Chapter 214

Mari, seeing Kurt smiling and confidently preparing delicious food even in this situation, couldn’t help but look at him with a pitiful gaze.

“What’s with that look?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

Mari dodged Kurt’s question.

“Hmm… Suspicious.”

“W-what is this huge piece of meat?”

“A giant skewer?”

Fortunately, before Kurt could probe further, Kirsh and Lakia exclaimed in admiration.

“Ah, this is a dish called kebab…”

Excited by their curiosity, Kurt began explaining the dish, allowing Mari to escape his suspicious gaze.

“Phew… I accidentally let my true feelings show.”

“Who would’ve thought he’d be so excited to cook even in this situation? Well, that’s just like Kurt.”

“Still, it seems to have lightened the mood.”

Serena, looking around the table, remarked.

Indeed, the icy atmosphere had softened thanks to the kebab Kurt brought.

Though the others, except Kirsh’s group, couldn’t openly show curiosity, they still stared at the kebab, which was as large as Kurt’s torso, with strange expressions.

Kirsh and Lakia, half-regretting asking, listened to Kurt’s cooking explanation with forced smiles, but it was clear that the atmosphere had relaxed thanks to them.

Whether Kurt intentionally chose kebab for this effect was unknown, but the result was undeniably positive. The three, seeing this, smiled wryly.

“Kurt is such a good person, but when it comes to cooking…”

“True. Just a few hours ago, he single-handedly subdued Aila and Louis. That was impressive…”

“Well… Let’s just eat.”

The three shook their heads and helped Kurt prepare the meal.

—

Kurt finished preparing the meal while explaining the dish to Kirsh and Lakia.

Kebab, widely known as a traditional Turkish dish, actually just means “grilled meat” in Turkey.

In fact, not just meat, but anything grilled over fire can be called kebab, making the term quite broad.

But the kebab Kurt made was the most popular type, the döner kebab.

As the name suggests, döner means “rotating” in Turkish, and the dish involves a large skewer of meat, vertically rotated and grilled, resembling a whole barbecue.

From afar, it looks like a simple giant skewer, but up close, it’s actually layers of thinly sliced, marinated meat stacked on a skewer and grilled.

Kurt set up the skewer in the middle of a combined table and used a dwarf-made grill to finish the setup.

As soon as the magic stone was inserted, the kebab began to rotate and heat up.

Originally, Kurt planned to rotate it by hand, but Liche, seeing this, used magic to automate the rotation, much to Kurt’s disappointment.

Regardless, the meal began as the kebab started rotating.

Kurt skillfully sliced the grilled meat and served it to everyone.

“Here, there’s plenty of meat. Feel free to eat it with bread and vegetables.”

“Yes, yes…”

Aila, chosen purely for being nearby, was the first to receive the kebab.

Despite her recent defeat by Kurt, she politely accepted the kebab.

‘Why a meal now…? What is he thinking?’

Aila, though accepting the kebab, looked at it with reluctance.

Eating a meal right after a life-and-death battle? Even if it was a feast, it was hard to feel at ease.

If anything, she was just glad she didn’t get indigestion.

Still, she followed Kurt to the Adventurer Guild and accepted the kebab out of fear of his overwhelming strength.

Later, she would learn that Kurt was actually a master.

So, Aila thought with little enthusiasm.

‘This won’t make me hungry…’

But then, the aroma of the kebab slowly seeped into her nose.

Grrr…

Whoosh

“…This!”

The moment she smelled the kebab, her stomach growled, betraying her hunger. Her face turned red as she panicked.

‘What… What is this smell?!’

It was the sweet and savory aroma of the kebab, so intense it was almost violent.

Just the smell alone made her brain declare it delicious.

The aroma was that powerful.

Gulp

Her throat moved on its own, against her will.

Thinking back, she had been fighting all day—first with Arisa’s group, then with Albert’s imperial knights, and finally with Kirsh, who was no less skilled than Albert.

Being the first to join the battle, she was the most physically exhausted.

And she had been running around even more to protect Daria, who was physically weak.

After such a grueling day, her body naturally reacted to the warm, savory aroma of the freshly grilled kebab.

Her mouth watered uncontrollably, despite her mood.

Humans are creatures whose minds can be swayed by their physical state.

‘I’m not really hungry… But I can’t ignore a meal prepared by a master…’

“Th-thank you for the meal.”

Gulp

Aila, convincing herself, picked up a fork and took a bite of the kebab.

Though Kurt had suggested eating it with vegetables and bread, Aila chose to taste the meat alone first.

Hap

Despite claiming she wasn’t hungry, her body had already warmed up from the aroma. She quickly put the kebab in her mouth…

“Haaah…!?”

Naturally, her tired body, empty stomach, and the deliciousness of Kurt’s kebab made her let out a blissful moan.

The first thing she felt was the crispy texture of the outer layer, directly heated to perfection.

Döner kebab, being vertically grilled, allows the fat to drip down, resulting in a lean, non-greasy flavor.

The outer layer, always crispy from direct heat, is what makes döner kebab unique.

A meat dish that’s light yet always crispy on the outside.

That’s döner kebab.

Despite being a meat dish, it’s light enough to eat on an empty stomach.

The taste made Aila forget the tense atmosphere and moan in delight.

And the seasoning?

Typically, kebab seasoning is strongly exotic, but Kurt used a soy sauce-based bulgogi marinade, a universally appealing flavor.

Using soy sauce itself was exotic in this world, but the sweet-salty balance is a cheat code that transcends borders.

Munch munch

‘The flavor… It’s seeping into my body!’

Aila, engrossed in the kebab’s taste, suddenly noticed an unexpected flavor.

‘Huh… Why does this taste…?’

The flavor was…

‘Why… Does it taste like charcoal?!’

The subtle, lingering aroma of charcoal grilling.

It spread through her mouth, satisfying her sense of smell.

This was strange.

Because Kurt wasn’t using charcoal—he was using a dwarf-made grill.

They were indoors at the Adventurer Guild, so using charcoal would have caused a smoke disaster.

So, where was this charcoal flavor coming from?

The answer was the wood vinegar Kurt had made while smoking sous-vide brisket earlier.

By adding this liquid, rich with smoky aroma, to the kebab marinade, Kurt replicated the charcoal-grilled flavor without actual charcoal.

Tired body.

Empty stomach.

Freshly grilled, steaming, juicy meat.

Sweet and savory, irresistibly addictive seasoning.

And the fatal allure of charcoal aroma.

Soon, Aila, forgetting the table’s atmosphere, began devouring the kebab.

And the same was happening at the other tables.

Seeing everyone engrossed in the kebab, Kurt smiled contentedly.

“It’s good to see everyone enjoying the meal.”

His three companions, watching him, exchanged complex looks.

“…”

“…”

“…”

Seeing how the atmosphere had completely shifted thanks to the food, they gave up thinking and joined the others in focusing on eating the kebab.