Strong Confidence

At night, in a small cabin in the Hunting Area, flames crackled in the fireplace nearby. It was a solid-wood house made of pine.

Once the temperature in the room rose, the walls began giving off a distinctive pine scent, a faint woody fragrance that city homes covered in wallpaper or wall paint could never offer.

Everything was natural and primitive, yet it was also a uniquely interesting form of enjoyment.

The dining table was a massive solid-wood table. It looked as though it would take four or five people to wrap their arms around it, and it was ten centimeters thick. It had undergone only simple processing, leaving the rings on its surface clearly visible.

The cooks and servants outside kept bringing in the prepared food. Every dish today was made from some part of the game they had hunted.

There was roasted rabbit, a small deer leg, and Deer Neck Mince—their harvest from the Spring Hunt.

The wooden utensils, plates, and even the soup bowl gave everything an air of refinement. Unfortunately, the two people sitting beside the dining table were both men.

"Many people think deer leg is supposed to be the tastiest. Of course, if you're only roasting or pan-frying it, that might indeed be true." Mr. Wo Delike was busy working on the Deer Neck Mince that had just been brought out.

The meat was a deeper red than beef, resembling the flesh of certain deep-sea fish.

It had not been cooked. It was still raw meat, merely processed with great care until it had been transformed from a whole piece of meat into minced meat.

Mr. Wo Delike held a piece of perfectly toasted bread. He spread on some butter first, added a small pinch of spices that looked like shredded leaves, then scooped