Chapter 126

Since ancient times, meat boiled or steamed in alcohol could never taste bad.

"The sharp aroma of the alcohol gets rid of the meat's gaminess, and the gentle heat softens the tough texture."

As it happened, there was an ingredient that was just right.

"So..."

"Yes, this."

Jio took a small ceramic vessel from the basket Dana was holding in her mouth. When Dana, who had run an errand all the way to the ice storeroom, spat the basket out, Arjio placed a piece of golden-step sheep meat in her mouth.

The omnivorous cat, who was not picky, did not refuse raw meat either. Unlike ordinary cats, Dana the anti-cat had teeth packed in a single neat row, and she thoroughly enjoyed the meat.

"Mmf, mmf..."

"Good girl."

She had been growing more and more by the day lately, and he hoped she would eat plenty and grow as big as a pig. Then he would have to blow raspberries on her belly five extra times for every one. Jio felt pleased.

"The good thing about this candy trap tree is that each tree has a different degree of aging. Maybe that's why the taste varies little by little too. This one... has a distinctly strong woody scent."

The heavy quality unique to alcohol, which made the tongue burn the moment it touched it, was intense, and there was the bitter taste unique to plants, as if it were rolling round and round inside the mouth. With the scent of the candy trap tree itself added on top, it even gave off a somewhat smoky impression.

As expected, this liquor was delicious even when drunk on its own. To the point that he thought people who considered themselves drinkers would not understand using it for cooking at all.

"There wasn't even naturally made alcohol like this in the Abilas rainforest."

"..."

"Honey, would you like to taste it?"

"Grrrgl."

"It is good to see all my children eat so well. You will grow up in no time."

Jio tried to pour some fruit wine into a small plate, but Honey ignored that and squeezed into the narrow mouth of the ceramic vessel. As he watched quietly to see how far Honey would go, it was not long before Honey's squishy face popped back out.

"..."

"..."

The water bird, caught slightly in the opening, tilted its head.

"Grrk?"

"Oh dear."

"... Grrk, grrk, grrk..."

"I guess it didn't taste good, did it?"

"Grrrgl."

"They do say alcohol suits some people and not others. It may also have been too soon for a child."

"Grrk..."

"Do you want to learn how to enjoy it?"

Arjio, who enjoyed alcohol as much as a bloody fight, gladly offered advice.

"There are several ways to enjoy fruit wine. You can hold it in your mouth and feel its weight and texture, analyze the astringent taste unique to plants, or appreciate the fragrance held by the fruit itself, or the fragrance that comes afterward."

"Grrrk."

"It will be difficult for a little one like you to enjoy alcohol yet. As for me, I especially enjoyed such textures and fragrances from a young age, so I kept alcohol close at hand, but if it truly does not suit you, there is also the method of using it in cooking. Didn't we happen to pick exactly the right liquor?"

Whether it was the choice of a cat with a keen sense of smell, or whether she had simply brought the one easiest to see, among the fruit wines he had collected whenever he was bored, Dana had brought the one that paired best with meat.

"With ordinary alcohol, the aroma and flavor are almost erased in the cooking process, but the liquor here has a special quality, so that will not happen. The steamed meat I make this time should be quite good."

Jio had always found it a shame that when he cooked with alcohol, most of its taste and aroma flew away in the process of boiling and stir-frying. But things born in this forest did not disappear so easily.

"I suppose one could say they are full of vitality."

"Grrrgl?"

"Yes, like you."

After kneading and stroking the son sitting on his shoulder, Jio soon turned toward the teddy bear.

"So..."

"..."

"Why is our Father keeping such a distance?"

"Grr..."

"Does your newly changed son feel so unfamiliar?"

Jio's hair, which had been a deep red like wine, faded and soon became platinum blond.

"What about now?"

"... Grr."

"Yes, I am the same person. Nothing has changed at all."

"Grr, grr, grr."

The traditional god who had once ruled over a dimension laughed and clapped. It was not particularly a situation worth clapping over, but there was no one here to point that out.

Giovanni smiled, hugged his father once, then stood again.

"Hmm."

His hair turned deep red again.

"But if this happens, I am worried about how our mermaid siblings will react."

"Grrr?"

"That is right, it is nearly time for those children to come as well. My, my..."

Arjio laughed.

"This will be fun."

It was going to be a very enjoyable meal.

"..."

"Our princess has arrived."

"Damn it."

Little Mermaid Aria pierced her own two eyes.

"Impurities have been added to my Jio."

Aria whined as red blood flowed from her eyes. It looked just like a crying child, and Arjio burst into laughter. He led Aria, who had not been coming down from the second floor, to the dining table and joked.

"Wouldn't calling me an impurity hurt this teacher's feelings terribly?"

"How did the personality of someone not at all like Giovanni end up taking root? I thought only 'Jios' of similar nature gathered."

"Oh dear, my student. My disciple. Why won't you understand that in the end, we are all the same Jio?"

"I do know that."

Aria, whose eyes had recovered before anyone knew it, clicked her tongue and looked at Arjio's vivid golden eyes. Rather than the peaceful sea where sunlight had settled, they called to mind a lump of gold, cold and covered in blood.

Even so, there was a familiar affection contained within them. It was a love she had never been able to forget, one she could never mistake.

"... That gaze cannot be imitated."

"How honest you are."

"I know that you, too, are ultimately my teacher."

That was not a lie.

"It is not as though I never expected things to end up like this someday."

The "Jios" of this portrait were all different. In truth, even "Seo Jio" and "Giovanni" were different in many ways.

First of all, their ages were different, and though it was hard to see because of their clothes, their builds were different too. The structure and color of their bones were different, and even the expressions they could make and the types of those expressions were different. So it was not strange for a red Jio like this to be added now.

At that, her teacher asked.

"Then?"

"..."

Before sitting at the table, Aria carefully took the hand of Giovanni, who had escorted her.

"Jio."

It was a gentle voice.

"I want to have a meal with you."

"... So do I."

Giovanni also gave her the same smile as always.

"This time, I came up with quite a good recipe, so I want to show it off."

"Then you should have shown off only the recipe, so why were you wearing that face?"

"It seems you do not like Arjio's face. I thought I should explain..."

"... Haa..."

After quietly staring at Giovanni as he smiled awkwardly, Aria let out a small sigh and said,

"You could have explained well enough with words."

"But is there any explanation clearer than showing you?"

"You really do have a shameless side."

Only then did Aria sit in the seat Jio had guided her to.

"Is this what you said you made this time?"

"That is right. The aroma is very good, isn't it?"

"I can faintly smell alcohol, so it seems it will be a delicacy."

"I believe it will not be bad."

Jio, who had returned to black hair, sat across from her. As if it were familiar, Honey and Dana climbed onto the table, and the teddy bear with the Sun God inside also settled into its own chair.

And then...

"..."

Aria looked around.

"What are those water birds?"

"They are only watching to see if something will appear for them to take."

"Why would anything appear for them to take?"

"I think it is because of the children from earlier who took the golden wool, a byproduct of the sheep."

"Golden wool?"

"It is the hide from the animal whose meat is placed in front of you now."

"Aha..."

Looking at the water birds by the window, who were watching them with sparkling eyes, Aria nodded.

"Now of all things, even golden sheep are appearing. All sorts of strange things happen."

"There were no such beings in our homeland."

"If there had been, we might have been able to turn the humans' attention that way."

"It was beautiful wool, to the point that most people would be unable to overcome their greed."

"Then it would be best not to put it out in the outside world. Well, that is also my purely personal selfishness."

The mermaid still could not trust humans.

"You are so strangely unguarded in odd places that it worries me, Teacher."

"Aria, you have truly grown into a wonderful adult."

Jio admired the sight of his student taking care of him. Even while he was in the state of black-haired Seo Jio, he naturally wore Giovanni's smile. It was thanks to having synchronized completely.

"In the past, you were truly prickly and hot-tempered."

"Oh... just how old a story are you trying to bring up?"

But even Aria acknowledged that part.

"I know that there was much lacking in me then."

Aria, who had just come into the world, had sensitive and prickly sides. She suspected everything that approached her, found it difficult to acknowledge anyone at all, and felt irritation and loathing toward everything that got in her way.

"Compared to that childhood, I have mellowed a great deal too."

"To be honest, I do not think you are all that different even now."

"Ha, that is only because I can be at ease in front of you, Teacher."

"Why suddenly say something so moving?"

"I did not say it specifically to move you, though."

Aria did not even look at the meal and only fiddled with a glass full of water.

"Who else could I behave so honestly in front of? I could not even do so in front of my younger brother, Iser, because I had to lead that child."

"..."

"I have become quite experienced. I have become skilled, and regardless of my likes and dislikes, I have learned how to smile in front of any kind of being. As you told me, Teacher, it was a great help in interacting with others."

She looked at Jio with pearl-colored eyes.

"Is this the 'growth' that pleases you?"

"It may be, and it may not be. What pleases me is not important either."

"You are still an ambiguous person."

When Aria let out an affected sigh, Jio laughed softly. It was a small and gentle laugh directed at his cute student.

"So are you not planning to eat?"

"When I think that this meal was made by some unknown good-for-nothing, my stomach twists on its own."

"But that unknown good-for-nothing could be your teacher."

"It is precisely because I am certain you are my teacher that this feels even stranger. So suddenly..."

It felt truly strange.

"..."

But she simply had not adjusted to it yet; it was not to the point that she wanted to reject it.

"... As I said earlier, the aroma is good, at least."

"That is thanks to the aroma of the liquor I used this time remaining intact."

"The meat is very tender."

"I boiled it once, then grilled it, steamed it, and topped it with sauce."

"I have no idea how cooking can be so troublesome."

And it was a dish as delicious as it was troublesome.

"You said you topped it with sauce separately, so is it a little different from making stew?"

"It should be distinctly different. Thanks to that, can you not taste the meat better?"

"You said it was golden sheep meat, yes? Indeed, it is an impressive delicacy."

The deep black flesh, as if coated in squid ink, cut softly when chewed, and when torn, it separated obediently along its grain. But its uniquely springy, soft texture added chewiness, making it satisfying to chew.

In particular, the aroma from the meat itself was very impressive. The sharp aroma rising over the tongue was similar to aromatics like garlic or onion. The rich, fatty flavor and savoriness of the meat that came out through the juices were beyond description.

"Strangely, when I spend time with you, Teacher, I feel as though I have become a gourmet without ever meaning to."

"I will take that as a compliment."

"It makes me think while eating your cooking for no reason."

"So it was a compliment after all."

"No one is quite like you, Jio, when it comes to taking things however you like."

The sauce was quite good too.

"My tongue tingles a little."

"I did not add any spicy seasoning, but it is probably because the liquor I used this time is strong."

"Doesn't all the alcohol usually evaporate during cooking?"

"The alcohol itself has been subdued considerably, but perhaps it is the influence of the aroma itself remaining intact."

"I cannot understand how it can be this strong from the aroma alone."

"Mermaids are especially not good with strongly stimulating things."

"No..."

Aria muttered inwardly.

'Isn't it a miracle in itself that someone of my level can feel it this way?'

Aria had accumulated enough power to approach an evil god. There was no way Aria, who had "grown" over long years, could be the same as an ordinary mermaid.

And yet she could enjoy Jio's cooking as though she had become such an ordinary person.

'Did he make the dish differently to match my level?'

Or else.

'Can anyone simply enjoy Jio's cooking as he intends?'

Aria thought it was probably the latter. Had Jio not even made the Sun God, who had no appetite at all, wait for his cooking? It really was a strangely incredible ability.

He simply wanted to share his cooking with everyone, and so he made it happen. Whether the other party was a monster who had surpassed the limits of a mermaid, or a teddy bear who had once been a god and therefore had no sense of taste.

"..."

Aria asked,

"... Is there no bread to go with it?"

"I have some made in advance. Would you like some?"

"The sauce is quite tasty, so I want to dip bread in it."

"Then I will warm it up for you right away."

Jio stood and placed the bread he had baked in advance inside the oven.

Perhaps there was something it wanted to eat too, because a golden water bird flew over and perched on Black Cloak's shoulder. The water birds sitting by the window also approached with little splashing, fluttering sounds, and the human's large hand stroked his small children.

"Yes, the smell of it baking is good, isn't it?"

"Grrrgl."

"Let us wait just a little longer."

The sound of firewood crackling as it burned, the aroma of already-baked bread toasting even more golden-brown, the warm heat spreading from it, and the clattering sound of the teddy bear's utensils...

"..."

Aria perceived all of it.