The Artist Who Paints Dungeon

At that moment, Gio.

“I made a few.”

“Coong?”

A few?

“Well, it's a bit much, isn't it.”

“Coong?”

A bit?

“Yeah, Dad was being overly enthusiastic. I got so excited I couldn't control myself.”

“Coooorr.”

He handed about 5kg of sausages to Yoo Sung-woon, but even then, another 5kg of sausages remained.

“Since they've been dried in the sunlight once, they shouldn't rot if we keep them in the ice storage….”

“Coorrr?”

“As I said earlier, part of it was because I got too excited, and also wanted to give them some gifts because I've been neglecting the waterfowl's nests. It's about sharing with everyone, not just eating it all by ourselves.”

“Cooorrrooorooorr.”

“I knew you'd like it.”

The grilled sausages, piled high, were so abundant that they looked just like a small hill.

Even so, it was still smaller compared to all the waterfowl living in this forest combined, but what does it matter? The fact that the amount is excessively large remained unchanged.

However, Gio was resolute.

“Try this first. I thought you might not like spicy food, so I made this one mild.”

He was thrilled. He would've enjoyed it even if the sausages were made with ordinary ingredients. But isn't this food made with fantasy ingredients?

“This one is a sausage made with Arum, Raven Walnut, and vinegar. I also ground a bit of Milky Way Mary into it. Honestly, it's a little too mild for my taste… but I thought you'd like it.”

“Coorrrr.”

“That doesn't mean I won't eat it.”

Gio had set up a table outside his cabin for the first time in a while and finished preparing the meal.

On the table were freshly cooked white rice from a cauldron, all were placed abundantly—detoxified Vaivamnil which was seasoned like vegetables, and warm, homemade sausages full of juices grilled in the wood-fired oven as if fried. ř

“I'll bring the grilled sausages to the waterfowl's nest later. For now, we've set the table to taste it ourselves, so let's eat slowly and visit the nest afterwards. Don't you agree, son?”

“Coorrrr.”

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“As expected, you really are my son.”

Without cutting the long sausage, Seo Gio put one in his mouth and subtly nodded in agreement.

'…Someone who likes stimulating flavours like me might find it a bit bland. Honestly, it's a little plain, but the seasoning is just right, so it's good for eating with rice.'

The sausages, perhaps due to having been briefly dried in the sun and had been grilled once, had a very crispy exterior.

Even so, the meticulously prepared casing by hand using intestines had a nutty and chewy texture, yet was soft enough not to resist the teeth. The texture was a harmony of crispiness, chewiness, and softness.

“Hmm….”

Crunch!

“Ah, it's hot.”

Juices overflowed from the contents inside.

A subtle wood aroma seeped into the roof of his mouth. The sausage, freshly grilled in the wood-fired oven where firewood blazed fiercely, was warm enough to feel hot, and the sweet yet slightly sticky meat juices, tightly enclosed within the casing, soaked his mouth.

Warm and—

Delicious.

'….Though it was made to be mild, the aroma is truly delightful.'

By reducing the amount of salt as much as possible, the natural flavour of the meat was enhanced, and various complex flavours were added to complement the meat. The result was the sausage before him today.

The subtle nutty aroma characteristic of the deer meat, combined with Raven Walnuts, unified the flavours of the sausage.

Moreover, the sharp aroma of Arum hidden deep beneath, along with the mild yet distinct Candytrap Tree fruit vinegar on top, asserting its presence in a mild yet distinct manner.

'As I eat this, it's better than I thought. I expected it to be completely bland.'

The faint bitterness from the vinegar itself blended beautifully with the rich smoky scent of the firewood used to grill the sausage.

The sausage was great, and the cooking method too was excellent.

“Especially the vinegar, it was a good addition.”

“Coong?”

“Maybe because it's a naturally fermented fruit vinegar? It has a subtle sweetness, and with sourness and bitterness  that balanced out the greasiness …. it all pairs perfectly well.”

Next was the sausage made exclusively for Gio himself.

Crunch!

The red sausage immediately stimulated the taste buds upon the first bite.

'My mouth is burning.'

There was a certain burning sensation that lingered on his tongue.

'It doesn't linger too long. It's a very smooth and clean spicy flavour.'

The sausages made exclusively for him contained all the ingredients discovered this time.

Milky Way Mary offered a clean scent reminiscent of a blend of chilli and pepper while Crying Hem provided a strong spiciness along with a mysterious, rich sweetness.

Arum's ginger-like aroma brought together the diverse mix of scents into a harmonious whole, while the Raven Walnut added a mild, smooth, and deep fragrance on top.

Lastly, the Candytrap Tree fruit vinegar added bursts of tangy sourness here and there, creating a delightful variation in flavour….

Maybe it was a bit too much.

“But the taste is good.”

“Coong.”

“You might as well give it a try instead of avoiding it.”

“Coocoocoo….”

“If you don't like it, then so be it.”

Regardless of Honey's preference to avoid the spicy sausage, Gio found it perfectly suited to his taste. It felt like his previously uneasy stomach was completely soothed.

It was like the feeling you get after downing a bowl of samgyetang¹ in one go, plunging into a steaming hot bath, then heading to a jjimjilbang² with a cold bottle of sikhye³, sipping the icy drink through a straw while sweating profusely. That sense of completeness fills in exactly what was missing.

“Nice.”

Happiness wasn't far away.

'I was worried since it was my first time using these ingredients, but it turned out better than expected.'

Although the sausages focused on spiciness, the sausage overall had a subtle sweetness, and the oil coating the entire meat made the spiciness feel exceptionally clean.

When it came to spicy food, as long as the spiciness was clean, it could be considered over 90% successful.

“It's rewarding to have honed my cooking instincts. Grandma's culinary touch is meant for moments like this.”

“Coocoocoocoocoong….”

“It's not that Dad made it wrong, but our tastes are just a bit different.”

This level of spiciness was truly delicious.

The flavor-savvy Seo Gio also enjoyed chicken feet. When he usually eats spicy chicken feet, he'd dip them in sesame oil sauce or pair them with a sweet drink if it became too overwhelming.

Then, he could enjoy the dish with a calm and refined demeanour, almost like an intellectual. The sausages he made this time followed the same principle.

'The flavour and aroma were generally spicy and tangy, but Crying Hem already carried a subtle underlying sweetness. Plus, Raven Walnut added the characteristic soft sweetness of nuts. Not to mention the naturally produced vinegar from the Candytrap Tree, which was said to bore extremely sweet fruits….'

When the spices felt overwhelming, the mild aromas suppressed them. If the spiciness was too intense, the slightly abundant deer fat soothed the tongue like silk.

If the fat felt greasy, the vinegar's sourness will assert its presence, calming the queasiness.

Overall, the balance was excellent.

'Arum plays a significant role in binding the overwhelming complexity of flavours and aromas into one harmony. It's effect is far better than what I expected.'

Even as he chewed, Gio was already thinking of new recipes.

“When making something with a mix of various ingredients, adding Arum really elevates the quality of the dish.”

“Coong…?”

“I'll make it less spicy next time. You seem to have some aversion to the spicy aroma.”

Arum managed to bind the distinct, scattered personalities of the spices together. Its effectiveness was so impressive that, despite the complexity of flavours, the dish never felt overwhelming.

'Plus, I paid special attention to the texture of this sausage.'

Gio nodded.

“It has a bit of a chewiness to it, doesn't it?”

“Cooorrr.”

“Yeah, it's delicious, isn't it? Changing the size of the meat grains definitely made the texture more diverse. I'll have to think more about how to adjust the texture next time I make it.”

“Coocoo….”

“I always think this, but I really like how mould doesn't grow in this forest.”

Without that, this entire process would have been impossible.

'I used real intestines which retain high moisture content for casing…. It's a miracle they didn't spoil during the process.'

If the meat grains were uneven, air pockets would form inside the casing, increasing the likelihood of mould. At least, that's been the case with all the sausages Gio has made so far.

'Such weak-willed creatures.'

If you're true pork, shouldn't you be able to withstand a little mould with determination?

“Hmm.”

Anyway, thanks to that, even the texture of this sausage was outstanding.

The meat, already mashed to a soft, porridge-like consistency, pleased the tongue by touching a corner of the mouth even before chewing. Meanwhile, the uneven meat chunks gave a pleasant bounce as they were chewed by the teeth.

'The meat juices were flowing, and the texture of the intestine casing was better than I had expected.'

Since the intestines were so plump, it felt just like chewing on thin gopchang⁴.

The pre-cleaned intestines had no unpleasant odour, and they offered a perfect combination of chewiness and savoury flavour typical of innards.

Additionally, the sausages were grilled in the wood-fired oven, making the outer casing as crispy as a cracker while the inside remained sticky. There was also a faint bitterness unique to nuts.

Gio muttered.

“This is nice.”

He wished he could live like this his whole life.

Peacefully.