My Eldritch Horror Wife Followed Me To Another World
Chapter 67: Iron Will

Chapter 67: Iron Will

Nick shifting everyone’s attention to Mijko burning the sausages helped ease Yamans into the crowd. But as soon as they had managed to move the slightly burnt sausages onto a plate and gotten past the crisis of having Mijko on frying duty, everyone couldn’t help but look at Yamans and Utri.

They were members of the almost legendary Phoriae tribe, after all. They weren’t sure what to say or do.

Fortunately, there were some who weren’t bothered by the reputation tied to the Phoriae tribe. Monkey, Muhso, Nick, and Kai were more than fine with Yamanas and Utri. They had no trouble talking to him while he ’investigated’ his sausage.

However, just one sausage wasn’t enough for him to conclude his ’investigation.’ He needed to perform an extensive and thorough examination, preferably several times.

It was safe to say that the smell of sausages hadn’t just lured him back to Nick’s clearing. It had caught him hook, line, and sinker. Utri wasn’t any better. The wolf was open about its appreciation of the sausage and soon took up a spot next to the campfire, dutifully keeping guard. Maybe an accident would happen, and it would need to be quick and catch the sausages before they dropped to the ground.

Its tail wagged steadily, sweeping a half-circle behind it. Whenever it was time to move the sausages from the pot to the pan or the pan to a plate, the speed of its wagging rose like Malak’s heartbeat whenever he saw Sosora.

Utri wasn’t alone.

Whoever ended up on sausage-frying duty would have a towering wolf on their right and a puffy bear cub on their left. It was a challenging position to take, and it came with a heavy responsibility.

It required an iron will to resist the magic contained in the wide, glossy, watery eyes of the two hungry beasts whenever the sausages were on the move.

That was another reason why Mijko was permanently banned from the position. She could not be trusted with keeping an eye on the sausages, and she could not be trusted to keep all the sausages out of Kai’s and Utri’s mouths.

Unsurprisingly, Yamanas was unaffected by Utri’s attempts at charming his way to more sausage. He also remained stoic before Kai. Add to that a keen investigative spirit regarding the mysteries of the sausage’s potential, Yamanas made an excellent sausage guard.

Suddenly, Yamanas became a lot more approachable. He wasn’t a scary, army-decimating wraith. He was just another sausage addict. One thing in common was all the others needed to get along with him. And with one thing in common already, finding more things to talk about was a breeze.

Nick watched it all play out.

He couldn’t help but feel a little amazed.

He had introduced sausage to the Ursa family because Kai had ended up liking it too much to eat Lora’s usual cooking. After hearing what it was, he understood Kai, even if he thought people who were similar to bears would have different taste buds.

But the innovation and seasonings the others had shown during the party were proof that the other tribes knew how to cook. He couldn’t help but wonder why sausages were such a big deal.

Monkey saw the question marks on Nick’s face. He had to admit that he had the same thought.

Sausages were just flavored meat with a bunch of extra steps that made them easier to eat and tastier. They were also easier to cook. But the process of making them was far from easy.

That was the key.

The Ursa tribe had managed to do it on their own, but they hadn’t gotten that far on their own.

Nick had provided the idea. The Ursa family had handled the meat processing. Sosora had contributed with her tribe’s method of cleaning tendons and applying that method to the casings, solving the problem of the lingering taste.

The Ursa tribe had used a different method, but only because they already knew about the problem. They had improved an already established method. But without the established method, they would have never gotten that far.

Lastly, Issa had made even further improvements.

Sausages were new and tasty. Monkey figured that as Nick introduced other meals, it would soon lose the excitement it had right now. It would probably fade sooner or later, even if Nick didn’t bestow upon them other great things. It was impossible to eat the same thing too many times in a row before growing tired of it.

But it wasn’t just that.

Sausages were pretty complex to make for the different tribes. They couldn’t do it on their own.

That was why it was such a big thing.

The sausages were a product of cooperation between the different tribes, something that wasn’t often seen, not to this degree. It wasn’t just different tribes cooperating because their interests aligned.

It was members of different tribes working together in harmony, establishing friendship and community.

That was why the sausages were so delicious. It was the taste of friendship.

Monkey hadn’t felt it in the sausage Muhso brought to the tribal meeting, but he felt it clearly in the sausage Mijko willingly offered to him. Who wouldn’t like the taste of sausage if it warmed their hearts like this?

Monkey, for one, was thankful that Nick had appeared in Tiabe.

He had supported Sosora in the meeting because he said he would. But now, he was confident that Nick was the addition that the forest needed, for better or for worse.

Without letting a single one of his thoughts escape his head, Monkey patted Nick on the shoulder before heading over to line up. The next batch was about done. He was looking forward to what Nick was going to show them next.

Seeing Monkey line up behind Yamanas after her, Mijko considered offering him her spot. Eventually, she decided against it. He wouldn’t bother her because he would be getting a sausage after, right?

Wrong.

"Mijko, was it? Are you an orphan?"

"What! No! I have—"

"Then why have you no respect for your elders?"

Mijko swallowed her words and held back bitter tears as she moved to the back of the line, letting Monkey take a step forward. In her misery, she forgot to count.

She was the ninth in queue. She wasn’t getting a sausage this batch.