Chapter 25: The God of Cooking

Do I have to go back out?  

That was the thought crossing Irim’s mind as he noticed Rozelan’s bewildered reaction.  

Suddenly, Rozelan’s face, which had frozen as if in shock upon seeing Mio, lit up with a bright smile.  

“How can it be so cute? Are you raising it?”  

Rozelan approached Irim with quick steps, reaching out to pet Mio.  

In response, Mio bristled its fur and crouched low.  

Hiss~!  

“Oh my!”  

The kitten’s attempt to intimidate was, of course, nothing but adorable given its tiny, fist-sized body.  

Rozelan’s eyes sparkled with delight, practically dripping with honey.  

“What’s its name?”  

“It’s Mio.”  

“What a pretty name. Let’s be friends, Mio.”  

Mio, however, seemed entirely uninterested in the idea.  

After staring at Mio for a while, Rozelan’s attention finally shifted to Irim.  

“Are you going to teach me how to cook now?”  

“Yes. Let’s head to the kitchen.”  

Irim temporarily sealed Mio away.  

Cat fur in the food while cooking was the last thing he needed.  

“Phew.”  

Rozelan showed signs of nervousness as they prepared to start the cooking lesson.  

“It’s an easy dish, so you don’t need to be nervous.”  

“Still, I’m a bit jittery.”  

“Shall we begin, then?”  

“Yes.”  

Irim pulled two chunks of pork belly from his inventory and handed one to Rozelan.  

“Oh my. Did you hunt a spotted pig?”  

“How did you know?”  

“Everyone in this village knows.”  

“Do people here cook with it, then?”  

“Ugh…”  

Rozelan frowned and shook her head.  

“I don’t know. I think I could butcher a spotted pig’s carcass into pork belly, but I don’t remember what dishes to make with it.”  

Her face was filled with distress.  

Irim, somehow, understood her feelings.  

The pain of losing something integral to oneself.  

Rozelan had lost her cooking recipes, just as Irim, in reality, had lost his sense of smell and taste.  

The anguish of an unwanted loss was too profound to fully express in words, Irim thought.  

“I’ll teach you from now on.”  

“Please do.”  

“First, slice the pork belly like this…”  

 ***

“Amazing.”  

Before Rozelan sat a plate with a single serving of pork belly.  

“It’s that simple?”  

“Yes. There’s nothing difficult about it.”  

Rozelan was stunned by the simplicity of the pork belly recipe Irim taught her.  

Slice a chunk of meat thinly, season it with salt and pepper, and grill it on a hot pan—that was it.  

Could there be a simpler recipe than this?  

“But I wonder how it tastes.”  

The simplicity made Rozelan doubt whether it could even be delicious.  

Koreans might take it for granted that grilled pork belly is delectable, but people from other cultures might not see it that way.  

So, it wasn’t unreasonable for Rozelan, an NPC in the game, to question the flavor of pork belly.  

“Give it a try.”  

Irim offered her a piece of pork belly.  

Skeptical, Rozelan speared a piece with her fork, put it in her mouth, and chewed slowly.  

As her jaw moved, her expression shifted moment by moment.  

A myriad of emotions flickered across her face, like a kaleidoscope of feelings.  

Gulp!  

After swallowing the piece, Rozelan stared at Irim with wide, almost bulging eyes.  

A mesmerized voice escaped her parted lips.  

“It’s delicious.”  

“Right?”  

“Yes. This is really delicious.”  

[You have taught Rozelan ‘Grilled Pork Belly.’]  

One dish had been successfully passed on.  

Now, it was time to teach her the second dish.  

Irim pulled out a wormflower.  

“Wormflower, right?”  

Rozelan recognized it immediately.  

“Yes. Did you know you can make soy sauce with it?”  

“I know. But I don’t know what dishes to make with the soy sauce, so I never bothered…”  

Rozelan bit her lip, unable to finish her sentence.  

She seemed to find her own ignorance pathetic.  

Without a word, she took the wormflower and boiled it in water.  

It didn’t take long.  

In just about a minute, the clear water turned black.  

After removing the petals, the rich aroma of soy sauce wafted from the boiled liquid.  

This… it’s closer to dark soy sauce.  

Irim scooped a bit of the soy sauce and tasted it.  

The distinctive salty flavor zinged his tongue.  

After the saltiness faded, a subtle umami and the full-bodied flavor of soy sauce spread through his mouth.  

Ah… this is good.  

The taste of soy sauce, which he hadn’t experienced in so long, was phenomenal.  

With soy sauce alone, he felt a surge of confidence that he could make any dish delicious.  

He took out peppers, cucumbers, carrots from the fields, and an apple he had gathered from a tree.  

He also needed sugar, pepper, honey, and mayonnaise.  

Sugar and pepper were available in the restaurant, and Irim had prepared the honey, but there was no mayonnaise.  

Instead, he had Mayonejo eggs.  

He cracked two eggs into a large bowl.  

To his surprise, when he saw the contents, he gasped.  

“Huh?”  

The Mayonejo eggs contained only yolks—no whites.  

This meant there was no need to separate the yolks to make mayonnaise.  

Fascinating.  

Amused by the game’s unique ingredients, Irim sprinkled salt and sugar into the yolks and mixed slowly.  

After just a few stirs with a spoon, the yolks transformed into rich, golden mayonnaise.  

Irim scooped a bit with his finger and tasted it.  

The creamy mayonnaise coated his tongue, releasing a tangy, savory, and slightly sweet flavor all at once.  

As Irim savored the mayonnaise slowly, Rozelan, watching him, couldn’t help but swallow hard.  

Is it that good?  

Rozelan tried a bit of the mayonnaise herself.  

It was just mayonnaise.  

Yet, Irim had a way of making the same thing seem even more delicious to those watching.  

“Alright.”  

Nodding, Irim asked Rozelan, “Do you have any leftover bread?”  

“Plenty.”  

“Bring two pieces.”  

With Rozelan preparing the bread, the ingredients were ready.  

“What I’m going to make now is a sandwich.”  

“A sandwich?”  

“Yes. Let’s start by making the main ingredient, bulgogi.”  

Irim began moving his hands slowly, explaining as he went.  

With limited ingredients, achieving a rich flavor would be challenging, but he aimed for a broadly appealing taste.  

The most important part of cooking was preparing the ingredients appropriately.  

He sliced the cucumber diagonally, julienned the carrots, diced the peppers, and grated the apple.  

The pork belly was cut into bite-sized pieces, and the bread was sliced lengthwise.  

Next, he made the bulgogi sauce.  

He mixed soy sauce, sugar, pepper, grated apple, diced peppers, and water in the right proportions to create the flavor.  

He marinated the pork belly in the sauce and prepared a spread by mixing mayonnaise with honey.  

If only I had mustard, the spread would be even tastier.  

It was a shame, but there was nothing he could do.  

Irim heated a pan and stir-fried the marinated pork belly with the julienned carrots.  

Sizzle, sizzle.  

The aroma of cooking meat filled the air, rich with the savory scent of pork and the umami of the soy sauce.  

The spicy, sweet, and savory sauce-soaked pork belly cooked perfectly alongside the carrots.  

Irim plated the dish.  

Rozelan, following his lead, plated her own bulgogi as well.  

“Rozelan, we’ve just completed another dish here.”  

“What?”  

“This. It’s called bulgogi.”  

“Oh, I see! Let me try.”  

Rozelan tasted the pork bulgogi.  

“Oh my, oh my!”  

She couldn’t help but pat Irim’s arm excitedly, overwhelmed by the flavor.  

It was that good.  

Irim tried the bulgogi too.  

Ahh. Perfect.  

The spicy, sweet, savory, and umami flavors completely captivated him.  

The status window for the completed bulgogi appeared before his eyes.  

[Mouthwatering Pork Bulgogi]  

Grants +30 satiety upon consumption  

As expected, it’s not quite at the level of ‘Delicious’ pork bulgogi.  

The ingredients were too limited for that.  

Still, it had earned the “Mouthwatering” modifier.  

It was one step below “Delicious.”  

In any case, with this dish taught, the quest was cleared.  

But Irim continued the cooking lesson.  

He spread the prepared mayonnaise-honey mixture on one side of the sliced bread.  

On the other side, he layered diagonally sliced cucumbers, topped them with the bulgogi, and covered it with the spread-slathered bread.  

And with that, it was complete.  

[Mouthwatering Pork Bulgogi Sandwich]

Grants +35 satiety upon consumption  

Again, it didn’t earn the “Delicious” modifier.  

But that was fine.  

The taste of the pork bulgogi sandwich in Irim’s mouth was proof enough that it would be a hit with others.  

There’s not much in it, but this is pretty great.  

The bread, meat, and spread blended beautifully, though it could have been a bit heavy.  

The slightly spicy bulgogi sauce and the crisp, refreshing cucumber perfectly balanced it out.  

For those who didn’t like cucumber, swapping it with diced peppers would do the trick.  

Of course, Irim shared this business savvy with Rozelan as well.  

“Oh, this is so delicious. A pork bulgogi sandwich? It’s the best, Rice.”  

“Since you’re not a hunter, Rozelan, it’ll be hard for you to get pork belly yourself. So, buy spotted pig carcasses from travelers. If you offer around 1,000 Won, plenty of people will sell to you.”  

Rozelan had been worrying about where to source pork belly, and Irim’s solution was a breath of fresh air.  

Her expression turned almost tearful with gratitude.  

“Rice, you’re my savior.”  

As she thanked him, the yellow exclamation mark above her head disappeared.  

A system message appeared.  

[Profession Quest – Rozelan’s Cooking Teacher]  

– CLEAR! –  

Rewards: Increased favor with Rozelan, Honey Wine Recipe acquired, Hidden Achievement acquired  

[Rozelan’s favor has increased.]  

“Rice, thank you so much. You can use this restaurant for free anytime.”  

Rozelan grabbed Irim’s hand warmly.  

[Honey Wine Recipe acquired.]  

A note labeled “Honey Wine Recipe” was added to Irim’s inventory.  

[Achievement Unlocked!]  

Achievement: Great Teacher  

Condition: Teach a skill to an NPC afflicted by the Curse of Oblivion  

Reward: All base stats +10  

Jackpot!  

By earning a hidden achievement, all of Irim’s stats, except for cooking, increased by 10.  

This quest came with incredible rewards.  

But it didn’t end there.  

A hologram appeared in the air, just like when he completed the Red Queen Spider’s quest.  

It showed Rozelan diligently cooking in her restaurant’s kitchen.  

The dining area was packed with villagers and travelers, with staff bustling about serving them.  

It was a glimpse of the restaurant’s past.  

White text appeared over the scene.  

[Thanks to Rice’s efforts, Rozelan has taken a step closer to her former self. No longer will Tirko Village have to settle for tasteless bread and bland soup. By teaching Rozelan delicious recipes, your footprints have been deeply etched into the history of Tirko Village.]  

The text blinked slowly along with the video.  

Soon, a history book status window appeared.  

History Book (HISTORY)  

[Completed Main Story]  

None  

[Completed Sub-Scenarios]  

The Red Queen Spider’s Regret  

Rozelan’s Cooking Teacher  

[A new footprint has been recorded in the History Book. 5 bonus stat points awarded.]  

Wow.  

The rewards kept pouring in like candy, leaving Irim dazed.  

He invested all the bonus stat points into Attack.  

He thought that was the end, but it wasn’t.  

The final message that appeared before his eyes left him momentarily stunned.  

What… is this now?  

Blinking, Irim reread the message floating in the air.  

[The God of Cooking ‘Michulang’ has taken an interest in you.]