Chapter 198: Congratulations, You Are About to Open the Door to a New World!
"Blegh..."
Jashin-chan drank a cup of black tea and ate some snacks, but the disgusting feeling remained, stuck in her throat, not fading in the slightest. What made her feel even worse was that she didn't seem to have changed at all... No, it was worse: not only had she not gotten stronger, she had just been hit with a severe nausea debuff.
This really sucks!
"This potion has to be fake, right? I feel awful!" (＞_＜)
"Does Satan give out fake stuff?" Yurine, keeping a two-meter distance, shot a glance at Jashin-chan. The snake-scum was currently a walking, talking... well, demon... stink bomb. The smell wafting from her mouth when she spoke was unbearable.
"I'm just complaining. Lord Satan's gifts are usually reliable," Jashin-chan replied listlessly. She paused, then added, "Okay, maybe not that reliable. The side effects this time are a bit much..."
"Servant, I'm going upstairs to rest. Call me when dinner's ready," Jashin-chan said, turning her gaze to Ryohei Tanaka.
"Got it," Ryohei nodded. He pulled his phone from his pocket and checked the time. It was 4:20 PM.
He looked up at Poporon, Pekola, and Pino. "Do you three want to stay for dinner?"
"Can we? Then we won't be polite!" Poporon's eyes lit up, and she accepted with delight, not standing on ceremony at all.
Pekola was also very happy. She clasped her hands in front of her and bowed politely. "Then we'll be in your care!"
Pino, not knowing them well, simply placed her left hand on her flat stomach, grasped her left wrist with her right hand, and gave Ryohei a small nod in response.
Ryohei didn't mind. He smiled and said, "You all can watch some TV. I'm just going to my room for a minute."
With that, he turned and left. There was no rush to start cooking; it was still early. Ryohei planned to go to his room first to put away their luggage and the souvenirs from the trip. Yurine got up and followed him upstairs.
...
At 5:00 PM, Lucoa returned to the villa carrying a batch of ingredients from her world.
She hadn't eaten Ryohei's cooking in five whole days, and she was starving for it. Her cravings, combined with a desire to try something new and taste even more delicacies, had sent her back to her original world while Ryohei and Yurine were on the plane. She had returned with a huge haul of high-quality ingredients.
"This is an S-rank monster, the Black Mountain Goat. I've already done the basic prep; I want to eat it as a whole roast. This is a Shadow Snake, I'd like it kabayaki-style. This is a Honey Piglet, the meat has a natural, sweet honey flavor, perfect for roasting. This bag is Elven Wheat Flour, I got it from the elves. And these are Walking Mushrooms, they're incredibly delicious. You can decide what to do with them..."
Several large, green banana leaves were spread on the kitchen floor, piled high with all kinds of ingredients. Lucoa introduced them excitedly, finally patting her ample chest and, as usual, offering her standard payment: "My body is yours as payment!"
Stare—!
Yurine's expression darkened as she glared at Lucoa, cursing inwardly: 'She's after my man again!'
Lucoa, however, felt no embarrassment at all, acting as if she had just said nothing.
At the same time—
"...A suc... succubus!?" Pino, who had followed Poporon and Pekola into the kitchen to see what was going on, froze. She looked uncertainly at Pekola.
"Not a succubus. She's a former goddess," Pekola whispered, turning her head and covering her mouth.
"A former goddess?" A look of shock crossed Pino's face. She turned to look at Lucoa, crossing one arm and resting her other hand on it, pinching her chin in thought. 'She doesn't seem to be from Heaven... Could she be a former goddess of lust from somewhere else? In any case, this is good news. The stronger this side is, the better!'
Pino was feeling safer by the minute.
"..."
Ryohei automatically ignored Lucoa's suggestive comment; he was used to it. He glanced at the small mountain of ingredients and said with a laugh, "You really know how to eat. A whole roasted goat and a roasted piglet..."
"Let's skip those today. I don't have time to prepare them. We can have a proper feast... the day after tomorrow, when we go to the beach," Ryohei said after a moment's thought.
"Aww... okay." Lucoa was a little disappointed, but since Ryohei had said so, she couldn't force it.
While the time-consuming dishes like the goat and piglet were out, he could try the others. Ryohei thought for a moment and, counting the number of people, took out seven Walking Mushrooms. He planned to make "Walking Mushrooms Stuffed with Meat."
Minos and Jiru hadn't returned yet; they were coming with Medusa tomorrow. Tonight, including Pino, there were only seven people.
He also took out a Cockatrice egg, which was about the size of an ostrich egg. Jashin-chan had bought tomatoes that afternoon. He planned to use some of the egg for "Tomato Scrambled Eggs" and the rest to make chawanmushi (steamed egg custard). One egg, two dishes.
Ryohei looked around and also grabbed a Coral Crab, which was the size of a washbasin and encased in coral.
Finally, he grabbed two Fairy Apples, a cluster of Moonlight Grapes, and a Rainbow Pineapple to cut up for a fruit platter after dinner.
Ryohei put the remaining ingredients into his storage space, then turned to Yurine with a smile. "Yurine, you can be my assistant."
"Okay," Yurine agreed without hesitation.
Lucoa, smiling, raised her hand, her generous curves swaying with the movement. "Is there anything I can help with?" She was betting there was.
"Mhm. Can you process this Coral Crab?" Ryohei didn't refuse. He gave the order, since he wasn't quite sure where to even start with it. Since Lucoa was offering, he might as well borrow her strength.
"Hi—!" Lucoa chirped happily. She strode over to the crab on her long, shapely legs and looked at Ryohei, awaiting further instructions.
"..."
Poporon and Pekola also offered to help.
Pino wondered if she should show off her skills and make one or two of her signature dishes to get closer to everyone. Her cooking skills were excellent; she had even won the Heaven's Dessert Competition once. But before she could make up her mind, Ryohei had already assigned her a task.
'Fine! I'll show them what I'm made of next time!' With that thought, Pino also began to help Ryohei prep.
...
As time passed, the spacious, bright kitchen gradually filled with an enticing aroma of food.
Pino, who had finished her task and was now idle, glanced over at Ryohei. When she saw the food in the iron wok in front of him begin to glow with a soft light, she froze. Her mouth fell open in astonishment. "...It's... it's glowing!"
Pino was stunned. She blinked, making sure she wasn't seeing things. She tilted her head, her expression a mixture of amazement and confusion.
'Is it because of the ingredients?'
She subconsciously assumed the glow was from the ingredients, but she immediately felt that wasn't the whole story. The moment the dish began to glow, the aroma underwent a chemical-like reaction, suddenly jumping to a whole new level.
Pino could feel her mouth watering. She stared at Ryohei in shock. 'Are your cooking skills really this good? I underestimated you! How do you compare... to me?'
Pino was very skilled at cooking and loved it, especially making desserts. It was a point of pride for her. She subconsciously began to compare their skills. But without having actually tasted Ryohei's food, she couldn't reach a conclusion.
"Seriously, Pino, you're in for a treat today," Poporon said, having noticed Pino's reaction. She teased her, "Congratulations, you are about to open the door to a new world!"
"I don't accept that!" Pino huffed, crossing her arms over her ample chest and giving Poporon a haughty side-eye, as if from a position of strength.
"You will. Or you can just be stubborn about it," Poporon said, smiling as she delivered her irritating words.
Pino wasn't enraged, but she was annoyed. "I'll be waiting!" she huffed.
"Just you wait."
The two angels bickered. Pekola glanced at them from the side but said nothing.
...
Time passed quietly, and it was soon 6:30 PM.
After finishing the last dish, Ryohei had everyone move the food to the dining table. He took out his phone and called Jashin-chan to tell her to come down for dinner.
Suddenly, a shriek of surprise came from the phone...
~~~
Get early access to 20+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
~~~
Every 5 new reviews = 1 extra chapters
Every 150 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter