One Whole Chicken Kalguksu Was So Delicious It Could Please Anyone's Tongue
One Whole Chicken Kalguksu Was So Delicious It Could Please Anyone's Tongue
To the vampire Bldi, gallek was a genuinely delicious ingredient.
The tingling that crept through her body and the heat that bloomed in her mouth with every bite felt genuinely good.
Which made sense. For a vampire who subsisted on blood, sweetness was the only flavor she had ever known. The sense of fullness that saturated her body whenever sweet blood filled her veins—that had satisfied her once. So had the deep satiety. But after repeating the same experience for several hundred years, novelty had long since curdled into boredom.
Gallek gave her something new.
A taste that was sharp and electrifying, with a chill that bordered on thrilling.
The sensation did bear a faint resemblance to being exposed to holy power, but she'd decided that was just in her head.
After all.
Grandfather Predeu never said anything about gallek being bad for a vampire's body.
Grandfather Predeu.
He had been the one who gave her the knowledge she needed to survive when she first woke as a vampire.
-Humans are an exclusionary and terrifying species.
-Do not approach humans more than necessary. They fear vampires. And they will attack indiscriminately.
-The Demon King will soon be defeated. Hide here and avoid disaster.
-The night is a vampire's time. If you use it wisely, you will survive even when humans come for you one day.
-Prolonged exposure to strong holy power may result in annihilation. Be especially wary of priests.
The man who had once been human had passed on a great deal of knowledge to her before reaching the end of his own life.
A human servant he had taken long ago.
His words had become a collection of signposts for Bldi, who had known nothing at all. His help had been the single biggest reason a recluse vampire like her had survived this long.
Nom nom nom.
Bldi took a large bite of the well-boiled coco.
The coco, thoroughly infused with the aroma of gallek, sent a sharp, tingling resonance through her mouth. Just in case the flavor felt lacking, she also ate a whole clove of garlic that had been boiled for a long time.
"Mmmmn~."
The burning heat jolted all five of her senses awake.
She loved this taste.
It was the same reason she loved the blood of gallek-fed coco.
Eating food that wasn't blood, of course, provided her with no actual nutrition. A vampire's digestive system differed from a human's.
This boiled coco was nothing more than dessert to Bldi.
A flavorful dessert that let her savor the fragrance of gallek, and nothing more.
She had already drunk plenty of the blood Lucas had prepared for her earlier and needed no further nourishment, but she had no intention of passing up a chance to enjoy gallek's delicious taste.
Wasn't there always, supposedly, a separate stomach for dessert?
"Hehehe."
A smile tugged at her lips with every bite.
"Delishush."
Her tongue had gone so numb that she slipped into baby talk without realizing it. Bldi glanced at Lucas, the man who cooked such delicious food for her.
The strange connection they had forged at the coco farm.
A man who'd seen she was a vampire and hadn't subjugated her—just sent her on her way. A human who hadn't cut her down even after she'd been drawn in by the scent of blood without realizing it and snuck onto his property.
-Humans are an exclusionary and terrifying species.
-Do not approach humans more than necessary. They fear vampires. And they will attack indiscriminately.
Contrary to Predeu's warnings, Lucas had been kind even to a vampire. When he caught her stealing food, he hadn't killed her. He had negotiated.
-Never mind that. Eat this first. You look like you've been starving for days. No need to eat raw seonji.
-I'm not going to hurt you, so just eat something first. You were raiding other people's iceboxes and chicken farms because you were hungry, right?
-Well? Isn't it good?
-Instead of eating seonji haejangguk every day, I was hoping you might do a little work around here.
He would feed her delicious food every day, so she should work here.
To Bldi, who had lost her home and drifted as a wanderer, that offer had been unbearably sweet.
A kind human.
Bldi looked at Lucas.
At first, he had been a strong, terrifying human who could deceive even her senses to approach her. Next, he had been a grateful human who gave her delicious food. She had used the honorific "shop owner" out of gratitude. Then, as time passed, she had realized she was so thoroughly conditioned that she could barely bring herself to eat food he hadn't prepared.
He was the human who had introduced her to the springy texture of seonji.
He was the human who had introduced her to the burning heat of gallek.
And now, he was the human who gave her so much that she could spend her days in genuine comfort.
Whenever he went into the kitchen, her heart swelled, and the scent of gallek drifting from it made her whole body hum with anticipation.
At some point, she had grown fond of the food smells that clung to him.
She had grown fond of the food he made her.
And the moment she realized those food smells had seeped into Lucas himself—
I like my master.
She had even grown fond of his scent.
If she'd possessed a tail, like one of the beastkin, it would have been thrashing wildly from side to side by now.
When she paused and examined her situation, she realized she had received far too much from him if she wanted to maintain this peaceful life.
That was why.
-Can you drink the blood from these coco without draining their vitality?
She had agreed when Lucas asked if she could drink only the blood without stealing their life force.
For a vampire, being told to stop drinking blood midway through was a demand requiring extreme restraint. Much as the victim on whom they fed experienced extreme pleasure, a vampire who drank the blood of a living being experienced a transcendent fullness.
The sensation of a living, pulsing creature's final vitality entering one's body—that was a flavor only a vampire could taste. It was the reason blood tasted sweet to them.
She had heard that among vampires, there were often those who lost all reason while feeding like that.
Drinking blood while leaving that vitality behind was comparable to eating food without salt or sugar.
The coco raised on gallek, of course, still held a special flavor that stimulated her tongue, which made it fairly bearable.
It was fine.
Because her master made even more delicious food.
Bldi had squeezed her eyes shut at Lucas's request, severed the swell of vitality rising within her, and pulled her mouth away. The result of tremendous restraint.
"Thank you."
The moment had been agonizingly difficult, but that one word from Lucas had melted the lingering regret away like snow.
Other people frightened her to even attempt conversation with, but Lucas was different.
Because he was kind.
Because he was a good person.
So right now, too, it was fine.
Because if she did this, he would praise her again.
It was as she drank the blood of the tenth or so chicken that she caught herself unable to look away from the nape of Lucas's neck as he prepared the coco breast.
Was it a side effect of drinking only the blood while blocking out the vitality?
I want to drink it.
I want to drink it.
I want to sink my fangs into that nape of my master's neck and drink his blood.
It looks delicious. It looks delicious.
Master, can I drink your blood?
I want to drink it.
I'm going to drink it.
The fragrant scent of gallek rose from his nape.
If I sink my fangs in there and drink his blood, it'll taste incredibly sweet, won't it?
Because it's my master's blood, it'll be far sweeter than anyone else's.
I'll just drink a tiny bit, without stealing his vitality.
Just a tiny bit.
An unfamiliar tingling sensation hummed through her as she leaned her face toward his neck. What snapped her awake was Lucas's voice.
-Bldi, by any chance.
The moment their eyes met, several emotions surged through her at once.
For the first time, she felt shame about the act of drinking blood. At the same time, a fear mingled with it—what if he saw her as a monster now?
Thump. Thump.
Her heart pounded wildly.
A completely different kind of pounding from when she drank the blood of wild animals or ate seonji.
What is this?
Flustered by an emotion she had never felt before, Bldi hastily changed the subject. Lucas, fortuitously, seemed not to have noticed.
A small part of her had been disappointed.
Now, recalling yesterday's events as she ate her gallek, Bldi noticed that Lucas's eyes had turned toward her.
"Mashther? What ish it?"
Her tongue had loosened after eating about ten cloves of broth-soaked whole gallek. Lucas spoke.
"Why didn't you tell me drinking the blood without the vitality was that hard?"
"B-Becaushe mashther asked me to."
"You don't have to do it anymore."
"Huh? Why?"
"You said it was hard. I don't want to force you."
There it was again.
Lucas's kindness, the way he steadied her frightened heart. That expression and that tone of voice, which put the other person completely at ease—they were the reasons Bldi could let her guard down here, at this restaurant, if nowhere else.
"Especially anything involving flavor. As a cook knight who pursues taste, I don't want to make you do something like that."
"I gotta do at leasht thish much. You're feedin' me for free. Hehehe."
"Are you really okay with it?"
"Yesh! Of courshe. But promishe me jusht one thing."
"What?"
Bldi considered her options.
If she told him here that she wanted to bite the nape of his neck just once, would he agree? If she said she wanted to drink just a little of his blood, would he be disgusted?
She was afraid.
Afraid that if she said she wanted to drink Lucas's blood, he would come to hate her.
So she chose a safer approach.
Bldi, now deft with chopsticks, picked up a perfectly cooked whole gallek.
"Put in lotsh of theshe."
Because this flavor was every bit as intense as drinking in vitality.
"...Is that really enough?"
"Yesh!"
"Eating gallek doesn't cause any weird symptoms for you?"
"It'sh fine. If it was gonna make me shick, I'd have notished by now."
She'd felt a tingling similar to being exposed to holy power when she ate gallek, but it had never felt dangerous. If eating a bit of gallek could kill a vampire, she would have been annihilated long ago.
It just tingled a little. That was fine. No problem.
"Well, if you say you're okay... Fine. But you have to tell me the moment it gets hard."
"Yesssh."
Lucas stroked her head gently. The sensation was deeply comforting to Bldi.
Later, when my master feels a little more comfortable with me...
She would ask again then.
Not for gallek. To drink her master's blood.
She felt good. Good enough that sleep began to creep in.
"Mashther, I'll work really hard."
Full belly, warm back, and completely at ease.
Wasn't this, by any standard, an excellent life for a vampire?
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★★★★★
The rich broth made from whole gallek, coco, and a medley of vegetables combined with the tender coco meat that Bldi personally drew blood from is simply phenomenal. Dip the coco in the master's special sauce, and you get a flavor that's spicy, tangy, and sharply fragrant all at once.
Your mouth tingles, but once you start eating, you might just get addicted. (For the record, I absolutely love this flavor.)
If the portion feels too small, finish the coco and then boil some kalguksu in the broth for a satisfying meal. (Even the scary black-haired knight sir said it was delicious.)
*Note: it's even better because I drew the blood myself.
Recommended: One-Hen Coco — Add Kalguksu
-Knight Restaurant Employee Bldi-
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└I am not "the black-haired knight." Call me Ivan. And the kalguksu was truly delicious! Worthy of being called gukbap! Personally, I also prefer it with rice mixed in.
└Shut up. You're making the board cramped.
└Perverted elf, stop leaving comments.
└Hey, you #$%$%!
***
A man was riding down the main road.
He had blond hair, a broad-brimmed leather hat, and a broadsword at his hip. Several packs were secured behind his saddle. His eyes swept back and forth as he pressed forward.
An explorer who roamed uncharted lands to discover treasure and exalt his own fame—Gerard urged his horse onward and surveyed his surroundings.
"Haa, it's hot..."
Sweat pouring down his face, he fanned himself with his hand and let out a heavy sigh.
In the Empire, the sort of man who traveled the main roads alone was not common. No matter how good Imperial public order was, traveling solo meant accepting a number of risks.
There were corners of the Empire where law and order did not reach, and in those corners, bandits thrived.
For that reason, most travelers formed at least a small party.
Accordingly, no one in their right mind traveled alone. If someone did travel alone, it was proof that they were a seasoned veteran strong enough to do so safely.
There was an adage among the Empire's bandits.
-Never target a person who travels alone.
In point of fact, Gerard was a highly skilled explorer.
In the past, he had discovered a settlement of the cat-people tribe in the desert zones of the far west. He had also uncovered ruins, presumed to have been built by the ancestors of the northern barbarians, in the remote Winter Mountains at the northern edge of the continent.
And the reason he had now come to the southernmost edge of the world.
"The mermaid legend... I'm certain it's in these waters."
Was to pursue the legend of the mermaids said to dwell in the southern sea.