Chapter 49

I headed to the Kitchen of the Adventurer Guild with the mushrooms I had gathered today.

Today, unlike usual, Mari, Karina, and Serena might have been in danger.

And it wasn’t because of their personal circumstances, but because they stepped forward to help me, which put them in harm’s way.

Naturally, my heart couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

Although, Mari was the one who first offered to help, Karina suggested we take on a request while gathering mushrooms, and Serena was the one who accepted the request.

…Wait. Come to think of it, wasn’t it actually not my fault?

Still, since they almost got into serious trouble while trying to help me, my unease remains unchanged.

So, the best I can do is cook my heart out.

Today’s main dish is the Mushroom Hotpot I mentioned this morning.

Like stews or soups, hotpots are dishes where ingredients are boiled in broth, allowing the flavors and nutrients to seep into the soup, minimizing nutrient loss and making it easy to digest.

It’s the perfect dish for them, who need to rest for a few days, even if they’re not seriously injured.

Though it’s ironic that the very Mushroom Hotpot almost got them into trouble.

First, I need to prepare the mushrooms for the hotpot.

Except for the cultivated shiitake mushrooms bought from the market, all the mushrooms used in the hotpot were gathered from the Shuraig Cave.

Of course, I won’t use the mushrooms from the Corpse Parasitic Mushroom Monster that controlled human corpses and manipulated their minds.

Mushrooms growing on human corpses? That’s not a cute story like cordyceps growing on insect corpses.

There’s no way I’d eat something like that.

I didn’t even bring them back, so I don’t know if they’re edible, but even if they were, I wouldn’t eat them.

But the mushrooms we gathered from the Shuraig Cave weren’t just that one type.

Even while being mentally manipulated by the Corpse Parasitic Mushroom, the three diligently gathered mushrooms, and after showing them to the herbalist Huchi, we learned that many of them were edible.

The mushrooms we’re using are those.

First, the Mad Dancer Mushroom, which still twitches occasionally in the basket despite being gathered some time ago.

Despite its name, it’s perfectly edible without any special treatment.

It’s called the Mad Dancer Mushroom because it periodically wriggles and spreads spores, resembling a crazy person dancing.

Its spores are actually non-toxic and completely harmless to humans, just a mushroom that thrives in dark, damp areas.

After washing off the dust and dirt under running water, I trim the outer part and slice it thinly along the grain.

The sliced shape resembles enoki or king oyster mushrooms.

Next is the Thorn Horn Mushroom.

Its appearance is similar to blue oyster mushrooms, but it has several horn-like spikes on its wide cap.

Despite its intimidating look, it’s also edible.

The spikes have a unique texture, so I handle the cap carefully while preparing it.

The third mushroom is the Paintbrush Mushroom, which is brilliantly colored in different hues.

Its roots are plain white, but the branches split into various colors like red, blue, green, and yellow, making each one look like a different species.

In short, it looks like an RGB-colored enoki mushroom.

What is this, a gaming enoki mushroom?

After preparing all the mushrooms, they looked more like ingredients for poison rather than a hotpot.

…Can we really eat this?

No, I shouldn’t judge by appearance.

There’s a myth that brightly colored mushrooms are poisonous, and plain ones are edible, but it’s actually the opposite.

Plain-looking mushrooms can kill, while some brightly colored ones are edible.

Anyway, after washing and preparing the shiitake mushrooms bought from the market, the mushroom prep is done.

But a Mushroom Hotpot isn’t just mushrooms.

I prepare the other ingredients.

First, cabbage.

What’s important in a hotpot isn’t just the main ingredient, but also the broth.

A broth made from radish, cabbage, and seafood like anchovies.

There are many types of broth, but this time I’m using cabbage because I like the flavor.

After washing the cabbage under running water, I remove the outer leaves and use the inner ones.

Some people cut the leaves in half or leave them whole for presentation, but since this dish isn’t about looks, I cut them into bite-sized pieces.

Next, I slice the onion and carrot.

The juices from the onion and carrot will add a subtle sweetness that the cabbage alone can’t provide.

Finally, the meat to supplement the nutrition missing from just mushrooms and vegetables.

The best meat I have is from the Fruit Tree Antlered Reindeer, but I won’t use it for this hotpot.

In dishes like hotpots, where all ingredients are boiled together, overly strong flavors can overpower everything else.

So, I thinly slice some beef sirloin bought from the market.

With the mushrooms, vegetables, and beef all prepared, the hotpot ingredients are ready.

Normally, I’d start cooking in the kitchen, but today I’ll cook at the table where the three are waiting.

After all, hotpots are meant to be cooked and eaten together.

With the prepared ingredients, pot, and cooking tools, I head back to the table.

“So today, we’ll cook and eat right in front of you,” Kurt said, setting up a magic stone on the table.

Since we can’t use fire at the table, we’ll use a heat-emitting magic stone instead.

Using an expensive magic stone just for the atmosphere of cooking together? Even for a Silver Rank Adventurer, that’s quite extravagant.

Normally, I’d scold Kurt for his wastefulness, but Mari just stared at the hotpot with fearful eyes.

Karina and Serena were no different, trembling as they looked at the ingredients.

“W-what is this…?” Mari asked, and the other two nodded silently.

Their reaction was understandable.

The pot was filled with mushrooms that wriggled like octopuses, mushrooms with threatening spikes, and mushrooms in every color of the rainbow.

It looked nothing like the Mushroom Hotpot they knew.

Hoping it wasn’t what they thought, they asked Kurt.

But his answer shattered their hopes.

“What do you mean? We’re having Mushroom Hotpot tonight, so of course these are the ingredients.”

“This is it…?”

“To me, it looks like a wizard’s cauldron for making potions…”

“Y-you’re joking, right?”

“Huh? What are you talking about? You’re the ones who said these mushrooms looked delicious and gathered them.”

“W-we did!?”

“What? Don’t you remember?”

Yes, Kurt thought they had gathered the mushrooms willingly, but in reality, even that was influenced by the Corpse Parasitic Mushroom Monster.

Its mental manipulation included making the victims feel no aversion to the mushrooms.

So, while in their right minds, they would’ve found them disgusting, but under its influence, they called them pretty and gathered them.

But the three, unable to remember, saw the hotpot as a nightmare.

Realizing something was off, Kurt quickly understood the situation.

No wonder it seemed strange.

They wouldn’t have gathered such weird-looking mushrooms willingly.

Understanding the situation, Kurt put away the hotpot and said, “…If you don’t want to eat it, I won’t force you. I’ll just eat it myself.”

Normally, he’d insist they try at least a spoonful, but today he felt too guilty to push.

But just as Kurt felt indebted to them, they felt the same.

They had been saved by Kurt from becoming mushroom hosts and dying, and yet they had only burdened him.

After being a burden all day, how could they refuse the meal he prepared for them?

They immediately waved their hands and said, “No! We were just surprised by the unusual hotpot!”

“That’s right. We’ve eaten bug dishes before, so how could we dislike a Mushroom Hotpot?”

“Exactly! If anything, this unique hotpot is making me even more excited… Wait, bugs!?”

They forced smiles as they spoke.

“If you say so… Alright, let’s start cooking.”

“Yay! I’m really looking forward to it!”

“I’ve been hungry since earlier!”

“Wait! What do you mean bugs? Did you really eat bugs!?”

As Kurt activated the magic stone, there was no turning back.

The moment they closed their last escape route themselves.