“Thank you all for gathering here today. I hope that everyone who has always helped me can have a great time. Now then, let’s toast! Cheers!”

“Cheers!!”

Skipping the formal and tedious greetings, we went straight to the toast. The sound of glasses filled with fruit juice and ale clinking together echoed around us.

“Mmm, this is delicious alcohol!”

“Yeah, this is some fine liquor.”

“Indeed, chilled ale is quite a delicacy.”

Lange, Dolph, and Gregor were enjoying the ale with great satisfaction. Since the liquor Gregor brought was said to be quite strong, we started with the ale that Rizac and Patrice had provided, slightly chilled by Lange’s ice magic, for the first toast.

“This ale really is better than the ones sold in town. Rizac, Patrice, thank you.”

“I’m glad everyone likes it. You all always share delicious sweets and meats with us, so we thought we’d splurge a little this time.”

“Yeah, you guys always treat us to good food. But I gotta say, chilled ale is pretty nice.”

“Right? It’s my favorite way to drink it.”

Ale is definitely best when slightly chilled. I have to thank Lange’s ice magic for this.

“It’s really delicious!”

“I-I think so too! It’s really good!”

“Oh, and this fruit juice is made with some high-quality fruits. I brought plenty, so drink as much as you like!”

“This is even better when chilled.”

Fia and Albera both expressed their thanks to Rizac and Patrice.

Fia had already grown accustomed to Rizac, but since Albera was meeting him for the first time, she seemed a little intimidated by his stern face. …Well, I was pretty scared the first time I met him too.

Patrice also wasn’t able to drink alcohol, so he was having fruit juice. Among the men, the only ones drinking were the five of us, and among the women, only Berna was drinking. It seemed that most of the group wasn’t able to handle alcohol.

“Alright, we’ll start grilling the meat now, so eat as much as you like. The meat we’re using today was provided by Berna and Ferry.”

With the toast complete, the barbecue officially began.

The highlight of the meal was the Earth Dragon meat. A massive slab of meat, about the size of a table, had been thinly sliced yesterday in preparation for the barbecue.

Previously, Berna and Ferry had given me Wyvern meat, but this meat had a deeper red color with abundant white marbling. Finally, the time had come for me to eat dragon meat.

Dragons are a staple of fantasy worlds, but in this world, their meat isn’t something that’s easily obtainable. Since I’m not capable of fighting, I never expected I’d have the chance to eat it.

I’m truly grateful to Berna and Ferry.

With a sizzle, the beautifully marbled dragon meat was placed onto the grill. The blissful sound of sizzling meat filled the air, and a mouthwatering aroma spread throughout the area. Once both sides were lightly seared, I distributed the meat onto everyone’s plates. Since we had a large group today, I had prepared two big barbecue grills from the outdoor shop’s inventory.

For the first taste, I wanted everyone to experience the meat’s natural flavor, so I only added a light sprinkle of salt. Now, it was finally time to eat dragon meat!

“……!?”

The taste was beyond words! I had never been this shocked by a single piece of grilled meat before!

The meat was incredibly tender, melting in my mouth the moment I took a bite. There was absolutely no unpleasant odor—just a deep, rich umami that lingered in my mouth for a while before slowly fading.

I had eaten high-quality meats like Danama Bear, Wyvern, and Behemoth before, but this was undoubtedly the best among them!

“I’ve never eaten meat this delicious before!”

“This is absolutely amazing!”

“What is this meat!? It’s way too good!”

Angel, Rea, Roya, and everyone else were all voicing their praise one after another. Just like me, they were astonished by how delicious the Earth Dragon meat was.

“This really is surprising… It’s even better than I imagined! Berna, Ferry, thank you so much!”

“I’m glad everyone is enjoying it!”

“…It was worth the effort.”

Everyone expressed their gratitude to Berna and Ferry. By the way, we decided to keep the fact that this meat was from a dragon a secret from everyone.

Since dragon meat is considered the finest of all meats, revealing its identity might make people hesitant to eat it. …Honestly, even I don’t want to think about how much this chunk of meat would cost.

“We still have plenty of meat, so feel free to keep grilling and eating. I’ve prepared a variety of seasonings today, so please try them out.”

This time, I had prepared several different seasonings. First, there were the classic outdoor spices and homemade yakiniku sauce. Thanks to being able to obtain soy sauce and miso from the royal capital, I had been able to further improve the yakiniku sauce.

Additionally, since the outdoor shop’s level had reached 5, I was able to purchase two new types of outdoor sauces.