Old Man Tokugawa assumed that the person who had accepted the bounty from him had succeeded in wounding Yujiro. Thus, he generously transferred 500 million Yen as payment for their hard work.
In truth, he hadn't held much hope; after all, killing the Strongest Creature on Earth was an almost impossible feat. But this time, beyond all expectations, Yujiro had actually been wounded.
Didn't that mean Yujiro wasn't truly invincible?
Tokugawa trembled with joy, though he tried his best to stifle his laughter so it wouldn't be heard.
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Elsewhere, at LycoReco Cafe—Chisato and Shino's hideout—they suddenly received a transfer of 500 million Yen from a client. They were baffled. As far as they could remember, the mission wasn't finished, so why was that much money being sent? They placed a call to inquire.
Tokugawa answered that they had wounded Yujiro, and this was an additional bonus.
"Huh?" Chisato and Shino looked at each other, as if asking: "Was it you?"
Neither of them remembered wounding Yujiro. After all, the man's skin was as hard as steel; ordinary handguns couldn't even pierce his defenses. They proceeded to call Ryunosuke over.
Ryunosuke himself was utterly bewildered. At the time, he had been focused solely on escaping and didn't recall ever wounding his opponent. Chisato finally decided not to overthink it; free money was free money, so why refuse?
"Ehehe!" Chisato hugged Shino from behind and massaged her shoulders while suggesting cheerfully, "Let's go eat something delicious!"
"Totsuki Culinary Academy isn't far from here; it only takes half an hour by ferry."
"I don't want to!" Shino brushed Chisato's hands off her shoulders. "It's extremely expensive there. I don't want to eat at a place where a single meal can cost tens of millions."
Shino was the frugal, diligent type who managed the household; only her mother was left at home. Even though she earned a lot of money, she wouldn't squander it on a single meal. To her, it was too expensive and not worth it.
Chisato looked gloomy because she really wanted to eat there. After all, 500 million divided by three meant they each got about 160 to 170 million.
Ryunosuke raised his teacup, took a small sip, and said calmly: "There's no need to spend money on food that expensive. My own skills aren't half bad; would you like me to cook something for you?"
"It shouldn't be inferior to those Totsuki graduates."
Chisato leaned her face against the table with a look of disbelief. "Why do I feel like you're bragging? Not inferior to a graduate from there? Go on then, show me."
Without a word, Ryunosuke went into the kitchen and put on a headband identical to Mao's (the Culinary Genius). Although he felt that since the blood clot in his brain had vanished, he didn't need a trigger to enter "Chuunibyou" mode, it had become a difficult habit to break.
He pulled out a piece of top-quality beef that had just been cut. The meat was actually still pulsing because it was so fresh. Freshly cut beef will indeed twitch because the nerves haven't completely died yet, indicating extreme freshness, not because it has worms in it.
Ryunosuke remembered when he was a child in his previous life; he had been tricked by his mother, who told him that twitching meat had worms in it just so she could eat it all herself.
Ryunosuke had believed her and didn't eat a single drop of beef at the dinner table. Remembering that, he felt annoyed.
"Truly outrageous. My own flesh and blood mother, tricking even a little kid!"
His mother in his past life had often played pranks on him; almost every piece of good food was taken through deception. In this life, although his family's condition wasn't good and his father was a drunkard, at least his mother loved him. Until now, Ryunosuke still couldn't remember his mother's face; it seemed he should find time to visit her...
Ryunosuke removed the membranes and tendons from the beef so the texture wouldn't be tough when chewed. He then cut the meat into small chunks and pounded them repeatedly with a wooden mallet. Remember! One must use a wooden mallet. If one wants to be practical and use a stainless steel mallet, the texture of the flavor will be vastly different.
The meat was pounded into a paste, a little salt was added, and then it was pounded again for half an hour. Once the meat paste became as elastic as clay mixed with water, he sprinkled tapioca starch on the table to keep it from sticking and to add chewiness. The meat paste was then kneaded like flour dough so the tapioca would integrate perfectly.
Next, he prepared a broth of large bones mixed with an old hen and various herbs that had been simmered for a long time.
The beef dough was rolled into thin sheets. Ryunosuke kept pressing it with a rolling pin until it was very thin, as thin as transparent gauze. He took a sheet of meat and held it up to the sunlight; if light passed through it, it meant it had reached a passing standard.
Ryunosuke then folded the large sheets of meat multiple times and cut them into the shape of noodles. This was authentic Beef Noodles. The version that uses ordinary flour noodles isn't the real thing; that's just a way to save on costs. Over time, this technique had nearly gone extinct.
Furthermore, the production process was complicated and couldn't be replaced by machines because it would ruin the texture. Noodles made purely from beef would, of course, not be cheap.
Ryunosuke placed the cut beef noodles into a special noodle strainer and boiled them in the bone broth. The aroma of the broth and the concentrated essence seeped perfectly into the delicious beef. Once cooked, he lifted them out, sprinkled parsley or spring onions as a garnish, and then poured over a ladle of broth. Finished.
Ryunosuke took off his headband.
"The Authentic Ancient Beef Noodles are finished, please enjoy."
Chisato and Shino, smelling the fragrant aroma wafting through the air, couldn't stop themselves from salivating.
Shino could still hold back, but Chisato didn't care anymore; she wiped the corner of her lips and stepped forward to help Ryunosuke carry one bowl.
Since there were three bowls, Ryunosuke couldn't carry them all at once, so he let Chisato help. Though in truth, the girl just wanted to eat immediately.
Even before sitting in a chair, Chisato started eating while standing up. The delicious beef was chewed in her mouth, providing a sensation of flavor explosions that stimulated every nerve in her body.
She unconsciously let out a sound that could trigger a misunderstanding.
"Aaahhh~"
The sound made Shino shudder to the point that the chopsticks in her hand fell. She suspected the food was laced with aphrodisiacs and became afraid to eat it.
Ryunosuke started eating as well. Perhaps because he had an immunity to his own cooking, he didn't make any strange noises. He looked at Shino, who hadn't touched her chopsticks yet, in confusion.
"Aren't you eating?"
Shino hurriedly waved her hands in refusal, her head shaking fast like a rattle-drum, stating she didn't want to eat. Ryunosuke felt it was a shame, but he didn't overthink it and continued eating.