The food that entered his mouth spread the soft texture of the thinly baked dough together with meat juices and the crunch of vegetables, and a moment later, the sauce that had overflowed from within the dough made its presence known.
"Delicious," Rei murmured, savoring the Gauche specialty dish called Panita.
Across the table, Augusto smiled happily and spoke up.
"Right? My wife's cooking is superb. Panita in particular is her specialty — honestly, I could eat it every day without ever getting tired of it."
"Oh, stop. Augusto, you're so dramatic."
"It's not dramatic at all. I always want to eat your home cooking, Cathy. Even when I'm working, I'm always thinking about how much I want to eat it."
"Oh my, Augusto. You're thinking about that while working? You need to focus, you know."
Rei let out a sigh at the display that had suddenly begun right in front of him.
(If only this wasn't happening...)
He had already been subjected to this behavior multiple times in a very short span. No matter how many times he saw it, it never failed to sicken him.
But as long as this was Augusto's home, he couldn't exactly call them out for it. All Rei could do was wait for it to end.
Fortunately, there was a delicious dish called Panita right in front of him. Leaving Augusto and Cathy to their own little world and focusing on the meal was clearly the best course of action.
On the table sat various dishes besides Panita — roasted meat, simmered dishes, stew, and, somewhat unbelievably to Rei, even steamed fish.
(...Why is there fish in a desert?)
If it had been dried fish, Rei would have understood. Dried fish was originally conceived as preserved food, so finding it in a desert wouldn't be strange. Of course, transporting it all the way there would make it incredibly expensive, but even so, he could have accepted dried fish.
What sat before him now, however, was steamed fish. Not dried fish that had been steamed, but a dish made from raw fish.
Rei's attention had initially been captivated by Panita, the local specialty, but once he noticed the dish quietly placed on the table, he couldn't just let it slide.
(Possible explanations...)
He glanced at the two whispering sweet nothings to each other, then looked down at his own right wrist. Fitted there was the Misty Ring. Since items inside the Misty Ring wouldn't rot, transporting raw fish would certainly be possible. In fact, fish he had purchased in the port town of Emosion was still fresh inside his ring.
(But Augusto was surprised when he saw my Misty Ring. If someone here had an Item Box, I don't think he'd have been that surprised. Which means... Elena's simplified version?)
Rei recalled the simplified Item Box that Elena possessed, but quickly dismissed the idea.
(The simplified version can store items, but things inside should still be affected by the normal flow of time. So that rules it out. Which would mean... frozen with ice magic? Hmm, but mages are so few...)
As Rei sat there wondering why fish — and a type he had never seen before, no less — was here, Augusto apparently noticed his puzzled expression. He stopped his romantic exchange with Cathy and spoke up.
"What's wrong, Rei-san? You have a curious look on your face. Is there something you can't eat? Cathy's cooking is all delicious, so I'd think anyone could eat even foods they normally dislike."
Rei shook his head, glancing at Cathy, who was making a face as if to say, "Oh my."
"That's not it at all. I'm enjoying every dish."
It was an undeniable truth. Watching Augusto and Cathy flirt was enough to give him heartburn, but the claim that Cathy's cooking was delicious — which Augusto had made on the way to the mansion — was no exaggeration. Having tried various dishes himself, Rei had to agree.
"Then what is it?"
Augusto had been slightly — only slightly — on the verge of anger at the possibility that Cathy's cooking didn't suit Rei's palate, but from Rei's tone he apparently understood that wasn't the case. He asked in a calm voice.
Rei directed his gaze toward the steamed fish dish.
"I was curious about this fish dish. Why is there fresh fish instead of dried fish in a desert?"
"...Ah, I see. Now that you mention it, I hadn't explained that part. Naturally, seeing fish served in a city like Gauche would be surprising."
Augusto nodded in understanding, then reached with a serving fork toward the steamed fish topped with a spicy sauce. He skillfully separated the flesh from the bones and transferred it to a plate along with the sauce. Placing the fish onto the Panita dough, he rolled it up and put it in his mouth.
(That looks good.)
Since he had been told that Panita was a dish where meat and vegetables were rolled together, Augusto's way of eating just now was slightly unexpected.
"This fish was caught from the oasis here in Gauche."
"...You can catch fish in an oasis?"
In Rei's mind, an oasis was simply a place where spring water existed — he hadn't imagined any creatures living in one. Being told that the steamed fish before him came from an oasis was genuinely surprising.
"Yes. Of course, we don't catch them in large quantities. The amount that can be harvested is fixed and strictly managed. But still, being able to catch fish from an oasis is a very welcome thing."
"...Can they actually survive? Well, since they're being caught like this, they must be growing properly..."
"Yes. I don't know when fish first started living in the oasis. They were already there by the time I was old enough to remember. But this fish is an extremely precious commodity for the people of Gauche."
"I imagine so."
What Rei had once seen on TV back in Japan was a program where they showed a live fish to someone living in the desert. The desert residents couldn't understand what it was — they even felt fear. Having been born in the desert, that was only natural... but precisely because of that, even from Rei's perspective, it had seemed somewhat strange.
"Augusto's guest is coming, after all. It's only natural to prepare a feast, isn't it? ...Did you enjoy it?" Cathy asked with a smile.
Rei returned a nod and a smile of his own. He had certainly been surprised when the fish dish appeared, but every dish served — that one included — was unmistakably delicious. There was no room for complaint.
Cathy, too, seemed to understand that Rei wasn't merely being polite but genuinely found it delicious. She smiled and turned her gaze toward Augusto...
(If this keeps up, it'll start again.)
The mere thought of the scene from moments ago repeating itself before his eyes was more than Rei could bear. Desperately trying to prevent it, he scanned his surroundings — and upon seeing the dishes, he took what seemed like the best course of action.
"As thanks for the delicious food, would you like to try this?"
What he produced from the Misty Ring was a small pot. The aroma drifting from it was deeply appetizing. Due to the unfamiliar spices and seasonings, it was a scent Augusto and Cathy had never encountered before, but it was unmistakably the kind that stimulated the appetite.
Cathy wondered where Rei had produced the pot from, but her husband already knew that Rei possessed an Item Box. Because of that, Augusto wasn't particularly surprised, and seeing his reaction, Cathy — though startled — kept it from showing on her face.
"It's the meat of a monster that doesn't live in the desert. ...Do you know what winter is?"
"Yes, I've heard of it. The weather here is the same all year round, and it only rains once every few years."
Rei thought it was impressive anything could survive with so little rain, but judged that it simply meant Gauche's oasis was that abundant, and continued his explanation.
"There's a monster called Gamelion that only appears in winter. Its meat is extremely delicious — a winter delicacy. This is a dish made from it."
"Gamelion, you say? I've heard of it from another merchant before. I was told it's a giant, ferocious monster."
"Something like that."
Gamelion's ears were sharp as blades, and its fangs could crush cheaply made armor. With its large body, even a body slam alone could deal lethal damage, and above all, being a rabbit-type monster, it possessed extraordinary leg strength. It was fast-moving, and its kicks were devastatingly powerful. If a rookie adventurer encountered a Gamelion, they wouldn't survive without extraordinary luck.
That was the kind of creature Gamelion was.
At Rei's description, both Augusto and Cathy's cheeks twitched. Why would anyone deliberately hunt such a vicious monster? Reading that question from their expressions, Rei ladled the Gamelion stew onto nearby plates.
...Normally, this kind of task would be handled by a Maid. But Augusto currently lacked the financial means to employ one full-time. In that sense, even employing Günter as a gatekeeper was difficult, but Günter had originally had his life saved by Augusto's father — and not just once, but two, even three times. Out of gratitude, he accepted the position for low pay. More importantly, in the current situation of being at odds with the Elema Trading Company — with Daridora — they couldn't leave Cathy alone at the mansion.
Especially since this time, even outside the city, there had been an attack by Sand Bandits who were likely hired by the Elema Trading Company. In that sense, having Rei stay at the mansion was equivalent to hiring the best possible bodyguard.
In any case, Augusto and Cathy hesitantly reached for their spoons toward the Gamelion stew Rei had served. Having just been told how ferocious a monster Gamelion was, their cautious attitude was only natural.
Carefully scooping up a piece of Gamelion meat with their spoons, they brought it to their mouths along with the soup.
In that instant, a sensation they had never experienced before raced across their palates.
A rich soup in which multiple vegetables had been simmered until they melted away entirely. The meat was tender, yet despite being stewed, biting into it flooded the mouth with meat juices. Even so, the meat's natural chewiness remained intact, and with each bite, the soup and flavors combined into something they wanted to savor forever.
Besides the vegetables that had dissolved into the soup, there were also solid vegetable pieces in the stew, so it wasn't purely meat-dominated — there was a palate cleanser available too.
After taking one bite and freezing in place, Augusto and Cathy eventually came back to their senses, swallowed what was in their mouths, and reached for the stew again — second spoonful, third spoonful, one after another.
After a few minutes, once the stew on their plates had been completely finished, Rei smiled happily and spoke up.
"Seconds, anyone?"
To the two who nodded silently, he refilled their stew. Seeing someone enjoy a food you loved so much that they were at a loss for words was extremely gratifying — and naturally, Rei felt the same way.
"Panita is delicious, but Gamelion meat doesn't lose to it, right?"
"That's right. In terms of flavor, Panita certainly doesn't lose. Especially the Panita Cathy makes — it's among the best in all of Gauche. But... this meat is something I've never tasted before, and many of the seasonings used in the stew are unknown to me."
"That's true. This Gamelion meat probably has a lot of meat juices, but I'd love to know what seasoning cleanses the palate so refreshingly."
Augusto wore the expression of a merchant who had spotted a new business opportunity in the unfamiliar seasonings, while Cathy turned her gaze toward Rei, purely wanting to learn so she could cook even better meals for her beloved Augusto.
But... unfortunately, what Rei returned was a shake of his head.
"I'm sorry to say, but I'm not the one making this dish — I bought it already prepared. I don't know how it's made."
"...Then what about the meat of this monster called Gamelion?"
"I can spare some of that, at least."
Rei said "some," but inside his Misty Ring was far more than just "some" Gamelion meat. It was the meat of Gamelions he had slaughtered last winter in a Dungeon — enough that calling it a massacre wouldn't be an exaggeration.
"If you don't mind, could I have a little?"
"Sure, that much I can do as payment for my stay."
With that, Rei handed over about a kilogram of Gamelion meat to Cathy.