Chapter 102

Ch 102 — Wyvern Meat = Wagyu A5 Quality Beef

"Right then Fer, I have to deliver a Wyvern's skin to Lambert-san's store so I'll be stopping by there for a moment . "

"I understand . Please do it quickly . " Fer was drooling again . Was Wyvern meat really THAT good?

Lambert-san was the only person in the front part of the store when I entered . I got straight down to business, Fer's enthusiasm for dinner was starting to get to me too .

"Lambert-san, I brought the Wyvern skin as agreed . "

"Oh, excellent . This way please . " Lambert-san led me through to the drawing room at the back of the store where I laid the bundle of Wyvern skin on a table .

"I'd like a cloak and a belt with a sheath and shoes made from this, please . "

"Yes, indeed . " muttered Lambert-san, tearing his eyes reluctantly from the bundle of raw leather on the table . He didn't drool like Fer, quite . "Very well, can you please wait a moment?" He was quickly back to business and left the room before returning a few moments later .

"Right then, here is a receipt for your order and proof I have taken in the Wyvern skin . "

Lambert-san handed me a wooden tag with the day's date and the details of my order burned into it . The fact I had handed over a Wyvern skin to Lambert-san was also recorded on it .

"Since we will give you the goods in exchange for this tag in half a year's time, please do not lose it . " Lambert-san laughed . "Well, in your case even if you lose the tag it should be all right as I'm not likely to forget you or your order, Mukouda-san . "

"No, I will be very careful not to lose it . " I said . "I am looking forward to collecting my order in half a year's time . " I thought for a moment . "I'm intending to leave this city soon, Lambert-san . If you need to contact me or know my whereabouts you should speak to the Guild Master of the Adventurers Guild . I've told him you may wish to get in touch with me and I said it's all right to pass on any messages from you through the other Adventurers Guilds in the cities I'll be visiting . I can pass any replies back to you in the same way . "

"Oh, are you going to leave us?" Lambert-san said in surprise . "I am much in Mukouda-san's debt for various things . "

"No no, thank you for your help . This city has been a delight to stay in . " Well, apart from the Wyvern attack and rampaging Bloody Horn Bulls and the goblin village and . . . but those downsides were mostly attributable to Fer's battle mania . "I will return in half a year's time when the cloak and other items should be ready . " I bowed to him . "Thank you again . "

"No, it's me that should be thanking you . I will have your tailor-made goods ready for your return . "

"Yes, thank you . " After handing the Wyvern skin over to Lambert-san we left the store .

"Hey Fer, since we're heading to the ocean, should we just get started when I get the money for the Wyvern's subjugation and purchases the day after tomorrow?" I didn't know, maybe he wanted to hang around for a bit longer here .

"Yes . " Fer replied promptly . "I got interested when I heard about the Dungeon City . I want us to go there right now, in fact . "

"No, I don't care how many times you say it, I won't enter another dungeon . Anyway, we're going to visit a city called Claire before we get to Doran where the dungeon is . You're going to have to wait . "

"Muu, that's right, that's what you agreed . We have to take those requests?"

"Yes we do . But are they really going to be so easy for you, Fer?" I was a bit worried although I'd seen Fer knock down assorted high-ranking monsters the way only a thousand-year-old super-powered Fenris monster blessed by a Goddess could .

"Hey, there's nothing out there I can't deal with . I'll polish off any requests waiting for us at Claire quick and then we can head straight towards the Dungeon City . "

"We won't get there soon . " I corrected him . "This country's given us permission to go where we want in return for handling a few requests . I'd like to indulge myself, do a bit of sightseeing while visiting Claire . " I looked down at the drab clothing I was wearing . "That city's famous for spinning and weaving so I want to get some new clothes as well . I'm going to stay there for a few days . "

"Muu, a dungeon . . . " Stop whining, Fer . It doesn't suit you and that expression isn't going to work on me .

"The dungeon in Doran won't run away so we don't need to be in such a hurry . It's a good idea to take a look around as we go and take our time . " I said firmly .

"Nuu, it can't be helped . " Fer moped .

* * * * *

We got back to the inn a few minutes later and Fer perked up .

"So then, what do you want to eat?" I asked, redundantly . I knew that Fer had been thinking of nothing else all the way back from Lambert-san's store, looking at the ropes of saliva hanging from his muzzle .

"Umu . Wyvern meat . "

"Yeah yeah . " I took some Wyvern meat out of my Item Box . No matter how you looked at it, this meat was obviously top-quality material . It looked exactly like Wagyu A5 ranked beef which you sometimes see in magazines and TV gourmet special feature shows . The fat marbled through the meat made it look truly exceptional .

It is said that the meat quality will depend on what the animal was eating and just looking at this meat I guessed Wyverns must have been regularly eating something good . It was a powerful monster though so I had to wonder about that . This kind of meat may just simply be the most delicious regardless of the creature's diet . Magic? I remembered the Wyvern mana stones Johan-ojisan had presented me with, did they have something to do with it? I tore my eyes from the vision of marbled Wyvern meat before me, thinking hard about what to cook but there was only really one answer .

"Steak . " I muttered, opening the Net Super . Given the obvious excellence of the meat I'd only use salt and pepper, but it had to be the best salt and pepper for this dish . Looking through the sales listings for salt, one particular product caught my eye . What's this "sea salt evaporated in a salt pan for over a year by the Sun"? Okay, I bought a pack of this high-priced gourmet salt . After that, pepper . I chose black peppercorns, still in the bottle to keep them fresh . Turning the top of the bottle milled the corns and ground them directly onto the product below .

There would only be these two additions to the meat, no sauces or sides . I also bought some wine to enjoy with such a simple dish because, well, I would enjoy it . Time to get cooking . Firstly I cut the Wyvern meat thickly into steaks then I put a little oil in a frying pan, turning the heat up high . I figured the fat in the Wyvern meat would compensate for the small amount of oil I added . I dashed salt and pepper on both sides of a steak and cooked it . Meat of this quality cries out to be cooked rare so I quickly scorched both sides before removing it from the pan and letting it rest on the plate for a minute .

It looked really delicious . OK, first of all, a taste . . . Munch .

. . . Well . I couldn't believe it, how deliciously delicious it was . It melted between my teeth, the meat flavours filling my mouth . It tasted as good as it looked, no, better . I recalled the domestically produced Wagyu steak I ate once in a famous store when I got a bonus at work . This Wyvern steak was tastier than that .

"Hey, hurry up, I want to eat that too . "

"Sui wants to eat it too-"

"Oh, I'm sorry . I'll cook it right now for you . " I heated up the frying pan again . "Because this meat is delicious by itself I think that it's better to cook it simply with just some salt and pepper for seasoning . " I explained unnecessarily . I felt unworthy, as if the Wyvern's meat was too good for the likes of me to be cooking it never mind eating it .

"Anything is good, just do it quick . " Fer the Glutton ordered, the drool from his muzzle reaching down to the ground .

"Aruji, hurry-" Sui the Glutton chimed in, jumping around eagerly .

I grilled Wyvern meat steaks after quickly salting and peppering them and put them out on plates .

"Oh, Wyvern's meat is even more delicious cooked . " Fer announced as his steak disappeared into his mouth .

"This meat is soft and delicious, isn't it?" Sui agreed, her own steak disappearing as if by magic too .

Wyvern's meat is truly delicious . That taste can not be imagined, only experienced . While I was cooking additional steaks for Fer and Sui even before they could demand "Seconds!" I dug into my own steak . Bliss . I sipped a glass of wine, red wine of course with steak . Melting delicious meat and red wine, I felt like a sybarite .

Thus we enjoyed the Wyvern meat . Fer and Sui kept eating until they were satisfied while I cooked steaks for them over and over again .