Mint Chocolate Cheeseburger
Eden didn't hate mint chocolate. No, he actually rather liked it. In the modern society where he'd lived, mint chocolate held a massive status. Sure, it was infamous alongside Hawaiian pizza as a love-it-or-hate-it food, but where there are fans, there are haters. Even in the popularity rankings of B Company, the famous ice cream franchise, mint chocolate always ranked in the top spots. In other words, everyone pretended to hate it on the surface, but deep down, they loved it.... Anyway.
"Ha."
So the reason Eden was shocked had nothing to do with the taste. 'A mint chocolate-flavored hamburger...'
He'd simply expected a normal burger flavor. Feeling a sweet, cool mint taste from the cheeseburger's meat patty—no one could stay calm about that. Even chocolate lovers wouldn't expect a chocolate flavor from a bite of warm white rice. The shock from the juicy patty he'd anticipated was beyond words.
"...Tsk. It kinda grows on you as you eat it."
Still, the taste of this otherworldly food after so long was really delicious. Truly.
006. Mint Chocolate Cheeseburger
The food in this medieval fantasy world was all pretty much the same level—nothing special. Without appliances like refrigerators to preserve food for long periods, most cooking methods involved salting, smoking, or drying. Even noble cuisine was no different. In a world where basic transportation tech hadn't advanced, bandits and monsters blocked trade routes like ships and carriages left and right. Unless you were high nobility who could afford a personal mage, few could avoid the gaminess of meat or the fishiness of seafood.
And naturally, food made from those ingredients couldn't taste good.
At first, he'd thought he was eating garbage. 'Are they discriminating against me because I'm playing a barbarian?' That was Eden's initial thought.
But sadly, everyone lived off food that tasted like (garbage). Salty, spicy, bitter. Or extremely bland. Maybe that's why, after years of choking down medieval slop—
"Thanks for the meal."
Eden found himself thinking of the word satisfaction for the first time in ages during a meal. Mint chocolate cheeseburger. Not bad at all. If he ever got back to his original world, commercializing it didn't sound like a terrible idea.
"Was the cheeseburger to your liking?"
Before he knew it, Neb stood before Eden. The surroundings were still shrouded in darkness, but Neb glowed as if under bright lights.
"It's been ages since this goddess recreated taste, so even I was excited. This fluttering in my heart—this is the sensation."
Neb peered at him with eager curiosity, waiting for his reaction. Eden still felt the unique aftertaste of mint chocolate lingering in his mouth, but he couldn't lie.
"Yeah."
He was satisfied.
"...It was tasty."
"Hehehe."
Eden added one more line to Neb, who smiled with delight.
"Though not the flavor I expected."
"Mih?"
An odd interjection. Neb looked a bit flustered.
"That can't be.... Hmm."
After a moment's thought, Neb pressed a finger to her brow. She closed her eyes, concentrating on something.
"...This goddess made a small mistake."
"Huh?"
The successful fusion of mint chocolate and cheeseburger was the result of a mistake?
He wasn't sure if 'god' and 'mistake' could coexist, but the taste hadn't been bad. 'I thought she'd done it on purpose.'
Eden eyed her curiously. Moments later, Neb snapped her fingers lightly.
A new cheeseburger appeared in the air, wrapped in the same packaging as before.
"This time, there won't be any mistakes."
With that, Eden grabbed the cheeseburger again. Same weight, same warmth. His barbarian senses detected something off, but it wasn't important.
Eden took another bite. Half the burger vanished in an instant.
"......"
This time, it was truly a cheeseburger's taste. The utterly ordinary M Company's cheeseburger. After the sweet mint chocolate, it felt a tad bland, but he even missed that sensation.
Eden marveled once more. A truly satisfying meal.
"This is really delicious."
"This goddess agrees."
Neb replied while munching daintily on her own cheeseburger.
"It's just grilled or steamed, yet how is it so tender? Even in the ancient days when this goddess was awake, I'd never tasted anything this good."
Just a plain franchise product. Of course, Eden—who'd devoured it so eagerly—kept that thought to himself.
As he reached for another burger, Neb's next words made him pause.
"Indeed, food from another world."
"......!"
She was right. This was menu fare from Eden's world. Distracted by the cheeseburgers, he'd overlooked that.
Unaware of Eden's realization, Neb continued innocently.
"Any other foods you crave?"
With each snap of her fingers, all sorts of foods materialized in the air. Cola he'd forgotten in the fridge. Kimchi in a familiar sealed container. Steaming chicken, pizza, and more.
Stunned speechless by the spectacle, Eden watched as Neb, thrilled, kept drawing out his reactions.
"What else do you want to try?"
Computer towers, console game systems, comic books. All sorts appeared.
Eden couldn't fully grasp the situation. He just stared, swept away like by crashing waves.
"Or perhaps...."
Neb snapped her fingers again. This time, it was big.
From the darkness emerged familiar silhouettes. Faces he hadn't seen in years—not even in dreams. But Eden recognized them instantly.
Perfectly ordinary people. Someone's everyday parents.
Missing the mood, Neb pressed on.
"The ones you missed—"
"...Stop!!"
In that instant, an uncontrollable roar burst from Eden's mouth.
When he came to, they were back in the forest. The only change: Neb sat on her butt, wide-eyed, looking up at him.
His stomach was empty again, hunger gnawing as if he hadn't eaten. Realizing that, Eden knew everything he'd seen was no different from a dream.
His gut burned like a volcano. His gums felt torn; a metallic tang coated his tongue tip.
"...Never again."
Eden looked down at Neb and spoke.
"Don't show me fakes of my parents."
No time for barbarian dialect acting. He didn't know why rage boiled up. He knew Neb meant well, trying to please him. But when he'd grabbed that second burger, he'd realized it was all fake.
Constructed. A kind of model garden.
The same doubt hit him as when he'd fallen into the game. He couldn't hold back.
"Got it?"
"...Y-Yes."
Neb hiccuped, as if she'd bitten her tongue, and answered.
* * *
Birds chirped, flowers bloomed. The forest was quiet, filled only with rustling leaves in the wind.
Neb kept her mouth shut, glancing at Eden warily. Eden stayed silent, guilt weighing on him.
'...Not like she's a kid.'
He scolded himself briefly. Years in this primitive medieval fantasy must've turned his brain barbarian too.
Eden sighed softly. He sat on a large rock and looked at Neb.
"So you're saying you're a god?"
Reviving the broken concept. In barbarian dialect, Neb glanced at him and replied.
"Y-Yes."
Calmed now, her voice trembled only slightly—clear enough.
Pretending not to notice the teardrops at her eyes, Eden thought naturally.
'......A god.'
She wasn't crazy. The being he'd vowed to cleave with his axe if she appeared before him.
But this goddess before him had only a medieval body's frailty.
Of course, the powers she'd shown were impressive. She even knew he was from another world.
Eden pondered and sighed. His outburst had thrown off the timing. Freaking out blindly over the first burger hadn't helped.
"Sniff."
The biggest issue: this woman didn't look like a god.
'...What god picks their nose.'
Definitely not the kind of god normal folks imagined in a medieval fantasy world. Tell the locals, and she might end up as campfire kindling—an honor.
Eden met Neb's eyes. She raised her voice casually.
"This flesh-and-blood body seems too fragile to emotions and shocks."
Quick excuse.
"N-Naturally, it's not usually like this...."
"Usually?"
Neb nodded.
"This goddess's power is essentially sealed right now."
Embarrassed to admit her weakness, her cheeks flushed slightly.
Sealed.... 'Did she do something bad?' Didn't seem like it. Honestly, he wasn't that curious.
No more getting swept up in the mood. Eden cut to the chase.
"Did you drag me into this world?"
Her answer might reignite his cooled anger. Fortunately, Neb shook her head vigorously.
"This goddess emphatically declares it was not her doing."
"......"
"I swear on this goddess's name. She has no connection to it. ...I mean it."
Swearing on a name he'd never heard meant little, but he let it slide. The future mattered more than venting.
Eden asked his second question.
"...Can you send me back to my original world?"
Neb nodded at his words and held up three fingers.
"Of course. There are exactly three ways."
Three ways?
"......"
Just in case, Eden warned Neb.
"If one of them is some bullshit like 'live here thinking it's your home world'...."
"There are two ways."
He eased off the axe-grip tension. Looked like none were total duds.