Chapter 158: The Battle for the Roasted Piglet

"If you don’t believe me, then don’t eat the roasted piglet when it’s done."

Sora said it casually, but the effect was immediate.

Lucas’s expression changed.

"No, no, no. I believe you!"

He quickly shook his head.

"Of course I believe you. That piglet must be delicious."

He absolutely did not want to miss out on Sora’s cooking.

After all, he had spent a considerable amount of effort cleaning the pig.

He had scrubbed it repeatedly, refusing to lose to Ace, who had also been competing over the task. By the time they were finished, the wild boar was so clean that its skin almost seemed polished.

After putting in that much work, Lucas naturally felt that he deserved a portion of the roasted meat.

Ace, who was standing nearby, listened to the exchange with a faintly amused expression.

He had been watching Sora carefully for quite some time.

Yet she appeared completely calm.

There wasn’t even the slightest trace of embarrassment or nervousness on her face.

Ace raised an eyebrow.

Had Sora noticed that they were watching her?

Or was she deliberately pretending she didn’t know?

Either way, it didn’t matter.

There was still someone who hadn’t arrived yet.

And Ace wasn’t about to let Sora off so easily.

He pointed toward the cleaned wild boar lying on the large leaves.

"It’s all washed. It’s over there."

Sora followed his finger.

The moment she saw the pig, she was slightly surprised.

It was spotless.

The entire animal practically gleamed.

She hadn’t expected the beastmen to take the cleaning process so seriously.

Her eyes instinctively shifted toward Lucas.

Perhaps it was because Lucas was the one who had been particularly serious about making sure the pig was properly cleaned.

Lucas noticed her gaze.

His heart immediately lifted.

For a moment, he wondered whether Sora was trying to comfort him.

He had been feeling rather down since Ryan’s sudden progress with her.

Could it be that Sora had noticed?

Was she deliberately giving him some reassurance?

The thought instantly improved his mood.

He gave Sora a bright smile.

Sora, however, completely failed to understand the meaning behind his expression.

After looking at Lucas for a moment, she simply turned her attention back to the wild boar.

She inspected the animal carefully.

It wasn’t particularly large, but it wasn’t small either.

She estimated that it weighed around ten kilograms.

The internal organs had already been removed.

The back had been split open and flattened, but some of the larger bones remained.

Sora studied the meat thoughtfully.

"We need to remove the shoulder blade and the fan-shaped bone."

The moment she said it, several beastmen stepped forward.

"I’ll do it."

Lucas was the first.

"I can do it too!"

Ace immediately followed.

Lukan wasn’t about to lose an opportunity to help either.

"I’ll do it."

Then, unexpectedly, Ryan spoke.

"I can do it."

The kitchen became silent for a moment.

Ace’s expression immediately darkened.

He had deliberately tried not to pay attention to Ryan.

He was still struggling to suppress his irritation after witnessing Ryan’s sudden closeness with Sora.

He had no intention of starting another argument.

But now Ryan had voluntarily stepped forward.

Ace couldn’t resist.

"You’re a fish without sharp claws. How are you planning to remove the bones?"

Ryan didn’t even look at him.

Instead, he looked directly at Sora.

"I don’t have claws, but mermen are skilled at dissecting fish. We are also very good at removing bones."

Ace snorted.

"Removing the bones from a fish and removing the bones from a pig are two completely different things."

He gestured toward the wild boar.

"A fish is small. It doesn’t require much strength."

Ryan’s expression remained calm.

Ace’s competitiveness only grew stronger.

"My claws are much more suitable for this."

Lucas immediately took the opportunity to recommend himself as well.

"I can help too."

Sora stood to the side and watched the increasingly ridiculous scene.

It was only removing a few bones.

Why were they acting as if she had asked them to compete for some priceless treasure?

One after another, they were volunteering.

Sora sighed inwardly.

These beastmen are far too competitive.

Then she suddenly noticed someone was missing.

Where has Xavier gone, wasn’t he here just a minute ago?

Normally, Xavier would have been among the first to volunteer for a task like this.

He had always liked finding opportunities to help her.

Perhaps he had something else to deal with.

Sora didn’t think much about it.

Since Lucas and Ace were already eager to work together, she simply nodded.

"All right. You two handle it."

Lucas and Ace immediately moved toward the pig.

Ryan remained where he was.

His expression was calm, but the others could tell he wasn’t particularly pleased.

He had been given an opportunity and lost it.

Ace, on the other hand, looked rather satisfied.

The situation was becoming increasingly amusing.

The merman had recently made remarkable progress with Sora.

But now, when it came to ordinary tasks, the dragon and the black bear had managed to secure the opportunity.

From Sora’s perspective, none of this mattered.

She had much more important things to worry about.

The roasted piglet needed proper seasoning.

Removing the unpleasant smell of wild pork was essential.

In her former world, there were many ways to prepare roasted pork, but she didn’t have access to all the ingredients here.

A traditional recipe might use spice salt, star anise powder, fermented bean curd, and other seasonings.

Unfortunately, she didn’t have fermented bean curd or some of the other ingredients.

So she had to improvise.

Fortunately, Sora had become very good at adapting modern cooking techniques to the primitive world.

She prepared a special seasoning mixture using the materials she had available.

She used the refined salt she had produced earlier, along with some of the sugar left over from making the mirror.

She combined it with her prepared spices.

Then she added minced garlic and sesame oil.

The aroma immediately became stronger.

Sora picked up several wild onions.

After washing them thoroughly, she used the root end as an improvised brush.

She dipped it into the seasoning mixture and carefully brushed the inside of the deboned wild boar.

The rich aroma began spreading through the Wild Kitchen.

Even the beastmen who had been arguing moments earlier gradually became quiet.

Their attention shifted toward Sora’s hands.

She worked methodically.

Every part of the meat needed to absorb the seasoning.

Once she finished, Sora stepped back.

"The inside needs time to marinate."

While waiting, she began preparing the sauce for the skin.

If she wanted the roasted piglet to have crisp, fragrant skin, the sauce was extremely important.

Honey and vinegar would normally be ideal.

But vinegar wasn’t available.

So Sora had to find another solution.

She took the sour wild fruits she had collected earlier.

After squeezing them, she obtained their juice.

The sour juice would provide the acidity she needed while also adding a subtle fruity fragrance.

But the piglet was not small enough for a little juice to be sufficient.

Sora looked at the pile of wild fruits.

Then she looked toward Ace and Ryan.

"You two."

Both of them turned toward her.

"Go pick more wild fruits."

Ace’s expression immediately improved.

Work?

With Sora?

He was willing.

Sora continued.

"Pick enough for me and squeeze the juice into a bowl. I’ll need it later."

Ace nodded enthusiastically.

Ryan also nodded.

The two walked outside together.

Their cooperation lasted less than a minute.

Ace jumped into a nearby tree and grabbed the branches.

With a powerful shake, a shower of wild fruits came tumbling down.

He looked toward Ryan.

"You don’t need me to teach you. Just pick them up yourself."

He gave Ryan a pointed look.

"A fish probably can’t climb trees anyway."

Ryan’s expression didn’t change.

"I’m a merman, not a fish."

He glanced at the tree.

"I still have hands and feet."

Before Ace could respond, Ryan walked toward another wild fruit tree.

He kicked the trunk several times.

The tree shook violently.

A large number of fruits fell onto the ground.

Ryan crouched down and began gathering them.

Ace stared.

He hadn’t expected that response.

Ryan quickly collected a large pile.

Ace’s competitive spirit immediately returned.

I’m not losing to him.

He jumped down from the tree.

With one sweep of his arm, he gathered the scattered fruit from the ground.

The two returned to the Wild Kitchen almost simultaneously.

Neither of them had any intention of admitting defeat.

They reached the table at nearly the same time.

Sora looked at them.

Then at the huge piles of fruit.

Then at the two bowls they were reaching for.

She narrowed her eyes.

"What are you two doing?"

Neither answered.

They were silently competing over who could get the bowl first.

Sora walked over, opened the cabinet herself, and took out two bowls.

She handed one to each of them.

"Hurry up. I need those bowls."

The two beastmen immediately sat down at the round table.

Then they began squeezing the wild fruits.

At first, Ryan worked leisurely.

But when he noticed Ace squeezing faster, his pace gradually increased.

Ace noticed.

He increased his speed as well.

Ryan followed.

Ace sped up again.

Soon, the simple task of squeezing fruit had turned into a silent competition.

Juice splattered everywhere.

Lucas, who was busy removing the remaining bones, looked over in confusion.

What were they doing?

It was just fruit juice.

Did they really need to compete over something so insignificant?

Sora glanced at them and couldn’t help smiling.

"This is a competition between beastmen."

Lucas looked at her.

"A competition?"

"You’ll understand later."

The two continued squeezing.

Their hands moved faster and faster.

Eventually, juice splashed onto Sora’s cheek.

She froze.

Then another splash landed near her forehead.

Sora’s expression darkened.

"Stop!"

Both Ryan and Ace immediately paused.

Sora pointed toward the bowls.

"What are you two doing?"

She wiped the juice from her face.

"If the seeds get into the juice, the sauce will become bitter!"

She looked at the two of them sternly.

"I spent a lot of time preparing this sauce. If you ruin it because you’re competing over fruit juice, I won’t let you off easily."

The two beastmen immediately became quiet.

Ace looked away.

Ryan lowered his gaze.

Neither dared continue.

Sora sighed.

"Just squeeze it properly."

She returned to the cooking area.