Chapter 20. The First Hero (14)
“Did you say Wild Pig Stew?”
Kang Taesik frowned as he looked at the processed Wild Pig meat.
It was not as if monster meat was never eaten.
Even among creatures classified as monsters, there were some that were raised specifically to be eaten.
The problem was the meat itself.
Meat that should normally have been bright red was completely black.
It’s this clearly black, and I still misunderstood it.
Kang Taesik had assumed it was already boiled meat.
But he had been completely wrong.
And that was not the only problem.
Wild Pig meat tasted awful, and if it was boiled incorrectly, the smell was terrible too.
Perhaps because it had been stored inside the high-grade subspace pouch, the Wild Pig meat did not look spoiled.
But being fresh did not solve the problem.
“Is there a problem?”
Kim Seongchan took an intermediate monster cauldron out of his high-grade subspace pouch.
It was even larger than the cauldron currently filled with boiling water for the Wild Pig Stew.
Ella controlled the water and moved all of the boiling water into the intermediate monster cauldron.
That was not all.
After analyzing the water she had moved, Ella considered what kind of water composition would best suit the Wild Pig Stew and began filling the cauldron with water.
“Isn’t that the kind of cauldron people use at festivals?”
“Once you get to intermediate-grade, even fairly large monsters can be cooked in a single cauldron like this.”
It was large enough to slowly boil an entire Troll.
As the grade increased, the cauldron grew larger, and its thermal conductivity also improved.
Since it’s bigger, heat has to spread through it better. That’s why its thermal conductivity is higher.
In simple terms, the amount of fire needed to boil a low-grade monster cauldron and an intermediate monster cauldron was the same.
Only the size looked different.
If someone was fooled by its size and added too much firewood, they would only waste fuel.
[Is it really the same?]
It’s the same.
Spirit Language could also be used through thoughts.
As long as Seongchan wanted to communicate, he could naturally speak through his thoughts alone.
Even though If could feel through their emotional communication that Kim Seongchan was not lying, the spirit was still nervous.
Kim Seongchan shared If’s tension through their emotional connection and tried to calm it.
You won’t know until you try. Trust me and do it.
This was If’s first time facing an intermediate monster cauldron.
The furnace built beneath the giant black cauldron was much larger and more imposing than the one used for the low-grade cauldron.
Kim Seongchan could see If’s drooping backside as it entered the furnace.
You’ll do fine as long as you do what you normally do.
If settled into position under the cauldron and tried to put on a confident expression as it gathered its determination.
After traveling through many villages, If had slowly gained confidence.
However, this was neither a familiar cauldron nor a familiar furnace.
It was natural for If to feel nervous.
[Okay.]
If gathered its resolve, and flames began rising from its entire body.
The nervousness was obvious, but its control over the flames was still satisfying.
Perhaps If felt Kim Seongchan’s approval through their emotional connection, because its stiff expression slowly relaxed.
[I filled it all.]
As soon as his conversation with If ended, Ella looked at him with eager eyes.
The Spirit Language coming from Ella carried plenty of anticipation as well.
Kim Seongchan climbed the stairs, looked into the intermediate monster cauldron, and took out a ladle.
Seeing Kim Seongchan carefully scoop up the water with such a serious expression, Ella’s excitement vanished.
Instead, Kim Seongchan felt her nervous heartbeat through their connection.
Did I make a mistake?
He drank the water from the ladle.
Good. You changed the water well and mixed it properly.
Hiiii~
Ella cried happily.
She created a stream of water, swam through the air, then settled on Kim Seongchan’s shoulder.
“How should we put the ingredients in?”
“First, put in the processed Wild Pig meat that was seasoned with low-grade salt, pepper, and spices. Once it’s cooked to a certain point, add the harder vegetables first.”
“Understood.”
“If the meat is already seasoned, you can put it in now.”
Kang Taesik had been frowning suspiciously earlier, but it seemed he had heard Lee Naye and Kosdal talk about Wild Pig Soup while they prepared the meal.
Now, he obediently followed Kim Seongchan’s instructions.
Wild Pig Soup and Wild Pig Stew are basically decided by whether vegetables are added or not. They’re not that different.
The guild members around them had also heard the explanation.
Everyone looked excited at the thought of finally eating meat.
“I thought only Lee Naye would explain things, but I didn’t expect Sir Kosdal to like talking about it too.”
Even while paying attention to If and Ella, Kim Seongchan kept his ears open.
Kosdal had been praising Kim Seongchan even more than Lee Naye and explaining in detail what Kim Seongchan had done outside.
“It is for His Majesty. Spreading the story of how an allied kingdom’s crisis was resolved will also benefit His Majesty.”
“You’re not very honest.”
Kosdal cleared his throat and sat down on a chair placed inside the training ground.
Kim Seongchan took more Wild Pig meat out of his high-grade subspace pouch.
“Process this too, season it, and put all of it in.”
Perhaps because many of them were Heroes and sword users, their knife skills were far from ordinary.
In less than a minute, twenty Wild Pigs had been cut into convenient pieces.
One after another, the seasoned Wild Pig pieces were thrown into the cauldron.
Each time, water splashed outside.
If flinched every time it happened.
The Heroes, thinking they were doing a great job, became careless with the Wild Pig meat.
Kim Seongchan suddenly shouted.
“Who told you to play around with food?!”
At Kim Seongchan’s roar, the Heroes hurriedly placed the seasoned meat onto trays.
They began passing the trays from person to person and carefully putting the Wild Pig meat into the intermediate monster cauldron.
Only after seeing that did Kim Seongchan relax and sit down.
Ella thoughtfully created a stream of water.
Kim Seongchan opened his mouth.
Gulp. Gulp.
Ever since Ella came along, he no longer needed a cup.
She could create a stream of water and make drinking this convenient.
That stare is sharp.
Kim Seongchan could feel Lee Naye’s piercing gaze on his cheek.
Ella secretly likes doing this too.
[Master’s happiness is my happiness.]
It almost felt as if Ella had completely devoted herself to him like Kosdal had devoted himself to Daltan.
Kim Seongchan had once seen that exact look in Kosdal’s eyes whenever he thought about Daltan.
Ella’s eyes were now filled with the same overflowing loyalty.
“If I become close with Silnyang too, will it blow cool wind for me when I’m tired?”
“If you become close enough, it can.”
Lee Naye seemed satisfied with the answer.
She nodded with a smile on her lips.
Among spirits, wind spirits were especially bad at listening to their masters.
Rather than saying they don’t listen, maybe it’s more accurate to say they listen and then get distracted. They create wind whenever they feel like it.
Wind spirits were unpredictable.
A gentle breeze brushed through Kim Seongchan’s hair and disappeared.
At that moment, Lee Naye’s expression changed.
Her smile vanished, and a shadow fell over her face.
“It came out and left again right away?”
Kim Seongchan had seen Silnyang briefly appear, shake its head irritably as it brushed through his hair, then disappear.
It had only been for a moment, but he did not miss it.
“Is there any way to summon it again?”
“There are several ways to summon a spirit, but it’s better not to.”
Forcing a spirit to appear when it was refusing to come out was not a good idea.
Spirits needed time alone too.
