After a deep sleep, my body felt light and refreshed.
Today, no matter what happens, I have a feeling everything will turn out well.
‘I must have felt hungry because I went to sleep without dinner?’
Usually, I would have immediately taken care of the chickens’ breakfast as soon as I woke up, but today I decided to take care of my own breakfast first.
After all, I need to eat well to head out to Eliya.
So, what should I eat to leave a good impression?
Soy sauce marinated crab and shrimp came to mind.
Side dishes I had prepared earlier to eat right away on days like this.
I didn’t have time to cook in the morning, so this was perfect.
‘I haven’t even tasted it after making it. I guess now’s the time to check.’
I took out the container with the marinated crab from the refrigerator.
I heated up instant rice, set the plates, put on plastic gloves, grabbed tongs and scissors, and sat down at the dining chair.
“Hehe. Looks delicious.”
Just seeing it made my mouth water.
I first took out one crab and two shrimps and placed them on a large plate.
Wearing plastic gloves on both hands, I separated the crab shell from the body, then cut open the body with scissors.
The flesh inside had a brownish color.
The seasoning had soaked in very well.
And the appetizing roe visible inside the crab shell.
It’s called roe, but it’s actually the ovary of the female flower crab, though that detail didn’t really matter.
What mattered was that mixing it with rice would be absolutely amazing.
‘Mixing rice with the crab shell at the end is a sacred rule. Should I start with the body first?’
I positioned the crab body’s cut side facing a small plate and pressed it hard with both thumbs.
The dense meat inside burst out with a pop.
‘You have to press from the inside first to get every bit.’
Starting from the legs, I pressed the body all over to gather the crab meat onto the plate.
Then, I sucked off the remaining meat for the finishing touch.
‘Cutting crab legs with scissors and sucking them is the best!’
slurp slurp
After eating even the tiny meat inside the legs, I grabbed the remaining half of the crab body.
‘I’ll mix one half with rice, and eat the other half as is.’
I brought the half body to my mouth and bit and sucked the meat out thoroughly.
“Mm~ so tender.”
‘It’s fresh, sweet, and savory at the same time. The variety of flavors makes it even better.’
I sucked so hard that my lips started to tingle.
My tongue stung a little too, but those pains weren’t enough to make me give up on soy sauce marinated crab.
So far, that had only been the appetizer.
True to its name as a “rice thief,” the main event was to enjoy it with rice, doubling the deliciousness.
I took off the used plastic gloves and placed half of the instant rice inside the crab shell.
Holding the shell steady with one hand, I used the other hand to stir the rice inside with the crab innards and roe.
And I made sure to scrape every hidden spot inside the shell’s edges with chopsticks.
The glossy crab shell fried rice.
But that wasn’t all.
Adding about half a spoon of the crab marinade sauce gave it an extra boost of umami and moisture—what more could I say?
I scooped a spoonful right away and brought it to my mouth.
“Mm! Mm! Delicious.”
The rich flavor of the innards, the smooth taste of the roe, and the white rice beloved by Koreans formed a perfect trio.
Eating large spoonfuls, the rice disappeared in just three scoops.
“Now it’s time to enjoy the crab meat!”
I piled the crab meat collected on the small plate over the remaining instant rice, drizzled some marinade sauce as before.
Then mixed it up with a spoon—soy sauce marinated crab rice complete!
Although it lacked the deep taste from the innards and roe, the unique sweet and tender flavor of the crab meat itself enhanced the dish.
‘For dessert, shrimp jang it is.’
I put the plastic gloves back on and peeled the shrimp shells.
You could easily peel them with a fork or chopsticks, but why bother when I had gloves?
Peeling was easy even with gloves.
I first twisted off the heads to separate them from the bodies, then peeled the shells off together with the legs.
The only caution was not to lose the meat at the very end of the tail.
When removing the tail, holding the body and the tail tip carefully and pulling gently helped bring the meat along.
‘Oh! I can feel the springy texture!’
I quickly swallowed my saliva and popped the shrimp into my mouth.
crack
Chewing the firm yet springy body, I could feel the texture clearly.
And the sweet and savory taste from the soy sauce marinade.
Since this was a dish made from raw shrimp, there could be a slight fishy taste, but the sweet and salty soy sauce marinade masked it well.
After finishing the second shrimp, my stomach felt full and satisfied.
“I was just going to eat simply, but I ended up feasting like it’s the last supper(?)”
Thanks to that, I felt ready to safely visit Eliya.
With the meal done, I started preparing as planned to head to Eliya.
“Alright!”
Not wanting to hurt my back, I bent at the hips, straightened my waist, and loaded boxes onto the hand cart.
It wasn’t an amount I could move to Eliya all at once anyway.
Since I needed to conserve strength, I planned to load just enough to pull comfortably and make multiple trips.
rrrrrrrrr!
The sound of the cart rolling on the dirt path wasn’t great, but it couldn’t be helped.
I opened the warehouse door and stopped in front of the Portal.
Knowing I had to enter a place hostile to humans alone made sweat trickle down my spine and a wave of tension wash over me.
“Phew. Don’t shake when you get there. Just explain well. I’ve prepared enough beef as a bribe too.”
I muttered to myself, trying to calm my nerves.
But in the end, they’ll probably like beef just like Kasia, right?
So it counts as a bribe, doesn’t it?
Pulling a cart, I stepped into the Portal.
I closed my eyes during the Portal transit, but a bright light penetrated my eyelids and stimulated my optic nerves.
Squinting against the dazzling light, I opened my eyes and saw a giant Firefly approaching out of curiosity, inspecting me from all sides.
“Hmm, it’s you. Long time no see.”
Though I wasn’t sure if it was the same one.
When I reached out and petted its head, it seemed happy and spun around while making cute chirping sounds.
kiyung~
Though it was a one-way path, the kind creature went ahead, wagging its tail and lighting the way.
I followed the Firefly while pulling the cart.
After a while, a staircase leading upward appeared.
‘Oh right. How am I supposed to carry these upstairs? That must be Kasia’s room.’
I had forgotten the stairs.
Hesitating at the bottom, the Firefly spun in circles atop the stairs as if urging me to come up.
“I’ll pile these here for now. Be right back.”
A cool breeze blew from somewhere, and since it was underground, the low temperature meant I didn’t have to worry about the meat spoiling.
After unloading all the boxes, I took just the cart back to Earth.
Then I loaded beef boxes from the refrigerated warehouse, went through the Portal, unloaded, and repeated.
After five trips, everything was moved.
‘When am I going to carry all this up…’
I sighed and sat down on the floor to rest briefly.
At that moment, the Firefly leisurely flew off toward the opposite side of the cave.
It seemed it had lost interest.
‘Right. It’s something I have to do anyway. Better move it quickly before the meat spoils.’
I couldn’t ask for help from the hostile elves.
Since it was something I had to do anyway, I brushed off my pants and got back up.
kiyung~
kiyung~ kiyung~ kiyung~
Looking toward the sound, the Firefly was flying back.
“You’re back! Bantaesik! Huh? Did you bring friends with you?”
They were flying in a line, but looking closer, it wasn’t just two.
There were four of them!
“Where did you bring three friends from? Ah, the light is kind of blinding.”
The opposite side must have been connected to another place, and they had brought friends from there.
Were they introducing them to me?
Shielding my eyes with my arm against the blinding light, I watched.
They each circled me once and then lifted boxes one by one.
Incredible strength!
They were about my size, so I guess they were pretty strong.
I was glad Kasia had said they were non-aggressive monsters; otherwise, I might have been scared.
Now that I had their help, I felt so reassured.
“Are you here to help? That’s a relief. There are so many and they’re heavy—it felt hopeless. Thanks, guys.”
Together with the four Fireflies, we moved boxes in a line.
Pushing open the door and stepping outside, Kasia’s room was just as I had seen it before.
“They said the Portal emits magical waves, so why is no one here?”
kiyung~ kiyung~
The Fireflies seemed to respond in chorus.
With many boxes still to move, I stacked the ones brought on one side neatly.
“Just two more trips and we’re done. You guys have to work hard.”
kiyung~ kiyung~
As expected, after two more trips, everything was moved.
“Phew. Good work. Thank you so much. How should I repay you? I wish I knew what you like.”
Now that I think about it, since there are other tunnels underground, the first Firefly might not have been the same one from before.
But does that matter?
These were the ones who helped me.
When I meet Kasia later, I’ll be sure to ask what Fireflies like.
Well, when I get back to Earth, I can look up what Fireflies there eat.
Either way, Fireflies are Fireflies; Earth or here, they should be similar.
I petted each Firefly once before sending them back underground.
Then, I closed the floor (door) connected to the underground and covered it with a carpet, restoring everything perfectly.
‘Now it’s time to confront the Chieftain. Kasia, wait for me!’
Full of confidence, I flung open the door leading outside the house.
- Human! Hands up!
Soldiers surrounded the house, pointing spears and bows.
This scene looked familiar.
That’s right.
It was almost the same situation as when I first came to Eliya.
The only difference was Kasia standing on that side.
- Lower your weapons. Didn’t I tell you? Do Minho must have returned.
At Kasia’s order, the soldiers hesitated while lowering their weapons, watching the Chieftain’s expression carefully.
The Chieftain looked very displeased.
When he reluctantly nodded, the soldiers put their weapons down.
- Why have you returned?
Like the Chieftain’s expression showed, his tone carried bad feelings.
“Hello. I have come to take Kasia with me.”
- Kasia is an elf. She is the heir to the Chieftain here. There is no reason for her to go to the human world. So why are you trying to take her?
- Father! I also…!
- Enough. I’m asking that human, not you.
Kasia bit her lip and took a step back.
‘Right. Since I’m the one trying to take Kasia, this is her problem to solve on her own. Good thing I came prepared.’
I met the Chieftain’s eyes without flinching.
“I am Kasia’s friend. That is why I have come to take her.”
- I didn’t realize you had such poor comprehension. Two years ago, didn’t you understand my words before leaving?
The Chieftain raised his hand, and the soldiers immediately aimed their weapons at me again.
“In Earth time, it’s been less than two months. Even then, I didn’t understand, but I tried. In the end, I returned because I couldn’t.”
I answered firmly to the Chieftain’s harsh words.
- You don’t understand… why is that? Isn’t it obvious that the Chieftain’s daughter should remain to lead and protect the tribe?
“There is no such thing as ‘obvious’ in this world. Before being the next Chieftain, she is your daughter, Kasia. Being dragged around by others’ wills cannot be called her own. She must choose what she wants by her own will. Everyone has that right.”
- You call her your daughter, then say she’s a stranger?
“If it’s not ‘me,’ it’s ‘other.’”
- Fine. Then that means Kasia chooses you?
“…”
They said it had already been two years here.
Though I spoke firmly, I didn’t know how Kasia’s feelings had changed over that time.
Perhaps because I saw Kasia fall silent at the Chieftain’s command just now.
A wave of anxiety washed over me, but after all, I had come to help Kasia make her own choice.
I felt some regret but no remorse.
- Kasia, what is your choice?
- I…
Kasia hesitated, meeting my eyes.
- I will follow my benefactor to Earth. That is my choice.
The Chieftain’s face instantly stiffened.
He seemed deeply shocked.
Anger, sorrow, disappointment flickered across his expression.
Is he going to clutch his neck and collapse?