Chapter 57
#57. The Meat Soup That Calls Forth an Earthquake
Eleanor rolled up her sleeves and boldly stepped forward.
"Excuse me, may we use your fire?"
At Eleanor's polite question, the giants of the village, including the giant auntie, tilted their heads in unison as though they had rehearsed it.
[Fire? Isn't that what you use to burn meat completely black?]
The auntie asked with a puzzled expression.
Rina and Gogon beside her also nodded and chimed in.
[That's right! You use it to burn off an animal's fur, don't you?]
[If you don't burn it black, it smells of blood and doesn't taste good!]
Kylan sighed inwardly as he listened to their innocent replies.
'…So that's why all the meat served at the table earlier was burned into lumps of charcoal.'
They burned the surface of the meat to cover up the smell of blood.
That was how the giants cooked meat.
"Ugh……."
Perhaps recalling the dish he had been served earlier, Galad, standing behind them, covered his mouth.
Eleanor, by contrast, remained unruffled.
She was the woman who had conquered the hardy stomachs of Northern adventurers with a single pot of meat soup.
The harsh environment was no problem for her at all.
If anything, it only set her fighting spirit ablaze.
"Don't worry! Even without burning it black, we can get rid of the smell of blood and make it much more delicious. Now, everyone, could you help me?"
Eleanor smiled brightly and clapped her hands, prompting all the giants to nod as though entranced.
There was no giant in the village who could refuse a request from such a small, adorable human.
"First, Miss Rina! Could you draw some water from the well? Fill this enormous wooden barrel to the brim!"
[Okay! Got it! I'll be right back!]
Rina excitedly picked up the enormous wooden barrel and ran off with heavy thudding steps.
Eleanor immediately began issuing instructions to the giant auntie and Gogon.
"Auntie, gently wash this meat under running water to drain the blood and remove the entrails! And Mr. Gogon, please chop the vegetables…… Oh, Mr. Hans! Would you show him how?"
"Hans reporting, Your Highness!"
Hans, who had been watching from Gogon's shoulder, cheerfully answered and drew his axe.
"These herbs and fruits will be used to get rid of the meat's gamey smell. Chop them into pieces that the two of you can eat comfortably!"
Under Eleanor's command, the enormous giants began moving in perfect unison.
Hans brought his axe down on the enormous vegetables Gogon had brought over, which resembled herbs and garlic.
It was a Mithril-rank strike imbued with aura.
Even the giants' ingredients could not withstand a single blow.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
The ingredients were sliced into neat pieces as though by a master chef wielding a knife.
"Ha-ha! This is the first time I've ever used an axe for something like this!"
"Good! Once the water starts boiling, add the meat with the blood drained, then pour in all the vegetables Mr. Hans chopped!"
The wooden pot began boiling furiously atop the enormous stove.
When the giant auntie dumped in the meat and vegetables, murky impurities soon floated to the surface of the bubbling water.
"Auntie! Gently skim off the foam and scum with the ladle. That will make the broth nice and clear."
[L-like this? Wow…… The broth is really becoming clear!]
The auntie seemed to become completely absorbed in the cooking, captivated by the delicate task she was attempting for the first time in her life.
She carefully skimmed the foam away with an enormous wooden ladle.
A little while later.
As the meat stock blended with the vegetables inside the pot, a delicious aroma the giants had never smelled before began to rise.
[……Mmm! That smells good!]
[I-I'm getting hungry…….]
Drawn by the smell, the giants gathered around the pot, drooling profusely.
Even Galad flared his nostrils, as though he had forgotten the gruesome dish from earlier.
Kylan, too, felt at ease at the familiar smell of home cooking.
'The skill with which she commands the giants is a work of art. As expected, my wife is the finest hostess on the continent.'
By the time all the ingredients had been thoroughly simmered and the meat had become tender.
Eleanor rode atop Rina's palm toward the edge of the pot.
"Now for the finishing touch!"
Eleanor closed her eyes and stretched both hands toward the enormous boiling pot.
Fwooooooosh!
Golden mana poured down like a waterfall from the tips of her snow-white fingers.
It was the mana of the sun.
Dazzling particles of light seeped into the furiously boiling broth.
The toxic taint and bitterness unique to monsters that remained in the meat and plants were perfectly purified by the sun's magic.
At the same time, the ingredients' natural umami and flavor were explosively elevated to their absolute peak.
Fwooooooosh!
The aroma of the meat soup spread on the wind.
It was a heavenly scent that seemed to wash away the fatigue from one's entire body and comfort even one's soul merely by smelling it.
"It's done! Winterwald-style special giant meat soup is complete!"
The moment Eleanor gave permission, the giants could no longer hold back and charged toward the pot, each carrying an enormous wooden bowl.
[Me first! I'm going to eat first!]
[Get in line, you brats! The village chief has to eat first!]
Chief Grang cleared his throat and received the first serving.
A clear, rich golden broth rippled in the bowl.
Tenderly cooked chunks of enormous meat and vegetables floated on top.
The chief carefully lifted an enormous wooden spoon and scooped up some broth.
Then he slurped it into his mouth.
"……."
For a moment, Chief Grang's movements came to a complete halt.
His enormous pupils shook violently, as though an earthquake had struck.
The wooden spoon in his hand trembled.
At last, the chief scooped up a piece of meat and swallowed it without even chewing.
[It's delicious…! It's delicious!]
Seeing the chief's dazed eyes, the other giants could not hold back and began frantically ladling out the soup.
The giants who tasted the meat soup were too busy shedding tears.
[T-the meat…… It melts on my tongueee……!]
[It's warm…. Mother…… Mother……. Sob.]
[The vegetables…… They're dancing in my mouth!!]
The simple-minded giants, whose average intelligence hovered around 90, poured out the highest praise they could offer.
[It's delicious……! It's so delicious!!]
[Waaaaah! I'm so glad I was born!!]
Perhaps because they had tasted such an unbelievably delicious flavor, the giants' adrenaline exploded.
Unable to contain their happiness, they began stomping in place and dancing for joy.
Thud! Thud! Rumbleeeee!!
When nearly ten giants stomped their feet at once, the entire hut began shaking violently.
"Kyaaaaaaaaaah!!"
"Aaaaaaah! It's an earthquake!! Save us!!"
Galad, Aria, and Lumiela, who had been eating together at the center of the table, screamed and clung to one another.
Plates flew through the air, and the wooden pillars creaked.
Even amid the cascading vibrations, Kylan remained steady as he tightly embraced Eleanor around the waist to protect her.
'For goodness' sake, these Mithril-rankers are so frail…… To protect the woman you love, you need to build up your lower-body strength.'
While Kylan was inwardly feeling an oddly misplaced sense of pride, Chief Grang set down his bowl and began shedding huge tears.
Each tear was nearly the size of a human head.
[Sob…… In all my hundreds of years…… I've never tasted food like this in my life……. Thank you so much, thank you so much, little friends……!]
Kylan's lips curved upward at the chief's heartfelt gratitude.
'Good, I've won him over completely. At this rate, I can secure an exclusive contract on whatever terms I want, whether it's floatstone mining rights or something else.'
With nothing more than a single bowl of meat soup, he was on the verge of securing exclusive trading rights with the giant race.
Boom—. Booooom—. Boom—.
Suddenly, footsteps began to sound outside the hut.
They were footsteps far heavier than those of any giant they had heard so far.
"……?"
Kylan frowned.
The giants who had been cheering as they drank their soup also went pale.
The warm atmosphere froze in an instant.
[Oh no……. It's already time……]
The chief's face turned pale.
[Little friends! Hide behind those jars right now! Hurry! And don't make a sound!]
"What's going on, Chief?"
When Kylan asked, Gogon answered with an ashen face.
[Th-they're here……. The bad guys. They're here……!]
[Everyone, climb up here!]
Just after Rina hid the humans, the hut's door was smashed apart with a tremendous crash.
Kraaaaaash!
Those who burst into the hut after destroying it were giants as well.
But they were different from the simple, guileless giants like Grang and Gogon.
They were so enormous that they looked roughly one and a half times larger than the giants they had seen before. Their skin was a dark ash-gray, and their entire bodies were covered in scars and grotesque tattoos.
They even carried enormous spiked clubs in their hands.
The black-skinned giant leader at the front, who looked utterly vicious, huffed and snorted furiously.
His bloodshot red eyes swept across the hut before he addressed Chief Grang in a menacing voice.
[You bastards…… So you've got time to stuff your faces, but not to prepare the tribute?]
The giant leader slammed his spiked club into the floor and roared.
[Hand over the tribute you promised for this month right now! Otherwise, I'll chew up half this village today!]
The stench of overwhelming violence filled the air. At the sight of the evil giants, Grang, Gogon, and the others trembled and backed away.
But Kylan, hiding behind the jars, looked as though he might leap out at any moment.
'They'd overturn the meal my wife went to all that trouble to prepare? And shake down my business partners?'
Kylan placed a hand on Frost Fang.