Chapter 354: Kojiro's Opponent
The next morning, driven by his biological clock, Shirou woke up and opened his bleary eyes. He found that dawn was just breaking; the campfire on the ground had burned out and died, the starlight had faded, and reaching out his hand, he could only faintly see his dark fingers. Gradually, the scenery four or five meters around him became clear.
The stream flowed at a steady, unhurried pace. From time to time, a splashing sound would ring out, seemingly caused by fish leaping out of the water and falling back in. Beneath the ripples occasionally rising on the surface, small fish poked their heads out to blow bubbles. Early-rising birds also flew across the sky in search of food.
Unlike the silent, deathly still mountain, the foot of the hill was much livelier. On his second day in this world, Shirou finally felt the vibrancy of nature and the vitality permeating the earth. If only plants flourished without any animals, it would feel as if he had arrived in some sort of barren wasteland.
Shirou stretched and slowly sat up. The mountain mist was heavy; the surface of the projected blanket was covered and dampened by morning dew. Shirou stood up and shook it, sending water droplets flying. Without waiting for the moisture to dry, he stored the projected blanket back into his magical space.
Glancing over to the other side, Sasaki Kojiro was no longer on his bedding. Looking around, Shirou found him standing by the stream dozens of meters away, wielding his blade in morning practice.
"Still as diligent as ever," Shirou said with a light smile. As a top-tier Great Swordmaster, a daily routine like this was already a part of life. If he didn't do it for a day, he would feel out of place.
"Alright, me too!" Shirou stood up, loosened his limbs, and gripped the wooden stick he had found while cooking yesterday. Taking a stance, he began practicing his swordsmanship. Although he couldn't compare to peak figures like Kojiro, daily persistent exercise made his combat techniques more solid.
After exercising for half an hour and working up a sweat, Shirou began preparing today's breakfast.
"Lord Shirou, perhaps these can be put to use." Sasaki Kojiro walked over, holding two freshwater fish from the stream tied with a grass rope. These were the spoils he had conveniently gathered during his morning practice.
Shirou looked and saw two plump mackerel. Though not massive, combined they weighed about two or three pounds. His eyes lit up as he said, "Ah, these are perfect! For a Japanese breakfast, there really must be fish."
"Indeed. If only there were a bowl of white rice and miso soup, it would be irreproachable," Kojiro said, resting his chin on his hand.
"Rest easy. For rice, we'll substitute mushrooms and wild greens! It will definitely be satisfying!" Shirou projected a cutting board and raised a long, thin blade for filleting fish; the fire of a chef's soul ignited in his eyes.
He proceeded to scale and gut the fish. Since mackerel gall is toxic, he removed the gills and internal organs, rinsed them clean in the stream, and began cooking.
Mackerel meat is tender and delicious, with a protein content even higher than chicken. It can be boiled, braised, or stewed, and is exceptional when smoked or fried; canned mackerel is also a very common delicacy.
Shirou chose the method of smoking and grilling. Paired with the remaining fungi and rubbed with aromatic wild herb stems and shiitake mushrooms, more than 90% of the fishy odor could be removed.
The two mackerel were placed on an iron rack over a gentle fire to smoke and grill. Every so often, he flipped them until the skin was slightly charred and the inside was golden brown.
Next, Shirou took the soaked matsutake and various other mushrooms and used a fast blade to mince them into grain-sized pieces. He added lily bulbs to the mix; immature lily bulbs are not bitter, and because they are rich in starch, they actually have a slight sweetness.
After crushing them, he added a small amount of boiled water that had cooled to room temperature and stirred continuously. Eventually, they turned into small lumps of dough. He mixed these with the minced fungi and stir-fried them on the iron plate for a while, adding a few drops of oil rendered from the sautéed mushrooms and greens. Finally, he placed the mixture into a basin and put it inside another small pot of water to steam.
Twenty minutes later, the medley dough lumps were steamed through. The fine dough granules clung to the matsutake and wild mushrooms; the taste was sweet and fragrant, and biting down gave a sensation similar to soft grains of rice.
It actually tasted somewhat similar to matsutake rice, except that here, the aroma of the matsutake completely overshadowed the "rice" flavor, rather than the rice carrying the scent of the matsutake.
Paired with the smoked grilled mackerel and yesterday's remaining wild mushroom soup, it was a traditional Japanese breakfast—even if the ingredients used were a bit peculiar. The saltwater saury was replaced by freshwater mackerel, and the light-flavored miso soup was replaced by a light but rich wild mushroom soup. Having sat overnight, the soup had become even more flavorful and delicious.
Slurp. The refined swordsman ignored his image and began drinking in large gulps.
"Delicious! This—" Kojiro held his bowl, his mouth full of mellow fragrance as he chewed, repeatedly praising the flavor.
Seeing his companion eating so happily, Shirou naturally felt satisfied and shoveled a few more mouthfuls of the wild mushroom medley rice himself.
After eating and drinking their fill, Kojiro looked at Shirou and spoke: "Lord Shirou, my next destination is the city. Do you have any leads on the commission you accepted? If it's on the way, we could travel together."
"No, my situation is a bit complicated. Let's not talk about me for now. You're going to the city—is there some master of the sword there? Are you traveling the lands to undergo swordsmanship training like before?" Shirou shook his head and asked the blue-haired swordsman.
Kojiro spread his hands and said, "That kind of life is naturally what I pursue, but unfortunately, when I first arrived here, I was quite heavily injured and received help from a sorcerer. Now he has something important to do, and to repay the favor, I must go to the city to serve as his guard. Though I can't compare to his extraordinarily capable subordinates, I'm quite confident if it's just guarding a gate."
"Ah, I wouldn't doubt that last sentence for a moment. But the earlier part is too modest. With your swordsmanship, there are few in this world who can match you." Shirou nodded with a smile. As a comrade who had fought alongside him, he knew better than anyone the strength of this classical samurai.
In the Fifth Holy Grail War, he was an existence that every Servant found troublesome. Medea's territory at Ryudou Temple was almost impenetrable because of him.
Kojiro shook his head and said, "No, the path of the sword is much longer than imagined; it is infinite. My Tsubame Gaeshi pursues more possibilities within the infinite, hiding more blades within a single strike.
But in this world, there may be swordsmanship even stronger than this. For instance, the polar opposite of my Secret Sword—a sword that pursues 'Absolute' within the infinite. That is why I travel everywhere, seeking only to find a true master."
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