The next trip to the dungeon was smoother, either because of the new title that made him stronger or because he had already cleared it once. Although it took longer, as he prioritized leveling up his skills instead of quickly finishing the dungeon itself.
From the boss, he obtained two more items and a skill called: Spiritual Taunt.
As for the two items, one was a Sacred Bone Bracelet and the other an Ancestral Shaman's Staff. The only advantage was that this set was more focused on magical defense. So, he didn't even consider switching out the set he was using, not to mention that the one he was wearing was part of a set with bonuses.
"Level 88..." He murmured.
Another thing that was bothering him was the Orc meat in his inventory. Out of curiosity, he took it out to check the properties of the meat.
══════
Orc Meat - Rank B+
[Every 50 grams of meat consumed has a 5% chance of randomly increasing STR, DEX, or VIT by one point permanently.]
══════
"…"
Not eating it would be a waste, but eating it knowing the origin of the meat was somewhat repulsive… However, looking at the 1-kilogram piece of meat in his hand, he had to admit that it seemed to be of good quality, even emitting a fragrant aroma that even first-class meat wouldn't have.
'But if I let Akane-san and Kushina-chan eat this, there's a chance they'll get stronger too.' Tanaka thought.
Although he couldn't or even attempted to make them level up the same way he did. One reason was that Kushina was very young; even if there was such a possibility, he wouldn't take her to kill zombies. Another thing was that as long as he wasn't powerful enough, he would never feel secure enough to talk more about the system.
After leaving the room, he went to the living room. There, he saw Kushina, who was wearing the new shoes he made for her while playing with playdough.
As he approached, sitting in seiza in front of her, he was noticed.
"Ohh, Oniichan, good morning~"
Since he had been locked in that room from the moment he woke up until now, it was the first time they had seen each other that day.
Smiling, Tanaka said, "Mm, good morning, Kushina-chan."
Perhaps noticing him looking around for something, Kushina said, "Mommy went out to buy groceries for lunch."
Tanaka looked back at her. "I see."
Then, he stood up.
"Oniichan, will you play with me?" She asked with a cute expression.
"Later," Tanaka said. "I'm going to make some snacks for us. Are you hungry?"
"Just a little bit." She gestured with her thumb and index finger as she said it.
Finding it cute, he chuckled a little. "I'll make something now, but not too much, or your mom might complain to me later."
She nodded.
Going to the kitchen, he took out a kilogram of Orc meat.
Looking at the meat like that, it didn't seem like it belonged to an ugly, green Orc. But, not everything that's pretty is delicious, and not everything that's ugly is horrible. Pork is a good example of this...
Washing the meat, he cut it into several cubic pieces, then seasoned it while letting the oil heat up in a fryer.
As he had said, he only intended to make some snacks, frying just half a kilogram of the meat.
When he started frying, his stomach churned. The smell was so delicious that he felt relieved he didn't let the fact that it came from an Orc stop him from eating it.
"Kawaii, kawaii, kawaii…"
The sound of Kushina's shoes echoed as she approached.
She looked at him with her eyes sparkling. It was clear she had been seduced by the delicious smell of the meat.
"Oniichan, on second thought, I'm really hungry – Dattebane~~" She rubbed her little belly as a gesture to prove her point.
Laughing, Tanaka said, "Okay, I'll make a little more. But we can only eat when your mom gets back, okay?"
"Yay~ Oniichan, I love you – Dattebane~!" She hugged his leg.
She was like a bullet train. Although just a child, her strength was greater than that of a normal child. However, he himself wasn't normal and didn't even flinch.
Reaching out a hand to her head, he ruffled her hair as he said, "It's dangerous here, wait in the living room, it'll be ready soon."
"Okay~"
After Kushina left, it was also the moment he noticed that the pieces he had put in the fryer needed to be turned.
He didn't like his meat well-done. The ideal for him was when it still had a more reddish color, though not too much.
After a few minutes, he had a rather large bowl filled with several fried pieces of meat. When he put a piece in his mouth, it felt like chocolate, melting in his mouth as an explosion of flavor invaded his palate.
"Mmm... Delicious~" He hummed.
What he didn't know was that at the door, Kushina, who had turned off the sound option when she walked, was watching him with envy and resentment: "Unfair – Dattebane!!!"
"Haha, sorry, sorry. Come have a piece too." He waved her over.
Blowing on a piece, he didn't hand it to her since her hands were dirty from playing with playdough, so he fed it to her directly.
When Kushina had the piece of meat in her mouth, she brought her little hands to her cheeks as she blew hot air, saying, "Hot, hot... Delicious~~~"
Her expression seemed to transform. From surprise at it being a bit hot to the expression of a little girl amazed at how tasty it was.
And it was no wonder. Even in both of his lives, Tanaka had never tasted such delicious meat. And, it's worth noting that he didn't cook often, especially in this life. Because of that, he didn't fully utilize the meat.
It wasn't long before Akane arrived.
When she arrived, she was greeted by an eager Kushina, who could hardly wait to continue eating.
"Welcome back, mommy~"
"Ohh, my god, you came to greet me?" Akane, who didn't understand the real reason, smiled from ear to ear: "Thank you, my angel. I'm so happy~"
She just didn't hug Kushina because her hands were occupied.
When she had her hands free after putting the groceries down while changing her shoes, she noticed that Kushina was a little anxious.
After changing shoes, she hugged and kissed Kushina's cheek: "What's wrong, dear, you seem anxious."
Kushina didn't explain: "Come on, mommy, hurry up – Dattebane~"
Although she didn't understand, Akane giggled, then entered the house with the groceries.
And then, when she entered the living room, she also smelled the delicious aroma that filled the air.
"What?" She didn't even finish the question, she simply felt overwhelmed by the smell.
Tanaka, who looked at her, said: "Akane-san, I made some meat, and there's a bit more that I put in the fridge if you want to use it for lunch."
First of all, she just nodded. Then, she put the groceries away and went over to them, and when she finally tried a piece of the meat, everything made sense. She then pinched Kushina's cheek and sighed.
"It's really delicious..." She looked at him: "Where did you get this?"
"From that place," Tanaka answered vaguely.
"Ohh." Akane understood that he was suggesting he brought it from the other dimension he had access to.
She was surprised that such meat existed in that other dimension.
This made her believe even more that this should be kept secret.
Among the things many people fought over were power, women, and food.
Of course, there were other reasons, but these, in particular, were the main ones.
══════
After lunch, Tanaka rubbed his belly while thinking: 'I gained 2 points in STR, 1 in DEX, and 2 in VIT from eating the meat...'
He didn't know if there was any effect on the mother-daughter pair; he only knew that they ate with satisfaction while he himself received a 20% EXP boost buff for eating food made by Akane with the meat.