Chapter 311

A captain who spends his life traveling between nations and continents, and a fisherman who spends his life navigating the seas near his hometown—both would consider it a lifelong honor to encounter a beastkin or a mermaid, creatures so rare that even among sailors, they are considered legends.

The reason mermaids are rare in human society isn’t just because their habitat, the sea, doesn’t overlap with humans. It’s also because the mermaid race inherently harbors an extreme aversion to other human species.

And this mermaid, Marin, was no exception, showing an intense fear of humans.

Could it really be a coincidence that this mermaid, who usually avoids humans, appeared on the shores of Leila around the same time as the strange phenomena occurring in the city?

The moment I saw Marin, I had a hunch.

Perhaps she could be the key to solving this mystery.

Although it’s a pity she isn’t a rare ingredient, meeting Marin on my last day in Leila was a stroke of luck.

If I could ask her why she drifted to Leila, it might provide a clue to solving these anomalies.

“Why did you drift to the shore…?”

“Exactly. Someone as fearful of humans as you wouldn’t just drift into a human city without a reason, right? Something must have happened.”

“…Oh! Now that you mention it, I shouldn’t be wasting time like this!”

At my words, Marin’s expression turned serious, as if confirming that something indeed had happened.

“If there’s a problem, maybe we can help.”

“Actually… Oh, no. It’s nothing. I just got caught in a strong current while swimming!”

But that was as far as she went.

After hearing my words, Marin, who had initially looked moved, quickly stiffened her expression and awkwardly changed the subject upon seeing my companions, Mari and Karina.

Perhaps it was uncomfortable for her to share her personal matters in front of humans and half-humans, though she might have confided in me, another beastkin.

As the conversation veered into sensitive territory, Marin, who had seemed somewhat detached, began to build a wall between us.

“Is that really all?”

“Yes. It’s strange for a mermaid who has lived her whole life in the sea to drift ashore just because of a strong current.”

“Oh, no! I just made a mistake while swimming…! Oh! It’s getting late! The other mermaids in the village will be worried! I should head back!”

Marin, visibly flustered, tried to return to the sea, but Mari and Karina’s attempts to support me seemed to backfire.

Oops. Perhaps I was too hasty in trying to solve the mystery.

I should have approached her more delicately after getting closer through conversation.

“Ouch…!”

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“Yes, I’m fine… It’s just my tail fin hurts a bit… Ouch!”

Just as I was wondering how to persuade Marin to stay, she clutched her lower body and collapsed on the spot.

It seemed she had injured her lower body while drifting ashore.

“Looks like you hurt your… tail fin. Can you still return to the sea?”

“O-of course! This little wound is nothing… Ouch!”

Despite her brave face, Marin couldn’t go far before clutching her tail fin again and sitting down.

While unfortunate for her, it was a stroke of luck for us, as we needed to hear her story.

In the end, we failed to get the full story, and she couldn’t return to the sea.

Then perhaps…

And it was almost evening.

There was only one thing left to do.

Yes. It was time to cook.

With a smile, I approached Marin.

And then…

—

Sizzle sizzle.

The sound of food cooking is always delightful, but the most violent sound is undoubtedly that of frying.

Thinking this, I took the fish cake—no, the fish paste that had become fish cake—out of the oil-filled pan.

The once snow-white flesh, now golden brown from frying, was a sight that never got old.

Who could have imagined that the beautiful form before cooking would turn into such a mouth-watering dish?

Fish cakes were a common and popular dish in my past life.

They were often stir-fried with seasoning as a side dish or added to snacks like tteokbokki.

But strictly speaking, those weren’t real fish cakes.

Most commercially available fish cakes are made with a high flour content to reduce costs, making them more like fish-flavored flour cakes.

But what I made was handmade fish cake.

Using only the minimum amount of flour needed to bind the fish paste, the taste of the fish was much more pronounced.

This was on a whole different level from store-bought fish cakes.

And since they were fried fresh, not refrigerated for distribution, they were piping hot and glistening with oil.

I also added minced vegetables like bell peppers and chili, as well as herbs, to balance the greasiness and enhance the flavor.

But that wasn’t all.

These weren’t just ordinary fish cakes; they were assorted fish cakes.

And “assorted” implies a variety of types.

From basic fish cakes wrapped in perilla leaves to sausage-coated fish cakes fried like hot dogs, and even potato-filled fish cakes, cheese-filled fish cakes, and fish cakes with man-eating crab meat.

I made a variety of fish cakes to ensure that the eater wouldn’t get bored and could enjoy a rich experience.

And most importantly, I was confident in these fish cakes because they used a special type of fish.

With the fish cakes ready, I brought a plateful to the room where my companions were staying.

“Here. Dinner’s ready. Today’s dish is a special assorted fish cake platter!”

“Wow! Fried food!”

As I entered the room, Mari, who had noticed the large amount of oil I had prepared, was the first to greet the dish.

She loved fried food the most among the dishes I made, but unfortunately, her strong sense of economy meant she rarely requested it.

So she only asked for fried food on special occasions, like today.

By the way, “special occasions” usually meant when she was craving fried food, on special holidays, when we had a good haul, when we were treating someone, or when we had rare ingredients.

As soon as I finished setting the table, she quickly grabbed a skewer of fish cake and popped it into her mouth.

Munch munch.

“This is amazing! As expected, Kurt’s cooking is the best!”

“Of course! This dish uses a very… special ingredient!”

That special ingredient was…

Man-eating piranha.

I used the leftover meat from making fish cutlets and the remaining man-eating piranhas all at once.

The good thing about fish cakes is that even leftover bits of meat can be gathered, made into a paste, and fried.

“This is incredible! I’ve never tasted anything like this in my life!”

Marin, agreeing with my thoughts, cheered as she ate a skewer of fish cake with speed rivaling Mari’s.

Her eyes sparkled as she savored the fish cake, reminiscent of Mari when she first tried fried chicken.

Marin, who had built a wall around her heart.

And Marin, who couldn’t return to the sea due to her injury.

And the approaching evening.

Considering all this, I chose to win her over with food.

If the problem was her emotional wall, then the solution was to keep feeding her until that wall crumbled.

Plus, with her injured fin, I had the perfect excuse to take care of her until she healed.

So we convinced her that staying on the shore would risk her being seen by other humans and brought her safely to the inn.

Of course, there was the issue of how to get her to the inn, but fortunately, her lower body was entirely fish-like, so we quickly bought a large cloth from the market, wrapped her upper body, and disguised her as a fish we had caught, allowing us to boldly bring her to the inn.

Once safely inside the inn, Marin…

Munch munch.

“This is amazing! Oh, this is amazing!”

“At least swallow what’s in your mouth before speaking.”

…was happily eating the assorted fish cakes.

“Ah! I was saving that fish cake! How can you be so greedy, grabbing one with each hand while you already have one in your mouth!?”

“This is amazing!”

“Don’t pretend you didn’t hear me!”

So comfortable was she that even Mari’s scolding, which would have terrified her before, didn’t faze her as she stuffed fish cake skewers into her mouth with both hands.

“By the way, Mari. Isn’t that like spitting on my face?”

You did the same thing when you first ate fried chicken, holding a wing in each hand.

“What do you call this dish!? Do such delicious creatures live on land!? Is this the so-called fruit I’ve heard about!? Is this what you call fruit!?”

Having finished the fish cakes in her mouth and the ones in her hands, Marin, with shining eyes, continued to eat fish cake skewers while spouting nonsense.

Well, it’s understandable for a mermaid who has lived her whole life in the sea to think that way…

“Calm down first.”

“I can’t calm down! Do humans eat such delicious food while also trying to eat mermaids!? Gasp…! Could it be that mermaids are even more delicious than this food!?”

“Calm down. And this dish isn’t made from land creatures; it’s made from fish.”

“Don’t lie to me! There’s no fish in the sea that’s wrinkled and cylindrical like this!”

“Of course not. This isn’t just fish; it’s fish meat ground into a paste, mixed with flour and minced vegetables, then fried, so the original form is lost.”

“Oh, I see… I’ve heard that land-dwellers use fire to cook food. When I first heard about it, I wondered why they’d go through such trouble when they could just eat it raw, but with this taste, I can see why they cook!”

Munch munch.

Gulp.

Nodding in understanding, Marin reached for another fish cake, and soon she naturally blended into our lively group, enjoying the meal.

Seeing this, I felt it wouldn’t be long before she opened up to us.

—

What secret is she hiding from us…?

And what is the cause of the strange phenomena plaguing Leila…?

As I pondered this and reached for another fish cake, a chilling realization struck me, freezing me in terror.

Could it be…?

Mermaids, living underwater, can’t use fire for cooking!?

Does that mean the concept of cooking is almost nonexistent for mermaids?

Ugh…

If I had been born a mermaid, I would have lived my whole life without ever using fire to cook.

How horrifying and dreadful…

Thank goodness I was born a lizardman.

I sighed in genuine relief and popped another fish cake skewer into my mouth.

Yum.