Chapter 1-4 : A Big Cat And A Contract (part 2)
「Look. That’s where I’m camping-nya.」(Nyat)
I looked in the direction where Nyat was pointing and saw a red light flickering in the darkness. It seemed to be a campfire.
I couldn’t help but sigh in relief when I sat down by the campfire and felt its warmth.
「You must be thirsty. Have some water-nya.」(Nyat)
Nyat took out a wooden cup from his bag and filled it with water from the kettle hanging on the campfire.
He was surprisingly dexterous for a big cat. His paws were moving just like human hands.
「Please be careful-nya. It’s very hot-nya.」(Nyat)
「Thank you.」(Kako)
I received the wooden cup and took a sip of the hot water. ーNo, it wasn’t actually hot.
It was more lukewarm than hot.
So, it’s true that cats’ tongues can’t withstand hot things.
「Pwaaahh~…」(Kako)
I could tell that the fear I had been feeling was starting to fade away as the warm water moistened my dry mouth and throat.
The warmth from the campfire and the water made me feel at ease…
「You haven’t eaten, right? Have some food too-nya. I grilled it before I went into the forest. Meat is the best thing to solve your hunger problem-nya!」(Nyat)
While saying that, Nyat handed me grilled meat skewered with a tree branch from the wooden plate next to the campfire.
「Can I really have it?」(Kako)
「Of course-nya.」(Nyat)
「Thank you!」(Kako)
Not only did he save me from a monster attack, but he also gave me water and food.
I’m really grateful to him.
「Fuuー Fuuー Mmm~ It’s delicious-nyaa!」(Nyat)
Nyat blew on his skewered grilled meat and took a bite of it.
Seeing him enjoying his grilled meat so much made me want to take a bite too.
I couldn’t help but drool when I saw the delicious-looking skewered grilled meat in my hand.
I ate some fruits in the forest, but this will be my first proper meal in this world.
I don’t know what kind of meat it is, but I can’t resist the fragrant smell coming from it.
I wonder if it’s poisonous… Nah, since Nyat is eating it, I don’t think it is. But…
Oh, well. Thinking about it is just wasting time.
I stopped thinking and took a bite of the meat.
「Mmm… Mmm… Mmm!?」(Kako)
The moment I took a bite of it, a unique smell filled my mouth.
「Mmm!!」(Kako)
The smell was quite strong.
I couldn’t taste any seasoning. It was just wild game meat grilled over a fire. That’s it.
The strong animal smell coming from the meat hit the back of my nose really hard.
「Do you like it-nya? It’s delicious, isn’t it?」(Nyat)
「Y… Y, Yeah…! It’s delicious…」(Kako)
Seeing my savior deliciously eating the meat, I couldn’t help but tell him a white lie.
I feel bad for Nyat, but to be honest, it wasn’t very good… No, to put it bluntly, it was bad. Very bad.
「I’m glad you like it-nya! I hunted a big Fear Wolf this noon, so I still have plenty of meat. You should eat more-nya!」(Nyat)
Saying that, Nyat turned his gaze to the huge lump of meat he placed on a tree stump.
Uhh… Are we going to eat all that meat…?
「At least I could make it taste better if I had something that could be used as seasoning… Hold on… I think I can use that!」(Kako)
I immediately opened my bag and took the thing.
〈Excellent Uto Grass : The Best Quality Uto Grass. Has an extremely strong aroma. Very useful for cooking meat. Can be used to remove the animal scent from meat and increase the richness of its flavor. Can also be used as a good-quality aromatic herb.〉
In addition to the Excellent Uto Grass I made with my Synthesis skill, I also took out some high-quality herbs that could be used as seasonings and put them near the campfire to dry them.
After they were dry, I crushed them with my hand and sprinkled them on my meat.
I heated the meat on the fire for a minute just to make sure the herbs were absorbed into the meat properly.
Now it has a better smell, but I wonder what it tastes like.
I took a bite of it and thenー
「Mmmm~!! Much muuuch better!」(Kako)
The stink smell and foul taste of animal from the meat had completely been replaced with the refreshing smell and spicy taste of the herbs.
It turned out to taste as great as I expected. It was so fragrant and delicious!
「Did you just sprinkle something on the meat-nya?」(Nyat)
Nyat asked me while twitching his nose, trying to smell it.
He really just looked like a cute big cat in my eyes.
「Yup. I added some dried herbs to it. Do you want to have some?」(Kako)
「Herbs? Do you mean spices!? I like spice-nya! Can you add it to my meat-nya?」(Nyat)
「Here you go~」(Kako)
I sprinkled some of the dried herbs on Nyat’s meat.
「Hamph! Mmm… Mmm!?」(Nyat)
Soon after Nyat tasted the meat, his face became stiff like a cat doing the flehmen reaction.
「Umm… It doesn’t suit your taste…?」(Kako)
「Nyaaaaammy~! It’s so nyammy!!」(Nyat)
Nyat shouted and started eating his meat heartily.
「Ahaha! Nyammy, huh? I’m glad you like it.」(Kako)
「Mmm~!! Can you please sprinkle it on this meat too-nya?」(Nyat)
「Okay.」(Kako)
As requested, I sprinkled the dried herbs on the skewered meat that was currently being grilled on the campfire.
After that, Nyat immediately put them into his mouth.
「Nyammy nyammynya~~!! It’s been a loooong time since the last time I had delicious meat like this-nya!!」(Nyat)
「Normally, you sprinkle the herbs before you grill the meat. The flavor would soak into the meat and make it more delicious.」(Kako)
「Really!? That’s nyawsome-nya! Are you a professional chef-nya?」(Nyat)
「No, I’m not, but I can cook. Sometimes I helped my mom cook.」(Kako)
My mom taught me how to cook. She said that my life would be easier if I could cook.
I was reluctant at first, but she said she would cut my monthly allowance if I didn’t help her cook in the kitchen.
I couldn’t afford to have my allowance cut because I needed it to buy games, so I didn’t have any other choice but to help her while learning how to cook.
「Nyai see! So your mother is the chef-nya!」(Nyat)
「She’s not… Oh, well…」(Kako)
「Kako Manyama, I have a proposal. Would you hear me out-nya?」(Nyat)
「A proposal?」(Kako)
「I want you to become my chef-nya! You will cook the game I hunted for me. In exchange, I will protect you from monsters on the way to your destination. What do you think-nya?」(Nyat)
Certainly, it would be better if I travel with a companion. I don’t know anything about this world except one thing; this world is full of danger.
Traveling with this strong and cute cat is not a bad idea. Not at all.
I don’t have money but Nyat doesn’t seem to want my money. All he wants is my cooking skill, so I just have to pay him with my cooking.
「Alright! I will be your personal chef and you will be my bodyguard!」(Kako)
「It’s decided then! By the way, where are you heading-nya? It would be great if I knew your destination-nya.」(Nyat)
「Destination… Hmm…」(Kako)
I was confused. I don’t know any places in this world.
「Umm… I want to open a shop in a town, but I don’t know exactly which town I should be heading for. I want to live in a big but peaceful town if possible.」(Kako)
「Nyai see… I think I know one. I will escort you until we get to that town-nya.」(Nyat)
「Great! I’ll be in your care then, Nyat-san!」(Kako)
「It will be my pleasure-nya. But, Kako Manyama, you don’t have to be polite toward me. You can just call me Nyat-nya.」(Nyat)
「Alright. Then, Nyat, you can just call me Kako.」(Kako)
「Okay-nya!」(Nyat)
Nyat stuck out his paw toward me. I grabbed it and we shook hands.
His paw felt so warm and soft, by the way.
After that, he pointed at the lump of meat on the tree stump.
「Alright then, can you put your dried herbs on that meat-nya?」(Nyat)
「All of it?」(Kako)
「Nyap!」(Nyat)
「A, Alright…」(Kako)
There was a lot of meat on the stump next to where Nyat was sitting.
I guess since he has a big tummy, a piece of skewered grilled meat he just ate was far from enough for him.
I agreed to be his chef, but now that I think about it, cooking for this big cat won’t be an easy job for sure…
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