The Beginning of Meat

Outside Gray City.

There's my restaurant on a small hill. The location overlooks the city. Although it's a restaurant with a beautiful view, it actually has more shortcomings. Due to its distance from commercial or residential areas, not many customers come to the top of this hill.

That's both a disadvantage and an advantage.

This isn't a world with cars.

Certainly no bicycles, motorcycles, or airplanes.

Magic and swords. And monsters. There are underground spaces and hunters, all mixed together. A fantasy world where kingdoms and empires exist. It's been 15 years since I was summoned to this continent. I'm in my early thirties now.

I'm a sorcerer. He's a retired sorcerer. He's called the Grand Wizard who broke through the barrier of Class 9, the strongest class. But now, he owns that restaurant.

Life until then was far from peaceful. Always a battlefield. Battlefield. Battlefield.

As an archmage, he had to be summoned to various battlefields. Battles against monsters. Fighting with dragons. The cost of fighting with one's life wasn't too great.

They just praised him for being a hero.

Tired of fighting, I decided to retire. We've been fighting for 15 years, so I think that's enough. I was summoned as a high school student, and my life was just a battle.

If I had stayed in Korea, my military service would have only lasted for two years. Here, the battlefield has been going on for 15 years.

So, I left everything behind and settled in Gray, a provincial city in the Luverne Empire. I've mastered the 9 classes, but I still haven't found a way back to the modern era.

So we have to live in this world.

Still a sorcerer far from peace. Clearly, something's not right around us.

When I was still in the modern era, I wanted to own a small restaurant since I was young. After retiring. After working as a famous chef, he opened a small restaurant. My dream was to become a chef and attend culinary school during middle and high school. Retirement planning has become a reality in a different world.

Although retiring after a life as a famous sorcerer rather than becoming a chef is different from the life plan I initially dreamed of.

But what do you think?

It's been more than a month since the restaurant opened here. It's still not fully known. There are a few regular customers.

The menu depends on your mood that day.

No, we can even make it if the customer wants. I like the restaurant for free.

Besides, it's self-satisfaction. I don't need money.

Treasure was found in a dragon's lair that consumed the dragon's heart. With that treasure, making a living isn't difficult. So, it's self-satisfaction.

A two-story house built by selling treasure. The first floor is the restaurant and the second floor is my house. The first-floor restaurant consists of a kitchen and four tables. In the kitchen, there are iron plates the size of small tables and various pots for grilling meat. Dwarf-made cooking equipment with a modern touch. It's handmade based on direct requests.

When I wake up in the morning, I start my day by wiping tables and kitchen utensils. After cleaning up, we head to the market.

Once everything is done, it's time for lunch.

This is just the beginning of the business.

Indeed, only flies are flying today.

"Hello!"

As I was zoning out, a customer arrived, waving his hand above his head. He's a familiar face—the butcher who supplies meat for our restaurant.

On our first encounter, after that incident, he occasionally visits me like this. Of course, we meet every day at the market, so this isn't new.

"What kind of wind blew you here? No news from the morning market," I remarked.

"It's because the quality of the meat coming in is high. Now, Uba's pork belly is just like that day!" Mr. Knoll tossed the meat into the kitchen. It was bright pink. Just by looking at it, I knew it was fresh.

"I'm also a businessman, but sometimes when high-quality meat comes in, I want to eat it."

"Ha, is that so? Didn't you say there was no Uba meat in the morning?"

"It's different from the morning." Then Mr. Knoll gently scratched his cheek.

"There really wasn't any! I swear! Truly!"

"Really? So, did some previously non-existent meat fall from the sky at lunch?"

"Yes, that's it!"

"Are you crazy?"

It was so nonsensical that I earnestly asked him. Mr. Knoll scratched his head, then sat at the bar table overlooking the kitchen and opened his mouth.

"Yeah, yeah, give up, give up! The plane was flown hastily. Because I felt like drinking it."

"Hmm."

However, there was no need to refuse if the customer desired it. At a glance, the weight was only about 1 pound. Looking at its shape, it seemed like it was obtained in a hurry. I wondered what it would feel like to want to eat so much meat. That was the butcher selling the meat.

"At that time, after eating the food you cooked, I thought about what I wanted to drink. Hehe. So, give it to me as soon as possible." Moreover, it was a topic that only invited insects."

"I apologize for having removed those insects."

I shrugged and began preparing the meat.

***

The first time I met Mr. Knoll was before the restaurant opened.

At that time, I had trouble finding a butcher who was willing to deliver meat for me. Because the town was small, it was quite difficult to get various types of monster meat. The last stop I visited was Mr. Knoll's shop, which became a source of enlightenment for me.

"Can I get it?"

The last stop was the butcher's shop. The muscular man spoke as if it was already clear.

"Hoho, there are colleagues I knew when I worked as a mercenary when I was young, so I can get various types of monster meat."

"Is that so?"

That was good news to hear.

"But I don't sell my meat to just anyone. This is an iron rule. I can't stand if the meat I painstakingly obtained is cooked carelessly. Can you satisfy me?"

"Oh, you're fired up! Is this starting again? Please, wake up! If this continues, I'll die of hunger. I'll starve to death!"

"This isn't enough. This is my dignity!"

The couple raised their voices. The wife had a beauty that made a man cry when she was young. Even now, she looked like she was in her forties, so it could be said she was beautiful.

"Ma'am, it's okay. I'm confident."

I spoke confidently.

"We plan to open a restaurant on that hill. So, allow me to showcase my cooking."

I was confident. As I traveled the world as a sorcerer, my colleagues always praised my cooking.

"Oh, is that so? Good. For me, if I want, I'll provide the meat the customer desires, no matter what. But if you don't like it, you'll never be able to sell it!"

"Yeah, yeah, can I ask for Uva meat? Uva's chubby belly."

"What?"

"Really?"

The wife, while pulling her husband's hair, and Mr. Knoll also wore puzzled expressions, wondering what they were saying.

"The belly fat? Cooking with belly fat?"

"Yes."

"Why would you want to eat that fatty part?"

"It's okay. I want you to evaluate it later. Besides, if you want to showcase your skills, you should sell it at least once."

The couple looked at each other. Mr. Knoll made a puzzled expression and went into the shop. And soon, I lost two pounds of belly fat.

"Ubarani that's not Beleren meat or Uka meat, let's just see what it is. Just take it. It's for smoking, so I'll discard it."

Mr. Knoll said that and left the shop. I tried to pay for the sighing woman, but she refused to accept it.

"Are you okay? Although he looks like that, he's a skilled person, and I think that's why I married him. Ho Ho."

She informed her husband that she was his wife, and even though he mistreated her, she refused to take the money as if she respected her husband's wishes.

"Well, does your husband like alcohol?"

"How does it look?"

"You look like a drunkard."

"Just as you see."

The wife smiled and nodded.

I returned home with Uva meat. Uva meat refers to pork. Here, pigs are referred to as Uba. Uka refers to a cow, and Veleren is a wolf-type monster. It's the most popular monster meat. It doesn't have an unpleasant smell and has a chewy texture.

This unique-tasting monster meat turned out to be more popular than pork or beef in this world. There are also many professional hunters. However, it's challenging to get it due to the lack of air transportation to rural areas. Therefore, it's crucial to do business with this butcher.

As soon as I returned to the shop, I prepared the food. The couple would arrive soon.

The Uva belly refers to a pig's belly. This is food that contains my soul. Full of memories of my hometown.

The Uva meat here has twice as much fat as modern pork. Perhaps that's why it's not more popular. However, if you remove all the oil, the taste might diminish. The pig belly Mr. Knoll gave me was bright pink and had a certain level of freshness. Perhaps it was caught today.

Discard all the outer fat pieces and slice it as thinly as possible.

In the kitchen, there's a storage space carved from stone blocks. The storage is frozen every morning using ice-type magic. Rather than storage space, it's an icebox that uses magic.

Water, fire, and ice used here all use magic. I think it's my policy.

Sprinkle pepper and salt on the cut meat. Of course, there's salt in this world too. Pepper doesn't exist. The variety of modern spices and herbs is truly remarkable.

This is an application of summoning magic.

I have perfected a great magical mantra that summons modern objects.

Because, to return to Earth, I studied dimensional movement miracles rigorously, and as a result, I discovered a strange summoning magic, not transfer magic.

There are still many areas that need improvement. I think if I develop, I might advance as well.

The biggest issue right now is the limited size of the summoned objects. It's a burden I can handle.

Moreover, the maximum summoning count is once a day. Which in large quantities is used for cross-dimensional summons. It's done in such a way that the recovery is slow.

And another problem. The issue is if you summon an unprocessed item, strangely, the item gets damaged. Processed products also have expiration dates. So, it's not about the expiration date.

But it's still quite convenient. Of course, you don't get it for free. Leave and bring back something of greater value. Should we call it an equal exchange?

Anyway, that's why pepper. The meat is sprinkled with pepper and salt. I used my secret weapon again on the seasoned meat.

Thermal Knife. A special magic that can split a monster's body into more than 100 million pieces with just one strike. If you adjust mana and apply magic with your subtle senses, thousands of pieces will appear on the meat. And only in the front part. The key is to break the mantra accurately. If the magic goes behind, it will just turn into thousands of disjointed meat pieces.

"Are we here?"

"I believe so."

As I prepared to cook, a couple appeared side by side.

"Welcome. Please have a seat here."

I gestured to the couple who glanced around the empty restaurant. The couple walked over to the bar table adjacent to the kitchen and sat down on the chairs.

"Your shop is very lovely."

"How lovely is it? What business do you intend to do by opening a restaurant in a place like this?"

"Honey. Uh, sorry. Don't mind this person. He always throws dirty words."

The wife apologized for his name. I just let it slide. Sometimes there are people with such personalities.

"Well then, I'll serve the food right away."

No one ever said that pork belly wasn't tasty. Even in this world. So, confidently, I instructed to showcase its belly fat.

I placed a fireball under the dwarf iron plate in front of the bar table. The iron plate started heating up. The pork belly sprinkled with pepper and salt.

Sizzle!

The pork belly sizzled and made a delightful sound. This sound is the treasure that stimulates appetite. The reason for the thousands of knife marks in the front part is because only that part removes the fat, making the outer part crispy and the back part tender.

"Hoo, do you mean to cook it like that?"

Mr. Knoll and his wife also stared at me with curious looks. Once the pork belly was seen roasting on the iron plate, there were no further complaints. This was the showtime here. I used the fireball to cover the pan once for a stronger flame taste on the sizzling pork belly.

Power!

And if you promptly cut the mana and crushed the fireball, the roasted pork belly was done.

The side dish was a salad. I didn't want to take a risk with my mixed feelings about ssam. Besides, they served an oil sauce mixed with sesame oil, as well as salt and pepper, which was crucial for the pork belly. Making a sauce by simmering onions and mixing them with soy sauce is delicious, but today we'll go with the most basic combination.

"Are you a sorcerer?" asked the wife, wide-eyed, seemingly surprised by the fireball. I nodded.

"Hmph, fireballs are basic magic. Taste is important, but this is a restaurant, not a battlefield, right?"

"Okay, let's dip it in oil and eat."

Mr. Knoll, about to put the meat in his mouth, dipped it into the oil. As he spoke, Mr. Knoll's hand movements were very quick, perhaps due to the aroma of the grilled meat stimulating his appetite. True to her nature, his wife carefully put the meat into her mouth.

The crunch. The crunch. The meat was chewed in both their mouths. This was the only moment I felt anxious.

"Huh?"

The furrows on Mr. Knoll's forehead cleared. He looked extremely surprised.

"Hey, is this Uba's belly?"

"Is that true?"

As I said this with a smile, Mr. Knoll began inspecting the meat.

"Hah, how can something so crispy yet tender and fatty be so filling yet refreshing? It's not unpleasant, even if it's because of magic!"

He muttered that and started devouring the meat without any restraint.

Ck ck ck.

Ck ck ck.

Ck ck ck ck.

He just kept eating. The pork belly disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"This is ridiculous!"

"It's incredibly delicious."

Only after clearing his plate, Mr. Knoll looked at me and started making a scene.

"Hey! Give me more! More! More and more! The meat you gave me must be more than this, right?"

"Didn't you want to say something earlier?"

"Tch. Yeah. I'm hooked! Hooked. Just name any meat! I'll keep everything except what I can't keep! Ha ha ha ha! Give me more meat!"

Mr. Knoll started shouting loudly and urging for more pork belly. Drool was dripping from his mouth. His eyes staring at me like an animal. A wild beast craving for meat.

"Yay, yay, here you go."

I replied with a smile and placed all the remaining meat on the iron plate.