Round 206

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These days, even household appliances were being made from magic stones.

Of course, it was still too expensive to be widely available to every household…

“We’ve replaced everything in our house with magic stone products!” 

While delivering goods to various places, my wealth kept piling up.

I used that money to replace all the furniture and appliances in my parents’ house.

Honestly, I wanted to buy them a new house… but my parents had asked for a house to be built in our dungeon.  

Huh? Why am I suddenly talking about this?

It’s because I’m looking forward to Seon-ah and Ara coming home from their chores around now.

Since our rice cooker is a magic stone product, I’m really curious about how the rice I made will turn out when cooked in a magic stone rice cooker.

“Mr. Kyu-seong, see you next time!”  

“Let’s have a meal at our place sometime.”  

“Take care. You’ve worked hard today.”  

Representative Baek, Johann, and the head of the department waved goodbye as they left.

After seeing them off, Han Seok-jun and I went back to the office.  

“They’re all gone. You mentioned earlier that there was something you wanted to discuss privately. Is it about the art pieces we talked about last time?”  

“Oh, no, it’s not that… Actually, the works by Artist Ingo will take some more time. I’ve been too busy lately to make much progress.”  

“I see. I appreciate you taking the time. What I wanted to discuss is actually about monster by-products.”  

“Monster by-products?”  

Han Seok-jun’s eyes widened in surprise. He clearly hadn’t expected that.  

“Yes. When I visited the Dungeon of Wrath recently, I gathered a few by-products.”  

“Through that spatial expansion slime, right?”  

“Yes.”  

“Did you fight monsters to get them?”  

“No, I think I just got lucky. The place I stayed seemed to be a graveyard for monsters, so I gathered some bones and hides that were lying around.”  

Han Seok-jun looked at me as if he couldn’t believe it, but with no way to verify it himself, he had no choice but to believe my words.  

“I didn’t bring them with me today, but would it be okay if I brought them next time?”  

“Of course. Let’s take a look at them. I’ll also inform Director Choi in advance.”  

“Thank you.”  

Since Han Seok-jun is a guild leader, he’s probably seen countless monster by-products, so I felt confident he’d handle it well.  

Seeing him react so calmly made me feel even more reassured.  

“Ninth-level dungeon monster by-products, and even resources from the mines.”  

I should bring everything in and leave it to them.  

“Well then, Guild Leader, I’ll be off now.”  

“Thanks for your hard work on your first day back. Rest well, and reach out whenever you’re ready with the by-products.”  

“Yes!”  

After finishing up at the guild, I hurried back home.

The thought of eating a bowl of white rice filled my heart with excitement.  

“I’m home!”  

“Kyu-seong! Kyu-seong!”  

Ara, who had been hugging Seon-ah, suddenly ran toward me.  

I picked her up and spun her around.  

“Did you have a good day, Ara?”  

“Yes! It was fun! I studied hard!”  

“Oh, our Ara even studied? Good job.”  

I had already informed them in advance, so the house was already filled with the smell of cooking rice.  

My mouth watered just thinking about it.

“You’re back?”  

“Yeah. Where are Mom and Dad?”  

“They’re in the kitchen. Do you want to try some?”  

Seon-ah, who was chewing on some raw rice, asked.  

Ara, who had apparently been eating it too, grabbed my hand and encouraged me to try it.  

“It’s delicious!”  

“Really?”  

I decided to see what polished rice tasted like.  

Crunch.  

“Hmm? Not bad.”  

“You always react like that. Have your tastes become too picky?”  

“Is that so?”  

I used to eat raw rice when I was young.  

There was no particular reason; I think it was because my permanent teeth were coming in and my gums were itchy.  

Comparing the experience to then, the rice was definitely much more fragrant and sweeter than ordinary rice.  

“It’s hard to describe the taste.”  

I guess you could call it a distinct rice flavor.  

Either way, with the aroma from the rice cooker, my anticipation was building even more.

“Oh, you’re home, Kyu-seong?”  

“Yes, Mom.”  

Just as my mother stepped out of the kitchen, she smiled.

Seeing the satisfaction and anticipation on her face made me feel happy for no reason.

“How is it?”

“The rice? It’s great. We should send some to Jae-seong too.”

“Oh, right. Jae-seong will love it.”

I didn’t know what the main dish at the restaurant where Jae-seong worked was, but I was sure rice would be involved.

Japan, like Korea, loves rice.

Since it’s a place that breeds all kinds of rice varieties, even if Jae-seong uses expensive rice, I think he’d still be surprised to see what I made.

‘I’m really looking forward to this.’

Beep—.

“Honey, the rice is ready.”

As soon as the rice cooker beeped, my father hurried out with an urgent look on his face. 

Then, realizing that I had arrived, he said, “Oh, you’re here.”

“Yes, I’m here.”

“Let’s eat.”

“Yes.”

Soon after, Seon-ah and I took out some simple side dishes from the fridge and set the table, while my mother and father scooped the rice.

As the rice cooker opened, the aroma of the rice grew even stronger. 

My salivary glands were so stimulated that it was starting to hurt.

Growl.

My stomach growled in response to the smell.

Indeed, for Koreans, nothing beats the power of rice.

“Here, take this.”

My father handed me a large bowl of rice, much more than I usually ate, but no one questioned it as we received our portions.

“Glug.”

Ara, sitting quietly at the table, swallowed her saliva repeatedly.

When her bowl was placed in front of her, her eyes sparkled.

Her bowl was bigger than anyone else’s, piled high with white rice.

Ara smiled contentedly.

“Ara is so cute.”

Seon-ah, about to place her spoon down, stopped and gazed at Ara with adoring eyes.

Once the table was set, the family sat down together.

“Kyu-seong, let’s eat well.”

“Yes.”

“It would have been perfect if we had Kyu-seong’s chili powder and gochujang for the kimchi.”

“Let’s go check it out after we eat.”

Honestly, even if it wasn’t my kimchi, the combination was heavenly.

We said our thanks and each grabbed a piece of kimchi, placing it on top of the steaming white rice.

The visual wasn’t much different from the usual white rice we knew. The size and color of the grains were typical.

But the smell was different.

It was an aroma that anyone could recognize as the scent of high-quality rice, stimulating the appetite.

“Bite.”

I took a large bite of rice with kimchi, the hot rice and cold kimchi entering my mouth.

Crunch!

First, the crunchy texture of the kimchi hit me.

Then, the rice grains, firm at first, softened as I chewed.

“?!!”

The chewy texture surprised me.

What amazed me even more was how I could feel each individual grain of rice in my mouth.

At first, the stickiness of the rice gave a satisfying sense of cohesion, but once it touched my tongue and saliva, each grain seemed to dance and pop.

Thanks to that, the texture and flavor of each grain of rice spread throughout my mouth, maximizing the rice’s unique nutty and sweet flavors.

And then the salty and tangy taste of the kimchi, like seasoning, kicked in.

‘This is insane.’

I couldn’t even express my thoughts out loud.

At this moment, my mouth wasn’t for talking, but solely for eating this white rice.

“Wow, it’s hot.”

“Yum yum.”

“Ha ha.”

The rest of the family was also busy eating without a word.

Everyone was piling kimchi on the steaming rice, chewing eagerly without speaking.

I also focused on savoring the firm rice grains with my tongue and teeth.

Clatter.

“Huh?”

Why is my bowl empty? Is this déjà vu?

“One more bowl!”

At that moment, Ara also raised her empty bowl.

And, as if she had anticipated it, my mother had prepared extra rice in the old rice cooker, not just the magic stone cooker.

Just as the old rice cooker finished, we were each able to get a fresh serving.

‘I wonder if it will taste different?’

The advantage of the magic stone cooker was speed.

It could cook rice faster than an electric rice cooker.

Thanks to that, my mother had already set more rice in the magic stone cooker.

But what about the taste?

“Slurp, it’s the same.”

That was a relief. The flavor didn’t change with the cooker.

It’s all about the ingredients, after all.

I eagerly finished my meal with various side dishes.

In the end, despite not being big eaters, each of our family members ended up eating three bowls of rice. 

Ara finished off all the leftover rice from the rice cooker. 

“Ara, did you eat fifteen bowls? That’s amazing!” 

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” 

Ara, with her belly sticking out, smiled in satisfaction. 

The way she patted her cute little belly was always adorable. 

“Ah, I’m so full. Let’s go out in a bit.”

My father, who had already prepared all the fishing gear, sprawled out on the couch.

But since it was almost time for Ara and me to sleep, we ended up dragging him outside together.

“Let’s walk around the dungeon to help digest.” 

After eating so much, we needed to exercise a bit. 

Walking to the hot springs wouldn’t be a bad idea.

So, I loaded the whole family into the car and headed back to the dungeon. 

As I looked around again, I noticed that the construction around the dungeon seemed almost complete. 

The landscaping wasn’t bad either, and it looked like the work would be done soon. 

“About two weeks left.”

“Really? It’s finishing faster than expected.”

“It’s the power of money.”

I had spared no expense, and money really did work wonders.

After taking a quick look around, we entered the dungeon, where, as expected, Woofy greeted us.

“Seon-ah, did you already tell them about our new family members?” 

“Yes. Ara told them before I could.”

Imagining Ara chattering away to our parents made me smile, and I gave her a pat on the head. 

“The snake, Gwaa, is the new addition, but don’t be too shocked when you see it.”

“Right, you said it’s a kind snake?” 

“It’s gentle.”

All it does is sleep every day, so it’s pretty harmless.

On the way to the slime village, we saw Gwaa’s gigantic body in the distance. 

“That’s him.”

“What?” 

“Isn’t that a structure built by the slimes?” 

My father and mother were startled. 

They knew the snake was big, but they hadn’t expected it to be this huge. 

“He’s been sleeping every day lately. I think he’s just a sleepy creature.”

Now they were at a loss for words. 

Since we were already here, we took a closer look at Gwaa. 

My parents and Seon-ah seemed intimidated by its overwhelming size, but as Ara climbed up Gwaa’s body to play, they started to relax a little. 

“Gwaa, sleep tight.”

At that moment, Gwaa’s sleepy eyes opened slightly. 

– Grrr.

“Oh no, did we wake you? You can sleep more.”

I stroked Gwaa’s chin, and his eyes shifted to my parents, as if checking out these new people.

“They’re my parents.”

– Grrr?

“Hello there!”

“Uh, yeah. Hello.”

“He’s really huge.”

Thanks to Ara’s translation, we exchanged greetings, and once Gwaa fell back asleep, we quietly stepped away.

We couldn’t keep waking him up while he was sleeping so peacefully.

“Ara mentioned there are dog-like creatures, too.” 

“Oh, they’re living in the goblin village. Let’s visit that place as well.”

But first, we decided to check on the soy sauce jars. 

My father and Seon-ah seemed curious about the soy sauce and doenjang (fermented soybean paste) I had been making, so they insisted on tagging along.

– Heheh.

“Hello, Kkumuris.”

One of the slimes, sitting on a jar lid, greeted us with an unreadable expression.

I opened one of the jars, scooped some soy sauce with a tasting ladle, and took a look.

“The color isn’t very dark, is it?” 

Seon-ah observed, echoing my earlier thoughts.

“Doesn’t it look like sesame oil?”

“Yeah, now that you mention it, it really does look like sesame oil.”

I gave everyone a little taste, and they all cringed from the salty flavor. 

“Ugh, salty!” 

“Oh wow, that’s really salty.”

Only Ara smiled happily.

“It’s delicious.”

“Our Ara eats anything well.”

So, what was my mother’s opinion?

“Oh, I think it’s ready.”

“Is it finished?”

“Yes. This level of saltiness is normal. It seems to be done.”

Finally, the soy sauce I made with my own hands was complete! 

Does that mean the doenjang is ready too?

“Let’s scoop out one jar.”

“Scoop it out?” 

“I mean, let’s check the doenjang.”

“Oh! Let’s get it out right away!”

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