Chapter 178

“Is this half-broken?”

“Yes… No matter how I think about it, that artifact seems to be half-broken, doesn’t it? If it were in perfect condition, it would have been worth a fortune, but…”

“What are you talking about? This artifact is a complete masterpiece as it is. Didn’t we use it effectively to escape that water pool earlier?”

At Kurt’s words, Arisa was momentarily at a loss for words, stuttering before refuting with a look of injustice.

“B-but, the function of creating a mana shield around objects placed on an iron plate is impressive. But even so, a shield that tears apart with just a little force is a defective product, isn’t it!?”

As she said.

The purpose of the artifact Kurt chose was simple.

It was to place an object on an iron plate and activate it to envelop the object in a mana shield.

More precisely, it was closer to the concept of coating with mana rather than a shield.

Just hearing that, one might think this artifact was an invaluable treasure.

But if that were all, Arisa wouldn’t have called it half-broken, so there must be a big problem.

First, it’s impossible to envelop objects larger than the iron plate with a mana shield.

Therefore, the objects that can be shielded with mana using that iron plate are limited to those smaller than a human head.

If the object enveloped by the mana shield moves even slightly, the mana shield becomes unstable, making it practically impossible for living creatures.

No, from the start, the size limitation makes it impossible to apply a mana shield to a person.

Moreover, the strength of the mana shield is such that even an adult woman could easily tear it apart, so it can’t even properly serve as a protective barrier.

At best, it can be used to coat items brought from ruins to waterproof them, allowing escape from water pools…

But that’s about all the artifact is good for.

It can only temporarily protect objects from getting wet.

That’s the extent of its functionality.

Of course, one could find a use for it if they looked hard enough…

But honestly, compared to a necklace that brightly lights up even in the dark or a knife that turns an ordinary person into an aura user, it’s as dim as a torch before the sun.

However, to Kurt, this artifact was worth several times more than the two artifacts she possessed.

After all, her necklace was a pseudo-torch, and her knife was a pseudo-aura.

At Kurt’s words, she tilted her head in confusion, unable to understand.

“No matter how I think about it, it doesn’t seem right…”

Ah, this isn’t working.

She doesn’t understand a word I’m saying.

No choice.

Sometimes, showing is faster than explaining a hundred times.

“Since it’s almost dinner time, I’ll show you for real.”

“…Huh?”

“Let’s eat.”

It’s time to teach her a lesson with a meal.

…

Following me into the Adventurer Guild, Arisa asked with a bewildered expression.

“E-eat?”

“I’ll serve you an amazing dish using this artifact. Then you won’t be able to call it half-broken.”

“Ah, using an artifact to cook a meal, what kind of… Wait? So you chose that artifact to use it for cooking…?”

“Of course. What other use would I need?”

“…”

At my words, Arisa looked at me with a subtle expression, at a loss for words.

Strange.

When I revealed I was a Transcendent, she was in awe, but now her opinion of me seems to be dropping in real-time.

“I’ll treat you to the best steak. Ah…! You said you don’t like meat much.”

Troublesome. As a chef, forcing someone to eat what they dislike isn’t my style.

But the best dish using this artifact is meat-based.

And there’s even good meat from a Steel Armored Bison.

At this point, using other ingredients wouldn’t showcase the artifact’s potential as much as meat…

“Ah, no. I don’t particularly like it, but I don’t dislike it either.”

“Is that so? That’s a relief.”

“Actually, it’s not that I dislike the taste of meat, but culturally, Dark Elves tend not to like meat much.”

“Really? That’s a bit unusual. It’s a shame to miss out on eating meat when you have the chance…”

“W-well…”

Is it because of the dietary culture from when they were Elves?

But even so, after several generations, dietary culture should change quickly.

Even Arisa, who has lived among humans for a long time, doesn’t like meat.

Come to think of it, Arisa said her dislike of meat was due to the origin of Dark Elves.

What exactly is the origin of Dark Elves…?

“A-anyway, I’m fine, so there’s no need to change the menu.”

“Is that so? Then I’ll put my heart into making a meat dish you’ll enjoy.”

Anyway, if she doesn’t outright dislike meat dishes, it’s fine.

With that, I headed to the kitchen with the artifact from the ruins.

…

Entering the kitchen, I decided to make Sous-vide Steak.

Sous-vide Steak.

It’s the latest cooking technique, as cutting-edge as molecular gastronomy.

By the standards of my past life, the concept itself appeared in the 18th century, but the technology at the time couldn’t realize the sous-vide method, so it remained just an idea.

The method was seriously researched only in the mid-20th century, around the 1960s, and the technique itself was established in 1971.

A cooking method that emerged in history less than 30 years before the 21st century.

That’s the sous-vide method.

A technique where ingredients like meat or vegetables are vacuum-packed and cooked in water at a very low temperature of around 60 degrees for a very long time.

Although it takes a long time and the Maillard reaction hardly occurs, the sous-vide method is still quite appealing.

Since it’s cooked in a vacuum, the moisture in the ingredients hardly evaporates, allowing them to retain their juiciness.

Also, instead of flipping ingredients over high heat, cooking them slowly in 60-degree water until the temperature penetrates the inside allows for uniform cooking from all sides, including the surface and interior.

In other words, all sides of the ingredient are cooked to the same level.

Compared to direct grilling, it’s overwhelmingly juicy, and whether you eat the surface or the inside, the cooking level is the same.

This is the unique advantage of sous-vide, unmatched by other cooking methods.

Until now, most dishes could be made by substituting techniques and equipment, but sous-vide was impossible to replicate.

Maintaining water at 60 degrees is manageable, but the packaging technology to vacuum-seal the meat couldn’t be replicated with this world’s technology.

But with this artifact, it’s different.

Actually, Seiri and Arisa called this artifact half-broken, unable to perform its original function as a shield generator, but I disagreed.

This isn’t half-broken; it’s meant to be used this way from the start.

Namely, the Ancient Empire’s vacuum-sealed sous-vide pack.

No doubt.

This is evidence that the Ancient Empire also ate sous-vide!

Yes. Calling this a mana shield is a misnomer.

It’s a vacuum mana-sealed pack.

Hoo. I digressed.

Back to cooking.

First, of course, the artifact and meat are essential.

Along with the iron plate powered by magic stones, a gift from the Dwarf village.

A pot filled with water.

First, place the pot filled with water on the Dwarf-made magic stone iron plate.

Using fire to heat the water would cause the temperature to fluctuate based on the wood’s condition or oxygen levels, but this Dwarf-made iron plate maintains a constant temperature.

Moreover, using fire to heat the pot would quickly exceed the optimal temperature for sous-vide, but the Dwarf-made iron plate’s heat source is a magic stone with fire properties, so keeping the power low can maintain around 60 degrees.

After setting the water temperature suitable for sous-vide, it’s time to start sous-vide.

The meat used is from the Steel Armored Bison, a lean, tough cut.

Since sous-vide is a low-temperature cooking method, fatty cuts aren’t preferred, similar to cooking steak rare.

Thus, the cut used is the very lean round, also known as the rump.

This is the tough cut often used in braised dishes.

This lean cut is seasoned with salt, pepper, and herbs.

Then, placed on the artifact, the meat is coated with a mana shield.

I already knew this mana shield could last several hours and block moisture while allowing heat to pass through.

Thus, I vacuum-sealed the monster meat with mana.

The mana-shielded monster meat is then placed in the pot maintaining the appropriate temperature.

After that, the water is stirred slowly to keep the temperature uniform throughout.

If not stirred, the bottom directly heated and the surface exposed to air would have different temperatures, undermining the basic premise of sous-vide where all sides receive equal heat.

In my past life, sous-vide machines automatically controlled water flow, eliminating the need for manual adjustment…

But in this world, most shortcomings must be compensated for with manual labor.

The required cooking time is one hour.

Grilling meat on a grill would take at most 20 minutes, but sous-vide, being a low-temperature method, takes several times longer than conventional cooking.

After an hour, the meat is removed, and the mana shield is torn off.

Thus, a juicy sous-vide steak, with all its juices intact from vacuum-sealing, is complete.

The sous-vide steak is plated with accompanying vegetables for garnish.

It’s done.

Tonight’s menu:

Forgotten Ancient Empire’s Sous-vide Steak.