Chapter 44

Chapter 44: Ria Arrives in Korea

Of the four Mandragora roots, two were used for the mackerel Mandragora braise that Ria and I would eat.

One root was cleaned, sliced, and split evenly between Rin and Bell — the ones who had found and pulled it.

The two ate happily.

The remaining root was stored in Acresia for now.

It was time for Ria and me to eat.

I scooped the finished rice and set out the side dishes.

The sides consisted of blanched bean sprouts, fresh radish salad, crunchy peppers and sliced raw cucumber, seasoned spinach, seaweed soup, and more.

Since the main dish was a braise and therefore salty, I assembled relatively mild-flavored side dishes.

Ria marveled at the spread before her.

"Today is fully Korean cuisine. I love it. Thank you for the meal."

"Enjoy."

Ria picked up her chopsticks.

With remarkable skill.

When I had first taught her how to use chopsticks, she had been very awkward.

But that had only lasted the first day.

From the second day onward, she handled them with impressive dexterity.

Part of it was surely because she was a swordswoman with keen senses and nimble hands.

But after we started dating, she confessed something.

She had carved chopsticks out of wood and practiced using them on her own.

Because she wanted to show me only her best side.

'How could I not fall for someone like that?'

Considerate, hardworking, kind-hearted, and above all, beautiful.

Falling for Ria had been an inevitable progression.

Then Ria spoke, her face reddening.

"Seon-u, is it alright if I try the food?"

"Hm? Oh, yes, go ahead."

I must have been staring too intently.

She picked apart a piece of mackerel and took a bite.

"......"

Ria's eyes went wide.

"This fish is incredibly delicious......! I thought the grilled Chilean sea bass you made before was the best fish dish, but this."

"The mackerel is better than the Chilean sea bass?"

"Yes, it is even better. It is less oily than the sea bass, but still plenty rich, and above all, the nuttiness is wonderful. I think this fish suits my taste a little more."

In-season mackerel was loaded with fat, and its flesh was plump and full.

Moreover, freshly caught mackerel so fresh it could be served as sashimi had the kind of refined flavor that high-end omakase restaurants used for their raw fish courses.

With such fresh mackerel, it was bound to taste outstanding.

Ria continued.

"And the braising sauce is delicious too."

"With braised dishes, the mackerel is actually the supporting player. The radish is the real star. Try the radish too."

Ah, it was not radish — it was Mandragora.

"Alright."

Ria picked up a piece of Mandragora and tasted it.

"Wow......"

She was awestruck.

Her expression suggested she was at a loss for words.

She even seemed to go limp.

"Braised in the sauce, it is incredibly good."

"That is the beauty of braised dishes. But it is salty, so eat it with rice."

"Okay."

I took a bite of the braised Mandragora myself.

'Good grief......'

The flavor was absurdly good.

The seasoning had penetrated deep into the flesh, and the texture was superb.

The Maillard-browned bottom portion in particular had an exceptional depth of umami.

It was incomparable to regular radish.

"Mandragora really is on a different level."

"It really is. Even if I harvested an S-Rank radish, I do not think it could compete with Mandragora."

"Probably not."

The Mandragora's flavor was that extraordinary.

Ria then tried the seaweed soup.

She also dipped blanched bean sprouts in the braising liquid and ate them, enjoying the meal in various ways.

"I love Korean food."

"More than poke?"

"Yes. I think I am falling for Korean food now."

She was practically Korean at this point.

In that case, I would need to increase the proportion of Korean dishes in our meals.

Ria continued.

"Seon-u, I want to learn how to braise."

"Braising? That is quite a difficult technique."

Braising might look simple on the surface, but it was actually an extremely advanced technique.

Producing a mediocre result was easy.

But achieving a polished, complete flavor was not.

It required judging how thoroughly each ingredient was cooked.

Getting the perfect Maillard browning as the liquid reduced — enough to develop flavor but not so much that it burned or stuck.

And adjusting the saltiness so it was neither too salty nor too bland as it reduced.

Before adding the seasoning and starting to braise, one had to already know whether the finished result would be too salty or too bland.

Adjusting the seasoning midway would cause the flavors to sit on the surface instead of melding.

For a beginner to nail all three elements simultaneously was extremely difficult.

"I will study hard."

"Alright. I will teach you."

"Yes!"

The dishes I had taught Ria so far included Hawaiian poke, Korean cuisine, Italian, and French.

Among those, the Korean cuisine had focused mainly on side dishes and soups.

I was teaching her the fundamentals one step at a time.

Now that the basics were well established, it was time to move on to the advanced stage: main dishes.

'Ria's cooking has gotten quite good lately.'

Ria was responsible for one meal a day using the recipes she had learned from me.

Her cooking skills were improving with each passing day.

Ria set down her spoon and chopsticks after finishing her meal.

"I am so happy."

"Why?"

"Because I am eating food this delicious with someone wonderful. The food you make is so warm that it feels like it melts my heart. All the sadness, all the pain."

"......"

Could there be any greater compliment for a chef?

It had not been long since Ria lost her father.

She did not show her grief, but there must have been times when she struggled alone.

I was glad that my cooking could comfort her heart, even a little.

I spoke to Ria as well.

"If anything, I am the one who is happier because of you, Ria."

"Why?"

"Because meeting you changed my life."

"Did it...... I do not feel like I have done much."

"No, you have done everything."

Economically and emotionally, she had filled the voids in my life.

And because I met Ria, I now had this loving family.

Seeing Rin playing with Bell after the meal warmed my heart.

After the meal—

For digestion and a change of pace, Ria and I climbed from the basin toward the mountains.

When we reached the summit—

"I never would have imagined......"

"Neither would I......"

The scenery that unfolded left both Ria and me stunned.

Looking down, clouds were spread out like a horizon below us.

In other words, this place was an island floating in the sky.

"No wonder the sky was so perfectly blue without a single cloud."

Was this a Sky Island on the Second Floor, or the Fourth Floor?

It could be neither the Second nor the Fourth, but an independent location entirely.

In any case, it was an extraordinarily mystical place.

Ria gazed at the scenery and spoke.

"I knew Screaming Roots are typically found in highland areas, and I thought it was strange to find them growing here. Now the reason makes sense."

"Oh, Screaming Roots grow in high-altitude areas?"

"That is what I was taught."

That was valuable information.

In that case, it might actually be best to cultivate Mandragora right here.

"This island is so high in the sky that Monsters would have no way to attack. Should we make this our camping spot?"

A camping spot and a Mandragora field.

"I like it."

I needed to commit this place to memory so I could come here anytime.

***

Night fell.

We settled in to sleep.

In the medium three-person tent, Rin and Bell lay to my left, and Ria to my right.

Ria spoke, resting her head on my arm.

"Sleeping all together like this really does feel like a family camping trip."

"It does. This is not bad at all. I had a great time today."

"Me too. Did you have fun too, Rin?"

When Ria asked, Rin squirmed beside me, sat up, and smiled at Ria.

"Fun!"

Rin spoke a word Ria had taught her.

Ria was still learning Korean from me, and she was teaching what she learned to Rin.

"Ha ha! You remembered what you learned? Our Rin is so smart."

"Heh!"

Praised by Ria, Rin lay back down beside me and tickled Bell's head.

Then Ria spoke.

"I would like to see your hometown house too, Seon-u."

"My house? It is run-down."

"Even so. I am curious about where you grew up."

Ria, who had been hesitating about going to the world I lived in, was now saying she wanted to visit.

Then we should go.

Strike while the iron is hot, as they say.

"Then do you want to go tomorrow?"

"Really?"

"Yeah, really."

"I am excited."

"There is truly nothing to see, though."

"I do not mind."

And so, it was decided that I would show her the countryside house tomorrow.

If she visited the city, she might be genuinely shocked, but the countryside would not be all that different from the world Ria had lived in.

"Then let us really get some sleep."

"Okay."

Ria lifted herself slightly and kissed me on the cheek.

"Good night, Seon-u."

"Good night."

Seeing that, Rin kissed me on the cheek too.

Is this what it feels like to be the head of a family?

I was happy.

I kissed both Ria and Rin on the cheek as well.

Then I gave Bell's head a pet and said.

"Good night, everyone."

***

The next day.

After breakfast and some water play—

I went with Rin to the other side of the lake, where we had pulled the Mandragora, and planted Mandragora seeds in the soil.

On top of that, we added Bell's fresh morning droppings as fertilizer, along with Wooden Golem debris.

The finest nutrients possible.

"Rin, if you would."

Rin nodded and conjured emerald mana in both hands.

But for a long time, nothing happened.

With any other crop, sprouts would have emerged ages ago.

By this point, Rin had likely channeled the equivalent of over six months' worth of growth.

And yet, not even a sprout had appeared.

'Being a rare plant, it seems growing it is no simple matter either.'

Rin looked strained as well.

Then—

'There it is......'

A sprout pushed through the soil.

'I knew it could be done.'

With the two-part nutrient set and Rin working together, it seemed there was no crop they could not grow.

Rin then stopped the growth.

"Phew......!"

Judging by how she caught her breath, it had been exhausting.

"That was tough, was it not? Great job, Rin."

When I held out my palm, Rin gave me a high five.

Going forward, I would bring Rin here periodically and let her grow the plants slowly, only as much as she could handle without straining.

With the work done, we wrapped up our one-night, two-day camping trip and returned to the Rift house.

Once we were back, Ria spoke to me.

"I have some housework to catch up on from the family trip, and I want to check the fields too. After that, let us go see your countryside house."

"Sure. Take your time."

Starting in two days, the S-Rank trio would be heading out west with Bell for reconnaissance.

It had been 20 days since the follow-up expedition departed, and if they had cleared the First, Second, and Third Floors in the shortest possible time, they could be arriving soon.

'In other words, Ria only has about two days left where she can comfortably leave the house.'

When the S-Rank trio combined their strength, they were on par with Ria, so they could guard the Rift house in her place.

But without them, Ria had to stay and protect it.

That was why I wanted to show her the countryside house today without delay.

'For now, I will replenish my mana while Ria works.'

Transporting all four of us back from the Sky Island had consumed a significant amount of mana.

Moreover, using the Gate portal outside the Rift consumed more than double the mana of traveling within it.

So I needed to replenish.

The best way to replenish mana—

Was simply to rest.

'Being an Awakened really is nice.'

Unlike in the world Ria lived in, where mana was recovered through disciplined breathing and mana cultivation techniques—

I just had to sit still and it recovered on its own.

After roughly an hour of resting and replenishing mana, Ria returned.

"All done."

"Then let us go right away."

I opened the Gate portal.

The destination: the countryside house I lived in.

After activating the portal, I spoke to Ria.

"Let us go in together."

"Okay."

Ria and I held hands and stepped into the Gate portal simultaneously.

I had secretly worried that Ria, being from another world, might not be able to use a portal leading outside the Rift.

But the worry proved completely unfounded. The transfer went smoothly.

Upon arriving, the first thing to greet us was warm sunlight.

Ria raised a hand above her brow to shield her eyes from the sun and murmured quietly.

"So this is your world, Seon-u......"

Then a single tear rolled down her cheek.

"What is wrong, Ria?"

"It is just...... I am happy that your world and I are now connected...... I had even been ready to give up on being with you because we lived in different worlds......"

That was true.

Thanks to Acresia reaching A-Grade and awakening the Gate skill, I was now able to ease some of Ria's anxiety.

I held her close and patted her gently.

"The former Knight Commander sure is a crybaby."

"......But whenever I am around you, Seon-u, I just keep getting soft. Do you...... not like seeing me like this?"

"No. Quite the opposite, actually."

She only showed this side of herself to me.

It made her feel like someone I needed to protect, like she was leaning on me, and I liked that.

Of course, in reality, it was the other way around.