A Good Thing

The communal dining area was not that far from the washing area, probably due to convenience. There were several logs laid horizontally as benches scattered around the area, as well as stumps for tables which people were already gathering. Near one side of the area, there was a rectangle table that some people were placing what looked to be bowls on it. Following their movements with my eyes, I could see some of them entering a mine-like entrance that disappeared into the ground and then returning with bowls of covered food.

The dining area was also covered with a transparent plastic sheet that probably kept the smell of food from leaking out. It's transparency also made it hard to notice unless you got close.

Entering the area through its plastic curtained doorway, we took a seat on a random log.

"According to the camp's inventory and food log, today's meal should be wrapped meat with some nuts and cheese. I've seen how they cooked these dishes before. For the wrapped meat, thinly sliced meat is wrapped inside a special leaf of the Jink Tree, the tree that gives us sugar syrup, together with some nuts and a coating of sugar syrup. Then the whole thing is sent to steam for 20 minutes before it can be served. For the nuts, they're just raw nuts. The cheese is made through mashing a mixture of fruits and then cooling them."

Isn't that more of a mashed cooled fruit block rather than cheese?

As Tim was talking, Josh joined us and we waited patiently for the group in charge of lunch to signal that the food was ready. Then we followed everyone else and lined up for our share.

When it was my turn, I was handed a lukewarm 'bowl'. The curious utensil had a wooden frame that was wrapped with animal fur.

[Unlike your original world, animal fur is a good conductor of heat and is commonly used in many cultures as bowls and plates. Wood on the other hand is usually pretty flammable and can dye the food a weird flavor so it's unpopular. The most ideal material would be a material made from grounded and pressurized animal bones, which depending on the type of animal, could become quite expensive.]

On the bowl was a triangle shaped food item that resembled a pyramid, where the contents of the food was wrapped in a large leaf. There were also a couple of raw nuts to the side, and that aforementioned 'fruit cheese'.

Sitting down and opening the leaf, I could see the very delicious looking pink strip of meat that was rolled up inside, covered with the shiny and sweet sugar mixture. These small treats were stacked like on top of one another, giving it's wrapped form an interesting shape.

Copying the other two who had started eating, I picked up the meat with the provided chopsticks and placed it into my mouth. The first flavor that hit was the sweetness of the sugar syrup. And unlike the raw sugar syrup, this one had a slight aftertaste of the meat juices as well as a more 'concentrated' taste. Then came the taste of the meat, which reminded me of a mixture between pork and beef. Although steamed, it was chewy on the edges but soft near the middle. The nuts were also soft and easy to eat. All of these also had a slight leafy aftertaste that seemed to highlight all their flavors.

Then taking a bite of the raw nuts, I savored their crunchiness, before moving on to the fruit concoction they called cheese.

Not at all the yellow block that I was expecting it to be, it was more of a pale peachy cube. Looking at Josh, he used his chopsticks to break off a piece of the cheese then pick it up to eat.

Following him, I separated a small piece off the top and picked it up. Bringing it to my mouth, the moment it reached my tongue it melted immediately. With a smooth taste that felt as if flowers were blooming in my mouth, I swallowed the taste down with a pleasant smile on my face.

It certainly didn't taste like cheese, but it tasted incredibly heavenly.

"I see you have also fallen in love with cheese. It's one of the easiest desserts that can be made in this jungle. Tomorrow morning, we can get a share for breakfast before we go ingredient collecting."

Placing his chopsticks in his empty bowl, Josh gave a smug grin at my reaction. Beside him Tim was still slowly nibbling off the cheese small piece by small piece. He then stopped nibbling to speak.

"Chef also should go to the cooking area, you need to show her how things are cooked around here if you want her help."

Josh seemed to roll his eyes at the extra work, but still pulled up his personal terminal to type. Tim went back to nibbling on his cheese until it was all gone. The three of us then proceeded to hand back out bowls to the large table and exited the dining area.

"After the washing team is done, around later in the evening I will text you and we will meet up for a tour of the cooking area. Then after that is dinner and then we will call it a night. I would not recommend going out at night, since there is no available light source that does not immediately make you an easy meal. The risk outweighs the gains. Tomorrow morning we will meet again for ingredient gathering."

Finished with his one sided orders, Josh then excused himself from the team. Tim then apologized for his rudeness.

[Why is Tim apologizing? It's that jerk's fault anyway. Who asks for a favor from someone then proceeds to act like this?]

Calming down Sazzy using my personal terminal, we parted ways with Tim to explore the rest of the camp.

Walking past the washing area and the dining area, we made a circle around the camp while trying to keep within eyesight of the houses. Occasionally, we would bend down to pick up the fallen fruits from the trees above us.

[The canopy above us completely blocks out the sunlight, but plants here can still live through the lantern ferns that grow on the tall trees. Them, and the many varieties of luminescent plants, make the bulk of the 'day and night' cycle that the animals under the canopy follow. In an amazing feat of synchronicity, all the plants are luminous at the same time, and then grow dim at the same period of time as well. Sometimes we can see small lantern ferns grow near the ground, but they usually can't thrive at low altitudes.]

Sazzy lectured and pointed towards one small plant above my head. Looking up until I could hear my neck crack, I barely saw the plant she was talking about. It was tiny and barely visible, clinging to the tree for its dear life, and gave off a small amount of light.

On this leisurely stroll, I observed some people walking around obviously on duty, while others were walking towards their friends houses with cards in their hands or cups for drinking. Then there were some that were heading towards a certain direction in a leisurely manner.

Following these individuals, we reached what I assumed was the recreational area. It was a small area filled with tables and chairs of various sizes, as well as beds made of weaved leaves that several people were lying and dozing off on. Sitting on the chairs, some of the Lupos were playing cards together, while others were just discussing topics with their friends.

When I came over, there were several glances towards me and curious stares, but most people immediately went back to what they were doing.

Wandering around, I peeked at some of the card games people were playing, then headed to a free spot on the weaved leaves and laid down.

The weaved leaves were firm yet soft, and I could immediately feel myself sinking into them. Beside me, Sazzy was running over to the several tables to observe the ongoing games. She was also updating me on the interesting things she saw.

[This group is playing a popular intergalactical card game. That group is talking about a popular web novel online. And that group is discussing some drama between several Jolt streamers.]

Seeing her run around was slightly hilarious as I laid there resting. Suddenly, in front of my eyes I saw a young man approaching me nervously. He was slightly sweating and had his hands clasped together.

"... Hello, Chef. I was, well, wondering, well, whether I could, well, sit next to you and, well, talk with you. If I'm disturbing you then, well, I'll leave straight away!"

Watching the man fidget nervously, I softly agreed to his words and gestured to the seat beside me.

As if he were a small prey and I a large predator, he scrambled to sit on the leaves and looked away. He seemed to bite his lips, mind obviously racing to cobble together words to speak.

Looking at his trembling form, I turned my attention back to Sazzy to give him enough time to calm down. Sazzy, in the meanwhile, had noticed the interesting event occurring around me and was heading back.

[This planet sure has a lot of your fans!]

Exclaiming so, Sazzy sat beside me and leaned her head to stare at the young man.

After such a long period of silence, I heard several large breaths being taken next to me and faced the young man once more. This time, he was noticeably much more collected and was facing me with a red face.

"I'm a big fan of you chef!"

Half shouting this one line, he scared himself with his loud voice and his next words were all incredibly softer. So soft that I had to lean in to listen.

"On Ferrus, we don't travel much, so I have never really been exposed to other cuisines. However, everytime I go to Jolt, all I see are the words 'savage' used to describe our planet. And most people who come here don't even take the time to understand us. Always exaggerating and screaming. It gets frustrating sometimes."

Reaching this point, the young man's voice trailed off and I could see him clench his fist. I could also see a small trace of tears forming on his frustrated face.

Taking a deep breath, he visibly willed his tears back and continued.

"When I saw your first livestream, I felt hopeless. I thought that you were going to be like the rest that have tried to share their own cultures. Bullied into silence. But you ignored them, and continued, and managed to thrive despite those nasty words. For once, I had hope that my family and I would someday be able to hold our heads high as an inhabitant of Ferrus."

At this point, the young man had trailed off into silence again. But this silence was more peaceful. Everything that he wanted to say was out. I could see a small smile of relief form on his face as he let out all those repressed feelings. However, that smile didn't last long.

[Aww. Look at him, he's blushing.]

Sazzy commented as the man started fidgeting once more. His skin tone was quickly turning a very deep shade of red.

Chuckling at his reaction, I reached over to pull him into a hug.

"I should thank you. I didn't start streaming with the intention of doing such big things, but I'm glad that my streams could give you a space to relate to. Thank you for supporting me and watching my livestreams."

Patting the man on the back, we hugged for a while before we parted. Finally, the atmosphere turned a little more peaceful, and the man softly apologized for disturbing me as he hastily ran away from the recreational area.

[He's kind of cute, don't you think?]

Watching his fleeing back, Sazzy chuckled as she stood up to wander around once more.

Listening to her words, I felt a smile creep up as a fuzzy feeling bubbled up from deep within me. For the first time in my life, I felt that I made a difference.

I gave a soft sigh and leaned back down on the weaved leaves. The sun was shining, the breeze was cooling, and something very good just happened. It should be fine to take a nap, right?