Chicken and Palenque

"When I come to the market, I first buy vegetables and head to the mill. This route hardly ever changes.

However, today I felt a bit different. As I approach the mill, thoughts of yesterday's events make me burst into laughter. It's the bewildered face of Mr. Krnol.

So, upon arriving at the mill and facing Mr. Krnol, I couldn't help but smirk.

"Hello there, crying Krnol."

"What, what's the matter? You rascal!"

"Are you surprised?"

"Don't make fun of me! I've had no luck! Ugh, I'm quitting this business!"

"What business are you quitting?"

Leinu pulled Mr. Krnol's hair.

"L.C., you're here?"

"Yes."

"No, don't! I won't sell to that guy! Agh, my head! My head!"

As Mr. Krnol shouted at me, his head was pulled even more by Leinu. She mercilessly grabbed her husband's hair and laughed while pulling at it.

"Don't listen to this man's nonsense. Despite this, he's still thankful."

"When have I ever been!"

"Haha, then please give me a Uba sirloin."

"Uba sirloin? I'll get it right away. Hehe," said Leinu, laughing as she went inside. I, with a slight hope, asked Mr. Krnol:

"By any chance, do you have Palenque?"

Palenque and Palenque eggs. That's chicken and eggs needed. Especially because eggs are so incredibly versatile.

"Palenque? You need Palenque?"

"It would be good to have it in various ways, especially those caught in the wild."

Having Palenque caught in the wild would be perfect for getting eggs.

"Caught in the wild? That's unlikely, isn't it? Are you crazy? Catching such agile monsters like Palenque in the wild and distributing them? If that were possible, I'd be rich by now."

"Then do you have slaughtered Palenque?"

"Well, that's..."

"Mr. Krnol, this is a different conversation."

"What now?"

"When I first came here, what did you say? If I can cook a dish that does justice to my meat, we'd work together, right? That you could get any kind of meat?"

"Hehe, Leinu! What are you saying?"

Mr. Krnol shut his mouth without calling her and just went inside to find Leinu. Well, searching for Palenque in a mill is indeed crazy. Palenque is incredibly elusive, making it a rarity. I've heard people who've tasted it call it legendary. So, it's unlikely to be openly available in the market.

Of course, in this world, there are chickens and eggs. Palenque is the closest thing to a chicken, and there are many birds used as ingredients. Among them, Palenque stands out.

"L.C., Uba sirloin. Is this correct?"

"Yes."

As expected, the vividly pink Uba. I nodded and paid for it.

"Thank you."

"We're even more grateful."

Leinu nodded slightly. Since I'd bought everything I needed, I was about to leave when suddenly Mr. Krnol rushed out. I paused, sensing he had something to say to me.

"Th-There's a story that someone witnessed a Palenque in the Lemon Forest on the outskirts. Have you heard of it?"

"The Lemon Forest?"

"Sure. Information I got from mercenaries."

"I see. Are you sure about it?"

"Yeah, if you get more info, let me know."

Saying that, Mr. Krnol scratched his head.

"Oh, so stubborn."

Leinu gestured, seeming to indicate that despite that, she'd assist. She's not a bad person, perhaps just someone with a lot of shyness.

I bid farewell and walked back up the hill to the restaurant. Thanks to Leinu's recommendation, occasional customers visit, but mostly in the evenings. I don't recall lunchtime being particularly busy. And today, as usual, the restaurant was empty.

Given this, should I go to the Lemon Forest to find Palenque and eggs?

"Once a decision is made, it should be acted upon immediately. I dashed up to the second floor.

"Clang, clang, clang."

Although the sun was already high, I jumped onto the bed of a dragon who seemed to have no intention of waking up.

"What, what is it!"

"Get up! Where do you think you're going if you don't wake up in the morning?"

I was in a hurry.

So, after making sure the dragon was awake, I abruptly picked up Rurin and hugged her like a princess. But she kicked and struggled in protest.

"Is this because I didn't put you to sleep yesterday! That's too much!"

"Don't say something that could be misunderstood by others and just wash your face."

After sleeping so much during the day, who caused a fuss saying they couldn't sleep at night? I hugged the black dragon and sat her on the floor. Then, after wrapping a towel around her, I washed her face with water from a basin.

"Now, blow your nose."

"Honk!"

"After wiping her white face, blowing her nose, and washing her with a towel, I hugged the slouching dragon back onto the bed. It would take all day if I left her to wash herself.

I was in a hurry, so there was no choice.

Then I quickly put clothes over her pajamas and swiftly combed her hair.

Normally, the whole routine takes quite a while, but I finished it in an instant. Rurin looked at me with a puzzled expression.

"What's all this about?"

"Whatever this and that are, that's not important. The crucial thing is that Palenque is flying around now! Don't you want to try a different dish?"

"A different dish?"

"A dish that goes well with beer."

"Oh, is there such a thing? I want it."

Her still-groggy face brightened up upon hearing about a dish that goes well with beer.

"If you want to eat, get up right now."

After fixing her hair, I spoke, and the dragon gave me a look and then stretched out her arms.

"Hug me."

"What?"

"If you hug me, I'll get up."

"What kind of trickery is this?"

"You haven't hugged me lately. During the previous war, you used to encourage me all the time!"

"Alright, alright, I get it."

I briefly hugged Rurin and then pulled away. At that moment, she raised her black eyebrows and shouted, "Insufficient!"

With a gaze that said, "You're too dry," I hugged Rurin's body very tightly as before.

Extremely tight!

Her soft body pressed against mine. It felt warm and comforting.

"Hehe. Seems like you're waking up a bit!"

"Are you satisfied?"

"What are you saying! I'd have to do this all day long to be just a liiiittle satisfied! If you do it for a year, then just a liiiittle satisfied!"

"...A year?"

Nodding vigorously, Rurin nodded strongly.

"Stop kidding and get out. We're going to the Lique Forest."

"Ugh? But I'm not satisfied yet!"

Satisfied or not, I descended to the first floor, separating from Rurin's body. I could hear the sound of her chasing after me from behind.

***

The Lemon Forest is a forest on the outskirts beyond the hill where I live.

Specifically, after crossing the hill, there's a stream, and beyond that stream, you can see a bamboo forest. That bamboo forest is known as the Lemon Forest.

Usually, to go to the northern city, one has to pass through the Lemon Forest. It's speculated that among the mercenaries who regularly pass through here, one might have spotted Palenque.

"Why have we come here?"

Rurin looked around the forest, tilting her head. The bamboo didn't seem to impress her much.

"I came to catch the ingredients for the dish I mentioned earlier."

"Ohhh!"

I hope this helps! Let me know if you'd like me to continue or if there's anything else I can assist you with.

"Have to catch a monster called Palenque."

"Palenque?"

Rurin tilted her head again, seemingly hearing about it for the first time.

"Don't know?"

"I wouldn't bother knowing about such trivial monsters. I am, after all, a dragon..."

"Yes, yes, I understand. I get it."

"Ugh!"

I covered her mouth with my hand and dragged her further inside.

Thunk!

Then, several Palenques flying over the bamboo forest came into view.

"There, right there!"

I let go of her and shouted, and Rurin, too, spotted the Palenque and spoke up.

"Oh, that?"

Of course, it's a chicken. A flying chicken. Perhaps it's labeled as a monster due to its significantly higher attack power compared to regular chickens. And it was incredibly fast. Of course, I already knew this information. That's why I brought Rurin along.

I am a combat mage.

Thanks to the Dragon Lord's Heart, my magic has been maximized.

In this realm, mages each specialize in their own fields.

Magic for combat.

That's what I've learned.

And magic for research. It involves studying various special magics, starting from alchemy.

In my case, I'm a practical mage specialized in combat magic.

So, setting this entire forest ablaze is quite easy for me.

However, to catch these small monsters one by one, especially in the wild, Rurin is perfect.

No need for a heap of charred Palenques.

"Shoot down that flying Palenque for me!"

"Do I just kill them all?"

"No, just one for now. I've never tasted it before, so I'll decide after trying."

"That's an easy task."

Rurin took a strong aim at one Palenque. Sensing her hostility, the Palenque swiftly glanced in Rurin's direction.

"Cuuuuu!"

With a strange cry, it convulsed on the ground, frothing at the mouth, and fainted.

That's the power of Dragon's Gaze.

A potent ability that can stun or kill just by looking. There's nothing as effective as Dragon's Gaze to obtain ingredients without causing harm.

Usually kept hidden under a human guise, it's an absolute and powerful ability.

A dragon is a dragon, and without having consumed the Dragon Heart, I wouldn't have been capable of this.

"How was that?"

"Great. Well done."

I ran over, grabbed the convulsing Palenque by the neck, and swiftly snapped it. Just like dealing with a chicken. The preparation method is probably the same.

Feeling content, I nudged Rurin's wagging back and returned to the restaurant. Rurin went straight to the fridge, fetched a beer, and settled in front of the Palenque, wagging her tail like a puppy.

"Now, will it taste good if I have this beer with it?"

"Not really. We need to cook it. Just wait."

"Is that so? Well, at least one can for now."

Rurin opened a beer can and began to gulp it down eagerly, expressing delight while trembling.

I've done enough for today, so I'll let this one slide.

I started cutting the prepared chicken into small pieces after leaving the dragon unattended. Usually, wild chickens are too tough to eat and can be difficult to cut, to the point where it's hard on the teeth, but Palenque seemed different.

The worrisome part was the toughness, but surprisingly, it was easier to cut than the chicken sold in modern markets.

After easily cutting the Palenque into pieces, I made incisions with a knife and seasoned it with pepper and salt. Palenque fried, the fundamental process when making chicken.

I evenly spread minced garlic over it. The combination of garlic and chicken is fantastic, to say the least.

Then, I poured milk over it to marinate. This is to remove any unwanted smells. Usually, modern chicken joints use dry powders, seasonings, or MSG in various mixes, but I have my own method.

I'll prepare flour and mix it with breadcrumbs. This is like a summoning ingredient in modern times.

After mixing the breadcrumbs, I add cornmeal. The ratio is based on my feeling, but I think a ratio of 3:1:0.5 works well.

Normally, I would add powder, but I use powdered merton mushrooms instead. These mushrooms possess magical properties in this era.

Preparation is almost done. I just hope the chicken itself will taste good.

After drinking some beer, I covered the dragon, who was dozing off again, with a blanket and took a break myself. Dragons tend to sleep a lot. Well, it's not uncommon for dragons to have periodic slumber periods lasting hundreds of years, so it's not that surprising.

Anyway, it's a peaceful moment.

It's a peaceful moment regardless of the absent customers.

Setting aside those who don't come.

So, evening arrived. As the sun starts to set, a beautiful twilight adorns the restaurant. It's precisely for this view that I set up the eatery here.

It's not crucial that the business thrives. I just wish for a place where one or two regulars come by, share stories, and enjoy each other's company. That's why I'm not fond of overly crowded markets.

While gazing at the crimson sky and considering whether to start frying the prepped Palenque meat, a customer arrived.

A familiar face from some time ago. It was undoubtedly the mercenary, Mentshi.

"Oh, aren't you Mentshi?"

"Yes, that's right. The drink I had last time suited my taste, so I came back for more. Haha."