Ch.34Pork Cutlet 2

The sizzling sound of oil tickles my ears.

At last, the electronic display shows the number on my ticket.

I rise cheerfully, following the sound.

The Red Assassin watches me intently, her chin resting on her hand.

In one hand, she holds a bitter Americano.

Sipping the coffee as black as her hair, she looks down at the plate I’ve brought.

“It’s been so long since I’ve eaten out—”

I lick my lips and pick up the fork and knife.

Then I carefully cut the meat, following the grain precisely.

“What’s so tasty about something so greasy?”

Judging by her cynical tone, the Red Assassin doesn’t seem to like tonkatsu very much.

“That’s strange, I’ve never met anyone who didn’t like tonkatsu.”

I chew with one cheek bulging with meat.

The killer with red eyes looks at my puffy cheek and smirks.

“You’re not a little boy—”

She mocks me cynically.

Maybe she’s never had good tonkatsu in her life.

I decided to show her a ‘new world of flavor.’

Cooking is similar to cocktails.

Even with the same ingredients, the taste can vary dramatically depending on how you eat it.

This is especially true for tonkatsu.

I spear the second piece from the end with my fork.

The edge is perfectly crispy while the middle is thin and tender.

In my experience, this piece tastes the most ideal.

Now, I drizzle a thin layer of demi-glace sauce over this piece with a spoon.

Dipping it mindlessly would make it too salty, masking the natural flavor of the meat.

Each of these careful touches determines the taste.

Then, taking a small portion of salad with chopsticks and placing it on top of the meat…

<Siho’s Bite of Tonkatsu>

Grade: ★★★☆ (Epic)

Effect: Delicious. Being delicious makes you feel good.

Info: An impressive combination of proper meat, batter, sauce, and vegetables.

“Here, try it.”

I confidently offer the piece speared on my fork.

The Red Assassin asks indifferently:

“Why are you preparing a piece of tonkatsu so meticulously?”

She seems amused by how I’m nibbling on a small piece of meat.

Like a raccoon washing its food.

“Hey, don’t talk if you’ve never tried it—”

I look up at her, urging her to trust me.

Then I push the fork toward her lips.

The Red Assassin looks flustered, realizing I’m trying to feed her directly.

As expected of an experienced killer, she read the situation perfectly.

I narrow my eyes and make airplane noises, tracing a curve in the air.

At that sound, she quickly turns her head away.

“If you don’t eat quickly, all the salad on top will fall off.”

I speak as if the airplane is sounding a disaster alarm.

Eventually, the killer heaves a deep sigh.

She quietly looks around.

Though there were many customers in the restaurant, no one was sitting near us.

Thanks to that, the Red Assassin could stare at me again.

And she timidly opens her mouth.

The tonkatsu safely lands on her lips.

Soon, crunching sounds begin to come from her mouth.

I gaze up at her steadily.

With narrowed eyes, I ask with a broad smile:

“How is it? Good, right? Good, right?”

I kept asking, curious about the killer’s reaction.

This is a method I often used in the military, so it can’t possibly taste bad.

It’s a time-honored tradition that made even tasteless military tonkatsu delicious.

I clenched both hands with expectant eyes.

“Well, it’s not bad.”

The red-eyed killer looks down at the girl smiling brightly at her.

Then she casually wipes the breadcrumbs from her lips.

“…”

Perhaps because of that touch, my face flushed.

I instinctively shrink from her unconsciously permitted finger.

“Did you act like this with Anna too?”

“W-what are you talking about… I only met her once.”

I was flustered by her sensual face and surprise question.

As a result, I instinctively lied.

Even if we’re on the same side, there’s no need to talk about dealings with a wanted criminal.

Besides, the Red Assassin lost a dummy to Anna, so they probably don’t get along.

“I see.”

After hearing my answer, she picks up her coffee again.

Then she empties the cup she had barely touched.

“—.”

The plate is clean.

I used to feel unsatisfied even after eating a whole cutlet, but with this body, I’m full after just one piece.

Economically speaking, a girl’s body might be better.

Of course, I’m only talking about the economic aspect.

I wipe my lips with a napkin while watching the Red Assassin’s reaction.

She waited patiently while I ate.

Perhaps bored, she suddenly asks me:

“By the way, how old did you say you were?”

“Why are you asking about my age all of a sudden…”

“You look obviously young but speak so casually. When we first met, you were busy being polite.”

The Red Assassin looks down at me with her arms crossed.

I reflexively almost blurted out twenty-eight but quickly closed my mouth.

That was my age when I was a man before I died.

“T-twenty-one…”

“Oh, come on.”

The Red Assassin laughs after hearing my age.

As it turns out, she was twenty-five.

A whole four-year difference.

I hadn’t paid attention because she looked so young, but it’s quite a significant age gap.

“From now on, call me unnie.”

The Red Assassin ruffles my bangs.

Thanks to that, my bob haircut that I had barely styled this morning became disheveled.

“Why should I!”

I exclaimed in bewilderment.

Unnie? I’ve never used such a term in my life.

Besides, if we’re counting by my previous life’s age, I’m the same age as the Red Assassin.

Unaware of my thoughts, she smirks and stands up.

Then she suddenly pays for the entire meal with her card.

I stammered that she didn’t need to do that, but the Red Assassin dismisses me with a wave.

“It’s fine. We’ll have to go fix the shop again tomorrow, so think of it as compensation.”

“But that happened because you were trying to protect me…”

She didn’t even pretend to listen to me.

She just waves her hand and leaves for the first floor alone.

As if she doesn’t want to hear any thanks.

I stared at her retreating figure.

And I think:

That she might be a better person than her appearance suggests.

Just like tonkatsu.

Crispy on the outside but tender inside…

No, that’s not quite right. Comparing her to tonkatsu seems too undignified for her noble image.

After the Red Assassin’s silhouette disappeared, I leisurely headed to the grocery section.

The first thing that catches my eye is onions.

Since I need to store them for a long time, ones with thick skins would be better.

While muttering to myself and selecting an onion net, I suddenly feel a strange gaze.

I turn my head slightly toward the feeling.

There stood a woman who had been standing in front of the onions all day, even before I arrived at the display.

A common cap, black mask.

Long legs in work pants and a fleece jacket.

Like a celebrity shopping while avoiding public attention.

With that height, she might be a model.

She was staring down at the onions as if they were her mortal enemies.

I try not to pay attention to her as I select onions.

The pointy ones are male onions.

The small ones with firm tops are female onions.

Usually, female onions are sweeter and tastier.

I reach out to grab a net of onions.

Suddenly, another person’s hand intrudes on the same net.

It’s that woman standing next to me.

She starts snatching every onion I try to pick and putting them in her basket.

What the hell…

By now, the woman’s basket is piled high with onions like a mountain.

She skillfully carries that weight, which would be burdensome even for one person, with just one hand.

I quickly grab one net before she can take it from me.

Then I hurriedly move away from the woman.

Even as I leave, I can feel her gaze on the back of my head.

She’s really strange.

Having finally escaped to another corner, I went to buy eggs.

“Two thousand won for a pack of eggs…”

With the distribution network shattered due to the monster crisis, egg prices had skyrocketed.

I need to pick the cheapest and tastiest ones…

I place my hand on my lips, deep in thought.

“…?”

But I feel that familiar gaze again.

It’s the onion enthusiast.

That’s strange.

I definitely went ahead of her, so how did she reach the display before me?

I clear my throat and select eggs.

Once again, the woman’s eccentric behavior begins.

She starts grabbing packs of eggs from the brand I chose.

Soon, both her hands are full of nothing but eggs and onions.

It seems she’s trying to buy exactly what I’m buying.

I found it somewhat cute.

Like a girl trying to imitate an adult.

Of course, she’s much taller than me…

Let me check once.

Is she really trying to buy everything I buy?

Having made up my mind, I immediately put it into action.

I walk quickly past the corner.

And slip into the cooking oil section.

“As expected…!”

The woman follows the exact path I took.

I quickly grab olive oil before she arrives.

Then I hide the brand by placing it among the onions.

I was curious how she would react to this move.

As expected, she shows signs of confusion.

But soon she rolls her eyes diligently to catch the olive oil in my basket.

“…”

Eventually, the woman selects olive oil that looks similar to mine.

But it wasn’t for cooking.

It has a purple label, meant for salads.

If she cooks with that, everything will burn.

I approach her to inform her of this fact.

But the woman seems to want distance between us and moves away as much as I approach.

It feels like watching a wild animal that dislikes contact but is curious about food.

How should I explain this…

I rack my brain.

And come up with only one answer.

“Phew— that was close.”

Explaining through self-talk.

I mutter with desperate acting skills:

“The labels look similar, I almost bought the salad one—”

The woman glances down at the bottle she selected.

“If you cook with the salad one, everything will burn— what a relief!”

Hearing my clumsy self-talk, the woman hurriedly switches her olive oil.

I find this so funny that I turn my head away.

And I snicker to myself like crazy.

Enough to make the mole under my eye move around.

I wonder what she plans to do with so many onions and eggs.

The only dish you can make with those is…

Just egg fried rice, really.