Liver... Chives...?

Though I was amazed by the existence of magic, for now, I decided to deal with the wild boar in front of me. Bloodletting was enough to let it flow out. It was still warm to the touch, almost like body temperature.

"Alright. Since there's a pond here, we'll just cool it down in the water."

I asked Rizatia, who had returned, to carry the wild boar.

"Yes. I'll take care of it then."

She picked up the boar by its front legs and submerged it in the pond.

"Oh, you seem to know how to hunt. Was that your livelihood?"

We sat on the edge of the pond and started talking. Even though she was taller than me, she looked at me from under her brows, making me feel a bit self-conscious about my height.

"My grandfather was a hunter, so I know a bit. Though, honestly, hunting with a stone spear is something new for me."

"Is that right? So your grandfather was a hunter?"

Even though it was midday, I wasn't very hungry, probably still excited from earlier. I idly watched as the boar cooled down and continued chatting. Since my divorce, I hadn't had much opportunity to talk with girls other than coworkers, so this was quite enjoyable. On the flip side, being in a situation without any foundation for life made me feel down about whether it was okay to spend time with her like this. Well, even if I proposed marriage, there were misunderstandings, so for now, I'll properly talk things through once we get to the village.

About two hours had passed, and the boar's temperature had dropped enough.

"Alright, shall we start butchering it?"

Butchering a large animal like a wild boar was something I hadn't done since middle school, so I had no confidence at all.

"Oh. Don't worry about that. I'll take care of it."

Rizatia stepped in to help. She pulled the boar out of the pond and laid it on its back on a tarp-like cloth, spreading out its limbs. Oh, it was a male. She stuffed some cloth into the anus. Carefully peeling the skin from the fat layer. Using a butchering knife, she cut off the head starting from the neck area and tied up the intestines near the throat with a string. Avoiding the reproductive organs and bladder, she made a single cut from the center of the abdomen all the way to the throat. As soon as she cut through the diaphragm, the internal organs fell out. She carefully removed the remaining bladder.

"May I have the liver? I want to make lunch."

"Sure. It's no trouble. Please go ahead."

"After that, do you have a frying pan? And could I borrow a knife as well?"

"There's no frying pan, but there's a thick pot in the miscellaneous bag. You can use that. There's also a little salt left."

She pulled out a knife from her chest and handed it to me. Yesterday, when I looked around, I had noticed chives and chili peppers growing wild. I took out the thick single-hand pot and salt from the miscellaneous bag and headed toward yesterday's makeshift stove. Since there was some firewood left from yesterday, I started a fire. The chives were near the pond, and the chili peppers were at the edge of the river and forest.

I chopped the liver and chives roughly and removed the seeds from the chili peppers, grinding them with a stone. I poured the boar's fat into the pot and waited for it to melt. When a fragrant aroma of rendered fat began to waft up, I added the chili peppers and quickly stir-fried them. When the spicy aroma filled the air, I then added the liver. Once they had slightly browned, I added the chives. As the chives absorbed the oil and heat, turning a vibrant green, I finally added salt and took it off the fire.

"Lunch is ready!"

When I went to the pond, I saw Rizatia carefully washing the intestines.

"That's done for now. Let's eat."

Checking the butchering site, each part had been divided into cuts. Edible internal organs were placed in separate cloth bags and submerged in the pond, while inedible parts were all buried in a hole.

She held a wooden spoon, and I used some makeshift chopsticks made from carved wood as we headed toward the pot.

"I didn't realize you could make such a dish with that plant. I only thought of it as an herb."

"It's a dish from my area, but since there aren't many seasonings, it might be a bit incomplete?"

She smiled and started to eat.

"Mmm... mm. It's delicious. Is this just salt?"

She smiled in surprise.

"Fresh liver is really tasty, isn't it?"

As someone accustomed to excessive salt intake in modern times, the saltiness was still important.

After finishing the meal, we cleaned up and finished processing the boar. All that was left was to head to the village.

"Let's depart then. The village is about 5 kilometers away."

Hearing that, I felt a little regretful that we would reach the settlement in just another hour or so. As much as possible, I prayed to the gods to avoid camping out in the wild again.