Chapter 180

“Umm…!”

The first sensation I felt when I put the meat in my mouth was juiciness.

As expected of a Sous-vide Steak that looked overflowing with juices, the moment I took a bite and held it in my mouth, the juices burst out as if exploding.

Normally, those juices would have evaporated during the cooking process, but thanks to the mana shield, the vacuum-sealed juices remained intact within the meat without evaporating.

Even if you dipped a regular steak in sauce, you wouldn’t get this level of moistness.

No matter how much you moisten the surface with sauce, the Sous-vide Steak, which retains the juices from within the meat, is on a whole different level.

‘Is… is this really meat…?’

The unmistakable meaty aroma and the moist juices in my mouth clearly tasted like meat… but…

It was a taste so meaty yet so unbelievable that it was meat.

But Arisa’s astonishment had only just begun.

The appearance alone made me doubt if this was really a steak, but the meat in my mouth was so tender that it made me question again if it was truly a steak.

It was exactly the sensation Arisa felt when she first cut the Sous-vide Steak with a knife.

But feeling that sensation with her fingertips and feeling it with her tongue and teeth in her mouth was a world of difference.

‘This… it’s not just tender! The texture you can feel because the entire inside and outside of the meat are cooked to the same degree! Is… is this really steak!?’

Yes.

When you cook meat normally, the outside inevitably gets browned or charred, while the inside remains moist and tender.

If you cook it wrong, the outside might be perfectly browned, but the inside could still be raw and chewy. No matter how well you cook it, the difference in texture between the surface and the inside is unavoidable.

But with Sous-vide Steak, even if you used magic to flip the inside and outside of the meat, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference because every part of the meat is cooked uniformly.

That means you can feel the same level of doneness no matter which part of the meat you chew.

The meat of the Sous-vide Steak crumbled so tenderly that you could believe you were chewing sausage or ham instead of steak.

In fact, from the perspective of cooking at relatively low temperatures for a long time, Sous-vide Steak had similarities to cooking ham.

But the clear advantage that sets Sous-vide Steak apart from ham or sausage.

‘It’s so moist!? Of course, I knew it was moist from seeing the juices when I cut the meat… but even so, every fiber of the meat is excessively moist!’

That’s the rich juiciness you can’t get from ham, which is dried by the heat generated when smoking.

That is the biggest advantage that makes Sous-vide, Sous-vide.

Chew chew.

Once when I saw it.

Once when I put it in my mouth.

And once more when I chewed the meat in my mouth.

Every moment was a shock in itself.

In the midst of that continuous shock, Arisa had already forgotten all the aversion she felt from the unfamiliar appearance of the steak Kurt made and silently began to focus on eating the Sous-vide Steak.

‘Now that I think about it, the cooking method was so unique that I forgot… this meat… it’s not ordinary meat.’

Moreover, the meat Kurt used for the Sous-vide cooking was the finest quality, made from the Steel Armored Bison, which you can’t find in regular markets.

Generally, the gamey smell from wild animal meat is several times stronger than that of livestock raised by humans, but sometimes there are exceptions to that rule.

The meat of the Steel Armored Bison was one such exception.

Perhaps because it was surrounded by armor-like shells, the texture of the meat carried the flavor of crustaceans, and the monster’s meat had a subtle sweetness and tenderness, like perfectly boiled lobster, without any gamey smell.

The meat, already carrying the subtle flavor of lobster, was cooked Sous-vide without losing any moisture, creating a synergy that exploded with a fragrant flavor in the mouth.

Chew chew.

Haa.

Chew chew.

Arisa, no longer feeling any aversion, cut the Sous-vide Steak and put it in her mouth.

With all her aversion gone, she could now taste the delicate flavor of the Sous-vide Steak that she hadn’t noticed when she first ate it with prejudice.

When she cut the meat and put a bite in her mouth, the first thing that touched her tongue was the rich juice, which could be called the soup of life, melting the fat and amino acids of the meat.

The juice was neither too hot nor lukewarm, but just the right temperature to seep into her tired body after a day of exploring ruins and getting soaked in a water pool.

The aroma of the salt and pepper used to season the steak had permeated the juice, making it rich, salty, and yet refreshing.

You could probably just collect this juice and dip bread in it for a meal.

Once the juice touched her tongue and finally went down her throat, giving her the feeling of it spreading through her body, it was time to taste the main dish—the meat.

The texture of the meat was such that it would split tenderly with just a slight movement.

Even the tenderness of the meat was a joy in her current state, where moving her jaw felt like labor.

Chewing the meat a few times, the moisture-retaining meat would springy or moistly tear along its grain, turning even chewing into a joyful act.

And as the meat tore into smaller pieces in her mouth, the aroma of the spices and meat became more pronounced.

The first thing to hit her tongue was the saltiness and the spiciness of the pepper.

Then, the rich and deep meaty aroma of the Steel Armored Bison and the subtle sweetness of lobster decorated the aftertaste.

Originally, it would have been a small aroma that you’d only notice if you were paying close attention, or if you had senses as sharp as Kurt’s, but that aroma was amplified several times by the Sous-vide cooking method.

As if this was how the meat was meant to be eaten all along.

The already happy aroma spreading in her mouth was amplified several times, filling her mouth as if to double her happiness.

“Haa…”

After completely chewing and swallowing the meat, the sweet and fragrant flavor of lobster, not overshadowed by the savory and refreshing aroma of beef, even made the sigh after eating the meat sweet.

It was truly a taste of happiness that made the corners of her mouth rise uncontrollably.

.

.

.

“It’s really… delicious. I had no idea meat could be this delicious. I feel like I’ve missed out on half of the Dark Elf’s life.”

“How is it? Do you understand now? The greatness of this artifact?”

“Indeed, if you can make such delicious food that even nobles would eat, the value of that artifact might be greater than I expected.”

Nobles, huh.

Well, I’m not sure if nobles can eat Sous-vide Steak.

Anyway, Arisa, with a completely relaxed face, happily smiled and continued her meal, putting a bite of steak in her mouth each time.

I’m glad she enjoyed it.

Choosing this artifact for myself was definitely the right choice.

Using a mana shield for Sous-vide cooking.

I thought that in this world, with its low scientific advancement, such modern cooking methods wouldn’t be possible, but surprisingly, the answer was in magic.

Perhaps if we follow the knowledge of the Ancient Empire, we might discover molecular gastronomy or even entirely new cooking methods that didn’t exist in my previous life.

But for now…

Let’s just enjoy this meal.

Thinking that, I watched Arisa happily eating and resumed my meal.

Another happy meal time today.

.

.

.

Chew chew.

But she said Dark Elves don’t really like meat…

Seeing her enjoy the meal now, it seems her sense of taste isn’t different from that of a regular human…

Then, the Dark Elf’s dislike of meat isn’t a physical trait but a mental one…

Perhaps closely related to the origin of becoming a Dark Elf…

…

…

…!?

While eating, I suddenly stopped my fork and knife at the thought that came to mind.

Could it be…?

What came to my mind was something too absurd…

Perhaps too cruel of a speculation.

But somehow, it felt like a missing piece of the puzzle about Dark Elves.

What I remembered was a book about different races that I read in the Shaman’s house when I was young.

Specifically, a fairy tale about Dark Elves included as an appendix.

What we should think about isn’t ‘why’ the Dark Elves in the fairy tale became Dark Elves, but…

‘how’ they became Dark Elves.

Isn’t that right?

Becoming a Dark Elf doesn’t make you physically stronger or deepen your ability to communicate with spirits.

Of course, being able to eat meat is clearly an advantage, but that’s not a merit when it comes to taking revenge on the kingdom, is it?

Then why did the Elves in the fairy tale become Dark Elves?

But what if all those premises were wrong?

What if they didn’t become Dark Elves by choice, but had no choice but to become Dark Elves?

That’s when I came up with a terrifying and dreadful speculation.

The environment the Elves in the fairy tale were in.

The forest was all burned down, and outside the forest, the kingdom’s soldiers were guarding, making it impossible to escape.

The Fruit of the World Tree was gone, and even edible plants had turned to ashes.

In fact, because the fire was magical, the forest remained as ashes for years without regenerating.

For the Elves, that situation meant all food was gone, and it wouldn’t be strange if they starved to death.

But they didn’t die.

They survived for years.

What did they eat to survive all that time?

All edible plants were burned,

and even if there were surviving animals, Elves can’t digest them.

Elves can’t digest animal protein.

But then I remembered that there is one animal protein Elves can digest.

That is…

Breast milk.

Breast milk is definitely animal protein.

From what Arisa told me, she breastfed.

At the time, I casually dismissed it, thinking that Dark Elves can digest animal protein, so breastfeeding wouldn’t be strange.

But what if breastfeeding isn’t exclusive to Dark Elves?

Isn’t that right?

It’s not just Dark Elves whose breasts swell during puberty.

Elves also experience breast swelling during puberty.

The only animal protein they can consume…

Ironically, it comes from the flesh of their own kind.

And if the animal protein Elves can consume isn’t limited to just breast milk but goes beyond that…

To become a Dark Elf, one would have to engage in unusual and special actions they wouldn’t normally do.

Otherwise, we would have seen Elves easily becoming Dark Elves.

Actions that other Elves don’t normally do, or shouldn’t do.

The reason the Elves in the burned forest could survive extreme starvation.

Was their hatred for the kingdom only because the forest was burned?

Why are Dark Elves called cursed Elves?

What was the catalyst for Elves becoming Dark Elves?

And why do even the despised Dark Elfs not refute these claims but instead hide in shame?

The reason Dark Elves are ostracized in Elf society…

While Dark Elves’ skin color changes, overall, they live a life several times freer than ordinary Elves bound to the World Tree.

That is clearly a significant advantage over regular Elves.

But even so, Elves despise Dark Elves and don’t want to become like them.

They look down on them instead.

What did the Dark Elves in the fairy tale eat to survive for ten years?

My thoughts are tangled.

“…What are you thinking about so deeply?”

Arisa’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

“Ah, nothing. It’s just that even though I made this dish, it’s so delicious.”

“Ah. It’s definitely incredibly delicious. Even I, who dislikes meat, can eat it so deliciously!”

Seeing Arisa, I quietly shook my head.

Right. I don’t need to think too deeply about it.

When I was young, I was fascinated by Dark Elves and lost myself in imagination…

But there’s no reason to dig into that now.

Just enjoying this meal is enough.

With that, I erased all the thoughts that came to mind and picked up my fork and knife to continue eating.

“Ah. Right. I made a few more Sous-vide Steaks, so feel free to eat more if you want.”

“Really? Thank you!”

Arisa smiled brightly.

It was a pure and clean smile, dazzlingly so.

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