Barbecue Party (2)

After confirming Gyeotmwa Jyosyegigot, who quietly appeared before me holding a plate of sauce, I immediately scanned my surroundings.

Because if I talked to him alone in a place like this, it would be easy for Ethan or others to misunderstand.

“…Where’s Ethan?”

“I asked Seraphine to draw attention for a moment.”

“And Silena?”

“Celista is taking good care of her.”

“……”

He’s really thorough. What important thing is he trying to talk about to go to such lengths?

“Just in case, if you’re pulling this shit again, asking me for another event like last time….”

“You don’t have to worry about that. I won’t need your help anymore from now on.”

“…Then what is it?”

“Just, well. I wanted to thank you for your help so far. Actually, when I think about it, it wasn’t even your business, and I made you go through trouble for no reason.”

“…Well, it’s fine. Anyway, if I want to live a leisurely life in the future, it’s better to subjugate the Demon King.”

“In the first place, if I talk to you alone like this, I’d be conscious of Ethan and Seraphine’s gazes… Anyway, from now on, there won’t be any particular reason for us to meet alone like this. If there’s something I absolutely need to convey, I’ll convey it through Agnes or Seraphine. They’re good at keeping secrets, and they’re mutual acquaintances of both you and me, so it should be fine.”

“Because they’re girls, Ethan won’t freak out and get wary,” Gyeotmwa Jyosyegigot said with a smirk.

“Yes, that would be better. From the start, your goal and mine in this world were different. It’s probably better for us to go our separate ways soon.”

“But it’s really amazing. Didn’t you really hate Ethan the most in your previous life?”

“…Among the characters in Lumia Academy, I hated him the most.”

“But that Lilgirlchang, who was like that, is now so enthusiastic about getting a pure love ending with Ethan. When I return to reality later, I’ll report your current situation on Lua Gallery.”

“…Don’t do it. Unless you want to die.”

This bastard doesn’t seem to know, but because I was so active on the gallery, I even socialized with a few bastards, and there are a few guys who know I’m a man.

Especially if this kind of news got to the guys in the group chat who played Steam co-op games, I might really die of embarrassment and commit suicide. …Since I already died in my previous life, it wouldn’t mean much, though.

“Well, aren’t you getting what you wished for, in the end? You said you wanted to see Lilith’s pure love ending in 『Luminor Academy』. It’s just that the target isn’t the protagonist, but it seems you’re achieving your goal anyway.”

“…Actually, lately, it really feels that way, so I’m starting to think this isn’t so bad, and it’s unsettling me, so please shut your mouth.”

“Keup, Keu-keuk…. Ah, seriously…. That Lilgirlchang is Ethan’s fiancée….”

“…If you came here to pick a fight, just get lost.”

“Oh, right. And this.”

As I quietly fixed my gaze on the familiar-colored sauce placed on the table, the Hero explained the identity of the food he had given me.

“Here, ssamjang. I just thought you might need it.”

“…Where did you get this?”

“I made it with a ‘Recipe’. You wrote down where to get the recipe in the guide.”

“……Ah.”

“I didn’t collect all of them; I only collected what wouldn’t hinder the story’s progress, so unfortunately, there’s no kimchi.”

“…It’s fine. I’m not in a position to complain about such things when I’m getting a free meal.”

And if I were to grill and eat something like kimchi with meat in a place like this, I’d have to endure countless stares directed at Gyeotmwa Jyosyegigot and me, so it was a dream that couldn’t be realized from the start.

“Don’t you use ‘Recipes’? As far as I know, there were two that could be obtained from Blackwood Mansion.”

“…I couldn’t learn it as Lilith. It’s probably a protagonist-exclusive perk, so I can’t learn it. If that were possible in the first place, would the ssamjang recipe be in your hands right now? Of course, I would have secured it first.”

“That’s true. If I had competed for recipes against a veteran player, there would have been no way for me to win.”

“…Anyway, thank you. I was already missing Korean food. I’ll enjoy it.”

“If you want to eat it wrapped, it’s good to eat it with those mandragora leaves over there. It’s not exactly the same, but it tastes similar to perilla leaves.”

“…I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Alright, then.”

With those words, leaving only a plate of ssamjang, Gyeotmwa Jyosyegigot leisurely returned to his harem.

Did he really come just to give me ssamjang, and not to make me do something troublesome again? I feel a little bad for having doubted him at first for no reason.

But when I think about how I’ve been swayed by him until now, it feels like my suspicion was somewhat justified. Anyway, since he said he wouldn’t bother me anymore, I felt somewhat bittersweet.

‘It really tastes like ssamjang.’

Perhaps because it was Korean food I was tasting for the first time in almost 7 years since possessing this world, my tongue reacted on its own. Well, strictly speaking, my case is more like reincarnation than possession, and the point at which I regained my memories was 7 years ago, so it might be a little different from possession.

Except for the fact that the pungent taste of garlic felt a bit strong, it tasted surprisingly similar to the ssamjang I ate in my previous life.

The unique pungent taste is the taste of garlic that Lilith’s body feels, so I guess I’ll just have to put up with it. Still, the salty, sweet, and umami flavors, which are the basic base of ssamjang, blended well, making it quite edible.

Just as I was about to wrap the meat, dipped in the ssamjang that Gyeotmwa Jyosyegigot had left behind as if giving alms, in a mandragora leaf and eat it this time, Ethan, who had been talking with Seraphine for a moment, returned to my table.

“Lily, what is this?”

“It’s a seasoning the Hero-nim gave me, Ed. He said it’s a sauce that goes well with grilled meat.”

“…It’s not suspicious, is it?”

“No way.”

“He didn’t give it to anyone else, only to you, Lily? Like some kind of medicine that makes you feel strange if you eat too much….”

“It tastes similar to a secret sauce my mother used to make. Perhaps because it’s a sweet and salty sauce, it goes well with plain meat. Perhaps it’s a similar dish?”

“Th-that was just something I said. So, it tastes similar to the food Lily’s mother made….”

Actually, it was the taste my mother from my previous life made, not my mother in this world, and it wasn’t even homemade, but just the taste of ssamjang sold at the supermarket.

It was something I said to make Ethan shut up, as he was unnecessarily nitpicking even about these things. If I kept letting him doubt every small act of kindness, it felt like the conflict between Ethan and Gyeotmwa Jyosyegigot would truly run parallel forever.

At the point when Celista awakened as the true Saintess, Ethan must know that Gyeotmwa Jyosyegigot has no reason to cling to me, yet his worry in this state was both appreciated and a bit excessive.

‘Anyway, loving me too much is also a problem.’

Although he was already completely different from the original Ethan in every way, the one thing that was truly identical was his obsession with Lilith.

Still, feeling sorry for having said something to Ethan for no reason, I placed a piece of meat on a mandragora leaf, topped with a little garlic, ssamjang, and vegetables, and pushed a pseudo-perilla leaf wrap in front of him. Because a wrap carefully made by someone else was always right for resolving disputes.

“Here, Ed. Say ah~.”

“…Huh? Lily?”

“I said, say ah~. You just put it all in your mouth and eat it like that.”

“…Lily, you’ve gotten much better at joking. Even so, putting such a big piece of food in one bite is a bit….”

“Last time, you forcibly shoved something even bigger and less tasty into my mouth, didn’t you? And now Ed is saying he can’t accept what I’m offering….”

“Ah-eup! Uh, umm…. I-it’s delicious, Lily….”

Watching Ethan hastily take the wrap and eat it before my words finished, I also made a small wrap and quietly put it into my mouth.

Actually, I didn’t not know the recipes for ssamjang or ganjang themselves. During my previous life, when I lived alone and cooked, I was curious about homemade doenjang, so I had the experience of buying meju and making it myself to eat.

Since I often saw my grandmother fermenting meju when I went down to help her with farming, I should be able to recreate it sufficiently. If I add a few seasonings to the doenjang I’ve made and adjust the consistency, I should be able to make ssamjang too.

Of course, fermenting meju as a maid of the Blackwood Family was impossible in itself, so I had already given up on it the moment I realized that.

‘When I become independent later, I should try it then.’

Anyway, I’m going to live without getting married, so by then, there won’t be anyone to tell me what to do. I should try making ssamjang, as well as ganjang and doenjang.

As I thought that and casually looked around, a particularly noticeable couple caught my eye.

It was as if others had deliberately made way for the two of them, and the sight of them standing alone, feeding each other, inadvertently entered my sight.

“Hey, open your mouth.”

“…I-I’m already eating, Lady Agnes.”

“……”

-Gulp.

“You finished eating, right? Open your mouth.”

“…I can hold a fork, Lady Agnes. Only my right arm is injured; my left arm is still fine.”

“Be quiet. If you weren’t injured, you would have eaten with your right hand.”

“…That may be true, but.”

“For three days until you’re fully recovered, I’ll take care of you, so don’t be unnecessarily considerate. That hurts my pride more, you know?”

“Understood, Lady Agnes.”

“If you understand, open your mouth.”

“…I told you I can’t eat that much at once.”

Agnes, stubbornly insisting in a strangely odd way and protecting Prince Antonio. And the Prince, who seemed to be declining Agnes’s offer, yet accepted her kindness with a happy expression.

What exactly happened in the battle that took place at the Eastern Lake? I needed to hear about it at least once.

I also needed to find out why a monster that wasn’t in the original story suddenly appeared from the lake.