episode_0069

They say a tiger leaves its pelt behind when it dies, and a person leaves their name. Then? What do demons leave behind when they die?

The answer is .

“This one’s color is quite lovely.”

A radiant red gemstone, so beautiful it could be called a ruby. That’s right. It’s the Blood Stone used to enhance Saintess Sophia.

This one is of such high quality that it can’t even be compared to the one I made last time. Back then, I used ordinary demons as material, but now, I used one of the Four Heavenly Kings—the strongest of demons.

‘Though he was the weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings…’ Still, he was strong. After all, the Four Heavenly Kings are the four most powerful demons. Technically, he was ranked fifth among all demons.

So, the Blood Stone I’ve made now could be considered world-class, fifth-rank quality.

“At this point, I almost feel sorry for the demon…”

Geum Taeyang did look at the demon—tortured and then turned into a gem—with pity, but Serena immediately countered.

“Not even a little bit.” “If anything, they should be grateful we ended it at this.”

I agreed with Serena. “Well…” “Not wrong.”

Demons are all scum. They kidnap, kill, torture, and toy with humans—trash, the lot of them.

…That said, if it had just been that, the Goddess probably wouldn’t have been enraged.

Why? Because humans have also kidnapped, killed, tortured, and toyed with others. In fact, humans have done it far more.

So, if it had just been that, the Goddess wouldn’t have been furious. They were criminals, sure, but not necessarily the kind the Goddess would personally order to be tortured.

But. They had another sin. A sin so enormous it would enrage the Goddess.

What was it? The sin of summoning into this world.

‘This is the real issue.’

90% of the world’s population was slaughtered by monsters, and 90% of the world’s territory was occupied by those creatures.

…But beyond that, the most infuriating thing was their attitude.

“The last world’s humans were too weak, so they were boring.” “You lot, try to entertain me.”

They even had the audacity to say that if they were entertained, they’d spare a few as slaves.

‘Well…’ ‘The Demon King who said that was defeated and killed by the Hero, but…’

The aftermath was devastating. The Demon King was slain, but the monsters the demons had unleashed were so numerous they couldn’t be contained.

That’s why humanity is in this state now.

But. It’s not entirely hopeless. The more people believe in the gods, the stronger divine power becomes in this land, and the stronger divine power grows, the weaker monsters become.

In other words, if the human population grows, the problem can eventually be solved.

But. Because of the demons, the human population isn’t increasing.

The Demon King? Even if you kill him, a new one appears centuries later, leading another demon army to invade. Each time, countless humans died.

I even wrote in the scriptures, “For the love of the Holy War, please have more sex,” to boost the human numbers, but every time the Demon King’s army comes, it’s a reset.

Infuriating.

And they can’t even be exterminated. Even if you kill the Demon King, the Four Heavenly Kings, and all the high-ranking demons, a few centuries later, a new Demon King, Four Heavenly Kings, and demon elites return fully formed.

They’re like cockroaches.

Serena, the Goddess of Light, tried everything to wipe them out. But. No matter what she did, they couldn’t be eradicated.

The Demon King’s armies kept slaughtering humanity, and all Serena could do was watch and grit her teeth in frustration.

So, hating demons is only natural.

“Sigh…” “Just thinking about it pisses me off again…” “Eat some meat and calm down.” “Mm…”

Munch munch.

I fed Serena a well-cooked piece of meat with a dab of ssamjang.

“Wow…” “This is delicious.” “Right?” “The spiciness cuts through the greasiness of the meat—it’s even better!” “Spicy?” “Yeah!” “Is ssamjang spicy?”

Nom.

I tasted it, but I didn’t feel any spiciness. But. The others said it was spicy.

“It’s not extremely spicy, but… a little.” “How do I put it… pleasantly spicy?”

Lia rated it as slightly spicy, while Elice said it was outright spicy.

Well… That makes sense.

This world barely has any spicy seasonings like chili peppers or black pepper. They’re not used to spiciness, so reacting sensitively to it isn’t strange.

“Is this what spicy tastes like?” “The books described it as a tingling tongue, sweating, and a feeling like fire in the mouth… but this doesn’t seem like that…”

On the other hand, Sophia couldn’t taste any spiciness. Of course. Sophia is a woman who loves spicy food.

So, I recommended something else. “This is kimchi.” “An extremely spicy dish from my homeland.” “Let me…”

Nom.

“Waaah…” “It’s a thrilling flavor I’ve never experienced with other foods. It’s delicious.” “It’s even better with meat.” “Here…”

Nom.

“It’s really good.” “Right?” “Yes.”

Hearing our conversation, the others also tried kimchi with meat. Their reactions varied.

“This… is spicy, but… delicious…”

Lia ate it happily, though she was sweating slightly.

“Water!!! Waaater!!!”

Elice’s face turned red as she desperately searched for water.

“Hwaaaah…” “I almost died… What even is this…?” “It’s that deadly?” “It felt like a bomb went off on my tongue…”

After drinking water to calm down, Elice gulped cola to wash away the remaining spiciness. And then she screamed.

“GYAAAAAH!!!” “My tongue!!! My tonnguuue!!!”

A shooting star exploding on her tongue, already stinging from the spice.

Right. You shouldn’t drink carbonated beverages after eating something spicy. …A lesson she was relearning the hard way.

“Kain!” “If you knew, you should’ve stopped me before I drank it!!!” “I forgot too.”

It had been so long since I’d eaten something spicy enough to make my tongue burn that I couldn’t even remember when it was. My memory of what to do after eating spicy food was hazy.

But. Thanks to Elice, I remembered. When you eat something spicy, you shouldn’t drink something like cola— you should have milk or Coolpis.

“Coolpis?” “It’s this drink.”

I pulled out a peach-flavored Coolpis from the Holy Grail of Sacrifice. It’s like an emergency potion, often used to extinguish the flames after eating spicy food. Milk works too, but this tastes better and is more effective, so I used it often.

…I explained as I handed it over.

“Hwaaaah…” “Now I can finally live…”

Elice, after drinking the Coolpis, looked like she’d been revived and took another sip.

“Wow…” “This is really good too…” “Yeah?” “Yeah!” “It’s sweet and smooth—I like it even more than cola!” “A drink as tasty as cola?! Me too, me too!” “Got it.”

I gave one to Lia as well.

“Wooow…” “This is seriously delicious…”

She reacted even more enthusiastically than she did to ssamjang or kimchi.

Korean cuisine. Defeated by Coolpis.

‘Well…’ ‘I expected this, but…’

Even in the Prophecy RPG, only Sophia liked spicy food—the others didn’t. On the other hand, almost every character besides Sophia loved sweet things.

So, it was inevitable that a sweet drink would be more popular.

…I thought as I glanced at Sophia.

“The doenjang jjigae is delicious too.” “Right?” “And ssam is tasty as well.” “Right, right.” “Korean food is just good.”

She was happily eating Korean food while listening to Geum Taeyang’s explanations.

Then? How about this?

“Ta-dah!”

I brought out gochujang and Cheongyang chili peppers.

“Ah… no!… This is!…” “That’s right.” “It’s Gochujang & Green Chili, in the flesh.” “Hmm…” “Just wrap the gochujang separately, please.” “You’re running from this?” “No…” “I did miss Korean food, but… I never really liked dipping green chili in gochujang…”

What a shame. I was planning to trick her by calling it a green chili and making her eat a Cheongyang pepper. But she didn’t fall for it.

…I thought as I set it down on the table.

“Do you dip this in the sauce to eat it?” “?”

Sophia showed interest, and before I could say anything, she took a Cheongyang pepper, slathered it in gochujang, and ate it.

“!!!!!!”

Even for someone who loves spicy food like Sophia, eating something like that would—

“Wooow…” “I never knew such a fiery flavor existed… It’s delicious…”

She ate it surprisingly normally. That was the disgustingly spicy Cheongyang pepper I had to eat as a penalty game in college… And she’s enjoying it?

Sophia. You’re on par with—or even surpass—a Korean. I acknowledge you.

…I thought in admiration, but then—

“This is tasty?”

Intrigued by Sophia’s words, Elice also took a Cheongyang pepper loaded with gochujang and ate it.

And then she went berserk.

“GYAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!” “Here, Coolpis!”

Gulp gulp gulp gulp.

Elice downed an entire bottle in one go.

But. The fire wasn’t extinguished.

“Spicy!!! Spicyyyy!!! AAAAAAH!!!”

Elice ran around with ice in her mouth, rolling on the floor in chaos.

Then.

Lia, also curious, took a bite.

Nom.

And joined the rampage.

“GYAAAAAH!!!”

Seeing her daughter’s meltdown, Serena also grew curious and took a bite.

“KYAAAAAH!!!”

She rolled on the floor right next to her daughter.

Wow. This is a mess.

The Cheongyang chili I summoned to feed Geum Taeyang just scored a triple kill. And not just any triple kill.

The Creator God. The Hero. The Sword Master.

It wiped out all the strongest beings in this world in one go.

Truly, Cheongyang. You’re Korea’s pride.

…I thought, but then curiosity struck.

Wait. Cheongyang peppers are spicy, but were they this spicy? I don’t think they were this bad.

…I thought as I took a bite, and then—

I remembered. How much I rolled on the floor when I lost that penalty game in college.

“GYAAAAAAAAAH!!!”

I, too, rolled on the floor as memories came flooding back.

Four Heavenly Kings, Sonic Jet: 0 kills. Cheongyang Chili: 4 kills.