Almighty Summoner System

Chapter 123 - Barbecue?

"Uhm- H-how about you join me in this tent, Mr. Leon?" Belle said with a soft voice. There was nervousness on her voice as she said it while slightly looking down.

Cough! Cough! Cough! 

Delo could not help but choke on his own saliva upon hearing that. He has become her bodyguard for over a week now but Belle never invited him over to join inside the tent, not even once. In fact, the least he could go during this period was 2 meters away from the tent. If he goes any further than that, Belle would always complain. 

And yet, Belle actually invited someone over? And what's more, they just met him a few hours ago and his identity was even hidden.

And yet, Belle still invited him over? What the hell is going on with this girl's mind? 

As if a huge question mark appeared in Delo's face as he tried to analyze the situation. Things are getting out of hand and he no longer has control over it. It was alright before as he could somehow feel Belle opening to him, and yet, at the moment, she no longer even gave him a single glance. 

Delp could only grit his teeth as he waited for Leon's reply. 

On the other hand, Ban was also taken aback by her offer. The tent was the kind that only has a canopy and no sides. And even though it could fit a family of five inside, with all the things that Belle had taken out from her Storage Pouch, Ban wondered if he could still fit there if he accepted her offer?

Ban thought for a moment and after a while, he finally decided to reject her. It's not that he didn't want to go over and use the tent's shade to cover from the sun, it's just that he feels that something was off in the current situation. 

He knew that Belle's action was suggesting something but he just couldn't wrap his head around what it was. 

"Thanks, but I like the hot sun a lot. However, can you lend me your barbecue pot instead?" He said while eyeing the meter-long barbeque pot that Belle had taken out but did not use. 

Belle was dejected about his reply. She just wanted to get close to him, but why was it so hard?

'Hmmp! If only those Sand Buffalo's did not collapse…' she thought inwardly. 

"Alright, no problem…" she said with a smile a while later. 

Ban no longer wasted any more time as he got up from the sand and immediately approached her to get the barbecue que pot. He was really envious of her as she has the capability to waste her money on something like this. 

"What are you gonna barbecue, Mr. Leon?" Belle asked the moment Ban took the barbeque pot beside her. 

"The Sand Buffalo's meat. I cut some along with the sellable parts earlier." Ban replied. 

He also still has the meat of the Mad Lust Rabbit inside his Dimensional Storage but of course, he could not take them as it would imply that he doesn't need the Storage Pouch. It would be quite an embarrassing situation if Belle decided to retrieve it from him prematurely. He does not have the capability to buy one, so he also just wants to use this opportunity to try it. 

"Ohh- C-can I have some?" Belle requested earnestly while looking straight to Ban's eyes. However, upon seeing that it was empty, she felt afraid so she just averted her gaze a moment later to avoid it. 

She actually has another smaller Storage Pouch that contains all the ingredients for cooking her meal. Although she did not expect that the Quest would take some time to complete, one could tell that she really prepared for it by just looking at the number of items she got, as well as the food supplies she prepared on the other Storage Pouch. 

Fortunately, she still hasn't taken them out to cook yet. She thought that it was just a rare opportunity to eat fresh Beast meat that was killed in front of their eyes. Unlike what's on the Adventurers Market that has already been sitting there for some time.

"Well… sure, I'll share some," Ban thought about and made a mental calculation. He only got a portion of the meat but he thought it should be enough even if he shared it with her. 

He treated it as his payment to her for borrowing the barbecue pot. 

"How about you just barbecue it here though? I'll help you while you're at it." Belle said. 

Ban finally nodded his head after hearing that. The barbecue pot was located at the outermost part of the tent so Ban thought it was not a problem as they would also not crowd inside the tent if he's only outside of it.

Belle's eyes lit up the moment Ban agreed. She then opened the lid of the pot and immediately started the fire to light the charcoal enthusiastically. 

Ban nodded his head towards her action as he took the meat of the Sand Buffalo inside the Storage Pouch. 

He retrieved two thighs the size of an adult human's body from the Storage Pouch easily. Although it may seem big, in truth, it actually mostly contains the Sand Buffalo's bones. He estimated that at least a fourth of it should be bones. 

Ban wanted to cut it into pieces but he does not have his sword at the moment as he stored it inside the Dimensional Storage space earlier when he transformed as Leon. However, he does have a small knife in his position but it was only a normal knife that can only be used to cut normal things. 

If he used it to cut the meat of the Sand Buffalo, it would surely break a moment later. Fortunately, he saw that Belle also had a complete knife set at the corner of the table she set up. 

"Can I also borrow those knives?" He asked, fully aware that those knives were not normal utility knives but instead, knives that are made from Beast parts.

"Yes, you can get it!" Belle said without looking at the knives Ban had pointed. She was still busy blowing the charcoal to heat it up faster. 

Seeing how busy she was, Ban no longer bothered her as he took the knives immediately. He observed it for a moment and he could tell that it was not made hastily. The other knives were the same, they were not made for quantity but for quality. 

He did not waste any more time as he cut the meat of the Sand Buffalo into little cubes enough to fit the mouth. He skillfully diced them with the same perfect proportion as he evaded its bones perfectly. 

He then proceeded to do the same with the other thigh and after a few moments, he was already done cutting them into small cubes. 

Belle and Delo could not hide their awe after seeing his knife-cutting skills. Belle even thought that she was observing a chef instead of an Adventurer cutting the meat. She could not help but think that 'Leon' might be someone who loves cooking for him to have that kind of skill. 

What they did not know was that Ban only learned and practiced it a year ago. Kuys was the one who taught him the cutting techniques when he still helped him prepare some ingredients in the kitchen. 

Although he was still far from Kuys level, Ban was already satisfied with his progress so far. When he thought about it, it actually has been months already since he set foot in the kitchen to help Kuys prepare the ingredients again. However, it was not strange as Kuys prepared those ingredients during dawn and after he focused himself on searching for part time jobs so he could save the right amount of Coins for his awakening, he no longer woke up that early to help him.

Kuys also did not ask him about it as he understood his circumstances. He even offered Ban before that he would pay for the awakening fee but it was only Ban who insisted to pay for it instead. 

Anyways, although Delo still felt irritated about the series of events, he could not deny his skills while cutting those meat pieces precisely. He could only withdraw back to his small carpet as he also took some cooking materials from the pouch before starting cooking something for his own. He also prepared just like Belle as he knew that Bell would not share anything with him. 

After Ban sliced the thigh into many cubes, he took a huge pot from one of her equipment and rinsed it with water secretly when Belle and Delo were not watching. After he cleanses it with blood, he then proceeds towards Belle's small table to ask for condiments, to which Belle agrees without even letting him finish what he wanted. 

  Ban shrugged his shoulders and immediately proceeded to marinate the meat with the simple recipe provided by the System, or to be more precise, the Book of Techniques. 

[Sand Buffalo is not worthy to be tamed. They get tired easily and only know how to bash their heads as their means of attack. 

However, if you encounter a herd, do not forget to take one Sand Buffalo for yourself. Their meats are great for grilling. 

Grilling Recipe(Simple):...

Grilling Recipe(Advance):...

...

  ]

Ban got those knowledge at the same time he let the System scan them earlier. 

He wanted to try the recipe of the Book of Techniques, or more precisely, the recipe of the censored Ancient Summoner the Book of Techniques author.