Chapter 5: Reborn Hunter

Between health crises in my last life, I really liked to go hunting. The animals in this area even resemble what I was used to in my previous world. The boars are a bit bigger and meaner here, but I’m planning to use that to my advantage.

With two little siblings at home, and my tutoring starting so young, I’ve basically accomplished everything my parents wanted me to until I’m 15 and get shipped off to this noble kid academy in the capital. So long as I make an appearance for dinner, no one seems to mind that I’m in the forests for training all the time. But it’s not enough. Past the forest behind my family’s estate are barely explored mountains and this 8-year-old body is so full of curiosity I can’t contain it. I need to get permission to go on two-to-three-day trips to properly scout the area and build a base camp. It’ll also let me scratch my hunting itch.

Here’s the plan, I’ll happen across an angry boar during my forest training. Process it and bring the harvest back, then tell my parents I want to learn how to cook it properly with the family chef. I'll impress the chef with my past life skills which he should relay to my parents. If all goes according to plan my parents will know I’m stronger than the most dangerous animal in the area and can cook for myself. They already know I can use basic water magic, so they shouldn’t have any concerns about me taking care of myself on hunting trips.

I just need to track down a boar. I spent a few months hyper focused on how the magic that comes out of my body bounces off of things in my environment. It took some practice, but I can basically use magic echo location to find animals within a couple hundred meters or so. It would definitely be illegal to use while hunting in my old world.

***
Knock Knock

“Father are you in?” I ask at the door to my father’s office.

“Alfred, taking a day off of training?” he looks up and asks curiously.

“No father, I was in the middle of my routine when a rather angry boar charged at me. I brought the meat back and was hoping I could have our chef teach me how to cook it. Would that be acceptable?” I request with puppy dog eyes.

“Oh, it must’ve been a young boar that was wandering" father replies flatly, "well done, but show me the spoils boy. If you make something good I’d like to have a taste myself” he adds like a proud father.

I don’t miscalculate often, but I took every bit of boar meat I could off the largest animal I could find. He’s going to shit when he sees a 150kg spread of boar in the kitchen.

“Sure father, follow me to the kitchen” I say. Cold sweat runs down my neck for the entire walk, and the kitchen isn’t close to father’s office. I really hope he isn’t weird about this..

We wander into the kitchen after walking the length of the estate and I motion to the stack of meat I have piled up on a prep table.

“My, look at the size of these ribs. And what are these larger chunks? And this slab? It’s mostly fat, but there’s a bit meat throughout" father says curiously then turns to me with a worried expression, "Alfred boy, come closer”

Ah shit here we go.

“Yes father what is it?” I ask as father runs his hands over me delicately.

I haven’t had a security style pat down since being reborn, and my father looks genuinely concerned. I let all the freedom lately go to my head, I need to do better acting my age around the house.

“HA hahah, well you aren’t injured in the slightest are you?" father asks and belly laughs, "you did pick up the sword rather young, but you must’ve had quite the fight on your hands to face an animal of this size”

“It wasn’t a problem father, I jumped to the side as it lowered its head to charge me. Then lopped off the animal’s head. It was rather fun, I think I’d like to do more hunting once I learn to cook properly..” I reply shyly.

Take it father, take the bait..

“If you can handle an animal of this size I don’t think you’d find anything in this area dangerous, but did Ricardo help you prepare these cuts? They’re quite clean” he asks and examines my handiwork.

“I read a travel account when I was younger that detailed basic animal processing for boar, deer and rabbits. It’s far from perfect since it was my first time, but I wanted to try some of the recipes from those accounts as well” I answer with a determined face.

I did look for travel accounts when I was younger, but I came up empty. In my past life I was about this age when I first started hunting so this sort of thing is ingrained in me.

“Alright, use the kitchen as you please and enlist Ricardo. So long as you don’t interrupt dinner with the family I don’t mind" father says, "it’s good to see you excited about something other than swinging your sword in the forest Alfred” he adds and looks down at me with a loving smile.

Sometimes I forget these people think of themselves as my parents. I suppose they technically are, but it’s hard to get a second set of parents at 30. I don’t feel bad lying to them and manipulating them either.. I think it’s kinder than telling them the truth.

***
“Good Afternoon Ricardo, did father inform you of my request?” I ask our chef when he returns to the kitchen I’ve been waiting in.

Ricardo’s a tall man with short black hair inside of his chef’s hat. He even wears a white cooking outfit that screams “I’m a chef!”

“Master Alfred, he has indeed, he was beaming with pride that you managed to fend off a large boar on your own. He mentioned you had some recipe ideas you’ve read about, could you share the details of those?” Ricardo asks and raises an eyebrow.

“Right, I processed the animal into four roasts made from the larger muscles of each leg, two sets of ribs, two loins, the belly and I cut the remaining meat off to be used in a sausage. I mostly need your help selecting different spices to try on the roasts and ribs. I already have plans for the rest of it” I explain.

Of the servants my family employs I think I interact with Ricardo the least. He’s surprisingly nice considering I’m crashing his workplace, or maybe he gets bored spending most of his time alone in the kitchen. For how much I enjoyed cooking in my last life, I’m sad I haven’t experimented with the offerings of this world. Playing with magic is more fun, but this will be a nice change of pace.

***
Ricardo and I spend the afternoon making preparations. He’s not afraid to use salt. My mom in my last life would give me an earful if she saw me cooking with so much of it. The ribs, loin and roasts will marinate overnight. The sausage is made and can be cooked whenever, but Ricardo is struggling to wrap his head around my idea for the belly cut.

“So, you’re going to cure it, subject it to low heat and smoke for a time, then slice it thin and heat it until it’s completely crispy later?” Ricardo asks, not understanding why I’m double preserving the boar belly.

“Exactly right, there’s a famous adventurer who learned this process on his travels and wrote about more than any other food he tried throughout his life” I reply.

It’s me, I’m the adventurer. I haven’t had bacon once since being born here. I thought it might just not suit my parents' tastes, but from this reaction, I don’t think they have it in this country. Or maybe it’s the smoke part that's throwing him off.

The next day I wake up before dawn to start my experiments. I start a low fire in oven then place the roasts and ribs in. I’ll have to build an outdoor grill and smoker, but this is fine to work on recipes. I plan on slicing, breading and frying the loan meat around lunch time so that’s just sitting. I also took a portion of the loin and sausage and tossed it into my spatial storage. I’ve been keeping swords, clothing and fruits in there without any issue so I don’t think storing meat will be any different. Luckily, my magic regens way faster than maintaining spatial storage can consume it, so it’s kind of like passive training.

It’s time for the greatest breakfast a growing boy could ever ask for. Bacon, with a side of bacon. I chilled the belly meat when I first arrived home then rubbed it with salt, pepper and sugar and cooked it in the oven with the lowest and smokiest flame I could muster for about three hours. I’ll slice thin pieces off and fry it to a perfect crisp.

When I lay the first strip onto the hot pan I feel an odd twinge in my chest. This world has a lot to offer, magic is incredible and from what I’ve seen, I’m a big fish in a small pond. But seeing that sizzle of bacon reminds me of my first world, well whatever at least I have bacon.

I chose a comically large pan to fry the bacon and cut ten full belly length strips. It’s a bit overboard for a first test, but bacon is hard to screw up. Once it shrinks in length by about a quarter, I flip each piece to reveal a wonderful crispy texture. I’m excited, and the smell is making me drool.

“Master Alfred, are you cooking something?” Shayna asks as she shyly enters the kitchen. I turn from my masterpiece and see her blinking away her sleepiness.

“Good morning Shayna, I’m surprised you’re up so early, did I make too much noise?” I ask, but she shakes her head.

“No no, I’m embarrassed to say, but my nose woke me up. What are you making Master Alfred?” Shayna asks.

“It’s called bacon, I read about making boar belly into it when I was younger and after fighting one yesterday, I finally have the chance to try it” I explain.

“I heard your father talking about it yesterday, he was in particularly high spirits..” Shayna recounts with a smirk.

“Father did seem pleased.. The bacon is almost done – would you like to try some? There’s quite a lot” I ask, realizing my first batch would be nearly a package in my old world.

“If you’re offering, I would love to” Shayna says. This reminds me of cooking for my family in my last life. I hope she likes it.

“Alright, both sides are crispy. Now we let it rest on a cloth for a moment to remove the fat it was cooking in then we can eat it” I say as I pull bacon strips from the pan.

Here we are, the moment of truth. I lift a strip to my mouth for my first bite of bacon in almost a decade.

Crunch

It.. is.. incredible – it’s not as fatty as a farm raised animal would be, but this boar must’ve had a healthy diet. Half fat, half meat, thoroughly crispy and a touch salty. Honestly, I could use a bit less salt if it’s going to sit in spatial storage where I don’t have to worry about spoilage.

“Shayna, are you going to try some?” I ask curiously, noticing Shayna starting at me.

“Yes, my apologies, you looked so satisfied eating it I couldn’t help but watch. It must’ve turned out to your liking” she says.

“It did, but please give me your honest opinion. I may be biased since I’ve been dreaming about trying this for so many years” I say.

She’s going to love it, any sane person would. Here it is, she’s lifting it to her mouth. Incoming crunch and..

“It’s so crispy, but it almost melts in my mouth as I chew it. It’s not too salty either. Where did you read about this Master Alfred? I can’t believe I’ve never such a nice boar dish when they’re widely eaten in this area” Shayna gives her review.

“It was in an adventurer’s travel log that I read as a child. In all his adventures this is the food he wrote about the most. He loved it for breakfast as we’re having it now, but it has many other uses” I explain.

“How else is it typically eaten?” Shayna asks with a tilted head.

“The adventurer would regularly add it to his travel meals by placing another meat with bacon and cheese between slices of bread. He also tried a dish where the bacon was cut into little chunks then fried and used to top noodle dish, though he wasn’t partial to that method..” I answer with my own uses for bacon.

“Interesting, I’ve tried a noodle dish in the capital, but it wasn’t to my liking” Shayna says.

“He described some that sound nice, once I’ve mastered boar recipes I may try to recreate some of the other things he wrote of” I say with a pleasant smile and think about all my favorite dishes from my last life.

“If you’re even in need of a taste tester don’t be afraid to ask" Shayna says politely, "this was quite a treat”

“I’m glad to hear it” I say with a full heart and filling belly, “take a look in the oven Shayna”

Shayna walks past me and opens the oven door, revealing a spread of ribs and roasts that could feed the estate for days.

“Is the entire animal in here!? Just how many people are you trying to feed?” she asks.

“Haha well I wanted to try a number of seasoning combinations that Ricardo and I decided on yesterday. Supposedly an outdoor oven with more direct smoke and a long cook time are best for this type of meat, but I figured a regular oven and a low flame would be alright” I explain.

“Right, but what are you going to do with all the food?” Shayna reiterates her concern.

I wasn’t worried about overcooking since I want to try storing hot food in spatial storage, but I can’t say that. I guess I’ll have to put off trying the loin and sausage for a day or two..

“If anything tastes inedible I’ll bring it to the forest for the animals. And fatty meats are supposed to reheat well. Since we have an ice box anything we like can be kept and eaten throughout the week” I answer.

Which gives me an idea, I have no idea how Hawaiian rolls were made, but they definitely tasted sweet. I’ll have to ask Ricardo if he knows anything about making a bread that’s soft and sweet..

Shayna peels her eyes away from the oven and turns them to me.

“I suppose that’s alright then, and it’ll allow me to try more of your cooking which I’m looking forward to” she says as her good mood returns.

“You’re too kind Shayna, please don’t be afraid to criticize the food. I need to learn and making something awful will likely be part of that process” I reply.

None of it should taste awful, the ribs in particular I have a confidence in. But Ricardo insisted on making the rub for one of the roasts very sweet. As a spice man, I’m not too sure about that one.