“Alright, what should I make…”
I pondered in front of a mountain of meat.
The monster Lacia had hunted was a boar-type, with high-quality, delicious-looking meat.
Simply making steaks would definitely be delicious, but since Lacia had raised the bar, I wanted to make something a bit more elaborate.
…Hmm.
“Since we’re going to have a big fight soon, I guess I’ll make some pork cutlets as a good luck charm.”
No, since it’s not pork, it’d be wild boar cutlets, right?
While butchering the boar, I asked Lacia to gather as many eggs as possible.
I bought flour from a merchant who came to sell food and alcohol to the Regular Army’s camp, and I prepared breadcrumbs by putting the bread distributed to the soldiers through a mixer.
By the way, I used the mixer made by Eret.
With the ingredients ready, I seasoned the butchered boar meat and coated it with flour.
I lightly tapped off the excess flour, dipped it in the eggs from the large bird monster that Lacia had hunted, and coated it with breadcrumbs.
Then, it was just a matter of tossing it into the oil and it was done.
By the way, the oil was something Eret had stolen from Nea.
It wasn’t for modifying the Ultimate Golem or anything, he just seemed to have taken anything he could get his hands on.
Eret is scary.
“This smells really good…”
“It’s making me hungry.”
“Yes, yes, this is what I’m talking about!!”
Lured by the sizzling sound of the oil and the savory aroma unique to fried food, the soldiers gathered around.
“Hey, hey, what’s that good smell?”
“Ah, it seems like Lady Katiana’s friend is cooking.”
“Lady Katiana’s? When did she become friends with a cook?”
“More importantly, what are they making? It smells incredibly delicious.”
“Are they using oil?”
That’s when I noticed something odd.
Everyone reacted as if they were seeing fried food for the first time.
Humans aren’t as indifferent to food as the Demonkin.
I thought they would normally make delicious meals, so the soldiers’ reactions were strange.
Ah, but come to think of it, frying is a relatively new cooking method, right?
I feel like I’ve heard something like that somewhere, or maybe not.
No, more importantly.
“Um, I’m making enough for everyone, so could you please stop staring so intently?”
The soldiers kept watching, and I couldn’t concentrate.
The boar that Lacia had hunted was quite large, so there was enough to go around for all the soldiers.
There was no need to worry, I could make enough for everyone…
“Oh, I think it’s about time.”
I felt the sound of the cutlets I was frying change, and quickly took them out of the oil.
I lightly cut the freshly fried cutlets with a knife and tasted one.
“Oof!”
As expected, they were piping hot.
But the coating was crispy, the texture was good, and the seasoning was spot-on.
I thought the boar meat might have a bit of a gamey taste, but it wasn’t too bad.
Honestly, I wish I had some sauce…
If I had known I’d be cooking in a place like this, I would have brought some from the Demon Lord’s Castle.
“Oof, mmm, th-this is delicious…”
“It’s delicious. As expected of Rugasussu.”
“Ah, I-I burned my tongue!!”
Katiana, Eret, and Lacia seemed to like it.
Now, what about the soldiers’ reactions?
“Wh-what is this!?”
“The outside is crispy!! And the inside is bursting with the flavor of meat!!”
“It’s delicious!! The more you chew, the more delicious it gets!!”
“H-hey, give me some too!!”
“Hey, don’t take two!!”
The soldiers seemed to like it too, but they were fighting over the wild boar cutlets, trying to eat them first.
Katiana, looking distressed, tried to stop them, but it looked like it was about to turn into a brawl.
And then, at that moment.
“What’s all this commotion!!”
A pompous, bald old man with a mustache came over, having heard the commotion.
Judging by his attire, he must be a high-ranking officer in the Regular Army.
“What is this? Who made it?”
The pompous mustache man tilted his head, looking at the wild boar cutlets I had made.
One of the soldiers pointed at me and happily reported to the mustache man, “This person made it!!” while offering him a plate of wild boar cutlets.
Then, the mustache man brushed the plate of wild boar cutlets out of the soldier’s hand, dropping it on the ground.
…Huh?
“““““Ah!?””””
The soldiers cried out in dismay at the sight of the wild boar cutlets on the ground.
Katiana, seeing this, looked panicked and said, “This is bad…”
“We’re about to go into an important battle, and you’re all getting carried away with cooking!! Are you even proud soldiers of the Royal Army!! If you have time, you should be training, training!!”
The mustache man shouted while stomping on the wild boar cutlets on the ground.
Well, yeah, I guess.
He must be frustrated, with the battle to reclaim the Royal Capital just around the corner.
After all, his head was completely bald.
Maybe, just maybe, he had reached his limit with the stress he had been accumulating and the noisy soldiers.
But, I’ll say it anyway.
“You too, you bastard!! I don’t know how you got in good with Lady Katiana, but don’t go around doing whatever you want—”
“Hey, grit your teeth.”
That’s that, and this is this.
I punched the mustache man in the face, and when he staggered, I kicked him again.
The mustache man fell to the ground.
“Guh, wh-what are you—gaf!?”
“You piece of crap who wastes food!! Don’t you know the saying, ‘You can’t fight on an empty stomach,’ you scum!!”
I kicked the crouching mustache man several times.
Why are there so many people in this world who waste food?
Katiana hurriedly tried to stop me.
“W-wait, wait!! Lugas! Calm down!! I’ll take care of punishing him!! For now, please calm your anger!!”
“Fshoo, fshoo.”
I somehow managed to suppress my anger and went back to cooking.
Then, the soldiers who had been watching the whole thing were frozen in place.
Perfect.
“Hey, soldiers. If you want to eat, line up in order. And if you waste food, I’ll punch you.”
“““““Y-yes sir!!!!””””
The soldiers stopped fighting over the wild boar cutlets and lined up in a row, waiting for their turn.
The next day.
The Regular Army finally went into battle to reclaim the Royal Capital from the Rebel Army…
―――――――――――――――――――――
Afterword
A trivial side story
Author: “Among fried foods, I like croquettes the best.”
Lugas: “Homemade ones are too much trouble, so no thanks.”
If you thought, “You shouldn’t waste food,” “The soldiers are funny,” or “Croquettes are delicious,” please leave a comment, bookmark, star rating, or review.