Episode 36

After about a month, we arrived at the trading city located between the Northern Region and the central city, which served as the midway point.

Its name was Poraka.

In the game, it wasn't introduced as an important city, so I didn't know much about it.

All I knew was that it was a trading city. But true to its name, there were an enormous number of merchants and carriages.

There was also a large river that connected to the sea.

In ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠many ways, it meant this was a city with plenty to see.

"So we're taking a short rest here..."

The Merchant Leader said we'd take a brief break while he purchased the necessary provisions for the journey to the Northern Region and checked if there were any additional items to acquire along the way.

Thanks to him securing lodging for us and giving us money as payment for guard duty, I no longer had to worry about money or accommodation.

After carelessly tossing my luggage aside, I stepped out of the lodging and looked at Aron.

I lightly shook the money pouch the Merchant Leader had given me, and the heavy clinking of coins could be heard.

"What should we do with this? Do you need anything?"

"Not really. You?"

"I don't really... Well, should we go get something to eat? I asked the Merchant Leader on the way here, and he said this place has a wide variety of food."

"Oh? Then let's try all sorts of food while we're here."

Because countless people passed through for trade, there were many different races here. With people gathering from various regions, the cultures were diverse as well.

Among them, the food culture was rumored to be the most varied.

Though in the game, since you never really had to eat, I hadn't known about it.

"Alright, so where should we eat first..."

There was a guidebook, oddly fitting for a medieval setting, and I flipped through it to check.

"Shall we go here?"

Without much deliberation, I pointed to one alley.

Eastern foods.

That's what was written, and from the brief description, it seemed to be a place with Korean or Japanese-style foods.

I wondered if this made sense within the setting, but decided not to worry too much about it.

I didn't know history well enough for it to matter anyway.

"Spicy food... raw fish... strong spices? The description doesn't really make me want to eat it."

"I want to eat it. You're coming, right?"

"...I guess I have to."

I nodded with satisfaction, seeing Aron follow along despite his slightly displeased expression.

As we walked, I saw a truly diverse array of races.

Dwarves, Elves, Beastkin, humans.

There were even Dragons.

Probably not pure-blooded Dragonkin, but more likely variants or drakes.

"I wonder if there are any real Dragons."

"Why? Do you want to eat Dragon meat after all this time? Should I catch one for you?"

"It is delicious, but more than that, let's hurry and try other foods. We can eat Dragon meat anytime."

"That... is true."

The Dragon—something every chef hopes to cook at least once, and every gourmet dreams of tasting.

Hearing it spoken of so casually made Aron feel somewhat strange.

'Should I get her other foods from now on?'

Aron was seriously pondering whether, after feeding her only expensive things, she might actually want cheaper food.

"Over there! I want to go there!"

As we reached a spot where the aroma of food filled the street, one eatery caught my eye.

A shop with a sign that read 'Spicy Tteokbokki'.

Checking the menu next to the entrance, it seemed to be a restaurant focused on Korean-style snacks.

'Is that one next to it a Korean restaurant?'

There was also a shop with 'Bulgogi' written on it, and next to that, a sushi place.

Is this really a medieval fantasy?

The thought crossed my mind, but it didn't really matter. I didn't know history well enough for historical accuracy to be a big concern anyway.

More importantly, being able to eat delicious food was what counted.

"Shall we go in here first? This place looks really tasty."

The first thing I saw was tteokbokki, but the shop I chose was a Korean restaurant.

As a guy, I felt the need for a bowl of Korean soup rice, and this was to satisfy that.

I was getting a bit tired of soup.

Thinking that, I opened the door and went in, and even the interior was exactly like Korea.

"Wow..."

As I looked around in admiration, an employee standing near the counter spoke to me.

"Are there two of you?"

"Yes!"

"Then you can sit over there."

We sat at the indicated spot and checked the menu.

Pork soup rice, sundae soup rice, and even minor varieties like seonji soup were all available.

'Should I look for jeyuk later? Or maybe tonkatsu would be good too.'

Since we're only staying for two days, we can just try each one for dinner and be done with it.

Being a Beastkin and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠an Aura User, I consume a lot of energy anyway.

"What are you going to have? If you're not sure, try the pork soup rice first. It's the most reliably tasty."

"Hmm, then I'll have that. Honestly, I don't even know what any of this is."

"Alright, then... Boss! Two orders of pork soup, one order of sundae soup, and one order of bone hangover soup, please!"

When I ordered a total of four bowls, Aron was taken aback.

"You don't even know what it tastes like, right? But is it okay to order this much?"

"Huh? If it's not good, you'll have to eat it, Aron."

"Why me?"

"You're not seriously going to refuse something I'm giving you, are you? Really?"

I slightly furrowed my brows and glared at him. Even then, when Aron didn't respond, I sharply turned my head away.

"Fine. I'll eat it all myself. Even if I'm full because of you, I'll force it all down."

"No, that's not what I meant."

"I don't care!"

Lately, teasing Aron had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠become particularly enjoyable.

*

In the end, I devoured all three bowls of soup rice myself.

The taste wasn't bad, not much different from the soup rice I'd eaten in my previous life. However, it didn't provide the intense satisfaction I remembered.

After that, I even finished the jeyuk and tonkatsu before heading back out to the street.

 As I rubbed my small stomach with my hand, Aron's gaze drifted toward my slightly protruding belly.

"All that food fit into such a small body."

"My calorie consumption is high, so it's fine. Even if I eat like this, I probably won't gain weight. More importantly... should we get dessert before going back? I want to try that too."

The smell of tteokbokki, which I normally wouldn't have bothered with, kept nagging at me.

Strangely, it seemed more appealing than any of the foods I'd eaten so far.

'I didn't even like tteokbokki that much in my previous life.'

It was expensive, and it wasn't spicy in a hearty way but rather strongly sweet, so I only ate it when someone else bought it for me.

Even so, there must be a reason it was drawing me in.

Grabbing Aron's hand, who was looking at me with an expression that asked if I was really going to eat, I went into the shop.

"Wow..."

It was a made-to-order tteokbokki shop, the kind that was hard to find in my previous life when franchises were taking over the world.

The slightly shabby interior actually gave it character, making it seem like a hidden gem of a restaurant.

We naturally took a seat at one of the available tables.

An employee who had been quietly watching approached and handed us a piece of paper.

"Just choose your menu items and give it to me. There's a pen nearby, so feel free to use it."

Does it make sense to have pens in a medieval setting?

The thought crossed my mind, but since Haim also used a pen to write the Strategy Guide, it wasn't that strange.

I lightly accepted it and checked the paper.

There were various types of fried foods and kimbap, of course, and the tteokbokki varieties were diverse too.

Regular tteokbokki, rabokki, cream tteokbokki, jjajang tteokbokki, rosé tteokbokki, mala tteokbokki.

Given its appearance as an old shop, I didn't expect the menu to be so varied, but surprisingly, it had all sorts of unique items.

"Is there anything you want to try?"

When I handed him the paper, Aron glanced at it and shook his head vigorously.

"Just order what you want. I don't even know what any of this is."

"Really? Then..."

Watching Mia happily drawing lines on the paper, Aron thought to himself.

'If she's going to order everything anyway, what's the point of making choices from the start?'

She was ordering every type of tteokbokki, plus fried foods and kimbap.

It was true that she consumed a lot of calories as an Aura User with Beastkin blood, but even considering that, she ate a lot.

Because of that, she was gradually gaining weight and becoming more feminine.

Though she herself didn't seem to notice.

'Lately, it's not just her chest that's changed.'

Her formerly lean, muscular physique had completely transformed.

First and foremost, her thighs were the most noticeable.

The empty space between her thighs had disappeared, filled instead by thighs that had grown thicker.

Because of that, her hips had widened too, and now when she wore pants, you could see the curves accentuated.

'Her stomach has been protruding lately too... It looks really good.'

It wasn't that her stomach was just bloated.

The protective fat over her lower abdomen, covering her Uterus, had slightly rounded out, making her look more feminine.

The distinctive feminine curves were beginning to stand out on her body.

Finally, under his blatant gaze, Mia snapped at him.

"You're having weird thoughts again. Are you thinking about hugging animal-eared beauties and sniffing their Scent? Or are you planning to do it with a Dragonkin this time?"

Aron's brow was furrowed, and the corners of his mouth were stiff.

To someone who didn't know him, he might look angry, but this was the face he made when having perverted thoughts.

Mia couldn't not know.

Whenever he made that expression, he'd suddenly say things like, 'I want to try having sex with a centaur,' or 'Should we go try having sex with a mermaid next time?'

"I've already done all that, so there's no need to think about it."

"Then why are you looking at me with such a serious expression? You only make that face when you're having perverted thoughts."

"Well..."

Aron realized there was no way out.

Having spent nearly every day together for the past few months, Mia had come ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to know him very well.

But what if he told her what he was thinking right now?

'She'd say that's impossible and sulk for a while, refusing to listen to me.'

Mia particularly disliked being called feminine or having feminine behavior pointed out.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Aron laughed.

"Remember that Draco Beastfolk we saw walking by earlier?"

"The Beastkin that looked like a lizard but walked like a person? You mean them?"

Aron nodded.

"What about those lizard Beastkin?"

"I was wondering if having sex with Beastkin like that would feel refreshing when you put it in. Reptiles have colder bodies than us, you know."

In the end, Aron got hit by Mia.