Chapter 162: The Great Ancestor and Marinated Red Pepper Paste Grill 4
*Biiiiiii~*
"Olga, I've been curious for a while. What's with that leaf whistle?"
While Shia was busy preparing a large batch of marinated meat, she looked up at Olga.
She understood Olga getting bored while she cooked, but blowing on a leaf whistle, and not even playing a pleasant tune, instead just producing a steady *beep~beep~*, like a drill instructor or military band, confused her.
"Oh, it's nothing special. I’m just planning to teach an uninvited guest who’s come to our house a lesson."
"Huh?"
What does that mean?
Shia tilted her head, completely puzzled.
Why would someone talk about uninvited guests while blowing on a leaf whistle?
Though Shia didn’t understand what Olga was talking about, she didn’t feel the need to dig deeper, as it was just a leaf whistle. So, her attention shifted back to the large, chaotic vat of marinade that resembled the hues of a dark sorceress's cauldron.
'This should be about done, right...?'
For dishes like marinated ribs or bulgogi, you would typically soak the meat in the marinade for a long time, but for a dish like jumulleok (spicy marinated grilled meat), you could just mix the meat with the sauce on the spot.
Because she was preparing such a large quantity, the marinade ingredients alone were substantial.
There were enoki mushrooms and crushed peppers that Shia had mashed with her own strength.
"Shia, do you think this is enough?"
"Yes! Thanks!"
Though she had said she didn’t need help five minutes ago, Shia ultimately asked Menelapie for assistance. Without even checking, she tossed the finely chopped onions Menelapie had prepared into the pot.
She trusted Menelapie to have done a good job.
'But wait... didn’t this warrior sister say she used to be an emperor in her previous world...? Why is she so good at chopping onions?'
It’s not like she’s a poor city-state lord. For someone who once ruled an empire, she sure diced those onions cleanly.
In the past, Menelapie, having set aside her duties as an emperor, would sometimes travel incognito with Shia during her rare moments of free time.
Of course, they couldn’t always eat out at restaurants during their travels, and since Shia had catastrophic cooking skills, Menelapie often took charge of the cooking. Over time, she became such a skilled cook that she earned the nickname "The All-Rounder."
Shia, meanwhile, continued tossing garlic paste, peeled garlic, and green onions—roots only roughly trimmed—into the pot without much care.
The pot already contained two large tubs of gochujang (Korean red chili paste) that had been shipped in by delivery drone. Sugar, sesame oil, and plum extract were thrown in, and finally, Shia blended in some cooking wine and sake. The concoction was transforming into something that was either a special sauce or a grotesque jumulleok from the underworld.
Shia had mistakenly used soy sauce instead of dark soy sauce midway through and had to adjust the taste with more sugar and garlic, but she figured it wasn’t a big deal.
"Now then, let’s put this on the meat..."
The meat of the Shiffrani monster was based on lamb.
Its appearance was similar to a deer covered in wool, which could be off-putting for some, but the properly deodorized Shiffrani meat was surprisingly delicious.
Of course, the hardest part was the deodorization process.
*Squelch, squelch*
Shia dumped 50 servings of Shiffrani meat into the massive pot of marinade.
"I don't want to get my hands dirty... [Miracle—Holy Body Descent]!"
As her spine twisted, five tentacles burst forth menacingly, eager to breathe fresh air at Shia’s command.
They looked like they were drooling at the prospect of either an enemy or food, but Shia placed the large pot in front of them.
What? Are you telling me to eat this?
In the past, she had given them well-formed monsters to eat, but now she seemed to be feeding them something less appetizing, and the tentacles gritted their metaphorical teeth.
Still, it’s food, right? Let’s just eat quietly.
Just as the tentacles were thinking that, Shia’s slender hand stopped them.
[What is it? Didn’t you want us to eat it?]
[And where’s our master’s clothes?]
[Why is she dressed like a pervert, wearing only an outer robe?]
[Our master was always a pervert.]
[Oh, really?]
As the tentacles voiced their doubts, Shia pointed to the jumulleok marinade and meat inside the pot.
"Mix it."
The tentacles, fully understanding their master's order, gritted their teeth in protest.
*Click, click, click...*
*Clack...*
"I said, mix it already."
You damned master.
Only you would use the body of a god to marinate Shiffrani meat.
With no choice, the five large, flexible tentacles plunged into the pot and began stirring.
Not human hands, but five thick, flexible tentacles swirled around, kneading the meat and evenly distributing the marinade, as though pressed by a mechanical mold.
Once the tentacles began kneading the meat, it started to resemble actual cooking.
Shia had recklessly tossed the ingredients together without worrying about proportions, but they were all high-quality items.
The problem was how the ingredients combined. Still, each one was top-notch, so it should be delicious.
Hopefully.
"Uh, um... Is this right?"
Olga frowned as she watched the tentacles stirring the pot, making jumulleok.
Never mind the taste; the visual was already quite disturbing.
Is this supposed to be jumulleok?
It looked less like grilled meat and more like something from the twisted depths of the underworld.
Especially with the thick marinade squelching against the meat, Olga felt like she was in a 19+ RPG horror game, where tentacles were involved in an... inappropriate scene.
'Wasn’t there a tentacle in that game that NTR'd the heroine? It looked exactly like this...'
If this were being streamed, viewers would probably spam the chat with lewd comments.
Shia shouted loudly, trying to reassure Olga.
"It’s okay, Olga! These tentacles are really clean!"
"No, that's not the issue..."
It wasn’t a matter of cleanliness—it was the visuals.
The tentacles were thrusting into the (marinated) flesh, coated in sauce, in such a violent manner that it was hard not to think inappropriate thoughts.
'We won't die from eating this, right...?'
Shia had brought Olga here to dispel her aversion to eating meat, but Olga felt like she was gaining a new kind of trauma instead.
"Okay, it’s done."
At that moment, the tentacles, having diligently kneaded the Shiffrani meat in the marinade, approached Shia as if their job was finished.
Shia cast a purification miracle on them as a reward for their hard work but didn’t give them anything else.
[Damn master...]
Shia could hear their complaints echoing in her mind, but she ignored them and pulled out a massive grill from the delivery drone.
It was the same grill she had used when cooking butter pork belly at home.
"How about it? Doesn't it look delicious already?"
"...This does?"
"Hehehe, anything Shia makes is something I’ll gladly eat."
"......"
The fact that Menelapie hadn’t immediately said, “It looks delicious,” suggested the fate of the Shiffrani jumulleok was already half-sealed.
"N-No, it’ll be delicious... probably..."
"Probably?"
"........"
Why do children always catch onto those small details?
Olga’s reaction was understandable, given that it was her first time eating meat and the jumulleok was visually off-putting.
Even Menelapie, seeing jumulleok for the first time, had already lowered her expectations.
Jumulleok, visually, looked like raw meat crushed with an unknown marinade.
Plus, the way the marinade had been prepared was so random that there was no way to maintain high hopes.
However, when expectations are low, it’s often a good thing.
It makes it easier to surpass the hurdle of taste, even for a mediocre dish.
Smiling, Shia lit the grill with her holy power.
*Sizzle!*
Since Shiffrani was a B-rank monster, it naturally protected its body with mana, enveloping its skin and flesh.
However, this mana protection also meant that the meat inside was exceptionally tender.
With the mana protection gone, the Shiffrani jumulleok sizzled on the grill, cooking rapidly like beef.
"Oh, is this really okay?"
"Of course, it’s okay!"
Yes, this is the feeling.
Shia didn’t show it outwardly, but she was deeply moved by the sound of the Shiffrani jumulleok sizzling on the grill.
While Shia was a bit dense, she wasn’t so clueless as to be oblivious to the atmosphere.
She could sense that Menelapie and Olga hadn’t had any expectations for her cooking from the start.
But now, as the Shiffrani jumulleok sizzled and cooked, playing the delicious tune of cooking meat, both Olga and Menelapie’s expressions subtly changed.
Perhaps this Shiffrani jumulleok might actually turn out well.
*Sizzle*
*Sizzle, sizzle*
*Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle*
In less than 30 seconds, a piece of Shiffrani jumulle
ok was fully cooked.
'Let’s see... good. There’s no bad smell. No gamey, fishy, or unpleasant odors. It smells a bit like wine, but... I cooked it thoroughly, so it should be fine, right...?'
The first piece of Shiffrani jumulleok was glistening with its own juices, the marinade dripping from it.
Even though it was jumulleok, the meat had absorbed quite a bit of the marinade, and the juices mixed with the sauce seeped out as the heat caused them to evaporate.
The freshness was, of course, top-notch.
The appearance was great.
It had been quickly cooked at high heat, so the marinade hadn’t burned, and the meat was perfectly cooked.
*Slurp...*
Before she realized it, Shia was salivating over her own cooking.
This is delicious.
It’s definitely delicious.
The smell alone was enough to make her feel confident.
"Olga, want to... try it?"
The first taste test was, of course, meant for Olga.
As an elf, this was her first experience with eating meat.
If she refused now, it couldn’t be helped, but still, today’s guest was Olga.
Olga, who had never eaten meat before, hesitated a bit, but then closed her eyes, deciding to trust Shia, and opened her mouth. Menelapie, standing nearby, cast an envious glance toward Olga.
Shia gently placed the well-cooked piece of Shiffrani jumulleok into Olga’s mouth.
*Munch*
*Chew, chew*
.
.
.
In the short silence, Shia gulped.
Would Olga accept this taste?
Had she managed to make the jumulleok, with its haphazard wine-laden marinade, properly?
"It’s delicious!"
"...!"
And within ten seconds, Olga had completely chewed and swallowed the meat, declaring it delicious, which brightened Shia’s expression.
Humans can’t live on carbohydrates, fiber, and vitamins alone.
Maybe elves can, but Shia certainly couldn’t.
A meal should always be nutritionally balanced, and if there’s protein, a meal focused on protein can still be incredibly satisfying.
With renewed confidence, Shia resumed grilling more Shiffrani jumulleok.
*Drip, drip, drip, drip...*
*Slurp...*
Seeing the vegan elf’s positive reaction to the meat, Shia was tempted to devour it raw out of excitement, but she knew that jumulleok was best when cooked just right, with the marinade caramelized perfectly on the surface and the inside tender.
Summoning her superhuman patience as the Saintess of the Dead who once saved the world, Shia kept grilling diligently, her mouth watering as she resisted the urge to eat immediately. The second piece of grilled meat was offered to Menelapie.
"Menelapie, say ‘ah.’"
"...To think our little Shia, who always used to be the one fed by others, has grown so dependable... how moving..."
"I'm hungry. Open your mouth, Menelapie."
"Hehe, okay."
Menelapie had been trying to tease and stall for time, but it seemed Shia’s hunger had reached its limit. Drool was flowing much more freely from her mouth than before.
Without hesitation, Menelapie accepted the second piece of meat that Shia had grilled for her and began chewing.
*Chew, chew*
"...Oh."
Menelapie had been convinced just five minutes earlier that this dish was doomed.
With the sheer amount of marinade thrown in recklessly, and the lack of proper seasoning control, it seemed bound for failure.
In fact, Menelapie had already prepared herself to endure this meal with the fortitude of a hero, steeling her resolve against what she thought would be a stomach-terrorizing dish.
'The wine was a game-changer.'
However, it was the wine.
Thanks to an unknown bottle of red wine, the quality of the marinade had shot up.
Without that entire bottle of wine, the overwhelming saltiness from the soy sauce would have made the meat inedible. But the wine had neutralized the saltiness, while its subtle aroma and sweetness perfectly complemented the Shiffrani meat.
Shiffrani meat usually became a bit tough when grilled directly.
But thanks to the combination of wine, soy sauce, and gochujang, the grilled Shiffrani meat turned out incredibly tender, and the various seasonings enhanced the flavor, keeping it from being bland.
Menelapie widened her eyes in genuine surprise and nodded approvingly at Shia.
"It’s no exaggeration to say that this meat is even more delicious than the Minotaur ribeye we had at the hot spring restaurant in the Scala Mountains."
"R-Really?! Really?!"
Even as drool dripped from her mouth, Shia’s eyes sparkled as she looked up at Menelapie with excitement.
"It’s true. Honestly, I never expected the meat to turn out this well."
The dish that had once seemed like a food disaster had turned into something more exquisite than high-end wagyu beef, all thanks to that single bottle of wine.
"Sister, sister! Give me more!"
"Yes, yes, yes! *Slurp*... Let me eat first...!"
Thus, the Shiffrani jumulleok, which had seemed destined for failure due to Shia’s lack of basic cooking skills, turned out to be a shockingly delightful success.
The 50 servings of Shiffrani jumulleok quickly disappeared.
Shia ended up eating 45 of those servings herself.
○○○○○○○
After finishing an excellent meal, though not to the point of being overly full, they exited the dungeon and were greeted by Yujin, who looked drained, and a strangely shiny-skinned Big Olgania.
But the pleasant greetings were short-lived.
"Who told you to set off that many Seredeganiaar (spirit nuclear bombs)!!!"
*Boom!*
"Ouch!"
Little Olga was getting scolded and smacked on the forehead by Big Olgania for reasons Shia couldn’t quite understand.
It wasn’t until later that Shia found out that the leaf whistle Olga had been blowing in the dungeon was remotely controlling and detonating the bombs. Little Olga was being scolded for launching a series of unauthorized “Your Green Hills” bombs without Big Olgania's permission.
"That’s it. I’m confiscating all your Seredeganiaar privileges!"
"No, no, please!"
"Who told you to detonate them recklessly like that?!"
"But they invaded our Great Forest! I even warned them...!"
"Do you really think it’s okay to bombard them with the pigeon squad just because of that?!"
"But they pissed me off by ignoring the warnings and barging in anyway! And I only set off one bomb!"
"Don’t lie to me!"
"Ugh... Fine, two bombs..."
That day, Little Olga’s control over the Seredeganiaar, the “Your Green Hills” bombs, was completely confiscated by Big Olgania.
Meanwhile, Shia crouched down and poked Yujin, who was lying weakly on the ground, with her finger.
For some reason, Yujin’s usual illusion was gone, and she was left in her natural form.
"Hey, fake hero... no, Yujin... are you okay?"
"......................."
"You were fine earlier, so why are you suddenly like this?"
Yujin, with her black hair cascading down, looked utterly drained, as if her spirit had been sucked out.
Shia wanted to see Yujin's expression, but through the strands of hair, all she could make out were dark, heavy bags under her eyes, and she decided against asking any more questions.
In contrast, Big Olgania, who had just finished scolding Little Olga, looked much more radiant and glossy-skinned.
What happened while I was busy grilling Shiffrani jumulleok?
"Sigh, I envy that elf."
"Huh? What are you jealous of, Menelapie?"
"...It’s nothing."