I was led by the steward Gilbert through a long corridor.
Gilbert stopped at one of the doors in the corridor, knocked on the door and called to Otousama.

「Master, I have brought Cristesama」
「Umu, enter」
「Excuse me」

When Gilbert opened the door for me and I timidly walked inside, sitting there was Otousama and…

「Yoo! Were you well?」

Completely relaxed, Yo! hand waving Leon-sama.
… It was you after all~!

「… Leon-sama, thank you very much for your care yesterday」

I deeply curtsied.

「You have my grat.i.tude as well. My daughter has caused you trouble, Leon-sama」

Otousama gave his thanks.
Ahh… a scolding course will definitely follow after this…

「Ah~ no need for thanks. Helping the troubled is something like my job after all. Don’t mind it」

Leon-sama shook his hand.

「You saying that saves us the trouble. So, what business might you have come here for today?」

Otousama inquired the reason for his visit.

… c.r.a.p. Even though I haven’t told him that Mas.h.i.+ro and Kurogane got exposed yet.
… Do I have no choice but to rely on Otousama’s quickwittedness in front of Leon-sama’s confidence…!?

「Business? A, ahh~ right. I thought of letting you eat delicious meat skewers I discovered on the morning market today. Here」

What was it? As if recalling with such expression, Leon-sama retrieved a piping hot meat skewers from his Inventory and handed them to Otousama and me.

… Eh? Meat skewers?
I, who absentmindedly received the meat skewer froze in place because I didn’t know what to do.

「… Leon-sama, you have went to the downtown again? You have to think of your status and restrain yourself a little…」

Otousama accepted the meat skewer wiht an exhausted expression.

「Now, don’t say that. Unlike the n.o.bles like you, those guys are working without resting. Ain’t it fine to let them make some money?」

Leon-sama wildly pulled out a piece of meat from the meat skewer and chewed.

「Dhere, afuifuhinifuehe」

… Leon-sama, I have no idea what you are saying.

「Indeed. Cristea, let’s eat while it’s hot」

Eh? Otousama understood him?
Glancing at the startled me, Otousama also bit the meat skewer.

「… Fumu. This is quite… the seasoning is simple, but the meat and the grilling is good…」

Otousama gave his impressions after properly savoring the taste.

「Oh? You understand! That’s right! From what I heard, the meat put away after tendering…」
「… Wouldn’t the meat spoil that way?」

Otousama grimaced at the thought that he might be eating a spoiled meat.

「No, no. That’s not it. The place seems to be a secret, but they apparently leave it hanging in a cave. That place is chilly with a good ventilation, so it’s apparently good for storing meat. The taste is supposed to deepen after leaving the meat to mature for a while」

Leon-sama explained the secret of the meat while denying Otousama’s words.

Ahh… aged meat, I see.
Unlike my past life, the long-term preservation of raw meat hasn’t been established here that much.
You either cut and eat, and if you don’t pickle it in salt it will end up getting spoiled so there’s not a general concept of aging meat.
You did well finding an aging method…

… If that’s the case, then there’s no way I won’t eat a delicious meat. Itadakimasu!
Agu… mugumugu.
… It’s quite tough, but the deliciousness of the meat is clearer the more I chew.
I see… this is yummy.

While eating the meat skewer in a daze, Otousama asked Leon-sama a question.

「Won’t monsters or other beasts be lured by leaving meat in a cave like that?」

Yeah, certainly.

「No? It seemed to be a coincidence. A hunter has apparently lost his way on a hunt because of the snow and discovered a small cave in which he took refuge after confirming there are no monsters. He placed a barrier stone at the entrance to prevent monsters and beasts from entering and spent several days in the cave with his game until he one day ran out of the preserved foods. But, when he thought the game might be already spoilt and gave it a try, the meat was…」
「Delicious, is it?」
「Exactly! After that, the hunter who survived couldn’t forget the taste of that meat and invented the method using the same cave and the barrier method」
「Hou… that is very interesting」
「Right? The precise preserving methods are apparently secret so he didn’t tell me more… well, one does not find a cave that conveniently though」
「Truly」

Umu, I believe there are methods for aging meat in a cellar, but I won’t say anything unnecessary. I can’t talk with my cheeks stuffed with meat, so it can’t be helped, yeah.

Mugumugu… delish.

… Huh? What did I come here for again? … Huhh?