Chapter 41: CH 40

Chapter 40 – Home At Last

TL: Sponsored chapter (1/6)

According to Akito, the Tanaka family had been attacked by a group of looters soon after we left their house. Recently, there were incidents of rich people being targeted by looters out of the expectation that they would have a lot of food in their homes.

So the Tanaka family fell victim to such an attack…!

When Akito visited the Tanaka house again today, he found Yaichi and his children dead, already cold to the touch. All food and clothes had been thoroughly looted clean, and his wife was nowhere to be seen.

According to what I knew, those insurgents were also kidnapping women based on their beautiful looks, perhaps to use as their playthings. There was a chance that she had already been killed.

It was a horrible twist of irony though. If Yaichi’s wife’s face had stayed ruined, she might not have been kidnapped and forced to endure such suffering.

Yaichi was Akito’s best friend after all. After finding out about this tragedy and explaining everything to us, he fainted from exhaustion.

A heavy silence filled the living room at the Fukuzawa residence after Jouichirou, Minako, and I finished listening to his story. Then, after a deep sigh, Jouichirou spoke.

“…I heard from Akito that thanks to you, Yaichi’s wife was cured, and their happiness was restored. He said that you were really amazing… But I never thought that something like this would happen…!” (Jouichirou)

As he spoke, his voice became distraught with anger and sadness. Jouichirou was a kind and gentle person. But these insurgents had provoked his anger.

However, I didn’t have the same feelings that they did.

I knew it was unfortunate, but the only connection I had with the Tanaka family was that I did business with them once. I didn’t have any emotional attachment to them. More than that, I was glad that I didn’t celebrate with them or let them treat me to a meal.

If things had gone down that route and I’d ended up drinking alcohol and got drunk, in the worst case scenario, there was a chance I might have died.

That’s why I was horrified by this, but also relieved. I felt like I had just managed to narrowly escape that tragedy.

The world was irrational. There was no point in trying to understand these pieces of human trash.

I didn’t have any intention of letting others take things from me anymore. From now on, I would be the one to use others and take what I wanted. I didn’t want to get bad-mouthed or exploited by other guys like Ohsaka any longer.

I felt bad for Yaichi and his family, but this was a good lesson for me. But if that insurgent group were to appear before me one day, I’d make sure that they got what they deserved so that Yaichi and his family would be able to rest peacefully.

After that, Akito woke up, saying that there was a chance Yaichi’s wife might still be alive, and that he wanted to save her somehow, but it wasn’t something Jouichirou could do anything about. I also had no obligation to help.

Besides, I had many important business to attend today, so I didn’t have any time to spare. Going around to my valued customers and steadily earning income was more important to me than anything.

I sympathetically patted Akito on the shoulder and left the mansion. Sol would be accompanying me today in gathering information and doing business.

I went around the rich neighborhood while making use of my identities as Kaiba and Torimoto. There would occasionally be people trying to haggle the price with me, but I would always manage to eloquently swindle them and close the deal.

As expected, dealing with rich people was nice. They were always eager to loosen their purse strings and pay out large sums of money. I had become much more wealthy and now had over ¥300,000,000 in my possession.

Now, I could obtain more useful fantasy items and eat fantasy food, which I hadn’t had the chance to taste in a while.

“Alright, Sol. Shall we go back to my place for the first time in a while and make some delicious food?” (Bouchi)

“Puuu~! Looking forward to it!” (Sol)

Business finished smoothly without a hitch. Today, I would be going back to my own house, not the Fukuzawa residence. It had been a while since I had been home, but it seemed that no burglars had broken in as everything seemed to be in good order.

“Sol, it’ll take a bit to cook, so in the meantime would you mind going around and gathering intel? If you could find out something about that group of insurgents, that would be even better.” (Bouchi)

After all, if they were nearby, it would be better to leave here at once. If they appeared in front of me, I would fight them, but I didn’t want to take the initiative to meet them. I didn’t want to get caught up in a messy battle.

Sol did as I had asked and left out the window. In the meantime, I went to the <Shop> and started looking for delicious-sounding fantasy foods.

“Can’t go without meat after all. But fish also sounds nice… Alright! Let’s try fish today!”

After deciding on the category, I began looking through all kinds of fish.

“Should I go with this Pig Amberjack which tastes like pork, or this Marbled Tuna…? They both sound so good.”

It had been a while since I cooked with fantasy ingredients, so I wanted to splurge a little.

“….Okay, I’ve decided!”

I selected several ingredients and put them on the table.

The main ingredient I chose was―Peacock Salmon. It was a salmon that had a beautiful peacock-like pattern on its scales. Despite the fact that its body was less than a meter long, the price tag was astonishing―¥2,500,000!

I couldn’t deny that it was a bit extravagant, but it was okay to do this once in a while.

I immediately got started with cooking. Of course, I’d have to try other fantasy ingredients as well. For Sol’s favorite, mashed potatoes, this time I went with [King Color Sweet Potatoes], which sounded amazingly tasty just by the name alone.

There was also a salad, for which I planned to use [Queen Lettuce] and [Super-Ripe Corn], and I was thinking of making harako-meshi with [Phoenix Rice], which I was hesitant to buy before.

(TL: Harako-meshi – a Japanese rice dish topped with salmon roe and meat.)

As I was cooking and humming to myself, I got a message from Sol.

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“Master, there doesn’t seem to be any danger in the area.” (Sol)

It seemed that she hadn’t found any sign of that group of insurgents from before.

“Okay, then you can come back now. The food should be ready soon.” (Bouchi)

“Wow! I’ll be right there!” (Sol)

A few seconds later, the telepathic communication ended, and…

“I’m hooome!” (Sol)

“Hyaaa?!” (Bouchi)

I put the finished dishes on the table one after another, and Sol kept on drooling as she watched.

“Alright, here it is… The Bouchi Hiro specialty―Three Styles Peacock Salmon!” (Bouchi)

“Wooow~! The flavor gradually fills your mouth~!” (Sol)

First up, let’s try the [Peacock Salmon].

“What does the sashimi taste like…? Mmm! ….Yummy~! Seriously delicious! It’s gone already! It melts so quickly in my mouth!” (Bouchi)

The salmon sashimi was vividly colored. The moment it entered my mouth, it began to melt, propagating a wonderfully delicious salmon umami. At the same time, it disappeared quickly on my tongue as if the flavor was being completely absorbed by my palette.

“This is incredibly good! I could never get tired of eating this!” (Bouchi)

“Puuupuuuu~! Mogumogumogu!” (Sol)

Sol seemed to like it as well, as the 20 pieces of sashimi were already gone.

“Next up is this Peacock Salmon Soup. Slurp slurp… Fuuhaaaa.” (Bouchi)

This soup… It was warming me right to the core, creating a calm, peaceful sensation that made me feel like all of my stress was being melted away. Also, the small filets of fish in the soup provided a different depth of flavor compared to the sashimi, giving off the feeling that each bite was concentrated with deliciousness.

“Now it’s time to try the salt-grilled method. A simple way of preparing it, but the most direct way of conveying the flavor of the fish.”

The moment I bit into it heartily, I felt an exquisite flavor rush through my mouth and go straight to my head, leaving me shocked beyond belief.

“Amazing…! It was the same with the sashimi, but how could it be this tender and delicious? Is it because the meat itself is juicy? The feeling of satisfaction that one bite gives is even better than top grade beef!”

It might seem like an obvious statement, but I really never had salmon like this before! As expected of a fish worth ¥2,500,000… If I were to put this in a restaurant, it would sell out in minutes.

“…This… I think I might have to try selling this next time I go out to do door-to-door sales. It’ll definitely sell ridiculously well.”

However, the price was so high that only a limited number of households would be able to afford it. Still, it was such a high-quality ingredient that there would surely be people out there who couldn’t wait to get their hands on it.

“Well, let’s not worry about business for now. Next up is the harako-meshi. As a Japanese person, there’s gotta be rice after all.”

Incidentally, Sol couldn’t wait to eat all of the food, and she was already almost done with her portion. When she finally got to her mashed potatoes, her face lit up with complete ecstasy. Ultimately, her favorite dish of all really was mashed potatoes.

The harako-meshi was made in an earthenware pot. When I lifted the lid, there was rice inside, topped with salmon meat and salmon roe that glimmered like amber jewels.

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With a gentle waft, the aroma of the rice mixed with the delicious fragrance of the [Peacock Salmon] hit my nose, causing my fingers to tremble with anticipation.

Ah, I can’t hold myself back anymore!

I immediately scooped some into my rice bowl and stuffed a spoonful into my mouth.

“―Mm, mm, mm! So damn good!”

I was so deeply moved by the superb taste that I couldn’t help pounding the table in delight. The popping of the salmon roe in my mouth gave rise to the just the right amount of saltiness and texture. It also had a subtle sweetness that mingled perfectly with the white rice. The salmon meat that was mixed in was always there at the right time, bursting with incredible flavor as if it were saying that it had been waiting there in the bowl all along.

The three ingredients interacted and brought each other to new heights, making for a truly sublime flavor. After having this, there was no way I could ever go back to eating normal harako-meshi.

This [Phoenix Rice] tasted like the very essence of rice was condensed tightly into each and every grain. Even after swallowing it, it left behind a delicious, lingering aftertaste in the mouth. No. In fact, that lingering aftertaste would also elicit strong memories of the rice. Just like a phoenix, the flavor would revive itself in my mouth. And that was why my brain was constantly asking for more and more rice. Even without any seasonings or toppings, I felt like I could eat this rice forever.

“Goddamn… This is the best!”

In the blink of an eye, I had already polished off three bowls of rice.

“….Pheeew~. Man, this is what happiness is all about…” (Sol)

Sol was lying on the floor, her plump, bulging belly facing the ceiling. Her face was filled with satisfaction.

The special salad and the mashed potatoes were also really good. It wasn’t ordinary corn and lettuce either, so the taste was on another level.

Fantasy ingredients were really not to be underestimated. Today, I was keenly reminded of this fact.

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