Chapter 32
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Grilled Seafood Platter on the Rocks
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“I said, sit down.”
At Yu Beom’s urging, she sat in front of the campfire.
“Who are these people?”
They couldn’t be Hunters. Yu Jia was certain of it.
Having grown up being chased by subjugation teams, the siblings despised Hunters.
“You don’t know who they are?”
“How would I know? Who do I even know?”
“What do you mean, who? There’s that person you kept saying you wanted to thank if you ever met them.”
“Thank? Someone like that for me…”
Yu Jia’s voice trailed off. One person did come to mind.
The person who helped her escape the research institute. She had been unconscious at the time and didn’t remember anything, but she had heard about it from Yu Beom.
“Don’t tell me… the roommate you mentioned?”
The image of a young Cheon Doun clinging to the fifth-floor window flashed through her mind.
His first impression had been bizarre and frightening, but he was someone she wanted to thank if she ever met him.
“How is that person here…”
That was decades ago. She was shocked to see someone she thought was long dead standing before her.
‘My brother isn't one to talk nonsense.’
If that was the case, then this person really was that Cheon Doun. The shock left her just gaping, her mouth opening and closing. She wanted to say something, but the words wouldn’t come out.
Yu Beom smiled, as if he understood how his sister felt.
“I already thanked him for your share, so don’t worry about it. More importantly, don’t you feel anything strange?”
“Strange?”
“About your body. How’s your condition?”
The sudden question made Yu Jia pause. Ever since her mana hole had become tangled, the siblings had intentionally avoided the topic.
She tilted her head, wondering why he would ask such a thing.
Then, Yu Jia’s eyes widened. She belatedly sensed the change in her body.
“This… How is this…!”
The mana filling her body was as calm as a lake. The mana hole, which could have erupted at any moment, had become placid.
“Cheon Doun brought some medicine. Ah, that guy’s name is Cheon Doun. That little one is Kim Nari. You know my sister’s name since I told you earlier, right?”
Yu Beom cheerfully introduced them to each other. Even as she heard this, Yu Jia found it hard to collect her thoughts.
She had once prepared herself for death. If there was any lingering attachment she couldn’t let go of, it was only the worry for her flesh and blood.
She was worried about Yu Beom being left alone in the Gate after she died.
It was even more so because she knew his body was breaking down just like hers.
Unlike her, he would be left alone to close his eyes in solitude. She had always felt sorry for that. It was agonizing. It was the one lingering regret she couldn’t let go of, even as she faced death.
“Ah…”
All those worries melted away like snow.
“Ahh…”
Again, no proper words came out. She couldn’t even tell if she wanted to laugh or cry.
Her heart was just so full. Overwhelmed by the fact that she could continue to live a normal life—.
She looked at Cheon Doun. She wanted to say thank you, but Cheon Doun spoke first.
“The mood’s getting heavy. Your brother’s already thanked me until I’m sick of it, so it’s fine. But if you really want to do something, try grilling some clams.”
"Cl-clams?"
The mention of clams, breaking the somber mood, made Yu Jia’s eyes widen.
“Yu Beom said we need you for some true grilled clams. I don’t know what he means, but he said it’s only complete if you do it together. Go on. I’ll accept that as your thanks.”
“Ah… that! Okay.”
Yu Jia shot to her feet. She looked at her brother. Yu Beom stood opposite her with a serious expression.
“Ooh, they’re about to do something. The atmosphere is intense.”
Kim Nari watched them with a curious face. Guu, too, licked his lips at the mention of true grilled clams.
Cheon Doun was the same. The clams Yu Beom had grilled were delicious, but the thought that there was something even better filled him with anticipation.
In the tense silence, it was Yu Beom who moved first.
“Hiyah!”
Yu Beom grabbed a handful of clams and tossed them into the air. From clams as large as a person’s head to smaller ones the size of a palm.
As the freshly caught, glistening clams rose, Yu Jia stepped forward.
Her eyes glinted from within the monster’s skull she wore like a helmet.
‘45 degrees, 22 degrees, 18 degrees…!’
Angle adjustment for swiping her claws complete.
“Hooah!”
Yu Jia let out a spirited shout that seemed to come from her very core. This was a roar of earnestness before the cooking began.
She swung her hook-like claws. A wind imbued with mana split the airborne clams in half.
Once the clams were open, she precisely carved out only the meat, dicing it.
Seeing this, Yu Beom inserted thinly carved sticks between each of his fingers. Skewering sticks he had painstakingly crafted over the past few decades.
“Brother!”
“Yeah!”
*Fwip-fwip-fwip. Shhhk, tssss.* Yu Beom’s hands moved in a dazzling display. The long skewers accurately pierced the falling pieces of clam meat.
“Yah!”
With a shout, Yu Beom brought the skewers held between his fingers over the campfire.
Tumbling and turning, flipping and flopping. Sizzling and steaming.
“Brother, now!”
“Got it!”
At the signal, he lifted the skewers, and Yu Jia sprinkled on some natural salt she had dried and stored.
*Chwa-ra-rat.* The finely ground salt was sprinkled all over the skewers.
“Now for the finish!”
The muscular, bird-headed man squatted in front of the campfire, putting the skewers into the fire and shaking them.
Timing was crucial. Too long, and they would burn.
It was a high-level technique to remove the fishy smell and infuse only the smoky flavor.
“Brother, now’s the time!”
At his sister’s hawk-eyed shout, Yu Beom shot to his feet.
Steam rose from the skewers held in both hands.
“Hoo… complete. This is our siblings’ special dish…! The grilled clam skewer.”
It was a straightforward name.
Yu Beom, with a confident face, held out the skewers wedged between his ten fingers.
“Ooooh!”
Kim Nari clapped, her face filled with admiration. The siblings’ dazzling movements sent a thrill through her.
That was not the work of an amateur. Those were the movements of an expert.
“Amazing. So that is the special grilled clam skewer…! I wish to eat that.”
Kim Nari said, gulping down her saliva.
“Alright. Since you clapped, I’ll give our little one a special three skewers.”
“Ooh, three! I receive three.”
Kim Nari politely received the skewers with both hands. She looked happy, smiling as she held the three long skewers.
“If it’s not enough, just say so. I’ll make more.”
“Th-thank you, thank you.”
Kim Nari bowed deeply over and over before running to Guu.
“One is for Guu and Sasa. I will eat two. My body is bigger than theirs, so I must eat two.”
She put down one skewer, muttering words that could have been to herself or to Guu.
Guu and Sasa sniffed it before taking a bite each.
—Th-this is…!
Guu’s round eyes shot wide open.
—Peep!
Sasa stood tall on its chick legs and shook its head from side to side.
No more words were needed. The two buried their faces in the skewer and began to eat greedily.
Kim Nari’s eyes also widened as she stuffed her cheeks with the skewer.
What kind of taste could provoke such a reaction?
With a curious expression, Cheon Doun accepted the skewer Yu Beom handed him. Another kind of curiosity arose as well.
“Do you guys always act like that?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“While grilling clams… that… ‘Hiyah. Yah. Hooah…’ shouting stuff.”
At Cheon Doun’s question, Yu Jia’s face turned red. Yu Beom just shrugged and laughed.
“You try living in a Gate for decades. Are there people here? Is there anything here? The only thing that improves is the banter with my sister. Was it fun?”
Cheon Doun smiled. It certainly was entertaining. He chuckled, imagining the siblings playing like that in their daily lives.
He smiled and took a bite of the grilled clam skewer.
A smoky aroma spread through his mouth. The tender, chewy clam meat, seasoned with the supreme saltiness of Demon World salt.
“How is it?”
Instead of answering, Cheon Doun devoured the skewer at a rapid pace. The bird-like siblings wore pleased expressions.
The first food they had served. Their first guest.
After putting down the empty skewer, Cheon Doun looked impressed.
“To think self-taught cooking could be this good… Are you some kind of culinary genius?”
“Is it that good?”
“I know a guy with a chef’s license. This tastes so good it wouldn’t lose to his skills.”
Cheon Doun said, recalling the ramen Nam Giseok had made. Yu Beom grinned happily at that.
“To be ranked alongside a license holder. This makes me puff out my chest a bit.”
“Do you have anything other than clams?”
“We do.”
The siblings looked at each other and nodded.
Their grilled seafood platter, honed over decades. The time had come to unveil it.
***
Loud noises echoed from atop the rock that stood tall like an observation deck.
*Tududuk, tadadada. Pabat.*
Along with all sorts of sounds, the spirited shouts of a man and a woman could be heard.
“Hiyah!”
“Woooah!”
“Now, Yu Jia!”
“Nice timing, brother!”
They were such spirited sounds that anyone who didn’t know better might mistake it for a fierce battle.
Amidst it all, seaweed was being grilled. Fish was being grilled. Squid, shrimp, octopus. Unidentified seaweed and even a monster-type seahorse.
“The finishing touch is red moss and natural salt from the Demon World!”
By the time the wild grilled seafood platter party was winding down, it was well past dawn.
Kim Nari, her belly full, was fast asleep, lying spread-eagled on the grass. Beside her, Guu and Sasa, their bellies also bulging, slept as well.
The roaring campfire had also died down to embers.
“It feels good to use my skills for the first time in a while.”
The siblings sat before the campfire with relieved expressions.
They had always cooked for themselves, but this was the first time they had served food to someone else.
It was a pleasant feeling to have someone eat what they had made. That, too, was a feeling they realized for the first time.
“Thanks for the meal. An all-you-can-eat seafood buffet. You really picked a great spot for a home.”
“Right? We’ve moved around quite a bit in our lives, but we like it here the best now.”
“That’s right. For us, there’s no place better than here. The scenery is nice, too.”
The siblings smiled with satisfaction. Now that the harshness of the Gate was no longer an obstacle, this place was simply a seaside rich with food for them.
“Come to think of it, Cheon Doun, where are you living now?”
“The forest zone.”
“What…?”
The unexpected answer made the siblings’ eyes widen.
“The forest zone… the one we know? The one south of here?”
“Yeah.”
“The one past the jungle and the cliff zone?”
“That’s right. How do you know the location so well?”
Even if they could fly, it wasn’t a distance one would wander for a stroll.
“My brother and I used to live there when we were young, too.”
“There?”
“Yeah. It’s rich in resources, you know? The problem is that it’s also crawling with monsters. We were young back then, so we couldn’t last long and moved to another area.”
Even as he spoke, Yu Beom looked at Cheon Doun with a surprised expression.
It was unexpected that he, like them, was living inside the Gate.
He had expected him to be living in a place like Gold City, or perhaps Diamond City, where only a very few of the top elite could set foot.
Given Cheon Doun’s abilities, he had assumed he would be living in such a place, so it was a surprise.
“Unlike us, you can go in and out of the Gate. Why do you live here?”
It was a natural question. Cheon Doun understood why he was asking, as he himself had initially planned to get a return stone and leave.
“I was left behind in the Gate due to one thing or another. I planned to leave at first, too.”
Cheon Doun looked at the siblings and smiled.
“But living here is actually pretty nice.”
At his laid-back words, the siblings looked dumbfounded. Their expressions soon changed to one of understanding.
He’d always had a few screws loose. There was no way those screws would have tightened up just because he became an adult.
Yu Beom nodded his head in acceptance.
“That’s just like you. I don’t think I’d even be surprised if you told me you were building a private villa in the Gate.”