Chapter 115

I now had a decent set of ingredients to work with.

‘Fish, bear meat, spices, and bread. Hmm, what should I make with these?’

Although I had procured some ingredients locally,

I still lacked the necessary ingredients and equipment to prepare a proper meal on a deserted island.

So, last dawn, I had secretly visited the nearby shop and bought various ingredients and cooking utensils.

In front of the shop, Healers and Supporters were camping out to recruit Dealers, but since I went there during the time when everyone was asleep and used the Dark Stride, I managed to avoid being spotted.

‘First, I have the soup ready.’

Booroolooloo—

I glanced at the pot simmering next to me.

It was a soup that had been boiling since yesterday.

The soup had a slightly unsightly purple color, but it was a remarkable dish.

A traditional dish with a long history dating back to the Middle Ages.

‘Herbs, potions, bear meat, fish, and all sorts of healthy ingredients are in there, so it has to be good for the body.’

Hmm, hmm.

Without a doubt, this would be the perfect tonic for Sophia, who had been wandering for two days without eating anything and was undoubtedly exhausted.

However, serving just the soup felt a little lacking.

As I scanned through the ingredients, my gaze landed on the basket of fish.

‘The fish I caught from the river earlier are still fresh.’

Even after being caught a while ago, the fish still flaunted its tenacity, opening and closing its mouth.

What if I made a dish with the fish still alive instead of grilling or steaming it?

And since Sophia is a foreigner…

With that in mind, I began to prepare the fish, skillfully cleaning and filleting them with my sword.

.

.

.

Sophia was peeking at Jin Yuha with her hands covering her face.

‘……Is this a dream? No, is it real? Jin Yuha, Yuha, is really standing here in front of me…?’

She had been suddenly dragged to the Velvet Academy’s exam site, and the person she encountered at this dead end was none other than Jin Yuha!

Sophia couldn’t tell if this was reality or a dream.

Thump, thump, thump—

Her heart pounded as if it would burst.

This was in stark contrast to her earlier claim that she was seeing him for the first time.

And for good reason.

Jin Yuha.

He was a man who had set the world on fire just a few months ago.

Kang Do-hee, the proud fighting dog who never associated with others.

And Shin Se-hee, the Thousand Blossoms who looked awkward being under someone else.

These two people were under his command.

This alone was enough to make him a topic of interest. But what truly catapulted him to fame was none other than his god-given, perfectly sculpted looks!

In fact, Jin Yuha had no external activities other than dungeon raids,

but the fan club that formed on the very first day the articles were published,

[Flower on the Cliff], had already surpassed 360,000 members, boasting tremendous popularity.

And Sophia.

What more could be said?

In fact, she was a passionate member of Jin Yuha’s fan club, [Flower on the Cliff],

using the nickname “Yuha’s Nose Climbing a Cliff” online.

‘Ahhh… I need to cut off my internet! For real!!!!’

She pulled at her hair, recalling the earlier conversation.

She had seen photos of Jin Yuha in articles, but now she had inadvertently witnessed him naked.

That risqué scene had left her mind blank, and she had blurted out a term used in the ‘dark web’ to refer to Jin Yuha!

‘……I’m crazy. I’m crazy. Sophia! You’re really crazy! How could you say something like that to his face! You should’ve thought about it before saying it!!!!’

Even now, thinking back on it made her heart race.

‘But thankfully, I was able to play it off as a foreigner not understanding the language… somehow.’

Occasionally, when things got tough during her modeling jobs, she would use the ‘I don’t understand Korean well’ foreigner shield, and she never expected it to come in so handy.

She wanted to pat herself on the back for her quick thinking!

After that, she had simply been nodding and agreeing to whatever Jin Yuha said.

She knew more about him than anyone else, but since she had already pretended not to know him at the beginning, she had no choice but to keep up the act.

‘Calm down, Sophia. The first impression was a bit weird, but… it’s fine now. I can do it! I can handle this!’

Sophia kept swallowing her dry saliva as she stole glances at Jin Yuha.@@novelbin@@

Jin Yuha was cooking.

‘He’s making me a meal…?’

She had gone two days without eating, and her stomach was practically glued to her backbone.

The fact that Jin Yuha was preparing a meal for her at this time was heartwarming.

Tears welled up in her eyes out of gratitude.

Even though she was used to going hungry during her modeling jobs,

Being hungry while also being on high alert and consuming energy was taxing even for her.

Tap— Tap— Tap—

Jin Yuha’s dagger danced on the wooden chopping board.

With each movement of his dagger, the small fish were swiftly cleaned and filleted.

And next to him was something that looked like a soup, bubbling and emitting white steam.

‘Wow, he’s even good at cooking. Is there anything my Yuha can’t do?’

Before she knew it, Sophia was watching him cook with sparkling eyes, her fangirl heart aflutter.

……But something seemed a little odd.

The soup was purple, and he was preparing the fish without cooking it, simply placing it between slices of bread.

‘What… what kind of dish is that?’

For a moment, she felt a slight unease, but with the lens of her fan heart firmly in place, even this strange dish was translated through her fan heart.

‘Ah, that’s clearly a purple sweet potato soup! And the fish between the bread slices… it’s like a shrimp burger, right?’

Soon.

Jin Yuha proudly presented the dishes he had prepared.

Purple soup in a wooden bowl.

And raw fish sandwiched between slices of bread.

It was a bizarre dish that hadn’t changed much from when she had been watching him cook.

She glanced up at him, and Jin Yuha opened his mouth as if to explain the dishes.

First, he pushed forward the purple soup.

Opaque bubbles boiled and burst.

“This is the Eternal Soup.”

“……Eternal Soup?”

“Yeah, it’s a traditional dish that was always available in medieval inns. It’s cooked 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with ingredients added whenever the contents decrease and water is replenished. It’s packed with healthy ingredients, so it’s great for recovering from exhaustion.”

Ah.

How considerate of him.

Sophia’s eyes softened as she looked at Jin Yuha.

Who cared if the dish looked a little strange?

The purple broth, prepared by her favorite person considering her physical condition.

Sophia looked at the purple broth with reverence and scooped up a spoonful, bringing it to her mouth.

‘Ugh!? This is…!?’

For a moment, Sophia’s golden irises widened.

‘……Mama?’

Why did the taste of her British-born mother’s cooking come to mind?

The taste brought back memories of the dishes her mother would make whenever her father was busy, and the times she would complain about the side dishes at the dinner table.

“……Kheuk!”

Sophia covered her mouth, and Jin Yuha, mistaking her reaction as one of gratitude, looked at her warmly.

“Huhu, you seem to like it. Take your time and eat slowly. There’s plenty.”

‘How can I say I can’t eat it when you’re looking at me like that!’

With her ravenous hunger, the dish prepared by her favorite person, and her taste buds tempered by her mother, Sophia managed to force down the soup, bite by bite.

“How’s your body feeling? You should be experiencing some immediate effects. I also added a potion to it.”

‘You, you put a potion in the dish…?’

Sophia’s pupils trembled.

His words weren’t a lie; despite the terrible taste, she could feel her body gradually improving as she ate the soup.

But even so, she could only manage half of it.

The terrible hunger had subsided, and she felt that if she ate any more, she might end up vomiting it all back up.

“……Thank you for the meal.”

As she put down her spoon,

“Hmm? You’re done already? Ah, I see. You’re saying you’re still hungry, right?”

Jin Yuha pushed forward the mysterious dish of raw fish sandwiched between slices of bread.

“I caught this from the river just now. It’s fresh fish, so you don’t have to worry about eating it raw.”

“……What kind of dish is this?”

Sophia asked with a voice full of suspicion.

“Hmm, it doesn’t have a name yet, but if I had to give it one, I guess it would be Bread-Sushi.”

“……Bread Sushi?”

“Yeah, I originally wanted to make sushi, but since you’re a foreigner, Sophia, I put the fish on bread instead of rice.”

“……”

Sophia glared at Jin Yuha.

Where should she even begin to tackle this?

She had eaten sushi quite often while working in Korea and was quite fond of it.

The prejudice that foreigners preferred bread over rice.

And the idea of making sushi with freshwater fish was unheard of.

‘……My Yuha, you’re definitely not cut out for cooking.’

It was a belated realization, but she couldn’t refuse his earnest gaze, so Sophia reluctantly brought the ‘Bread-Sushi’ to her mouth.

“……”

She took a bite and closed her eyes.

Then, she smiled brightly.

“Jin Yuha, I’m sorry, but I’ll be starving from now on. I’m on a diet these days.”

Contrary to his original plan,

Her affinity for Jin Yuha had already been at MAX from the start.

But his cooking had slightly lowered her affinity.