Behemoth Just Lives an Ordinary Life

“Hoooo……”
All preparations were complete.
How much time had I spent so far to have a proper meal?
My stomach was screaming for food right away, but I endured.
Because I wanted the best meal.
I aged the meat, which I had salted, in the cool cave for a day.
Meat is different from fish. You don’t eat it right after slaughter. Because it’s tough.
The texture of meat becomes tender through aging, and I had seen in some cooking video that the flavor also improves during this process.
In a home, meat is aged in a cold refrigerator, and the temperature of the cave where I lived was quite cold too.
The deepest part of the cave was almost as cold as a freezer.
‘I should use this place as a refrigerator later or move somewhere else.’
Honestly, sleeping on the cold ground is a bit uncomfortable.
How should I put it, it feels like my shoulders are constantly sore.
It wasn’t a major problem.
But it didn’t look good, and it didn’t feel very good either.
I was a modern person who knew the feeling of a plush mattress.
Every time I slept on the ground, it felt like the human dignity residing in my heart was being damaged.
‘I need to make a bed soon.’
With these thoughts, I gathered the giant meat wrapped in leaves and other ingredients.
Even with the bones and internal organs removed, the meat was still quite heavy.
‘Careful not to drop it.’
It was night now.
Carefully, so as not to fall, I carried the ingredients in my arms to the riverside.
There were a cauldron and stand, a pile of firewood, a table, the Cyclops’s kitchen knife, and a homemade cutting board.
I had set everything up while the meat was aging.
The cave seemed like it would be hard to get rid of food smells. I didn’t want to smell pork belly (which of course I didn’t have) while sleeping in my bedroom.
Anyway, there probably wouldn’t be any strange people to steal such large items.
It seemed better to set up this riverside as a kitchen.
‘Being this close to water makes dishwashing a piece of cake.’
I put firewood under the cauldron stand and blew out a breath to light it.
The firewood crackled as it caught fire. Definitely effective.
On top, I placed the thoroughly washed cauldron lid, and spread the fat saved from cleaning the meat on the lid’s surface like cooking oil.
Since the lid had a larger surface area than the pot, it was more advantageous for grilling meat.
Now that things had come to this, let’s go with the cauldron pork belly vibe.
I placed the meat on the wooden cutting board.
By the way, I made this cutting board myself.
The tree I had pulled out from the forest where I met the elf was as huge as my body.
Even after grilling fish, there was still a lot left, so I cut about 1/3 of it to make a cutting board.
Preparing the wood was harder than expected because it was quite solid.
But my scales were overwhelmingly harder than the wood, so it wasn’t impossible.
I polished the surface using my scales as a whetstone, and finished it neatly with my nails, making it quite presentable.
I wiped the meat with dry leaves.
Looking at the moist surface, it seems to have aged successfully.
After that, I divided the meat into five parts.
Keeping only one, I wrapped the rest again in cleanly washed leaves.
“I wish I had a Lock & Lock container.”
It wasn’t a proper airtight container, but I couldn’t just leave it on the cave floor either.
Wrapping it in leaves was the best option.
I placed the meat and herbs for flavor on the heated cauldron lid.
Sizzle-
A delicious sound along with a fragrant smell pricked my nose.
Ah, this was it.
This was rice, a meal, food.
I wanted to burst into tears right away, but this was the crucial moment.
What’s the most important thing in cooking meat?
Spices? Good ingredients? The mindset towards meat?
Of course, they’re all important.
Every single one is important, but the most crucial part is definitely the cooking process.
No matter how delicious the meat and seasonings are, if you burn it black, the meat is ruined.
Conversely, if it’s undercooked, it’s also ruined.
This was nature, not the city.
There was no convenient way to control the heat like a gas range.
The flames were rough, and the surface temperature of the cauldron lid was constantly rising.
Could even a famous chef successfully grill meat without any tools?
It would be quite challenging.
But.
I had a sturdy body that wouldn’t feel hot even if it jumped into lava!
I could control the heat by lifting the heated cauldron lid.
No tongs? No problem. I had a kitchen knife. I could just use the knife as a flipper.
Who cares if it looks a bit off, it’s just for me anyway.
Of course, I didn’t plan to eat it all by myself.
What helped complete this meat dish were Lucy’s herbs.
I was thinking of bringing some to Lucy.
There’s a saying that if your brain is bad, your body suffers.
My thought is a bit different. If your body is bad, your brain suffers.
My sturdy body was both a cooking tool and a modern convenience.
‘Still, next time I should make tools to cook…’
Anyway.
I watched the steak sizzling, its surface becoming crispy.
I couldn’t help but smile contentedly.
“Ah, you don’t know… this is something called Maillard.”
I took out the perfectly grilled steak by my standards and placed it on the washed cutting board.
I let it rest, and in the meantime, thriftily stir-fried mushrooms in the oil that came out of the meat.
If there was rice too, it would be absolutely perfect.
“It’s a shame, but this isn’t the last supper.”
The cooking was complete.
Looking at the steaming steak dish, I was lost in thought.
“Giant wild boar steak. But accompanied by mushrooms and herbs.”
A perfect name.
I cut the steak with the knife.
It made a crispy sound on the outside, then the blade went in smoothly without resistance.
I set aside a portion to take to Lucy.
The size difference was about 40 times.
It’s not that I wanted to eat more, but by human standards, this was one serving.
It would be a waste if she left any.
“Then, I’ll enjoy my meal.”
I cut the meat under the stars that dotted the pitch-black night sky.
There were no forks or spoons, but the atmosphere was no less than a high-end restaurant.
The sound of flowing water came crisply.
It was more sophisticated and romantic than any classical music I had heard so far.
There was no place for artificial lighting.
The moon and stars were taking that place.
The wind blew.
It playfully tickled my cheeks like a cozy blanket.
The reason I set up the riverside as a kitchen was that I thought a meal facing nature would be more delicious than a meal in the damp and cool cave.
The smartphone I used to look at every time I ate was gone.
There was no friend to talk to at the moment either.
Nevertheless, the reason why a meal consisting of just a piece of steak felt so abundant was probably because of the process so far.
More than store-bought food that can be easily ordered and delivered anytime, anywhere using an app.
Just like food that someone has worked hard to make for you tastes better.
Walking through the Great Forest, entering mines, hunting wild boar after various hardships.
Accidentally meeting a kind person, receiving ingredients to accompany the meat.
Food made by hand for me wouldn’t have been inferior to any delicacy.
It was the first time since reincarnating as a monster.
Such a satisfying meal, that is.

“Whew, that was delicious.”
My stomach was full.
My abdomen felt very bloated.
A sticky sense of fullness dominated my body.
I looked at the steak I had made for Lucy.
“The meat has cooled down. Hmm…”
I had been to Lucy’s house before to receive rock salt.
It’s located somewhat away from my cave.
It wasn’t completely night yet.
Lucy would be awake.
She would probably have finished her meal by now.
While enjoying the meal with the natural scenery, I didn’t realize the meat was cooling down.
Next time, it would be better to give it to the person first.
I got carried away by the atmosphere, sob sob.
Still, since I had already made the food, I should go give it to her.
I was boasting, but this steak was delicious even when cold.
If there was something at Lucy’s house to heat up the meat, she could eat it more deliciously.
And even if she had already had dinner, she could eat it later.
The bag Lucy handed me last time didn’t just contain ingredients.
For some reason, it also included a flat glass disc.
I placed the cooled meat on the glass disc, intending to return the backpack as well.
I hope she likes it…
“Huh?”
I think I just heard a faint sound…
I moved towards where the sound came from, holding the plate.
There, I found something that looked like a cat.
A round face characteristic of felines, pointed ears, and bright eyes.
At first glance, one might think it was a cat, but it was too big for that, and its coat had leopard-like patterns repeated.
It was too large to be a wildcat, and too small to be a tiger.
It was just about the size of a Maine Coon.
And it wasn’t an ordinary Maine Coon either.
There was a protruding horn on its forehead like a unicorn, making it look like a mystical beast.
It puffed up its fur and snarled.
But it didn’t run away, and to be more specific, its legs were bound by shackles, making it unable to escape.
Crackle- Crackle-
Sparks were flowing through the shackles.
The creature writhed every time the sparks flowed.
It looked very painful.
It seemed to have been tied up for quite some time, as it looked emaciated.
“Hmm.”
I’d better give Lucy the steak later.
I placed the plate in front of the creature and released it from the shackles.
As soon as it was freed, it ran away immediately, but that was expected.
And the next day.
When I saw that the food on the plate had disappeared, I smiled slightly.