I opened my eyes to find myself in bed. I got up with a dazed mind. Ugh… The sensation of my brain rattling made me worry unnecessarily if my brain was going to crash against my skull. This definitely feels like a hangover. Damn champagne.
I can’t remember what I was doing before I fell asleep. I didn’t drink that much, so it’s probably not blacking out. Or is it? My alcohol tolerance might be very low in this life. I’m a middle schooler here, so it’s natural that after a few drinks I could pass out. What was the alcohol percentage? Was it 12%? That’s pretty weak, like low-grade soju. Enough to get drunk.
But then, did I do anything embarrassing? Ah, I’m anxious. My drinking habits in my previous life were just lying down and sleeping, but I can’t guarantee it’s the same now. Did I make a fool of myself in front of Doyugeon? No, I drank with Yumina and… oh yeah, Laplace, so we probably didn’t meet while drunk. Clearly, someone must have moved me to my room when I couldn’t handle the taste anymore. That makes sense.
Crawling out of bed on all fours, I finally managed to get up. I was so thirsty, so I opened the refrigerator and took out some water. The cold water made my head feel heavier. Ugh, why did I drink?
After holding my head for a moment, I took a shower and left the room. It was past breakfast time, so everyone was probably outside as it was peaceful. Thinking I should drink some warm water, I headed towards the kitchen and bumped into the Security Team Leader on the way.
“I was just about to wake you.”
“Good timing then.”
He handed me a thermos. When I opened the lid, steam rose gently. A sweet aroma filled the air. I don’t know what it is, but better than cold water. After blowing on it and taking a sip, it turned out to be honey water. Warmth spread through my body. Yeah, now I feel like I’m alive, even though my brain is still arguing with my skull.
“I haven’t reported the drinking incident yet.”
I thoughtfully considered what he said while my mind was still fuzzy. It seems he plans to inform my parents later.
“Can’t we just not say anything?”
“No.”
“Senseless.”
I twirled the thermos in both hands. It’s been a while since I’ve been scolded.
“Where are the kids?”
“They’re at the beach.”
“Are they? By the way, do you have any hangover remedies besides this?”
I raised the thermos as I asked.
“No. I didn’t prepare any alcohol either.”
“If someone brought alcohol, they should have brought hangover remedies too, right?”
His glance questioned if my argument made sense. Ahem. Well, I guess the hangover will pass with time.
Arriving at the beach lazily, I saw Doyugeon and Yumina playing badminton. The shuttlecock moved quickly back and forth. They were very active. Yumina had also drunk champagne yet she’s fine. It must be good being young.
Wait, we are the same age. What should I say? It’s great that you can handle your alcohol? This is a bit… Being hangover-free is good? That’s definitely not something you should say to a middle schooler. Come to think of it, middle schoolers shouldn’t drink in the first place.
As I approached in subtle confusion, I noticed another feature besides the badminton. Beside the badminton court was a pile of sand with a head sticking out. It seemed they had buried someone lying down. On closer inspection, it was Laplace. What is this?
“What are you doing?”
“Hello. Good morning. Wait, it’s past morning, isn’t it? Is it still morning though?”
“What are you doing?”
“It’s not something I chose to do on purpose. I was lying down, counting clouds, then they came with shovels and started piling sand on me.”
Laplace pointed towards the badminton game with their head. Looking carefully, two shovels were lying in the corner. Indeed, that’s what happened. Hmm… Though I guess I’m just agreeing without understanding everything.
“You must’ve been bored.”
“Yeah.”
“Can’t you use spatial magic to get out like this?”
“I can get up without magic too.”
“Then why do you stay like this?”
“It’s a hassle to move.”
Ah, that makes sense. It’s better to stay lying down than keep playing badminton.
“In that case, excuse me for a moment.”
“What for?”
When I touched the piled sand, it felt quite solid. They must have patted it down with shovels after burying. It’s not a slipshod job. I sat on it.
“Kyaaak!”
The noise hurt my head.
“Please be quiet.”
“It’s heavy…”
“Use magic if you don’t like it.”
I took a sip from the thermos. It’s sweet. Although it’s good, I’m starting to want to go home. I’m tired. Being outside feels like real-time stamina drainage.
*
“Cooking class is coming up. Applause.”
“Wow!”
When I solicited a response, Doyugeon clapped his hands.
“Home-cooked meals come with the risk of nutritional imbalance due to simple recipes, but it’s still better than relying on delivery food. Overconsumption of sodium easily leads to various complications and delivery food tends to be extra salty to meet minimal standards. We usually eat bentos when we meet, but we can’t keep eating bentos forever, can we? Experiencing cooking yourself raises independence and designs productivity. Don’t you agree?”
“I don’t really resonate with it, but let’s say yes.”
“What can we do if you don’t resonate with the premise?”
I chastised him while standing in front of the villa kitchen’s refrigerator.
“First, I’ll teach you the cooking method, but like home-cooked meals, it will be based on available ingredients. Cooking books feature standard recipes and demand adherence, but how many people have all the required ingredients at home? Hmm, except for my mom.”
I fixed the kitchen hat slipping from my head. It’s a bit big and keeps tilting. Though I wore it just for show, it will definitely be troublesome while cooking. I took it off and put it aside.
“Is it alright if you don’t wear it?”
“Let’s overlook the trivial.”
“It doesn’t create a cooking atmosphere without it.”
That’s a good point.
I put it back on awkwardly.
“Hem. Anyway, I’ll explain while cooking, so listen carefully.”
I opened the refrigerator. Various types of ingredients caught my eye. I seemed to know most of them, but there were many I didn’t.
Doyugeon was amazed and peered curiously.
“Hey, the meat is super thick. Is this an avocado? What’s this then? Is this standard for a fridge?”
“It’s unlikely…”
I closed the refrigerator first. With so many ingredients, I didn’t know what to cook. I just noticed this fridge isn’t a typical household size, is it? Did they place a restaurant-grade refrigerator here because it’s a villa?
Anyway, I still had to cook, so I opened the refrigerator again. The information was overwhelming, so I needed to classify and simplify the situation.
“What dish are you going to teach?”
“Uh…”
Suddenly, something familiar caught my eye.
“Pork belly?”
The room fell silent after I unintentionally murmured it. This is awkward. Pork belly seems too simple. Whether boiled or grilled, cooking pork belly is really easy.
Before I could correct my words, Doyugeon beat me to it.
“Pork belly sounds good! Show us.”
“Huh? Show us? Are you really cooking this?”
“Yes, better to make it tasty. Pork belly is delicious.”
That’s a valid point, but I feel like I’m preventing an impending disaster…
Looking up suspiciously, Doyugeon was evading my gaze. More suspicious.
“Since you’re so eager, I’ll show you. Let’s do grilled pork belly, which is simple to prepare at home.”
Since my knowledge of cooking was only on the fringes of reading, I relied on bits I’d picked up from my mom.
While taking out the pork belly, I asked.
“Why do you think meat tastes good?”
“Because it’s meat.”
“That’s obvious.”
“Specifically? Haven’t thought about it.”
“That would be because meat is rich in umami. MSG is naturally infused, so how could it not taste good?”
I sprinkled salt on the pork belly.
“Therefore, when grilling pork belly, we aim to maximize its umami. Because that’s how it tastes best.”
Adjusting my slipping kitchen hat again. It’s so inconvenient.
Doyugeon seemed to have a realization and clapped his hands to ask.
“So, sprinkling MSG would do, right?”
Huh? Is that so? What I wanted to say wasn’t that, but it does seem right at the same time? Mom never said that though?
“Well, uh… first keep listening. To maximize umami, we need to understand how it’s created. When high heat is applied to the proteins in the meat, the amino acids and sugars contained within react chemically.”
“Wait, you’re not trying to explain something difficult, are you?”
“No, we’re almost done with the explanation. Protein reacts when exposed to high heat. As a result, the meat turns brown, right?”
“That’s right.”
“This process of the meat’s surface turning brown is called the Maillard reaction. Hence, what we need to do is grill the meat to facilitate the Maillard reaction. Do you understand?”
“Though I don’t understand why you’re using difficult words, I get that it means we need to grill the meat so it’s full of umami.”
“Exactly. That’s precisely what it means. You’re smart.”
Doyugeon shyly looked away, probably flustered by the compliment.
“The Maillard reaction requires the meat to reach a certain temperature. That temperature is above 177°C. Inside the meat, it’s impossible to reach this temperature due to juices, so it’s difficult for it to occur only on the surface.”
Baking is a bit different in temperature, but that’s because mom only left doubts without explanations.
“However, to get the meat above 177°C, we can’t just grill it. What do you think we need to do?”
“Probably need a good electric range. Better firepower, right?”
Huh? Is that so? That sounds plausible.
“That’s not correct…?”
“What would you answer if I asked you?”
Well, mom didn’t teach me that.
“Anyway, just listen. We need to focus on the fact that meat isn’t merely filled with proteins and fat. Meat contains water. Water. When the meat heats above 100°C, the water evaporates and lowers the temperature of the meat. To prevent this, we need to remove an appropriate amount of water. Now it’s time to check on the neglected pork belly.”
I showed the pork belly I had sprinkled with salt.
“Why do you think I sprinkled salt on it?”
“To make it taste good.”
“Isn’t that a bit lacking in sincerity?”
“That’s correct, so I confidently spoke my mind.”
“That’s true. The reason I sprinkled salt on it is to induce osmotic pressure. When salt is applied, the water in the meat is drawn out due to osmotic pressure. You learned about this in science class, didn’t you? No further explanation needed. Depending on the thickness of the meat, the water should be drawn out over the course of a few hours to a day, but since it takes too long, we’ll skip it.”
I wiped off the drawn-out water with a kitchen towel and heated up the frying pan.
“Now it’s cooking time. Do you use oil when you grill meat?”
“You do.”
“Oh, really? Why?”
“Adding oil on top of fat makes it tastier, right?”
“Such a simple answer.”
I poured oil into the frying pan.
“Oil choice is a matter of personal preference, but for the Maillard reaction, using oil is appropriate. The surface of the meat isn’t perfectly flat, so it has uneven contact with the pan. To maintain a temperature above 177°C without burning, ensuring uniform surface temperature is important, which the oil assists with.”
When the pan got hot enough, I laid down the pork belly. The sound of oil sizzling echoed.
“You need strong heat at the beginning. The sizzling indicates moisture, so quickly removing it is important. Quickly increasing the surface temperature for the Maillard reaction also matters. You continue cooking until smoke comes from the meat, which indicates burning, then you lower the heat to medium to finish cooking. Finally, to ensure the inside is cooked, drop the heat to low.”
Feeling quite chatty, I became thirsty.
“Once you understand the low heat criterion, the use of a probe thermometer, the flipping timeframe based on meat thickness, and how to season with butter, that’s it. But first, can I have a glass of water?”
Doyugeon brought and handed me a glass of water.
“Thanks.”
As I received the cup, my kitchen hat slipped and fell into the frying pan. Oh no. The oil hissed and splattered.
Doyugeon surprisedly asked,
“What dish is it if you cook pork belly and a hat together?”
I ignored his words, turned off the fire, and lifted the frying pan.
“What now?”
I tilted the frying pan over the sink. The pork belly and kitchen hat rolled around in the sink.
“Surely, we don’t need to throw everything away…”
“Today’s cooking class ends here. We should leave before evening preparations start.”
“What about this?”
Doyugeon pointed at the mess in the sink.
“The chef will deal with that, I’m sure.”
![[TS] The Protagonist is Conquered](https://i3.wp.com/novelhitam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/1743806812-5548-TS-The-Protagonist-is-Conquered.png?resize=151,215 "[TS] The Protagonist is Conquered")
