Chapter 122

Chapter 122: Behemoth Sous Vide Tenderloin Tonkatsu

I should stop by to see Maxim before heading home.

He must be quite disheartened that part of the fortress wall, which had been so sturdy, had collapsed.

His head was probably aching just thinking about the repairs.

Sure enough, there was Maxim, inspecting the collapsed section of the wall.

"Maxim......? Are you all right?"

"My liege, I am perfectly fine. Honestly, I am just slightly taken aback. I never imagined a fortress built from Erdotte Stone could crumble like this."

"I can understand that. It is not something that happens easily."

Maxim suddenly sprang to his feet and looked at me.

Fire seemed to dance in his eyes.

"After repairing the collapsed wall and developing the Outpost township to a certain degree, I will need to reinforce the fortress wall to be even stronger and more resilient. Additionally, I must dig a deep moat along the outer perimeter for defensive purposes. It seems there is truly a great deal of work ahead. Gwahahaha!"

There was a touch of madness in that laughter.

At the same time, there was joy.

'Maxim had been worried about running out of things to do once the township construction was finished, after all.'

He looked happy to have more work on his plate.

'A moat along the outer wall......'

That would make it much harder for monsters like the Behemoth to attempt breaching the wall, so it would definitely increase the Outpost's defensive capability by a significant margin.

Currently, the Outpost had several weaknesses.

It was particularly vulnerable to aerial monster attacks.

Since the fortress wall had been erected, there had been two incidents of flying monsters infiltrating. In one case, crossbow fire from the watchtower had driven the monster away.

In the other, the monster had ignored the crossbows, landed inside the walls, and was promptly hunted down by the Hunters stationed at the Outpost.

'Ashley and Ruina said they would help with aerial monster countermeasures later.'

The plan was to install a Barrier that would make the Outpost invisible from the air.

As an additional precaution against airborne monsters that still approached, Magical Turrets would also be set up.

That plan would likely be implemented only after the guild's funds had grown sufficiently.

***

When we traveled through a portal to the Rift house along with the Knight Order members, Ria came walking toward us quickly.

"Seon-u, you are not hurt anywhere?"

"As you can see, I am fine. Were you worried?"

"A little worried."

Ria looked me up and down, then let out a sigh of relief.

'I do not think it was just a little.'

Then Ruina approached, holding Rin's hand, and spoke up.

"Lady Ria was pacing back and forth in the yard the whole time, completely restless and terribly worried."

"Was she?"

"Yes, she even tried to go to the scene herself, despite being pregnant."

"That is absolutely not allowed."

Ria puffed out her cheeks at that.

"Ruina, what an unnecessary thing to say."

Having tattled on her to me, Ruina fled in a hurry, claiming she had things to do.

Then Rin came up beside me and took my right hand.

"Papa, you didn't get huwt?"

"No, Rin. Daddy is completely fine."

"Hehe! That's a wewief."

Rin had been at the Dungeon Wild Grape dungeon with Ruina and Vice Commander Garrett when the incident occurred.

I then explained what had happened to Ria.

She was surprised.

"So it was the Behemoth, that monster Fenrir had mentioned."

"Yeah, it was stronger than I expected."

"But you still took it down safely."

"It was only possible because the three of us -- myself, the elder, and Santos -- fought it together."

If the elder and Santos had not formed a Sovereign's Bond with me and received the stat buffs, even the three of us would not have been able to handle it.

"Anyway, I am glad you took it down safely without getting hurt."

"Of course. I could not have you worrying."

In truth, there had been one close call from the lightning attack, but I chose not to mention it to avoid making her worry for nothing.

"Does Acresia not want to Devour the Behemoth?"

"It is quiet for now. Maybe because I do not want it to."

The bond between Acresia and me was growing stronger with each passing day.

As a result, using the skills had become as natural as water flowing.

Ria continued.

"Are you going to butcher the Behemoth?"

"I have to. The hide is far tougher than Drake hide, so it should make excellent material for defensive gear."

On top of that, just before the Behemoth was taken down, it had used its recovery skill to restore its damaged skin.

So the hide was in pristine condition.

"That is great."

"I also want to extract the Transcendent-Grade Magic Stone and try butchering it to cook the Behemoth meat."

"I will help with the butchering."

"No. It is not good for your mental well-being."

"Something like that does not bother me at all."

"Even if it does not bother you, Ria, the baby in your belly might be startled by the scent of blood. It will be a bit slower, but I will get help from the Knight Order members."

"......Fine, then."

I then took all the male Knight Order senior members and traveled by portal to a large cave in the Snowfield Zone, a considerable distance from the house.

It was the place where Ria, Fenrir, and I had taken shelter from a blizzard on our way to the Dragon's Lair some time ago.

There, I retrieved the Behemoth's carcass and began the butchering work.

The hide was extremely tough, but fortunately, Benny and former Vice Commander Garrett, who both wielded swords, made the work possible.

Eventually, we severed the blood vessels from the heart and extracted it whole.

'The Transcendent-Grade Magic Stone should be inside this.'

I felt tense.

Former Vice Commander Garrett held out a dagger to me.

"Please cut it open yourself, Seon-u."

"Understood."

I took the dagger and carefully sliced open the Behemoth's heart.

Inside, a fist-sized Magic Stone appeared, looking as though it had been cut and polished like a gemstone.

'So this is a Transcendent-Grade Magic Stone.'

I extracted it.

Then.

[You have achieved the 'First Transcendent-Grade Magic Stone Acquisition' achievement.]
[As an achievement reward, all stats increase by 3.]

I had obtained the Transcendent-Grade Magic Stone and received an achievement reward.

All of my stats rose by 3.

Adding that to the Elixir I had consumed earlier.

In no time at all, my total stats had risen by 8.

'The S-Rank Quintet who formed the Sovereign's Bond with me are going to be thrilled.'

Because when my stats went up, their stats rose in turn.

Holding the Transcendent-Grade Magic Stone, my hand tingled.

Looking closely at the stone, sparks flickered inside it.

'This is a Lightning Attribute Magic Stone.'

It was not just any Transcendent-Grade Magic Stone -- it was an attribute-bearing Transcendent-Grade Magic Stone.

'Come to think of it, Fenrir said he carries a Wind Attribute Magic Stone, and Ashley carries an Ice Attribute Magic Stone.'

And the Named Doppelganger I had previously absorbed and Devoured had possessed a Dark Attribute Magic Stone.

It seemed that all Transcendent-Grade Monsters inherently carried an attribute.

Regardless, this was an incredible find.

What could I do with it?

I would need to think carefully.

"Congratulations, Seon-u."

"Congrats, Seon-u."

All the Knight Order senior members congratulated me on obtaining the Transcendent-Grade Magic Stone.

"Thank you."

After that, we continued processing the Behemoth.

We completely stripped the hide, portioned the meat by cut.

We separated the joints.

We also severed and stored the Behemoth's distinctively massive pair of horns.

Given the sheer size of the Behemoth, the entire process took a long time.

The yield was equally substantial.

The meat, in particular, was obtained in massive quantities.

'The meat does look tough, but at least it does not have any gamey smell.'

Meat that was highly toxic or unsuitable for consumption typically had a strong odor.

The Behemoth, however, had virtually no unpleasant or nauseating smell.

After finishing the work, we returned to the Rift house and immediately began testing Behemoth meat recipes.

I tried cooking it in various ways, but it was extremely tough and difficult to eat.

On top of that, the Blessing of Dexterity did not even activate.

'It seems the Blessing of Dexterity will not activate until I deal with the toughness.'

In that case, I would just have to take my time and properly tenderize it.

I used two methods.

One was boiling it for several days.

Just like when I had made Drake Bone Broth Soup, I simmered it over high heat for a long time.

The other method was sous vide.

I placed the prepared tenderloin in a sous vide vacuum pack, sealed it, and cooked it gently in the sous vide machine at 55 degrees for three days at the house outside the Rift.

'High-temperature cooking versus low-temperature cooking. Which one will make it more tender?'

The winner between the two methods was.

The sous vide method.

With high-temperature cooking, the meat itself became tender, but the fine blood vessels and tendons that were difficult to remove tended to become tougher at high temperatures due to their elastin content.

In contrast, the low-temperature sous vide method gently broke everything down, resulting in an inevitably softer texture overall.

'The sous vide method is better suited for Behemoth meat.'

Ruina and Benny watched from the side, swallowing hard, as I tasted the pink sous vide Behemoth tenderloin.

"That looks delicious......"

"Could we perhaps have a bite too......?"

"If you are hungry, eat this for now."

Instead of the sous vide meat, I gave them the boiled meat that had been simmered at high heat for two days.

The high-heat boiled meat was close to a failed experiment.

"Thank you!"

The two of them then tore into the meat like starving wolves.

'Seeing them eat it so eagerly, I suppose even that is decent enough.'

I then moved on to the secondary cooking of the sous vide tenderloin.

Even though the tenderloin had been cooked sous vide for two days, I had set the temperature low enough that it was just short of medium-rare.

Therefore, it needed a bit more cooking.

I thoroughly patted the surface dry with a kitchen towel.

Dredged it in flour, then egg wash, in that order.

Finally, I coated it in fine, moist fresh breadcrumbs made from the bakery cafe's bread.

I then deep-fried it at 140 degrees, a relatively low temperature, in a blend of avocado oil and cold-pressed sesame oil.

'Sesame oil has a low smoke point, making it unsuitable for high-heat cooking, but that applies to regular commercially produced sesame oil that has been extracted at high temperatures. Pure cold-pressed sesame oil is perfectly fine for use at temperatures below 170 degrees.'

Furthermore, I had blended it with avocado oil, which had an extremely high smoke point, and the oil temperature was only 140 degrees, so there was no risk of rapid oxidation from the heat.

That was why in Japan, many tendon restaurants and low-temperature tonkatsu shops blended cooking oil with cold-pressed sesame oil.

When deep-frying at low temperatures this way, the aroma and nutty richness increased dramatically.

In Korea as well, quite a few restaurants famous for their tonkatsu used this blended oil technique.

And what I was making right now was precisely Japanese-style tonkatsu.

'Also known as sous vide tonkatsu.'

After frying the tenderloin tonkatsu for fifteen minutes, I took it out and drained the oil.

I then gently scraped the surface of the breading with a knife.

SCRITCH! SCRITCH!

The coating was neither overly fried nor soggy.

I had achieved exactly the texture I wanted.

I cut the finished tenderloin tonkatsu in half.

"Wow, the cross-section is so beautiful."

"That looks incredible."

The two admired the evenly cooked medium-doneness of the meat's cross-section.

As soon as I placed the halved tonkatsu side by side on a plate, a system message appeared.

[Master's Behemoth Sous Vide Tenderloin Tonkatsu]
[Blessing of Dexterity Effect: Strength 2, Agility 1, Stamina 1 increase.]

A whopping four stat points increased.

'This is incredible......'

Converted to monetary value, those stats were worth roughly 110 million won.

Transcendent-Grade Monster meat truly was on a completely different level.

After marveling, I took a bite.

'It is tender.'

The meat of a Behemoth, once so tough and chewy, had been made as soft as pork tenderloin.

Moreover, the tenderloin had a distinctive aroma reminiscent of Iberico Bellota tenderloin, which gave it an incredibly refined quality.

'It is even more delicious than I expected.'

I then tried it with a sprinkle of truffle salt.

Next, with wasabi on top.

Both paired wonderfully.

I also tried it with sauce.

After enjoying various combinations, I had polished off a full serving before I knew it, and my stats had risen.

"Mmm."

"He ate every last bit without leaving anything......"

Ruina and Benny could only smack their lips.

"Do not be disappointed, I will make some right away. Could you go call everyone else at the Rift house?"

"Got it!"

And so we held an impromptu Behemoth Sous Vide Tenderloin Tonkatsu party.

Of course, each person received only one serving.

The rest had to be sold.

Ria ate the tonkatsu with great satisfaction.

"This is delicious. Better than any made with premium pork."

"Right? It also has a slight hint of veal tenderloin."

It was a meat flavor like a blend of Iberico tenderloin and veal tenderloin.

The ones who were happiest were the S-Rank Quintet.

Eriksson picked his teeth with a toothpick after finishing his meal and let out a whoop.

"Ahh! The stat pumping this week has been insane. How many did we gain exactly?"

"......The moment Seon-u's stats went up, the Sovereign's Bond buff raised all our stats by roughly 2, and this meal just added 4 more. Adding it all together, our stats went up by about thirteen total."

Santos's expression as he counted the increased stats on his fingers looked immensely satisfied.

Han Se-a was equally pleased.

"Thirteen points, converted at the rate Seon-u charges for his Stat Dishes, amounts to roughly 3 billion won in value. I am so glad I joined the Wind Forest Guild. Eating this amazing food and getting stat increases on top of it. I cannot imagine what I would have done if I had not joined."

Ji-young and the Sword Saint elder chimed in as well.

"Absolutely! Our chef is the best! He was back then, and he still is now."

"Indeed, Miss Ji-young. Seon-u is a truly remarkable person."

My face flushed with embarrassment.

I had no idea why I was always the one getting flustered.

Then Rin, sitting on my lap, added her own remark.

"Heh! That's wight, our Papa is the best!"

While other people's compliments had made my face burn.

My daughter bragging about her daddy simply filled me with joy.