Chapter 150

Yuri sits quietly at the Adventurer Guild, waiting for Kurt to finish cooking.

“Ugh…”

‘This is so awkward…’

Yuri is currently feeling extremely awkward.

When Kurt offered to cook for her, she accepted after considering his repeated invitations to share a meal.

At that time, Yuri was simply moved by Kurt’s kindness in offering to cook for her.

However, while waiting for him to finish cooking, a well-known fact about Lizardmen suddenly crossed her mind.

It was said that Lizardmen have almost no sense of taste, so their culinary culture involves roughly eating meat dripping with blood and bitter-tasting grass that hasn’t even been properly cleaned.

Remembering this belatedly, Yuri felt a chill run down her spine, but by then, several minutes had already passed.

The cooking was already well underway.

It was too late to back out now and ask Kurt to escort her back to the academy dormitory instead.

So, Yuri had no choice but to anxiously wait for Kurt to finish cooking.

‘Maybe this is the punishment for my childish behavior today.’

She even convinced herself that this was divine retribution for her actions earlier in the day.

But when Kurt finally brought out the dish, it was something beyond her imagination.

Clatter.

“It’s bear meat steak. It’s not much, but eat up.”

Gulp.

“Y-yes…”

Kurt places the finished dish on the table.

Seeing the dish, Yuri couldn’t help but swallow her saliva.

The food Kurt brought looked incredibly appetizing, with no blood dripping from it, and it seemed no less delicious than the steaks she had eaten back home.

In fact, it looked even better than the meals served at the academy dormitory.

Yuri, who had never expected such a dish, couldn’t help but feel delighted by the unexpected meal.

“By the way, today my companions all left to take on requests, so I was about to eat alone. I’m glad to have a guest. Eat up before it gets cold.”

“Ah, yes.”

Snapping out of her daze at Kurt’s words, Yuri picked up her fork and knife.

With careful hands, she began to cut the steak.

‘Is bear meat from a monster hunted just a few hours ago…?’

Bear meat was considered a high-quality ingredient not only in Kurt’s past life but also in this world.

So, Yuri had only eaten bear meat once in her life.

Recalling that, she naturally remembered the taste of the bear meat she had eaten back home.

‘Honestly, the steak looks well-made, but I don’t really like bear meat.’

In fact, she might even say she dislikes it.

The last time she ate bear meat was years ago, when she was much younger.

But the lingering smell of that bear meat…

Even the chef from her noble household couldn’t completely remove that faint, unpleasant odor, which lingered in her nose the entire time she ate the steak.

To make matters worse, the sweet and tangy sauce meant to mask the smell only created a strange, indescribable combination with the meat, making the fruitiness of the sauce feel more unpleasant than refreshing.

And the meat was so tough…

It felt like chewing on the meat of an old ox used for farming rather than a cow raised for food. The texture was so tough that young Yuri had to chew repeatedly until her jaw tired…

‘Huh…?’

At that point, Yuri realized something.

‘Does bear meat steak… usually cut this easily?’

Without any resistance, the steak slid smoothly…

It wasn’t exactly tender, but the elasticity of the bear meat steak was on par with regular meat.

At this level, she could even enjoy the texture as she chewed.

‘Maybe it’s just that I’ve grown stronger since I was a kid, so it feels easier now?’

While thinking this, Yuri vaguely sensed that something about this dish might be different.

Flustered, she cut a bite-sized piece of the bear meat steak and brought it to her mouth.

‘Maybe this bear meat is different from what I ate back then… Ugh!?’

But before she could finish that thought, a strong, mixed aroma assaulted her nose.

The intense, unfamiliar smell made her nose feel almost numb. Yuri looked at the dish again, thinking, ‘Of course…’

‘This smell… It’s even stronger than the bear meat steak I had as a child…! I guess my feeling that something was different was just my imagination!’

After all, bear meat is bear meat, and Lizardman cooking is Lizardman cooking.

She had been momentarily fooled by the dish’s impressive appearance, but the overwhelming, unfamiliar aroma immediately dashed her expectations to the ground.

“Ugh, ugh…”

“What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing!”

But she couldn’t just refuse or throw away the meal Kurt had prepared.

Out of respect for his effort, she decided to at least eat half of it.

With that thought, Yuri put the bear meat steak into her mouth.

.

.

.

Hahp.

The first bite of the bear meat steak was an overwhelming assault on her senses, surpassing the taste of the bear meat she had eaten as a child.

In a negative way.

If the bear meat steak she had as a child had a faint, lingering unpleasant smell, the one she was eating now seemed to have given up on masking the smell entirely. The aroma was several times stronger, mixed with bitterness, saltiness, and sweetness, creating chaos in her mouth.

And it wasn’t just the bear meat—there seemed to be something else added, an unfamiliar flavor that only heightened her aversion.

And what about the sauce on the steak?

Unlike the usual Western-style sauces made with fruit to refresh the palate or using meat juices for a deep, rich flavor, this sauce had an intense, unfamiliar aroma.

Honestly, to Yuri, it smelled terrible.

“Ugh, ugh…”

The only saving grace was that the meat wasn’t as tough as she had feared.

Yuri tried her best not to grimace out of respect for Kurt, but she couldn’t completely stop her face from contorting as she chewed the bear meat steak.

In her heart, she wanted to say that one bite was enough to fill her up, or even get angry and storm out of the restaurant.

But this wasn’t just any ordinary restaurant or dormitory meal—this was a dish prepared by Kurt, who had saved her life and given her invaluable advice.

She couldn’t disrespect him like that.

‘Indeed… He’s skilled and has a great personality, but even he has his flaws. But it’s okay! This time, I’ll endure this horrible dish for Kurt’s sake!’

With that, Yuri resolved to finish the bear meat steak, not out of hunger but out of respect and gratitude for Kurt.

Hahp.

Chew chew.

Gulp.

“Ugh…”

Hahp.

Chew chew.

“…”

Hahp.

Chew chew.

Gulp.

Hahp.

Chew chew.

Hahp.

Chew chew.

“…!?”

But before she knew it, Yuri found herself moving her hands non-stop.

In a daze, she realized she was eating Kurt’s dish without any aversion.

No, it wasn’t just a lack of aversion—her tongue, her stomach, and even she herself were fiercely craving that bear meat steak.

The first bite had been repulsive.

The second bite felt strange.

By the third bite, she had already fallen into the exotic sensation.

In disbelief, Yuri picked up another piece of the bear meat steak with her fork and put it in her mouth.

Chew chew.

‘My hand…! My hand won’t stop!’

Just moments ago, she had been repulsed by the unfamiliar, mixed flavors of the bear meat. But now, she had become addicted to the intense taste of the bear meat steak.