第１５１４堀：色々聞きつつ美味しい物で盛り上がる (Part2)
That said, the fact that there had been no interference from the Dark Guild suggested that they had deemed the situation acceptable.
Well, that was assuming the Dark Guild was involved at all.
Assuming they were involved… no, that was a matter for after I returned.
For now, the priority was that I was able to converse with Canaria like this.
Judging by the progress so far, she didn't seem to harbor any hostility toward us.
If anything, she appeared cooperative.
It wouldn't be wrong to say that the food of Weed was helping to foster that sentiment.
Therefore, I should set aside further detailed discussions for later and let everyone enjoy the meal as intended.
"Well, Seraria, that's enough for now. The yakisoba is here."
"Oh, in that case, we must eat it while it's hot."
A server entered the room and placed three servings of yakisoba onto the iron plate.
We gave a larger portion to Canaria, who had placed the order, and then helped ourselves to smaller portions.
Ratz and Eris, who had seemed near their limit, appeared to have found some breathing room through the conversation, and they, too, took small portions to eat.
"Come to think of it, you mentioned there were many delicious things, but is there one that stands out as the best so far?"
Lilishe suddenly asked Canaria while eating her yakisoba.
Yes, knowing her preferences would be a good thing.
Canaria, having been asked, chewed the yakisoba in her mouth, swallowed, and then wore a troubled expression...
"That is a difficult question. I have eaten many delicious things since coming to Weed, but I had never thought about which one was the best."
"Indeed, it is difficult if you haven't been conscious of it."
Rurua said, leaning into Canaria’s sentiment.
Or perhaps, it was more that she spoke from experience?
"Well then, why don't we start by deciding on some categories?"
"Categories?"
Canaria tilted her head at Dressa’s suggestion.
"Yes, for example, staple foods, side dishes, desserts, and so on."
"Ah, I see."
"Or perhaps by the type of ingredient—meat, fish, pasta, vegetables, or fruit."
"Hmm, I see. When narrowed down like that... the dishes that left the strongest impression would be the meat, the fish, and the vegetables."
Well, she’d selected more than half of the categories Dressa had proposed.
How was she going to narrow it down from here?
"Regarding the meat, I was accustomed to deer, boar, and monsters like orcs, but I never imagined beef and pork could be this delicious."
"Oh, they are delicious, aren't they? Both the beef and the pork."
"Yes. I was surprised when I heard that humans raised them to reach such quality. I had assumed they were higher-tier species or powerful monsters."
"That is true. I have heard that higher-tier species are rarer and therefore more delicious," Rurua agreed.
Certainly, wyvern and dragon meat were delicious.
It was a different sensation from marbled meat.
Marbling is a state where fat is distributed within the meat, but in animals like cattle, that is essentially a state of being nutrient-rich—what we call being fat or obese.
Foie gras is a prime example of this.
However, wyverns and dragons do not easily become obese.
As wild animals—or monsters—they essentially never experience a surplus of food; overeating is impossible for them.
Above all, wyverns and dragons generally do not consume large quantities of food.
They use their magical energy directly for their life functions.
If that weren't the case, large wyverns and dragons would simply starve to death.
So, the question of why their meat is so delicious remains, but it is likely exactly as Rurua said: it is because they are rare species.
Because they are such superior individuals, their physical bodies are correspondingly superior.
And thus, they are delicious.
That is the conclusion I have reached.
There is research into using magical energy to make meat more delicious, but I have never heard of it being successful.
There must be some factor that requires them to be such rare species.
As I was thinking about this, Canaria moved the conversation to the next ingredient.
"Next is the fish. In Vinosia, there were only rivers and lakes, so I had never eaten sea fish. Generally, river fish have a muddy smell, and I had that same image of sea fish..."
Watching her talk so happily about the delicious ingredients, I thought that this gathering was going well, all while carrying a mouthful of yakisoba to my lips.
Oh, this is surprisingly heavy.
Will I be able to finish it?
I couldn't help but worry about my own stomach.
The location of the blatant hidden treasure.
What does everyone think?
And, being full is quite a struggle, isn't it?