LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 72
Chapter 72: Lava Long-Bearded Whale Hangover Soup
When I open my eyes in the morning, I wonder about the night before~
Instead of a morning call, Shia woke up to the sound of cars outside the window and the chirping of birds resting on the roof of the Returnee’s Shelter.
Shia didn’t usually feel tired.
A hunter’s body was far stronger than an ordinary person’s, and the difference between the body of the Saintess of the Dead and a hunter was even greater and deeper than the difference between a hunter and an ordinary person.
Yet, even Shia felt something was off the moment she opened her eyes that morning.
“Ugh… Oouuugh…”
A hangover, a hangover…
Hangovers usually come with symptoms like headaches, muscle aches, nausea, and vomiting after drinking heavily.
But of course, Shia was the Saintess of the Dead.
Her body couldn’t die from poison, and most things harmful to the body didn’t affect her.
However, as soon as she opened her eyes, Shia felt a severe headache as if her brain was being hammered, causing her to roll off the bed and fall onto the floor.
“Kkeuuugh, I can’t take this anymore…”
[Miracle – Great Healing]
Shia had tried to endure it, but the pain from the hangover was unlike physical pain, so she used a miracle.
Thankfully, once the miracle of Great Healing swept through her body, Shia, now restored to peak condition, jumped up from her bed and sighed.
“…What time is it…?”
Blinking for a moment, Shia turned her head to look around.
At least… it was her house.
The Returnee’s Shelter located near Dangsan Station in Yeongdeungpo-gu, the 20-pyeong apartment she had grown familiar with.
It was a relief that she wasn’t outside somewhere.
It seemed like after she passed out in Hangang Park, Yeonhwa had brought her back here.
‘…Come to think of it, Yeonhwa is my legal guardian…’
She had wondered how Yeonhwa opened the door and brought her inside, but it made sense if Yeonhwa knew the password as her legal guardian.
As Shia lay still, observing her surroundings, she felt something wriggling beneath her head.
[Kkiiiiek! (Dammit, you’re heavy, move…)]
The Lucky Bladed Centipede, which had the right mix of hardness and squishiness to serve as a pillow, seemed to be quite displeased with being used that way and squirmed to escape from Shia.
From the centipede’s perspective, it had been peacefully coiled up in its corner, only to have this drunk monster of a woman barge in during the night, hug it, and crush it in her sleep. It had been hell.
As a result, the Bladed Centipede had been immobilized all night, trapped under her iron grip.
“Stay still… I need to think…”
[Kii… (Damn it…)]
“Haa… What did I do…?”
As she recalled the events of last night, Shia couldn’t bear the embarrassment that washed over her.
It was true that she had been in a bad mood because of the ethics review.
She had been forced to dredge up memories she didn’t want to face and lay them out in front of Director Choi Bomi.
The recollection of her painful past had sunk Shia’s mood to an all-time low since returning to the modern world.
It wasn’t surprising that she felt the need for a drink, or that her usual mental fortitude had weakened…
Of course, she was immensely grateful to Yeonhwa.
But the problem was, under the guise of leaning on Yeonhwa for comfort, Shia had acted like a drunken idiot—and she remembered every single embarrassing thing she had done.
“Kku, kkuuuuuaaaaaaah…!”
Shia buried her face in the floor and screamed, her feet drumming the ground in sheer self-loathing over her actions the previous night.
Growl~
“…I’m hungry.”
But hunger, she couldn’t ignore…
She looked toward the balcony and saw something large.
It was red, frozen solid, and looked like… ice.
Ah, it must be the meat from the Lava Long-Bearded Whale?
Last night, she had jumped into the Han River, caught a monster, eaten it herself, fed it to Yeonhwa too.
It was delicious, so she chugged three bottles of Jack Daniel’s straight, eating it raw, then finished the leftover beer because it felt like a waste, hugging the meat while tearing into it.
Eventually, the fishy smell had soaked into her clothes.
She had probably stained her clothes with the blood from hugging the meat as she ate, but Yeonhwa must have changed her clothes while she was asleep, since her clothes now smelled like sunshine.
[It won’t thaw for about 48 hours. Since there’s no space in the fridge, I left it frozen on the balcony, so feel free to eat it whenever.]
Reading Yeonhwa’s message on her smartwatch, Shia staggered over to the balcony door and opened it.
[Miracle – Purification]
Using Purification treated the freezing as a status effect, causing the ice to melt.
Before the chunks of whale meat hit the ground, Shia’s tentacles quickly snatched them up.
It seemed that the hangover was affecting not just her, but even her tentacles, as their movements were sluggish, and their eyes remained shut.
“…Lava Long-Bearded Whale… recipe…”
Skimming through her smartwatch, she found several complicated recipes.
The Lava Long-Bearded Whale was a monster that looked like a whale in appearance and name, but it was neither a fish nor a mammal.
It was a creature difficult to classify, but since it was categorized as edible, there were plenty of cooking methods available.
A quick internet search showed recipes ranging from stews to the butter-grilled one she had failed at last time…
No, I won’t do butter grilling.
Using butter for anything is off-limits until I’m really ready for it.
More importantly, this is about the hangover… Hangover relief is the key.
Even though the miracle of Great Healing had returned her body to normal, humans are creatures whose emotions, atmosphere, and indescribable feelings heavily influence them.
Drinking 218 cocktails, along with beer, soju, and whiskey cans and bottles combined, was like consuming over 500 drinks.
There’s no way one Great Healing miracle could completely erase all that.
“I need something good for… hangovers…”
Alright, let’s go with soup.
I don’t really know how to make soup.
But, if the ingredients are good, the odds of failure for most soups or stews are pretty low.
After all, even the disaster of a butter-grilled pork belly and dungeon cabbage from last time turned out decent when I just boiled it down with various sauces.
Though I can’t promise the smell was great…
“Let’s see. Soup… I don’t like spicy food, so something with a clear broth would be good…”
Fortunately, there was a soup recipe for Lava Long-Bearded Whale meat on the smartwatch.
The method wasn’t too difficult.
First, stir-fry an appropriate amount of Lava Long-Bearded Whale meat with sesame or perilla oil.
“They said an appropriate amount… about 10 kg should do, right?”
I used three frying pans to stir-fry the meat.
Apparently, it shouldn’t be fully cooked.
I don’t know why.
Let’s not question the recipe.
I’m a beginner at cooking, so trying to change the recipe might lead to disaster, like last time.
After stir-frying for about 10 minutes on low heat, I placed the meat into a large pot and started boiling it in water.
Once the white broth came out, I was supposed to season it with green onions, garlic, salt, pepper, and soy sauce, and finally stir in an egg…
“Hmm, it seems lacking, so let’s add tofu, radish, bean sprouts, and potatoes too.”
Luckily, I had a box of potatoes piled up at home and some bean sprouts resting in the fridge.
I sliced the leftover tofu from a few days ago and threw it in.
The seasoning… well, it should be fine.
“Oh, Wyvern eggs…”
I was about to use Wyvern eggs instead of regular eggs, and there was exactly one last Wyvern egg left in the fridge.
It’s been a while since I last visited the Kurthala Mountains.
I should probably go soon to maintain order and do a harvest.
Or maybe I should raid the Wyverns of another mountain range this time?
Some population control would be necessary to maintain the Wyverns in the Three Peaks.
Cracking the Wyvern egg shell, I dropped it into the bubbling pot.
The soup turned bright yellow instantly, probably because of the huge amount of yolk.
“Huh, should I… add more seasoning?”
Come to think of it… one Wyvern egg costs 30 million won.
The cheapest Wyvern egg fetches such a high price because of how difficult they are to obtain, but also because the egg itself is packed with concentrated protein and a rich yolk flavor.
As soon as that egg hit the pot, the once milky hangover soup turned bright yellow, like pumpkin porridge.
“….”
This… isn’t a seasoning problem, is it?
Sensing that something was off, I grabbed the soy sauce from the drawer.
Uh, how much… should I add?
Ssss…
I’m conflicted about how to season this, since just the meat alone is over 10 kg.
“Well, two cups…”
What I originally wanted to make was a clear hangover soup, something that reminded me of dried pollack soup.
Up until the middle, it wasn’t so bad.
But once I added the Wyvern egg, my clear hangover soup transformed into something with the appearance of… food waste.
“…Gulp…”
Is this… making me drool?
Absolutely not.
The smell was quite good, but the sight of the yellow soup with chunks floating around, looking like something you’d find in a dumpster, terrified me.
[Kkiieek… (Hey, give me some too.)]
The curious Lucky Bladed Centipede rubbed its legs against me, which was a relief.
If it’s a complete failure, I’ll just give it to it…
I turned off the heat.
Even though it was a lot, overboiling the hangover soup would make the ingredients inside fall apart and ruin the whole thing.
What I had hoped for was a pot of bubbling white broth, but now the Wyvern egg yolk seemed to have staked its claim on the soup, leaving me wondering if I should eat this or not.
I’ve never been one to judge food by its appearance, but this… looks pretty terrible.
[Kkiiieek! (Gimme some!)]
I wasn’t sure if centipedes could even eat soup, but I gave about three-quarters of the soup to the Bladed Centipede.
Slurp, chew, crack, crack, slurp…
I thought centipedes only had chewing jaws, so how did it swallow the soup?
It felt strange, but seeing it eat so quietly meant it wasn’t inedible.
Then again, there’s no way the taste preferences of centipedes and humans would be the same, so it’s meaningless unless I taste it myself.
“…Let’s eat.”
I opened up an instant rice pack and dipped my spoon into the soup.
Even though it seemed like the Wyvern egg yolk outnumbered the broth, I managed to find a bit of clear soup in between.
Slurp.
“…?”
What?
Why does this taste good?
Despite the dish looking like food waste, Shia, in disbelief, brought the spoon to her mouth again.
Slurp, sip… gulp.
“Haaa…..”
My insides, they’re calming down…
Even though my body was already fine thanks to Great Healing, the refreshing and clear soup made from the Lava Long-Bearded Whale meat, combined with its savory taste, doubled the effect.
Thanks to Bingu’s ability, the Lava Long-Bearded Whale had been frozen solid once.
As a result, its firm texture was similar to the dried pollack in dried pollack soup. When I ate it…
“Heck yeah…”
Ah, this feels refreshing.
I feel alive again.
Heck yeah…
Though the Wyvern egg yolk had made the soup look disgusting, it didn’t affect the flavor.
In fact, it enhanced the savory and mild taste.
Wyvern egg yolks had a taste that seemed to condense the protein of dozens of regular eggs.
Even though there was an excessive amount of yolk, it didn’t overwhelm the deliciousness of the soup, while its mild richness filled me up.
“Haaa….”
Before I knew it, I had finished not just one pack of instant rice, but five.
After finishing my share of the hangover soup, I turned my gaze to the Lucky Bladed Centipede, who had buried its head in the large pot.
You ate a lot, huh? Feeling full?
“Give it back!”
[Kkiieek! (Damn it!)]
The centipede let out a noticeable screech, frustrated at having its meal taken away, but there was nothing that could stop Shia, now obsessed with the hangover soup.
The centipede attempted to protest several times, ramming its body into Shia’s legs, but her tentacles picked it up and tossed it onto the balcony.
[Kkiiie… (You bad woman…)]
“Hehehehe… This looks so good…”
Honestly, I didn’t feel entirely guiltless, but my desire for the hangover soup far outweighed my guilt toward the centipede.
Gulp, chomp…
Well, I could always buy some good food for it later.
Wait, is there even food for centipedes…?
Beep beep beep!
“Hm?”
Suddenly, Shia’s smartwatch started ringing, drawing her attention away from the soup.
Who’s disturbing my meal?
“Hello?”
[Is this Shia?]
“Yes, speaking.”
It was a man’s voice.
Who could it be…?
[It’s Yujin. Do you have a moment?]
“….”
Honestly, I didn’t really want to meet him.
Setting the hangover soup down, Shia got up from her seat with a hardened expression.
[As the observer for the Returnee Ethics Review, there’s something I want to ask you.]
“What is it about?”
[The Demon King.]
“……….”
[We’ll talk in more detail when we meet.]
I haven’t even gotten over my last drink, and now I already feel like drinking again…
Shia scratched her head in frustration.
“When?”
[I’d like to meet as soon as possible.]
“…Let’s meet at 1. Come to Coffee Myunghwa near Dangsan Station. Their strawberry cake is delicious.”
[Got it.]
“Oh, by the way…”
[Yes?]
With a smiling face, Shia looked at her smartwatch.
“When did you become so casual with me? Am I your subordinate, Yujin?”
[……..]
Apparently, he hadn’t expected that, because the voice on the other side fell silent.
“Pff, just kidding. I’ll be there soon.”
With that, Shia ended the call.
As she got up, the Bladed Centipede, huddled in the corner, glanced toward the leftover hangover soup.
“…Fine, you can have it.”
[Kkiiik! (Oh yeah!)]
Sigh…
Shia already felt like she didn’t want to go out.
Yujin was the first S-rank hunter among the returnees.
He was also famous for being the strongest returnee, aside from Shia herself.
During the month she spent visiting hunter streamers after returning to the modern world, Shia had watched Yujin’s stream several times.
Back then, she didn’t feel any negative emotions toward him…
But after seeing Yujin during the third ethics review, Shia felt an instinctive repulsion toward him.
‘…That person named Yujin. His appearance, his voice, his demeanor, everything about him was fake…’
Shia couldn’t stand liars.