Delicious

"Here, take this." 

Kora handed a knife over to Aru. 

"Imitate me to chop the vegetables." 

Aru nodded immediately. It seems like Kora wanted to teach him. That was a good thing as far as Aru was concerned. 

"What is this?" Aru pointed at the heap of familiar-looking tubers placed nearby.

"You have never seen them before?" 

"Hm…" He nodded.

"It is a tuber called Kappa that is rich in spirit energy. We mainly use it when preparing food during the hunt to provide ample energy for physical activity." 

"Oh!" 

"You don't have any questions?"

"No."

"Then can you explain why we might be consuming tuber instead of meat during the hunt?" 

"Yes, We are prioritising food that provides more spirit energy rather than food that helps us recover."

"That's correct." Kora was a little amazed by the kid's ability to deduce certain things with very little amount of information, "Warriors need a lot of spirit energy during combat to exhibit their explosive strength and skills. So, we are focusing on food that provides more spirit energy over the food that helps us recover from injuries." 

"Hmm… That makes sense." 

"It sure does." Kora smiled and thought, 'This kid might be better than what I expected?' His confidence in Aru's future career as a cook increased. 

"Now, take a Kappa and place it on the cutting board like this." 

Kappa was a long slender tuber that looked like a person's arms. It was cylindrical with some bents and curves over its exterior. 

"First, you have to chop off the top and bottom part of the Kappa."

Kora began to patiently teach his new student. 

"Once you chop it off, you have to peel off the thick outer layer covering the core. Use your knife to leave a shallow cut above the outer layer to peel it off with a knife." 

"After that, you can chop the core in chunks."

"Can you follow?" Kora asked to make sure Aru could understand the process. 

Immediately, Aru nodded. 

For him, the steps were simple and easy to follow. As a loner, he had enough cooking experience in his previous life to understand what Kora was doing. And he also realised why Kappa was so familiar. 

'It's tapioca.'

Kora was preparing Kappa like tapioca.

Tapioca starch was extracted from a similar tuber in his original world too. It was gluten-free with a high amount of carbohydrates and very little protein and other nutrients. It was a great alternative to wheat and rice. 

'But I don't know exactly how it's cooked. So, let's follow the lead of my new master.'

"Before you begin, let me remind you. Kappa is poisonous if not properly cooked. So, don't try to eat it raw even by mistake."

'Fortunately, I didn't cook it alone. There is knowledge I can learn from him, even if I am someone from a well-developed world.' 

"Okay, master." He said slightly happy at this realisation. 

Kora's scratched his nose bashfully as he heard Aru call him master. This was the first time he was called master by someone. And he felt nice hearing it. 

"Okay, I am your master. Call me master from now on." 

"Yes, master." 

"Ha ha ha…"

Although Kora was a little odd at times, his work ethic was impeccable. After guiding Aru through the process of handling Kappa, he continued with his work without rest. 

It took more than an hour for them to chop all the Kappa needed for the food for the entire hunting party. 

While it's safe to say most of the work was done by Kora, Aru was indeed helpful. Albeit a little slow with the knife, Aru was still able to chop a hefty amount of Kappa with his six-year-old body. That even surprised Kora a bit. 

"Now what, Master?" 

"Do you remember when I said Kappa is poisonous when it's raw? That's because of the white sap that the Kappa plant produces. To eliminate the poison, we are going to boil it with some herbs and salt. Draining the water will clear all the poison and make it edible." 

"That simple?" 

"Yes, that simple." 

Taking one more hour, the duo boiled the Kappa and drained the water. The giant vat filled with Kappa now looked like flakes of starch rather than chunks of the tuber. The kappa was well-cooked and ready to eat. 

Kora mixed the starch even more with a giant iron spatula to mash the starch.

He lifted the spatula containing some pieces of Kappa and offered it to Aru with great expectation, "Take it and say how it tastes?"

Aru also wanted to taste test the Kappa, the first meal he cooked. 

He moved the kappa into a bowl and smelled it. 

'The smell of herbs is overpowering the Kappa's smell. That's good, the Kappa had an odd smell and it would have been difficult to eat with that smell. Boiling it also seemed to have decreased the pungent smell of Kappa.' 

After appraising the smell, he took out a piece and put it in his mouth. 

'The starch tastes similar to rice. But it's a lot smoother. The consistency reminds me of mashed potato but a little bit drier and harder.' 

'Slightly sweet and salty when combined with the scent of herbs, it has an enticing flavour profile.'

'TASTY!'

He said in his mind.

'But with a sour and spicy sauce, it could be better.' Aru unknowingly nodded with a wide grin. 

Usually, he would wear an emotionless face when he interacted with others. But this time, he smiled genuinely.

It was the smile of someone who loved what they were doing. 

Kora recognized that instantly. His heart warmed up at the sight of the child's innocent smile. It reaffirmed that his decision to take a disciple was the best one.

"How does it taste?" 

"Delicious." 

"Of course it is." 

"Do you want some more?"

"Hm…"

Aru took more kappa into his bowl. 

"Can I try something?" Aru asked Kora with a pleading gaze. He was giving no room for rejection.

"What do you want to do?" 

"I want to try something. I think I know a way to make it better."

"You are saying you want to cook something? Do you know how to cook?" Kora asked.

"No, but I want to try." 

Kora was amused by the kid's enthusiasm. So, he decides to let Aru cook something for once. He wished to see what the kid would come up with. 

"I want oil, garlic and some pepper chilly." These were all the ingredients he could see. 

"Those are precious spice. Are you sure that you want all that?" 

The ingredients Aru mentioned were all precious to the Boulder tribe. They didn't have a natural source to gather these ingredients. So, they had to buy it from other places. And that cost them a lot. Even Kora was a little apprehensive about wasting them. 

"Yes." 

"Okay, try cooking a little." 

'Nice!' Aru was thrilled having received permission to cook. 

He ran around the table to collect all the ingredients he wanted and placed them near a small wok.

The first thing he had to do was peel the garlic. He took a clove of garlic and began peeling them. Seeing him struggle with it, Kora also helped.

Then, he put the woke on the fire to heat it. Once the water on the woke was evaporated, a little bit of fresh oil was poured into it. 

The oil smelled and tasted like coconut oil. It was just perfect. 

The oil quickly became hot. 

Immediately, Aru chopped the garlic and green chilly pepper, dropping it into the boiling oil. 

"SHHHhhhhhh…."

The smell of garlic and pepper spread as it fried. 

"Hm… Great smell." Kora commented from the side. 

Normally, spices were used sparingly and primarily when preparing soup. Witnessing someone fry spices in oil was a first for him. The cooking technique known as frying was rarely employed by the tribe, making it quite surprising for him to observe.

Aru mixed garlic and pepper with a spatula until it turned a light brown. Then he took a ladle and scooped the oil before pouring it into the bowl of Kappa. 

'Done.'

It was the finishing touch to improve the taste. 

The aroma of the garlic and pepper melded with the smell of Kappa making it even more enticing. He mixed it before presenting it to Kora. 

"Try it." 

"For me?" 

"Yes." 

Kora's years of experience as a cook allowed him to immediately evaluate the food even before tasting it. He knew he was going to eat something divine. 

Although what Aru had done was simple, it had elevated the dish to something completely different. 

Why wasn't he able to do something similar? He thought as he placed a spoonful of kappa in his mouth. 

The combined, at the same time, distinct flavours assaulted his taste buds. The warmth, glistening oil, the slightly salty and sweet taste of the tuber along with the spices all mixed around his mouth. 

"DELICIOUS." He screamed out. 

It was by far the best kappa he had ever eaten.

His eyes widened as he looked at Aru amazed by his skill. 

Is he really a six-year-old or is he the reincarnation of the god of cooking?