Please Bully Me, Miss Villainess!

Chapter 136 : A Relationship Where We Can Sit and Eat Together

"...Miss Mage, are you sure you want to choose this one?"

"Yes, I'll take this one."

The bear-man tribe cook looked somewhat surprised at the young girl pointing to the boar meat that had been slaughtered and left for a day on the cart.

This was a low-level magical beast with brown-gray striped markings, resembling a wild boar. It had four hard tusks protruding from its lower jaw, hence its name. Its back also had porcupine-like spines for defense against enemies.

It was omnivorous, eating tender plants and fruits, and occasionally small animals and insects.

Although large in size, its meat was surprisingly tender. The only downside was that wild boar meat naturally emitted an unpleasant gamey odor, making it quite difficult to eat without heavy seasoning.

To prevent spoilage, it had already been bled and all internal organs removed, leaving only empty racks of meat. The limbs had been completely dismembered and given to those impatient fellows on the journey to stave off hunger.

"Isn't it a bit hasty to use the remaining parts like this for the banquet preparation?"

"Not at all, this is the best ingredient."

Yvonne walked into the cold storage room emanating chilly air.

...I didn't expect them to use ice stones for meat storage. Quite generous.

At first, Yvonne was surprised to see well-preserved, unspoiled chunks of meat piled up in the warehouse.

Although their ways were rough, the demi-humans were quite meticulous about food storage.

"Of course, 'eating' is very important to us—"

However, despite saying this, the ribs were a part that the beastmen didn't like to eat, as there wasn't much meat on them, just a lot of hard bones. Some magical beasts even had bone spurs on their bones, making them even more difficult to eat.

"By the way, uncle, can I borrow this?"

"Oh, go ahead and use it!"

Yvonne borrowed a small boning knife and cut off a piece from the front of the meat rack. The exposed meat showed a beautiful rose color, a sign of complete aging.

Killed around this time yesterday... ice stone refrigeration temperature probably around 0-5 degrees Celsius, so the aging degree should be just right.

Generally, after slaughter, meat goes through rigor mortis, maturation, autolysis, and decay stages.

At normal temperature, meat enters rigor mortis 1-2 hours after bleeding.

Meat at this stage is hard, dry, lacks natural fragrance, is difficult to cook tender, and hard to digest.

However, beastmen pursuing 'extreme freshness' usually cook meat at this stage.

In fact, meat needs to be left for about 24-48 hours to enter the maturation stage.

Aged meat is soft, juicy, has a fragrant smell, tastes delicious, is easy to cook tender and digest, and also secretes a large amount of lactic acid, killing harmful microorganisms.

Contrary to the common sense that 'the longer it's left, the more bacteria', aged meat actually contains fewer bacteria, making it safer.

However, if the meat is left to continue changing like this, it will quickly enter the autolysis and decay stages, where the meat will rapidly start to deteriorate until it's completely inedible.

That's why it needs to be cooked during the maturation stage to avoid missing the opportunity.

The current degree is just right.

"Miss Mage! Is this size okay?"

"Yes, that's perfect! I want big pieces like that."

Mages, regardless of race, were a very popular profession.

Following Yvonne's requirements, the bear-man tribe cooks skillfully sectioned the meat racks.

They separated the tenderloin and the fatty belly meat into square chunks, and chopped the ribs into slightly longer large pieces as she requested.

"Miss Mage, where should we put these?"

"Over there by the stove will do, thank you."

Yvonne pointed with her finger.

"Ho ho, no problem—!"

The bear-man tribe butcher, with his protruding belly, carried the large wooden basin full of meat to the chopping board.

It had to be said, beastmen were indeed strong. This amount of meat would probably take three or four adult humans to carry, but for them, just one bear tribe warrior could handle it.

Demi-humans had rough ways, and their method of cooking meat was also very simple and crude. The better parts of the meat could be roasted, while the less fresh fatty meat and offal were just thrown into a pot to stew, with no extra processing.

The staple food was also in a stew form. In her many days here, she had already experienced it—

Grains and vegetables just for filling stomachs were stewed together in a pot until thick—turning into a terrifying grayish-green sticky porridge, this was the staple food people here ate.

That's why Yvonne couldn't stand it anymore.

"Evie, is there anything I can help with~?"

At some point, Elsa had put on an apron and headscarf for cooking, naturally standing beside her.

There was no way she could handle so much meat alone. But with Elsa here, it was different.

"Could you please clean these with 'water'?"

"Of course, no problem!"

With meat, as long as there are seasonings, it tastes good no matter how it's cooked.

However, the only seasonings here were local orange onions and coarse salt.

These orange-skinned round onions were similar to the onions she had seen before, with a strong aroma.

Although cats and dogs would have serious problems if they ate onions, the orange onions in this world were fine for beastmen to eat.

"Evie... do you always carry spices with you?"

Seeing Yvonne take out a spice pack from her luggage, Elsa was quite surprised.

This clearly wasn't an item specified by the instructor.

"...I was just afraid you wouldn't be used to the food here."

Yvonne said with a red face as she opened the spice pack.

She was in charge of cooking at home, and suddenly changing flavors would inevitably lead to discomfort.

"Ah..."

Elsa suddenly realized.

"So this is the secret to how Evie can make food taste the same as at home even here?"

"Mm-hmm."

While food raw materials could be obtained through many channels, these self-collected substitutes that were similar to the spices tasted in her previous life were very precious.

It's worth noting that in the Middle Ages, pepper was once equivalent to gold.

Although not as extreme in this world, the acquisition channels and prices of spices were still out of reach for ordinary people. Because several common spices needed magic as nutrients for the plants, cultivation was very troublesome, so they remained exclusive to the rich.

Star anise, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper, bay leaves, cloves, licorice, fennel, white cardamom, lemongrass... spikenard... well. Although only she called them by these names, the actual names of these plants were all peculiar.

Looking at these familiar-smelling spices in her hand, Yvonne's mind became clear about the menu she wanted to make for this occasion.

"It's decided... let's make braised meat—"

"Braised meat?"

"Yes, delicious braised meat!"

Although she said she was in charge of cooking, it was only for the main dish.

After all, it was for over a hundred people to eat, and this one animal probably wouldn't be enough.

"Then... for the ribs, let's pan-fry them first and then steam them."

With that said, she picked up the kitchen knife.

Not just for weapons, but also for daily life activities, the operation of 'infusing weapons with magic power' could be used.

Infusing the blade with wind attribute magic would make cutting meat more convenient.

However, using precious magic for such things might make many people raise their eyebrows.

Evie only shows this expression when she picks up a knife or sword.

Elsa was entranced, a smile unconsciously appearing on her face.

"What's so happy about? Your smile is almost reaching your ears."

"It's nothing... I just feel like we rarely have the chance to cook together."

"If you like it, why not come help every day?"

"...But there was once when I entered the kitchen, and Evie angrily told me to leave. I thought you were the type who didn't like others stepping into your work territory."

"...Was there?"

Yvonne tried hard to recall the situation at that time.

"Ah... I was testing the pressure cooker I made at that time. I was worried it might explode, so I asked you to stay away."

So she was worried about me...

"Also! In the future, if there are such misunderstandings, you should speak up immediately."

Yvonne said, holding the skimmer that had just removed the foam, looking somewhat angry.

"Eh...?"

Elsa hadn't reacted yet.

"If I hadn't asked today, were you going to keep misunderstanding forever?"

"But... isn't this a small matter..."

After saying this, Yvonne realized she might have said something embarrassing, but it was already said, so she could only continue with a stiff upper lip:

"Everyone has their flaws..."

She lowered her head and continued to focus on the food in the pot.

"Even small things, if accumulated, can become big misunderstandings."

She didn't want such things to damage the relationship between the two of them.

"Even if it's a small matter, I don't want you to misunderstand that I dislike you."

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

Elsa felt dazed in her mind.

Even though she hadn't eaten yet, and there wasn't much sugar in the pot, she already felt like she was about to be sweetened to dizziness by Yvonne's words.

If they were alone, she might have already rushed over to hug her.

"...Then let's cook together from now on."

"Mm-hmm."

Small promises piled up, slowly turning into vows to stay by each other's side.

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After opening the pot, an exotic fragrance wafted out.

Just smelling that meat aroma that seemed capable of stealing one's soul was enough to

"It's incredible—"

The clearly layered meat slices, along with the skin, were stewed until translucent.

The originally fatty parts melted in the mouth.

"—This is too delicious!"

"This steamed ribs are also very tasty—What exactly is coated on the outside??"

—What kind of meat is this??

The people eating it.

"This is just ordinary boar meat."

"No way..."

The beastmen all expressed their doubts.

"That smelly meat from yesterday can actually be made into such delicious meat dishes??"

"That's why... it's because your processing method wasn't right."

At the banquet.

Even those usually picky old fellows cast surprised glances at this human girl.

"Hey, you Feline guys—quickly bring out your alcohol."

"Yeah, such good meat needs to be paired with alcohol!"

"You're taking advantage of the situation, meow!!"

The residential area suddenly became very lively.

Seeing the harmonious scene, Yvonne sat down cross-legged after serving the last dish, finally breathing a sigh of relief.

Kukur beside her showed a gratified expression.

"Speaking of which... the proposal to establish the 'Beastman Residential Area' was actually put forward by your father."

"...It was proposed by my father?"

This made Yvonne quite surprised.

"...You know my father?"

Holding a sleeping puppy in her arms, Kukur nodded lightly.

"I've always thought... regarding that person's matter... I'm very sorry."

After learning Yvonne's true identity, Kukur had always had a knot in her heart.

She had always wanted to thank that benefactor who brought hope to her people in their time of crisis face to face.

But she never expected that this delay would become an eternal farewell.

"Wait, my father is still alive and well!!"

"Eh... eh?? Duke Smollett is still alive??"

"...Of course he's alive!"

Yvonne felt both angry and amused.

Demi-humans were not only slow in thinking but also quite behind in news.

"I thought... being taken away meant that he would definitely be... I'm sorry! I misunderstood."

Although she knew her words carried no malice, Yvonne still felt a sense of helplessness.

"No, no... You don't need to apologize."

Kukur shook her head, sighed, and spoke in a somewhat vicissitudinous voice:

"But... if we could be stronger, perhaps we would have the right to speak up..."

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

The weight that demi-humans carried in this country was ultimately a minority.

Although the Oz Kingdom had a monarch and nobility, under the guidance of 'Oz', the policy-making method was a relatively wise and open parliamentary system.

There were a total of twelve seats, with the nobility occupying more than half of the seats, and the remaining decision-making power rested with those civilian representatives.

Elves or dwarves had a certain say in this country, having their own seats, but the demi-humans, with their many branches, had not been able to elect a public representative that all demi-human species could trust until now.

After all, no one wanted someone from another tribe to be their leader.

"If more people were willing to believe in the Duke, things wouldn't have become like this."

Even different races could sit around the bonfire like this and drink to their heart's content.

"In that case, how about establishing a 'Demi-human Alliance'? Isn't it good to have mutual benefits like this?"

During hunting, the dog-people used their excellent sense of smell for tracking, the agile cats made the first move to subdue the prey, and then the powerful bear-people delivered the final blow to the prey.

Such cross-species cooperation could only be seen within the borders of the Oz Kingdom, where the three tribes could coexist peacefully.

In more barbaric regions, let alone cooperating in hunting like this, it was fortunate if severe conflicts didn't occur between families living close to each other.

There were even struggles within the same species, so being able to coexist with mutual benefits like this was actually a rare occurrence.

"An 'alliance'..."

Demi-humans didn't have such a concept.

"I think a relationship where we can sit down and eat together like this can already be called allies."

Kukur looked at the scene before her and fell into deep thought.

Perhaps it was worth a try.

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Buried in fur permeated with beast odor, a silver-haired girl's nose twitched slightly. After smelling a pleasant aroma, she slowly opened her golden eyes, swaying the slender tail unique to demon tribes.

"It smells so good......"