Appraiser 11

Test

Delicious Meat Is The Monster Meat

"Hey, is meat... the meat of monsters?"

"Huh? Yeah. Obviously, the delicious stuff is monster meat."

"I see..."

As Yuuri glanced at the lineup at the butcher's shop, he couldn't help but ask Yak. However, Yak remained calm. The butcher also gave him a look like, "What's so surprising?" While it was strange to Yuuri, it was commonplace for the people who lived in this world.

The rows of meat displayed various kinds. In one corner, there were chickens, cows, and horses listed, but their prices were incredibly cheap. So cheap it was almost troublesome. Compared to monster meat, it was about a tenth of the price. It seemed cheap enough to be considered not delicious or with some problem.

"Um, what about that meat in the corner?"

"Huh? Oh, that's just the meat from slaughtered livestock. We sell it, but I wouldn't recommend it. It's not good."

"Not good!?"

Yuuri was surprised and couldn't help but exclaim. For Yuuri, chicken or beef should be tastier than monster meat. So why? He wondered with a question mark hovering over his head.

But that was a mistake in this world. There was no industry here for raising livestock just for consumption. Yuuri didn't know. But in this world, people could eat monster meat, so they didn't bother raising livestock for its meat, risking danger from monsters or animals.

What was the livestock meat displayed in the shop?

Basically, it was just meat made from discarded livestock. Cows that couldn't plow anymore. Chickens that couldn't lay eggs. Horses that couldn't pull carts. They were all crushed and turned into meat, then sold at low prices to get rid of them. Still, some poor people would buy this dirt-cheap meat. The meat was meat, even if it wasn't perfect in taste.

Furthermore, the minced meat used in Yuuri's croquette last night was all from this corner, the meat of undesirable livestock. The reason was self-evident. It was the last resort meat Yak reluctantly bought to save money after his seniors spent too much. They used it generously, and none was left for Yak.

"...Yak, which one is delicious?"

"Don't ask me. Ask the old man over there."

"But the people at the shop say everything is delicious. What do you do in this case?"

"We don't stock anything but the livestock meat from that corner."

"See?"

"...Yeah."

The butcher laughed heartily at Yuuri's words. It might be true. But when faced with unfamiliar ingredients and asked which one was delicious or recommended, it wasn't a reliable comment. Yak smiled wryly and started explaining each piece of meat lined up, being surprisingly helpful.

Yuuri decided to appraise the meat Yak was explaining.

"This is viper meat. It doesn't have much flavor, it's quite light."

"If it doesn't have much flavor, maybe it's good with a light seasoning?"

—

Viper meat.

The monter viper's meat. The meat from the body part. It's light without much flavor. It's popular among women.

It's especially lean, making it a versatile ingredient for any dish.

It has a texture similar to Japanese chicken meat, mainly resembling breast meat and tenderloin.

As always, there was an unnecessary explanation at the end, which no one except Yuuri needed. But that confirmed it for Yuuri. He would listen to Yak's explanations while appraising. With that, He could imagine the taste. He wouldn't know what dish to make if he couldn't imagine the taste. Therefore, he would inevitably hesitate whether to buy it or not.

"This is orc meat. Some parts are fatty, but it's delicious whether grilled or stewed."

"Oh, really. So it's quite versatile."

—

Orc meat.

The monster orc's meat. The evaluation varies depending on the part. Easy to cook with and highly valued.

Men prefer the fatty parts, while women prefer lean parts. It's tender even when cooked.

It's almost the same as Japanese pork. The judgment of the parts is almost the same too.

Since orcs are monsters like pigs, if it's said to be similar to pork, that's fine. But comparing a bipedal pig to pork made Yuuri feel complicated. However, he knew how to handle pork meat. It was versatile and could be used in various dishes, so he considered it a purchase option. And it was reasonably priced.

"This is bison meat. It's characterized by its fatty parts. But the lean parts are also delicious. When thickly sliced and grilled, it's incredibly delicious."

"...So it's good for steak? I'm not a fan of fatty meat, so maybe I'll grill it on a rack."

—

Bison meat.

The monster bison's meat. It's fatty, and even the lean parts have streaks of fat.

It's mainly eaten as thickly sliced steaks. The higher-grade ones are called marbled.

It's moderately priced, but it's both delicious and treated as a small luxury by ordinary people.

It's almost the same as Japanese beef. Its grade is not particularly high, similar to domestic beef.

As expected, bison meat was indeed like beef, as Yuuri expected. It didn't bother him, but not mentioning that it wasn't of high grade made him feel sorry for the bison. If bison were considered ordinary domestic beef level, then there would probably be some hyper-premium meat equivalent to top-grade domestic wagyu beef somewhere, Yuuri thought vaguely.

Beef was also versatile, and many young people liked it. Since it was more expensive than orc meat, Yuuri decided to choose carefully. Meat was important.

"Oh, there's big frog meat. Mister, what's this about?"

"Yeah, there was a large population outbreak in the nearby swamp, so we got it wholesale from the adventurer's guild."

"Yuuri, big frog meat is similar to viper, but it's a bit more robust in flavor than viper. It's cheap, so I recommend it!"

"It's light but rich... Wait, frog?!"

Yuuri murmured quietly. He had never eaten a frog before. However, he had seen comments on TV saying it resembled chicken meat. And there was a culture of frying it whole like chicken. For now, Yuuri decided to confirm it through appraisal.

—Big frog meat.

The meat of the monster big frog. It lives in swamps, but the meat itself is mild and light.

It's a mild taste preferred by women, with plenty of umami, loved by people of all ages.

Sometimes, there's a large outbreak, and the unit price drops, becoming the people's ally.

It's similar to Japanese chicken meat. It's closer to thigh meat.

If the viper was like breast meat, the big frog seemed to be like thigh meat. It was hard for Yuuri to imagine snakes and frogs being similar to chickens. But the atmosphere of the meat displayed in the shop also resembled chicken meat, if he overlooked the occasional obvious frog legs.

There were other meats available, but they seemed relatively expensive, so Yuuri ignored them. Yak explained the meats that ordinary people usually use. Yak couldn't explain the slightly more expensive meats he hadn't eaten either.

That made sense, Yuuri thought. He had never eaten things like domestic black wagyu sirloin steak, which had too many zeroes attached to its price. He knew there was wonderful pork called domestic black pig, but he hadn't tasted it. He had tasted somewhat special pork called herb pork. So even though he knew they existed, meats he had never eaten couldn't be explained no matter what. So, it should be fine to skip them this time.

"Can I have the four types we just looked at? Equal amounts of each. Yak, how much meat do you usually buy?"

"Well, I come shopping when we run out, so not that much..."

"Yak?"

"I mean, by the time I come shopping, the budget has been heavily reduced. So I couldn't buy much. I ended up giving up on the big frog and cheap viper when there was a big outbreak and just bought livestock meat."

"...Thank you."

Yuuri murmured with a distant look, patting Yak's head. The butcher also rubbed Yak's head with his large palm. Everyone knew Yak was going through a lot. Because everyone knew, they were kind, giving him extras or discounts on the sly.

But even with these efforts, it didn't match up because his careless seniors would still buy expensive things from fancy shops on the main street.

Reality was merciless.

But reality would get a bit better. From now on, Yuuri will be in charge of meals. Yuuri wasn't aspiring to be a treasure hunter. He was just in Scarlet Lynx for general common sense and a place to belong. And also for Ali to supervise and protect Yuuri. So, he wouldn't spend time training like the other apprentices, nor would se go out exploring. His basic job was cooking and cleaning.

And the troubled senior apprentices who were no good at anything would be under Yuuri's guidance. They should learn how to cook and use ingredients. Right now, Yuuri isn't used to shopping yet. But once he got used to it, he would undoubtedly prevent wasteful shopping.

Yuuri was a girly boy. But not the dreamy type who sparkles with dreams and hopes. He was more of a homely person. To put it bluntly, he was slightly imbued with housewife wisdom, aunt techniques, or grandmother wisdom. Therefore, he would absolutely not make wasteful purchases. Unforgivable.

Perhaps, once Yuuri took control of the wallet, he would be fired up about how to make cheap and delicious meals. There was still a hint of that now. He tried to get bigger vegetables for the same price or choose high-quality meat. He had various appraisal skills for meat.

"For lunch today, let's make a simple and delicious meal with this meat, Yak."

"...A simple and delicious meat dish? Are you sure?"

"Yeah. So after we finish shopping, help me with the cleaning, okay?"

"...It's the seniors' turn for cooking duty."

"That's okay. The seniors will help, but Ali said I could handle menu planning for a while."

Yuuri smiled as Yak looked surprised. He looked stunned for a moment but then smiled happily. Perhaps he thought he wouldn't get caught up in the reckless antics of his foolish seniors. Or maybe he thought he could get a delicious meal. Yuuri didn't know, but either way was fine. He was just happy to see this serious and reliable boy who had been kind to his smile.

And so, after purchasing a large amount of meat, the two returned to their hideout with excitement and anticipation.