"No, listen. You scrape the scales off with the back of the knife. Got it? Like this, see!"
Saying so, Bistol scraped the scales off the fish with his knife.
To Rei, it looked like he was simply tracing the back of the knife along the fish, but there was no mistaking that the scales were coming off cleanly.
However, when he turned his gaze to the fish on his own cutting board… what he saw was a fish whose skin, and even flesh, had been stripped off right along with the scales.
"…Why?"
"That's why I said, how much force you use is important. And you slide the back of the knife along the grain of the fish's flesh. Like this, see!"
Saying so, Bistol flipped the fish on his cutting board and began scraping the scales off the other side.
He was doing the exact same thing as Rei, yet the results could truly be described as night and day.
That was just how vast the gap between Rei and Bistol was when it came to preparing fish.
(Why is that? When it comes to dismantling monsters or animals, I'm not that bad at it. So why can't I fillet a fish?)
Troubled, Rei shifted his gaze sideways.
Not toward Bistol… but toward the others.
Elena was struggling a little, but even she could descale the fish better than Rei.
Vihera and Marina were quite skilled, though not quite on Bistol's level.
And Byune… she was stripping off the scales so cleanly that she seemed on par with Bistol, or perhaps even better than him.
Her skill was so impressive that Bistol outright declared he had nothing to teach her about filleting fish.
And so… it became clear that the only ones worse at preparing fish than Rei were, quite literally, Set and Ielo.
Of course, if it were a fish as large as a tuna, that would be one thing, but for the kind of fish Rei and the others were currently preparing, Set would usually just eat them whole without bothering to descale them.
"Hmm, it's not like you're clumsy or anything, Rei-chan, so I think it really just comes down to practice in the end. I wasn't able to fillet fish perfectly from the start either."
Hearing Bistol's words, Rei nodded in understanding.
In truth, Rei had never filleted a fish, even back in Japan.
He had slaughtered his father's chickens, though.
In that sense, he wore an expression of understanding at Bistol's claim that with enough practice, he could manage reasonably well.
(Well, how long it would actually take to get used to it is… a bit questionable. At the very least, I don't think I'll get the hang of it while we're by the sea.)
If he practiced filleting fish the entire time they were by the sea, he would undoubtedly improve.
But Rei had come to the sea for the express purpose of catching fish.
Given that, he had no such luxury to keep practicing fish preparation.
"Well then, since we've gone to the trouble, shall we use this fish for today's meal?"
"We've got plenty of food made by the cook, so there's no need to go out of our way and make our own."
"Oh no, you can't do that. At times like this, you really have to make it yourselves. Of course the cook's food is delicious, but making your own is fun too, you know? Right?"
In response to Rei's words, Bistol cast a meaningful glance at Elena and the others.
Catching Bistol's gaze, Elena, Marina, and Vihera nodded slightly… but firmly.
As women, it was only natural that Elena and the others wanted to taste the cooking of the man they loved.
And at the same time, it was equally natural that they wanted Rei to eat their cooking.
Only Byune averted her gaze, giving off a slightly disappointed air.
Unlike Elena and the others, Byune did not hold any romantic feelings toward Rei.
Well, she held fondness for him as a comrade in the same party, but it would be more accurate to say it was not the kind of affection one held for the opposite sex.
Because of that, she had no particular desire to eat Rei's home cooking, nor did she wish to have him eat hers.
If anything, it was only natural that she would rather eat the food made by the cook that Rei had brought.
However, it was easy to tell how Vihera, whom Byune was attached to, felt about Rei.
So despite looking disappointed, she ultimately said nothing.
"Alright then, let's each make our own dishes."
"No, what kind of reasoning is that…? Though it seems pointless to argue any further, so I won't say anything."
Saying so, Rei gave up on defying Bistol any longer.
In truth, if asked whether Rei didn't want to try Elena and the others' hand-made cooking, the desire to try it was a significant factor.
When they ate in Marina's courtyard, he did eat hand-made dishes prepared by Marina and the others, so this wouldn't be his first time trying their cooking.
Then again, if one were to bring that up, Rei had also used the oven to bake pizza, so it wasn't as if this would be Rei's first time making food either.
Even so, the reason everyone wanted to eat each other's home cooking was precisely because this was not Marina's courtyard— their usual spot— but a different place entirely. And the fact that they were here not on an adventurer's request, but in a purely vacation mood.
"First, get a frying pan ready and spread this oil in it."
Saying so, Bistol handed Rei some oil from inside a fist-sized nut.
"…You sure came well-prepared. I haven't even taken out the frying pan yet."
Saying so, Rei retrieved a frying pan from his Misty Ring and brought it over the campfire.
After lightly heating the pan and adding the oil to let it spread…
"Alright, put in the fish that Rei-chan cut. Ah, make sure to put it skin-side down."
Following the instructions, Rei placed a rather misshapen fillet of fish into the frying pan.
The heated oil gave off a savory aroma from the skin that drifted through the surrounding area.
It was the kind of smell and sound that made one's stomach cry out in hunger just from catching a whiff of it.
(Is this oil a little different from normal oil?)
Along with the savory smell of the cooking fish, a faintly sweet-and-sour scent drifted through the air.
Ordinary cooking oil would not give off such an aroma.
Then again, that was based solely on Rei's own experience, and in reality, it would not be strange for such an oil to exist.
In fact, such oil was right here in front of Rei at this very moment.
"That's right, that's right. Gently move the frying pan so the skin doesn't stick. And then… next, you add this."
Saying so, what Bistol handed him was not a vegetable… but something that should rather be called a wild herb.
"Where did you pick something like this?"
"Oh my, there are quite a few edible wild herbs growing around, you know? Especially since we're in the mountains, there are plenty of them. Besides, the oil from earlier was something I obtained in these mountains too."
Bistol said this while winking one eye, prompting Rei to wonder if he couldn't make it as an adventurer.
In truth, Bistol had the appearance of a heavily muscled large man, and Rei knew full well that his physical abilities were high.
And the fact that he could so easily procure ingredients in a mountain he was visiting for the first time made it obvious to Rei that he could absolutely make it as an adventurer.
"Hey, Bistol. Have you ever considered becoming an adventurer?"
"No way. More importantly, keep your eyes on the frying pan. I'm going to add more oil."
Brushing off Rei's invitation without a second thought, Bistol poured additional oil into the frying pan Rei was holding.
Rei thought it might be a bit too much oil, but Bistol didn't show any sign of having made a mistake, staring seriously into the frying pan.
"Next, squeeze the juice from this fruit and drizzle it all over."
There was no way Rei could disobey Bistol, who was far more skilled at cooking than the rest of them. He squeezed the fruit he was given and drizzled its juice over the fish and wild herbs in the frying pan.
"Finally, lightly sprinkle some salt on top from above… and it's done."
"…That was surprisingly simple."
"Indeed. But every ingredient used in this dish comes from this mountain and the sea. When you think of it that way, don't you think it has a wonderful atmosphere to it?"
"Now that you mention it… I suppose so?"
Rei was reminded of the concept of locally-sourced food, but he felt that applying it to this situation was slightly off the mark.
Regardless, the finished dish was placed on a plate Rei retrieved from his Misty Ring.
"The fish flesh will fall apart if you handle it roughly, so be careful about that. And since we've gone to the trouble of making this dish, let's plate it nicely."
"Don't expect much from me when it comes to that sort of thing."
Even so, Rei placed the fish on the plate and arranged the wild herbs around it.
"Yes, and finally, put this on top too. The aroma will become even better."
What Bistol handed him was a blue-purple flower.
When he placed the flower on top of the fish, the heat from the fish warmed it, and a refreshing green fragrance began to drift through the air.
"Was this flower also growing nearby?"
"Yes. It's a flower called Darnes, and it's perfectly edible."
"…I honestly can't understand where you pick up this kind of knowledge."
"Really? Wanting to learn about flowers is only natural, isn't it?"
Bistol's expression as he said this suggested he wasn't saying anything strange at all and was speaking nothing but sound logic.
Seeing that, Rei started to say something to Bistol, but ultimately closed his mouth.
He probably realized that no matter what he said, it would be like pushing against a curtain.
And besides, there were certainly people who took an interest in flowers. Whether that extended to edible flowers was something that varied from person to person.
"Ah… well, whatever. So, is this dish done then? If so, I'd like to eat it."
"No."
Instantly… at a speed that could fittingly be described as reflexive, Bistol rejected Rei's proposal.
Then, he stared at Rei with a face full of exasperation.
"Listen, the dish Rei-chan made is for those three over there to eat. And the dishes those three made are for Rei-chan to eat. Got it?"
At Bistol's words, Elena, Marina, and Vihera— who had been lumped together as "those three"— each nodded.
"No, the food you all made is definitely tastier than what I cooked. If you're fine with that, then I don't mind either…"
Due to his inability to properly fillet the fish into three pieces, the fish in Rei's dish had ended up with its flesh falling apart.
If he were eating it himself, it wouldn't be a problem at all… but serving it to someone else made him hesitate.
Not to mention, Elena and the others had prepared their fish far more cleanly than Rei had.
"Listen, you should study up a little on a woman's heart."
If Elena or the others had been the ones telling him that, Rei might have accepted it.
But the one telling him to study a woman's heart was a heavily muscled large man, so at first glance there was zero persuasiveness to it.
Then again, if one understood what kind of person Bistol was, the persuasiveness would flip entirely and become about as powerful as it could possibly get.
"For now, I understand what Bistol is trying to say. Are you all okay with that too? If it's split among the three of you, the portion will be quite small."
"Yes, I am fine with that. What about you, Marina and Vihera?"
"Of course, I don't mind either."
"The same goes for me."
Saying so, the three of them shared and ate Rei's cooking.
Afterward, Elena and the others made the same dish, which Rei then ate.
While Rei ended up eating three portions, no one raised any complaints.
A major factor was that tonight's meal didn't consist solely of this; there was also plenty of food Rei had brought out from his Misty Ring.
Set, too, seemed happy to have eaten a whole potful of stew loaded generously with Orc meat, and was lying on the ground purring contentedly.
Meanwhile… after finishing their meal, Rei and the others moved a short distance away to extract the Magic Stone from the Guzutos.
Since it was stored inside the Misty Ring, it wouldn't rot, but from Rei's perspective, he would have preferred to finish absorbing the Magic Stone sooner if possible.
He couldn't explain those particular circumstances to Bistol, so he simply said he felt like taking out the monster's Magic Stone early and got to work.
Of course, he wasn't completely dismantling it; he was only extracting the Magic Stone.
Since that alone didn't take much time, the only ones working were Rei and Set, who had tagged along as a formality.
…Though to be honest, since the Magic Stone was going to be absorbed right away, Rei was genuinely glad that Bistol, Byune, and the others hadn't come along.
"Alright, Set. It's been a while since you absorbed a Magic Stone… how about it?"
Saying so, Rei fed the Guzutos's Magic Stone to Set, and…
[Set has acquired the skill "Water Ball Lv.5"]
An announcement echoed in his mind.
[Set]
"Water Ball Lv.5" NEW "Fire Breath Lv.3" "Wind Arrow Lv.3" "King's Intimidation Lv.3" "Poison Claw Lv.5" "Size Change Lv.1" "Tornado Lv.2" "Ice Arrow Lv.2" "Optical Camouflage Lv.4" "Magic Eye of Shock Lv.1" "Power Crush Lv.5" "Sense of Smell Enhancement Lv.4" "Bubble Breath Lv.1" "Crystal Breath Lv.1" "Earth Arrow Lv.1"
Water Ball: Fires four water balls approximately 1m in diameter. They can be moved freely in mid-air to a certain extent, and the power is enough to destroy a rock upon impact.