Chapter 764
Chapter 764
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 764
Chapter Title: Picnic in the Present World (3)
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Thus, Si-woo's safe return celebration kicked off with the signature delivery food defense from Si-woo House.
"To Assistant's safe and sound future..."
"Cheers!"
The table was piled high with all sorts of dishes—so much that the legs might buckle—but compared to the daily dinners at the Gemernai Count Family, they fell a bit short in both quantity and quality.
The count family's chefs were each practically masters of their craft, and they spared no expense on premium ingredients.
But street food from a night market in a foreign land tastes so good not because of superior ingredients or masterful cooking.
It's the local flavors infused with that unique, exhilarating vibe that turn it into a true delicacy all on its own.
"I like Assistant's hometown food."
"Yeah, it kinda feels like junk food."
Korea's delivery food culture basically chases spicy, salty, stimulating flavors, so that kind of review made sense.
Anyway, if it suited the notoriously picky twins' tastes, there were no real issues.
"Oh, so this is your hometown food, is it?"
Meanwhile, Lurye picked up and set down her fork repeatedly, unsure where to start.
Back when they lived together in Akula, food talk had been one of their most frequent topics.
Lurye, who had always lived deep under the sea, had a restricted diet, so she showed keen interest in all sorts of eats.
"This is cup ramen."
"Ooh, so this is food sold everywhere in Korea?"
Si-woo had naturally prepared one just for her, and Lurye was devouring it with apparent delight.
That said, she had spent the entire previous day with the mothers-in-law, yet only showed up now... Si-woo couldn't help but wonder what that combo had been up to.
"Lurye."
"Hm?"
"What did you do with the countesses yesterday?"
"We toured hotels in the modern world. And we discussed major national projects for the Nukelabi Dynasty."
"National projects?"
Lurye, clearly taken with the cup ramen, shoved a forkful of twirled noodles into her mouth and chewed as she spoke.
"Oil drilling rights."
In a modern society so dependent on natural resources, oil was the lifeblood of civilization—liquid gold.
Sure, there was talk of going oil-free and electric cars, but everyone knew the road was still long.
Previous Nukelabi rulers had foreseen this trend 200 years ago and snapped up oil fields at bargain-basement prices through drilling rights auctions.
Si-woo glanced at Lurye with a hint of concern.
For all her personal power, her mental age matched the twins'—arrogant and self-centered, but ultimately a total airhead.
"A kingdom's treasury thrives on abundance for all. How wise is your queen's move for the Nukelabi Dynasty?"
See what I mean.
The moment some 'mature' topic came up, here was the chin-tilted, smug self-admiration version of Lurye.
Could she really have negotiated a proper deal against battle-hardened businesswomen like the mothers-in-law?
Si-woo pictured her pretending to scrutinize documents she barely understood before scribbling her signature haphazardly.
The mothers-in-law were good people, sure...
But he'd never seen their cutthroat business sides.
"Si-woo, that's rude. It was a fair contract. The equity stake was priced reasonably too."
Big Mother-in-law dabbed her mouth with a napkin after elegantly devouring some braised pork hocks—the picture of grace.
"I wasn't doubting Mother-in-law at all."
"With that worried look on your face?"
As Si-woo gave a wry smile, Lurye, having sized up the situation, jumped in.
"With my eyes wide open, who could possibly deceive me? This secures funding for the Nukelabi grand fleet within 20 years. Imagine carrier strike groups gliding like paintings over that blue Pacific. Thrilling, isn't it?"
"Lurye, remember the contract bans military action?"
"Just parking them on international waters—why the nagging? Host worries too much."
"Even on the high seas, floating carrier groups? It'll drag our companies into it too. These days, they trace funding sources!"
"Si-woo, talk some sense into her. I barely convinced her after arguing all night!"
Clearly, the mothers-in-law had their own struggles.
Lurye latched onto obsessions relentlessly, so Si-woo, who knew her well, sympathized.
"Lurye."
"Not listening. Even for the Assistant's plea, I won't abandon strengthening my dynasty."
"Couldn't you dominate without a carrier group?"
"What a silly question. On the sea, I could take on even the mighty 7th Fleet alone."
No exaggeration there.
Militaries weren't built to counter 'individuals' with transcendent power.
What good was a grand fleet against hundreds-of-meters apocalypse waves that'd snap ships in two?
"Then building one is just a waste of national strength, right?"
"Not a waste. Shame you can't grasp this romance. I'm disappointed."
Lurye, clinging to her 'you're pitiful for not getting carrier coolness' stance, spooned some food and scowled.
"No wonder it smelled funky... Si-woo, what's this weird stuff?"
"Oh, that's beef brisket soybean paste stew. It can be polarizing. Fermented food and all."
"Truly vile. Green-hair! How can you eat that with such a blissful face?"
"Huh? Why? It's good."
Sharon, whose tastes had fully localized, was mixing rice into her beef stew and gearing up for the king crab next.
King crab was her ultimate soul food, after all.
Ignoring Lurye's jabs, she gazed lovingly at the freshly cracked claw meat.
"Haa... so happy... nom..."
Lurye barked at the blissed-out Sharon.
"Fitting for your bizarre soybean paste-loving palate—you eat shellfish all wrong."
"What? Why pick on Sharon sis?"
"Assistant, kick her out?"
"Don't call me Sharon sis!"
With so many people, even one quip each turned the table rowdy.
The etiquette-focused mothers-in-law overlooked it today, making it even livelier.
Lurye shot up and stomped over to Sharon's side.
"I'll personally teach this pitiful soul how to savor the ocean's gracious gift properly."
Indeed.
Akula's submerged diet skewed heavily toward seafood.
So Lurye had a bit of a shellfish superiority complex.
Si-woo had even endured blind taste tests where she scolded him for not distinguishing sea urchin origins.
"Your technique's all wrong from the start. That leaves precious meat stuck inside the shell."
With sleeves rolled up, Lurye expertly wielded crab shears to extract the leg meat flawlessly.
Not a scrap left behind, right down to the red bits—then with her delicate fingers, she pried open the carapace.
She dunked a tender crab leg into the creamy innards and handed it to Sharon.
"Here, try it."
"Whoa, this is actually delicious."
Sharon munched happily, letting out a pure exclamation.
"Heh, the innards are the crab's soul, the ocean's essence. Might as well learn the clean prep trick too—follow closely."
"Okay, teach me."
"Like this, slip the shears in and..."
Lurye was arrogant but warmed to good listeners.
Wise, attentive types like Sharon seemed a great match for her.
Meanwhile, Amelia quietly scanned the table.
She rarely chatted much with anyone but Si-woo anyway, and even less during meals—but today she was exceptionally silent.
"......"
There was a reason.
Amelia had acutely sensitive smell and taste.
Even after reconciling with Si-woo and joining Gemernai dinners, she'd stuck to salads, poached eggs, or lightly salted bread.
Innate constitution aside, her lifestyle shunned stimulating foods.
Korean dishes were mostly too intense for her preference of very bland fare by normal standards.
Even from afar, the garlic wafting from nearly everything made her dizzy.
Plus, her scary encounter with kimchi jjim made her wary of trying anything.
So she'd been tentatively picking at bits, wondering if it was safe.
"Amelia, not hungry?"
"No."
Si-woo noticed and asked.
She couldn't say nothing suited her.
Hometown foods laced with memories were precious.
She didn't want to seem picky in front of Si-woo's.
That's why she was scouting for something edible.
"Everything here's Si-woo's hometown food?"
"Less 'hometown' and more modern-world stuff hard to get in Gehenna."
Mala tang was Chinese, sushi Japanese originals, after all.
Scanning the table, Si-woo caught on and grinned.
"Oh yeah, remember our first trip food? They deliver it too."
"...Huh?"
"Too far to fetch, huh? Should've said. You liked this, right?"
To Si-woo, kimchi jjim was special—their shared memory food.
He'd failed making it for memory-lost boy-era Amelia, and it was their first meal post-reconciliation.
He figured it meant the same to her.
"......"
Si-woo piled a front plate high with the bright red kimchi jjim she'd desperately ignored.
"Enjoy. Tell me if you need more."
"Si-woo, I hate you."
"Huh?"
Today, Si-woo just seemed extra hatefully mischievous to Amelia.