I was absorbed in the world of my book when the sounds of hunger from my own stomach brought me back. 

“It’s time for lunch, huh……”

　Before I’d noticed, the sun had already passed the midday mark, and it was well into the afternoon. 

　I wanted to continue progress on reading the story a little more, but feeling hungry, I wouldn’t be able to concentrate. 

　At the page I’d read up to, I stuck a bookmark and put the book aside for the moment.

‘With this much smoking, the taste should have firmly seeped in.”

　Along the way while I was reading the book, I stopped the magic tool, but smoke was still wafting inside the box. 

　The ingredients inside would definitely be well smoked. 

　Excitedly, I opened the lid of the sealed box.

　The smoke inside the box suddenly rose up.

　Inside the box, the food looked properly smoked, imparted with brown colours and a fragrant smell.

“Owow! That looks delicious!”

　The one who let such words out wasn’t me. 

　I noticed that there was a man with amber hair by my side.

　He was about the same age as me, or maybe a little younger? His sky-blue eyes shone innocently as he gazed at the smoked food.　

“The hell are you?”

“Me? I’m Eight.”

　No, that’s not what I meant……

　I was startled by the sudden intruder but after taking a deep breath, I regained my composure.

　Looking diagonally, the earlier person sitting on the chair was no longer there. 

　So this guy is probably the person who had been here before me sitting on that chair. 

“No need to be that wary. I smelled something delicious, so I got curious.”

“Then you’ve achieved your goal. Go back to your own place.”

“Hey, you added a weird smoke but is this stuff good?”

　He didn’t hear a single thing I said. Are the ears on this guy’s head just for show?

　No, I think he’s intentionally ignoring me.

“……There’s no way I would bring something that doesn’t taste good outside.” 

“Let me try a bit.”

　Apparently, this man named Eight had never had smoked food before.

　It was annoying so I offered him one of the skweres, and after some hesitation, he chose the classic, cheese. 

　He picked up the skewered cheese and lifted it up to smell it.

“It smells so unusual! Doesn’t smell like smoke, a strange smell!”

　After making a fuss all by himself, Eight took a bite of the cheese.

“Delicious!”

　At this reaction I was anticipating, the corners of my mouth ended up unintentionally lifting.

“Where is this cheese from? Did you use some special cheese?”

“No, it’s just ordinary cheese from the market in the central district. One block costs less than a silver coin.”

“I can’t believe such common cheese can be this flavorful. There’s a savoury or a different flavour, it feels like the umami has been raised by several levels…..”

　It’s best to use high-quality cheese, but even ordinary cheese can be made sufficiently delicious. 

“What’s this cooking called?”

“Smoking. This time I used a method called hot smoking.”

“Smoking…. Just by adding smoke you can make it this tasty?”

“I’m not just using any kind of smoke, it’ll go wrong if you don’t carefully select chips that bring out the best flavours.” 

　If you made chips from the trees you find around here, you won’t get these kinds of good flavours. 

　It’s only by using chips that suit each ingredient and combining them that complex flavours and savouriness can be brought out.

“Is this that chip thing? Dried bark?”

“That’s right. By the way, these are made from apple trees.”

　When I showed him the bag of chips, he sniffed them in admiration.

　Kind of like a dog.

　When he’s had enough satisfaction, I take back the bag of chips.

“Can I also try the other ones?’

“Bring a plate. After I plate them for you, go back to your place.”

“Thanks.”

　Eight said a word of gratitude and quickly ran back to his tent.

　He then returns with not only his own plate, but also a bottle of wine.

“A gift for letting me eat good food. I’ll pour you a glass.”

“Let’s have it.”

　A man who oddly intrudes into your personal space,  but he seems to have some etiquette.

　I handed him the glass and Eight poured red wine from a wine bottle.

　When I inadvertantly glanced at the label, I was surprised by the brand.

“……Isn’t that wine from Serberus?”

　Rare wine made in Serberus, a region famous for its wine.

　Using grapes raised in rich soil and processed in a special way, only a hundred bottles of this wine are distributed each year.

　A wine so outstandingly delicious meant that royalty and high-ranking aristocrats buy it up all the time, so those in the middle ranks and below could not easily obtain it. It’s not something you can get just by having money.

“Oh, If you know about it then you must be a connoisseur too? It’s a precious thing, so drink it and savour it.”

“Appreciated.”

　The smile on Eight’s face was not one of mockery, but rather the smile of a man who wanted to boast about a product he was proud of.

　Eight finished pouring the wine, wiped it lightly with a cloth, and tightened the cap

　There was no hesitation in his movements, as if he were a waiter in a high-class bar.

　I remember even in my previous life, when I was camping, fellow solo campers would exchange meals with each other like this.

　Return good with good. I don’t dislike that spirit.

　I take the plate from Eight and put cheese, eggs, bacon, nuts, peanuts, and all sorts of other food on it.

　Eight took it happily and quietly went back to his chair.

　After enjoying the rich aroma for a bit, I sipped from the glass.

　The concentrated taste of grapes is supported by a refreshing minerality.

“It’s indeed delicious…… but I think this would be even better paired with meat or cheese.”

　Such a concentrated taste would be better with hearty foods like meat and cheese. That was the theory I arrived at.

　To test it out, I skewered a piece of smoked bacon and put it in my mouth.

　The bacon was well seasoned and fatty to begin with. Adding the flavour of smoke, there was no way it wouldn’t be delicious.

　In my mouth, the tender bacon danced, freely releasing its taste.

　Then, mix that with Serberus wine.

　The wine’s fruitiness brings out the savouriness of the meat and enhances the smokiness, the tannins and acidity bring the whole thing together.

“I knew it’d match.”

　As I had guessed, it was perfectly compatible with the impactful bacon.

“Delicious!”

　While I was admiring the wine, Eight, who was sitting diagonally away from me, was swinging his legs while shouting.

　I wondered if the other side had also noticed the synergy of smoked food and wine.

　A guy with a strange presence, but I’ll do what I like and he can do what he likes.

　Refocusing myself, I put my hand on the cheese.

　The cheese at the market had been well coated with smoke, and the surface of the cheese had become a little hard and even more yellowish.

　I skewer the, now, less crumby cheese and put it straight into my mouth.

　Originally, it would have tasted like any other cheese that filled the market. However, with the addition of smoke, the cheese gained a richer flavour.

　Then, again, Serberus wine.

　It washed away the remaining thick flavour of the cheese.

　The aftertaste is refreshing while umami lingers in the mouth. Irresistible.

　After eating the cheese, next comes seasoned egg.

　Before they were smoked, they had a light brown skin from the colour of the sauce, but now the skin was completely brown.

　While enjoying the fragrance, I took a bite of the smoked seasoned egg.

　The sweet sauce seasoning and smoke flavour matched exquisitely.

　Because the time it had been smoked was just right, the white wasn’t too hard, and the sweet half-cooked yolk flowed viscously. 

“…….It’s delicious.”

　The last time I tried, the duration I’d boiled and seasoned it was a bit off, but this time the yolk was half-cooked, and everything was completely to my tastes. 

　It’s good when you make and eat it at home, but I feel it tastes even better when you eat it outside.

　Although I’m suspicious about the idea that food tastes better when eaten together with a large group of people, I fully agree with this other theory. 

　After finishing the main meal, I enjoyed fishing on the lake while snacking on smoked nuts and peanuts.

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