"Is this the treasure chest monster from just now?"
Aaliyah asked as she approached.
Actually, since the battle ended earlier, she had also seen the whole process of Gauss poking this lump of meat out of the chest.
However, out of a need to confirm, she asked again.
After all, the dish lying in the pot emanating a fragrant aroma looked vastly different from the previously fierce-looking treasure chest monster.
If she hadn’t spent most of her time with Gauss, she would have thought he took food out of the storage pouch and warmed it up using the chest’s heat.
"Yes, I read in a book that it seems edible?"
Gauss grew more and more admiring of the book’s author, who recorded so much valuable information. The author must have dedicated themselves with a spirit akin to Shennong tasting hundreds of herbs, expending significant effort to create it.
Unfortunately, despite searching through the whole book, there was no author’s name.
He also asked the bookstore that sold him the book and learned it was an open copyright book, free for any qualified institution to print and publish.
And it seems it’s not limited to the vicinity of the Jade Forest.
Aaliyah’s blue eyes glanced over the heavy book Gauss held in one hand, her expression somewhat complex.
"..."
"This book again..."
Gauss had recommended it to her, but she refused.
If it weren’t for Gauss around to taste first, she wouldn’t dare to casually eat the suspicious demon’s flesh.
Though she’s internally criticized Gauss many times, overall, he seemed reliable in handling and consuming demon ingredients.
The few times they ate, at least on the surface, it looked edible, though there were occasional side effects.
"But, an elite demon..."
Previously, it was always ordinary monsters, and now the pot’s resident was a real demon, is it really okay...
Aaliyah still held some doubts.
Gauss wasn’t aware of her complex thoughts.
He grabbed the sharp fine steel longsword and followed the cookbook’s instructions to handle the treasure chest monster ingredients.
First, the tongue and root parts were removed.
Once lifeless, the treasure chest monster’s flesh lost its battlefield toughness. Though requiring extra effort, he successfully removed the inedible parts.
For safety, following the illustrations, he carefully cut away some extra sections.
Then, he segmentally cut the tongue’s middle part into uniform chunks, peeling off the outer skin with a knife until revealing the tender and harmless pink tongue meat, where he stopped.
He rinsed off the surface debris with clean water.
Presented before him was the high-quality ingredient noted in the cookbook.
The pink meat, translucent like jelly, with its unique, beautiful muscle lines, shone under the glowing lamp grass as if it were a luxurious version of tuna from his past life.
With only the final five or six pounds of premium meat left, Gauss swallowed, smiling in anticipation.
"It looks... pretty good."
Even with initial skepticism, Aaliyah had to admit that the prepared ingredients before her looked truly appetizing.
If not for the leftover yellow-black large teeth on the treasure chest, the various half-digested charred materials on the surface, and the ominous compound organ clusters that had been removed...
"Grill part, stew part, and let Aaliyah preserve a part with nature’s power."
Gauss quickly decided.
They only had five or six pounds of premium meat, but from his experience with demon ingredients, they wouldn’t finish it all in one meal.
Since it was lunchtime, even if they hadn’t encountered the treasure chest monster, it was time for the two of them to eat.
"Aaliyah, lend a hand."
Aaliyah nodded without saying much.
Firstly, she knew she couldn’t dissuade Gauss, and secondly, she too was curious about what elite demon would taste like.
She turned to the platform’s edge to start her search.
Now she was quite used to gathering firewood and setting up the cooking pot.
Though there wasn’t suitable wood on the platform, she found plenty of withered, hard vines, cutting them to use as firewood substitutes.
As the two busied themselves, the lunch’s smoke soon rose.
The cleaned stone slabs, placed over the fire, slightly reddened from the heat. After rounds of rubbing with crushed rock salt, the thick slices of tongue meat, brushed with oil, were set on the slabs.
Soon, a sizzling sound began resonating.
Having been heated once before, this time the stone-grilled meat didn’t need to cook for too long on each side, turning over after about thirty seconds.
When both sides appeared golden, sizzling with juicy meat juices and oils, they could be lifted off the stone with a fork.
Gauss cut the tongue meat thick slices in half.
One piece went into his bowl, the other into Aaliyah’s.
Then, under Aaliyah’s gaze, he forked the aromatic meat chunk and put it in his mouth.
"Mmm!"
The moment the food entered, Gauss’s eyes lit up!
The rich meat aroma and heat erupted in his mouth simultaneously.
Teeth sunk into the tongue meat, tender and chewy, not tough at all, and as he chewed, a plentiful amount of juices continuously oozed out, while the fat’s aroma intertwined with the meat’s fragrance on his tongue.
With continuous chewing, the muscle’s unique toughness also formed a "soft yet firm" unique texture.
No wonder it got high praise in the cookbook!
He had thought the rusted frog leg meat and frost snake meat were delicious, but compared to the treasure chest monster’s tongue meat, they suddenly seemed lackluster.
His energy storage glands kept operating, secreting hormones, eliciting a supremely pleasurable sensation in his brain.
"Delicious, really delicious!"
"Whew!"
Gauss exhaled a long breath, generously praising it.
Warmth surged through him, a small piece of meat felt like providing the energy of a large steak.
Seeing Gauss’s delighted expression, Aaliyah also tentatively forked up a piece, her white teeth gently biting a chunk off.
"Mmm!!!"
Soon, her face mirrored Gauss’s with surprise and delight.
Regarding taste, there’s really nothing to complain about.
She wondered if it was just psychological, but the treasure chest monster’s meat seemed distinctly sweeter, separate from the previous ordinary monster ingredients.
Momentarily, her misgivings about demon ingredients were set aside.
Having tasted success, Gauss continued grilling.
Unfortunately, due to the meat’s energy richness, Aaliyah quickly felt full, leaving Gauss to eat a few more pieces before feeding some to Ulfen, who had been eyeing them and salivating.
Aik also received a piece.
The alternate plan of making stew was abandoned; fortunately, they had only boiled some water and not added ingredients, so nothing was wasted.
They were too stuffed.
The two lay on mats on the platform for a while.
After a grand battle, enjoying such a bountiful barbecue naturally uplifted their moods.
After a thorough rest, they stood up and stretched.
"Huh?" On Gauss’s face appeared a joyful expression.
He wondered if it was just an illusion, but he felt his body slightly stronger.