Chapter 39

The Painter Who Draws Dungeons — Episode 39

The last jerky was hung up in the yard.

“...”

Gio clapped.

“It’s practically a whole meat field.”

“Ggururuk.”

“This dad agrees. It’s a beautiful sight.”

That said, he hadn’t turned all the meat into jerky.

Trusting the forest where ingredients didn’t spoil, he had put a few pieces of raw meat into the ice storehouse, and also...

“The remaining meat, I should either make it into sausage or store it.”

The system said that if it was “processed meat dried in sunlight,” an effect would occur.

So for now, he’d sliced the meat, marinated it, and hung it out like dried fish—but to make it easier to eat later, he had deliberately used only the tender cuts.

Now it was time to deal with the scraps left after making jerky.

“I deliberately separated the intestines and stomach and soaked out the stink, so it should be about time to use them.”

Not all of the deer’s organs had been given to the waterfowl.

He had set aside the intestines, long like rope, and the stomach, still filled with traces that clearly showed it had eaten a great deal.

He removed anything that smelled bad, and soaked them in water blended with grated apple, lemon, and onion, so he wouldn’t have to worry about any strange odor.

“As far as I know, there’s still plenty of meat left, too.”

“Ggurrrr.”

“I’m still clumsy at butchering... so there are a lot of broken-up pieces of meat, so it seems like it’d be suitable for making sausage.”

Using it for soup meat wouldn’t be bad either, but hadn’t the system said that if he wanted to boost the Tree-Antler Deer’s efficacy, he should make it in the state of “processed meat dried in sunlight”?

Rather than drying each broken piece one by one, it seemed more effective to bundle it together as sausage and hang it out.

It was also one of the excellent ways to store leftover meat.

“The remaining bones and meat, later let’s boil them into soup.”

“Ggurrrrrrr!”

It seemed it would be fine to make bone broth in advance, too.

“Then now, the important question is how we season it.”

Honey was delighted.

“Honey.”

“Pig?”

“Ggur.”

“Yeah.”

He almost thought it meant it was finally admitting its true identity.

“Since it’s come to this, I want to find some unusual spices...”

Even just roughly looking over it, this cabin forest was quite wide.

Gio’s routes were always the same, and there were surely many places and fruits he still hadn’t seen.

“Shall we go exploring for the first time in a while?”

“Ggukggukgguk.”

“Of course I’m taking you.”

Recalling how it had aggressively devoured deer organs, he felt thoroughly reassured.

‘The animals of this forest might be favorable toward me... but there’s no rule that animals that crossed over from other dimensions will be.

It’s scary, so I absolutely have to bring Honey.’

That’s right—Gio was shrinking back.

“No matter how I think about it, that invasive species was too much.”

“Gguk...?”

“If a deer with metal antlers and hooves goes on a rampage, I’m confident I’ll die within ten seconds.”

“Kungkung...”

“Protect your fragile dad.”

So where was he going, to find what spices?

“If I move my body first, won’t something I want to do come to me?”

Having reached a clear conclusion, Gio rummaged around and pulled out his cloak to put it on.

Even though he wore it whenever he went a bit farther out, the cloak was still perfectly neat.

‘I should upgrade this later too.’

He’d probably thought that more than fifty times already.

If you do this, usually people don’t touch it.

“...”

“Ggur...”

“Someday I will.”

As always, Gio also brought a basket and set his top priority goal.

“I’d like to obtain new spices or sauces.

In a fantasy world like this, there’s definitely unique ingredients that only appear here.

Like lulupu or mangdung fruit...”

For example, things like pepper, salt, and sugar.

“There’s a limit to relying on the cabin.”

The cabin’s cupboard and storehouse were filled with basic ingredients and spices.

But he didn’t know how long that would last, nor whether it would automatically refill like before once it ran out.

“It’s better to prepare in advance rather than getting bothered later having to draw everything one by one.”

“Ggurrr.”

“Especially something like salt is essential for living, but...”

Since the water in the waterfowl lake was salty, if he evaporated it somehow, salt might come out.

‘I haven’t tried it yet, but it shouldn’t be impossible.’

Suddenly, Gio muttered.

“It would be fine if a dairy cow or a chicken dropped from somewhere too.”

He was even wishing for livestock.

“Then we could always secure milk or eggs.”

“Ggurrrr?”

“You... weren’t you male?”

He had no basis, but he’d thought it was male—could it lay eggs?

“Was it a daughter, not a son?”

“Kung.”

“Ah, not that.”

“Kungkung.”

“...Oh...”

It seemed it didn’t have a gender.

“That’s incredible.”

Well, if you looked at the lake’s waterfowl multiplying by splitting eggs like amoebas, it didn’t seem like a process like mating was necessary.

Gio nodded.

“Thinking deeply is annoying, so let’s just say you’re a son.

Do you agree?”

“Gguruk.”

“Good.”

Gio almost got scared for a moment at his own endless abilities, but he realized that with this ability, all he would make was roasted potatoes anyway, and relaxed again.

“There’s no way a harmless person like me is some creature that threatens world peace.”

“...”

“Confirm it, Honey.

Dad is a harmless living thing.”

Honey refused to confirm it to the end.

“Firm, aren’t you.”

Honey was the kind that could say no if it was no.

The cabin forest was wonderfully cool.

If you stepped into the shade, a refreshing wind blew, and if you took the sunlight, warm air wrapped around them like a blanket hung out in spring.

Even wandering around without a clear purpose had a pleasant elegance, like going on a picnic.

“Ah.”

And as Gio walked without thinking, he finally got a decent haul.

“I think this is edible.”

“Ggururuk.”

“Right?

The scent is unique too...”

It was a plant with small, transparent, perfect-tetrahedron fruits hanging in clusters like lily-of-the-valley.

Milky Way Mary

A flower characterized by transparent fruits and black stems.

Named “Milky Way Mary” after the name of its first discoverer, Mary, and its unique appearance.

Each specimen bears 11 fruits.

It has mild toxicity if eaten as-is, but if you dry it and harden it, you can use it as a spice with a sharp, spicy aroma.

“...”

First discoverer?

‘There was a first discoverer named Mary?’

It was information that greatly broadened the setting.

Didn’t it mean that the plants—or even animals—growing here might also exist somewhere in another dimension?

“So it wasn’t an ecosystem created only by my imagination.”

“Gguruk?”

“No, it’s not that I feel bad.”

It was just that the bizarrely expansive worldbuilding was a little funny.

“O spirits of heaven and earth.”

Where on earth did I fall.

“As expected, life is a roller coaster.”

Elixir method: If soaked in droong-droong tree sap, the toxicity is neutralized and drying stops.

If stored in a canned form and later ground together with forest butterfly wings into small pills, it becomes a good fatigue recovery medicine.

Store in a dark place where sunlight does not enter.

The system also told him the elixir method, but he wasn’t very interested.

Gio focused only on its taste and aroma.

“So it’s basically pepper.”

The fatigue recovery medicine and whatnot didn’t catch his eye.

Happy at the existence of a spice he’d found in a long time, Gio quickly picked the ‘Milky Way Mary’ fruits.

Because they were already fully ripe, with just a tap they fell right off in a scatter.

“I should remember this.”

Having gathered more than a handful of fruit, Gio straightened his back and muttered.

“I guess this side is a Milky Way colony.”

The flowerbed glittering with countless small, transparent fruits was too beautiful to keep to himself.

Perhaps because the forest was so dark, the fruits’ transparency stood out even more, to the point it really looked like the Milky Way.

“It would look even better in the evening.”

“Ggurrr...”

“Anyway, pepper is taken care of.”

Sniff sniff—he smelled it, but right now, there was no scent.

“...Is it a structure where the aroma comes out when it’s dried?”

Like mangdung fruit.

‘What kind of spiciness will it be.’

It said it had a sharp, spicy aroma, but he couldn’t tell exactly what that would feel like.

“It might not be pepper, but more like a small spicy chili.”

“Ggurrr?”

“Or will it be similar to sanshō berries?

But sanshō is more numbing than spicy... I’ll have to dry it myself to know what dishes I can use it in.”

The small fruits glittered like transparent beads, but they were weak and crinkly, like they were made of thin vinyl.

Inside, he could feel some flesh... harder than the peel, but it seemed like it would crush easily.

“It says it becomes hard when you dry it.”

It was a wondrous ecology straight out of a fairy tale.

Its looks, too.

“I should try using it once when grilling meat.”

Feeling the meaning of life, Gio hugged the basket carefully to his chest.

They say pepper used to be treated almost like gold on Earth, and that was exactly how Gio felt now.

“Are there no other spices?”

“Ggur?”

“No matter what, it’s too plain to make it with only pepper.”

“Gguk.”

“Let’s go in deeper.”

Sausages could be made in countless ways.

“First, meat and fat are the basic materials.”

He had already prepared those by cut.

Just in case they spoiled, he put them in a cool storehouse, then covered them with a large cloth.

Once all the other ingredients were gathered, he planned to start the grinding work.

This time, the butchered meat didn’t smell gamey, but he still needed other spices to bring out the savoriness.

It would be no fun to make sausage with only salt, pepper, and meat.

“By nature, if it’s sausage, it must have deep aroma and flavor.”

Fortunately, he had already found ‘Milky Way Mary,’ which could serve as both chili and pepper.

“But that alone isn’t enough.”

The fun part of making sausage is that depending on what herbs and spices you put inside, the taste and aroma change distinctly.

A sausage made with only Milky Way Mary—assumed to smell like a mix of chili and pepper—would come out fine, but...

“Let’s keep going for now.”

“Ggurrrr.”

“If some dangerous animal jumps out, you need to tell me.”

Gio, who could be called Honey’s parent, instinctively knew that this round waterfowl was by no means weak.

Honey was small and precious, but even so, it served as a dependable bodyguard.

As they walked through the forest, Gio continued.

“There are important conditions for making delicious cured meat.”

First, adjust the amount of salt to match the storage period and climate.

“In a forest like this where ingredients don’t rot, it might sound like useless talk, but...”

“Gguk?”

“If there’s too much salt in cured meat, it can be stored for a long time, but it becomes hard to use in cooking, and if you add too little salt, the curing itself doesn’t work properly, and the meat spoils.”

“Kungkungkung...”

“Yeah, it’s bothersome.”

And that’s what makes it fun.

Every finicky cooking method in the world had a fatal charm that stimulated Gio’s spirit of challenge.

“The temperature of this forest is pleasantly mild, but I think it’s really good that as long as the curing is done properly, you don’t have to worry about the meat spoiling.

I already don’t like jerky or sausage that’s too salty, so.”

“Ggururuk...”

“If it’s too salty, you can’t eat much.

You get full too fast.”

“Gguk.”

“I knew you’d agree with my opinion.”

The rich confirmed each other’s trust.

“And second.

Dry it to suit its use.”

“Kung?”

It was roughly a reaction like, ‘Cured meat has uses?’

“Sausages aren’t all the same.”

Keeping a kid of a son by his side was nice, because it meant he didn’t have to talk to himself, and that made him very happy.

This is why people need friends.

“Of course, the longer you dry it, the drier the meat becomes, so there are many kinds.”

“Ggururu...”

“Sure, you’d eat anything, but think about people too.”

There were more kinds of cooking methods in the world than there were people.

“There are sausages you eat in a fresh state, and sausages you eat after hardening them completely, then cooking them.”

Usually, the former you boil or grill, and the latter, like fresh sausage, you might boil, or steam as well.

“Fresh sausage—if you give it heat, the juices overflow, but fully dried sausage doesn’t.

No one wants to chew on hard sausage, so somehow they try to supply the lacking moisture inside... that’s probably what it is.”

And third.

“This is the most important.

Taste and aroma.”

“Ggurrrrrrr.”

Honey agreed vehemently.

“You’re like a gourmet.”

In truth, he thought 99.9% of the conditions for good sausage came down to this.

“This dad hates tasteless things.”

“Keuheung.”

Honey agreed vehemently again.

“So if I’m going to make it anyway, I want to make it well this time too.”

Depending on the type of sausage, the form of the ingredients that go in also changes a little.

“There are infinite ways to make sausage.

If you want to eat mild meat, you can add a little salt and then add only a small amount of spices—just enough to catch any off smell, and if you need a stimulating side dish, you can put in spices that will sting the aroma and make the tongue tingle.”

“Keung...”

“If you want to feel more varied flavors, you can put in vegetables, not just spices.

Of course, if it’s a vegetable that lets out too much water, it can be a bit difficult... but in my experience, if you salt it and squeeze the moisture out completely, then add it together and make it, it’s good because no water or mold forms inside the sausage either.”

Rolling his eyes around, Gio imagined the sausage he would make.

“I’ve been wanting something spicy lately, so if there’s a spice or vegetable that can heat up the tongue, I want to find it and bring it.

When you make a sausage like that, if you also add an ingredient that gives a slightly bitter taste, the flavor gets richer.

Of course, if you add too much, you’ll end up creating a grotesque dish, but...”

His self-esteem was far too high to worry about that.

“There’s no way I, who has the soul of an incredible artist, would make that kind of mistake.

Just trust me.”

“Ggururuk?”

“...Are you worried spicy food won’t suit your mouth?

Well, it might be too stimulating for a bird.”

Gio nodded.

“Then I should make a mild sausage too.

It’s the same when you make that kind of sausage—if you want a richer taste, you can add ingredients that give a gentle, soft aroma.

Things like lightly scented herbs would be good.”

“...”

“But I still want to eat something stimulating.

What if we make one spicy sausage, and one fully salty sausage?

I’d like to find an ingredient that pairs well with spices like Milky Way Mary or ginger.”

“...”

Under Honey’s bright, alert gaze that said, ‘Can you really do that,’ Gio nodded confidently.

“There’s nothing this dad can’t do.”

If it were for eating something delicious, what couldn’t he do?

Gio was confident.

And then something decent caught his eye.

Weeping Fringe

Unrefined Weeping Fringe has a deep blue-green hue and gives off a spicy flavor and aroma.

If you wipe it with water mixed with sugar and droong-droong tree sap, you can erase its toxicity.

“It’s a perfect explanation.”

Fantasy, modern,