Chapter 14

Fruit cheong is really easy to make.

“The preparation is a bit cumbersome, but if you just mix the fruit pulp and sugar half-and-half and let it sit, that’s fruit cheong.”

I brought over a glass jar that had been cleanly sterilized with friendship, peace, love and affection.

It was so large it was closer to a crock than a jar, but just like my grandmother who had been a big shot in the village, I had no intention of skimping on ingredients when cooking. It had to be this size.

“Now, let’s see.”

I washed the plump Mangdung Fruits and the sour and bitter-smelling Drought Pots cleanly in water.

The flesh of the Mangdung Fruit was soft like a delicate jelly and juicy, while the Drought Pot had little juice and firm flesh like an unripe tangerine.

The peel of the Mangdung Fruit was so thin it could melt, so I simply quartered it without any extra processing, and for the Drought Pot, I peeled off all of the outer white, translucent skin, leaving only the pulp.

“And….”

You just have to pour it in.

‘It would be better to have the juicy Mangdung Fruit on top.’

At the very bottom of the glass container, I layered the Drought Pots, and sprinkled a little sugar on top.

Then, I placed the Mangdung Fruits on top of that and poured a generous amount of sugar to create a layer. Once the sugar layer was firmly formed, I just had to keep repeating the process.

I pressed down firmly to prevent any air pockets from forming between the fruit pulp.

“It shouldn't spoil.”

The food in this forest didn't spoil or get moldy, but this process was necessary for the fruit pulp to mix well and for the sugar water to seep in.

I filled the glass crock without any gaps.

“All done.”

All that was left was to seal it and store it in a cool, shady place for a few days.

“I hope it ripens quickly, but I suppose it will take some time.”

“Gung-gung-gung.”

“You can't eat it yet. If you take it out and eat it now, it’s just fruit with sugar on it. Later, when the pulp becomes mushier and the fragrance seeps into the sugar water, then we can drink it as tea.”

“Guk.”

“Cooking is sometimes the art of waiting.”

Honey grumbled and expressed its dissatisfaction, but it couldn't be helped.

It would take some time for the fruit cheong to fully ripen.

“It won't take that long. The weather here is warm, so the sugar will melt quickly. The juice will come out readily too.”

“Gung.”

“Don’t get stuck to the floor, you'll get dusty. It's dirty. At this rate, you’ll end up cleaning the entire floor of our house. You’ll go from being a honey-bird to a dust-bird.”

Having returned from an adventure for a successful fruit cheong, it was late and I was hungry.

It was time to covet a meal rather than a fruit cheong of unknown ripeness.

“Hmm….”

Should I go for something really simple?

“Let's make rice balls.”

“Guk?”

“Can you eat rice too.”

“Kururururururu.”

“Where does what you eat get digested in this transparent body….”

As expected, Honey was full of the qualities of a pig.

As the father of this round pig-bird, I nodded my head with pride.

“Kurururu!!”

“Alright, I get it. Let's go.”

The rice balls I was making this time were truly food in the most literal sense.

Freshly cooked rice with a little salt, a little sesame oil.

“It’s a good thing I cooked the rice in advance.”

The cabin had a stone oven, but no electric rice cooker. In a world without electricity in the first place, it couldn't be helped.

Because of that, I had already drawn a cauldron and placed it in the kitchen behind the cabin.

When I opened the heavy iron lid, white steam billowed up.

“Nice.”

As I nodded, the steam that had been drifting around suddenly vanished without a trace.

“……?”

That's when Honey, who was next to me, caught my eye.

“…….”

I wasn't sure if it was my imagination, but it seemed to have grown a little bigger for some reason.

“Kururu.”

“…Don't tell me you're eating all the moisture rising from the rice right now?”

“Gung.”

“You smell of freshly cooked rice. It’s incredibly savory; if I sleep next to you, I'll be too hungry to fall asleep.”

“Grrrng.”

“I’ve seen people let steam onto their face for skincare, but this is the first time I’ve seen someone eat the steam itself….”

Is this what they call ‘give it to your stomach, not your skin’?

“How novel.”

The sweet scent unique to Rurupu juice and the savory smell of freshly cooked rice were mixing.

I couldn't for the life of me define what kind of scent it was.

With a restless feeling, I scooped out the rice.

No matter how surprising, a living creature ought to eat.

“Let's make porridge with the scorched rice stuck to the bottom. It’s a very comforting food, so it’s good to have anytime. I’ve never seen anyone get an upset stomach from eating this.”

“Kuru.”

“First, let's make the rice balls and do that later. Scorched rice porridge is really refreshing when you eat it in the morning right after waking up, when you're still half-asleep.”

Returning to the kitchen, I sprinkled a little salt and sesame oil over the fluffy rice.

The cabin's cupboard was stocked with all the basic ingredients, so there was no need to worry about this and that.

‘What will happen when I use all of this up.’

It would be fun if it refilled automatically like when I first checked the cabin and even if it didn't, it was fine since I could just draw new ones anyway. But it didn't seem to be refilling yet.

I gently mixed the hot rice with chopsticks and seasoned it.

“Actually, it’s delicious even just like this.”

The unique smooth and savory taste of freshly cooked rice, the rich aroma of sesame oil gently enveloping it and the rice ball lightly seasoned with salt—if you ate it right after making it, it was incredibly warming.

“It’s a good meal for when you need to eat but don’t want to make anything grand.”

“Kururururu.”

“You can have some too if you can eat it. I’m not sure how you eat… was the steam from the cauldron not enough? You look bigger, but you're not already full?”

“Kururuk.”

“Alright, then have some.”

The sight of water eating rice.

‘It seems like it’ll be fun, so let's just leave it be.’

I resolved inwardly and made the rice balls.

About 39 in total.

“…….”

“…….”

“Dad is hungry.”

“Kurururuk….”

“It's because I'm hungry.”

I was a big eater.

“I need to eat a lot like this sometimes to feel full and satisfied.”

But I didn't stop there.

“I'm going to grill them once for the texture. A rice ball that's golden brown on both sides has a great texture, and the savory taste becomes deeper.”

“Gung….”

“I'm not sure if it's because the sesame oil aroma gets stronger or because the grains get toasted… but grilling it like this is much more delicious than just eating a plain rice ball.”

“Guk-guuung.”

“Well, I guess eating just rice would get a bit boring.”

I lamented the situation brought on by my own laziness.

I knew a day of regret like this would eventually come.

“I should have made some side dishes in advance. Then I could have enjoyed a more varied meal even with just rice.”

“Keeeeuuuung….”

“It would be nice to make a stew with the fish caught from the lake, or it would be good to mix various things to make some jeotgal. It would be nice to have something like a meat soup, but it’s a bit difficult to eat meat here.”

If I were to hunt a land animal instead of a fish, not only did I not know how, but I was also reluctant to eat the cute and round animals that suited my taste.

In the first place, I didn’t know how much meat would even come from their small, round bodies.

“Should I ask Mr. Yu Seong-un for this too.”

“Kurururururu.”

“Along with the seeds, right?”

I placed the well-shaped rice balls on the sufficiently heated pan on the stove.

With a sizzzle— sound, the rich aroma of sesame oil and the savory smell of crackle-crackling grains rose together.

‘A simple but good combination.’

After grilling all the rice balls, I sat at the table and took a bite.

“…….”

As expected, it was delicious.

‘…Maybe it's because the rice was cooked perfectly firm, but thanks to grilling it once, both the texture and aroma are great. The salt seasoning is just right, so I’m not getting tired of it.’

The rice used here was something I had drawn, so its quality was neither very good nor bad.

Therefore, it was a bit difficult to expect much from the power of the ingredients, but the rice ball was quite delicious nonetheless.

“Is it because it’s a meal after labor.”

“Kurururururung.”

“…….”

A rice ball-shaped bird came into my field of vision.

“Oh.”

No, it was Honey who had swallowed a rice ball.

“Good heavens.”

“Kururuk.”

“You swallowed this.”

“Kurururuuung.”

“Even though it’s bigger than your body.”

I understood three seconds later.

“That’s funny.”

“Guk.”

“While we're at it, do you want to eat another one? Can you get even bigger from here.”

“Kururureum.”

“Right, it probably hasn’t been digested yet. Of course. It looks that way.”

“Kuru?”

“Yeah, Dad knows everything.”

And so, a peaceful day passed.

***

“…….”

Thud….

Yu Seong-un, in front of the portrait, tilted his head.

“It hasn't been opening its eyes lately.”

He had waited from midnight until the current time of 5 a.m., but the portrait never opened its eyes.

Yu Seong-un stroked his chin with his fingers and muttered.

“It seems there are no particular rules about this part.”

The portrait used to open its eyes by choosing the time when there were the fewest staff members.

The time when he could have a conversation changed from day to day.

As long as one didn't ask rude questions, it wouldn't necessarily run away, but it wasn't always looking outside the painting either.

It seemed that he liked the world inside that portrait.

‘Personally, I think that's the wiser choice.’

However the world inside the portrait was realized, it would be much better than watching the dirty and complicated modern society.

At least, that's what Yu Seong-un thought.

“…Thinking of it that way….”

Perhaps ‘Jio’s Portrait’ liked quiet things.

“This could be considered one of the rules.”

Yu Seong-un sat leaning against the wall in front of the portrait and took out a notepad.

‘I need to keep a record.’

His job was to observe, analyze, maintain, and manage unknown objects or phenomena.

For Yu Seong-un, who had vast knowledge, ‘Jio’s Portrait’ was almost the first subject he had paid this much attention to.

Fortunately, ‘Jio’s Portrait’ was a relatively friendly entity to humans.

It answered when asked questions, and its manner of repaying favor with favor could be called quite gentlemanly.

“Is it roughly getting organized.”

Thanks to that, the analysis was not that difficult.

Values etiquette. Enjoys giving gifts.

No change in expression (Is it because it’s a portrait?) .

Knows humans well and respects them.

‘…This part is definitely peculiar.’

Although he had not yet figured out Jio’s identity, he had to be cautious.

There was a reason why human-type monsters were designated as the highest-risk elements, regardless of their attitude.

‘It’s because those guys knew almost nothing about humans.’

11 years ago, the first human-type monster friendly to Earthlings was witnessed.

Based on this, associations in various countries sought ways to interact with the residents beyond the dimensional gate.

However, an incident occurred where the bodies of the delegation that crossed the gate for the sake of friendship returned as ‘healthy deformities’.

‘The human-type monster at that time had expressed it as its own favor….’

In the view of the human-type monster, the delegation's bodies had many inefficient parts, so it increased their legs to four or split their mouths into six.

It was a favor, but at the same time, it was a disaster for humans.

The saying that a monster is a monster for a reason was born then.

“It’s terrifying to think about again.”

After that incident, human-type monsters also became targets of extermination without exception.

No matter how much favor they held for humans, it was because there was no way of knowing in what way, or when, their terrible true nature would be revealed.

‘So I want to be wary of this portrait, but there are many suspicious parts to do so. Jio knows too much about humans to be called a typical human-type monster. He doesn’t unconditionally hate the creatures of Earth, either.’

He is not very friendly to humans, but he is not very hostile either.

A little cynical, yet at the same time polite and considerate.

‘Jio’s Portrait’ seemed just like an ordinary human who was just seriously stoic.

“…….”

Tap.

Yu Seong-un pressed his pen against the notepad.

“That part is even harder to understand.”

Jio did not seem like a mere monster.

‘Anyone other than a Curator or a Gardener would say, so what if it's not, it's still a monster, but….’

Still, there was no certainty.

“Yes, it could really be a monster.”

It could be an item with a consciousness, just a cursed portrait, or perhaps a hallucination of a level so high we couldn't even imagine it.

‘It's only been about 30 years since dungeons appeared, so we can't possibly know everything.’

Therefore, Yu Seong-un’s best course of action for now was just to analyze and respond to this portrait.

“Hmm….”

First, there was something he was curious about.

The eyes in the portrait seemed distant, not like those of a human, and the handsome appearance of someone not of this world, along with the pale yet stimulating colors, gave a strange sense of unreality.

‘That business-like tone like an AI and the unchanging expression would have added to that pressure.’

However.

“All things considered, Jio is still a gentleman.”

As can be seen from the rules organized earlier, Jio was by no means a threatening or violent entity, judging by his actions so far.

As shown by his deep understanding of humans, he was clearly considerate and respectful of them.

‘Unlike the ignorant human-type monsters so far, he is thinking from the perspective of humans.’

That means he has a deep level of understanding that cannot be seen in other monsters.

‘And based on that, he is expressing his goodwill and being considerate.’

Didn't he even give gifts?

“…….”

After pondering for a moment, Yu Seong-un wrote a new sentence in his notepad.

Prefers good or polite individuals (A 1:1 rule?)

‘…It’s not certain, but.’

Looking at the people Jio had given gifts to so far, they were all people he was indebted to or who had treated him favorably.

As a portrait that could distinguish between human good and evil, he thought it might like kind and well-mannered people.

‘Well, anyway.’

That's not what's important.

“…The problem is why the other employees ran away so terrified….”

The employees here were all people that Bisabeol had insisted on raising one by one or had poached from elsewhere.

Bisabeol's collecting habit manifested not only with objects but also with people, and Bisabeol, who had a strong attachment to his employees, would not have chosen foolish or incompetent people.

So, no matter how low-ranking the employee, would Bisabeol have been careless in choosing the staff to manage his beloved gallery? They were all strong-willed and competent people.

“And yet, upon encountering Jio, they were frightened and pressured.”

Yu Seong-un had never directly encountered Jio.

The last time he came out, Yu Seong-un had merely followed and monitored him from behind.

Therefore, what he felt from Jio when faced head-on… he could not know.

He could only vaguely guess.

“…….”

That if one could pressure humans just by existing, the level of its soul must be immense.

‘…In that case, should I be thankful that it is sleeping quietly inside the portrait?’

Yu Seong-un let out a deep sigh with a troubled look on his face.

“That Bisabeol, what on earth did he bring….”

Is he finally planning to destroy the Earth?

It was a day that tempted him to pick up the cigarettes he had quit 5 years ago.

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