LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 116
Chapter 116 Grilled Unicorn 3 – Death
The unicorns of the Waterdrop Forest were living their peaceful lives again today.
The dew, infused with mana, landed on their bodies, signaling the time to wake up.
They mingled with their companions, grooming each other’s manes, and sometimes tore apart insolent beasts that dared to invade their territory.
When there was nothing else to do, they would stroll around or gallop through the air, and as the masters of this beautiful Waterdrop Forest, they never neglected watching out for any filthy human invasions.
Unicorns were sacred, haughty, and elegant creatures of fantasy.
Though they were categorized as monsters, that was merely by human standards on Earth.
Unicorns, possessing great power and intelligence, were incredibly proud of themselves, to the point of narcissism.
‘I am such a beautiful creature.’
‘I am such a strong unicorn.’
‘Being born a unicorn is a blessing.’
‘When a unicorn gallops through the sky, even the heavens are startled, and the earth trembles, while the eyes of lowly creatures are fixed upon us.’
Though they didn’t form societies or communicate frequently like humans, unicorns took pleasure in flaunting their elegance and considered themselves to be on a different level from other beasts, vermin, or filthy monsters.
Of course, though they had been thwarted by the desperate resistance and attacks of Earth’s humans and confined to this Waterdrop Forest, they didn’t mind.
Someday, if the long-forgotten unicorn king were to be born again, he would easily defeat the humans beyond, and when that time came, it wouldn’t be difficult to leave the Waterdrop Forest and place the world beneath the hooves of the unicorns.
For now, they merely maintained their elegance, stroking each other’s manes in the Waterdrop Forest.
Occasionally, it was also amusing to observe the fresh, sacred maidens among the groups of humans that visited.
There were even some humans who, it seemed, had created some sort of tourist course, rudely arriving in groups, but as long as they were maidens, it didn’t matter.
‘Maidens are good.’
‘Maidens are beautiful.’
‘We live for maidens.’
Even if they weren’t beautiful, as long as they were maidens, that alone was valuable, but not every maiden was welcomed by the unicorns.
If a woman’s body had never experienced a man, they wouldn’t attack her.
That was a matter of basic courtesy, though they wouldn’t show any further goodwill.
No matter how much of a maiden she was, unicorns had strict standards.
Not only did they value physical virginity, but they also prized purity of heart.
If a woman had a pure heart, never thinking of any man other than the one she loved, or didn’t know anything about men, like a delicate flower petal, then the unicorns favored her even more.
For such women, not only would they refrain from attacking, but they might even lower their stance and allow the maiden to ride upon their backs.
However, if a woman had maintained her physical purity but possessed perverted knowledge and tendencies, they would disdain her as a dirty maiden.
Yet, it was extremely rare for human visitors entering this Waterdrop Forest Dungeon, through the so-called tourist course, to meet all these standards.
If a man entered the Waterdrop Forest, regardless of his age, he would immediately become a target, and any woman who had lost her physical purity, regardless of the reason, would be a target for eradication.
There was even a time when some brazen lunatics entered the Waterdrop Forest and had intercourse, which led to the unicorns, who revered maidens, becoming furiously enraged at the sound of the maiden being sullied, and they ripped the humans to shreds.
After that, there were several large-scale battles with humans.
In the end, many unicorns died, and the unicorns’ territory became restricted to this Waterdrop Forest, but they didn’t particularly mind.
In fact, after that great battle, it seemed that only selected maidens came to this Waterdrop Forest, rather than those who came to die or fight.
And even dead unicorns would eventually be reborn in this Waterdrop Forest, given enough time.
And today.
With their keen senses, the unicorns detected the presence of three beings entering the Waterdrop Forest.
[Whinnying…!]
[Neigh!]
And they felt it.
All of them had female bodies.
They had female bodies, and there was a faint, pleasant scent of silver threads and a light fragrance.
Not to mention their beautiful, delicate figures.
They were all physically women and maidens.
[Sniff!! The scent of a maiden!!]
[Oooooohhh!]
[It’s a maiden!]
[Hey, hey www What’s a maiden doing here www We can’t just leave her alone www]
[These www We finally meet a maiden www]
Among some of the younger unicorns who had never encountered a maiden before, half-crazed excitement began to take over as they twisted and convulsed with madness.
A few older unicorns cast cold, disapproving glances at the young ones, signaling them to maintain their composure, but they couldn’t stop the young unicorns, who were already excited by the scent and presence of maidens.
Well, it didn’t matter.
After all, the one who had the right to choose wasn’t the unicorn but the maiden.
Unicorns were proud creatures, with arrogance and conceit towering to the heavens, but when it came to maidens, they would bow endlessly.
Some of the more seasoned unicorns, instead of acting wildly, remained silent and elegant, flaunting their graceful posture in hopes of being chosen by the maidens, not acting recklessly.
And as they heard footsteps from where they had sensed the presence, the unicorns’ hearts began to pound loudly.
A maiden was coming.
A maiden was approaching.
A beautiful woman was coming their way!
[Ooooohhh! Three fresh maidens are coming!!]
[Hey, hurry up? We’ve been waiting for you?]
[Pick me? I won’t be able to resist resting my head on a maiden’s soft thigh.]
[Sniff, sniff, three maidens.]
[Let me join in?]
[These www Such an amazing maiden www]
[You idiots, quiet down.]
Eventually, one of the adult unicorns, unable to bear it any longer, transmitted a stern message to the younger ones.
Only then did the younger unicorns, perhaps sensing the atmosphere, start pretending to calmly graze or act as if nothing was out of the ordinary once the maidens came into view.
Seeing the maidens up close, they were indeed impressive.
All three were indeed maidens.
Moreover, they weren’t familiar with anything obscene, so their hearts were also deserving of high marks.
Although one of the maidens wasn’t entirely human, with centipede-like arms, legs, and a tail, her body and heart were that of a maiden, so she could be considered a fine maiden.
They’re coming.
They’re coming.
They’re coming.
Three maidens are coming.
However, only one can be chosen.
For the chance to touch a maiden, unicorns feared nothing, not even death.
Even if a maiden wielded a blade and slashed at their skin, piercing their insides, it would bring them joy.
Because it meant they could feel the maiden’s love so vividly, no matter how painful.
[Oooh, even death wouldn’t be a regret?]
[These maidens are incredibly pretty?]
[Sniff, sniff, their scent is arousing.]
[That faint perfume scent, mixed with the sweet smell of sweat from walking all the way here. Ugh.]
[Truth be told, I’ve been waiting for a maiden like you for a long time.]
[Please, be quiet…!]
Suppressing their excitement, the unicorns quietly flaunted their elegant figures, subtly observing the maidens in hopes of being chosen.
A little later, when a beautiful maiden with white hair approached the unicorns, they tensed up.
She’s coming.
She’s coming.
She’s coming…!
[Whinny….?]
At that moment, one of the unicorns noticed something strange and frowned.
What was that?
The scent… is strange.
It was indeed the scent of a maiden.
Her body was a maiden, and so was her heart.
She clearly had never experienced a man and wasn’t obscene.
In fact, she exuded a sacred aura, perhaps the finest, most perfect maiden they had ever encountered.
And yet, what was this discomfort…?
While the adult unicorn tilted its head in confusion, the expressions on the faces of the younger unicorns began to sour.
[Oo…Oooh….]
[Is she www really a maiden?]
[That’s an interesting scent www]
[Oooh… What is this, damn.]
[Snort..]
[Even in our industry, this is too much.]
The young unicorns, who had been ready to go wild at the thought of being chosen by a maiden, began to quietly back away without making it obvious.
“Hey, do you see them? There are a lot of sturdy unicorns over there.”
The silver-haired woman had approached by now and seemed to be talking with a drone-like human device.
The unicorn closest to the silver-haired woman, overwhelmed by the ever-growing discomfort, ultimately rejected her, even though she was a maiden.
[Snort!]
It snorted irritably, but the woman didn’t seem to care as she continued to walk toward them.
“What, scared? Come here, guys~”
Scared?
A unicorn, scared?
Impossible.
This was more like a primal revulsion.
But what was this unpleasant feeling…
[Man… scent…?]
As the silver-haired woman drew closer, the unicorn realized.
A scent no maiden or woman should possess was coming from her.
The sweet, fragrant scent of a maiden, hidden within was a faint scent of a man.
It felt as though the scent had been masked with strong perfume.
And it wasn’t just the scent of a man.
[Oo, oooh….]
The strongest scent was certainly that of a maiden.
But mixed with it was the faint scent of a man, and also the smell of a corpse… no, more precisely, the scent of the dead.
Along with the scent of a married woman, an old person, a child, and a man.
It was as if all the scents the unicorn had ever encountered in its life had been blended together in a mixer and emitted all at once, like a bizarre gift set.
Though the scent of the maiden was the most prominent, with all those other scents mixed in, the unicorn could barely hold back its urge to cough up blood and gag.
[Neighhh!!!]
Unable to endure it any longer, the unicorn immediately went into attack mode.
“…Huh…?”
Bam!!
A powerful kick landed squarely on the silver-haired woman’s head.
Even when a non-maiden woman touched a unicorn, she had never been attacked this violently.
“Shia!?”
“Kiieek?”
Oddly enough, the other maidens beside her were fine.
It was a truly strange occurrence.
○○○○○
A little later, Shia stood up, brushing off the dirt from her clothes, and pulled out her tentacles from her waist.
[Miracle – Holy Body Descent]
Clack!
Snap!
The tentacles, as if mirroring Shia’s furious mood, clattered their teeth together in rage and immediately shot toward the unicorns.
The unicorn, an A-rank monster, tried to leap into the air to evade the incoming tentacles, but it couldn’t escape Shia’s wrath.
[Neighhhh!!]
Let go of me, you’re no maiden!
With a face that seemed to glare at Shia, the unicorn stared her down, but Shia, as if deeply wounded, shot back a chilling gaze filled with murderous intent.
Crack!
Snap!
[Hi-hi-hiiiiing!!!?]
The unicorn’s four legs were immediately ripped off by the tentacles.
Its neck twisted 180 degrees, and its long white horn was shattered in half.
Normally, Shia would’ve said something like, “Sorry. I’ll eat well,” or perhaps, “Isn’t hunting unicorns easy?” to keep the stream lively while chatting with the viewers.
But right now, Shia didn’t care about the stream at all.
She was entirely focused on destroying the unicorn’s body.
Crack!
Thud!
[‘KawaiiHorned’ has donated 5,000 won!]
ᄴ Is the streamer angry?
[For real, lol]
[Oh shit… it’s horror mode]
[Look at her face, lol. She’s obviously pissed off, lolol]
[Is it okay to be this angry in front of your mom?]
[Lolol]
Thud!
Smash!
Five minutes later, when the unicorn that had kicked Shia was completely destroyed, Yane sneakily approached and took several of its large severed legs.
Even then, Shia, still seething, smashed the unicorn’s body one last time with her tentacles to ensure it was dead before finally relaxing her expression.
“Sh-Shia?”
Yoon-jung broke out in a cold sweat at the sudden, terrifying atmosphere surrounding Shia.
“Ah…”
Hearing Yoon-jung’s voice, Shia realized she had shown an unsightly side of herself.
“Ahem! I’m sorry, Mom. Even though I’m a saintess, I got so angry because I was disrespected by a unicorn…”
“I-Is that so? But what exactly is a saintess?”
“Uh… to put it simply… I’m not entirely sure, but I’m a sacred woman! As a saintess, I should be the epitome of virginity and purity, so why should I receive such treatment from that beast?!”
“I wouldn’t know either…”
Yoon-jung didn’t fully understand why Shia was so angry, but in any case, she believed that the insolent beast that kicked her precious child deserved death.
“But don’t be too harsh. Who knows? Maybe only this unicorn was strange.”
“Uh… maybe?”
“Then… I’ll try next.”
With that, Yoon-jung mustered some courage and approached the other unicorns.
She wasn’t entirely without fear, facing an A-rank monster, but the official information about unicorns released by the Association seemed trustworthy.
Besides, she believed Shia would help if anything happened.
[?]
[Wait, isn’t she not a maiden if she’s a mom?]
[Right?]
[Is she dumb? Could she really be the streamer’s mom? The streamer said she was 21 in 24 years, so her mom wouldn’t still be alive.]
[It’s probably just part of the concept.]
[Or maybe a close relative or someone she’s super close with.]
[Girls sometimes call each other “mom” or “big sis” when they hang out, even if they’re the same age.]
The viewers worried that Yoon-jung might end up like the streamer, but fortunately, the unicorns didn’t show any hostility as she approached.
Yoon-jung extended her hand toward the nearest unicorn, which had a bright mane.
It was a rather unique unicorn.
It had a golden mane, and its body was brown or black, almost as if it were tanned.
It had a slightly delinquent look, as if it would loiter around, but there was no doubt it was still an elegant unicorn.
[Snort!]
“Easy, easy now…”
Rustle, rustle…
[Oh-hooo! Fresh maiden get wwwww]
She had a feeling she heard something strange, but eventually, the unicorn allowed Yoon-jung to stroke its mane.
[Oh, she succeeded.]
[By the way, if your bond with a unicorn deepens, you can become a tamer.]
[But don’t you need an awakening ability related to taming for that?]
[Dunno.]
[I think the owner of Black Golshi doesn’t have tamer abilities either?]
“Heh, this is amazing…”
“……”
“Kiiek… chew chew…”
“Shia! I did it! This unicorn is actually pretty cool when you get close!”
[I feel like I’m ascending from the maiden’s praise wwwww]
“……”
Good.
Mom managed it too.
Even though her soul wasn’t a maiden in her past life, she passed the unicorn’s test, didn’t she?
Yeah, that unicorn was just weird. Other unicorns should be fine…
[Ah, impossible.]
[This one’s giving off a rotten stench www]
[Eh, but it smells like the dead…]
But they all rejected her.
If a maiden was accepted by a unicorn, the meat harvested after the unicorn was killed would be stress-free, the most tender and delicious.
However, for Shia, only one option remained.
“Kyaaaah!! You damn bastards!!”
That was to exterminate these filthy maiden pests.
[Lololololololol]
[Lolololol]
[The streamer’s really pissed lolololol]
[Ahahaha]
[Lololol]
[Angry, huh? Mad, huh?]
Snap!
“Shut up, you guys!!”
Of course, no matter how much she yelled, the chat didn’t stop.
Meanwhile, donations continued to flow in, and the AI voice read them aloud, with the clarity of a soprano choir’s voice, pronouncing each word one by one.
[‘LostMyCoins’ has donated 5,000 won!]
ᄴ I was curious about why you quit the rank-up match, but now I’m laughing my ass off, lolol.
[‘KawaiiHorned’ has donated 10,000 won!]
ᄴ Lololololol.
[‘SellingFriedLeaves’ has donated 8,000 won!]
ᄴ Sis! It’s okay even if you’re not a maiden!
“Kyaaaah! Olga, I’ll deal with you later!”
[Lololol the donations are cutting deep into the streamer’s heart lolol.]
[Was that donation supposed to defend her?]
[Is that what you call defense?]
“…..”
Watching this unfold, Yoon-jung, stroking the unicorn that was now rubbing its face against her cheek, couldn’t help but feel a bit scared of Shia.
And yet, these unicorns didn’t even care that their kind was being slaughtered by Shia… Were unicorns always like this?
“Chew, chew… omnom… delicious. Bring me more, master.”
Only Yane, peacefully sitting and munching on the severed unicorn leg that Shia had chopped off earlier, was calm.
●●●●●
The unicorn was an exceptionally unique monster among monsters.
Though it was indeed a monster with internal organs, blood, flesh, and muscles, it also possessed a separate spiritual form.
Even when its body died, with time, it would be reborn in the Waterdrop Forest.
As such, they neither mourned nor felt much pain even when killed by a maiden. They were highly insensitive to the death of their kind.
After all, they would be resurrected soon enough.
In any case, Saintess of the Dead, Shia, slaughtered all the unicorns that rejected her and appeared once again before the drone camera.
“…I’ll start cooking now…”
Although she had started out cheerfully, she now looked quite dejected.
[Lolololol]
[Her expression looks so tragic, lolol]
[Yep, the streamer’s definitely not a maiden, lol.]
“No…! I am a virgin!!”
[No, you’re not~]
[But does being a virgin even matter?]
[It’s not really important in today’s world.]
[No, there will always be people obsessed with it anywhere.]
[Streamer’s not a virgin? Seems possible.]
In the old days, if a female streamer said, “I’m not a virgin,” it would have caused a huge scandal, but now it was the era of Hunter streamers in 2088.
Being a non-virgin might still be used as a teasing or joke, but there weren’t many overly obsessed viewers like there were in the early 21st century.
Besides, Shia wasn’t a camgirl streamer.
Her streams were about her Hunter activities and absurd cooking, so it wasn’t something that could blow up into a big issue.
Of course, that didn’t change the fact that the viewers now had plenty of material to endlessly tease this absurd saintess with.
“Hey! In my previous world, I lived over 60 years as a saintess! I was more of a virgin and more pure than anyone! So why am I getting judged as non-virgin by that beast?!”
[Maybe you got face-ridden or something?]
“What the fuck…”
[You’re crazy, lolololololololololol]
[Face-ridden, holy shit lololololol]
[Face-ridden lololololololol]
[You’re really nuts, lololol]
“I’m telling Yeonseo Unnie on you!”
[?]
[Yeonseo?]
[Sorry]
[Sorry]
[Sorry, sorry, sorry]
[Sorry, streamer. I deeply apologize for doubting your purity. I am truly sorry.]
Fortunately, when Shia mentioned Yeonseo’s name, the viewers hurriedly bowed their heads.
Yeah, you scumbags! Apologize quickly!
“Haa, Mom, I’m sorry. I’ll cook for you now, so please wait a bit.”
“U-uh? Okay! Got it… ah, that tickles. Stop it.”
Meanwhile, the golden sun unicorn that had been chosen by Yoon-jung seemed very happy to be selected by a maiden and was nuzzling her affectionately.
As for Yane… she was still munching on the unicorn leg.
“Hey! You rascal, why are you eating stuff that fell on the ground! That’s filthy! Even a beggar wouldn’t eat like that!”
“…Kkiek…?”
“Here, here. Brush off the dirt first. Follow me over to that pond over there and wash off all the filth.”
“…Kkiee…”
“I’m not taking it away. Don’t worry.”
While Yoon-jung took care of Yane, Shia hurried to finish cooking.
Alright.
There were issues along the way… but the goal is still cooking.
Shia’s homemade unicorn meat dish to show filial piety to Yoon-jung.
[So what’s the streamer gonna make?]
[Isn’t unicorn just horse meat?]
[Has anyone eaten horse meat before?]
[Didn’t Jeju Island’s horse farms get wrecked during the first Great Rift?]
[Yeah, probably?]
[My grandpa said horse meat tastes like beef.]
For reference, horse meat had become quite rare recently.
During the first Great Rift, Jeju Island had suffered catastrophic destruction, and many horse farms had been lost.
Even though Jeju Island had been fully restored, instead of rebuilding horse farms, they’d constructed monster theme parks instead.
And although unicorn meat was classified as edible, each unicorn was an A-rank monster, so it was an ultra-premium ingredient sold at exorbitant prices.
“Alright. Unlike orc pork belly, butchering unicorn meat isn’t too difficult.”
Fortunately, the unicorn’s anatomy, aside from the mana it contained, was nearly identical to that of a horse, so Shia was able to neatly cut the meat by searching for horse meat cuts on her smartwatch.
Unicorns were also much larger than typical horses.
Thanks to the large number of unicorns Shia had slaughtered, there would be more than enough meat to feed Shia, Yoon-jung, and Yane, and still have plenty to take home.
If needed, she could even gift some to Yeonhwa and Yeonseo.
After all, she’d received a lot of help because of Yoon-jung.
And since Yeonhwa was currently participating in the S-rank promotion match, she’d likely pass, so gifting her some unicorn meat to celebrate her promotion wouldn’t be a bad idea.
‘They said it tastes like beef… so I can just season it and cook it well-done, right?’
Shia pondered as she looked at the garlic, pepper, and various cooking ingredients she’d brought along in the transport drone.
Yeah, it’s not hard. Grilling meat is simple… I just need to cook it like beef.
“First, I’ll light the fire with holy power.”
The fire, fueled by holy power, was much stronger than an ordinary flame.
Fire is essential in cooking, and the stronger the fire, the better the dish will turn out.
She placed a giant griddle from the oversized cauldron on the fire.
[Holy shit, that griddle is huge lol]
[You could probably fit 30 boobs on it.]
[Lolol]
[I saw that on home shopping. It’s the 100-serving griddle.]
[I wondered who’d actually use it, turns out it’s the streamer lol.]
She seasoned the meat with just the right amount of salt and pepper.
“And… where’s the garlic?”
Next, she tossed the garlic and butter onto the griddle to let them sizzle.
She wasn’t grilling the meat just yet.
By spreading the garlic and butter evenly across the griddle, she let their aroma and flavor infuse the surface, so that later, the meat would absorb the subtle butter flavor.
If she cooked the meat directly with the butter, the butter flavor could become overpowering.
Ssszzzzzzzzz!
[It already looks delicious.]
[Sniff sniff… I’m crying… She usually fries centipedes, but now she’s finally cooking real food…]
[Heung, Noona… please just cook like this from now on…]
“Nope, I don’t want to.”
Today’s dish is special for my mom.
Next time, I’ll try fried corn gnats again.
Of course, she didn’t say that out loud.
There was no need to give the viewers too much information.
“Okay, the butter and garlic are done. Now for the meat.”
Shia then lifted the unicorn meat she’d purified with her cleansing miracle and began placing it onto the griddle.
Since she was grilling nearly 50 servings of meat at once, the sound was incredibly grand.
Ssssszzzzzzzz!!
[Even the sound is delicious.]
[Wow, I’ve never seen so much meat being grilled at once.]
[Sniff sniff, sniff sniff.]
[Sizzle, sizzle, Jew…]
The fat from the horse-like unicorn meat melted onto the griddle, frying the meat to perfection.
The initially bright red meat gradually turned golden brown, giving the appearance of a dish that would be undoubtedly delicious just from looking at it.
“If this doesn’t taste good, there’s seriously something wrong with the person cooking.”
[For real, lol]
[How could that not taste good, lol.]
[That’s a guaranteed win.]
Good. The viewers’ reactions were great.
At this rate, Yoon-jung and Yane would surely love it too.
“Well, let’s see how it tastes…”
The unicorn steak, perfectly seasoned with garlic, butter, salt, and pepper, was finished to perfection.
Shia picked up a piece with her tentacle and brought it to her mouth.
“Alright, let’s dig in~ chomp!”
Crunch, crunch, crunch!!!
[?]
[??]
[?]
[What’s that sound?]
As Shia chewed the unicorn meat, she froze like a statue for a long moment.
For over a minute, she didn’t speak or move at all.
‘……………………..’
What is this?
Did I grill a stone instead of unicorn meat…?
The texture wasn’t just tough; it felt like chewing on a rag.
Crunch.
‘…………..’
Crack!!!
[What’s with that sound, lolololololololololololol]
[Lolololololol]
[Lololololol]
What the hell is this…?
[‘KawaiiHorned’ has donated 100,000 won!]
ᄴ TMI: If you cook horse meat well-done, it becomes as tough as a rock.
[?]
[You’re crazy, lolololololololol]
[Lololololol]
[Lololololol]
Hearing the donation’s voice, Shia thought to herself.
Goddamn it.