I Became an NPC That Rankers Are Obsessed Over

The sizzling sound of oil stimulated my ears.

Soon, the electronic display showed the number on the ticket I held.

I stood up cheerfully, following the sound.

The Executor rested her chin on her hand and stared at me.

On one hand, she held a bitter Americano.

As she drank the black coffee resembling her hair, she glanced down at the plate I brought.

“This is my first time eating out in ages—.”

I smacked my lips and picked up a fork and knife.

I carefully sliced the meat in neat rows and columns.

“What’s so delicious about something so greasy?”

Judging from her cynical tone, the Executor didn’t seem to like donkatsu much.

“That’s strange, I’ve never met anyone around me who disliked donkatsu.”

I mumbled with a piece of meat tucked in one cheek.

The red-eyed killer glanced at my puffed cheek and chuckled.

“You’re not a little boy—.”

She cynically sneered at me.

Perhaps she just hadn’t tasted good donkatsu in her life.

I decided to show her a ‘new world of flavor.’

Cooking is similar to making cocktails.

Even with the same ingredients, the taste varies drastically depending on how you prepare them.

Especially with donkatsu.

I skewered the second-to-last piece from the edge with my fork.

The edge of the fried batter was incredibly crispy, while the center was soft and thin.

From experience, this piece was the most ideally delicious.

Now, I lightly drizzled demi-glace sauce on the piece with a spoon.

If you dunked it mindlessly in sauce, it would be too salty, overshadowing the meat’s natural flavor.

Each careful touch like this determines the taste.

Then, I picked a bit of salad with chopsticks and placed it on top of the meat.

Grade: ★★★☆ (Epic)

Effect: It’s delicious. Good food makes you happy.

Information: A notable combination of decent meat, batter, sauce, and vegetables.

“Here, try it.”

Confidently, I offered the piece I’d prepared on the fork.

The Executor asked indifferently.

“Why are you putting so much effort into one bite of donkatsu?”

She seemed amused by how delicately I handled the small piece of meat.

As if I were a raccoon washing its food.

“Hey, if you haven’t tried it, don’t knock it—.”

I looked up at her, urging her to trust me.

Then, I brought the fork closer to her lips.

The Executor seemed startled, as if she thought I was about to feed her directly.

As expected of a seasoned killer, she accurately read the situation.

I made a sound like a plane tracing an arc in the sky.

Hearing that, she quickly turned her head.

“If you don’t eat quickly, the salad on top will fall off.”

I spoke as if a disaster alarm had sounded for the plane.

Finally, the killer sighed deeply.

She quietly glanced around her.

Although the restaurant had other customers, no one was seated near us.

Thanks to that, she could look at me blankly again.

Then she cautiously opened her mouth.

The donkatsu safely landed on her lips.

Soon, the crispy sound came from her mouth.

I looked up at her intently.

Then, with narrowed eyes, I asked with a bashful grin.

“How is it? It’s delicious, isn’t it?”

Curious about her reaction, I asked again and again.

This was a method I often used in the military, so there was no way it wouldn’t taste good.

Even with bland military donkatsu, this long-standing tradition made it enjoyable.

With expectant eyes, I clenched my fists tightly.

“Well, it’s not bad.”

The red-eyed killer looked down at the girl smiling bashfully at her.

Then, she nonchalantly brushed off the crumbs of batter stuck to my lips with her hand.

“…”

Was it the sensation of that touch? My face grew hot.

Thanks to her fingers, which I had subconsciously allowed, my body shrank momentarily.

“Did you behave like this with Anna, too?”

“W-What are you talking about… I’ve only met her once.”

Flustered by her sensual face and sudden question, I instinctively lied.

No matter how close we were, there was no need to mention my encounter with a fugitive.

Besides, since the Executor had lost her dummy to Anna, their relationship surely wasn’t good.

“Is that so?”

She responded to my answer and picked up her coffee again.

Then, she drained the coffee she had barely touched before.

“—.”

The plate was clean.

In the past, even eating one whole piece left me feeling empty, but with this body, I was full after just one piece.

This girl’s body certainly seemed more economical.

Of course, that was strictly speaking from a financial perspective.

I wiped my lips with a napkin and observed the Executor’s mood.

She had quietly waited while I ate.

Then, out of boredom, she suddenly asked me a question.

“By the way, how old did you say you were?”

“Why are you asking about my age all of a sudden…”

“You obviously look young, but you’ve been casually dropping formalities. When we first met, you were busy being polite.”

The Executor crossed her arms and looked down at me.

I reflexively almost blurted out “twenty-eight” but quickly shut my mouth.

That was my age as a man before I died.

“T-Twenty-one…”

“Unbelievable.”

Hearing my age, the Executor let out a short laugh.

It turned out she was twenty-five years old.

A full four years older than me.

Since the Executor had such a youthful face, I hadn’t paid attention, but it was a significant age gap.

“From now on, call me ‘unnie.'”

The Executor ruffled my bangs.

Thanks to her, my carefully straightened bob from the morning became a mess.

“Why should I!”

I shouted in bewilderment.

‘Unnie’? I’d never once used that word in my entire life.

Besides, if you consider my age from my past life, I was the same age as the Executor.

Of course, the Executor had no way of knowing my thoughts and simply chuckled before standing up.

Then, without hesitation, she paid for the entire meal with her card.

I stammered, telling her she didn’t have to do that, but the Executor waved it off.

“It’s fine. I’ll probably have to go fix the shop again tomorrow, so consider it compensation.”

“That was because you were trying to protect me…”

She didn’t even acknowledge my words.

She just waved her hand and walked alone to the first floor.

As if she didn’t want to hear any words of gratitude.

I stared blankly at her retreating figure.

And I thought.

Maybe, despite her tough exterior, she was a better person than I had thought.

Kind of like donkatsu.

Crispy on the outside but soft on the inside…

No, that’s not quite right; comparing her to donkatsu feels too mundane for her lofty image.

After the Executor’s silhouette disappeared, I leisurely headed toward the food section.

The first thing that caught my eye was onions.

Since I’d need to store them for a while, I figured thicker skins would be better.

Muttering to myself, I sorted through the onion nets.

That’s when I suddenly felt a peculiar gaze on me.

I subtly turned my head toward the direction of the stare.

There stood a woman who had been in front of the onion stand long before I arrived.

Wearing a common cap and black mask.

Her long legs were clad in work pants, and she had a fleece jacket.

She looked like a celebrity shopping incognito to avoid public attention.

With that kind of stature, maybe she was a model.

She was staring down at the onions as if they were her sworn enemies.

I tried to ignore her and continued choosing onions.

The ones with pointy tops were male onions.

The small ones with firm tops were female onions.

Female onions were generally sweeter and tastier.

I reached out to grab a net of onions.

That’s when another hand suddenly invaded.

It was the woman next to me.

She started snatching every onion net I reached for and tossing them into her basket.

Seriously, what the heck…

Before I knew it, her basket was piled high with onions.

Even the weight, which looked difficult for one person to carry, was easily lifted with one hand.

I quickly grabbed one net before she could take it and hurriedly moved away from her.

Even as I left, I could feel her gaze on the back of my head.

What a strange person.

After finally escaping to another corner, I went to buy eggs.

“Two hundred thousand won for a pack of eggs…”

With the supply chain wrecked due to the monster incidents, egg prices had skyrocketed.

I had to choose the cheapest and tastiest option among them.

I pressed my lips together and thought hard.

“…?”

But once again, I felt a familiar gaze.

It was the onion enthusiast.

This was odd.

I had clearly left earlier, so how did she beat me to the egg section?

I cleared my throat and resumed choosing eggs.

Then her antics began again.

She swept up all the egg packs of the brand I was picking.

Before long, her hands were full of nothing but eggs and onions.

It seemed like she intended to mimic everything I bought.

I found her behavior oddly cute.

She reminded me of a child imitating an adult.

Although she was much taller than me…

I decided to test it out.

To see if she really would buy everything I did.

Resolving myself, I swiftly moved past the corner.

Then I headed straight for the cooking oil section.

“As expected…!”

She followed the exact path I took.

Before she could reach me, I quickly grabbed a bottle of olive oil.

Then I hid the brand among the onions in my basket.

I was curious to see how she’d react.

As expected, she seemed flustered.

But soon, she diligently scanned my basket and spotted the olive oil.

“…”

Eventually, she picked a bottle of olive oil that looked similar to mine.

But it wasn’t for cooking.

The label was purple, indicating it was for salad dressing.

If she tried cooking with that, all the vegetables would burn.

I decided to let her know and moved closer.

But she stepped back as if trying to keep her distance from me.

It felt like dealing with a wild animal curious about food but unwilling to make contact.

How should I explain this…?

I racked my brain.

And came up with one solution.

“Whew—almost made a mistake.”

Talking to myself to deliver the message.

I mumbled awkwardly with exaggerated acting.

“The labels are so similar, I almost bought the salad dressing by mistake—.”

She glanced down at the bottle in her hands.

“If you cook with salad dressing, everything burns—thank goodness I noticed!”

Hearing my clumsy monologue, she quickly swapped out the olive oil.

I turned my head, unable to hold back my laughter.

And silently chuckled to myself like a madwoman.

Even the mole under my eye shifted with my laughter.

But seriously, what was she planning to do with all those onions and eggs?

The only thing you could make with that was…

Egg fried rice, at best.