Chapter 33

“T-this is just me eating it out of respect for Kurt’s cooking efforts, you know!”

Without needing to say it to anyone, Mari made that excuse to herself as she put the Menbosha into her mouth.

*Crunch*

The first thing she felt when eating Menbosha for the first time was, of course, the crispiness that comes with deep-fried food.

It was a familiar taste that Mari, too, was well acquainted with.

The unique crispiness of fried dishes that never fails to meet expectations.

“Well… it’s not bad, but it’s not exactly special either…”

Even the flavor from the fried coating was tasty, but it was just that—a simple, plain taste of fried bread.

After experiencing the first bite, Mari thought to herself, regaining her rationality, that she should just eat one and fill the rest of her stomach with Clam Chowder.

In fact, she had reflexively put it in her mouth at the mention of fried food, but just as she was about to start worrying about how to keep chewing after realizing she was eating bug cuisine…

*Fluffy*

“…Fluffy? Why is it fluffy when it’s fried?”

But her judgment was too hasty.

After all, Menbosha hadn’t yet revealed its true self.

The crispiness of Menbosha was different from that of fried chicken.

When you bit into it with force, the surface had a crunchy resistance, but as you delved deeper, what you felt inside was unmistakably the fluffiness of bread.

Crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside.

But it wasn’t clearly layered; instead, the oil that had seeped into the bread created a gradient-like transition, a fascinating texture.

It was definitely crispy, but now the sensation in her mouth was soft.

If the cooking had gone wrong, the bread could have been soaked in oil, turning into a soggy mess, or over-fried, making every part hard—but none of that was felt.

It was the most ideal fried bread texture.

This was possible because Kurt had poured his heart into frying the bread surrounding the Menbosha to its optimal state.

As she marveled at the strange texture and chewed the food in her mouth, she soon reached the hidden layer of crayfish paste.

Though it had a surprisingly charming texture, just as she was feeling disappointed by the lack of any twist in the taste itself, the aroma of lobster began to spread in her mouth.

As the springy texture, different from both the crispiness and fluffiness, touched her tongue, it bounced back with elasticity.

The crayfish meat, not minced with a knife but pounded with a mallet, retained a springy texture here and there.

She rolled her tongue to catch the springy, elastic lobster meat that seemed to escape on her tongue and chewed it.

And at that moment, the true essence of Menbosha, which couldn’t be felt from the outer bread, revealed itself.

The first thing she noticed was the aroma of the sea filling her mouth.

The deep, savory flavor unique to seafood filled her mouth, followed by a burst of sweetness and sourness.

The sourness came from the juice of the Predatory Water fruit Kurt had added to detoxify the monster’s poison.

The juice not only neutralized the poison but also stimulated her salivary glands, making her crave more food even as she ate.

It also solved the chronic issue of fried food being too greasy to eat in large quantities.

And the faint sweetness spreading in her mouth, despite no sugar being added, was the natural sweetness unique to lobster.

Unlike the refined sweetness from sugar, the natural flavor of the lobster added a luxurious taste beyond simple seasoning.

This was why people sought out lobster.

Just as the aroma of bananas can only be found in bananas, and the refreshing coolness of mint can only be found in mint, this unique sweetness of lobster could only be tasted in lobster.

As she continued to chew the Menbosha in her mouth, the crispiness and savory flavor of the fried coating, the plainness of the bread, the subtle sweetness of the lobster, and the refreshing citrus acidity from the Predatory Water juice all came together.

Despite being an extremely simple dish—just shrimp or crayfish meat covered in bread and fried—the harmony of various flavors unfolded in her mouth.

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.

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“Ma-Maricia?”

Karina looked at Mari with anxious eyes.

Mari, who had been grumbling nonstop while watching Kurt cook in the kitchen as soon as the Menbosha came out, lost focus in her eyes and, like a zombie rising from the grave, picked up the Menbosha with her hand as soon as she smelled the aroma coming from the dish.

Seeing this, Karina asked Mari what was wrong, but Mari didn’t respond and instead put the dish into her mouth.

Karina could only watch as Mari chewed the Menbosha, and only after Mari had swallowed all the food in her mouth could she break the suffocating silence and speak.

“Are you okay, Maricia?”

“…I… more…”

“Maricia?”

“I’ll just eat one more! Out of respect for Kurt’s efforts!”

With that, Mari, clearly moving her hand of her own will rather than being unconsciously drawn by the smell of fried food, picked up another Menbosha.

And without hesitation, she put the second Menbosha into her mouth.

*Crunch*

“T-this is unbelievable…!”

Karina couldn’t understand Mari’s behavior.

Wasn’t Mari the one who, like her—or even more so—had been throwing a fit about not wanting to eat Sea Golem’s cooking?

But now, Mari seemed to have forgotten that what she was eating was bugs, chewing the Menbosha with an expression that seemed to say, “So what if it’s bugs?”

Though she had said she was eating it reluctantly, her expression clearly showed that she was already completely won over.

“Just how delicious is this Menbosha…?”

*Gulp*

Until now, the thought that it was a dish made from bugs had made it seem inedible, but the greasy aroma of the fried food rising from the Menbosha, and Mari’s sparkling eyes as she chewed it so deliciously, gradually swayed Karina’s heart.

‘Now that I think about it, it’s just bread cut into squares and fried, isn’t it?’

And the ordinary appearance of Menbosha, which didn’t evoke the grotesque image of the Sea Golem, also played a part.

Of course.

From the beginning, Kurt had planned to make Menbosha with that in mind.

In her wavering heart, she had no choice but to make a decision.

“Then, out of respect for Kurt’s efforts, I’ll try just one.”

With that, Karina, more as an excuse to herself than to Kurt, carefully picked up one Menbosha.

Her actions were exactly like Mari’s earlier, though Karina didn’t realize it, and she put the Menbosha into her mouth.

*Crunch*

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.

.

*Chew chew*

Mari and Karina, as if in sync, absentmindedly chewed the Menbosha.

Of course, the talk of eating just one more or only one had long been forgotten, and the Menbosha on the plate disappeared at a rapid pace.

Sometimes they would pop a whole Menbosha into their mouths, dip it into the Clam Chowder broth that came as a side, or even cut the Menbosha into smaller pieces, soak them in the Clam Chowder, and scoop them up with the chowder’s ingredients.

Even with the acidity from the Predatory Water juice, fried food is still fried.

Trying to fill your stomach with just that would naturally be heavy, but pairing it with the refreshing spiciness of the bomb clam Clam Chowder helped cut through the greasiness.

The two, without anyone telling them, somehow knew that this way of eating was delicious, and naturally enjoyed the Menbosha in various ways.

Who would think they had thrown a fit about not wanting to eat Menbosha?

I thought they’d eat it without complaint once they tried it, but they’re enjoying it more than I expected.

At this rate, they’ll eat all my share of Menbosha, so I better focus on eating too.

“Hey! That’s my Menbosha!”

“Cheapskate! Kurt, you can hunt as much as you want!”

“Cheapskate? You’re the one who sang for days about not eating it, then switched gears the moment you found out it was delicious and started eyeing my share!”

“Then, just give me one more!”

“How does that make ‘then’ an adverb? Eat some croutons!”

“Kurt! I was wrong!”

And so, the three of us, as if we had never thrown a fit about not wanting to eat, continued our meal noisily.

It was quite a satisfying meal.