Strongest Gamer; Let's Play in Another World Volume 1

by Shinobu Yuuki

  It wasn't so awful that I didn't want to eat it, but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat it either. At the very least, I didn't think I would be enjoying a meal of it anytime soon. It was difficult to express my disappointment, but...

  "My day is ruined."

  Would be the most accurate way to put it, I think.

  The cabbage-like thing looked tender at first, but the fibery texture was so dense I was appalled at first. No matter how much I chewed on it, the thing was still hard to swallow. It also smelled a lot like grass, but nothing of that was reflected in the flavor---it was so damn insipid.

  Then we moved on to the demi corn. To sum it up in three words: Hard to eat.

  It got so soft it started falling apart when you boiled it, and despite looking like corn, the individual kernels were so huge it looked more like oversized rice. The texture when you popped it in your mouth was extremely dry, like munching on an unpeeled potato. It spread all over my mouth so quickly that I had to reach out for water. It also had no taste like the cabbage thing. It had a slight tinge of sweetness, but you wouldn't even notice if you weren't looking for it.

  "I see. So less nutrition means less taste too, huh?"

  Surely they would do great as a diet food back on Earth, but it was really troubling to think they ate something so devoid of nutrition in a pioneering village, where they busted their backs working every day in the fields.

  "I've heard the vegetables they sell out in towns are way tastier! But... everyone back at the village eats this kind of stuff."

  So she's used to this kind of thing. Now I knew why she loved the pumpkin so much even though it was kinda crappy. It wasn't that different from the corn and vegetables of the village. I'd rather have the pumpkin. At least I could stomach that with salt and pepper while munching on some jerky, or whatever.

  "I understand why they would be cheap if you took them to any town now. It may be a bit of a luxury, but I would really like to eat tasty stuff after all."

  "Yeah..."

  Ann also took a bite of the boiled demi corn on her plate, but it didn't look like she was enjoying it at all.

  "But this sure is a problem. There's no way I can just ask Fez to get us vegetables from town when we have a farming village right in front of us with more than enough stock to go around."

  About half of our food storage was taken over by the pumpkins, but even after giving Jenny some of the ingredients we exchanged back at the village's market, we still had enough to eat for about two months.

  "Ann, do you know if there's any way to make these tasty?"

  "If you want something tastier, it's pretty pricey in towns..." Ann replied with a sad tone.

  I guess she was right.

  I didn't think it was proper for a gamer like me to give up in this kind of situation. It wasn't like I lived a luxurious life before all of this, but I was still raised in Japan. I wanted to at least eat tasty food, even that was a bit overkill in a fantasy world like this.

  "Anyhow, I'll do my best so we can eat something at least a little bit tasty."

  And so, we lined up the ingredients and all our cookware in front of the cabin, and set to work to prepare them in such a way to make it tasty.

  "Yes, I'll do my best too!"

  Given her achievements so far, I couldn't really expect her to be much use in the kitchen, but she seemed like she was eager to help. I guess she was really interested in tasty stuff after all.

  "First we have to try the corn and the vegetables one at a time."

  "Uhh, so the demi corn and the white bana? Can you really make these tasty?"

  "I don't know... the odds aren't looking too good, to be honest. But it doesn't hurt to try, does it?"

  So we had the demi corn and the white bana; I still thought it looked like a cabbage, though. It seemed like they were quite accustomed to these two back in the village. If I managed to improve them, it'd be good for everyone, because I had the feeling I was gonna be seeing a lot of them from now on.

  "Well then... How do we cook these?"

  I did have a lot of experience cooking in realistic survival games, but unsurprisingly enough, it was my first time trying to cook ingredients I didn't know anything about.

  All the cooking methods Jenny had taught me were rather common. At the very least, my cooking knowledge from Earth came in handy. Though it was necessary to remember the parts you couldn't eat from the lizard, it didn't differ all that much from the typical ways of preparing a normal chicken. Well, besides the obvious difference in appearance.

  "Let's think about the demi corn first. I would be able to try a few things if I had flour, but I guess it won't be so easy for now."

  "Flour? What's that?"

  "You don't know? Isn't there bread or... Well, it's corn, so it would be more like tortillas? You don't know about any of those?"

  To make flour out of the corn I would need a measuring cup, or something like that. They're quite pricey on Tundra, and with my current budget, I didn't think it'd hurt my pocket too much. My aim right now wasn't that, though. I wanted to figure out a recipe that would let me make as much as I wanted, using stuff from the village.

  "Ann, is there anyone that likes the dryness of the corn?"

  The feeling of it draining the water out of my mouth was way worse than the nonexistent flavor.

  "Well... I don't think so. I've heard that tasty demi corn isn't so dry."

  Looked like my biggest fear wouldn't be a problem. I'd be seriously concerned if anyone actually liked this stuff...

  Japanese at large say foreign rice was way too dry and not tasty at all, but people from different regions would say the Japanese rice was way too sticky and not tasty at all as well. So I had to consider the difference in preference.

  "Then let's turn it into something we both like. We'll start with the texture."

  I opened Tundra's catalog, deep in thought, while I boiled some of the corn in hot water. I searched in the 'Food > Flour' category and buy a product called 'Fake Starch'...

  Fake Starch (1 kg) == 3500 DL

  Seller : Manager, Labyrinth #201

  Rating : ★★★★☆

  Reviewer : Manager, Labyrinth #112

  - High quality starch. But I wonder what the fake is about... It dissolves well in water and it doesn't add any weird flavors either. I was impressed that I was able to make a bowl of rice just like the ones back home as much as I wanted, sticky and tasty just like I like it! I think it's good enough to be called normal starch, but I feel a bit squicky about the fake part.

  I could use starch as flour just like I was aiming to, but the 'fake' part made me a little nervous.

  "Well, how about that... There's a lot of Japanese seasonings in this category, huh?"

  When I tried taking a look at the 'Seasonings' category, there was surprisingly a whole 'Soy Sauce' section. Lots of brands ranging from the dark and thick soy bean-based sauce that Japanese were so used to, to more mild ones. There was even fish paste in here.

  I heard before that anywhere around the globe that Japanese people went, they brought soy sauce and miso with them. But the Japanese that came to a whole different world here still took the time and effort to make soy sauce and miso as well.

  ---If I ever have the time, I'd like to try making some kind of seasoning like soy sauce out of the ravine's moss.

  This time I chose the fish paste and ordered it. The fact that they were cheaper and the supply was more stable than soy bean-based sauces was a good thing, but the fish paste also had a nice flavor, and was a pretty simple way to enhance the flavor of something. I heard about it a lot from the clerks in the 'Side Dishes' corner back at the supermarket I always used to go to. Although what I really loved from there were the croquettes, but I digress.

  Fish Paste (Pottery Made - 1 L) == 5200 DL

  Brand : Small Fry Concert

  Seller : Manager, Labyrinth #370

  Rating : ★★★★★

  Reviewer : Manager, Labyrinth #421
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  - A magnificent harmony of the blessings of the sea and earth~

  The strong smell was a little bit of a problem at first, but I forgot all about that as soon as I got a taste of it, it's excellent! It blends really well with the crops we grow over here. It goes well with stewed and boiled dishes, this is amazing~

  Rating : ★★★☆☆

  Reviewer : Manager, Labyrinth #28

  - Extremely tasty, but it isn't so popular with children that aren't so used to it. I thought it was really delicious, but children that aren't used to fish paste or soy sauce will have a little bit of a hard time with it. They told me it has a fishy smell. Even though it's so tasty and all...

  Nonetheless, compared to a liter of soy sauce that went for over 10000 DL, I was surprised something this good cost only 5000 DL for a liter, and was well stocked to boot.

  It said the supplier was Labyrinth #370. Hm, yeah. I was always buying salt from this labyrinth, it seemed. If he was putting up salt and fish paste for sale, then it must mean the labyrinth was near a beach of some kind. He probably had a salt pan or something nearby, too. I was kinda jealous of how well he used his resources.

  I ordered and paid the fee---it arrived as fast as ever. I wanted this delivery speed back on Earth as well.

  "Thank you very much~ This is a fragile product, so be careful."

  Perhaps it was because of the pot used to hold the fish paste, but the box was strangely sturdier than usual, and had a sticker that read "Handle with care!" on it. I guess it was better to keep that in mind and be careful when there was a sticky note that said "Handle with care!" and "This side up."

  "Ann, can you open the package, please?"

  "Sure!"

  Since she was in human form, Ann didn't have her tail right now, but if she did, it would probably be wagging from right to left. That was how happy she was to help.

  "First, let's peel the demi corn and smash it a little bit."

  I took off the skin of the demi corn, which was about the size of a man's fist, and crumpled it inside the pot.

  "Now we add the starch and mix---there. If this goes well, I think we won't have too many problems with the dryness."

  But what I did just now made me think of something. There was this one realistic zombie survival game called "Last Days, Last Life" that had you choose your race first thing in the character creator. If you chose Japanese and set your affinity to 'tough', you'd need less food to survive compared to a Caucasian character, and you could fill up your hunger meter faster than normal if you mixed starch with normal rice.

  I'd wondered why they would sneak in something that affected Japanese characters exclusively like that. It was a mystery to this day. Well, the knowledge came in handy, so whatever...

  "Ann, can you open that pot?"

  "Yes!"

  I took the pot Ann held out to me and sprinkled some of the fish paste into it. This should compensate for the lack of flavor.

  "Ann, can you put the frying pan on the fire?"

  I asked Ann while kneading the now cold demi corn inside of the pot. Having someone around to help me with the cooking was really nice.

  "Yes~ Ready!"

  Ann moved the pan over and placed it onto the fire. At first I was a little afraid, but now I could leave easy cooking to her no problem. Seeing Ann grow little by little made me really happy.

  I finished kneading the now sticky demi corn and shaped it into a pretty ball, before flattening it and pressing it against the now warm frying pan. Truth was, I wanted to put even more oil and fry it to make something similar a to croquette, but I didn't have any way of making oil, and it was pretty expensive to buy. I also wanted to make a recipe that was easy to reproduce in the village, so I held off for now.

  "It smells really good..."

  It ended up looking somewhat like a hamburger. It roasted on top of the frying pan until it had a light brown color. Ann stared at the cooking demi corn in awe. The nice smell must have been enticing her. I flipped it over and let it set until the other side was completely cooked as well...

  "Alright then, it's complete. Ann, I don't mind if you wanna try it first. It's hot, so be careful."

  I put it on a plate right in front of her, and Ann stabbed it with her fork almost instantaneously.

  "Hot! Hot! Got! So tasty! This is delicious! Sho hooooot!"

  It wasn't all that surprising that she put something that was still steaming right into her mouth, but it was worthwhile seeing Ann's happy smile as she ate it.

  I got a mouthful for myself as well. The dryness of the demi corn was completely erased by the fake starch. It didn't taste all that doughy, and its consistency was miles better than before. The smell and taste of the fish paste made it even more appetizing. This was the biggest hit since roasted lizard, truly tasty. It was kind of like a sweet potato mochi---to compare it to something from Earth.

  "Can I... have more?"

  ---It'd be nice if someone could teach me a technique to resist the urge to protect and pamper her when she looked at me with those upturned eyes...

  In the end. over half of the demi corn dough ended up in Ann's belly. She was still growing. so it was okay, though I had to be careful not to let her get too fat.

  Cooking the white bana turned out to be incredibly easy as well. I just took some, chopped it up and stuffed it inside a jar to preserve, alongside some leftover fish paste and water. Then I ordered an item called a 'fermentation mushroom' from Tundra that was said to be a carrier of something like a lactic acid bacteria, which supposedly to sped up the fermentation process. I stuffed it in together with everything else. It would have been way too hard to get rid of the fibery texture with any single method.

  Zaua Pirutz (100 g of Fermentation Mushrooms) == 1800 DL

  Seller : Manager, Labyrinth #16

  Rating : ★★★★★

  Reviewer : Manager, Labyrinth #112

  - Easy way to make pickled products. All you have to do is chop whatever vegetable you wanna use and you can make something that really feels like slightly pickled vegetables. It's good that it doesn't have a strange flavor, but people that really like pickled products might find themselves a little dissatisfied? It smells, so make sure you ferment in a well ventilated place, have fun pickling it up!

  Rating : ★★★★☆

  Reviewer : Manager, Labyrinth #7

  - A very interesting material to be sure. It seems to be a mushroom that has a symbiotic relationship with a microorganism similar to lactic acid. The mushroom itself houses them, and the mushroom's secretions accelerate fermentation greatly thanks to it. It's one of the ideal examples of fungus having symbiotic relationships with microorganisms. Also who was the fool that came up with that stupid brand name?

  Three days later I took the fermented white bana out of the pot. They had a similar texture to pickled bamboo shoots. I made a bet to see if the fermentation process softened up some of the fiber, and it seemed I was right as rain this time.

  "(munch) This ish tashty!"

  "I get it, but quit talking with your mouth full, okay?"

  I thought it was obvious that the taste had improved from the way Ann stuffed her mouth with the pickled white bana.

  I took a bite as well. The taste of the fish paste, with an added mild acidity, spread across my mouth. It was so Japanese it made me want a bowl of rice. It was good news that Ann took a liking to the taste of fish paste. It was better if we had similar tastes if we planned on living together.

  When I thought about it, even though there were different races living in Daemon's towns and pioneering villages, their food preferences didn't vary? It was kinda convenient, but it still worried me all the same.

  "Well then, Ann, now that we know how to make things tasty, how about we both practice?"

  "Yes, I'll do my best!"

  Our next goal was to make even more of these until the next village market day. Since the food didn't require any delicate temperature managing or flavor adjustments, it wa
sn't that hard to repeat once you memorized the process. I guess anyone would be able to do it if they remembered the recipe at least a little.

  We started preparing for the next market filled with satisfaction after creating something delicious.

  Thankfully Ann didn't share the 'no good at cooking' attribute that visual novel heroines usually had. She made a lot of beginner mistakes at first, but she managed to still make edible dishes, even if she was limited only to these two ingredients.

  ◇

  This would be the second market day we'd participate in. Ann and I were occupied in front of the kitchen counter all day yesterday.

  The day of the market, we decided to hand gift some for all the people of the village that were worried when Ann fell down the ravine. The gifts themselves were rather simple: a piece of baked demi corn Ann made herself, and a set of pickled white bana.

  It took us a whole day to make 200 servings and wrap them inside a bactericidal container they used to preserve food in the village, in sets of four. That was pretty tiring, to be honest. We might have been doing this to celebrate Ann's safe return to the village, but there was a reason for all this.

  ---To teach them that they can take their drab everyday meals and turn them into something tasty, with just a little bit a work and some money!

  That was it.

  Before, I felt admiration for the peace they achieved here, but I was upset at the same time. This was my first step towards changing the minds of the villagers, while still keeping the peace.

  The fish from Labyrinth #370 was pretty tasty and budget friendly, but if I just brought them to the village as they were without thinking about the costs of transportation and selling labor, it probably wouldn't end well.

  They weren't acquainted at all with fish paste in the village, and I guess they didn't use more salt to cook than what was absolutely required just to get by. They weren't used to the luxury that seasonings provided in the first place, let alone use them.

  What would happen if they knew that the things they consumed everyday could drastically change with some effort?