Soggy Yet Crispy Catastrophe
The moment the perfectly fried tangsu-yuk hit the plate, a crisp chime echoed in my mind.
Garlic Tangsu-yuk — ★★★★★
Fried pork coated in batter and deep-fried until golden. The crunchy coating amplifies the chewy texture of the tenderloin, while the sweet-and-sour sauce adds rich flavor and cuts through the greasiness.
S-Rank Gourmet Feeding Effect: Dishes rated 5 stars or higher grant a random stat bonus.
Garlic Tangsu-yuk consumed: Target’s favorability stage increased.
“Whoa! Five stars all by myself?”
The unexpected result slipped out as a mutter. It was only natural—I hadn’t seen it coming at all. Five full stars achieved without anyone’s help? Staring at those densely packed stars filled me with a sense of accomplishment so strong it felt like my stomach might burst from pride alone.
Of course the wraiths had lent a hand, but they were already one with me. Calling them an extension of myself wasn’t an exaggeration. I was genuinely impressed by my own skill. The new equipment helped a little, yet the result still exceeded my expectations. The tangsu-yuk looked like it had just been delivered from a Chinese restaurant, and that visual alone was deeply satisfying. On top of that, the five-star bonus had even granted a special ability. Everything had felt wonderful right up until the end.
That pleasant feeling didn’t last long, though. A disaster was about to unfold.
If this works, winning Seirin over shouldn’t be too difficult.
I was still riding the high, completely unaware of what was coming. I had assumed everything would go smoothly. Testing the ability attached to the five-star tangsu-yuk had never even crossed my mind.
“There’s no need to eat it alone. Please, have a taste.”
After finishing the dish, I cheerfully offered the tangsu-yuk to Seirin, never suspecting the gloomy future that awaited.
“Huh? But wasn’t this made for you to eat? I couldn’t possibly—”
“That’s fine. I fried more meat than I expected, so this is perfect timing. I can’t finish it all by myself anyway.”
Foolishly, I pressed the offer again. Looking back, there had been plenty of chances to stop. But at the time, my greed and curiosity had taken over. I was blinded by the chance to raise Seirin’s favorability. Besides, the portion really was huge. I had no choice but to share.
Come to think of it, Seirin’s an SSR-rank too, right? And she’s a Water Dragon—the complete opposite of Raylin. The primordial ancestors definitely included a Water attribute.
Normally I had no personal interest in Seirin. Partly because she was hard to approach, but her lukewarm attitude also made it difficult to get close. Still, the timing felt right. Even if I couldn’t form a full bond, I at least wanted to raise her favorability. Having more ladies on my side couldn’t hurt. Setting aside something as serious as a love pact, she was still Raylin’s older sister. I figured she might prove helpful later, even if only vaguely. If I somehow succeeded in forming a bond, that would be a bonus too—especially since it could increase the chances of unlocking the sealed pact later.
No way I’m letting this opportunity slip by…!
The meal had started on such a high note. That smooth beginning, however, ended right there.
—Glug…!
An irreversible disaster struck.
“Miss? W-wait, what are you—?! What are you doing right now?!”
—Splash…!
Squelch, squelch…!
Seirin poured the thick sauce straight over my freshly fried, ultra-crispy tangsu-yuk without the slightest hesitation. She was committing an act far worse than dumping ashes on a perfectly cooked meal, and she did it with complete nonchalance.
“Hm? What’s wrong? Did I do something incorrect?”
—Shake shake shake…!
After emptying every last drop of sauce, Seirin asked with a perfectly calm expression.
“……”
She actually asked what was wrong? Was she seriously clueless? The sheer absurdity left me too stunned to even get angry. There wasn’t a trace of malice in her voice.
“…I-I was going to suggest eating the sauce on the side so the batter stays crispy longer.”
“Oh? That does make sense.”
“It’s not just a suggestion, it’s—”
“But in my hometown, the tradition is to pour the sauce directly over freshly fried food and stir-fry it like this.”
“Tradition?”
Tradition, my foot. Does that mean pouring kimchi juice over rice soup is tradition too?
“Yes. If you’re saving it for later, your method might be better, but for something this fresh there’s no problem at all. Besides, at this point we don’t even need to stir-fry it—we can just eat it as is.”
“Haha……”
Her utterly confident demeanor left me momentarily speechless. She wasn’t entirely wrong either—most Chinese restaurants do toss the sauce in and stir-fry it briefly. And since it was freshly fried, it wouldn’t go soggy right away.
Still, even so…
Pouring the sauce without asking first crossed a line. This was five-star tangsu-yuk I’d worked hard on. I’d offered it out of pure goodwill and even prepared a separate plate just in case. Yet she’d gone and made my kind gesture soggy.
“Mmm~♪ Shall we try it then?”
Seirin paid no attention to my gloomy expression. Her half-lidded eyes were already locked onto the tangsu-yuk. Just like when I’d made spicy hotpot for Raylin, she seemed to be chasing a taste of home. Meanwhile, I was tasting nothing but despair from the sauce-drenched tangsu-yuk.
Haa… Calm down. Just calm down.
What kind of game was this, where most of the SSR heroines had such polarizing food preferences? For a brief moment I genuinely wondered what the original author had been thinking. Keeping my expression in check wasn’t easy, but what was done was done. I had no choice but to swallow my frustration. I didn’t want to make an enemy of Seirin, Raylin’s older sister.
—Crunch!
—Crispy! Crunch crunch…!
While I kept my head down to hide my stiff expression, an incredibly crisp sound reached my ears. The sharp crackle of a hard surface breaking into tiny pieces. Seirin must have picked up a piece of tangsu-yuk. It sounded exactly like someone biting into a snack. For a second I thought I was listening to an ASMR video—the sound was so loud even though she wasn’t sitting right next to me.
—Gulp…!
Even though the tangsu-yuk was drenched in sauce, the sound made my mouth water. It was that appetizingly crisp.
“Oh my? This is… The texture is similar to what I used to eat back home? How can something be both moist and crispy at the same time…?!”
— System Notification —
A new target wishes to commune with you.
Conditions must be met to establish communion.
Please check the conditions directly with the target.
Conditions must be confirmed directly with the target.
“Oh? It popped up right away this time.”
Seirin had only swallowed a single piece of tangsu-yuk, yet the system messages flooded my vision. I’d never seen such an immediate reaction before. Just from tasting it, a conditional communion request appeared? It had to be because the dish reminded her of home. The S-rank upgrade to Gourmet Feeding probably helped too. If I’d fried chicken like I originally planned, this message might never have shown up.
I only meant to raise her favorability a bit, but this is sudden. Should I accept it or not?
—Crunch!
—Crispy! Crunch crunch crunch!
While I hesitated, Seirin kept devouring the tangsu-yuk. Her chopsticks showed no sign of slowing. Her slender figure completely betrayed the amount she was putting away. She shoveled the food in like she was in some kind of eating contest. Sitting right in front of her, I might as well have been invisible.
She’s eating way more than I expected. Is she going to get a stomachache?
I felt like I was watching a professional food fighter. Had Seirin skipped meals all day? She kept inhaling the tangsu-yuk without a word. I was grateful she enjoyed my cooking, but at this rate she was going to finish it all herself. A third of it had already vanished.
Are all dragons such big eaters?
There was another problem.
“Miss? How about drinking some water while you—”
Target’s favorability has increased!
Target’s favorability has increased!
Favorability stage increased!
Seirin (Lv.500) — Normal Relationship → Favorable Relationship
Favorability stage increased!
Seirin (Lv.500) — Favorable Relationship → Absolute Trust Relationship
“Huh…? Wait, what’s going on?”
Every time Seirin chewed and swallowed another piece of tangsu-yuk, a notification rang out. Her favorability was skyrocketing with each bite.
How far is this going to go? I haven’t even accepted the conditional communion yet, and her favorability keeps climbing…