Chapter 72

“Uh, sorry, but I think I misheard you just now. Can you say it again?”

Logwin, trying to brush off what he heard as a mistake, smiled nervously, his voice trembling.

“I said I’ll cook.”

At those words, Logwin and his party turned as pale as a 20-year-old opening a draft notice in their Christmas present.

No, seriously, every time I cook, I feel this way. Why do they treat Lizardmen like this?

“But… you’re a Lizardman.”

“Exactly.”

“And you’re saying you’ll cook…?”

“Is there a problem?”

“Of course…! Ah, no. Ahem…! No problem at all.”

Logwin tried to argue but realized it would be rude to say more, so he coughed awkwardly to brush it off.

Honestly, his reaction alone was already rude enough.

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he awkwardly laughed and spoke.

“W-Well, now that I think about it, we’re on a journey, so ingredients might be scarce. It’d be a bit shameless to just eat without contributing.”

“Hmm. I guess. But we have plenty of ingredients, so don’t worry about it…”

“I-I’m a half-elf, so I can only eat vegetarian food…!”

Matilda, despite the obvious lie since Mari was already in the party, desperately tried to wriggle out of the situation.

“We’re just uncomfortable! Don’t worry about it.”

Jerry refused in a hurried voice.

“Nyahaha…! Now that I think about it, I need to watch my weight because of all the fat I’ve been gaining lately…!”

Even Minya suddenly brought up needing to lose weight.

“…If you’re going to go that far, I guess there’s no choice. If you change your mind later, let me know.”

Still, I wanted to share the meal with as many people as possible, but if they’re going to react like this, I can’t force them…

It’s common knowledge that Lizardmen’s sense of taste is almost completely退化, and aside from me, most Lizardmen just eat bloody meat with bitter, unwashed grass in a bowl, so I can’t really argue.

But it’s still a bit bitter.

Oh well.

Guess it’s just us eating then.

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As Kurt turned to leave, disappointed, Logwin’s party glared at him and started whispering.

“Hey. Kurt’s completely disappointed.”

“You’re right. He went out of his way to invite us to a meal, and we just brushed him off.”

At Matilda and Jerry’s words, Logwin protested in a small voice, sounding wronged.

“Hey, he didn’t just invite me. Why are you only blaming me?”

“But you were the first one he invited. Even if we don’t know, at least you should’ve accepted.”

“Right. You’re the leader of our party.”

“Only when it’s convenient, huh?”

“So you’re just going to let Kurt walk away like that? Don’t you feel bad?”

“I-I do feel bad, but why me?”

“You’re the vanguard, so you’re tough, right? If anyone can handle eating something weird, it’s you.”

At Matilda’s words, Logwin made a pitiful face and whispered back.

“What does being the vanguard have to do with this?!”

The four of them bickered for a while, thinking Kurt couldn’t hear them.

But the other three had already decided to sacrifice Logwin from the start, and he had no choice but to fall victim to their combined efforts.

So, just as Kurt was about to leave, Logwin, now forcibly chosen as the sacrifice, grabbed his arm and spoke.

“W-Wait!”

“…What is it?”

“T-The dinner. Can I join you?”

Kurt, who had already guessed what had happened between the four, decided to play along, touched by Logwin’s consideration despite his reluctance.

“Of course. You’re always welcome.”

With that, Logwin followed Kurt with a look as if he were walking into a dragon’s lair, while the other three silently prayed for his soul.

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It’s a shame I couldn’t invite all four, but at least I managed to get Logwin to join.

Though, to be honest, even he didn’t accept out of pure intentions…

But that’s just the karma other Lizardmen have built up over time, so there’s nothing I can do.

On the bright side, despite the social stigma around Lizardmen’s taste, he accepted my invitation, so I should be grateful.

Which means I’ll have to serve him a proper meal.

Today’s dish is a stew made from the Scorpion-tailed Wolf we just hunted.

After Karina and Serena fought over what dish they wanted, we finally decided by rock-paper-scissors.

By the way, Mari was sulking on the side, muttering, “Just let someone win…” since we didn’t have enough cooking oil for frying.

First, I should prepare the meat, but…

Actually, I already finished preparing the meat before inviting Logwin’s party.

In fact, I went to invite them while marinating the meat.

So I looked at the prepared meat of the Scorpion-tailed Wolf.

Despite its name, the Scorpion-tailed Wolf is just a regular wolf with a tail twice as long as others, except for the fact that it’s a monster.

Its tail, as long as its body, can be used like a whip or an extra limb, making “Whip-tailed Wolf” a more fitting name than “Scorpion-tailed Wolf.”

But once you realize the tip of its tail contains venom more dangerous than a scorpion’s, you understand why it’s called the Scorpion-tailed Wolf.

Their hunting method is quite unique.

They form packs to surround larger monsters, staying out of reach and stabbing them with their tails to inject venom, then running away until the prey collapses.

It sounds cowardly, but in the wild, cowardly methods are often just smart strategies.

This method minimizes their pack’s risk while taking down prey.

That’s why it was strange that they attacked our carriage head-on today.

It’s unlike the cunning, cowardly Scorpion-tailed Wolves to attack directly.

It’s as if they were under some spell, unable to think rationally.

And it’s also strange that we were attacked so soon after leaving the city.

Hmm…

No, no.

I almost got lost in thought while staring at the ingredients.

The important thing is that the Scorpion-tailed Wolf is just like a regular wolf, except for its tail.

Meaning, if you cook it without the tail and the spine connected to it, it’s just regular meat.

I had already marinated the meat before inviting Logwin’s party, and when I checked it, the seasoning had soaked in nicely.

The cut I’m using is the rib meat opposite the tail.

I sliced it thinly, like cutting a steak, so it would cook quickly in the stew.

I mixed the thinly sliced meat with soy sauce, sugar, oil, pepper, and other seasonings.

I also added thinly sliced garlic and onions.

The marinated meat had a rich, dark brown color from the soy sauce.

Looks like it’s well-marinated.

Satisfied with the meat’s condition, I tossed it into the pot.

If I cooked it like this, it’d just become bulgogi, so I added enough broth to adjust the stew’s consistency.

Then, of course, I added finely chopped mushrooms.

The mushrooms were dried monster mushrooms I brought from the Adventurer’s Guild.

Even on a journey, I couldn’t give up on quality ingredients like spices and mushrooms.

Sure, it made my luggage twice as heavy, but it’s worth it to eat meals like this on the road.

Now, all that’s left is to watch the pot until the meat and mushrooms are fully cooked.

And with that, the stew is complete.

Tonight’s dinner:

Scorpion-tailed Wolf Bulgogi Stew.

Done.

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Logwin could only stare blankly as Kurt skillfully prepared the stew.

The bubbling black liquid, the mysterious spices and mushrooms being tossed into the pot—it all looked suspiciously like the infamous Lizardman cooking style…

But as the cooking began and the intense aroma filled the air, all the prejudices about Lizardmen’s taste and cooking skills were forgotten.

When Logwin was first dragged here to be served a meal by Kurt, he secretly hoped some accident would stop the cooking.

But now, the only thing on his mind was the pure desire for Kurt’s cooking to be done as soon as possible.

That’s all.

Finally, as the stew began to boil and the mushrooms turned soft while the meat darkened to a deep gray, Kurt handed him a ladle.

“It’s done.”

At those words, Logwin instinctively took the ladle, scooped a large portion, and transferred it to his bowl.

The intense aroma of soy sauce bulgogi became even stronger in his bowl.

Gulp.

The overwhelming aroma made Logwin swallow hard without realizing it.