“Mm.”
The taste was unlike any meat he had eaten before. Although he had eaten marinated meat occasionally, the pork ribs had a stronger flavor. The rich seasoning and rice combined for a sweet taste, melting away in his mouth as if the meat and rice grains were dissolving.
“Tasty, isn’t it?”
The combination of pork ribs and rice was unquestionably perfect. Sylvia placed another piece of pork rib on the rice and then dipped a green chili in soybean paste before adding it.
“Try it like this now.”
Watching Felix cutely accept the food, Sylvia prepared a wrap with pork rib, green onion salad, and radish salad on a lettuce leaf.
“Ah.”
The flavors indeed varied with each bite. While eating with rice was greasy yet sweet, wrapping it in lettuce with sour additions cleansed his palate with a refreshing tang after the sweet surge.
“Mm…”
As Felix ate with wide eyes, Sylvia swallowed hard. She had been craving the pork ribs since she started grilling them, one of her top three favorite foods.
Following the same steps as Felix, Sylvia placed a large piece on her rice and directly into her mouth.
“Mm…”
An involuntary nasal hum came out, indicating how delicious it was. After biting into a crisp green chili dipped in soybean paste, she made a large wrap with lettuce and dandelion leaves, stuffing it into her mouth and chewing thoughtfully. Felix did the same, following her lead.
Seeing the two start eating, Hubert and Dennis hurriedly moved their hands. The Croban mercenaries also busied themselves quietly, feeling the need to eat quickly as the number of mouths had increased.
Henry watched Felix and Sylvia’s affectionate interaction, then noticed Dennis wielding his chopsticks aggressively.
“My lord Dennis, why the rush? Were you told to go on a scout?”
There seemed no need to hurry otherwise.
“No, have we not decided not to scout separately due to the recent surge in demonic beasts?”
“I remember, but… I fail to understand why even Hubert is in a hurry.”
Henry slowly lifted his fork as Dennis explained,
“If we don’t hurry, we might end up eating far less than usual.”
“Really?”
“Lord Henry might not be aware, but both our lord and Lady Sylvia are formidable eaters.”
“Well, it’s understandable for our lord given his stature, but Lady Sylvia too? Does she eat a lot for a woman?”
“Not exactly. Besides, haven’t our numbers suddenly increased today? Surely, the prepared meat won’t last.”
Henry was puzzled by Dennis’s explanation, but after tasting the pork ribs, his eyes lit up. It was the first time he had tasted such food, and it was incredibly delicious.
“Mm… How is this flavor even possible…”
As Henry savored each bite, he noticed Sylvia, who was cleanly stripping the meat off the ribs with both hands. The bone, as long as her face, was left without a single piece of meat.
“Mm…”
Henry’s eyes widened in astonishment as he noted the ribs piling up in front of her. Beside her, Felix’s plate was also filled with ribs.
With disbelief, Henry stared, his eyes wide open, as Dennis nudged him.
“Eat up. There’s no time to waste.”
Rolling his eyes towards Dennis’s plate, he saw that Dennis had already finished his rice and was wrapping the last piece of meat with greens before putting it into his mouth.
“Sylvia, could I have some more rice, please?”
Dennis, with his mouth full, raised his hand as he spoke.
“Oh, just a moment.”
Sylvia used wind magic to scoop rice from the rice cooker and placed it on Dennis’s plate, then topped it with a generous amount of pre-grilled pork ribs.
“Thank you!”
“Sylvia, me too!”
“More for me, please!”
The Croban mercenaries raised their hands, calling out one after another. While tearing through the ribs, Sylvia used wind magic to serve everyone.
Thibault was mesmerized by the unfamiliar scene. The flavor was unbelievable, but the current situation seemed even more so. Yet, he couldn’t stop himself and eagerly wrapped his own servings, following the others.
He hadn’t expected the fresh vegetables to taste so refreshing and delicious. The occasional bitter greens seemed to enhance the flavor further.
In the midst of tearing through the meat, Sylvia suddenly stood up.
“Siri?”
Holding a rib in each hand, Felix called out with a puzzled voice.
“Just keep eating.”
“Okay.”
Felix thought the meat on the ribs was delicious, but nothing beat the taste of the meat still clinging to the bone. He was initially surprised when Sylvia grabbed the ribs with both hands, but not anymore.
While Felix was cleaning the bones, Sylvia started boiling noodles. She used a method difficult without magic, boiling the noodles neatly and then cooling them in ice water. The noodles, cooked to perfection, were twirled into a bowl.
Unlike the radish-only dongchimi, the broth made for dongchimi noodles contained sliced radish, cabbage, and radish greens, offering a taste that was both more sour and sweeter than regular dongchimi. The finely swirled noodles were served in a bowl with ice-cold broth poured gently over them.
Sylvia prepared enough servings for everyone and placed them in front of each person using air magic.
“This is dongchimi noodles, and they taste great with the meat! Go ahead and eat!”
Thibault showed interest in the noodles, a new sight for him. His country, Caudatismum, prided itself on its variety of noodle dishes.
He first tasted the broth.
“Hmm!”
The cool broth was deliciously refreshing. Seeing Thibault drink the broth eagerly, Ethan quickly picked up his bowl. Though he hadn’t felt greasy eating the various side dishes with the meat, he looked forward to the combination of pork ribs and dongchimi noodles.
“This is absolutely delicious.”
Ethan exclaimed, twirling the noodles with his fork, amazed at how they could be served so neatly.
After tasting the noodles, he drank some broth.
“Mmm…”
Ethan hummed in appreciation, then took a bite of pork rib and chewed it with the remaining noodles.
“Umm!”
The cool, sour broth and the savory, fatty meat paired exceptionally well. It was clear why Sylvia had prepared these noodles.
“Amazing.”
Ethan muttered with a sigh, to which Jeremy whispered,
“This is insanely good, boss.”
Despite boasting about having tasted her packed lunches before, the dongchimi noodles were a revelation. Overwhelmed by the new textures and flavors, Jeremy praised Sylvia.
“Indeed, Sylvia is the best! This is really delicious!”
“Me too! I think Sylvia is the best.”
“You already know my heart, don’t you? Sylvia, you’re the best!”
Amidst the lively chatter, everyone enjoyed their meal. The occasional howls of monsters in the distance were now inconsequential.
As the moon replaced the sun, everyone turned on their magic lamps. The moonlight and lamp light blended softly.
Checking the remaining meat, Sylvia put three pieces in her mouth and chewed. The pork ribs tasted as delicious as ever.
***
Felix awoke to the noise, first checking on Sylvia, who was soundly asleep in his arms, her teal hair spilling over his shoulder and arm.
He gently removed the strands of hair sticking to her face. Just then, someone outside shouted, causing Sylvia to furrow her brows and flutter her eyelashes. Worried she might wake, Felix quickly patted her shoulder.
Once her breathing stabilized, Felix stood up. Donning his robe, he stepped outside to find the magic lamps lit and people gathered. Floating lightly among them, Felix asked in a low voice,
“What’s going on?”
He disliked the commotion, especially since it almost woke Sylvia.
“Captain, there are people below.”
Hubert relayed the message with awareness of their surroundings. At that moment, Thibault, having donned his armor, emerged from the round wooden frame.
“It seems everyone is awake. My apologies.”
He bowed politely and quickly explained the situation.
“It appears to be one of the knight orders from our nation.”
Felix turned his attention towards the noise emanating from below. It was too dark to see clearly, but sounds of groans, monsters bursting, and other noises continued to echo.
Ethan, too, hurriedly put on his armor and grabbed his sword.
“We will help.”
“Thank you. Then…”
As Thibault, Ethan, and the other members prepared to descend, they suddenly found themselves unable to move. It wasn’t by their choice but by Felix’s magic that had frozen them in place. Without uttering a word, Felix used his magic, illuminating the fire brightly to clearly see the situation below and lifted the people up with his magic.
“Ugh!”
“Argh!”
“Aah!”
One by one, people fell onto the wooden platform. After the last person was lifted up, Felix used wind magic to slaughter the group of monsters all at once.
The surroundings became quiet instantly.
Thibault and Ethan looked at Felix in shock. Felix, without even glancing at the injured knights of the nation sprawled around, spoke lowly.
“If Siri wakes up, are you going to take responsibility? An already overworked kid, who cooks more than any of you, and now you’re going to deprive her of proper sleep?”
The sound of teeth grinding could also be faintly heard. Thibault, managing only to exhale, finally found his voice.
“Sorry… no, thank you.”
Witnessing the quick resolution, Thibault felt a sense of fear. ‘Could a mere mercenary captain be this powerful?’ he thought.
Instead of responding, Felix turned away. The people watched as he flew back to his quarters, overwhelmed by the vast difference in magical power and an indescribable sense of intimidation. But as groans sounded again, Thibault regained his composure.
“Isn’t that you, Sir Richard of the Second Knight Order?”
“*Gasp*, *pant*.”
“Relax, you’re alive. This place is safe.”
“Sir Thibault?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
Richard, hastily wiping the blood trickling down, got up.
“Where are we?”
“In a tree.”
“In a tree, you say?”
“Safe. You’ve had a rough time.”
“Ha…”
Richard shuddered, recalling the horrific moments.
“I don’t understand why the monsters suddenly became so aggressive. Their numbers increased so much that we couldn’t possibly contend. Do you know why?”
“No, I don’t know the reason… but we’ve achieved our purpose for coming out here.”
At Thibault’s words, Richard’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“That means…”
“This place was created by our nation’s benefactor. We’ve received help from them once again.”
“You found them…”
Despite being a small nation’s knight order, their loyalty was deeper than the empire’s. The benefactor who saved their nation was akin to a savior to them. Hearing that the benefactor had been found, Richard finally let go of the exhaustion from days of relentless travel and slumped down.
Thibault caught him and laid him down to check his wounds.
“I didn’t bring much as it’s for emergencies, but this herb works well on cuts.”
Ethan approached with herbs and bandages.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. Didn’t you help us? We should help each other.”
“Still, I’m really grateful.”
“We also have bandages and herbs. Don’t worry, let’s treat you.”
Dennis came with emergency supplies and spoke.
Under the moonlit night, a momentary lapse of fear and crisis had passed. Thibault was concerned for the other knight orders.