Okay, we're all done harvesting for now.

Now, all the demons I've been growing in the field are lying in front of me.
The first jack-o'-lantern I planted here, the devil carrots, mashed mushrooms, killer plant fruit, as well as the daikon man, cabbage rara and eggplant.

''As expected of Kyou-sama's demons, they are all very fresh.

I'm aware that Phytis is right, the monsters I grow are fresher and taste better than others. But with this kind of natural cultivation, there are still some demons that grow into strange shapes.

Big brother. This Devil Carrot has three legs!

"Hahaha, this eggplant over here is so fat, it's torn and scarred all over the place!

And Jack and Dora-chan would poke and prod at these monsters and tell me about them.
After all, if you do this kind of cultivation in large quantities, you will inevitably get these badly shaped ones.
These days, when you go to the town to wholesale these badly shaped demons, you can't get a good price for them.
After all, looks are important in every world.

But bad shape doesn't change the taste of the product.

The scarred eggplant that I held in my hand winked at me as if to say "thank you".
Incidentally, this eggplant. It looks exactly like an eggplant, but as usual it is a demon with arms and legs, and for some reason they all pose in the goddess pose and eat it to show off.
By the way, the better shaped ones are quite humanoid, and they are really goddess-like designed eggplants.
But the one I'm holding in my hand right now is a goddess, but a more receptive one.

But if we're going to cook, shouldn't it be a good shape?　Such poorly shaped food doesn't have a good image, and above all, the next Japanese cuisine will be judged on the quality of the ingredients.

Well, I did some research on Japanese food in this world, but it's not all that different from the Japanese food I know. But this is a simpler, more humble version of it.

Since then, I've been researching Japanese cuisine in the world, and I've actually tried some of it, but the food was less tampered with than I expected.
It is a cuisine that emphasizes the taste of the ingredients, with minimal salt and other ingredients. It's not just a matter of how you choose your ingredients, it's also a matter of how much you choose them at this stage.

...... Well, it doesn't matter if you think about it or not. I've already decided what we're going to cook. Now let's go get the last of the ingredients. So let's go for the rocks.

"Yeah!　Pop!

Then I patted Rock's lovely head and asked her to take another leap.
I've been riding on her back to various places, although I've omitted any description of her.
I've become unable to move around without her: .......






How did you end up in a place like this?

Well, come on over here and you'll see.

The place where I got off the rock is right in front of the beach, and I headed to a corner with a questioning Fitis.
It's a lake-like area cut off from the sea, with netted stakes driven in places.

'If this is ......'

Yes, it's still a work in progress, but it's a place where we try to see if we can breed sea monsters.

Since the big cooking competition, I have been trying to grow seafood here in secret.
After my battle with Kasarina, I decided to grow not only fruits from the mountains but also fruits from the sea, and I've been catching appropriate sea monsters and releasing them into this place.
By the way, the only people who know about this place are Lily, who helped me out, Dora-chan, Jack, Rock and .......

"Hmm, here you are. You're late, Keogh, Fitis.

"Master!　Perhaps the master also helped in the creation of this place?

Seeing Ms. Kasarina, Fitis immediately understands the situation.
But apart from that, Fitis immediately bows her head in front of Kasarina.

''Master, I'm sorry. I've been so disappointing. You were able to wrestle a seat from your master and I am ......

Yes, I've already heard about it. Don't worry about it, Phytis.

With that said, I am ......

"Hmm, let's rephrase it this way. Careful enough about defeat. The knowledge of your defeat gives you the opportunity to grow. Next time you fight, you'll remember that disappointment and work harder. It was your apologies that I said never mind. You were the best of me. And to apologize for that is to insult my game. Am I right?

Kasarina instantly knows what exactly Fitis was apologizing for and feeling sorry for.
See it through and right that wrong.
It's fine to feel sorry for your loss. In fact, if you can grow from it, that loss is your path to success.
In fact, after I lost to my father, the evidence is good that I tried all these training techniques.
In hindsight, that loss may have given me a lot of things.
And I have to win the next game to prove it.

...... Okay, I understand. Master is right. Now I'm going to focus on the next game with this defeat.

"Mm. That's good. Kyou's game is next, isn't it?　How about we harvest something from it?

Yes. ......

I say, looking out at the sea, I see several demons swimming there.

Sahagin, Scylla Octopus, Sea Serpent, and is that ...... a color fish?　Wow, so many different kinds of demons farmed before you know it.



Well, better safe than sorry. Well, better safe than sorry.

So for a while I pulled up some demons from the sea, and as I was trying to sort out which one to use, I noticed some changes to some fish.

Hmmm, Keogh. Maybe it's not a good idea to farm color fish in the same space as other demons. Although they are fat, many of them are covered with scars all over.

With that said, Casarina pointed out that there are indeed many demons with wounds all over their bodies.
If you look closely, you can see that many of the other sahagins and sea serpents are also wounded.
We shouldn't raise so many different kinds of demons in the same place.

"Hmmm. These wounded demons won't fetch a good price in the market. Unfortunately, we'll just have to get rid of these injured demons.

"Yeah, I see. It's a waste of time.

The word disposal here is not meant literally, but means that the creator cooks them and eats them.
On Earth too, these unsightly things are either cooked or disposed of by their makers.
It was similar here.
Just because something looks bad doesn't mean it tastes bad too. It's still a waste of money: .......

Ah.

At that moment, a flash of insight occurred to me.
This is something that any ordinary citizen like me, who was born in Japan and lived through its culture, would think is natural.
And I realized that this was the root of Japanese cuisine.

So ...... it wasn't the taste that mattered. It was literally the ingredients.

Hmm, looks like you have something on your mind.

Seeing my flashing smile, both Kasarina and Phytis smiled as well, and I responded by taking the monster in front of me.

Yes, you'll see. In the next round, I will show you the essence of true Japanese cuisine.