MPFM – Chapter 16 – In the end, fried food is the best

“So, what kind of lunch are you going to make?” (Yuuri)

“Hmm, let me see…” (Jin)

While peering into the magic storage box, I rummaged for ingredients.

Mmm, … yes, that should do.

“I’m thinking of making fried chicken from a Four-Legged Bird.” (Jin)

“YAY! Reki loves that!!” (Reki)

Reki was so delighted that the overwhelming joy shattered her vocabulary.

There was already drool coming out of her mouth.

This girl lives according to her instincts a bit too much, which sometimes worries me as her future husband.

“Alright alright, Reki, sit and wait.” (Lucika)

Mama Lucika wiped her with a handkerchief and made her sit in a chair.

Anyways, as the name suggests, Four-Legged Birds are birds that walk on four legs.

However, what’s interesting is that they cannot fly.

So why are they called birds… probably because they have wings on their front legs.

That’s probably the main reason, not to mention, they also have combs¹ on their heads.

But Four-Legged Birds are a species that use their strong four legs for long-distance travel, so they have well-developed muscles and great meat texture, making them incredibly tender².

One of the most popular dishes made using Four-Legged Birds is a deep-fried meat seasoned with spices.

“Leave this to me, Jin-san. [Spark]” (Yuuri)

Yuuri used magic to ignite the fire and started heating the oil in the pot.

In the meantime, I worked on the preparations.

“First, we need to trim the meat… like so.” (Jin)

I cut the Four-Legged Bird’s thigh meat into bite-sized pieces and placed them onto a plate.

Then, I sprinkled salt and pepper on top…

“It’s already delicious like this, but when you crush garlic cloves and add them, it enhances the flavor even more.” (Jin)

Make sure to thoroughly knead and mix it so that the flavor penetrates the meat all the way through.

On top of that, I added the Four-Legged Bird eggs and mixed them with flour made from grated Japanese yam and flour made from wheat.

“Alright, Yuuri. Can I leave the rest to you?” (Jin)

“Of course. It’s a labor of love, after all.” (Yuuri)

“Ahaha, we’re a married couple so we’re going to be doing this a lot from now on, aren’t we?” (Jin)

“Let’s also do our ‘night time work’ every day. For that, I need to check to make sure the ingredients are still alive.” (Yuuri)

“Hey, hold on. Where are you trying to touch? Stop it, you’re going to be touching the actual ingredients with that later!” (Jin)

She brought her body closer, crossed her arms, and tried to reach for an unexpected place, so I desperately stopped her.

“Hmm… I guess there’s no other way. Let’s save the excitement for next time.” (Yuuri)

After an intense struggle, Yuuri finally gave up, pouted and returned to cooking.

Yuuri, adjusting the heat with magic, gently placed the thigh meat into the sea of oil.

The sizzling sound and the changing color were so enticing that I couldn’t help but want to sneak a taste.

“It smells so good…” (Reki)

“Hold on, Reki, sit.” (Lucika)

“Ugh…” (Reki)

While Lucika was desperately trying to calm Reki down, the dish was almost finished.

The last step was to turn up the heat to high until you heard the change in the oil’s sound.

Yuuri closed her eyes and started concentrating.

We remained quiet so as not to disturb her. This is because Yuuri’s ears were sensitive to even the slightest change in sound.

“It’s done…!” (Yuuri)

Yuuri grabbed the fried chicken with chopsticks at an unbelievable speed and lined them up on an iron plate which was made of a special material that absorbed excess oil.

It was a bit more expensive, but I think it was a good purchase.

“Okay, Yuuri. Keep placing them here.”

Of course, I wasn’t just idly watching her fry this entire time.

I carefully laid out the vegetables that were freshly harvested from my family’s garden.

Once Yuuri confirmed that the fried chicken wasn’t greasy with oil, she lined them up on top of the vegetables one by one.

“The Four-Legged Bird fried chicken!” (Jin)

“Is ready!” (Yuuri)

“Yay~!” (Reki & Lucika)

Reki and Lucika applauded enthusiastically.

Reki couldn’t contain her impatience and was tapping the table with a fork and knife, but we were all trying to hold back our hunger.

On the plate, the golden brown fried chicken shone brilliantly atop the green leaves.

The audible gulp wasn’t just from one person; it might have been everyone.

“Now, everyone. Let’s give thanks for the ingredients.” (Yuuri)

“Itadakimasu!” (Everyone)

Following Yuuri’s words, which showcased her “Saint” status for the first time in a while, we finished our pre-meal greetings and eagerly dug into the fried chicken.

“Mmm! Delicious!” (Reki)

The crispy coating and the juicy, tender thigh meat were a heavenly combination. The moment you bit into it, the flavor oozed out, and it was irresistibly rich.

There was so much that it felt like my mouth might burn from the heat.

“Mmm…!!” (Jin)

Reki seemed to be savoring the deliciousness as she was silently chewing.

Just by looking at her delighted expression, it was clear she was enjoying it.

“It kinda makes me feel happy to see her enjoying it so much.” (Jin)

“Yeah, it’s definitely worth making it thoroughly.” (Yuuri)

In reality, during the journey fighting against demons, I honed my cooking skills just to see Reki’s delighted face, even if it was just a little.

If I could see her smile like this, then my efforts would be all the more rewarding.

“Mmm, Jin, I wannat eat moreffgh!” (Reki)

“Hey, Reki. It’s impolite to eat and talk.” (Jin)

“It’s okay. We still have seconds if you’d like.” (Yuuri)

“We always bought plenty of ingredients during our journey. We probably won’t need them anymore, so why not make use of them now?” (Lucika)

“Jin… Yuuri… Lucika… I love you all so much.” (Reki)

Reki puffed up her cheeks with fried chicken and gave us a thumbs-up.

We all smiled as we looked at her.

And so, we spent a peaceful and serene lunchtime together.

TL Notes:

Thanks for reading!

I’ve been sitting on this chapter for a while, mainly cause the translation was stupidly hard. I kinda just gave up and uploaded this, so just close one eye on the terrible translation. I really have no idea what is happening.