Chapter 49 : Adventure Level 35 (4)

I opened my eyes to find myself in bed.
I sat up, feeling groggy.
Ugh…
My head throbbed so much I momentarily worried if my brain might smash against my skull and kill me—it felt like a hangover.
That d*mned champagne.

What was I doing before I fell asleep yesterday? I can’t remember.
I didn’t drink that much, so I shouldn’t have blacked out.
Or maybe I did?
My alcohol tolerance in this life might be extremely low.
Since I’m currently a middle schooler, it’s natural that a few glasses could knock me out.
What was the alcohol content again? 12%?
That’s about as strong as weak soju.
Definitely enough to get me wasted.

But then, I didn’t do anything embarrassing, did I?
Ah, I’m anxious.
In my past life, my drinking habit was just passing out and sleeping, but there’s no guarantee it’s the same now.
Did I mess up with Do Yugeon?
No, wait, I was drinking with Yu Mina and… what’s-her-name, right, Laplace. So I wouldn’t have met him while drunk.
Surely, they must have moved me to my room when I passed out mid-drink.
Right, that must be it. That’s it.

I crawled clumsily on all fours off the bed.
Feeling extremely thirsty, I opened the fridge and took out some water.
Taking a sip of the cold water made my head ring.
Augh, I shouldn’t have drunk it.

I clutched my head for a moment, then took a shower and left the room.
It was a little past morning, and it was quiet, suggesting everyone else was outside.
Wanting to drink something warm, I headed to the kitchen and ran into the Security Team Leader on the way.

“I was about to wake you, but this timing is perfect.”

He handed me a thermos.
When I opened the lid, steam wafted out.
It smelled sweet.
I don’t know what it is, but it’s better than cold water.
I blew on it and took a sip—it was honey water.
Warmth filled my stomach.
Good, now I feel alive.
Though my brain and skull are still fighting.

“I have not yet reported the fact that you were drinking.”

My mind was blank for a moment before I realized he meant he would tell my parents later.

“Can’t you just not tell them?”
“I cannot.”
“Hopeless.”

I rubbed the thermos between my hands, turning it.
Looks like I’ll be getting an earful after a long time.

“Where are the kids now?”
“I believe they are on the beach.”
“I see. By the way, do you have any hangover cures besides this?”

I asked, holding up the thermos.

“We do not. Just as we did not prepare any alcohol.”
“Someone brought the alcohol, so maybe they brought a hangover cure too.”

He gave me a look that said, Does that make sense?
Hmm, hmm.
Well, the hangover should fade with time anyway.

I trudged down to the beach and saw Do Yugeon and Yu Mina playing badminton.
The shuttlecock flew back and forth rapidly.
Their movements, coordinating with the exchange, were lively.
Yu Mina drank champagne too, but she looks perfectly fine.
Must be nice to be young.

Wait, we’re the same age.
So what should I say?
Must be nice to have high alcohol tolerance? That’s a bit…
Must be nice not to have a hangover? That’s definitely not something to say to a middle schooler either.
Besides, middle schoolers shouldn’t be drinking in the first place.

As I approached, feeling a subtle confusion, something else caught my eye besides the badminton game.
Next to the badminton area, there was a mound of sand with a person’s head sticking out.
It looked like they were buried while lying down.
Looking closely, it was Laplace.
What the heck.

“What are you doing?”
“Hello. Good morning. Or is it not? Morning has passed. That’s not right either? It’s still morning time.”
“I asked what you are doing.”
“It’s not like I’m doing this because I want to. I was lying down counting clouds, and those two came over with shovels and piled sand on me.”

Laplace tilted her head toward the badminton players.
Looking closely, I saw two shovels discarded in a corner.
Ah, I see. Hmm.
I accepted it with an I see, but honestly, I have no clue what’s going on.

“They must have been bored.”

Probably.

“With space-time magic, can’t you get out of that state?”
“I can get up without using magic.”
“Then why are you still like that?”
“It’s too much hassle to move.”

I see. That makes sense.
Lying down is definitely better than playing badminton.

“In that case, excuse me for a moment.”
“For what?”

I touched the piled-up sand—it felt firm.
They must have patted it down with the shovels after piling it on.
Not shoddy construction, then.
I sat down on top of it.

“Gyaak!”

The noise made my head throb.

“Be quiet.”
“Heavy…”
“Use magic if you don’t like it.”

I opened the thermos and took another sip.
Sweet. Hah.
It’s nice, but I’m starting to want to go home.
I’m tired.
Being outside the house feels like it drains my stamina in real-time.

“The cooking class is about to begin. Applause.”
“Wooow!”

As I prompted a reaction, Do Yugeon clapped his hands.

“Home cooking based on simple recipes carries the risk of nutritional imbalance, but it’s better than relying on delivery food. Excessive sodium intake can easily lead to various complications, and delivery food tends to be heavily seasoned to meet minimum standards. We eat lunchboxes whenever we meet, but we can’t eat lunchboxes forever, right? The experience of cooking for oneself is an important act that enhances autonomy and allows one to design productivity. Don’t you think?”
“I don’t really relate, but I guess so.”
“How can you not even relate to the premise?”

I chided him and stood in front of the villa kitchen’s refrigerator.

“I’ll teach you a cooking method, but like typical home cooking, we’ll make it based on the ingredients available. Cookbooks have standard recipes and demand you follow them, but who actually has all the ingredients at home when they cook? Hmm, except for my mom.”

I adjusted the chef’s hat that had slipped down as I tilted my head.
Maybe the hat is a bit big—it keeps tilting.
I put it on because it was there, but it seems like it will be very cumbersome while cooking.
I took off the hat and placed it in a corner.

“Is it okay not to wear that?”
“Let’s overlook the minor details.”
“But it doesn’t feel like cooking if you don’t wear it.”

That’s true too.

I put it back on, fumbling a bit.

“Ahem. Anyway, I’ll explain as I cook, so listen carefully.”

I opened the refrigerator.
A truly diverse array of ingredients met my eyes.
It seemed like everything I knew was there, and many things I didn’t know as well.
There’s unnecessarily too much.

Do Yugeon peeked in with admiration.

“Oh, the meat is really thick. Is this an avocado? Then what’s this? Is this a standard refrigerator?”
“I don’t think so…”

I closed the refrigerator for a moment.
There are so many ingredients, I don’t know what’s right to cook.
I just noticed—this isn’t a household-sized refrigerator.
Did they install a commercial refrigerator just because it’s a villa?

Well, I have to cook something, so I opened the refrigerator again.
There’s too much information—I can’t choose.
First, I need to categorize the information to simplify the situation.

“What dish are you going to show me?”
“Um…”

Suddenly, something familiar caught my eye.

“Pork belly?”

The words slipped out unintentionally, followed by silence.
This is a mistake.
Pork belly sounds too simple.
And if you cook it simply, whether boiled or grilled, it really is simple.

I opened my mouth to change the subject, but Do Yugeon beat me to it.

“Pork belly sounds great! Show me.”
“Huh? Show you? Really this?”
“Yeah, if we’re going to eat, it might as well be something delicious. Pork belly is delicious.”

He’s right, but the feeling that he’s trying to stop me before I cause trouble… I must be imagining it, right?

I looked up at him suspiciously, and he averted his gaze.
Even more suspicious.

“Since you want it so badly, I’ll show you. Let’s go with pan-frying, which is simple to do at home.”

Cooking is on the periphery of my reading interests, so I don’t know much, but I have picked up a few things from Mom.

I took out the pork belly and asked,

“Why do you think meat is delicious?”
“Because it’s meat.”
“That’s obvious.”
“Specifically? I haven’t thought about it.”
“I guess not. Meat is delicious because it’s rich in umami. It’s basically sprinkled with its own MSG, so how could it not be delicious?”

I sprinkled salt on the pork belly.

“So, when you grill pork belly, you should aim to maximize the umami. Because that’s the most delicious way.”

I adjusted the chef’s hat that had slipped again.
It’s really uncomfortable.

Do Yugeon clapped his hands as if he understood and said,

“Then you just need to sprinkle MSG on it?”

Huh? Is that right? That wasn’t what I was going to say, but it seems plausible? Mom didn’t tell me that though? What is this?

“W-Well. Just keep listening for now. To maximize umami, you need to understand the principle behind its creation. When high heat is applied to the protein in meat, the amino acids and sugars within the protein react chemically—”
“Wait a minute, you’re not about to say something difficult, are you?”
“No. The part I was just about to say is almost the end. When protein meets high heat, a chemical reaction occurs, causing the meat to turn brown. Properly cooked meat is brown, right? Right?”
“Right.”
“This process where the surface of the meat turns golden brown is called the Maillard reaction. So, what we need to do is grill the meat in a way that encourages the Maillard reaction. Understand?”
“I understand that I don’t understand why you’re using difficult words. You mean we just need to grill it well so it has umami, right?”
“Exactly. That’s precisely it. You’re smart.”

Do Yugeon seemed embarrassed by the compliment and avoided my upward glance.

“For the Maillard reaction to occur properly, the meat needs to reach a certain temperature. That’s over 177 degrees Celsius (350°F). Because of the moisture inside the meat, this temperature is impossible to reach internally, so it happens well on the surface.”

The temperature is slightly different for baking, but Mom left me curious about that and never explained it, so I don’t know.

“However, for the meat to exceed 177 degrees, simply grilling it isn’t enough—a few steps are needed. What do you think they are?”
“You need a good electric stove. For good heating power.”

Huh? Is that right? Uh, that sounds plausible?

“That’s not it… is it?”
“How should I answer if you ask me?”

Well, Mom didn’t tell me that part!

“Anyway, just listen. You need to note that meat isn’t just filled with protein and fat. Meat contains moisture. Water. H2O. When meat gets hotter than 100 degrees Celsius (212°F), the water evaporates, lowering the meat’s temperature. To prevent that, you need to remove an appropriate amount of moisture. Now it’s time to look at the poor, neglected pork belly.”

I held up the pork belly I had salted earlier.

“Why do you think I salted it?”
“To make it tasty.”
“Isn’t that answer a bit half-hearted?”
“It’s the right answer, so I just said it confidently.”
“That’s true. I salted it to create osmotic pressure. When you salt meat, moisture is drawn out due to osmosis. You learned that in science class, right? I won’t explain it. Depending on the thickness of the meat, you need to let it sit for tens of minutes to a day, but that takes too long, so let’s skip that part.”

I wiped the moisture drawn out of the pork belly with a paper towel. Then I heated the frying pan.

“Now it’s cooking time. Do you use oil when you grill meat?”
“I do.”
“Oh, really? Why?”
“Adding oil to oil makes it more delicious, doesn’t it?”
“A wise answer to a foolish question.”

I poured oil into the frying pan.

“The taste of the oil is personal preference, but for the Maillard reaction, adding oil is correct. The surface of the meat isn’t perfectly flat, so it touches the pan unevenly. To maintain over 177 degrees without burning, it’s important to keep the surface temperature uniform, and oil helps with that.”

When I judged it was hot enough, I placed the pork belly in the pan. The sound of oil splattering flared up.

“The heat should be high at first. Splattering oil means there’s moisture, so it’s important to get rid of it quickly. It’s also important to rapidly raise the surface temperature for the Maillard reaction. Keep cooking like this, and if smoke starts coming from the meat, it’s burning, so turn the heat down to medium. Then, when it seems cooked to a certain extent, lower the heat to low. You need to cook the inside of the meat too.”

Maybe because I talked too much, I felt thirsty.

“Now, all you need to know is the standard for turning down the heat to low, how to use a probe thermometer for that, the flipping time based on meat thickness, and how to season with butter, but first, can you get me a glass of water?”

Do Yugeon brought water and handed it to me.

“Thanks.”

As I took the water cup, the chef’s hat slid off my head and fell into the frying pan. Uh oh.
Oil splattered wildly.

“What kind of dish do you get when you cook pork belly and a hat together?”

Ignoring his words, I turned off the heat and picked up the frying pan.

“What are you doing?”

I tilted the pan over the sink.
The pork belly and the chef’s hat tumbled into the sink together.

“You don’t have to throw it away…”
“That’s all for today’s cooking class. Now, they need to prepare dinner, so let’s get out before we’re in the way.”
“What about this?”

Do Yugeon pointed at the sink.

“The chef will take care of that.”