Chapter 267

As the story between Kurt and Bram’s party came to an end, Mari, who had been quietly observing without interrupting, cautiously spoke up.

“Um, so… can we eat now?”

“You haven’t eaten yet?”

“Of course not. How could I rudely start eating while Kurt was having such an important conversation?”

“By the way, Kurt, you really are such a kind person.”

“Shut up and eat.”

“Ah, are you embarrassed now?”

And so, Kurt’s group began their meal, engaging in trivial chatter, and seeing this, Bram’s group also unconsciously picked up their utensils.

With Bram safely rescued, the obstacle that had been preventing them from enjoying a peaceful meal had disappeared. And now, in this relaxed atmosphere, they were being served fried chicken?

This was nothing short of an irresistible temptation, akin to offering a hand to someone in a life-or-death duel against their parents’ sworn enemy and asking, “Do you desire power?”

Thus, they began to eat, completely mesmerized by the delicious-looking Yurin-gi, forgetting their original purpose of seeking out Kurt.

—

And so, Ellie unconsciously picked up her fork and speared a piece of Yurin-gi.

The moment the fork pierced the crispy coating, she could feel the crunchiness at her fingertips.

But once past the crispy exterior, the inside felt surprisingly soft and fluffy.

‘Huh? What’s going on? We came here to repay Bram for saving us…’

But before she knew it, she found herself holding a piece of irresistibly delicious fried food.

She tried to make sense of the situation, but the overwhelming visual appeal of the Yurin-gi’s coating and the olfactory assault from its aroma were gradually numbing her rationality.

‘But why are they serving us a meal… and not just any meal, but a luxurious fried dish…’

She struggled to understand the situation, but her thoughts were increasingly drawn to the Yurin-gi in front of her.

In fact, even if she hadn’t succumbed to the temptation of the Yurin-gi, it would have been impossible for her to comprehend the situation.

After all, how could she possibly understand that this was the work of some eccentric Lizardman who took pleasure in watching others enjoy his cooking, using expensive cooking oil, sugar, and monster meat without hesitation?

‘Fried food… now that I think about it, how long has it been since I last had fried food…’

And so, Ellie gave up on understanding the situation and focused entirely on the dish in front of her.

In a society where science hadn’t advanced much, oil was more commonly used for purposes other than cooking.

This was no different in this world, where mana and its resources existed.

Resources like monsters and magic were ultimately too scarce to reach the common folk.

Fried food was generally seen as something only nobles could afford to eat regularly, and even for Silver Rank Adventurers like them, fried food wasn’t an everyday meal like bread or soup.

*Gulp*

And so, Ellie found herself completely entranced by the Yurin-gi, forgetting all her worries.

Worry, anxiety, sorrow, surprise, joy.

She had felt many emotions over the past week, but now, only one emotion dominated her mind.

*Haaap*

It was hunger.

*Crunch*

And so, she put the Yurin-gi into her mouth.

The first sensation was the crunchiness.

‘Ugh, ughhh…!’

How long had it been since she last felt the texture of fried food…!

Carefully moving her mouth, the crispy coating crumbled rhythmically with each chew, creating a satisfying crunch.

With each bite, she felt the satisfaction of eating fried food, but the texture was never too hard or tough—it was just perfect.

It was a pleasure so intense that it felt like her mind went blank for a moment.

‘Fried food really is best when it’s freshly made! But more than that…’

Most foods are best when freshly made, but fried food, in particular, has the most combat power in terms of flavor when it’s fresh.

The quality of the flour and eggs used was clearly top-notch.

A delicious recipe made with delicious ingredients at the perfect time—there was no way it could taste bad.

But more than anything, what truly brought out the flavor of the Yurin-gi was the skill of the chef who made it.

‘None of the fried food I’ve had at restaurants before was this good…!’

It wasn’t fried too long to become hard, nor was it fried at too high a temperature to burn, and the inside wasn’t undercooked or soggy.

The Yurin-gi perfectly demonstrated the ideal level of frying.

And as she bit further into it, beyond the coating, she encountered the tender, yet not dry, texture of the breast meat.

The breast meat, which would normally be quite tough, had been tenderized before frying, making it incredibly soft and easy to tear apart.

‘And with each chew, the juices…! What kind of meat is this that it’s so moist and chewy!?’

What made the Yurin-gi special was the quality of the meat used.

It wasn’t the tough meat of an old, egg-laying Three-legged Fowl you’d get at a cheap inn, but a high-quality bird meat that didn’t fall short of the flour and eggs used for the coating—in fact, it made the coating seem like a mere sidekick.

‘What kind of meat is this!? I’ve never had meat like this before!’

It was a bird meat with an astonishingly delicious flavor that made her heart race.

Completely different from the texture of ordinary Three-legged Fowl, it was as if it had been free-range, healthy, and full of vitality—truly springy in texture.

Despite having less fat, it was so juicy that it felt like eating thigh meat, with a moistness that was almost palpable.

And while it had that springy texture, it lacked the gamey smell typical of wild animals, thanks to both the careful preparation and the meat itself having little fat and almost no gamey odor.

‘Haa… it’s so delicious.’

The flavor was so incredible that Ellie forgot all her past hardships and let out a blissful sigh, her face completely melted.

It was at that moment.

“Hey, this sauce is no joke!? I’ve never tasted anything like this before, but I don’t hate it at all!”

“I heard they used a seasoning called soy sauce imported from the East to make this sauce.”

“Whoa! So people in the East eat this delicious sauce every day? That’s enviable.”

She overheard Finn and Jackson talking.

“Sauce…?”

Turning her gaze to their table, she saw them dipping the Yurin-gi into a thick, dark brown liquid.

‘Sauce…?’

It didn’t look appetizing at all—rather, it was a dark, unappetizing color, yet they kept dipping the Yurin-gi into it and praising the taste.

But seeing this, Ellie looked at the sauce with suspicion.

She had been eating the fried food without any sauce until now, and even though she had just noticed the sauce, she didn’t feel the urge to dip her food into it.

For one, the dark brown liquid didn’t look very appetizing, and then there was the word “soy sauce” that she had heard.

While Finn and Jackson didn’t seem to know what soy sauce was, Ellie, who had a hobby of collecting expensive and inexpensive trinkets from the market, had a vague idea of what it was.

She knew that just getting close to that dark, ink-like liquid would make her nose wrinkle from the salty smell.

It was the opposite of Finn and Jackson’s reaction—more like, “People in the East eat this sauce every day? Ugh!”

Given her negative impression of soy sauce, she couldn’t muster any interest in a sauce made from it.

Or at least, that’s what she thought.

“Wow! This sauce is amazing! Don’t other restaurants serve dishes with this sauce?”

“Right! If they cooked with this sauce, I’d eat it every day!”

‘Is it really that good…?’

If only the two beside her hadn’t been engaging in human viral marketing.

After not having eaten properly for the past week, they were devouring the food as if they were making up for lost time.

What they had initially said about just tasting a little was clearly a lie, as they were enthusiastically shoving the Yurin-gi into their mouths.

*Crunch*

*Crunch*

They even started dipping the lettuce under the Yurin-gi into the sauce and eating it all together.

The crisp sound of the lettuce being chewed was like tickle torture to her ears.

*Gulp*

It was enough to reignite Ellie’s interest in the sauce made with soy sauce, which she had initially dismissed.