Chapter 38
Chapter 38
When the First Sprout Emerges, It Tickles
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“Hmm hmm~”
Bersha hummed cheerfully as she cooked, her goat horns and heart-tipped tail adding a bizarre contrast to her apron-clad figure.
“…You bought all of this yourself?”
“Of course~”
The table was overflowing with ingredients.
From ordinary fish, meat, and vegetables to a mysterious green monster leg and mana leaves that resembled bay leaves but with a bluish tint.
I had no idea what she was planning to make.
‘…I hope it’s edible.’
She tasted the broth with a ladle, looking like a seasoned chef, so I asked, “Have you… cooked for your previous summoners?”
“Of course~”
“Did they… enjoy it?”
Bersha placed the green monster leg into a large pot and replied with a satisfied smile, “Well, I think so? They said it was delicious.”
“Ah…”
“Don’t worry~ I’m a pretty good cook, you know?”
“What’s on the menu?”
“Ta-da!”
When did she even buy a cookbook?
Bersha passed me a cookbook she had left on the counter.
It was titled [Monster Cuisine Encyclopedia], and a chef with a wide grin was pictured on the cover, holding a long stainless steel ladle in one of his crossed arms.
“Wait… isn’t this…?”
“Heehee, didn’t you enjoy his cooking? I saw it at the grocery store and bought it!”
It was a familiar face.
Bert, the personal chef at Professor Park Na-yeon’s mansion.
“His food was good.”
“Today’s dish is this! Biggest Frog Leg Stew!”
She proudly showed me the page. It pictured frog legs submerged in green broth.
The Biggest Frog was a common low-level dungeon monster, about the size of a nutria.
“So, frog leg stew?”
“No no~ Biggest Frogs have more meat and richer juices, so they’re much more delicious!”
“Ah… okay.”
I kept my reply short.
I appreciated her effort, so I wouldn’t complain.
After a short wait, a steaming pot was placed on the table.
“It’s ready!”
“Oh, it smells good.”
“Hoho, of course it does. Who do you think made it?”
Bersha looked proud of herself.
I gulped, not from hunger but from nervousness.
She opened the lid, and white steam billowed towards the ceiling.
“Oh…”
“Ta-da~! Biggest Frog Leg Stew~!”
The stew in the pot looked exactly like the picture in the book.
*Exactly* like the picture.
She wasn’t kidding about her imitation skills.
Although I still didn’t know how it tasted.
One thing was certain: the strange, greenish-blue broth and the clawed frog legs didn’t look particularly appetizing.
Bersha scooped up a frog leg and some broth into a bowl and handed it to me.
“Here you go.”
“Thanks. You eat too.”
“After you, Master.”
Bersha sat at the table, her heart-shaped, purple eyes sparkling.
Her intense gaze made me uncomfortable, so I quickly tore off a piece of frog leg and ate it.
And…
“Wow…!”
“How is it? How is it? Is it okay? Is it delicious?”
My eyes widened.
It felt like a thick fog had lifted.
The savory aroma evoked a sense of nostalgia, like being back in my grandmother’s countryside home. The meat was moist yet firm, like a chicken leg, bursting with flavor and juices with every bite. The texture and taste were heavenly.
Perhaps because I had zero expectations due to her ditzy personality, the unexpected deliciousness shocked me.
And one word came to mind.
“Mimi…!”
'’Mimi? Like Princess Mimi, why all of a sudden?'’
Bersha didn’t understand the word.
[T/N: "美味 (미미)" [Mimi]: This Chinese-derived Korean term translates to "delicious" or "exquisite taste."]
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After devouring the stew, Bersha handed me a mug.
“What’s this?”
“Dessert, of course.”
“Ah.”
I looked down and saw a white liquid with a sweet aroma and a smooth, frothy top.
[T/N: hehe]
It was Bersha’s special milk tea.
It had been a while.
I took a sip. The rich sweetness and smooth texture washed away my fatigue.
“Mmm, Renia’s milk tea is the best. It’s on a different level from store-bought milk tea.”
But Renia, who usually beamed with pride at my compliments, remained silent.
I looked up.
She was staring at me with an emotional expression.
“…What? Is there something on my face?”
“N-no…”
“Why are you suddenly so touched?”
“It’s… it’s the first time a Master has called me Renia…”
Even a succubus was still a woman.
It seemed my casual use of her name sounded like a warm, affectionate nickname to her.
…I just preferred calling her Renia instead of Bersha.
Was that really something to be touched by?
I didn’t know. Well, if she liked it, it was fine.
“Really? Should I call you Renia from now on?”
“Yes…! I would like that.”
Renia replied brightly.
An awkward silence followed. I sipped my milk tea and then spoke again.
Come to think of it, I didn’t know much about Renia.
Succubus Queen, McDonald’s enthusiast, ditzy, from the planet Drogfia… that was about it.
We had never had a deep conversation about our relationship.
“Hey, Renia.”
“Yes?”
“When will you return to Drogfia?”
I didn’t know why, out of all the questions I could ask, I chose that one.
Perhaps because returning meant parting ways?
Renia thought for a moment and then replied, “Well… when I’ve fulfilled my duties as your summon?”
“Fulfilled your duties? When is that?”
“It’s different for every summoner. It’s like… their destiny.”
“Hmm, that’s not very specific.”
“Yes, that’s why I don’t know when I’ll return… or rather, when we’ll part ways.”
“I see.”
A hint of sadness tinged my voice at her answer, and I quickly swallowed it down with a sip of milk tea.
I had been vaguely aware of it for a while.
Renia’s presence was growing stronger.
Her warmth was slowly filling this large, empty house.
When I first returned to this house after transmigrating, I felt a profound sense of emptiness.
Especially since the house was unnecessarily large for someone who seemingly had nothing.
But after summoning Renia, I never felt lonely.
Her cheerful and passionate personality filled the house with life, but more importantly, her unwavering support gave me a sense of comfort and security.
She was always on my side, a reliable ally.
“So, after you return, you’ll stay in Drogfia until your next summoner appears?”
“Yes.”
Another silence fell between us.
Then, Renia cautiously asked, “…Why do you ask?”
A summon who served me without asking for anything in return…
Like a pet who loved its owner unconditionally, Renia was gradually becoming that kind of existence to me.
Of course, she wasn’t just a pet.
She was a reliable companion who made me laugh, someone I could joke around with and lean on.
A close and precious friend.
Perhaps because we spent 24 hours a day together.
This house felt like it would become even emptier without her.
So, I answered honestly.
“I think it’ll be lonely.”
I couldn’t clearly define what I meant by “lonely.”
Perhaps it was just a meaningless sentiment, fueled by the sweet milk tea.
One thing was clear: Renia’s cooking had made a lasting impression on me today.
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- *Clatter, clatter.*
The sound of rinsing dishes filled the kitchen.
Renia was washing the dishes, with a soft smile on her face.
A warm, spring-like smile.
Her heart-tipped tail swayed back and forth like a flower in the breeze, or like a pendulum.
[I think it’ll be lonely.]
She had served five summoners before, but none had ever called her “Renia” so warmly or expressed such a sense of loss at the thought of her departure.
Some had asked her to stay, but their pleas were different from Han Tae-jin’s.
He hadn’t asked for anything; he simply expressed the emptiness he would feel in her absence.
*Her absence.*
And his expression as he said it seemed genuinely melancholic.
She was happy that her feelings had reached him.
And she was happy that he, an extraordinary man, saw her as more than just a summon.
[Salvation]… the destiny that bound them together…
She still didn't understand its meaning, but one thing was clear.
Han Tae-jin was different from her other summoners.
His growth, both external and internal, seemed to resonate with the concept of “salvation,” even though she didn’t know what it meant.
He was a remarkable person.
A man of unwavering conviction, unyielding in the face of injustice and adversity.
And at the same time…
…she felt a similar melancholy.
She would eventually have to leave.
She couldn't fully understand the sadness she felt, but one thing was clear: she wanted to see his smiling face, savoring her cooking, for as long as she could.
‘He looked so happy.’
It was the first time she had seen him with such a pure, wide-eyed smile.
And the thought of leaving him and creating a void in his life, already saddened her.
But like the immutable laws of nature, the bond between summoner and summon were governed by an unbreakable vow.
Defying that vow led to collapse, and attempting to transcend it invited destruction.
There were precedents in the long history of summons.
Records of foolish summons who forgot their place and dared to defy the natural order.
But those records always ended in ruin.
That’s why Renia felt melancholic.
Like standing before an insurmountable wall, gazing up at its endless height.
‘Or... could I return back to my master?’
There were precedents for that, too.
But they were all failures.
No summon had ever successfully returned by their own will.
Renia shook her head.
‘That’s impossible.’
She dismissed the thought.
A summon voluntarily returning… it was absurd.
But…
‘Could there be… another way? Like how mysterious portals and dungeons appeared on Earth?’
A rebellious thought, a desire to defy the vow's decree, began to take root in her mind.
And within that thought, something soft and ticklish began to sprout.
But she didn’t know what kind of flower this sprout would bloom into.
It was a strange, unfamiliar feeling, something she had never experienced before, something she currently interpreted as the responsibility and happiness of being a summon.
A new bud, emerging after a thousand years of dormancy, after the evolution and transformation of her race, filled her with a ticklish excitement.
Although, for now, it was just a stubborn desire to prolong the joy of being useful to her Master.
‘What should I cook for him tomorrow~?’
Her heart-tipped tail, which had drooped, perked up and started swaying again.
‘I should make him another cup of milk tea after I finish the dishes.’
With that thought, Renia glanced down at her ample bosom.
[T/N: let her cook]