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In a movie, there’s a line that says:

“Anyone can cook.”

But not everyone can be skilled at cooking from the beginning.

The dictionary definition of cooking is the act of processing ingredients from animals and plants to make them edible, but transforming them into something palatable requires even greater effort and time.

The texture and taste change according to the thickness or thinness of the ingredients, the time and degree of cooking.

The changes in cells and nutrients depending on the techniques used, such as mixing, fermenting, and baking.

It even extends to changes meant to satisfy various senses beyond just taste, including sight, smell, and touch.

Furthermore, cooking shares symbolic meanings in various aspects.

The custom of hospitality begins with serving guests meals.

The process of combining ingredients of different properties is alchemy.

Processing the original form into one that fulfills a desired recipe is magic.

And there are countless fields of processing and combining different ingredients.

However, there’s one precondition that comes before all of this.

A curiosity to quench the thirst for “what.”

I’m not talking about the grand inquiries that touch upon cosmic truths, like the identity and existence of stars in the sky.

Can this be eaten?

How can it be edible?

The survival instinct to safely fill the belly.

And if possible, wouldn’t it be better to eat more deliciously?

As a result, humans became the most prosperous creatures in the world, processing various ingredients in various ways, applying them in countless fields.

Hence, Karem was bold.

Bubble, bubble, bubble—

“…Did you say it’s poison?”

“Exactly, it was originally something poisonous.”

In response to Mary’s question, Rowan replied with a subtle expression.

“Alraune is a plant monster that arises in places where carelessly discarded corpses are left. Its stem, leaves, and roots are highly toxic, to the point that even starving bears avoid it.”

“The head and fruit are also poisonous, but when processed, their usability is high, and they can be applied in various ways. I know that too.”

“Then, let me ask again.”

Pointing to Karem, who was boiling the processed byproduct crumbs of Alraune in a pot, while maintaining the same subtle expression, Rowan asked.

“It has been stir-fried to eliminate its toxicity, but that—why? Has your head flipped?”

“Would that even happen? That was the Contractor’s choice—”

She was about to assert, but at that moment her words trailed off.

It was due to the multitude of her experiences.

Though, there were certainly parts that she couldn’t comprehend.

It’s not uncommon for something known to be poisonous to be rediscovered.

Understanding the experiments done for cooking is also feasible.

Discovering the usability of monster byproducts and incorporating them into meals for taste and health—if it’s for that purpose, humans would go beyond bounds. However, the process is terribly bizarre.

But even so, feeding oats—something typically meant for horses—to the heir of the great noble Duke’s family and the youngest daughter for a moment made Mary feel light-headed.

It was akin to tap dancing on a dragon’s snout.

Just how much gall had it taken?

And right now, Karem was boiling a deodorizer in water.

“Please just watch quietly.”

“Hey, miss. No matter how I think about this, that kid isn’t in his right mind.”

“You just said this isn’t poisonous, right?”

“Yeah. Once it’s dried and heated, the poison disappears.”

“Doesn’t this smell good?”

“…Certainly, the aroma is pleasant.”

That… Mary could hardly disagree with that statement.

Somehow, her pride was pricked, but she couldn’t lie; the liquid boiling in the pot, which darkened to a browner hue with every bubble, was incredibly fragrant.

It was a nutty smell reminiscent of roasted almonds.

Yet, it was incomparably cleaner.

Though unseen, an luxurious and alluring touch caressed her nose, swept through her mind, and inside her throat and lungs, warming her cold insides before quickly disappearing.

Yet, the aftertaste lingered.

Most importantly, the addictive aroma that awakened her senses.

The smell of burnt, roasted, well-cooked nuts, akin to slightly burnt caramel or long-baked butter cookies, yet belonging to none of those categories.

“No, it’s not just good. It’s excellent.”

“Right?”

“So, what will you do with this?”

“Aren’t there prepared ingredients over there?”

Karem pointed between Mary, who was straining her neck to look at the pot, and Rowan.

Mary looked down at the dishes, bowls, and baskets of ingredients as per Karem’s words.

There was a large bowl of rich cream cheese,

Another containing heavy cream made by mixing melted butter with whipped cream.

A basket filled with shortbread cookies brimming with butter flavor.

Finally, a pouch containing finely crushed byproducts of the processed Alraune.

Just how was one supposed to combine these to make dessert? Were they meant to dip or brew? And what was with all of this?!

Shaking her head, Rowan got up, patting her belly.

“I’ll take my leave then.”

“Thank you for your contribution.”

“Just saying will get you more. It was stuff meant for deodorizing. Let me know once the results come out later.”

Muttering that she needed to fill her belly, Rowan walked towards the chefs, nearly finishing their cleanup.

Meanwhile, the liquid in the pot grew richer.

With each splash, the similar color to coffee showed gradients from black to brown, now revealing a deep hue as though it had captured an abyss at its center.

And with the thickening scent, Mary took a deep breath.

“So you complained about it activating again, but it seems you like it?”

“Don’t make assumptions.”

“Your demeanor is just like when you smell freshly baked bread, you know?”

“It’s an illusion.”

For the sake of her pride, she had to gather her senses and find peace of mind.

“Oh? Are you trying to divert attention? It seems your true feelings don’t quite align with that. What’s wrong with just smelling?!”

However, this intoxicating scent she had never encountered before was constantly testing her loyalty to milk and butter and flour.

Mary wavered in the emotional crisis she was experiencing for the first time in her fairy-life.

“Please send a signal if you plan any strange antics again.”

“Wait, you can’t just do this out of the blue!”

“What’s your underclassman’s track record been like until now? It almost feels like wings that had never existed would sprout again. Why not speak out about what you’re thinking first?”

“I’ll think it over.”

As Karem stated, Mary closed her eyes and clutched her forehead. Seemingly, she shook her head in agreement.

“Surely this must be enough now.”

“Finally, will we see the identity of that mysterious dessert?”

“Yes. The making is.”

Karem pulled out a tray and a deep square pie container from the lower shelf.

“Return to—”

“Ahhhhh!!!”

Clatter.

Suddenly, a scream and crash sounded from behind them.

Karem and Mary turned their heads sharply.

“Wait. Rowan! Old man!”

“Uh, uhhhhh! The poison, crazy, Alraune! He was carrying stacks of it!”

“You said you processed and stir-fried it! It was never acidic poison, was it?!”

The sudden situation left the chefs bewildered, hesitant to move closer to the screaming Rowan.

“Ahhhhhhh—”

A person was melting away.

Literally, Rowan melted away in the unmistakable sense, flowing like hot lava beneath his robe, and the moment it touched the ground, it boiled up.

The hunched figure wrapped in the robe sank lower, and soon, the robe’s hem swept down, creating a fierce plume of smoke above the ground.

The melted black goo from under the robe touched the soybean paste stew pooled on the ground, sizzling and scorching as it clung down to the bottom.

The chef holding the ladle shouted.

“Snap to it! Emergency! Call the head chef immediately!”

“I-I’ll get the guards at the fortress right away!”

“Yes! No, yes. Call the guards and the steward too!”

“From now on, block anyone trying to enter the kitchen!”

The chef holding the mop quickly began issuing commands to the other chefs.

And as soon as he exchanged glances with Karem and Mary, he approached them, wiping his sweat.

“My apologies, Lord Karem. It seems you absolutely need to return to your room immediately.”

“No, what’s going on? It’s Rowan, right? Just a moment—”

“We have no idea either what exactly is happening.”

Though he seemed to have regained his composure and was addressing the situation, the hand holding the mop continued to tremble uncontrollably.

“This is the first time anything like this has ever happened in the history of Afterglow Fortress.”

“Regardless, we must take our leave now.”

“Please. The guards may come to investigate later. Do excuse us.”

“Of course.”

The lord of the fortress, the Duke, had led his forces out at the moment, yet someone melted away right in front of them.

It’s only natural to be cautious of suspicious characters and their associates.

Karem and Mary exited the kitchen without exchanging further small talk.

“Hmm, were you acquainted with him?”

“Well, I met him for the first time a few days ago at the Portable Shrine, and afterwards not really.”

“I see.”

Karem felt baffled.

Could it really feel that unreal?

Watching a person literally dissolve before their very eyes, surely they had to be dead. There was no way the chefs would react the way they did otherwise.

So, one burning question arose.

So, who exactly is the culprit?

And what could their motives possibly be?

“…It seems it’d be best to return and report about this.”

“I’ll take the tray. Please hold the basket.”

Agreeing with the suggestion, Mary handed the basket to Karem and took the tray.

*

*

*

Civilization dismisses the areas outside their so-called civilized world as barbarism and scorns them.

However, life always flourishes even in such places.

Beyond the mountains that are eternally winter.

From a simple and primitive campsite of the Grizzly Beaver’s clan, who secretly built a nest right next to the civilized world, one of them emerged from the campsite.

The Grizzly Beaver, adorned with various skulls hanging like trophies on its direwolf hide, crossed the flurries while leaning on its staff, its emaciated frame comparable to that of a bear.

Every time the Grizzly Beaver leaned its staff on the snowy ground, the dry corpse of a human warrior hanging above rattled and shook.

—Chieftain. Is it time?—

When the beaver stopped, what stood there wasn’t a giant, but—it was a mountain sculpted into the form of a giant.

It vaguely resembled a mountain that had gained vitality.

More fitting as a golem than a giant, this being turned its corpse-like eyes towards the chieftain.

The chieftain bowed its head and opened its maw.

Beep! Squeeek—Kick! Peeeee—ick!

A sequence of bizarrely patterned sounds echoed, incomprehensible to anyone but their kind, yet the mountain, which radiated nothing but death from its eyes, nodded.

—Then, there’s no need to wait any longer.—

Beep! Gakakak- peee?

—Indeed. I shall proceed first. Follow as planned.—

As if to obey, the Grizzly Beaver, who had been sprawled on the ground, stood up by using its staff on the snowy ground and turned back towards the campsite.

—Repugnant creatures—

The giant had never personally seen those who awakened it from death.

However, it knew it was the offspring of the mountain, the rightful heir of the land.

Though detestable betrayers, the eternal winter of the tundra restrains them, yet with its very limited powers, it was sufficient to gauge the situation.

Though it had set fire to the entire continent and islands, they had ultimately failed.

Mortals, whose means had become their ends, were trying to exploit it.

Ridiculous, yet the giant chose to forgive them.

—After all, a grain of dust can do nothing on its own.—

Those beings granted it an army, a stolen death.

As the giant extended its arm, the veracious black aura gathered amidst the snowy blizzard.

—The rightful heir of this land commands you.—

It was merely command without any incantation.

But for the giant, that alone sufficed.

—Rise!—

The snow-covered fields, hills, and forest floors before the giant quaked in unison, bubbling up.

The mist-white snow that exploded upward disappeared into the blizzard, revealing an army of the undead responding to the call. No, not just the undead.

Rats, reindeer, horses, wild boars, deer, foxes, the twisted tribal warriors, dwarf knights, elf archers, adventurers, orcs, ogres, ice trolls, mammoths, direwolves, owl bears, grizzly beavers, snowrunners, ice drakes, Lindbloom, and—

All under the laws of survival, those who had perished beyond the mountains, one by one.

And just like that, they all rose up at once.

It was truly a grand army of corpses.

Yet, the giant who raised this army felt displeased.

—Is this all there is?—

Even in decay, merit is still merit.

The giant possessed no lack of intellect.

The power unfolding from the giant’s hands belonged to an epoch of legends.

It had long since analyzed the memories of the countless monsters and beasts that perished ensnared by the Tomb Fortress.

Simply having an army of corpses twice its current size would render the assault impossible.

The giant turned away.

Beneath the gray sky, in the snowstorm where visibility was already limited, it gazed at the tomb fortress of the betrayer’s descendants nestled among its father’s remains.

—But what if there were collaborators within?—

The giant was very much looking forward to what came next.

 

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