorn goblin as a return gift.
I’ll be sure to capture his reaction with Editorskill.
Notes:
• Tizzy – Claims to be Duke’s daughter, a noble with advanced magic skills. MC and Ms. Shirakaba lover.
• Ms. Nina – Doll Princess (Auroora 217), renamed by the protagonist. Beautiful blonde, ~168 cm, slim waist. Wears adventurer attire. Made from artificial parts and wooden limbs, resembling a princess. Knowledgeable, can read, write, and use basic healing magic. Reliable partner, often saves the protagonist with her skills.
• Nina – Doll Princess (Auroora 217), renamed by the protagonist. Beautiful blonde, ~168 cm, slim waist. Wears adventurer attire. Made from artificial parts and wooden limbs, resembling a princess. Knowledgeable, can read, write, and use basic healing magic. Reliable partner, often saves the protagonist with her skills.
• El – She is a giant woman, appeared as Saburou’s captor, living alone in a large tent, skilled in hunting and cooking, proposes marriage to Saburou.
• Ms. Ant – Level 20 ant soldier, over 2 meters tall in armor. Named by the protagonist due to lack of a previous name. Wields a huge battle axe, large round shield, and throwing axes. Seasoned warrior capable of taking down sub-dragons. Ms. Hóa’s prized secret treasure. Borrowed by the protagonist as a trial during his time in the royal capital
• Frapatica – Advanced Fire Spirit, brown skin, fiery red hair, striking red leather bikini armor, youthful beneath a mature appearance, Edo-girl speaking style, kind, offers her name as a sign of trust
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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