Xie Wen looked toward the sound, only to see a small, fluffy black paw rapidly growing larger in his field of vision.
Who would have thought even Sanji Meow's paw pads were black...
That was his first reaction before he was kicked away.
As expected of Sanji Meow. This little flying kitty kick packed quite a punch...
That was his first reaction after he was kicked away.
"Pfft! Ptooey, ptooey..." Pulling his head out of the sand, Xie Wen spat out the grit in his mouth and demanded indignantly, "What did you kick me for? Even if you didn't want me grilling the meat, couldn't you just have said something?"
Sanji Meow ignored him completely. His first priority was to "rescue" the raw meat from the rack. After inspecting it carefully, he muttered with relief, "Thank goodness. The ingredient hasn't been ruined, meow."
Only after finishing his muttering did Sanji Meow turn around and answer Xie Wen's question with absolute conviction. "How could I let you waste such good meat, meow! If you'd hesitated for even a moment, it might have been too late to save it, meow!"
"It's not that serious..." Xie Wen folded his arms and protested, "I'm pretty good at grilling meat."
Indeed, with his [BBQ Expert] title and the backing of the little grilling tune, his chance of producing the highest-grade "Well-done Steak G" was a whopping 97.372%!
Sanji Meow, however, looked utterly dismissive. "No matter how well you hunters grill your meat, it's only just edible, meow. Once we've set up camp, I'll show you what real food tastes like, meow! So I'm confiscating this meat, meow!"
With that, Sanji Meow stuffed the piece of raw meat, a good two sizes larger than his head, toward the left side of his body. It vanished with a whoosh.
Only then did Xie Wen notice the paw-shaped Meowster Bag at Sanji Meow's waist. It looked much like his own Pocket Dimension Pouch, just one size smaller.
Xie Wen: "..."
So not only did every hunter have one of these things, but every Palico had one too?
I'd thought I was lucky to get spatial storage equipment right after transmigrating. Now it turns out it's nothing special...
Tch!
His sense of surprise and superiority diminished considerably all at once.
After pursing his lips, Xie Wen finally got down to business. "So you've found somewhere we can stay for now?"
"Of course, meow!" Sanji Meow nodded proudly. "You can absolutely count on a Palico's wilderness survival skills, meow!"
"Yes, yes, yes. Thanks for all your hard work." Xie Wen reached out and rubbed Sanji Meow's little head.
Xie Wen had plenty of experience getting along with cats. Although Palicoes were different from ordinary cats, they were still cats, weren't they?
Under Xie Wen's practiced petting, Sanji Meow narrowed his eyes contentedly just like an ordinary cat, and a steady purr rumbled from his throat.
After a petting session that left both of them thoroughly satisfied, Xie Wen followed Sanji Meow deeper into the forest.
And Palicoes' wilderness survival skills were just as Sanji Meow had claimed. Despite all their stops, starts, and winding detours along the way, they miraculously encountered no creatures that posed a threat to them.
The most dangerous moment was when they heard a large animal passing nearby, but Xie Wen had already hidden himself at Sanji Meow's warning and never alerted the unidentified creature.
Before long, the human and cat reached a patch of forest that looked much like its surroundings. Sanji Meow pawed aside a clump of weeds, revealing a concealed cave.
"This should be the den of some solitary beast, meow," Sanji Meow explained as he led Xie Wen inside. "But the scent in here is already very faint. Something must have happened to it, or it's moved elsewhere, meow. I think the former is more likely, though. There aren't any particularly powerful creatures nearby, and it's close to water. Unless the original owner was stupid, it probably wouldn't have moved, meow."
Xie Wen crawled in after him and discovered that the interior was surprisingly spacious, dry, and clean, without much of an unpleasant odor. It was nothing like the filthy, stinking hole he had imagined.
"Sanji, you're amazing!"
Xie Wen scooped Sanji Meow up and started nuzzling him. At that moment, he felt incredibly grateful to have a Palico with him right from the start. As for the dog he had been yearning for earlier...
What dog? Did Monster Hunter even have those?
"What is wrong with you, meow! Put me down, meow!"
Sanji Meow clearly disliked this overly enthusiastic display of affection. He waved his little paws and unleashed a flurry of kitty punches at Xie Wen's large head nuzzling against him.
Xie Wen endured Sanji Meow's kitty punches and rubbed against him a little longer before reluctantly putting him down. He even muttered under his breath, "What's the big deal? A little nuzzling won't take a chunk out of you."
Sanji Meow rubbed his head with his little paws in distaste for quite a while before squirming and saying, "I only want to nuzzle lovely older Palico ladies with silky fur, meow~"
As he said that, even his adorable feline face took on a slightly lecherous look.
Xie Wen: "..."
Tch! Isn't this characterization a little too faithful?
The thought that his Palico was a lecherous little yellow cat dampened even Xie Wen's desire to pet him.
Feeling somewhat disappointed, he smacked his lips, then rubbed his slightly empty stomach and changed the subject. "Right, didn't you say you were going to show me what you could do?"
"Heh-heh~"
The moment cooking came up, Sanji Meow returned to his adorable self. He raised his head proudly and said, "Just you watch. My cooking will taste so good you'll swallow your tongue, meow!"
With that, Sanji Meow scampered out of the cave and swiftly cleared a patch of ground a short distance from its entrance. Then he reached a little paw into his Meowster Bag and began pulling out kitchenware without pause.
Pots, bowls, ladles, pans, knives, forks, spatulas, spoons-he had everything. There was even a whole pile of bottles and jars that clearly contained seasonings...
Why the hell did I only get a Salted Fish Long Sword?!
The sight immediately left Xie Wen feeling shortchanged.
He wasn't asking for amazing equipment, but couldn't they at least have given him one of each hunter weapon?
Even if I couldn't have the others, at least give me an Insect Glaive!
Even a basic one would do!
After all, without a Wirebug or a Slinger, the Insect Glaive was his only way to go flying through the air.
While Xie Wen grumbled inwardly, Sanji Meow had already finished preparing the raw meat he had confiscated earlier. He had even added some vegetables, though Xie Wen had no idea whether they had been in his pouch from the start or he had gathered them while exploring.
None of that mattered anymore, though. The aroma wafting from Sanji Meow's cooking had already captivated Xie Wen completely.
"Island Vegetable and Fruit-Flavor Barbecue. Please enjoy, meow."
Sanji Meow set the plated meat and a knife and fork in front of Xie Wen, then bowed elegantly.
Already unable to wait any longer, Xie Wen snatched up the knife and fork and dug in. Sanji Meow took out another set of cutlery and joined him.
The human and cat quickly polished off the entire plate of barbecue. Xie Wen let out a satisfied burp and discovered that not only had his stamina fully recovered, but he had even grown a little stronger...
It really was Cat Cuisine that boosted your stats!
Starting out with a chef cat was simply fantastic!
A few days ago, I bought some wonton-style instant noodles. Or should I call them instant wontons?
They tasted okay, but that meat filling... There probably wasn't even ten grams of it altogether.
You might as well call them instant wonton wrappers instead of pretending they're wontons.
Before you continue