Chapter 268

At first, when Ellie heard about the soy sauce, she wasn’t particularly interested in that Yurin-gi sauce.

A sauce made with some mysterious seasoning like soy sauce, which was just plain weird.

And to make matters worse, she heard that soy sauce was made by fermenting beans.

She didn’t even like normal beans, and now they were fermenting them? Who would eat that even if it was free?

Besides, Yurin-gi was already delicious enough without any sauce. Why take the risk?

If the sauce turned out to be as bad as she imagined, wouldn’t it just ruin the satisfaction she had from eating Yurin-gi so far?

And once your taste buds are ruined, they don’t come back easily.

If that happened, even if she ate Yurin-gi again, she wouldn’t feel the same joy as before. It was obvious.

So even though Ellie noticed the existence of the Yurin-gi sauce, she didn’t really want to try it.

But…

*Crunch crunch*

*Munch munch*

*Crisp crisp*

The sound of frying crumbling and cabbage being chewed right next to her attacked her ears, as if the person eating hadn’t had a proper meal in days.

Well, actually, they hadn’t eaten properly for the past week.

But still, watching the two people enjoying the soy sauce and Yurin-gi so deliciously…

*Gulp*

“Is… is it really that good? This soy sauce thing?”

Ellie unknowingly swallowed her saliva.

Before she knew it, the scales in her heart began to tilt from rejection to curiosity about the soy sauce.

Realizing that even while eating Yurin-gi, her eyes were unconsciously drawn to the soy sauce, Ellie, with a puzzled expression, brought her own bowl of soy sauce in front of her.

‘Just one bite. If it’s not good, I’ll just stop eating it.’

With that, she decided to dip just a little bit of Yurin-gi into the sauce to taste it.

As she brought the Yurin-gi close to the sauce, it absorbed the soy sauce at an astonishing speed, like a sponge soaking up water.

It was like placing a dry rag on water—it just soaked it up naturally.

“Eek!”

Surprised by how quickly the Yurin-gi absorbed the sauce, she quickly pulled it out, but it was already fully coated.

“Hiiiing… I didn’t mean to soak it this much… Why does it absorb so fast?”

But it was too late to regret now.

The Yurin-gi was already coated in soy sauce.

“Well, maybe some lettuce to balance out the saltiness…”

But she couldn’t just throw away the food served by someone who had done her a great favor.

Especially not something as expensive as fried food.

So Ellie picked up some lettuce with her fork, regretting her decision, and slowly put the Yurin-gi into her mouth with a sad face.

*Chew chew*

“Hiiiing… It’s not as crispy because of the sauce…”

As Ellie chewed the Yurin-gi in her mouth…

At that moment…

“…!?”

Ellie silently screamed, feeling as if her hair was standing on end.

Well, she would’ve screamed out loud if her mouth wasn’t full.

If the Yurin-gi she ate without the sauce before was mind-blowingly delicious, the Yurin-gi with the sauce was like a lightning bolt striking her already blank mind.

The taste of the soy sauce wasn’t the overpowering saltiness she had experienced at the market before. Instead, it perfectly enhanced the flavor.

No, it wasn’t just the saltiness.

There was a hidden sweetness in the soy sauce that she hadn’t noticed before, creating a perfect balance of sweet and salty.

Honestly, the level of the fried coating and the quality of the meat were already excellent, but the sauce elevated the flavor of the Yurin-gi by several levels.

And the taste hidden in the sauce wasn’t just sweet and salty.

There was a tanginess from the vinegar and a spicy kick from the finely chopped red peppers.

While the sweetness and saltiness complemented the fried dish, the tanginess and spiciness did the opposite.

They neutralized the heaviness of the fried food that had been gradually weighing on her without her realizing it.

A person born with only one eye doesn’t know how inconvenient their life is.

Because seeing the world with one eye is normal and familiar to them.

But when they are gifted with a second eye and finally see the world with both eyes…

Only then do they realize how inconvenient and stifling the world of a one-eyed person was.

And Ellie was the same.

The taste of the Yurin-gi she had been enjoying so much without the sauce…

The moment she ate it with the sauce, it instantly became something unsatisfying.

‘If I had known this taste… I wouldn’t be able to eat it without the sauce now… Haaa…’

*Crunch*

*Crunch*

As if delivering the final blow, the cool and moist texture of the lettuce completely refreshed her palate, which had been overwhelmed by the fried food.

And at that moment, she realized.

The fried coating that absorbed the sauce the moment she dipped it was designed to be eaten with the sauce from the beginning.

There are two types of fried dishes.

Those meant to be eaten with sauce and those that aren’t.

And Yurin-gi was definitely the former.

In fact, the crispiness of this Yurin-gi was different from the texture of the fried chicken Kurt usually cooked.

Though Ellie didn’t know it, the fried dishes Kurt usually made didn’t use batter but rather breadcrumbs and flour without mixing them into a batter.

So the texture was more flaky than crispy.

But using a batter made with water and eggs naturally resulted in a less crispy texture compared to using breadcrumbs.

If you coat it with breadcrumbs, you get a crispy, flaky texture, but using batter creates a thicker layer.

It’s a step down in terms of pure fried texture.

But…

That batter absorbs sauce well.

In Chinese cuisine, there are many fried dishes meant to be enjoyed with sauce poured over them or stir-fried with sauce.

So that batter was perfectly suited for such cooking methods.

Like how sweet and sour pork absorbs sauce instantly or how General Tso’s chicken is stir-fried with sauce.

Batter-fried dishes are optimized for being paired with sauces.

Whether the batter evolved because of the sauce-heavy dishes or the sauce-heavy dishes evolved because of the batter is unclear.

But one thing is certain: Chinese fried coatings evolved to suit Chinese cooking styles.

And so, Ellie, with just one bite…

Was completely hooked by the charm of the soy sauce.

Like a helpless traveler snatched away by an Abnormal Bird soaring through the sky!

“Ahh…! I only just discovered this sauce now! I’ve wasted half my meal time!”

And so, the party members who were treated to Kurt’s cooking were completely immersed in the heavenly taste of Yurin-gi, as if washing away all the negative emotions they had carried until now in celebration of Bram’s return.

Whether Kurt had anticipated this or simply wanted to feed them, it was perfect after-service.

.

.

.

“By the way, what kind of bird meat is this? I should ask later.”

Ellie continued her meal, completely unaware that the bird meat was from the monster that had nearly killed them a few days ago.

.

.

.

Meanwhile, Bram, watching his party members enjoy their meal, cautiously asked Kurt.

“Um, excuse me…”

“What is it?”

“Um, sorry, but… am I not getting any food?”

“What?”

“Oh, no, I’m not asking for it… I was just curious…”

Bram waved his hands in panic at Kurt’s response.

Yes.

While his party members were all enjoying the Yurin-gi, Bram hadn’t been served any food and was just watching them eat.

For some reason, no plate had come his way.

But since his life had been saved, he couldn’t complain and just watched quietly. However, seeing his party members enjoying the Yurin-gi so much, he couldn’t hold back any longer and asked Kurt.

“Oh my, look at me. I completely forgot.”

“So that means…”

“Yes, of course, there’s a portion for you too.”

“Ah…!”

At those words, Kurt tapped his forehead as if he had forgotten, and Bram’s face lit up with a bright smile.

‘Yes! I knew there was a portion for me too!’

And then Kurt brought a steaming plate from the kitchen.

“Here’s your portion.”

“…Huh?”

Bram, not understanding, asked in a dumbfounded voice.

“You haven’t had proper nutrition for the past week, so your body is in bad shape. Eating greasy fried food in that state would put a huge burden on your stomach. This is a porridge made with bird meat that I made while preparing the Yurin-gi. Eat it slowly so you don’t get indigestion.”

It was a white porridge made with Demon’s Hand meat, not chicken.

While preparing the Yurin-gi, Kurt had plenty of time to make a porridge that would help the adventurer he had rescued recover quickly.

After all, he had just the right ingredients on hand.

“I also picked some herbs in the mountains that are good for restoring energy and added them to the porridge. There’s plenty left in the kitchen, so eat as much as you want.”

“Th-thank you.”

With a face that couldn’t decide whether to cry or laugh, Bram gratefully accepted the bowl of porridge.

.

.

.

Do you know when a person hates another person the most?

Or do you know why someone might hate another person?

Of course, there’s no single answer.

People’s emotions are different, and their experiences and backgrounds vary, so the moments and reasons for hating someone differ.

But at this moment, Bram could answer without hesitation.

The moment he hated someone the most in his entire life was right now.

And it was when the people he cared about the most betrayed him.

“Hey! Eating this with lettuce makes it endless!”

“We need drinks! I’ll get the drinks!”

“Hahaha! Then I’ll have beer!”

Bram looked at his party members enjoying their meat and drinks, ignoring him as he ate his plain porridge, with a resentful gaze.

Until the meal was over.

---