When she opened her eyes in the morning, she was curious about last night~
Instead of a morning call, the sounds of cars outside and the chirping of birds resting on the roof of the Returnee Shelter made Shia wake up.
Shia generally doesn’t feel fatigue well.
The bodies of Hunters are vastly stronger than those of regular people, and the difference between the body of the Mangja Seongnyeo and that of a Hunter is much greater and deeper than the difference between Hunters and regulars.
Still, Shia felt that something was wrong the moment she opened her eyes in the morning.
“Ugh… urgh….”
Hangover, hangover…
A hangover usually comes with headaches, muscle pains, nausea, and vomiting after drinking too much.
Of course, Shia is a Mangja Seongnyeo.
She has a body that can’t die from poison, and most harmful things don’t affect her.
But upon waking up in the morning, she felt an intense headache as if her brain was being probed with a jackhammer, and she tumbled off her bed onto the floor.
“Ugh, I can’t take it anymore….”
[Miracle – Great Healing]
Despite her determination to endure it, the pain of a hangover is a different kind of suffering, so Shia used a miracle.
Fortunately, as the miracle of Great Healing swept through her body, Shia returned to her prime state and quickly sat up, exhaling deeply.
“…….What time is it now…?”
After blinking for a moment, Shia turned her head to look around.
Well… it’s home.
Her familiar little 20-pyeong home located at Dangsan Station in Yeongdeungpo-gu.
It’s truly a relief that it’s not out on the street.
Instead of losing her memory while drinking, it seems like she just passed out in Han River Park, and Yeonhwa brought her here.
‘…Speaking of which, Yeonhwa is my legal guardian…’
She’d been wondering how Yeonhwa managed to open the door and bring her back, but it wasn’t strange if her legal guardian knew the password to her home.
As she continued to survey her surroundings, Shia felt something tucked under her head wriggling.
[Weeek!](Damn, it’s heavy, move aside…)
The Lucky Bladed Centipede, which felt somewhat firm yet oddly mushy instead of a pillow, seemed quite dissatisfied with being used as a pillow. It wriggled all over to escape Shia’s hold.
Well, from the centipede’s perspective, it had been curled up, sleeping comfortably in the corner until this monster came in, drunk and groggy, clutching it and then collapsing into a deep sleep. So it had been hell for it.
Thanks to that, while Shia was using the centipede as a pillow to enjoy her sleep, it couldn’t move an inch, trapped by her strong grip.
“Stay still… I need to think a bit…”
[Weeek!](Damn….)
“Hah…. Crazy, what have I done…”
As memories of last night flooded back, Shia felt a wave of embarrassment wash over her.
Yes, it was true that her mood had soured because of an ethical audit yesterday.
She had laid out all her unwanted memories in front of Director Choi Bomi. Naturally, her mood had reached an all-time low since her return.
Feeling the need for alcohol and being more vulnerable than usual were unavoidable…
Of course, she felt immensely grateful to Yeonhwa.
The problem was that, using Yeonhwa as an excuse, she had unleashed a torrent of drunken rants, and Shia remembered all the ridiculous things she had done.
“Ugh, ugghhaaa….!”
Burying her face in the floor, screaming and rolling her feet, Shia was tormented by the memories of last night.
Grrrroooowl
“……….I’m hungry.”
She couldn’t stand feeling hungry…
Looking out onto the veranda, she saw some enormous thing.
It was red and seemed to be frozen solid in some icy substance…
Ah, is that the meat of a Lava Longbeard Whale?
She had dived into the Han River yesterday, caught a monster, and eaten it herself while also giving some to Yeonhwa.
It had been delicious, so she had downed three bottles of Jack Daniel’s in one go and then devoured that thing while regrettably drinking beer alongside it, all the while hugging and munching on it.
As that turned her clothes into a smelly mess, it seemed like while she was asleep, Yeonhwa had changed her clothes because they smelled clean.
[It won’t melt for about 48 hours. I froze it on the veranda because there wasn’t any room in the fridge, so you can eat it if you want.]
Seeing Yeonhwa’s message left on her smartwatch, Shia staggered to the veranda door.
[Miracle – Purification]
Using Purification, the miracle treated the ice as a status ailment, melting it away. Quick-witted tentacles snatched up the pieces of Lava Longbeard Whale before they could hit the ground.
It seemed that I wasn’t the only one suffering from a hangover; even the tentacles were moving slowly, not opening their eyes.
“…Huh, Lava Longbeard Whale… recipe…”
Looking at her smartwatch, she found many complicated recipes.
The Lava Longbeard Whale was a monster resembling a whale both in name and appearance, yet classified neither as a fish nor a mammal, but strangely enough considered edible.
Just searching the internet provided a list of various cooking methods ranging from steaming to the butter broiling she failed at last time….
But no, I’m not doing butter broiling.
Making something with butter requires serious commitment, and most importantly, right now, I need to focus on… hangover…
Even though my body had returned to normal due to the miracle of Great Healing, humans are fundamentally very influenced by personal feelings, moods, and indescribable emotions.
After downing over 218 cocktails, and all the beer, soju, and spirits combined must’ve exceeded 500 drinks, it would be unreasonable to think a single miracle could wipe that all away.
“Something, maybe… something good for hangovers…”
Alright, let’s make soup.
I don’t really know any soup recipes that I can cook, to be honest.
However, I can at least guarantee a higher success rate as long as the ingredients are good, so the chances of failing with soup or stew are pretty low.
In fact, I remember that the last time I messed up cooking orc butter pork belly with dungeon cabbage, it was edible just by throwing in various sauces to simmer it.
Of course, I couldn’t guarantee the smell…
“Let’s see, for the soup… I don’t like spicy food, so something clear would be best…”
Fortunately, I found a recipe for Lava Longbeard Whale soup.
The method was not hard.
First, stir-fry an appropriate amount of Lava Longbeard Whale meat in sesame oil or perilla oil.
“An appropriate amount, huh? About 10kg should do, right?”
So, I used up to three frying pans to sauté the meat.
By the way, they say you shouldn’t cook it completely.
I have no idea why.
Let’s not question the recipe.
Since I’m a cooking novice, if I change the recipe on my whim and it ends up like last time, I’d be in big trouble.
Anyway, I sautéed it on low heat for about 10 minutes as instructed, then dumped it into a large pot. Now, I started adding water and boiling it.
Once the cloudy broth starts bubbling, next you add green onions, garlic, salt, pepper, and soy sauce to season, and finally add the egg to complete it…
“Well, this is lacking, so let’s throw in tofu, radish, bean sprouts, and potatoes too.”
Fortunately, I had a box of potatoes piled high in the house, and there were bean sprouts just resting in the fridge.
I cut up the leftover tofu from the day before and threw it in. As for seasoning, I figured I could wing it.
“Oh, Wyvern egg…..”
When I tried to substitute the egg with a Wyvern egg, I found that the last Wyvern egg was waiting in the fridge.
It had been quite some time since I visited the Kurtala Mountains.
Maybe I should go out to harvest some more soon?
No, should I try raiding other mountains’ Wyverns this time?
Considering the preservation of the Wyvern population in the Three Peaks, some proper adjustments might be necessary.
For now, I crushed the Wyvern egg shell and dropped it into the boiling pot.
Maybe it was because of the huge yolks, but the hangover soup transformed into a bright yellow color in an instant.
“Uh, so… should I add more seasoning?”
Wait a minute… Wyvern eggs are 30 million each.
The cheapest Wyvern eggs go for that price because they’re challenging to obtain, but also due to the immense amount of protein and rich flavor contained in the egg itself.
With an entire egg tossed into the pot, the once white hangover soup was quickly turning bright yellow like pumpkin porridge.
“……….”
This… isn’t a seasoning issue, is it…?
Feeling something was off, I reached for the soy sauce.
Um, how much should I…
Hmmm…
I had already thrown in over 10kg of meat, so deciding how to season was becoming a dilemma.
“Let’s say, two cups…”
I was supposed to be making a clear broth for a hangover soup that reminded me of dried pollack soup at least.
Everything up until that point had gone smoothly.
But from the moment I added the Wyvern egg, instead of a nice, clear hangover soup, it began to look more like some… food waste.
“……gulp…”
Is this drool?
Definitely not.
It did smell fine amidst all that, but I started developing a fear of the unknown concoction that looked like something left over from a food waste dump with all that bright yellow broth and ingredients scattered all around.
[Weeek…](Hey, give me too.)
In the meantime, the Lucky Bladed Centipede had side-stepped closer, curious, rubbing its legs against me, which was at least a relief.
If it’s a total failure, I can just give it to the centipede…
I turned off the heat.
They say you shouldn’t boil the hangover soup for too long, or the ingredients and contents become completely mushy and end up tasting terrible.
What I had envisioned was a bubbling clear broth, but the yolk from the Wyvern egg was taking over the pot like it was marking its territory, and I hesitated for a moment, debating whether I should eat this or not.
Although I’ve never had any prejudice against food, this looked quite horrific at first glance.
[Weeek!](Gimme some!)
I wasn’t sure if the centipede could eat soup, but I ladled out three-quarters of the broth to the Lucky Bladed Centipede from the pot.
Slurp, slurp, crunch, crunch, slurp…
I thought centipedes only had biting mouths; how was it swallowing the broth?
I felt puzzled, but seeing the centipede eat obediently, it didn’t seem to be inedible.
Then again, it was meaningless unless I tried this myself since the centipede’s taste probably wouldn’t match mine.
“..I’ll dig in.”
I opened a pack of instant rice and put the spoon in the broth.
The Wyvern egg yolks seemed to dominate the soup, but still, I managed to find some reasonably clear broth within.
Slurp.
“…?”
What is this?
Why is it good?
As Shia was astonished to find an unexpected flavor in this food waste-looking broth concoction, she brought the spoon back to her mouth again.
Slurp, chew… gulp.
“Hah…..”
Her stomach felt, relieved…
Even though her body had returned to normal with the Great Healing, swallowing the cool and clear broth made from Lava Longbeard Whale meat multiplied its savory and subtle flavors.
Thanks to being frozen solid by the Bingoo’s abilities, the chewiness of the Lava Longbeard Whale was reminiscent of the meat used in dried pollack soup, and at that moment…
“Yessss….”
Ah, refreshing.
Ah, she felt like she could live.
Oh, yes….
Though the yolks of the Wyvern egg created a grotesque presentation, it surprisingly amplified the broth’s umami and mild flavor.
Essentially, the Wyvern egg yolk tasted like it was the concentrated essence of proteins found in dozens of eggs.
Even with too many yolks, it oddly didn’t ruin the excellent umami of the hangover soup, while at the same time, the gentle yolk packed her full.
“Hahhhh….”
Soon, she had finished not just one, but five bowls of instant rice. Now, after finishing her portion of the hangover soup, she shifted her gaze to the Lucky Bladed Centipede, which was buried headfirst in the large pot.
“Wow, you ate a lot, huh? Feeling full?”
“Give it to me!”
[Weeek!](Damn it!)
The centipede seemed quite distressed, perhaps feeling wronged since its food was being taken, but Shia, already enchanted by the hangover soup, couldn’t be bothered by it.
In the end, the centipede made a few attempts to get back at Shia, head-butting her legs in protest, but she simply used her tentacles to pick the centipede up and tossed it out onto the veranda.
[Weeek….](You mean person….)
“Hehehehe… It’s delicious, I’ll have more!”
To be honest, she was not entirely void of guilt, but Shia’s hunger for hangover soup eclipsed any slight regret she felt for the centipede.
Gulp, huurp…
Well, I could buy some nice feed later, right?
But is there even food for a centipede…?
Ding ding!
“Hmm?”
Suddenly her smartwatch began ringing, and Shia turned her head.
Who dares interrupt my meal?
“Hello?”
[Is this Isia?]
“What’s up?”
It was a man’s voice.
Who is it…?
[Yujin here. Do you have a moment?]
“……. ”
Honestly, she didn’t want to meet him that much.
Shia put down her hangover soup, got up with a serious face, and addressed the situation.
[As a member of the Returnee Ethical Audit, I have some questions to ask.]
“What’s it about?”
[The Demon King.]
“……….”
[Let’s discuss the details when we meet.]
It’s been only a short time since she drank, and now he was making her feel like drinking again…
Shia absentmindedly scratched her head in annoyance.
“When?”
[As soon as possible would be great.]
“….I can leave by 1 PM. Come to Coffee Myunghwa at Dangsan Station. Their strawberry cake is delicious.”
[Understood.]
“Oh, and by the way…”
[What is it?]
With a smirk on her face, Shia gazed at her smartwatch.
“Why don’t you talk to me casually? When have we met for you to talk to me that way? Am I Yujin’s subordinate?”
[……..]
Surprised by such remarks, there was a sudden silence on the other end of the smartwatch.
“Hehe, I’m just joking. I’ll be out soon.”
After saying that, Shia disconnected the call.
As Shia got up, the centipede, which had been cornered, glanced longingly at the leftover hangover soup.
“…Hah, alright… you can eat it all.”
[Weeek!](Oh yes!)
Hah…
Strangely, Shia already felt disinclined to go out.
He was the first Returnee to achieve S-grade Hunter status, and aside from Shia, he was the most famous strong Returnee.
Shia had watched Yujin’s streams a few times after returning to the modern world for a month.
At that point, she didn’t feel any significant negative emotions towards him…
But on the day of the third ethical audit, upon seeing Yujin in the observation room, Shia instinctively felt repulsive.
‘..That Yujin person. Everything about them, their appearance, voice, and demeanor, it was all a lie…’
Shia really hated liars.
