Episode 79: Chicken Namban
Just after I finished testing my new magic powers Fer returned, carrying a Black Serpent securely in his mouth. It seemed his hunt was successful. Saying that I didnât really expect otherwise even though a Black Serpent is an A-rank monster. Iâm not really surprised by what he can do any more... Fer dropped the Black Serpent he had caught in front of me.
"Thanks, Fer." I put the Black Serpent in my Item Box.
"Whatâs up with this?" Fer asked me when he saw the box-shaped house I had made.
"This is what I created with earth magic." I was kind of proud of it.
"Whatâs it for?" Fer was blunt as usual.
"Hey, I just wished I had something like this to sleep in when weâre travelling."
"Youâve got my Barrier, havenât you?"
"Itâs not that." I explained. "Fer, your Barrier is strong and safe, it keeps the rain off, Iâm really grateful for it... but itâs transparent and when I go to bed I feel uneasy and I canât sleep properly."
"Yeah, but is something like that thing better than my Barrier?" Fer was sounding peeved. I hurried to placate him.
"Look, there are times when you like an area and want to hang around or itâs a nice place to hunt and youâre going to stay there for a while, arenât there Fer?"
"Well, yes there are." Fer conceded.
"When you do that what kind of place do you choose to sleep in?"
"Thereâs usually a cave or a big tree..." Fer said slowly.
"Why do you choose places like that?"
"Why? I donât know but somehow I can sleep better in a place like that..."
"Thatâs exactly why I made this house." I said triumphantly.
"I see..." He still didnât sound convinced.
"Well, if weâre on a journey I definitely want to sleep in something like this at the end of the day."
OK, I had partially convinced Fer my little âhouseâ was a good idea but another problem had cropped up. How do I get rid of the âhouseâ after Iâve finished with it? I canât just leave little buildings like this behind me as I travel with Fer, itâs not eco.
Oh, it seems if I made it just with my magical power it should disappear if I try to make it go away. I used Stone Wall on the âhouseâ, thinking âdisappearâ and it disappeared like it had never been there at all. Perhaps only the one who used magic to create it can get rid of it but I can do it without a problem.
I had a great time today learning about my magic but it was getting late.
"Fer, do you want to eat here or are you going to wait until weâre back in town? It may be almost dark by then."
"My bellyâs empty, letâs eat here." The glutton had spoken. Iâll make dinner for Fer right away. So what will it be today? Hmmm, since I have fried chicken cutlets in my Item Box, Iâll use them up to make Chicken Namban.
I opened the Net Super menu and purchased what I was missing, mainly vinegar and tartare sauce. I thought about cooking up some rice but it would take too long so why not bread...? I chose hamburger buns this time.
First I had to make sweet vinegar by putting soy sauce, vinegar and sugar in a pan and warming it up. I soaked some fried chicken cutlets in the sweet vinegar letting them slowly absorb the flavour. I put them on a dish and finished off with plenty of tartare sauce on top.
Ah, I have to wake up Sui. "Hey Sui, weâre going to eat."
"Oh, dinner?-" Darling Sui-chan was awake instantly.
"Yes, dinner." I confirmed.
"Dinner, letâs eat-"
Now Sui was awake I put out another dish of Chicken Namban for her.
"Itâs kinda sour, but itâs delicious when you eat it with this white stuff." Fer said while gobbling the contents of his dish.
"Yah, this white stuff is delicious.-" Sui agreed.
They seemed to like tartare sauce. I think tartare sauce is delicious too, by the way.
My turn now. I put Chicken Namban on a hamburger bun and added lots of tartare sauce then I bit into the completed Chicken Namban burger.
"Tasty-" The Chicken Namban and bread went very well together. Chicken cutlets glazed with sweet vinegar and plenty of tartare sauce are delicious.
"Hey, what youâre eating, it looks delicious." Fer interrupted.
"Do you want to try Chicken Namban in a burger bun?"
"Yes, please."
"Oh, Sui also wants to eat it-"
I made Chicken Namban burgers for Fer and Sui.
"Eating this with bread is delicious-" Sui said.
Yeah yeah, if you liked the Chicken Namban by itself then this combination will be pretty much the same taste. As for Fer... he scarfed down a complete Chicken Namban burger in a single bite. I guess he thought it was delicious too.
We took a small break after the meal to settle our digestion and then we made our way back to the town.
* * * * *
"Oh, can we stop by the Adventurers Guild?" I asked Fer. He agreed, not being particularly hungry any more. When we got to the Guild we went straight to the purchasing counter where there was a young man on duty.
"Ah, is Johan-san around?" I inquired.
"Whaddaya want him for?" The young man said very brusquely.
"Eh, I just need him for something." The young manâs attitude was rubbing me up the wrong way.
"Hang on." Saying that, he turned to the warehouse door behind the purchase counter and shouted, "Ossan, thereâs a customer here-"
"Oh- wait, wait." Johan-ojisanâs voice came back. After a few moments Johan-ojisan appeared from the back of the warehouse.
"Itâs you, sonny?" he said. "Youâre gonna have to come back tomorrow, Iâm not finished disassembling all those Bloody Horn Bulls yet."
"Oh, thatâs not what Iâm here for, I have something different to ask you..." I know youâre busy and Iâm sorry for asking you to do more work but I need it done as soon as possible.
"Well, seeing itâs you come on through." I followed Johan-ojisan back into his warehouse.
"So what you got for me today?" he asked expectantly.
"Uh, itâs Black Serpent." I pulled the Black Serpent out of my Item Box.
"Ohoho, Iâm starting to enjoy seeing you turn up here, sonny." Johan-ojisan said. "I never know what surprises youâre gonna pull out of your Item Box. Itâs Black Serpent this time-"
Iâm really sorry. "Please give me the meat and the skin and please buy the rest."
"I gotcha. Iâm still working on those Bloody Horn Bulls though like I said. Iâll give you everything together once theyâre all done, OK?"
"Yes, that would be great." Iâm going to get a Black Serpent skin I can sell to Lambert-san as we had agreed earlier. Time to go back to the inn.