A Peaceful Free-for-All
Ji-oh had no thoughts at all.
“Mmm…”
The moment he took a big bite of stew, warmth spread through his entire body.
This is it.
Ji-oh nodded.
Thinking of anything other than the meal at the dinner table was an insult to the food itself and practically a declaration of war against the pig. More than that, with a meal this outstanding, other thoughts simply refused to form.
It's perfect food for when your body is cold or weak.
Even a priest of the sun who always kept warmth close by was not immune to colds or body aches. At such times, Giovanni would cook and eat a stew just like this.
The charm of warm food like stew became especially appealing when one was unwell.
“It's delicious.”
“Kku.”
Of course, it was delicious even when healthy.
This is why we eat stew.
The natural acidity of tomato deepened into a richer flavor once it held warmth. Like the sticky, sweet broth from chicken feet simmered for hours, it produced complex aromas, and the flesh that melted softly under the tongue alone offered a somehow refined sweetness.
“It pairs well with the carrots too.”
“That's the good thing about Edelon stew—whatever you put in, it all goes well together.”
“It's also a trait of tomato stew.”
The unique bitter yet pungent, stimulating aroma of carrots had seeped gently into the stew. Not so assertive as to feel repulsive, yet blending with the various ingredients, the carrots that had fully absorbed the broth revealed a special texture even in their mouthfeel.
“And… I think it was a good idea to add the potatoes too.”
When it came to soaking up broth, you could never leave out potatoes.
“Iser recommended them, didn't he?”
“We used to put them in our home stew often… back then.”
“That's right. It brings back old memories.”
“They're really well cooked.”
“Thanks to Iser stirring so well. I can tell the heat spread evenly.”
Added to the red flavor of tomato, the potatoes that had absorbed the deeply extracted juices of the vegetables were soft enough to mash with just the gums. The potato's unique finely crumbling texture added weight to a stew that seemed ready to fly off on acidity and sweetness alone.
Is it because the other ingredients have such strong personalities? Adding something that gives a mild taste like this really deepens the stew's flavor. And for that, there's no ingredient that pairs better than potato.
Moreover, potatoes did not simply serve as a blank canvas.
“Even just the broth, you can taste the ingredients' aromas.”
The starch from the potatoes also served as a stepping stone that bound the various vegetables together and gently elevated their juices.
Ji-oh smiled faintly as he looked at Iser.
“There were a lot of ingredients that needed stirring, so your arms must have hurt.”
“Th… it's embarrassing. I'm past the age where my arms hurt from something like this.”
“Is that so? To my eyes you still look so young that this is quite a problem.”
The cabbage that was lightly mixed in was pretty good too.
“The cabbage is very well cooked.”
“Purrrrr.”
“Yeah, I like this kind of cabbage the best too.”
Cabbage that had fully absorbed the tomato-based broth. Mottled with the color of the broth, it seemed to give a strange elasticity when chewed, then quickly crumbled to release mild juices. The warmer broth spreading throughout the mouth was different from the stew's own.
“Ah, right.”
Ji-oh looked back at the campfire where the clams were cooking.
“I think we can start eating the clams now.”
“Meongmangmangmangmang…”
“You've got the makings of a pig too. Just wait a little.”
Stroking Dana's small round head once, the cat's characteristic triangular ears folded back and then returned. The way she flattened her ears even before the hand touched was utterly adorable.
I'll serve and worship her for life.
Just the sensation of that small precious skull fitting perfectly in his hand filled his stomach without eating. His heart felt warm and sturdy like ox-bone soup. This was how you raised life's satisfaction.
“Let's see…”
Most of the clams were fully cooked, and Ji-oh loaded them onto a tray and brought them to the table. There was a clattering sound of shells colliding. The unique sea scent of the clams, imbued with the aroma of charcoal fire, mixed with the subtle spring breeze of the forest to produce a pleasant smoke.
“They seem fully cooked.”
“Will you shuck them for us?”
“No, you're all grown now, so you should each shuck your own.”
“The clams you shucked yourself, Teacher, always seemed tastier… that part is a little disappointing.”
“Disappointing, what… Ah, hot.”
“Yes??”
Iser was flustered.
“Is it hot?”
“Would it be hot?”
Aria, who scolded her younger brother as naturally as breathing, then looked at Ji-oh with a sense of absurdity.
“What's with this fuss when you hold the divinity of the sun, Teacher.”
“It's natural for freshly grilled clams to be hot, so I couldn't help it.”
“Even after being deified, you can't abandon human habits…?”
“There can be cases. Why are you like that to me? It would be good to discard prejudice.”
“Prejudice? How unfair. I'm saying this because it doesn't make sense.”
“People should always live with an open mind.”
“Is this something that works with an open mind?”
“You shouldn't have such narrow-minded thoughts.”
Having broadened his student's world a little further, Ji-oh began shucking the clams with his characteristic noble—or to some, shameless—smile. The properly cooked clams each boasted white flesh and emitted the unique sweet and savory aroma of shellfish.
“Being the second Sun God has good points like this.”
“…Shucking clams with bare hands?”
“I always felt it was a waste to cool them to eat, so this is really great.”
“Is that the kind of use divinity is for?”
“Is there any reason it shouldn't be?”
Leaving the merfolk flustered by the unexpected blasphemy, Ji-oh and the teddy bear simply enjoyed themselves. Their stomachs were still quite empty, and there was plenty of room for grilled clams.
The teddy bear waited for the clam flesh with an excited face. Ji-oh handed over the flesh of a Black Tray Clam, full of rich juice as thick as fresh sea urchin roe, with hot steam rising in curls.
“Here you go, Father.”
“Kkuuu.”
“How does it taste?”
“Kkukkukkukkukku…”
“I'm glad you're enjoying the clam's taste.”
The teddy bear clapped its cotton paws. Ji-oh was proud, and the merfolk looked dumbfounded. Honey quietly hid back into the stew pot, and Dana finished her share of stew and flopped over on her back.
A peaceful free-for-all.
This could be called a summary of true life. It was pleasing and proud. As expected, there was nothing he could not do.
Ji-oh picked up a new Black Tray Clam. It was similar in form to abalone, but the shell was much blacker and smoother, and the flesh cooked over charcoal boasted a white and soft appearance.
Compared to this, abalone is closer to yellow.
Black Tray Clam was a clam that boasted vivid black and white to the point of hurting the eyes if you looked too long. The whiteness of its flesh was different from abalone. It also differed in that the edges were cleanly round without any roughness. But its taste and texture definitely reminded one of abalone.
“……”
Chewy.
“Oh.”
The insane springiness struck Ji-oh's brain.
It's good to eat after a long time.
His salivary glands got irritated by the crazy umami. It was truly natural dashi itself. The flesh that carried the strong vitality of the Black Tray Clam was soft to a degree that the elasticity was never unpleasant, and the taste that grew more savory the more you chewed was like roasted nuts.
Maybe because it wasn't grilled too long, it's also tender…
Should one say the grain was felt? The flesh that scattered smoothly like silk split helplessly when pressed with teeth, giving the pure pleasure of chewing. The clam juice that flowed generously felt similar to clam soup eaten on a winter day.
“……”
Because the clam flesh was not small, it filled the mouth. It was much later that Ji-oh opened his mouth.
“It's so delicious.”
“…It looks that way.”
“This is life.”
“Your gluttony has increased even more since I last saw you.”
“And yours has disappeared.”
“Haha…”
Iser smiled a calm smile resembling Giovanni's.
“Since there's no need to eat, I don't end up making sure to eat.”
In fact, it was not only that. Iser had eaten Ji-oh when he was still breathing. Perhaps because the sensation of those living, writhing muscles twitching in his mouth still remained. After that, Iser did not put anything in his mouth unless necessary.
“Still…”
“This is delicious, right?”
“…Yes, it's delicious.”
It felt like he was truly eating food for the first time in a long while.
“I feel good.”
It was enough to give the illusion of having become human.
“The Sunlight Turban Shell… will you use the shell, Teacher?”
“I plan to grind it finely later and make it into paint.”
“I see.”
Giovanni used to draw pictures using such clam shells. He especially liked drawing the sea, and the scent of the sea always came from his paintings.
“I'll collect them then.”
“Please do.”
Whether Iser was lost in sentiment or not, Ji-oh this time picked up a Club Trumpet Clam. The clam, with a round area as large as a pen shell adductor, already had half its shell split open revealing the flesh.
“……”
Munch.
Teeth sank in.
“…It's really cooked soft…”
“Because I grilled it.”
“Excellent, Aria. You have talent for cooking after all.”
It is the nature of clams to get tough if grilled long, but in the case of Club Trumpet, if cooked at the right temperature and time, one could feel supreme softness. That tenderness where the delicate fibers melted away was softer even than raw pen shell adductor.
To be able to feel this texture in warm grilled clams.
It was a texture Giovanni could taste without difficulty, but for Seo Ji-oh, who was an Earthling, it was an unfamiliar and exciting sensation. Come to think of it, the clam Giovanni had liked most was Club Trumpet.
“I think it would be delicious if grilled with butter…”
“We never tried that food when we were in Edelon village.”
Aria smiled faintly.
“Butter wasn't that precious an ingredient there either.”
“Rather, it was avoided.”
Butter was cumbersome to make and there was a strong perception that it was milk residue. Moreover, in a seaside village right by the coast, it was hard to raise cows, so there were not many dishes using dairy.
“But it really would be delicious if grilled with butter.”
“…We can try it later.”
“Good.”
Sunlight Turban Shell was a bit inconvenient to extract the flesh. You had to spin it around with a dedicated skewer for the flesh to pop out, and the texture was quite similar to turban shells on Earth. But its sweetness was extraordinary.
“……”
This sweetness deeply dyed into the flesh itself, and a bitter stimulation that somehow recalled the scent of medicinal herbs. There was a superstition that eating Sunlight Turban Shell when you had a cold would make your body better, so much so that it had the effect of warming the body.
…Is it used as medicine because it definitely feels like this…
A funny thought also came that since it was the Sunlight Turban Shell of a nation that worshipped the Sun God, even the shellfish had received some benefits. It was a sweet and salty taste that would season perfectly if made into spicy whelk salad.
“Merfolk didn't seem to eat spicy well—how about now?”
“We've come too far to quibble over that now. In terms of eating meals, there's nothing that can be called a problem anymore.”
Iser, who was cutting and eating the flesh of the Club Trumpet, continued.
“So I think we can eat anything if we try. Things that could be called preferences have also faded a lot, and rather than the merfolk who lived in that sea back then, even biological characteristics have changed…”
“Then can you eat things that are a bit spicy?”
“I've never sought them out, but yes. Is the next dish you'll make a bit spicy by chance?”
“It won't be that spicy…”
“Recalling Teacher who liked experimental cooking, I can't feel at ease.”
Saying so, Iser was smiling.
“Will you let me taste-test before the meal?”
“I can bestow that much mercy as much as you want—if you help a bit with meal prep.”
“That sounds good.”
Iser muttered.
“…It's really good.”
Unable to shake off the strange feeling, he eventually harbored a similar question to his sister.
Why is it so peaceful?
(To be continued)