Read The Legendary Rebuilding of a World by a Realist Demon King

167 - - a man's dish

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　The old man took off his mask without hesitation, but there was an unexpected person.

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　What emerged from beneath the fox mask was a mask of a gourd.

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"What the hell is that?"

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　Toshizo protested a bit shakily.

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"You took off the mask.

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"Are you Soujun Ikkyu? You're talking nonsense!

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"Kakka, that's right. Yes, that's right. But don't be hasty. I'll take off this mask someday. And that time is not so far in the future.

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"............"

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　Toshizo is silent, perhaps because he thinks that this may be the time to cross swords. He looked mysterious. I didn't want to be enemies with the old man if I could help it, but it is true that some people are destined to be enemies whether they are on the same page or not.

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　He concluded in his mind and made a proposal to the old man.

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"Hyottokosai-do."

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"Yes?

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"I got hungry after taking a bath. Why don't you go hunting with me?

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Fine. There's a lake in the upper part of this labyrinth. We can find something to eat there.

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　The old man changed his clothes. We followed his lead and the three of us headed for the upper level.

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"The underground lake reminds me of the dungeon where Kotaro Fuuma slept.

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"Unfortunately, I don't know it. I was left behind at the time.

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That's right. I remember there was only Eve and Jeanne.

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That's right. You're the one who's always left me behind.

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　As Toshizo grumbles, he sees a lake.

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"It's a big lake. It's called a subterranean lake.

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"Yes, it is. It looks like it's full of all kinds of creatures.

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"It looks like it..." "Oh, there they are..."

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　The old man's happy voice echoes, as if he has found something.

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"It looks like a seal over there!"

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"Seals, you mean like those sea beasts in the northern lakes?"

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"That's right. Yes. Hinomoto, or Hinomoto, is found mostly in Ezochi.

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　The old man smiles and runs off at a moment's notice. He approaches the seal and, without hesitation, thrusts his sword at the young seal.

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　and the seal pup dies. It's a little cruel, but that's all we can do. As I resign myself to the natural order of things, Toshizo lets out the following comment.

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"At least, it would have been better to keep the parent seal.

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　The old man laughs at his question.

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"That's not right. When you hunt seals or anything else, you should go for the young. Do you know why?

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"Because it's easier to hunt young?"

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　The old man shakes his head no.

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　I answer for him.

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"That's because if you hunt the parents, the children will die in the end. Children cannot take food by themselves. So if you are going to hunt, you should hunt the children. We don't need food for two."

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"That's the Demon King, isn't it? That's right.

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　But..." the old man continues, using his dagger to separate the seals.

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"There's also the fact that baby seals taste better. All creatures taste bad when they're old."

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"I see."

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　Toshizo and I let out a laugh at the same time and began preparing the food. I started the fire and Toshizo poured water into the pot. The men-only cooking contest began.

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　Eve, my maid, cooks up some of the most delicious dishes, whether we are traveling or in the dungeon. She always carried expensive spices and three kinds of rock salt alone. In a word, he was a culinary genius.

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　On the other hand, I was not good at cooking. When I was cooking, I would read a book and burn the food, which was a common occurrence. Moreover, before I met Eve, I was not a gourmand because I was of the opinion that food was good enough to eat.

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　Hijikata Toshizo was similar. Or worse than me. He was a man of the era when it was strictly forbidden for men to enter the kitchen. He must have never cooked a day in his life before he became a good cook.

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　Since the two of them had never cooked before, we had to rely on Hyottoko Sai-dono for all our seal dishes.

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　The old man did not ridicule us and cooked silently.

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We look over the old man's shoulder at the seal as he is separating the guts.

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"I didn't know seal meat was so black," he says.

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"Yes, it is. "Is it like whale meat?"

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"Maybe. I've never eaten it."

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　And so on and so forth, and it seems that we've finished our sorting. It seems that they also eat liver and lungs.

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"The liver and lungs are rich in vitamins," the old man explains.

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　The old man explains.

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　Now that the meat and organs were separated, the only way to cook them was to stew them with herbs. The old man takes out some grass from his pocket and puts it into the pot. Next he puts the meat. The entrails seem to come last.

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It's a simple dish, just boiled with herbs and salt, but the herbs take away the smell. The herbs take away the smell and the meat is tasty enough.

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　It is true that a fishy smell fills the air, but at the same time there is a delicious smell. It was the distinctive smell of motsu.

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　After about 30 minutes of simmering, the meat was ready to be cooked, and we each took a portion.

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　We put a lot of guts and meat in each dish. The absence of vegetables is sad, but the old man assures us that men do not need vegetables in their cooking.

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"You don't need to eat vegetables to live a healthy life.

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　It was very convincing when the old man, who was in good health, said that.

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　The three of them put their mouths to the pot at the same time, and all of them said at the same time.

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"Delicious!"

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"Yum!"

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"Mmm."

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　Their tone of voice and facial expressions differ, but they all seem to be satisfied with the taste of the seal.

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"Seals are so delicious. It's somewhere between whale and beast meat."

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"Yes, it is. Yes, it has a bit of a smell, but even so, it's delicious.

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It's a nostalgic taste.

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　After praising the taste of the seal to each of them, they ask for more.

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　Even though it was a child seal, it was quite large, so there were plenty of refills. I felt sorry for the child seal, but I should eat all of it to repay his soul.

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　Later, the old man took out a bottle of sake from his pocket and whistled "hyuu" to Toshizo.

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The old man whistled. "You are a good man to keep sake for drinking instead of using it as a cooking sake, old man.

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I'm the kind of man who doesn't use sake to disinfect a wound on the battlefield. I am a man who does not use alcohol to disinfect his wounds on the battlefield.

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　The old man then puts his mouth directly on a bottle of sake.

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　He does not pour the sake around. Each of the three drinks directly from the bottle.

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　This is called "drinking straight from the bottle," but since there are no refined ladies here, no one criticizes them for it.

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　Afterwards, the three of us poke at the pot while chatting and laughing.

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　Perhaps because of the alcohol, the three of them began to talk happily as if they were old friends.

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　They exchanged drinks without hesitation, as if they had been friends for decades.

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　However, I, the king of intrigue, was downed within a few hours. That's because I am not a very strong drinker. The old man and Toshizo continued drinking together after I went to bed, until morning.

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