Chapter 24
Chapter 24
Several days had already passed since I got injured at the construction site and ended up bedridden.
I was blankly staring at the afternoon sunlight pouring through the cracked window of our shabby slum house when—
Tap, tap.
A dull finger kept poking playfully at the rough cast wrapped tightly around my right leg.
“….”
I lowered my gaze slightly.
At the foot of the bed, resting her chin on it, was Erika, staring up at me with a face full of dissatisfaction.
Her messy black hair spilled down, her lips were puffed out in a sulk, and her red eyes were brimming with irritation and whining.
“When exactly are you going to recover?”
“I told you just now. Bones take time to heal.”
“I don’t understand! I’ve been enduring hunger every single day, hauling bricks to buy those expensive, tasteless red potions for you! So why are you still stuck in bed?!”
Erika slammed the mattress in frustration.
She looked just like a spoiled little kid whining at her sick father—“Why aren’t you better yet after taking medicine?!”
I let out a dry chuckle and raised my casted arm.
“Erika. My body isn’t made of slime. Broken bones don’t just snap back instantly. Even if you had money, you’d need a high priest or a saint to perform a miracle like that. Still… the fact that the pain has eased this much already is thanks to the medicine you bought.”
“Hmph! If you just eat your fill of meat and sleep for a few days, shouldn’t everything heal? Bones, flesh, whatever!”
‘No, that only works for cheat-level fantasy species like dragons… not humans.’
That overwhelming being I once saw in a vision—darkening the sky, turning hordes of monsters to ash with a single breath.
That same dragon was now lying at my feet, pouting and whining about my recovery.
The absurd contrast made me snort, but at the same time, I couldn’t stop the corner of my lips from curling up.
Honestly… it was ridiculously cute.
A dragon fussing over me like this.
『Stop talking and drink it already!!』
I remembered the first day she went to the construction site, angrily shoving that potion at me.
Since then, Erika had gone out every single day, covering herself in dust and working nonstop.
The most shocking part?
Despite her insane strength, she hadn’t injured a single person or destroyed anything even once.
And when she got paid…
Instead of running straight to the butcher like she normally would, she held back on buying meat—and used the money to buy my recovery potions.
A dragon… giving up meat for someone who wasn’t even related to her.
‘What a good kid.’
I reached out with my good hand and gently stroked Erika’s black hair.
“Anyway, you’ve been working hard lately. No accidents, doing your job properly… even buying my medicine. Thanks, really.”
“Hmph! Who said I was doing it for you?! It’s all for me!”
She flinched slightly at my touch—but didn’t pull away.
Instead, she quietly let me pat her head.
I smiled faintly.
“Alright, alright. Then why do you want me to recover so badly?”
At my question, Erika froze for a moment, her lips moving awkwardly before she turned her head away.
“…Camelia’s meat… is lacking.”
“Ah, not enough quantity? Makes sense… compared to what I used to give you. I’ll ask Camelia to give you part of my portion.”
“No, that’s not it!! It’s not just the amount!”
She shook her head vigorously.
“It’s that… thing! That special aroma in the meat you cook! The rich juices that coat the tongue and slide down the throat! My stomach is craving that sensation!!”
She gulped loudly, clearly imagining it.
Ah.
That… is called “delicious.”
So this glutton actually tastes food instead of just swallowing it whole.
In the end, the meaning was simple.
‘She just wants me to cook again.’
I nodded to myself.
Camelia—my brilliant future archmage, my top-tier long-term investment.
Thankfully, she wasn’t one of those “dark matter cooking” disaster-type heroines you see in fiction.
Her food was edible. It filled the stomach.
But…
It wasn’t exactly good.
And there was a clear reason for that.
‘No way someone from this world can match modern Earth cooking overnight.’
Back on Earth, I lived alone and cooked regularly.
Heat control, seasoning balance, sealing meat juices—
I poured all that accumulated knowledge into this slum’s humble stew.
Of course the difference would show.
I’d been teaching Camelia some tips since I got injured, but…
Theory and practice are different.
And Camelia?
She grew up as a noble lady—she probably never even stepped into a kitchen.
After her family fell, she survived on scraps as a slave.
Expecting her to replicate my cooking in such a short time was unrealistic.
‘From a dragon’s perspective… no wonder she misses my food.’
I smiled at Erika’s childish complaint.
“Alright, alright. Since you’ve been working hard and buying my medicine, I’ll recover as quickly as I can.”
“Woah…! That means…!”
“Yeah. Once I’m better, I’ll buy a ton of meat and cook properly for you.”
The moment I promised—
Erika’s face lit up like a flower blooming.
A pure, innocent smile.
“Really?! You said it yourself!”
“Yeah. I promise.”
We were sharing a warm moment, strengthening our bond—
When suddenly—
“…Nasus… Erika…”
A small, trembling voice came from the kitchen.
We turned.
There stood Camelia, wearing a worn apron, holding a large pot.
Her head was lowered.
Her expression looked like she might burst into tears any second.
“Um… the food… it’s ready…”
“Oh, nice! Good work, Camelia—”
I stopped.
The moment I looked inside the pot.
Ssssss—
A black, ominous smoke was rising.
Inside…
The pork and potatoes had fused into a pitch-black mass.
A perfect lump of charcoal.
Something straight out of hell.
“I… I’m sorry… I tried to do it the way you taught me… sniff…”
Camelia’s eyes welled up.
‘Wait… I thought she wasn’t a disaster cook… then what the hell is this?!’
Just as I was clutching my forehead in disbelief—
“Oh! Finally, food time!”
Erika rushed over from behind, drool practically dripping.
She looked into the pot with excitement.
And then—
Her smile vanished.
Her red eyes lost focus.
Like someone whose only purpose in life had just been erased—
“….”
Uh…?
Hey.
Why do you look like your soul just died now?