Chapter 86: The Time of Reunion, Comes II (1/2)

I slept soundly. It appeared that I was quite exhausted after that big fight.

I woke up to find Maria hugging my arm.

『Your hygiene level has dropped. You should go wash up. Now, immediately』

With gentle movements, Tortch separated Maria from me and held her like a baby.

「Is there a bath here?」

『At the end of this passageway, there is a flowing river』

He pointed to one of the passageways leading away from the open space with his finger.

「Won’t it be frozen?」

『If it is, you can just break the ice』

「………………」

I was thrown a tattered towel and soap.

The river wasn't frozen, but it was cold enough to freeze a person to death.

I made one disturbing discovery. Lola's cloak, which had been damaged in some places during last night's battle, had repaired itself.

I hate to think it, but is this thing alive? No, first of all, I wonder what the heck I'm doing wearing His Majesty's ancestor. It's a bit psychopathic.

Yeah, I’ll take this to the grave.

I've got yet another secret that I can't tell people about.

Like Agathion or Zamonglass' sword. Why is it that I'm surrounded by items that I cannot brag to anyone about? Is this also because of my god's grace? Probably………

I washed off the blood and sweat with stinging cold water and soap.

Spying a winged rabbit, I took it down with Agathion.

I skinned and bled it the way my sister taught me.

After wiping myself off, I returned to the cathedral and got ready to make breakfast.

After adding some firewood to the remains of last night's fire, I started a fire using a twig meant for that purpose.

「I'll make breakfast. Where's the food?」

『In that crate over there』

Tortch pointed to a supplies crate.

『Are you a cook?』

「No. The one who’s a cook is………huh? Who was it again?」

『The meaning of your question is unclear』

「That’s……weird……」

I was seized by an intense sense of anxiety. A feeling of emptiness, like a piece of my mind had been secretly taken away. As if a support that had been holding me up had snapped, or had been stolen.

…………What is this feeling?

Nothing comes to mind even when I think about it.

The very doubts that I hold about what I'm wondering about slips away from my mind, leaving only that nagging feeling.

It’s no use.

I can't think of anything. No, have I forgotten it? I feel something blank, but I have no idea what it is. Not even a little bit.

「Well………………forget it」

At times like this, it’s best to keep busy.

Thinking about it won't accomplish anything, so I won't think about it. For now, that'll do. It'll be fine. It should.

「What about cookware?」

『They're in the crate over there. The crate on the right contains food. There is no problem with hygiene』

「Hey, aren't these practically brand new?」

The cutting board and knives didn't look like they had ever been used.

『There was a military cook with us, but he was the first to commit suicide. Although he was one of the few people who weren't exposed to radiation, I believe he fell into depression over his differing perception of the information as well as seeing what happened to those who were exposed. The soldiers were served canned food』

「That’s quite…..」

For some reason, I put my palms together before the cookware.

「Sorry, I have a quick question. Is there any radioactive contamination in the supplies here?」

『No. The nuclear testing exercises were conducted only on the soldiers. It was their understanding that there would be no effects from the radiation if they cleaned everything thoroughly. Besides, I wouldn't keep contaminated supplies near my daughter. I wouldn't let her eat them』

「Understood」

It had been a foolish thought.

「For that matter, what have you been feeding Maria?」

I picked through the food supplies beside me.

Basically, there’s a lot of canned food. Beans, soup, cornstarch, macaroni, honey, mustard, tomato sauce, ketchup as well as salt and pepper. …………Oh, and bottled cola. Powdered eggs, dried cheese, chocolate bars, chocolate candy, et cetera, et cetera, and finally, spam. A literal mountain of spam.

『Maria's favorite is soup that I've heated up』

「Oh, okay」

I shouldn't pry too deeply into the food served at other people's dining tables.

「Hey, they're way past the expiration date, you know?」

By more than half a century.

『According to my measuring instruments, there is no bacterial growth, so there is no problem』

I tried to remove the metal cap of the cola using Agathion, but that didn't go so well.

Tortch stuck out his little finger. A bottle opener extended out of it. I removed the cap of the bottled cola like how they did it in old movies. The cap went into his finger.

I took my first sip of cola in a long time.

The sweetness and the refreshing sensation of its fizzy flavor moistened my throat.

Ahh, it’s the taste of Earth. [1]

Now, let’s make breakfast.

Placing the rabbit on the brand new cutting board, I took a brand new kitchen knife in hand.

First, the prep. I cut off its head, limbs and wings, removed its internal organs, and after I had pounded the meat with the back of the knife, I cut the bones and meat apart into rough pieces. After rubbing the meat with salt and pepper, I left it to sit for a while.

I put the rabbit's ribs, limbs, wings and fat into a pot that I had filled with water, and had Tortch hold it over the fire.

Next, I made a simple seasoning by mixing together equal amounts of honey and mustard.

I fished through the canned food.

I took cans of consomme, beans, and………spam.

If I try my hardest, I should be able to make it taste good. It's not good to be picky with food.

『Maria hates beans』

「I see」

Alright, I'll put them in.

While removing the scum from the pot from time to time, I mashed the canned beans.

Children will eat even the things they hate if you mislead them by changing how the food looks. My sister, who hates green peppers, eats them when I stuff them with meat.

I sliced the spam into thin strips.

I hate this thing.

Why does it look like solidified slime? Is it actually a liquid? Even though it's meat……… I mean, if I had pork, there would have been no need for you! Don't get cocky! Shove off to Okinawa! Aloha your way to Hawaii! I'll teleport you to a world without pigs! Fakku!

………………I calmed down.

About 30 minutes passed as I watched the pot while scraping the meat off the bones and removing the scum.

I checked the broth by taste-testing it.

Alright.

I removed the bones and the unneeded items. Then I added the consomme, mashed beans, and the detestable sliced up failure of pork meat. After some stirring, it was completed. The crappy pork had became softer after being simmered for a while.

I dropped some butter into a frying pan and stir-fried the rabbit meat. I added the honey mustard that I had mixed earlier. It gave off a stimulating smell.

「Hnn～」

Maria woke up.

『Good morning, Maria』

「Good morning, Daddy」

『It’s time to wash your face』

「Leave the pot!」

I stopped Tortch, who was about to leave while still holding the pot.

I stir-fried the meat and drained it of its juices until it was well-cooked. As I taste-tested it, I added salt.

Completed.

Using the crates, I set up a table and chairs, and then covered them with cloth to make them look more presentable.

I plated the food in brand new plates and bowls, and laid them out on the table.

For today’s meal,

Rabbit consomme broth with beans and detestable pork,

And rabbit meat stir-fried with honey mustard.

It's a breakfast with a score of about 65 points. Makina would probably snigger at me.

「Wow!」

Maria came trotting over.

「What’s this?! What’s this?!」

She had both hands on the table and was bouncing on her feet.

She kneed the piece of scrap, who had arrived later, and began whispering to him.

「You've not let Maria have normal meals? I'm sure that they serve better meals even in King Robbs’ army」

『Because of the risk of being poisoned, she isn't allowed to eat food from anywhere else』

「Then it's no wonder she thinks that salmiak licorice is delicious」

『I’ve taken into account the nutritional balance』

「Delicious food enriches the soul」

『There is data that shows that armies are stronger when the meals taste bad』

「That's just an excuse by those whose food tastes bad」

『American meals are number one in the world, in portion size』

「Japanese meals are number one in the world, in healthiness」

『Are you taking about meals where fish is eaten raw and everything is seasoned with fermented soybeans?』

「Life expectancy is higher in my country than in yours」

『There's a problem with how relevant those numbers are. Data from small countries is of no use at all』

「Aren't you originally from the alternate world?」

『Even now, 15% of my heart is devoted to the United States』

「Your love for your country sure is subtle」

『Love is something that fluctuates with time and experience』

「What a load of nonsense」

「Souya! Hurry up! It's getting cold! It's going to become cold!」

Already seated at the table, Maria hurried us.

「Alright, alright」

I took a seat at the table too.

Seeing her act like this, she feels more like a child than a wife.

「Here, Tortch」

I offered him a cup.

『What is this?』

「Sugared water. My A.I.s drink this. Don't you?」

『It isn't yet necessary to provide sustenance for the aqueous brain』

「Unless you don't need it at all, drink it. Families are supposed to eat together」

『Duly noted』

「What a Dasai(lame/uncool) reply」

『Question. What does “Dasai” mean?』

「I'll tell you if you change your voice to Tessho Genda’s」[2]

『Question. Who is Tessho Gen――』

「Food!」

Maria cut us off in anger.

『Maria, let’s say grace befo――』

「It's! Already! Cold! Dear Lord――」

「Itadakimasu」

I brought my palms together, and quickly started eating as the food was getting cold. Just when I was about to take a scoop of the soup with a spoon,

Maria stared at me for some reason.

「Daddy, can I do it like that too?」

『The Japanese pre-meal prayer doesn't show enough appreciation for the Lord――』

「Our prayer shows our appreciation for everything involved with the food, including the gods」

「Itadakimasu!」

Immediately after saying that, Maria started to guzzle the soup down with a spoon. What bad table manners.