Chapter 139

Chapter 139: Is Eel Really Good for Stamina?

After the meal.

"Rin, did you enjoy the food?"

"Yesh, Papa's cooking was the best! The salad was dewicious, the pasta was dewicious, the meat made fwom beans and mushwooms was dewicious too! And the cheese and kaymak and bwead were dewicious too!"

"I am glad you enjoyed it. Then it is time for Daddy to give our daughter her birthday present."

"I am so excited!"

I stroked Rin's hair and opened a Gate portal.

A Gate portal leading to the Farm Dungeon.

"Wooow......!"

Rin gasped at the sight of the farm rippling in the portal.

I let the others go through first.

Once everyone had transferred, I extended my hand to Rin.

"Take Daddy's hand."

"Okay!"

I held Rin's hand and walked into the Farm Dungeon together.

Upon arrival, Rin saw the vast, brightly lit farm dungeon and clapped her hand over her mouth.

The land had already been fully tilled and was ready for immediate planting.

"Papa...... is this dungeon a pwesent for Win?"

"That is right. From now on, you can plant and grow anything you want here without any space limitations. And that is not all. There is one more thing."

"One more......?"

I led Rin by the hand to a glass indoor greenhouse spanning about one hundred pyeong.

Inside, various flowers and plants had been planted.

At the center, a comfortable rest area had been set up.

A Highest-Grade Flame Magic Stone hung from the ceiling, keeping the interior pleasantly warm.

I had built this indoor greenhouse remembering how much Rin enjoyed visiting arboretums.

Rin fell silent after looking around the greenhouse.

Had she not liked the present?

I soon realized that was not the case.

I could feel trembling through the hand I was holding.

Then.

"Sniff, hic......!"

Rin began wiping away tears.

"Rin......? Why are you crying, sweetheart?"

I crouched down and dabbed Rin's eyes with a handkerchief.

"It is because...... I am so happy that tears are coming out......! Hic!"

"That happy?"

"Yesh! I am so happy!"

Saying that, Rin threw herself into my arms.

"Thank you so much for the pwesent, Papa. It is the best pwesent ever."

"Ha ha! Seeing you this happy makes Daddy happy too."

A month of preparation had been worth it.

The greenhouse had been built by Maxim.

After finishing work at the restaurant, I would go outside the Rift and visit flower shops and garden centers, buying beautiful flowers to plant in the dungeon greenhouse.

Rin then explored the greenhouse with sparkling eyes, examining the various plants.

She also tried out the table and sofa at the central rest area.

Ria and I watched with pride.

Then my mother, who had been holding Yeona, came over and said.

"Did you really create this dungeon space yourself, Seon-u?"

"Yes."

"What an incredible ability. The greenhouse is beautiful too. It makes me happy to see Rin so overjoyed."

"I know. She likes it even more than I expected."

However, this dungeon did have one issue.

Monsters could potentially wander in.

Just days after creating the dungeon, a Kobold had intruded once.

After dealing with that monster and surveying the area, I had found a Dimensional Rift, a portal, that had opened.

That was most likely the work of a certain Golden Goblin.

'When Rin comes here, she will need to always bring an escort, just like when she enters the Wild Grape dungeon.'

There was no telling when a monster might intrude.

The Adult Dryad then approached and said.

"This place. Very much. Like it."

"Really?"

"Was about. To leave. But. Want to stay. Longer."

So she had been thinking of leaving.

Hearing that, Rin ran over and hugged the Adult Dryad.

"No, Master......! Do not go......!"

The Adult Dryad looked down at Rin with a pleased expression.

"Not going. Rin. If. Owner of this place. Permits."

She looked at me.

"May I? Stay. Longer."

"You are Rin's master, so of course. Stay as long as you like."

"This dungeon. I want to stay. In this dungeon."

"This dungeon is a gift I gave to Rin, so I am not the owner. Rin is."

At that, the Adult Dryad nodded and turned to Rin.

"Rin. May I? Stay here."

"Yesh! Master! Of course!"

"Thank you."

"Hehe!"

I then informed the Adult Dryad that monsters could potentially intrude into this dungeon.

The Adult Dryad said she would stay and serve as the dungeon's guardian.

'The Adult Dryad is among the upper tier of Highest-Grade Monsters in terms of strength, so if she is guarding this place, there should be no problems.'

***

At night, once Ria and I had put Yeona and Rin to bed.

We resumed our hunting outings, just like before.

For us, this was our date.

Tonight, we were on a fishing date at the sea at the southern tip of the Fourth Floor.

Ria cast her fishing line from the rocks into the ocean and said.

"If an aquatic monster bites the bait, will the fishing rod hold up against its strength?"

"I am not sure. It is tackle designed for large species like tuna and blue marlin, ordered from overseas. But whether it can handle a monster, I really do not know."

"If it cannot, we will just have to reinforce it with mana."

"With mana?"

"Yeah, like infusing aura into a sword, I will try infusing mana."

"That might work on the rod, but will it work on the fishing line too?"

"Yes, it will."

As expected of a swordswoman who had reached a high level of mastery.

'And this person is my wife.'

I felt a swell of pride.

We then waited for a bite.

But for a long time, nothing bit.

'Should I change the bait?'

Currently I was using a lure.

What kind of bait would monsters find appealing?

I tried various things.

Pungent-smelling saury, mackerel, squid, and more.

But still no reaction.

'Then how about Behemoth meat?'

I took some leftover scraps from trimming a Behemoth tenderloin, baited the hook, and cast it out.

Before long, something bit.

In that instant, the rod bent like a bow under a powerful pull.

'This is nothing like the force of a tuna or marlin......!'

At this rate, the rod and the line would both snap.

That was when Ria stepped in.

"Seon-u, let me help."

Ria gripped the rod handle and infused it with mana to stabilize it.

The bent rod straightened, and the line that had been thrashing wildly went calm.

"Ria, that is impressive."

"This much is easy."

I then began reeling in the line.

Whatever had taken the bait resisted with tremendous force, but with a Strength stat of over one hundred, it was not too difficult for me.

The creature broke the surface, revealing itself.

"It looks like an eel."

It had a long, plump body.

Roughly 2.5 meters in length.

"The fish that is supposedly good for stamina?"

"That is right."

In truth, eel was not especially effective for stamina.

It was merely a perception handed down through tradition.

In terms of actual nutritional content, there were many fish and seafood far more beneficial for stamina than eel.

'Still, it is certainly the iconic fish that comes to mind when people think of stamina.'

Ria's cheeks colored slightly as she said.

"My husband does not really need stamina-boosting food. You are already so healthy."

"Ha ha......! Thank you for the compliment."

That was the highest compliment a man could receive.

I netted the eel-like monster and pulled it up.

When I removed the hook, the creature thrashed and tried to bite my hand with its savage teeth.

I immediately drew my kitchen knife, cut off the head of the eel monster, and removed the innards.

From among the organs, I extracted a Magic Stone from the small heart.

'It was a Lowest-Grade Monster.'

Quite large for a Lowest-Grade.

After finishing the prep, I stored it in Acresia for now.

Then I continued fishing.

I used Behemoth meat again.

More aquatic monsters bit.

'So aquatic monsters can appreciate premium bait.'

I caught another eel-like monster.

And I also caught a Krakpus, the giant-octopus-like High-Grade Monster I had caught twice before.

"I had been wanting to catch a Krakpus since we ran out of stock."

"Fishing is more lucrative than I expected. Let us come again often."

"Let us."

After a productive fishing session.

We headed to our home outside the Rift.

In the spacious kitchen, I immediately began a cooking test.

The test subject was the eel-like monster.

I cut a section from the eel monster's massive body, sized for a cooking test.

CRACK!

The bones were quite thick and hard.

I then carefully scraped the scales off the back with a knife, removing the mucus and impurities.

After washing it thoroughly under running water, I patted it dry with a cloth.

Then I meticulously removed every bone embedded in the flesh with tweezers.

'The body is too thick for a straightforward grill.'

The inside would not cook evenly.

So I scored it in a tight crosshatch pattern.

To ensure it cooked through.

Then I cut it into appropriately sized portions and began grilling them over charcoal.

"I do not see any signs of toxicity, but I am not sure if it is actually edible."

"The grilling smell is good, though. I doubt it is toxic."

Indeed, toxic monsters smelled different from the start.

It was probably safe.

If the Blessing of Dexterity activated, I would know for certain.

If there was toxicity, I would abandon the grill and make an eel soup with Glace Mushroom to neutralize it instead.

'If there is no toxicity, I can sell both versions.'

I also prepared sauces.

A soy-based sauce made with Soy Sauce, Mirin, Rice Wine, Allulose, bonito broth, and sliced ginger.

And a spicy sauce made with Red Pepper Paste, Soy Sauce, minced garlic, Mirin, Allulose, red pepper powder, Sesame Oil, and sesame salt.

I brushed the sauces onto the sizzling eel monster grill over the charcoal with an oil brush.

Half with the soy sauce, half with the spicy sauce.

Watching this, Ria licked her lips.

"That looks delicious...... shall we have some Wild Grape wine with the grill?"

Ria seemed certain there was no toxicity.

"Sounds good."

I plated the finished eel monster grill.

Then a system message appeared.

[Master's Seasoned Grilled Liner]
[Blessing of Dexterity Effect: Agility +1]

The Blessing of Dexterity had activated.

As Ria had predicted, there was no toxicity.

Now it just needed to taste good.

'The flavor of eel varies enormously by species.'

Some species, when grilled, had a dry, styrofoam-like texture.

Not all eel was delicious.

'At least it had plenty of fat, so it should not be dry.'

I tasted a piece first.

I ate the soy-sauce-glazed grilled version, garnished with julienned ginger.

"Huh......?"

This was an unexpected flavor.

I loved grilled fish just as much as grilled meat.

I loved grilled eel too.

But this was a cut above every eel I had ever tasted.

"How does it taste?"

When Ria asked, I gave a thumbs up.

"It is incredibly delicious."

"Really? Let me try."

Ria took a bite and her eyes went wide as she nodded.

"How can it be this rich......? The fat is even more savory than grilled Chilean sea bass."

"I know. I was surprised by the richness of the fat too."

As Ria said, the fat was truly richer than grilled Chilean sea bass.

That savory richness paired beautifully with the salty sauce, making it even more delicious.

Ria and I sat across from each other, savoring the eel monster grill and clinking wine glasses.

Ria then said.

"Is there another person in the world who gets to drink wine this delicious and eat food this incredible, flavors you cannot find anywhere else?"

"Where did that come from?"

"I just suddenly thought about it. I must be a truly blessed person."

"I am more blessed than you, Ria."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because I get to clink wine glasses with my beautiful wife, just the two of us, late at night. Time with the children is precious, but time alone with Ria like this is precious too."

"I feel the same."

Ria's face flushed red.

Was it the wine?

Or was she being shy?

Either way, the sight was utterly captivating.

"Seon-u, your ears are red."

"Really?"

Must be the wine.

Then again, maybe the eel monster really did have that kind of effect.

We soon rose from the table and headed to the bedroom, where we stayed up flirting until we had pulled an all-nighter.