On the way home, I felt somehow melancholic.
The day I first possessed this world came to mind. Fear of the new world, uncertainty about the future. Then meeting the magical girl, meeting Noa, up to the day I fought my first villain as a villain.
Memories passed like a fleeting glance.
Up until then, I never thought such things would happen.
“Is this where Uncle lives?”
“Yeah. More precisely, it’s downstairs.”
Noa followed me timidly and eventually made it to my house. I have no idea what he’s thinking.
After not showing up for days, he suddenly barges into a man’s house.
“What’s your thought coming here?”
“Just because.”
“You’re not having weird thoughts, right?”
“…Uncle pervert.”
Noa twirled the plastic bag he was holding and soon wore his usual gloomy smile.
“We aren’t at that kind of relationship yet, right?”
“Yet?”
“No! It’s just…well…anyway, don’t think weird things. I just wanted to eat kimchi stew and while eating, repay the food I got last time.”
At Noa’s words, I expressed doubt.
“Then why don’t you just make it in your boarding house?”
“I don’t really want to show off that pork belly.”
“…Live a bit tidier.”
“I’m busy. There’s nothing special in the kitchen anyway. Just instant noodles.”
At that, I shook my head, indicating there was nothing I could do.
Even if some decent boarding houses have well-equipped kitchens, given Noa’s current situation, that would be difficult.
Noa took out some samgyeopsal with a serious face.
“Hey, I really bought this samgyeopsal with great determination.”
“It’s expensive.”
“So, I want to make it as delicious as possible.”
“Ah, you just wanted to borrow the kitchen…”
“Yes. Boarding houses are not good…you can’t rent a kitchen in a restaurant just to make kimchi stew.”
“I was wondering…”
“Exactly what were you thinking? Did you think a girl was coming over? Was it something like that…? Were you having lewd thoughts?”
Since I didn’t respond,
Noa glared at me sharply.
“…You did, didn’t you?”
“Men are originally filled with lewd thoughts in their brains.”
“…Ugh…”
“So stop looking at me like that. It hurts my conscience.”
While I wasn’t entirely free of such thoughts, borrowing the kitchen seemed reasonable enough.
No, rather, I welcomed it.
It was an opportunity to ensure Noa ate properly.
“And.”
“What is it? Perverted old man Uncle whose head is full of lewd thoughts?”
“Unlicensed brats are excluded.”
What does this kid who doesn’t even have an ID card think he’s saying?
Pretending to pat his head, I smacked him instead.
As Noah puffed his cheeks and complained, another nickname he used for me was born.
“Perverted old man Uncle.”
“Hehe, yeah yeah. Uncle is a pervert and an old man.”
“They say male hormones cause hair loss quickly.”
“…This guy really.”
I pinched Noa’s cheek, which stretched out. It felt like soft rice cake.
I accidentally let out a strange voice.
“Did I do wrong or not?”
“Punishment!”
That’s going too far, mentioning baldness.
…Not that I’m not already slightly worried about it lately.
+++++
“Oh…you’ve been living pretty well.”
Upon arriving at my place, Noa immediately headed to the kitchen.
A not-so-wide but tidy kitchen. He took out a few seasonings and began preparing the meal.
With the apron on, he looked quite like a competent homemaker.
But it wasn’t all for show.
Noa took out the samgyeopsal and started slicing it skillfully. The size was perfectly standard—not too big, not too small.
He also took out store-bought kimchi and chopped it roughly.
“You’re good at this?”
“Dad couldn’t cook well. After becoming an elementary student, I did it a lot.”
While answering, he continued his deft knife work.
Once the ingredients were prepared, he boiled the broth. Of course, using a convenient block product. From the pork fat trimmed off the pork belly, he extracted oil to stir-fry the ingredients, and finally added everything to boil it thoroughly.
Noa was preparing ‘pork belly kimchi stew.’ A stew made with Korea’s soul food, samgyeopsal, and its representative dish, kimchi.
He tasted a spoonful.
“…Good.”
Satisfied, he nodded.
The smell of the kimchi stew made my mouth water.
“Would you like to try it? It’ll take more time to boil it longer.”
“Then…just one bite.”
Eating the kimchi stew with pork and broth, I couldn’t help but be amazed. Is this the cooking skill of a middle schooler?
The meat isn’t tough. It doesn’t crumble either, providing a good chewing texture. Store-bought kimchi tastes decent but has clear limitations. Yet, he managed to bring out such deep flavors.
“…Your father must have been happy.”
“Me?”
“No, nothing.”
“Then just wait. Turn down the heat and leave it for a bit.”
While Noa adjusted the heat, I briefly rummaged through the fridge. “Side dishes…” were lacking. Even so, for someone alone, this stew alone would have been a splendid meal.
Still, since Noa was here, I should feed him properly. For some reason, he feels like a younger sister. No matter how much they argue, no one wants their younger sibling to go hungry.
I took out a tray of eggs from the fridge.
“Planning to eat just the stew?”
“Then…?”
“Well, sit down.”
I sat Noa down and grabbed a pan. It was a dish I rarely cooked. Something I only brought out when guests visited.
Though I made it sound grand, it was actually a very common dish.
Tap tap.
I started breaking eggs into a large bowl.
Two eggs.
“Are you going to make fried eggs?”
Four eggs.
“One each per person…That’s luxurious.”
Six eggs.
“Uncle? You don’t have to go that far!”
Eight, ten…about half the eggs were gone when I added a little salt and chopped vegetables, starting to beat the eggs.
What I was making was an egg roll.
Just an incredibly large one.
“I’ve never seen so much egg mixture before…”
“Wait. It’ll be incredibly delicious.”
The eggs cooking emitted a pleasant smell. Even eaten like this, it would surely taste good. But we had more time and ingredients, didn’t we?
Layer by layer. The layers of egg piled up. As the layers stacked, the tower of eggs grew taller and thicker.
Gulp.
Watching this, Noa swallowed.
“Um…Uncle…?”
“Wait. It’s almost done.”
I gently tapped the puffily layered egg with a spatula. The fluffy egg roll made a popping sound. I was satisfied.
Leaving behind the shattered remains of the eggs, I placed the egg roll in the center of the table. Meanwhile, the kimchi stew was also finished.
Bringing out instant rice, a feast spread out before us.
“Let’s eat.”
“…”
“Noa?”
“…”
Noa’s gaze was fixed on the large and majestic egg roll. He hesitated.
“…Uncle, is this really tasty?”
“Of course. It’s my masterpiece.”
“…What should I do?”
“Why?”
At my words, Noa replied in a pondering tone.
“Because I expected it, I feel betrayed.”
“…Huh?”
“Without expecting anything from the start, there won’t be any betrayal.”
Noa let out a cynical and philosophical statement pointing at the egg roll.
“What if it’s not good?”
“Will I get scolded?”
“Not that, but if I expect too much and end up disappointed…”
Noa couldn’t continue.
The reason was simple.
“Eat first, then judge.”
“Uh!?”
I forcibly stuffed a piece of the egg roll into his mouth before he could protest.
There was no time for Noa to say anything. The thin, soft layers of egg tore apart in his mouth. It was a chewy, well-cooked egg.
Noa’s eyes widened involuntarily.
“What are you doing, try the kimchi stew too.”
Simultaneously with my words, Noa scooped a spoonful of the stew and brought it to his mouth carefully.
As the soup flowed into his mouth,
In the next moment, Noa’s expression went blank.
Just eating kimchi stew and egg rolls could elicit such a reaction. If I ever take him to a proper meat restaurant, will he cry?
Chewing the food, Noa moved his chopsticks again as if enchanted after swallowing.
The action repeated, and soon Noa let out a sigh of admiration.
“Wow…”
“Is it tasty?”
“Yes…I’ve never eaten an egg roll like this!”
Could it really be that delicious? I marveled at the flavor of the kimchi stew I usually ate.
Indeed. After boiling it thoroughly, the taste became richer.
Noa devoured the egg roll in amazement.
Happiness bloomed on his face as his cheeks swelled.
“Squeak squeak.”
“Me?”
“Don’t worry, eat as much as you want.”
“Ah…Uncle, please have some too.”
“It’s too late to save face now.”
‘No, it’s not that…’ Noa probably muttered an excuse like that. While eating the egg roll, I merely thought so.
When he finished eating frantically, he pulled out a notebook and pen. The sound of scribbling filled the air, and Noa resumed eating with a satisfied look.
“What’s that?”
When I asked first, Noa pulled out the note again.
“A bucket list.”
“Bucket list?”
Isn’t that it?
“The list of things I want to do?”
“Yes. I feel like I accomplished one today.”
Pointing to a sentence with a checkmark, Noa said:
“I just succeeded.”
Eat something delicious with a close friend (V).
“You’re my friend, Uncle. Anyway, I didn’t have any friends.”
“…So that makes you a close friend?”
“Right. Since I only have one, aren’t you my close friend?”
Though I had much to say, I decided to hold back. If he’s happy with it, there’s no point in objecting.
One curiosity arose.
“Why the bucket list all of a sudden?”
Noa from the original story never wrote such things. He merely vaguely wanted to do something.
“Hmm…” Noa chose his words carefully.
After a brief contemplation, he smiled and answered.
“Just…you never know when you might die.”
“…”
“A dangerous incident happened recently, and I kept thinking about it.”
If it was a recent event…
Ah.
‘That incident.’
The day I transformed into a villain and fought Iris. Noa clearly remembered that day.
After pondering for a long time,
Noa spoke words that pierced my heart.
“There’s this extremely unpleasant tentacle pervert villain. It was called Kraken, right? Anyway, it was terrible.”
“That villain. Isn’t it bad…?”
“Yes. The tone sounds like a middle school syndrome patient, the name is lame, how can anyone view a pervert with abnormal desires favorably?”
