chapter 100

The Painter Who Draws Dungeons - Episode 100

A Korean said garlic wasn’t a spice.

“It’s a vegetable, I’m telling you.”

“Koong-koong-koong...”

“Honey, is it really something to dislike that much.”

Honey always made a “koong” cry when she wanted to deny something, and when she went koong-koong like that, she would curl her already round body even rounder and bounce up and down.

She was like a bouncy ball rolling along weakly.

But Gio felt wronged.

“Garlic isn’t spicy when it’s cooked.”

“Koong.”

“You’ll know if you try it—it’s just potato.

It’s nothing but a moist, mashable potato.”

“Koong-koong...”

“The smell already got pulled out into the oil.

Dad is really wronged.”

He’d gone to all the trouble of making food, and two members of the family didn’t trust Gio.

“I told you I tasted it.”

The one who reacted wasn’t Honey, but the teddy bear.

“Coo...”

“...Of course it’s true that Koreans are strong with spicy flavors, Father, but that’s a prejudice.

Not all Koreans are strong with spicy food.

I was average.”

He’d never said it separately, but since a god was still a god, the sun god knew that among the “Gios,” there was a Korean.

And because of the saying that Koreans are unusually strong with spiciness, this standoff had happened.

“Why do we have to face such a harsh trial in front of this warm, delicious table...?”

As always, Gio’s cooking was incredible.

The cudgel trumpets thrown in at just the right timing had cooked up soft and moist, boasting a pale color, and the olive oil infused with garlic’s soul harmonized with Milky Way Mary and Weeping Fringe.

In addition, the sun god bestowed the blessing of warmth, and the bread the teddy bear sliced and Gio baked once in the oven was pouring out a nutty aroma without reserve.

“On top of that, the smoked fish jerky gently dried in the mild spring breeze—what a neat and perfect table this is.

Especially, if you put this soft and chewy fish jerky on a crisp baguette, drip one or two drops of the gambas oil, then add well-aged capers on top, how delicious would that be.”

Perhaps the true heart of the pig pleading to their appetite got through, because Honey and the teddy bear seemed to flinch.

Gio didn’t miss the chance and sat Honey and the teddy bear at the table.

“Let’s eat first.

No matter how much you dislike spicy things, you shouldn’t do this in front of a piping hot table.

That’s an insult to the ingredients, and it’s criticism toward me, the cook.”

“Guruk...”

“Coo...”

“Dana already went and sat in her seat—are you all going to hesitate like this?

Honey, I didn’t raise you to be that weak.

Father, didn’t you say you wanted to experience human culture?”

That was how Gio barely managed to persuade the two.

“You made a good decision.

Right—of course you might feel an aversion to spicy things, but if you avoid it without even trying it, your range of experiences can’t help but shrink.”

“Coo-oo.”

“Of course, people say spiciness is closer to pain than to flavor, but even if we don’t deny that, I hope you’ll understand that even that is one experience in gourmet eating.

Mouthfeel is also one branch of a meal.”

Just like how you don’t want to eat soggy fried dumplings or rock-hard pudding.

Food had a texture that matched it best, and a taste and aroma that matched its form.

Gio couldn’t just let these spice-weaklings be.

“No, more than that.”

Gio pleaded his case once more.

“I’m telling you it’s not spicy?”

“...”

“Dana, even you don’t trust this dad?”

Anyway, the meal began.

Both Honey and the sun god showed a subtle aversion, but they had never intended not to eat at all to begin with.

With such a delicious smell drifting up, how could they avoid it?

Gio made a salmon baguette for his timid spice-weakling son.

“Put well-cooked broccoli and garlic on the baguette... mash the tomato wide so the juice comes out... put the smoked fish on top... and then put the cheese flower on, ta-da.”

A Gio-style salmon baguette was completed.

“It’s a good thing I grew the cheese flower.”

This cheese flower he’d first encountered at the restaurant he visited with Yoo Seong-woon.

Since it was, unquestionably, a plant that grew wild in some dungeon, he’d been able to take its seeds.

Maybe because it was influenced by the forest, it had evolved from something like an azalea into something more like a morning glory, but its deep taste and aroma were unchanged.

“If you eat it with cheese like this, it’ll feel much less spicy.”

“Koong...”

Chomp.

The baguette slid and melted into Honey’s body.

“...Gur.”

“Good, right?”

“Gururururururur.”

“Thank goodness.”

The impression of the very first food you eat tends to decide the gourmet road that follows.

He didn’t want to plant a bad memory in a child’s first experience of “spicy taste.”

“It’s pleasantly spicy, so it’s okay, right?”

“Guruk-guruk.”

“Yeah, you only know once you try.”

Gio also made himself a baguette the same way and ate it.

“Mmm.”

In the name of a self-proclaimed amateur gourmet, he approved.

“Nice.”

“Gurung.”

It was delicious.

‘I think it could have been a little spicier than this.’

He avoided spiciness at the level of a traffic accident, but he knew that if it was just a slight brush to the shoulder, it could be an appropriate stimulation.

Smoked fish, cheese flower, broccoli—everything was mild, so it did feel a little bland.

‘But at this level, it’s pretty good.’

The spicy, sharp aroma unique to Milky Way Mary lightly tapped across his palate, and since it wasn’t enough to make his tongue go numb, he could let it pass as a pleasant fragrance.

Honey also seemed to give it a passing score in that regard.

‘The broccoli’s cooked just right.

If it’d cooked too long, it would’ve gone limp and soggy and the texture would’ve been weird... and that especially bouncy tomato, thanks to being heated, mashes softly.’

The broccoli, garlic, and tomato had all taken in the spicy oil, so they did seem like they were about to get a little spicy.

But right around then, the cheese flower that entered the mouth together spread even more softly and silkily than the vegetables, soothing the stinging sensation.

Especially the smoked fish gave off the refined fragrance unique to charred wood, creating an even more harmonious taste.

“...If you add scallops here too...”

“Coo?”

“Ah, yes, scallops probably won’t be especially spicy either.”

Since even the sun god seemed to find this level of spiciness tasty, he quietly held out the sun-dried tomato baguette to Gio.

It meant he wanted him to make a baguette with scallops added.

‘To try experimenting the moment you accept a new opinion—excellent pig qualities.’

A baguette with sun-dried tomatoes in it.

It already had the sweet-sour flavor unique to well-dried tomatoes.

Rather than adding tomato soaked in oil, he made a baguette with only broccoli, garlic, and scallops on top.

“Try it first, and if it feels a bit spicy, you can eat it with this cheese.”

“Coo...”

Chomp.

Half the baguette vanished into the teddy bear’s big mouth.

“...”

“...”

“Coo-coo-coo...”

Judging by the pleased laughter, Gio’s choice must have been satisfying.

“...”

“Myaang.”

“...You’re skillful.”

He’d been a little worried because Dana and Honey didn’t have hands, but they were managing to combine things well using their mouths or paws.

Gio nodded proudly as he watched his family begin mixing and matching on their own.

“Hm...”

Later, should he try making bread with dried figs in it too?

“It really is nice to have bread made ahead of time.”

“Coo-oo.”

“That’s right. In Edlen Village, this was everyday life.”

Since it was a region where bread was a staple food, even though it was a seaside village, there were a lot of bakeries here and there.

“Coo?”

“Yes, there were many homes without an oven.”

“Coo?”

“In that case, people used the village’s communal oven, or if a household had a bit more leeway, they favored bakeries.

Anyway, it seems bread never failed to be present whenever a meal was set.”

“Coo-coo-coo.”

“As you expected, I preferred baking bread at home.”

In Edlen Village, bread felt like rice in Korea, so bakeries mostly sold only the most basic breads.

Since dipping it into stew was an everyday thing, there were almost no places that sold bread with dried fruit or nuts mixed in.

“If you bake bread yourself, you can try all kinds of things.

Sometimes I tried baking it with minced sausage or fish mixed in.

Edlen Village’s seafood was high quality, so it wasn’t too burdensome to eat no matter how you used it.”

Thinking back on that time made motivation well up.

“I really should bake bread ahead of time.”

“Gurururur.”

“Yeah, so you can pull it out and eat it whenever you think of it like this.”

Since bread takes a lot of time to knead and bake, people in Edlen Village would pick a day, prepare a huge batch of bread at once, then endure nearly a month with it.

‘Of course the bread would harden and get dry, but being able to eat warm, moist bread every day was a noble’s privilege... and anyway, hard, dry bread is delicious in its own way when you dip it in stew.’

Rather, dry, hardened bread and broth-heavy stew matched well.

Since everyone ate like that, stew ordered at restaurants came out salty enough that you couldn’t just drink the broth alone, and there would be enough bread served alongside.

But the advantage of this forest was that fully grown vegetables or cooked food didn’t spoil.

Even if he baked plenty of bread, it would always remain as if it were freshly baked, so if he diligently baked and stocked up, he’d be able to eat it little by little.

“Not only meal bread, but if I bake other bread too, that would also be quite...”

“Akgong.”

“Small, round bread?

Munchkin donuts would be good too.”

If you add a little milk to sugar powder and coat the bread with it, you get an excellent glazed donut.

Gio thought he should make a few sweet breads as well.

“Now, we use pasta noodles here.”

Once he felt a suitable amount of bread had been consumed, Gio pulled out the pasta noodles he had prepared in advance.

He put bouncy, well-cooked pasta noodles on his personal plate, then added various vegetables and a few spoonfuls of oil, scallops, and even sausage Dana had brought.

“If you add cheese, this would be delicious in its own way too.”

“Guruk.”

“I’ll give you some too, so wait a moment, and this has a lot of oil, so it might be a little spicy.”

“Kkuk.”

“You’ve gotten brave.

Kids really do grow up at some point...”

After mixing the noodles with hot oil to bring it to a suitable temperature, Gio slurped and tasted it.

“Nice.”

He liked it very much.

“It won’t cut the oil’s spiciness as much as bread does, so this will probably be a bit spicier.

Just in case, eat it with a cheese flower on top.”

“Gurururur.”

“Does Father need it too?”

At Gio’s question, the teddy bear shook its head.

He hadn’t really tried noodles before, but it seemed he still liked bread, and didn’t want to switch to a different type yet.

Gio affirmed that conviction.

After serving some pasta in front of Dana, who was curious because Honey was eating, Gio ate his own again.

“...”

Chew.

It really was good.

‘The oil aroma gets stronger, so it tingles too...’

Gio sprinkled a little more of the ground Milky Way Mary over his portion of pasta.

The unique strong aroma spread at once, and on top of that, eating it with the spicy sausage too—along with its juices—made the taste outstanding.

‘It was a good idea to grill the sausage once.’

Inside the crisp casing, the moist filling chewed grain by grain, and the slick noodles coated heavily in oil added both flavor and texture, setting appetite on fire.

Even eating it with the cudgel trumpet—which was being treated like scallops rather than sausage—gave a different taste, so there was no time to get tired of it.

Gio drank the sweet mangdung fruit tea he had brewed in advance, then opened his mouth.

“...Haa...”

A satisfied sigh naturally slipped out.

This is happiness.

Fantasy, Modern,