The Man Picked up by the Gods – Volume 3 Chapter 193: A Short Break (2/3)

“Thank you, Little Shin. …Could you boys point me to where that kid ran off to?” [Grandma]

“That way.” [Kei]

As soon as Kei-san said that, the grandma ran toward the direction he pointed at.

…Is it really okay for someone of her age to be hurrying that much?

“Don’t worry, it’s just the usual.” [Kei]

When I asked Kei-san and the others about it, apparently that kid called Niki from earlier is the most mischievous child in the village. Around this time, the parents are at work, so the children are taken care of by the elderly who have retired from fishing and working at the processing plant, but that kid somehow always slips away from their care and plays tricks on others.

“Still, it sure is strange that he would pick on someone who’s not a villager.” [Kei]

“Oh, right. You said something about a promise earlier.” [Ryouma]

“Yeah. A promise not to play pranks on people from outside the village. It’s not just Niki. All the children are taught that. That if they want to play pranks on people, they need to limit it to just those from the village.” [Kai]

“Part of the reason is of course because we don’t want them to cause trouble for other people, but the bigger reason is because we don’t know what kind of people they might end up messing with.” [Shin]

“This time around you just laughed it off, but if they were to play a prank on the wrong person, they could be in trouble.” [Peiron]

“The adults are keeping an eye on the children, but they also need to be properly taught of the dangers of dealing with other people.” [Sein]

Well, I guess that’s true.

While I was thinking that, I noticed that something was wrapped around my wrist.

“Ah, by the way, what should I do with this?” [Ryouma]

All this time, I’ve been holding onto this octopus— erm… okuta.

“Hmm? Oh, I don’t think there’s any need for you to give it back. You could eat it if you want?” [Kai]

“Ah, so it really was food.” [Ryouma]

“Boil it and eat it. It tastes great, you know?” [Sein]

“Come to think of it, I am a bit hungry.” [Kei]

“Yeah, but there’s just one and at that size, it’s a bit…” [Shin]

“Oh! In that case, I have just the thing for you!” [Ryouma]

“Just the thing?” [Kai, Kei, Shin, Sein, Peiron]

We would be inconveniencing others if we kept idling by the roadside like this, so we went back to Kai-san’s house first.

 

When we got there, I brought them to the kitchen, where I then took out an iron plate with a round depression.

“Hey, hey. Something big came out.” [Kai]

“There’s a magic stone attached. But a magic tool, huh.” [Kei]

“Exactly! I had a craftsman I knew make it. It’s a Takoyaki Pan!” [Ryouma]

By securing a steady source of eggs through the clever chickens, it looked like I would be able to cook more dishes, so there were various cooking utensils that I wanted to acquire. As such, I spoke with Dinome’s Workshop and had them made.

This Takoyaki Pan is one of those. There’s also one for a Taiyaki that’s made with just an iron plate, one for a kawayaki, one for an okonomiyaki, and another for yakisoba. I accidentally drew the large-versions of the utensils meant for festivals and the likes while I was explaining it to the craftsmen, but out of courtesy, they made them all commercial-sized.

“Do you have enough ingredients? Feel free to use what’s available at our home.” [Kai]

“Thank you very much. I have most of the ingredients, but I’d like to have something I can use for the soup stock.” [Ryouma]

“Soup stock… It should be around here.” [Kai]

Various dried fishes were taken out of the cupboard.

“And then there’s this.” [Kei]

“? What’s this jar?” [Ryouma]

“Fish sauce. A marine processed product. All sorts of ingredients are used when making soup.” [Kei]

“Fish paste… Could it be? Can I lick it a little?” [Ryouma]

“Sure.” [Kei]

I opened the jar and dropped a couple of drops on the back of my hand.

It was a lot less thick than what I was expecting, so I quickly licked it up.

“!!” [Ryouma]

A salty taste spread through my mouth accompanied by a unique taste with a thick umami… I knew it! It’s ‘fish paste’!

This unique taste isn’t that strong, and it’s also weak to heat just like the fishy smell.

I used it a lot before as a secret ingredient.

…Is this the reason why the soup I’ve been eating here has been so nostalgic?

In any case, with this fish paste and the dried foods, I’m sure I can make something really delicious!

First, I strangle the okuta and have the cleaner slime clean off the mud and ink off of it. Meanwhile, I’ll boil water to prepare the dashi (soup stock).

I add salt to the boiled water, crumple the cleaned octopus, and then throw it into the pot. The limbs that have been coiling up since awhile ago changed from its green color into a bright red color. At this point, it really is no different from an octopus. It looks delicious. I hope I can get more.

I know. I’ll ask those guys who’ve made themselves comfortable in the living room.


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15 responses to “The Man Picked up by the Gods – Volume 3 Chapter 193: A Short Break (2/3)”

  1. Belkar Avatar
    Belkar

    Thank you!

  2. hb98rml Avatar

    Thanks for the chapter. I can’t really picture an octopus being strangled to death. Is that how they’re usually killed? I personally don’t like eating them since they remind me of rubber.

  3. sfcipher Avatar

    Thanks for the treat.

  4. Matheus Martins da Cunha Avatar
    Matheus Martins da Cunha

    Tks for the work

  5. kariageweb Avatar

    Thanks for the chapter! 🙂

  6. Sora Avatar
    Sora

    Thnx for the chapter!
    Merry Christmas!

  7. Jack L Avatar
    Jack L

    Merry Christmas!! Thanks for the chapter

  8. Philip Avatar
    Philip

    Thanks for the update! Awesome translation! God bless you, and Happy Christmas!

  9. Quentin Leverrier Avatar
    Quentin Leverrier

    Thanks for the chapter…. But…but…w…where….where’s my goblin kingdom?! Riot! I’m gonna riot!!!
    Nah, just kidding.
    Maybe…
    Hide the knife away

  10. Quentin Leverrier Avatar
    Quentin Leverrier

    Great… My coment disapeared >.> Gosh darn it

    1. tffgirlaira12 Avatar

      Thanks 4 the chapter

  11. indrajid Avatar
    indrajid

    thank you sir

  12. darkLoki Avatar
    darkLoki

    Thanks for the chapter, this time we have a cooking chapter, but I have one question how you strangle a octopus to death… because they don’t have bones

    1. Dancer Avatar
      Dancer

      You don’t, although female octopi will strangle the male after mating as she needs food to recover.

      You can stab them directly between the eyes or bite them between the eyes. This is where their brain is located. Cutting or biting the brain kills the octopus.

      This step is occasionally skipped though as live octopus cleaned and chopped just before serving is one of the more dangerous Japanese dishes. The danger is that the suckers will activate while being eaten fastening the food firmly to the inside of the diner’s mouth or throat.

      Be on the safe side. Bite it in the brain, turn it inside out and remove the beak before beating it up to tenderize the meat and cooking it.

  13. DaiCho Avatar
    DaiCho

    This made me hungry for takoyaki.

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