The Taste of Nostalgia
The taste of something strange. A rainy day. Do you know the bugs that look like green beans stuck all over a yellowish wall? When you poke them, they curl up into little bean shapes. They reminded me so much of BB pellets that, back in the day, we used to load them into toy guns instead of actual ammo and play for hours. They were used as ammunition, or sometimes as substitutes for marbles in games of jacks. Even those tiny lives had a name: pill bugs. A name so straightforward it might as well have been “Dungeon Plaza Grade.”
I’m an Alzheimer’s-afflicted demon who can’t even remember my dead parents’ faces. The rising star of the patricide world. I’ve gone beyond unfilial to being called invalid. But even though I was just a snot-nosed kid who couldn’t count past a hundred, even though I was only eight years old, there’s one faded memory that still remains vivid more than ten years later…
It was the faint, salty memory of roasting one of those pill bugs over a lighter flame and tasting it. I’ll just say it wasn’t because my family was poor or because we lived on some remote mountain. It was purely out of curiosity. I squatted in a corner of a country road where some neighborhood mutt was barking its head off and carefully savored it. Surprisingly, the pill bug tasted like grilled squid! The texture was so crispy yet moist. (There may be a slight nostalgia filter at work.) I even remember getting excited and thinking up a business idea to tell my father. After that… my memory gets a little blurry. I suspect my father, who was enjoying a beer after work, probably smacked me on the back of the head and knocked me out cold when I showed up with a couple of well-roasted pill bugs. I have my strong suspicions.
You’re probably wondering why I’m suddenly talking about something so nauseating. If you ask, it’s only right for a d-e-m-o-n to answer, right? Because right now, on this dark wooden table, two oversized pill bugs (suspected) are lying on their backs with their bellies exposed!
Hey. This isn’t the exclusive sleeping quarters for arthropods. This is a sacred table where free food is served. A table. So. I’m saying, can someone please get these bugs out of here.
“Looks delicious, nyang!”
“?”
Sion, the omnivorous cat, drooling shamelessly at the sight of seven pairs of L shaped legs and the steaming white belly. As expected of a born feline, it seems her vertically slit golden pupils have some kind of filter that turns bugs into protein bars. This isn’t going to be easy.
“…What exactly is this?”
Judging by my contractor Yuri’s expression—like she’d just bitten into something unpleasant—roasted giant pill bugs don’t seem to be a common menu item in this world either. Just as my contractor said, I was also extremely curious about the identity of this bizarre dish, so I quietly turned to the side. From the twisted lips of Chroma, the arrogant demon waitress wearing a fishy smile, something that might have been an explanation or might have been a taunt popped out.
“Ha! It’s only natural that a pathetic adventurer customer and a stupid crow oppa who’s only been in the middle realm for a day wouldn’t know. Because these bug— I mean, these are rare ingredients found only in the dungeon~”
After the tasting session or whatever it was, the demon named Chroma had started calling me oppa. Even though the other party is a demon, for someone like me who went through all-boys middle school, high school, military, university, and a black company job, hearing a girl call me oppa… it’s truly moving. But wait. Didn’t she just say “bug”?
“You just said bug…”
Right? If only I had heard it, I could have laughed it off as a trick of the ear, but it seemed my contractor had heard it clearly too. I had my doubts, but… so it really was a bug after all? It must be packed with protein. Absolutely.
“Huh? Huh? No way? What are you even saying, pathetic adventurer customer! There’s no way our tavern would serve bugs to customers~ Right?”
Chroma quietly met the contractor’s icy, distrust-filled gaze with a look that seemed to ask, What do you want me to do about it? While the two little brats engaged in their pathetic yet fierce battle of nerves—
“Stop bothering the customers, Chrome.”
“Aww♡ What are you doing, you stupid boss♡”
The owner of Rainbow Cup, Noir, gently pressed down on Chroma’s red hair, forcibly ending the ancient war (staring contest) that had been passed down since the dawn of human history. She carefully set down a wooden tray holding two wooden cups on the table.
From the rustic wooden cups came the sweet scent of honey.
So fantasy worlds have honey water too? How interesting.
“Just so you know, those aren’t really bugs… they’re closer to crustaceans. Like shrimp or lobster. And this is an apology. You had a hard time because of Chrome, right? Sorry. I’ve put all today’s food on Chrome’s tab, so don’t worry and eat as much as you like.”
Her expression was as cold as my contractor’s, but every word that mechanically slipped from those stiff lips was kind and warm.
She gives off such a big-sister vibe. I kind of want to call her noona.
Plus, unlike other people, she showed no sign of fearing me, which made me feel incredibly at ease.
“Oh. Thank you!”
“Wow! The boss really is the best, nyang!”
“Thanks for looking out for us, boss.”
“Hey, you pathetic customers? I’m the one who’s going to end up paying in the end. Why am I not getting any words of gratitude? Hm? What is this, are you ignoring me right now?”
“Chrome, stop bothering the customers and go reflect while you chop onions.”
“Boss♡ That’s so mean♡ Isn’t chopping onions the newbies’ job~”
“The kids are already crying and working hard. They’re just waiting for the onion mass murderer Chrome to show up.”
“These cute little pathetic things♡ What time is it and they still haven’t finished? Looks like I need to whip them into shape. Back in my day……”
Noir grabbed the grumbling Chroma by the collar and began dragging her toward the kitchen. It must have been a common sight, because none of the customers paid it any mind. I pulled my gaze away from the demon senior being dragged off like a sack of rice and looked back at the table.
So these are crustaceans?
No wonder they had those thick fin-like things on the bottom. They were aquatic creatures? Once I thought of it that way and looked again, they actually seemed pretty appetizing? (Placebo effect.)
“L-lobster? The beef of the sea? I’ve only ever read about it in books……”
After hearing it was a lobster-like dish, our contractor’s pitch-black eyes sparkled as she swallowed saliva every five seconds. She didn’t seem to know where to start. She kept picking up and putting down what looked like a long awl meant to be used as a fork, completely at a loss. She really looked like a kitten who didn’t know how to eat Churu.
“Ahaha, adventurer. What are you doing, nyang.”
Sion let out a light laugh, apparently finding the contractor adorable. Then she boldly pulled a small knife from her waistband. Do people have to bring their own knives here? The self-serve culture of my old homeland couldn’t even begin to compare.
“Ahem. This body will show you how to eat it. Watch carefully, nyang!”
So saying, Sion plunged the knife into the belly of the grilled pill bug (temporary name) and smoothly sliced it open.
—Sliiice!
At that moment, a savory and slightly sweet aroma burst out along with the pure white flesh that had been trapped beneath the chitin.
“Ooooh.”
“That smell is incredible.”
She cut the firm flesh—which seemed like a mix of white fish and crab meat—into bite-sized pieces, then gently dipped it in the soft, gooey innards near the tail.
—Chomp!
Then she dunked it into a red sauce of unknown origin that gave off a sour scent.
Gulp.
Every time Sion’s hands moved with dazzling skill, the contractor’s barely visible Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, and her moist lips parted little by little.
“Now you just put this on this flat bread and eat it, nyang! But the first bite is best without any bread, nyang! Here, adventurer. Say ‘ahh,’ nyang!”
“A-ahhh.”
The contractor swallowed once, then lifted her head like a baby bird and opened her small mouth. Her eyes, glistening with moisture, were full of anticipation.
“Hoo. Hoo.”
Sion carefully blew on the large piece of steaming meat to cool it.
“If you don’t want your mouth to tear, open it wide, nyang!”
Then she slid it straight into the contractor’s mouth with the knife.
Isn’t that a bit too wild?
“Mmm!”
The thick flesh filled her mouth instantly, puffing up the contractor’s cheeks. Her eyes, which always looked half-asleep, flew wide open in surprise.
“Mmmph! Mmmph!”
A symphony of medieval dialect burst through her plump cheeks. If I had to guess the meaning, it was probably something like, “It’s incredibly delicious! Miss Sion!”
“Uwaa. I can’t hold back anymore, nyang! It’s all free anyway. Today I’m just going to eat until I die, nyang!”
Watching the contractor chew with moist eyes, Sion must have gotten hungry too. She wet her hands once and began a proper bare-handed feast. Using her front claws—no, her sharp nails—to rip open the belly and greedily tear out the flesh was incredibly wild.
Om nom nom. Ung nyang nyang.
The rhythmic chewing motions vibrated the hollow Plague Doctor Mask. Occasional bursts of laughter and the clatter of utensils. Eating, drinking, talking. The second night in this fantasy world deepened amid a subtle warmth.
It’s nice to see everyone eating so well.
It was a little disappointing that I couldn’t eat it myself, but watching others enjoy their food wasn’t bad at all.
Is this what they call vicarious satisfaction?
In the past, I never really understood what that phrase meant.
But now I think I’m starting to get it.
Finding your own happiness in the happiness of others. That must be what vicarious satisfaction is. A feeling of satisfaction I had forgotten for a very long time gently spread through my chest. I surrendered myself to that warm, gentle sensation and smiled quietly.
“Not bad.”
“Mmmph?”
“Crow, what did you just say, nyang?”
“Must be your imagination. Thief.”
“I told you… I’m not a thief!”
“Shh.”
I quietly etched this miraculous moment with my new connections into the dark lenses of my mask.
“Ueeeh… Sir Raven… where did you go… yo? You can’t abandon me… ugh.”
“Meow. Meow… I’m not a thief, nyang……”
“….”
“Pfft. These pathetic losers are something else♡”
“It’s true, this honey mead is unusually strong today. Yeah, that’s right.”
Wait. It wasn’t honey water, it was honey mead? Boss…
“This is insane.”