My Refrigerator Turned Into A Dungeon

Chapter 420

Line of Sight

Order received! The contents are: "A delicious kushikatsu that can dispel and even surpass the feeling of disappointment from thinking you could eat koi, but then not being able to."

Yeah, I mean, since nobody has ever eaten koi in the first place, it's entirely reliant on atmosphere and image, which makes it a failed venture from the start. But even so, I won't run away. Because even then, accepting the challenge is me, Miracle Chef E.

So with that, I searched the main house's kitchen, but there wasn't even any flour, let alone panko.

Hmm, as you'd expect from an old-fashioned ojii-san. Rice is the only option for him, and it seems he doesn't touch anything as weak and unsatisfying as bread. So I had Serai-san check the kitchen in the new house. But it seems Serai-san's mom cleaned it up nicely before they left, so the situation was such that we only found two frozen pizzas in the freezer.

(Hmmm... This is tough. Should I grate the pizza to make panko?)

But the frozen pizzas we found were tiny, hand-sized ones. Even if I grated those, the amount would be negligible. So what to do...?

(Hah... that's it!)

The storehouse has rice, and there are soybeans that the old man sun-dried for preservation.

That's right, let's use those as a substitute for panko. Fortunately, thanks to helping out with various things, I'd already confirmed that the stone mill is still in working order. So if we grind those down with the stone mill, we should be able to make plenty of panko substitute."Alright, Shark! You're using the stone mill to make makeshift panko! Use the raw rice and soybeans in the storehouse!"

"Huh? What's that!?"

"What's wrong? Isn't quick adaptability what's required on the battlefield? Sandra would finish a job like this in seconds, you know?"

Throwing out Sandra's name to provoke Shark worked easily.

"Uggh... R-raw rice and soybeans, right! Fine, I'm on it!"

"Ah, Wait, Riri-chan, me too!"

Hmm, first, the panko—or rather, the coating—is taken care of. Since Yuizuki-chan went with him, it should be fine to leave it to those two.

"Coach? Got anything I can help with?"

"Oh, Nina-san, perfect timing. To make kushikatsu, we need oil. So, Nina-san, I'd like you to render the stored fat to make some oil."

"OK. I'll get started right away."

"Hey, Egetsu-san, what should I do?"

"Hmm, Serai-san, I'd like you to handle the basic cooking. We'll probably want rice and soup too, can I entrust you with that?"

"Okay, leave it to me!"

Hmm, once they get moving, things start progressing smoothly. As expected of comrades who've endured the battlefield together, they're reliable.

Now then, I'll prepare for the deep-frying.

And when you think of frying, you need eggs beaten in a tray to coat the ingredients. That's right, I should check the chicken coop for eggs.

...

Serai-san's family chicken coop is at the far northeast corner of the property.

So it's on the edge. But you can tell this is the most suitable position, both for smell and for feeding. By the way, the pond with the koi is on the north side of the long, east-west oriented main house.

Walking along, cheerful voices of Masa-kun and Yuki-kun echo from the bathhouse built across from the kitchen. The old man is giving them a bath. I pass by the side of that bathhouse, flashlight in hand, and head for the chicken coop.

Yeah, this is a basin.

So once the sun dips behind the mountains, it gets dark in an instant. Even so, it's still somewhat light because it's summer, but I brought the flashlight just in case, so I wouldn't fumble around looking for eggs.

However, as I got closer to the chicken coop, I noticed a smell of blood drifting in the air for some reason.

(Wh-what is that...?)

And what was illuminated in the beam of my flashlight was something that looked like the corpse of an animal. Its brown fur was stained black with blood.

When on earth did this happen...?

While feeling suspicious, this is a rich, natural land. When the wind blows, grass rustles everywhere, and even before sunset, the grand chorus of frogs and insects begins, so detecting the presence of an intruder is extremely difficult.

So, did Taro notice the intruder and take it down? It doesn't really seem that way.

If the clever Taro were involved, he'd probably just chase away something like a weasel or a raccoon dog without killing it, and he definitely wouldn't leave a corpse lying around. Thinking that, I looked around for Taro and found him lying down in the distance, watching us intently.

(What? What in the world is going on...?)

I shined the flashlight on the chicken coop, but there was no major disturbance, and the chickens seemed calm. If it had been attacked by a monster or a wild animal, they should be making more of a racket, you'd think...

While suspicious of various things, and being careful of the possibility of a booby trap, I cautiously approached the corpse lying on the ground...

Then, the animal corpse illuminated by the flashlight had its head severely damaged, making it impossible to tell what kind of animal it was.

But judging from its long torso, I guessed it was probably a weasel or similar.

And when I checked the wound, its cross-section was swollen like styrofoam with blood bubbles attached. And not clean, white styrofoam, but like yellowed styrofoam that had been drifting in the ocean for a long time.

(What the hell is this...!?)

An extremely bizarre, mysterious corpse, suddenly appearing on the grounds of Serai-san's family home. Who on earth... and for what purpose would they leave it in a place like this?

Just as I thought the mystery was only deepening,

I strongly felt the sensation of being exposed to someone's sharp gaze.