Beeeeep~
“Olga, I’ve been curious since earlier, what’s that leaf flute you’re playing?”
While Shia was concentrating on the large batch of marinade, she looked up at Olga.
It was understandable that she was bored while cooking alone, but playing random notes on a leaf flute instead of enchanting music must have made Shia wonder what was going on in her head.
“Oh, it’s nothing special. Just welcoming an uninvited guest who came to scold me.”
“Huh?”
What kind of nonsense is that?
Shia tilted her head, utterly confused. Why on earth would a leaf flute be related to an uninvited guest?
Despite not grasping what Olga meant, Shia didn’t feel the need to dig too deep since it was just a leaf flute, and her interest soon returned to the large seasoning jar, resembling the chaotic colors of a dark witch’s cauldron.
Is this good enough…?
If this were a dish like marinated ribs or bulgogi, the meat would need to soak in the marinade for a long time, but for ‘jumulluk,’ you just need to mix it up right before serving.
The sheer quantity of marinade ingredients was already impressive.
Mushrooms and peppers that Shia crushed with her strength.
“Shia, is this enough?”
“Yes! Thank you!”
Even though she had said she wouldn’t need help just five minutes ago, she ended up asking Menelapie for diced onion without checking if it was cut properly, tossing it into the pot without a second thought.
She believed that Menelapie would have done a good job.
‘By the way… Didn’t that warrior sister say she was an emperor in her previous world…? How did she chop onions so well?’
She wasn’t some impoverished city-state lord. The emperor of an empire shouldn’t be that skilled at chopping onions.
In the past, Menelapie had taken time off from her imperial duties to secretly travel around with Shia under the guise of an adventure, and naturally, she had taken on the cooking responsibilities since Shia had disastrous culinary skills. Thus, Menelapie had honed her skills to a point where the nickname “jack of all trades” didn’t do her justice.
Anyway, Shia threw in the onions, minced garlic, some whole green onions (just cutting the ends because she was too lazy to prepare), and even two full bottles of gochujang that had arrived via drone, plus sugar, sesame oil, and plum extract in their entirety, blending them all together to create something that was either her special sauce or a concoction worthy of the underworld, the uncertainty continued to grow.
In the middle of making this mixture, Shia mistakenly thought the straight soy sauce was soup soy sauce and added more sugar and garlic to adjust the taste, but that didn’t seem too important to worry about.
“Alright, now let’s get started on the meat…”
Shiplani’s meat was fundamentally based on the taste of lamb.
It might look like a deer covered in wool, which could be divisive, but after expertly removing the gamey smell, Shiplani meat turned out to be surprisingly delicious.
Of course, the challenge was in getting rid of that smell.
Squish squish
Once the marinade was done, Shia tossed all 50 servings of Shiplani meat into the pot.
“I don’t want to get my hands dirty, so… [Miracle – Manifestation of the Divine]!”
With that, five tentacles, bent at odd angles and threateningly protruding, came out in response to Shia’s call.
While they looked hungry, possibly drooling for something to eat, Shia brought a massive pot in front of them.
What? Do you want to eat this?
In the past, they had been offered proper meals; now, they were being served what could barely be called food scraps, and the tentacles ground their teeth in frustration.
But hey, at least it was food. Might as well eat it.
Yet, a delicate hand stopped the tentacles.
[What, wasn’t this for eating?]
[And where did the master’s clothes go?]
[Why is he dressed like a pervert wearing just an outer garment?]
[Is the master originally a pervert?]
[Oh, is that so?]
To the questioning tentacles, Shia pointed at the jumulluk marinade and meat in the pot.
“Mix it.”
The tentacles, understanding what their master meant, began to protest as if they were unhappy.
Thud, thud, thud…
“Alright, just mix!”
What a troublesome master.
You’re the only one who would use divine remains to play with Shiplani meat like this.
Reluctantly, the five tentacles followed Shia’s order and thrust themselves into the pot, starting to stir.
With large, thick, and flexible tentacles mixing the meat and marinade together, the meat was soon deeply coated in sauce, not just glazed on the surface.
As they began to vigorously mix the meat, the jumulluk started to resemble something more properly cooked.
Despite Shia throwing in the marinade without worrying about quantities, all the ingredients were expensive, high-quality items, so it should be delicious, at least that was the hope.
Splash, splash
After diligently jumulluk-ing the Shiplani meat, the tentacles moved closer to Shia as if they were done with their task.
Shia thanked them for their hard work and used a miracle to refresh them but gave them nothing in return for their labor.
[Damn master…]
It felt like she could hear the complaints of the tentacles in her head, but Shia ignored them and pulled out a huge meat grill that she had used for butter pork belly at home.
“How about this? Doesn’t it already look delicious?”
“……..Is it?”
“Hehehe, if Shia made it, I would eat anything!”
“……”
At the point where Menelapie barely managed to get out a “It looks really delicious!”, the fate of that Shiplani jumulluk was already half decided.
“Ah, no… I swear you’ll love it… probably…”
“Probably?”
“………..”
Aw, the child got the last word!
Of course, from Olga’s perspective, having her first meat dish presented in such a way was indeed shocking considering the jumulluk’s appearance.
Since Menelapie was seeing a jumulluk for the first time, she had already given up on expecting success.
Visually, it looked a bit off… rather than just jumulluk, it seemed to require a modifier like “twisted underworld’s drudgery” to accurately represent it.
Especially with the thick, gooey sauce slathering onto the meat, if Olga closed her eyes, she might recall some explicit tentacle scenes from a visual novel.
Don’t think about it…
In a live broadcast, surely, just the sound alone would prompt a flood of [wow] comments from pervy viewers in the chat.
Shia forcing herself to look cheerful exclaimed loudly, “Don’t worry, Olga! This tentacle is super clean!”
“That’s not the problem…”
It’s not the cleanliness but the visual that matters…
With the tentacles stirring the gooey (sauce) meat, it was hard not to have some inappropriate thoughts while observing the spectacle.
I won’t die from eating this, will I…?
Even though Shia had brought Olga here to change her views on meat, Olga now felt she might accumulate new prejudices about it.
“Alright. All done.”
Just then, as the tentacles finished jumulluk-ing the Shiplani meat, they approached Shia.
Shia showed gratitude and renewed the tentacles, but without returning anything for their hard work.
[Such a cruel master…]
The complaints resonated in Shia’s mind, yet she brushed them off and pulled out a giant meat grill from the transport drone that she had used for butter three months ago.
“How about that? Doesn’t it look like it’ll be delicious already?”
“……….Is it?”
“Hehe, if it’s Shia’s, I would eat anything!”
“Awh….”
Shia, eyes sparkling with excitement, approached Menelapie.
“It really will be delicious! Trust me!”
The first taste was destined for Olga, the elven girl experiencing meat for the first time.
Even though she hesitated, closing her eyes and opening her mouth in trust of Shia, Menelapie watched her with a hint of envy.
And then Shia placed a perfectly cooked piece of Shiplani jumulluk into Olga’s mouth.
Chomp
Munching away…
…
…
Shia held her breath for a moment, wondering if Olga would like it.
Was the jumulluk, seasoned terribly with wine mixed in, edible after all?
“Delicious!”
“…!”
In less than ten seconds, Olga had cleaned every bit of meat from the first piece, which brightened Shia’s expression immensely.
Humans can’t survive on just carbohydrates, fiber, and vitamins.
Maybe elves could, but certainly, Shia could not.
A dining table should ideally have a balanced spread of nutrition, and if it leans heavily toward protein, it can still evoke a powerful impression.
Without further delay, Shia began grilling the Shiplani jumulluk.
Drip, drop, drip, drop…
“Slurp….”
As Olga, once a vegetarian elf, reacted positively, Shia felt an overwhelming urge to just dive in and devour the meat raw, but jumulluk is most delicious when the meat is perfectly cooked, without burning or undercooking.
Thus, Shia, once a saintess who saved the world, exercised extraordinary restraint despite the drool pooling in her mouth while diligently grilling the meat, moving on to the second portion meant for Menelapie.
“Menelapie. Open wide.”
“…..It’s so heartwarming to see our Shia, who used to be so helpless, has become so dependable….”
“I’m hungry! Open your mouth, Menelapie!”
“Hehe, very well.”
Menelapie playfully dragged out the moment, but it seemed Shia’s hunger had hit its limit, as much more drool flowed from her mouth.
Menelapie casually accepted the second piece and began to chew.
Munch, munch…
“…..Oh.”
Just five minutes earlier, Menelapie had thought this dish a disaster.
With that over-the-top sauce and clearly incorrect seasoning, it was shocking to find any redeeming feature.
If she hadn’t added that coat of sauce, she would have surely collapsed right there.
‘Wine was the game changer!’
However, somehow, that unidentified red wine from some region elevated that marinade’s quality immensely.
Had she not dumped an entire bottle, it would have ended up too salty to bear, but the wine harmonized and mellowed out the flavors while leaving a pleasant sweetness, completely drenching the Shiplani meat.
Shiplani meat normally toughened when grilled, but thanks to the mix of wine, soy sauce, and gochujang, the grilled Shiplani meat turned out surprisingly tender even when directly grilled, elevating what could have been routinely bland to something much more delightful.
Menelapie’s eyes widened in genuine surprise, nodding towards Shia.
“I’m not lying; this is actually better than the Minotaur ribs we had at the hot springs in Scala!”
“R-Really?! You mean it!?”
Drooling, Shia stared at Menelapie with wide, excited eyes.
“It truly is. I honestly had no idea such a successful meat dish would come from you.”
The meat, previously suspicious, became a luxurious delicacy, outshining even premium wagyu steaks.
“Olga, give me more!”
“Yes, yes, yes! Slurp… first, let me have some too!”
Thus, the Shiplani jumulluk, with Shia’s raw inexperience, turned into a surprisingly shocking success.
Out of fifty servings of Shiplani jumulluk, they vacated the pot in no time.
Shia had devoured forty-five servings herself.
○○○○○○○
Not overly stuffed but a fulfilling meal later, as they stepped out of the dungeon, they were met by a strangely lethargic Yujin and a shimmering Big Olgania.
But before any cheerful greetings could happen…
“Who told Little Olga to explode the Seredganear!?”
Boom!
“Ughaaah!”
Little Olgania found herself caught in a headlock from Big Olgania in a surprising turn of events as Shia tilted her head, trying to comprehend all of this.
It took her a while to realize that Little Olga had been remotely controlling the leaf flute, which meant he had repeatedly detonated the Nugeo River Green and Green without permission from Big Olgania.
“It’s unacceptable! I’m confiscating all of Little Olga’s Seredganear privileges!”
“N-No!”
“Who told you to be so reckless and set them off like that!?”
“But they entered our Daesanrim first! We warned them…!”
“Does that justify summoning Pigeon Brigade for bombings?!”
“Argh… they were told not to come back, yet they invaded anyway and made a mess…! I only let off one detonation!”
“Don’t lie!”
“Sniffle… I let off two…”
Eventually, that day, Little Olga’s control over the Seredganear… the Nugeo River Green and Green was completely confiscated by Big Olgania.
Meanwhile, Shia poked at Yujin, who was sitting lifelessly on the ground.
Something was strange; the mana construct that usually wrapped around him was absent today.
“Hey, Fake Hero… uh, Yujin… are you alright?”
“……………………”
“How come you’re acting so dull just a few hours in?”
Yujin, now displaying a flow of black hair akin to a girl, appeared somewhat lost.
Shia wanted to see Yujin’s face, but those dark circles were peeking through his hair, making her hesitant to ask further.
On the contrary, Big Olgania, scolding Little Olga, appeared unusually radiant.
What on earth had happened while she was busy eating the Shiplani jumulluk?
“Geez, I’m jealous of that elf.”
“Huh? What are you jealous of, Menelapie?”
“…It’s nothing.”
