NOVEL NEXT Chapter 369
Karem was admiring his own skills.
A bit embarrassing, but really.
Including my past life, I’ve done barbecue countless times.
However, it had never turned out this well before.
The item before me, unwrapped, was a pig’s front leg, cooked for over 10 hours.
The black bark on the surface, saturated with the smoke of the charcoal, spices, oil, and juicy goodness, was oozing with oil and juices even without being disturbed.
The moment I picked up the bone, it would simply slide off due to its tenderness.
If I picked it up with my hands, the flesh would crumble into the shape of my fingers.
Naturally, anticipation built within me. Of course, that anticipation wasn’t just for the taste of the pulled pork drizzled with barbecue sauce.
A massive portable stove in Corvus’s nest.
Richard had made it early in the morning, and Alicia could easily fit three people inside. It was taking a break, sucking up the juices that other barbecues were spewing out.
Starting with the front leg before it became pulled pork, then spare ribs, back ribs, and whole pork belly.
It would be disappointing if there were only pigs, so brisket and short rib as well.
Some were seasoned with just the most basic spices.
Some were periodically brushed with barbecue sauce.
And sides to go with it—
“Alicia is ready to eat Grandpa’s gift!!!”
They say an ogre comes when you call its name.
Before everything was fully prepared, the protagonist came running.
‘No, rather, she had been hiding it all this time.’
Alicia’s sense of smell was no joke, she seemed to detect any cooking that looked well-prepared.
Or maybe she had that many concerns.
“Hmm, hmm. I was just about to say it’s nearly completed. I was looking for an adorable one to eat it better than anyone else.”
Richard glanced at Alicia’s sparkling eyes as she sat at the table like a single entity.
“…Uh… um…”
“I prepared this massive stove just for my Karem’s darling.”
“Alicia! Alicia will eat well!”
Corvus subtly turned its beak toward Karem.
“Seems like we’ve solved this somehow.”
“…”
Karem swallowed back a remark about both of them having simple brains and focused on his tasks.
Each time he moved between the portable stove and the table, oil paper piled up, and the delicious smell wafted from the pot.
“Karem. Please, can’t we just eat that whole thing…?”
I’m really at my limit.
In my impatience, my usual tone crumbled. Thinking that I might just rush at it, Karem quickly set a cutting board in front of Alicia.
The front leg sat on oil paper, served as a plate.
Alicia’s eyes twitched like a shocked piece of meat.
“Can, can Alicia really eat all this?”
“Of course. I made it just as you asked.”
At those words, Alicia’s gaze shifted from earlier.
With anger wiped away, Richard felt a deep sense of relief and gestured for Alicia to eat quickly.
Tableware was unnecessary.
Alicia would fulfill the dream she had only thought about from this moment on.
“Th-then. I’ll enjoy it!!!”
She grabbed the bone with both hands and buried her face in it.
Grrr—! Slurp!
The pudding-like, quivering black bark was torn apart mercilessly.
The sealed oil and juices gushed out.
From the moment Karem said he would crumble the pulled pork with his hands, I wanted this.
The sensation in my mouth was just as I had imagined.
Like pudding, my mouth was filled with a texture reminiscent of pudding.
No, to call it texture was inaccurate.
Before I could even chew, just moving my mouth and tongue separated the meat and fat, melting like cream.
“Hohhoooo….!”
In the naturally formed gap, intoxicating aromas of fire and heat enveloped me, and the essence of spices and hot apple completely canceled out any richness.
No, canceled was inappropriate.
It pulverized it.
‘She’s eating heartily.’
Though I had heard through letters that she always ate well, to Richard, Alicia always appeared thin, making him feel pitiful.
Of course, there was the blessing of bloodlines and talents, along with an insane amount of exercise that would amaze any knight. Richard knew this; he just didn’t pay attention.
But looking at her now…
Gulp—
Richard unintentionally swallowed.
Born and raised among the people of Sephone, Richard was also an excellent Icelandic who was obsessed with food.
Craving one of the peaks of meat dishes was as natural as snow falling when it’s cold.
I could bet Richard could finish all the barbecue Karem brought over once resting was finished in just an hour.
The only reason he didn’t was that his affection for his granddaughter outweighed his appetite, but that didn’t mean his appetite disappeared.
“Umm… O… ooooh…”
Naturally, Alicia, lost in the lingering taste of the whole barbecue front leg, felt it, too.
“Lady Alicia. You can eat more, right?”
“Um, uh? Of course! Alicia can eat as much as she wants!”
“Then I will serve it right away.”
With a swoosh—Alicia’s mouth dropped open at the gorgeous spread before her.
“Barbecue platter. Enjoy your meal.”
The landscape spread on the cutting board reached previously unseen heights for Alicia.
Clockwise from the bowl of barbecue sauce at the center were short ribs, brisket, pulled pork, back ribs, spare ribs, and whole pork belly.
Occupying the 12 o’clock spot were three kinds of sides: aligot piled high with gravy, spicy cream shrimp, and baked beans.
A delicious display of black, brown, and beige.
“Here, to cleanse your palate, some bread and pickles, and coleslaw.”
“Eh… I don’t need pickles.”
“Then no pickles.”
Having cleared her palate, Alicia set aside the bones and tore the bread with both hands.
Between the perfectly torn pieces of bread, she obviously placed the pulled pork and brisket tossed in barbecue sauce, with coleslaw.
With that, Alicia silently extended the pulled pork sandwich toward Richard.
“Alicia?”
“A token of reconciliation!”
“No, just watching you eat is enough—”
Gruuunch—
My gaze focused on Richard’s belly, which in turn protested against the words I was saying.
An awkward silence flowed. As a spark popped, Richard quickly snatched the sandwich, and Alicia finally picked up a rib with satisfaction.
“My goodness, Alicia has never tasted such delicious ribs. What is this flavor!?”
“It’s the power of time and barbecue sauce.”
“Um, oh, ah. Indeed. The taste of these ribs is art.”
With an intimidating beak, Corvus, as a monster, savored his share of spare ribs, while Alicia countered with an exquisite dual-wielding of back and spare ribs.
“…Wuaaii mafoso.”
Richard, having stuffed a pulled pork sandwich into his mouth, was in shock. Shock was inevitable.
Soft bread filled with butter aroma.
Addictive barbecue sauce.
Pulled pork bursting with juices and fat.
Brisket infused with an even more intense meaty aroma.
All encompassed by a crunchy texture and sourness from the coleslaw.
Each moment of chewing erupted into new layers of taste, causing Richard to unintentionally shed tears.
‘I wish Rosetta could have tried this.’
It was so delicious that guilt washed over him.
His spouse, who deserved a better life both in youth and old age. After all the hardship, she had departed on a journey to never return long before even getting to see the fruit of this late change.
“Uh, Grandpa. Are you crying? Is it really that good?”
“Ahh, it’s simply a taste that moves this old man.”
“Yum, yum. Alicia understands that feeling well.”
Even Karem and Corvus, who watched, sensed a vague misunderstanding, but Alicia empathized with that excuse enough to not notice the oddity.
Surely, a masterpiece created by time deserved that.
“I wish Alicia could eat this dish more often…”
“Oh no, no way.”
Karem smacked his lips and almost choked.
“How long do you think it takes to make this?”
“Well… I imagine Mary, the house fairy, could manage it.”
“No, that’s not it… wait. Hmm…”
Just when Karem was about to declare it impossible, he started to consider that it might be feasible.
Meanwhile, behind the scenes, the grandfather and granddaughter silently clasped their hands together.
‘There are three culprits making us buy barbecue.’
Facilities for barbecue, time to make it.
Above all, the staff to consistently manage it until completion.
Mary could definitely do it, but Karem could think of many more suitable people.
Without thinking too hard, he could just leave it to the chefs by nature.
Sure, there might be some trial and error in the first attempt, but that happens with any dish.
“Once I’ve detached myself from the workshop…”
“Damn, Karem! What on earth is this meat!?”
A gasp of astonished admiration pulled Karem from his shallow thoughts. Richard, with clear bite marks on the fresh short rib, could not close his mouth.
“Uh… short rib, as in, short rib.”
“This is short rib, you say!?”
Richard, unable to believe the diverse taste and texture spread within his mouth just moments ago, took another big bite.
Namak—!
The hearty sound of meat being bitten down echoed loudly.
The texture proved it was meat all over, aligning with the mouthwatering sounds.
Along with that spread a rich sweet aroma of barbecue sauce.
It tasted just as sweet as fruit, as if he were eating mammoth meat.
The first bite was soft but definitely alive.
The meat changed shape immediately and became chewy.
As it began to separate along the fibers, the texture softened.
What initially seemed dense enough to be dry continuously released juices with a rich fruity aroma with every bite.
Chewy yet soft meat.
It was not mammoth meat with varied flavors.
It was beef that replicated the taste of mammoth.
Above all, it was the fact that it was meat handed by Alicia herself that served as the best seasoning for Richard.
“…Grandpa. Is it really that delicious?”
“Why? There’s still some left, shall I cut you a piece?”
“Th-that’s okay! I won’t be greedy since there’s more!”
As evidence, an additional short rib was placed before her. Alicia, grabbing the hefty bone with both hands, aggressively tore into it like a scene from a cartoon.
The focus on the meat shown by the grandfather and granddaughter was completely different, but anyone could see they were family.
“Blood can’t be hidden, they say.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“Oh dear, I should be the one thanking you for suddenly rushing in and asking for favors.”
Moreover, Corvus provided plentiful labor alongside ingredients claiming to be cooking for Alicia.
Indeed, when I questioned how the nest furniture and the oven were made, I discovered that Corvus’s craftsmanship was quite impressive even with clawed hands.
“More than that, let’s eat together?”
“Are you talking to me?”
“Yes. That’s why I made so much.”
Of course, the two big eaters were devouring it at a speed beyond imagination, making Karem wonder if he should make more.
“That’s fine. I’m serious about what I’m saying.”
“Really?”
“Yes. One plate is more than enough.”
Corvus quietly dragged over a pot of baked beans nearby and piled it into a bowl.
“It seems these sides suit my taste even more than the main dish.”
“Um… I suppose that could be true.”
“Well, even so, you shouldn’t eat too much.”
“Why not?”
“Because to fly in the sky, one shouldn’t eat too much.”
After taking a spoonful of baked beans, Corvus lifted the spoon sharply.
“Of course, I don’t fly.”
“…Were you joking?”
“Caw! Caw! Caw! Caw! Caw!”
Seemingly pleased with their lukewarm response, Corvus kept cawing noisily. It could’ve been disruptive, but Richard and Alicia were focused on demolishing the platter before them.
“…Well. Anyway, I’m off now.”
Since they had a request to fulfill.
On top of that, it was almost Catherine’s lunchtime.
Karem, packed with various barbecue items, received a send-off with hands and a claw covered in juices and sauce as he returned to the tower.
Naturally.
“Really, even just with the front leg and brisket, it tastes this good. With other cuts, it’s only natural they’ll be even better!”
“Wowww…. Wowwwww….”
Catherine and Mary’s reactions were not at all inferior to the previous two.