Everyone sat around the massive salt-grilled fish collar, picking at the meat as the first wave of the meal began to settle.
I happened to glance down at my fingertips.
The fatigue had vanished from my arms, which had felt like lead and trembled slightly after ten hours of maneuvering the work pod through the vacuum of space. A hot wave of energy welled up incessantly from my stomach, pulsing through my veins and into every cell of my body.
My vision became startlingly clear. The fog of sleepiness that had been clinging to the back of my mind evaporated as if exposed to an intense light.
(...No, this is way too strange, even for this world.)
It was a universal truth that a good meal could revitalize a person, but that was usually just a matter of morale.
This was different. It was likely my "Consumable Item Effect Enhancement" Perk at work. The effects of the Star Tuna—a grade of ingredient that existed on a completely different plane than General-Purpose Synthetic Food 'Tasty Cube'—were being multiplied by the bold percentage increases of my Perk, resulting in something extraordinary.
My body felt light, as if every part had been replaced with brand-new machinery. Even without seeing the numerical values, I could feel my vitality overflowing past its limits.
"...Master. The indicators of severe muscle fatigue have completely vanished. Your heart rate and blood pressure have stabilized at levels higher than your typical post-combat rest state," Lucia reported, her data reinforcing the strange sensation.
"Yeah, I can tell. I've got so much energy I’m finding it painful just to sit still."
I stood up and lightly rolled my shoulders. There was only one place to direct this surge of vitality.
"Since I've recovered, I can handle a dish that takes a bit more effort. Let’s move on to the main course."
As I gripped my knife again, the Professor spoke, looking regretful as he swallowed the last morsel of the fish collar.
"Hmph. That reaction... it seems your body has correctly processed this fish as 'fuel' in the most literal sense."
"Fuel, sir?" Mina asked, tilting her head curiously.
"Indeed. The fat of this fish isn't mere nutrition. It is, so to speak, a high-performance battery that has concentrated the very light of the stars. It is like feeding high-purity nuclear fuel directly into a reactor on the verge of shutdown, forcibly pushing the body's engine to full throttle."
The Professor shrugged. "In short, the fat of this fish has the property of remarkably accelerating an organism's metabolic functions—and that doesn't just apply to the Captain. I’d love to investigate your unique constitution further, but let’s set that aside for now."
"A battery, huh? In that case, let's make the main course even more energetic."
I reached into the refrigerated container and pulled out a cut I had carefully set aside during the butchering process: the Cheek Meat.
It was a rare delicacy—the most muscular and gelatinous part of the fish, of which only a tiny amount could be harvested from a single specimen. Of course, since the "specimen" was a hundred meters long, a "tiny amount" still filled several drum cans.
I dropped some pure white fat, trimmed from the Star Tuna's belly, into the frying pan. The fat sizzled and bubbled, releasing a rich, mellow aroma reminiscent of high-quality butter without a hint of fishiness.
Then, I tossed in the thick-cut slabs of cheek meat.
Sizzle!
The sharp sound of the searing meat was accompanied by an overpowering fragrance that filled the kitchen. I aggressively ground 'Coarsely Ground Black Pepper' over the meat, searing the outside until it was perfectly crispy.
The inside remained rare. The closer to the center the meat was, the more the energy seemed to glow, activated by the heat. To finish, I deglazed the pan with a sauce made from Pseudo-Soy Sauce and the juice of the 'Pseudo-Ground Cherry,' letting it reduce into a thick glaze.
"Cheek Meat Black Pepper Steak. Eat it while it's hot."
"Wow! The meat... it's actually glowing!" Mina cheered, immediately digging in with her knife.
I sliced off a piece for myself and popped it into my mouth.
...Incredible.
The heat had loosened the fibers, releasing the trapped energy all at once. With every chew, an explosion of rich umami surged down my throat. The spicy kick of the pepper and the acidity of the ground cherry neutralized the heaviness of the fat perfectly.
It was like the best parts of high-end beef and exquisite seafood combined. The muscular fibers had a satisfying elasticity, and the moment I bit through them, hot juices flooded my palate.
"Gulp... Haa... it’s so good... I think I just used up a lifetime's worth of luck," Emulgand murmured, her cheeks flushed as she let out an entranced sigh. The terror she had felt earlier was gone; now, she was simply lost in bliss.
"Component analysis complete. Astonishing," Lucia said, her eyes flickering with every bite. "This thermal output cannot be explained by simple caloric calculation. Unknown energy particles are suspended within the molecular bonds. These particles burst upon mastication, pushing the Happiness Coefficient to the absolute limit of its logical parameters."
"...Wow. My body felt like lead after the all-nighter, but now it feels so light." Mina clenched and unclenched her hands, her voice filled with quiet wonder. "My core feels so warm. I feel like I could go right back to work."
The Professor finished his steak in silence, using a piece of bread to wipe up the last of the sauce before dabbing his mouth with a napkin.
"Hmph. As far as the flavor is concerned, I have no complaints. Captain, the synergy between your skill and this material is superlative." The Professor stared at his empty plate, his gaze returning to that of a cold, analytical scientist. "However, from the perspective of operational cost and sustainability as a food source, this is a total failure."
"Cost, sir?"
"Yes. As I mentioned, the biological tissue of this creature is a type of plasma carrier. Ingesting it affects the intracellular... well, let’s skip the technicalities. Suffice it to say, its value for medical and military applications is incalculable. However—"
The Professor shook his head regretfully.
"Making this available to the general public is impossible. I underestimated the sheer threat of a giant interstellar organism. The labor, the risk, and the management costs required to acquire it are astronomical. Even if farming were possible, a single meal would likely cost no less than several million Credits. This is a flavor that will never grace the table of a commoner."
"I suppose you're right."
My dream of farming these things and providing "all-you-can-eat Otoro" to the galaxy was crushed by the cold reality of physical logistics. The Star Tuna was a wonder of nature—a "phantom delicacy" that held value precisely because one had to risk their life to hunt it.
"But that is precisely why," the Professor said, tilting his wine glass with a wry smile. "While I find it regrettable, it is also a researcher's privilege. An inefficient, profit-ignoring, foolish act of gastronomy... it’s very much like you, isn't it?"
"I'll take that as a compliment."
I wiped the last of the sauce with a piece of bread, looking out the window at the swirling nebula. Even if we couldn't farm them, we could always come back and hunt another one. I had this ship, after all.
"Well then... Next, I'm planning to simmer the biggest prize: the Crown Meat."
I looked up at the massive block of meat from the head.
"This cut will take time for the flavor to soak in, so let's take five. You should all get some sleep to help with digestion."
Lucia monitored the crew and nodded in agreement.
"I concur. I have detected sufficiency signals from everyone’s satiety centers. I recommend transitioning to Sleep Mode."
Our feast was far from over.
(Author's Note: Tuna... there are surprisingly few recipes for it! The person who introduced the setting of "Freshness Preservation Fields" just to keep the prices high was a genius. I want to give them a pat on the back. If you enjoyed this and are looking forward to the next part, please hit the stars! It might just upgrade Akito's dinner tomorrow. Thank you!)