Chapter 324

“Ugh…! I had no idea Kraken Sausage could be this delicious! I’ve been filling my stomach with other foods all this time! I’ve missed out on half the celebration party!”

“Me too!! I want some too!!”

And so, the festive atmosphere of the celebration was swept into the chaos created by the Kraken Sausage.

However, among them, Regina was the only one who couldn’t bring herself to put the Kraken Sausage into her mouth, hesitating as she stared at the plate.

Even though her subordinate had brought it to her, saying it was delicious and she should try it, she just couldn’t muster the appetite to eat it.

No, from the very beginning, Regina hadn’t really wanted to eat the Kraken Sausage that Kurt had made.

It wasn’t that she doubted Kurt’s cooking skills.

She had tasted his cooking before and knew full well how skilled he was.

In fact, even her father, who was endlessly picky about food, had acknowledged Kurt’s culinary prowess.

It wasn’t that she had an aversion to squid as an ingredient, like some adventurers from the inland regions, nor did she have any dislike for soy sauce, an Eastern seasoning.

Having grown up under her father, who ran the Inn ‘Red Shell,’ she had developed a nonchalant attitude toward various ingredients and seasonings.

But even so, the reason she couldn’t bring herself to eat the Kraken Sausage Kurt had made was because the ingredient was Kraken.

It might seem strange to have an aversion to Kraken but not to squid.

If she could eat squid without prejudice, shouldn’t she be able to eat Kraken, which is essentially a squid monster, without hesitation?

It wasn’t that she had an aversion to monster cuisine either, as she had previously eaten monster dishes Kurt had made without any issues.

But the decisive difference between squid and Kraken.

That small, yet decisive difference was what made Regina hesitate to eat the Kraken Sausage Kurt had made.

The fact that Kraken wasn’t just an ordinary squid monster, but a giant squid monster.

The difference between squid and giant squid might seem trivial, but she knew from childhood experience just how vast that difference was.

Giant squid was absolutely not something you could eat while in your right mind.

As the name suggests, giant squid are dozens of times larger than ordinary squid, and their bodies contain different components to allow them to float in water despite their massive size.

In this world, there was no word for that component yet, but in Kurt’s knowledge, it was called ammonium chloride.

As the name suggests, this component emits a strong sulfurous or ammonia-like smell when cooked, producing a disgustingly foul odor.

As a child, Regina had thought giant squid would taste like ordinary squid and ate it, only to suffer for three days, unable to eat anything due to the lingering foul smell in her mouth. That experience had left her with a mild trauma.

The moment she saw the Kraken Sausage, those memories resurfaced, making her feel nauseous and breaking out in a cold sweat.

But she wasn’t given much time to hesitate.

“Huh? What’s wrong? You’re just staring at the food.”

“Ah, Kurt. It’s nothing! It’s just that it’s my first time seeing this dish, so I’m excited! Ahaha…”

“Really? I thought maybe my cooking wasn’t good.”

“No, no! That’s not it at all! It looks so delicious!”

“That’s a relief.”

Kurt, the very person who had made the dish, approached her as she hesitated to eat the Kraken Sausage.

He seemed to be asking out of concern, not forcing her to eat it if she didn’t want to, but hearing his question, she panicked and denied his doubts.

Even if she had trauma from giant squid, she couldn’t bring herself to say she couldn’t eat it in front of Kurt, who had played the biggest role in defeating the Kraken and had even prepared today’s main dish.

It was the sad habit of a soldier to say everything was fine, even if it meant pushing themselves.

After reassuring Kurt and sending him away, she realized she could no longer delay eating the Kraken Sausage and, with a determined expression, slowly scooped it up with a spoon.

She tried to avoid the parts that touched the Kraken’s flesh, filtering out the chunks.

Then, bracing herself for the revolting, fishy smell that would fill her mouth, she bravely put it in.

*Gulp*

“….”

But what’s this?

It’s… not bad.

“….Huh? It’s not… disgusting?”

The taste wasn’t bad.

No.

It wasn’t just not bad—it was delicious.

The flavor of the Kraken Sausage wasn’t the revolting fishy smell she expected, but a savory, slightly sweet, and rich taste that came from the pork fat melting under heat, combined with soy sauce, creating an ideal flavor profile.

The combination of soy sauce and pork was simple but deeply satisfying, stimulating her stomach so much that even though she had already eaten, it felt like she was having her first meal of the day, demanding more.

And it wasn’t just rich and simple; the finely chopped vegetables and mashed tofu added a crunchy texture that extended the shelf life of the soy sauce and pork combination, making it endlessly enjoyable.

While the soy sauce and pork hit her taste buds with a strong impact, the mashed tofu and vegetables like bell peppers and carrots provided a subtle, crunchy texture that balanced the flavor.

In other words, it elevated the dish to a level where you could eat it endlessly without getting tired.

*Chew chew*

*Gulp*

*Chew chew*

“…It’s delicious.”

A strong shock erases an even stronger shock.

The intense flavor impact left no room in her mind for the childhood trauma to flash back.

And so, she quickly forgot why she had been refusing the Kraken Sausage and continued to empty the plate.

*Chew chew*

*Squish*

“…!?”

After eating in silence for a while.

Suddenly, she felt an unfamiliar texture in her mouth.

It was soft, like pork, but not as smooth as tofu—it had a chewy, elastic texture.

*Chew chew*

‘What is this…?’

As she slowly savored the unfamiliar texture, Regina felt a shiver run down her spine and froze in place, as if she had been caught stealing by a guard.

That soft yet chewy texture.

It was similar to the texture of the giant squid from her childhood memories.

‘Oh no!’

Had she been so distracted by the deliciousness of the Kraken Sausage that she let her guard down?

She thought she had avoided the Kraken’s flesh, but she must have accidentally chewed a hidden piece.

Bracing herself for the unbearable stench of ammonium chloride, she tightly closed her eyes.

“….”

But.

“…?”

Five seconds passed, then ten, but the nightmare taste of ammonium chloride from her childhood didn’t come.

Instead, what she felt in her mouth was a rich, savory aroma she hadn’t noticed when eating without the Kraken’s flesh.

“The taste of Kraken… isn’t disgusting?”

Far from disgusting, it had a deeper flavor than any squid she had ever eaten.

It was as if the squid ink had fused with the squid’s flesh, creating this taste.

It was as if the squid’s blood vessels were filled with concentrated squid ink, creating an intense richness.

It was something no one could have anticipated, but as the giant squid transformed into a Kraken, the ammonium chloride it had accumulated to create buoyancy had also transformed into a new component only found in mana-altered environments.

Ironically, this component, which had been too foul for consumption, had become a flavor enhancer when used in cooking.

Of course, Kurt wouldn’t have served something inedible in the first place.

The Kraken Sausage had only been served after he had tasted it himself.

Stunned by the unexpected twist of the Kraken’s flavor, Regina was left speechless for a long time.

And when she finally regained her composure, the first thing she did was scrape all the Kraken flesh she had previously set aside and shove it into her mouth.

“Ugh…! If I had known it was this delicious, I wouldn’t have filtered it out and eaten it with the rest…! I’ve missed out on half the Kraken Sausage!!”

Regretting her earlier actions.