“Tasteless. But my life is saved.”
The white cat said that.
I stood there on the earthen floor of the shed, still holding the plate, unable to move for a moment.
I thought I had misheard.
No, but that was definitely a voice. It was not a smartphone notification, nor was it a bird outside. Right before my eyes, the white cat with disheveled fur was looking up at me with golden eyes.
“Did you just talk?”
“I did indeed. You should be able to tell by looking.”
“No, I can’t tell by looking. Cats don’t usually talk.”
“Hmph. Do not group me with ordinary cats.”
The white cat snorted.
He was acting arrogant.
However, his front legs were still trembling, and his tail was hanging limply on the floor. Despite his arrogant attitude, he was quite weak.
“My name is Mikoto. I am a divine beast who was once worshipped by entire mountains and entire countries.”
“A divine beast.”
“Do not doubt me. Do not give me such a rude look.”
“No, it is not that I doubt you, but…”
I have seen various things in the other world.
Talking beasts, beings who call themselves gods, dragons that tear through the sky, and spirits that bring rain with just a prayer.
Therefore, even if the white cat in front of me says he is a divine beast, I cannot say that it is absolutely impossible.
However.
“For a divine beast, you are quite thin.”
“You are annoying. I have lost my power.”
Mikoto bristled his whiskers as if he were annoyed.
“I drifted and drifted until I fell into this country. There are no shrines, no offerings, my stomach is empty, and the magic is thin. To top it all off, I was beaten by the rain and nearly died.”
“And that is why you came to my shed?”
“Yes. It smelled like it would be warm.”
He came because of the smell?
Well, that is no reason to abandon a cat covered in wounds.
I sighed and looked at the plate I had fed Mikoto just a moment ago. It was just small pieces of meat rehydrated in hot water and grilled with thinned miso. I thought that would be good for his weakened body, but it seems it was unpopular with the divine beast.
“Was it bad?”
“It was bad. You killed the power of the meat. The deliciousness that escaped into the water was crying.”
“Is that something to say to someone who just saved your life?”
“I have already given my thanks for my life. The evaluation of the taste is a separate matter.”
His reasoning was strangely sound.
I could not help but laugh.
It had been a long time since I talked to someone like this. Not to a human, but to a talking cat.
“Then, what should I do?”
“Grill it.”
Mikoto answered immediately.
“There is still meat in the back, is there not? Grill that. Make it sweet, salty, savory, and perfect for eating with rice.”
“Your order is quite specific.”
“Divine beasts are picky about their offerings.”
I picked up the white cat, towel and all, and returned to the kitchen.
I placed the leather bag on the workbench. Inside, there was still a little bit of the smoked meat of a horned rabbit I had brought back from the other world. It is for preservation, so it is tough. However, if you do not make a mistake in how you handle meat containing magical power, the flavor will come out deeply.
As I gripped the kitchen knife, my breathing became a little easier.
I cut.
Looking at the way the muscles run, I angle the knife. If it is too thick, it becomes tough. If it is too thin, the juices escape. I want it to be just right, so that my teeth sink in the moment I bite it, and then the miso and fat ooze out.
I put miso into a small bowl.
My grandmother’s homemade miso has a few grains left in it and a strong aroma. I add sake, mirin, and just a little bit of sugar. I add grated ginger and a splash of soy sauce. I hesitated on the garlic, as it might be too strong for Mikoto’s current body. Instead, I washed and chopped just one green onion that was growing in the corner of the garden.
When I knead it with chopsticks, the miso sauce takes on a sheen.
The sweet smell and the deep, fermented aroma spread throughout the kitchen.
“Ho.”
Mikoto twitched his nose.
“It seems you have some idea of what you are doing.”
“Just a little.”
I coat the meat in the miso sauce.
I do not rub it in too much. Meat that retains magical power will have its fibers resist if you handle it roughly. I failed many times in the past. I once burned meat in front of the God of Fire and was laughed at by the God of Wind.
No.
I do not need to remember that now.
I set the frying pan on the heat.
I add just a little oil. When the heat had spread, I lined up the meat, and it made a sizzling sound.
I think the smell of miso grilling is against the rules.
The fragrance of it being on the verge of burning. The sweet and savory steam. The fat oozing from the meat mixes with the miso sauce and bubbles in the frying pan. It is a smell that makes you want white rice. The kitchen of the old house instantly turns into a place for dinner.
I flip it.
The grill marks are a light amber color. The miso on the edges is charred just a little bit darker. That part is delicious.
“Is it ready yet?”
“Not yet.”
“It already smells delicious.”
“I am cooking it through to the middle.”
“To keep a divine beast waiting…”
“I cannot feed raw meat to a cat that just recovered from being ill.”
“I am not a cat.”
“Yes, yes.”
“A single ‘yes’ is enough.”
He is sharp-tongued.
But Mikoto’s eyes were already following the plate. His ears were fixed forward as well. Rather than a divine beast, he was completely like a hungry cat.
I turn up the heat a little for the finish.
I toss the meat in the miso sauce again and finally sprinkle on white sesame seeds. I put two pieces of meat on a small plate. I placed it in front of Mikoto before the smell of the charred miso could escape.
“It is hot, so eat slowly.”
“I know.”
Mikoto said that and immediately brought his face close to the meat.
He checked the scent with his nose.
He poked his tongue out a little and licked the miso sauce.
In that moment, his golden eyes went wide.
“Mu.”
“What is it?”
“Mu, mu.”
Mikoto held the plate down with his front paw and bit into the meat in small nibbles.
He let out a puff of air.
It must be hot. But he would not let go. He tore the meat with his small fangs and received the fat coated in miso with his tongue. The tip of his tail stood straight up.
“Delicious.”
Mikoto said softly.
“This is delicious.”
The next bite was fast.
He nibbled on the charred edges of the miso-grilled meat and returned to the meat again. The dignity of a divine beast had gone somewhere else. He was eating with the intensity of shoving his face into the plate, yet he chewed each bite as if it were precious.
“Fragrant. Sweet. But not too sweet. The power remaining deep in the meat is unraveled by the miso. The heat of the ginger is good. It falls to the bottom of my stomach.”
A faint light leaked from Mikoto’s body.
A glow like moonlight dwelled on the tips of his white fur. The redness of his wounds receded, and his fur, which had been matted and wet, stood up fluffily. His thin body remained the same, but power was returning to his eyes.
I felt like the air in the old kitchen had become a little clearer.
“You really are a divine beast, aren’t you?”
“That is what I said, is it not?”
Mikoto puffed out his chest with miso still on his whiskers.
He did not look cool at all.
I dampened a dishcloth and gently wiped it off for him.
“Do not move.”
“Mu. How rude.”
“You have miso on you.”
“Then it cannot be helped.”
Seeing how he obediently let me wipe him, I think he really is just a cat.
When Mikoto finished licking the plate clean, he stared at me.
“Yuma, was it?”
“Yeah.”
“You, you are not just a cook.”
My hand stopped.
“You cut the meat while looking at the power remaining in it. You know how to apply heat and how to unravel magic. For someone from this country, it is too strange.”
“I was in a place like that in the past.”
“An otherworld?”
I did not answer.
It seems that Mikoto understood even without me answering.
“Are you a hero?”
“No.”
I was able to deny that immediately.
I am not a hero.
I am not a champion who held a sword and defeated a demon king. I am not someone who is praised in front of everyone.
I just watched the fire deep in the temple.
To serve meals to the gods on days of prayer. To make something edible for injured comrades. I was just stirring a pot so that someone could stand again tomorrow.
“I am just a cook.”
“Can a mere cook make a meal that restores the power of a divine beast?”
Mikoto purred softly.
“Very well. I will not ask now. Bad things do not dwell in the hands that make offerings.”
“You are overestimating me.”
“I decide that.”
What a selfish cat.
But, for some reason, I did not hate that selfishness.
As I cleared the plates, I looked at my wallet on the corner of the kitchen counter.
The contents were light.
The country house remains, but living expenses are necessary. You cannot cover everything with just the field. My adventurer license is currently suspended. I cannot bring myself to go back to the city to work yet.
I am still a little scared of crowded places and having someone call my name.
But I can cook.
If so.
“Should I try uploading a cooking video?”
“Video?”
“I upload footage taken on my smartphone to the internet. If it goes well, I might be able to make some money.”
“Ho. Will you show the offering meant for me to the common folk?”
“It is not an offering, it is cooking.”
“Is it not the same? Delicious things are prayers.”
He says strange things.
But those words remained in my chest for a little while.
I took out my smartphone. The screen is cracked, but I can at least record. I stacked some teacups on the kitchen shelf and leaned the phone against them. What is reflected is the frying pan, the plate, and just a little bit of a white tail at the edge.
“You, do not record me. The figure of a divine beast is not cheap.”
“Yes, yes. Then hide your tail.”
“A single ‘yes’ is enough.”
Mikoto curled up his tail.
I cut a little more of the remaining meat. This time, it was for myself. I coated it in miso sauce and lined it up in the frying pan. I thought I had pressed the record button, so I filmed my hands at work.
It made a sizzling sound.
The miso grilled.
Steam rose up.
“Um, today, it is miso-grilled monster meat. Even for meat with a strong odor, if you use miso and ginger, it becomes easier to eat.”
“Speak more confidently. Keeper of the offerings.”
“You are annoying. The sound will be recorded, you know.”
“My advice is expensive.”
While whispering and arguing, I flipped the meat.
At the edge of the screen, Mikoto’s ears were twitching. He is cute. No, he does not have the dignity of a divine beast, but people who see him will probably be happy.
I served it on a plate and brought the smartphone close to where the steam was rising.
The color of the charred miso. The sheen of the fat. White sesame seeds. Chopped green onions.
Not bad.
“Something like this?”
I reached out to the smartphone.
There, I noticed unfamiliar text scrolling at the bottom of the screen.
“Eh, what is this, a live stream?” “Did you say monster meat?” “Did that cat just talk?” “The miso-grilled dish looks too delicious.” “Aren’t you quite skillful?” “Cat! Show the white cat!” “A hardcore dungeon ingredient fan?” “Wait, the number of viewers is increasing.”
“Huh?”
It was not a recording.
At the top of the screen, there is a red display.
LIVE.
There were supposed to be three concurrent viewers.
But the numbers were jumping: seventeen, fifty-two, one hundred and three.
“That cat definitely talked, right?” “Who is this person?” “It is hilarious how he is cooking monster meat normally.” “Too much food porn.” “The white one showed up!” “Divine cat?” “Is that the divine cat Mikoto-sama?”
Mikoto puffed out his chest proudly at my feet.
“Hmm. It seems the common folk have also noticed my magnificence.”
“No, this, how do you stop it?”
While I was frantically tapping the screen, the comments kept pouring in like a waterfall.