Creative And Resourceful Hamburg Steak - Part One

Hello, I’m Shuri. Good day.

I got wrapped in light on my way home from shopping and before I knew it, I ended up working as the cook for a mercenary band in a foreign land. You really never know what life has in store.

Since then, the leader, Gungrave-san, has taught me about the current state of the world.

To my surprise, this place is actually another world. I’ve never heard of the Sabrayu Continent before.

Magic actually exists here, which really hammered home that this isn’t Earth. Normally, I’d have magic talent too and go on an unstoppable rampage—gaha!—right? But that wasn’t the case at all. I cried a little.

Now, it has been a week since I arrived here. It seems we won the recent battle. There were no casualties in our band, either.

Gungrave-san says things like,

“It’s thanks to your food. That gave us strength.”

Well, surely it’s really down to the courage and tenacity of the people fighting on the front lines, though.

Now, as for our reward this time, besides money of course, I asked for seasonings and ingredients.

As expected, having only salt gets rough. I managed to get my hands on spices, vinegar, and fish sauce. The lord or whoever grumbled about it, but that was none of my concern. The food situation is tough everywhere, so I can’t afford to be soft.

My cooking repertoire has expanded, and Gungrave-san is grateful, but in reality, I just got sick of stews and soups. Eating the same dish repeatedly takes a toll on your mental state.

And since a new problem has surfaced, I intend to do something about it.

It’s the stove.

Specifically, heat control. Since I can only boil things right now, every meal ends up being stew.

When I heard about their grilled fish situation, I was left speechless. They were eating it charred completely black, a nerve-wracking detail that made me wonder when they’d develop cancer.

Was that just a superstition, though? There were various theories, like needing to eat a whole drum can’s worth, if I remember correctly. It’s true that it rarely happens, and it might be a myth, but it’s an undeniable fact that it’s bad for your health.

When I conveyed that to him, Gungrave-san was speechless. The other unit commanders were shocked as well.

After consulting with Gungrave-san, he introduced me to a certain captain.

The captain of the Magical Engineering Unit, Rir-san.

“So, Rir-san, please lend me a hand.”

“Mm.”

We ended up having our consultation inside the Magical Engineering Unit’s tent.

The Magical Engineering Unit mainly focuses on crafting—using magic to create tools or embedding magic into equipment. The so-called magic items, right? They also handle civil engineering through magic. She apparently demonstrates her real power when setting up encampments.

“So, the details. Specify.”

Rir-san uses very few words.

She is short, a so-called loli beauty. Her attire is simple, wearing a lab coat over an indigo tunic and trousers. She’s a girl with sleepy eyes and blue hair tied back.

If she came to my world, she’d be wildly popular and pampered by older guys for sure.

“First, it’s something like this.”

I explained using a simple sketch. A portable cassette stove.

“Here, make it so I can adjust the heat output like this, and I’ll place a pot on top of this metal fixture over the fire.”

“?”

“So, I want you to make it possible to adjust the heat level right here.”

“I see.”

Glancing to the side, I spot a chaotic pile of tools.

“What is this?”

“Ignition material. Paper that burns when mana is applied.”

“Please adapt this.”

“?”

In short, paper is fine. Since it seems she can also produce waterproof paper, let’s have her combine and apply these concepts.

I put my requests down on paper.

First, something that rolls up but can be flattened straight out immediately; two large circles will emit flames while floating the pot with magic or whatever. And a small circle will adjust the heat output. Let’s also have a feature added where it naturally extinguishes after a certain time passes. Because I’m scared of fires.

Conveying this, Rir-san, who made a surprised face, seemed to get motivated.

It was completed in no time at all.

A magic-circle portable stove. Just as requested.

“You’re amazing, Rir-san!”

“Naturally.”

I felt a little moe watching Rir-san puff out her chest with pride.

“Then, let’s have you be the very first to taste my new dish.”

“Oh.”

Time to start cooking right away.

This time, it’s hamburg steak. Let’s go for a refreshing taste using fish sauce and a radish substitute. Since fish sauce smells fishy if used as is, I soaked green onions in it beforehand to neutralize the odor. Even so, it won’t remove it completely, but it should be much better. Nam pla is tough to tame!

Since beef was also available, I mix it with flour, shape it into patties, and it’s done.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“Mm!”

I felt a little moe watching Rir-san rejoice.

Rir-san cut off a piece with a fork and brought it to her mouth.

I felt a little moe watching her do that.

“Mm-! Mm, mm!”

Thank goodness, it seems she finds it delicious.

A smile appeared on Rir-san’s usually expressionless face. Bringing piece after piece of hamburg steak to her mouth, she finished eating in the blink of an eye.

I’m glad I was able to get my hands on a convenient, portable, high-performance stove.

After this, they went into battle again, and it seems they achieved victory thanks to Rir-san’s tool playing a massive role.

As expected of Rir-san, she’s no joke.