Chapter 188: Jashin-chan Can't Escape the "It's So Good" Law!
A wave of scalding heat washed over her, and Yusa's ice-blue pupils contracted sharply—she found herself standing on the edge of a boiling volcano. Dark red magma churned below, its fierce glow illuminating her face.
There wasn't the expected, pungent smell of sulfur in the air. Instead, there was an aroma so intense it was almost domineering.
The sharp, spicy fragrance of garlic rushed at her like a tidal wave, intermingled with the sweet aroma of fat and the savory scent of firm meat. A deep, rich soy sauce fragrance fermented in the heat, mixed with the toasted scent of chili peppers and the faint, numbing tingle of Sichuan peppercorns.
Smelling this, Yusa felt her entire body go numb.
She looked around, her small, cherry-like mouth slightly agape. The volcano before her was actually built from layers upon layers of sliced pork, a perfect mix of fat and lean meat.
Glistening fat flowed like lava, the grain of the lean meat clearly visible and trembling slightly in the intense heat. Huge pieces of minced garlic stood tall like jagged rocks, while verdant chopped green onions dotted the landscape like moss. Bright red chili shreds snaked across the meaty mountainside like veins of magma.
The hot wind swirled, and the rich scents of meat, garlic, and spice intertwined, as if the entire volcano was breathing.
Yusa's throat bobbed unconsciously. This "volcano" looked... incredibly delicious.
Just then, a clear, joyful laugh rang out, as pure and innocent as a child's.
Yusa looked toward the sound and saw seven or eight small sprites, each about ten centimeters tall, flying out of the searing lava. They all had Q-version (chibi) heads of a certain someone, and their fiery wings fluttered gently, scattering sparks.
"Ah! Someone's here!" one of the sharp-eyed sprites spotted Yusa and pointed.
The other sprites' eyes lit up, and they flew towards her with grins, circling her and playfully tugging at her kimono.
"No, stop! I'll get angry if you keep doing that!" Yusa blushed, trying to push the mischievous little creatures away. If it weren't for the fact that they all had that certain someone's Q-version face, she would have frozen them solid.
One of the sprites was particularly clever. It seized a moment when Yusa was distracted and stuffed a piece of glistening, oily Sliced Pork with Garlic Sauce into her mouth.
In an instant, her taste buds exploded!
The spiciness of the garlic, the richness of the soy sauce, the fragrant aroma of the chili oil, and the springy, tender, and delicious texture of the fatty pork... Yusa chewed twice on instinct, her resistance immediately weakening.
"...Mm, it's so good!"
She blinked her beautiful eyes. Looking at the group of sprites with their flapping, fiery wings and mischievous smiles, she suddenly felt they weren't so bad after all.
How could a little sprite that fed her such delicious pork be evil? They probably just wanted to play.
...
"Waah—! A giant frog! This... what is this?" Poporon suddenly looked at the crispy, golden "fried chicken" in front of her, her expression wavering.
She had thought it was fried chicken, but after taking a bite, she had a vision of a giant frog larger than a house falling from the sky. It had given her a real fright.
"That's fried frog leg. The ingredient is a giant frog leg from the Demon Realm," Ryohei Tanaka explained with a smile.
"This is perfect with drinks! I love it!" Minos happily extended her chopsticks and picked up a piece of the irregularly shaped, ping-pong-ball-sized fried frog leg.
She first placed it in her small side dish, coated it in Ryohei's homemade sweet and spicy Korean-style sauce, and then moved it to her bowl. Switching to her own chopsticks, she opened her mouth and dug in excitedly.
Crunch—!
Her pearly white teeth made a crisp sound as they broke through the batter. As she bit into the frog meat inside, she found it to be tender, springy, and incredibly juicy. The juices burst forth with every bite. The sweet and spicy sauce on the outside provided the sweetness of honey, followed by the pungent flavors of garlic and chili spreading across her tongue, mixing with the inherent savoriness of the frog meat. Minos couldn't help but tilt her chin up, a look of pure enjoyment on her face.
"So delicious! This flavor is so unique! It's amazing!" she said, wagging her tail excitedly and giving Ryohei a big thumbs up.
"Crunch, crunch... Mm, it's true... super delicious!" Medusa, seeing how much Minos was enjoying it, curiously tried a piece herself. She was instantly stunned by the flavor. Then, with an innocent smile, she turned to Jashin-chan. "Jashin-chan, want to try? I promise you won't regret it!"
"No way!" Jashin-chan was currently busy battling a spicy swimming crab. Hearing Medusa, she shot a glance at the fried frog legs and said with disgust, "That kind of thing... I wouldn't eat it even if it was the most delicious thing in the world!"
She absolutely detested all kinds of frogs, to the point of physical revulsion.
"Logically speaking, this should be right up your alley..." Ryohei said, rotating the serving plate, picking up a piece, and dipping it in the sauce as he looked at Jashin-chan in confusion.
"What kind of logic is that?" Jashin-chan retorted, still dismantling her crab.
"Snakes eat frogs, don't they?" Ryohei tilted his head, joking with a straight face. Yurine, sitting to his left, let out a "pfft" of laughter, and the others also smiled.
The scummy snake was exasperated. "I'm not a snake!" she yelled. "I'm a demon! An Evil God!"
"Mmm..." Ryohei mumbled, chewing a large piece of the frog leg. His gaze drifted down to Jashin-chan's lower half. "That's not very convincing, you know."
"Tsk—! You guy... I'll kill you, believe it or not!" Jashin-chan stood up, annoyed. After a few seconds, she turned her head in confusion, blinking her beady eyes at Medusa.
'Why aren't you stopping me?'
Medusa, looking up at Jashin-chan, blinked her charming violet eyes. As if suddenly remembering her role, she opened her slender white arms and wrapped them around Jashin-chan's waist. "Okay, okay, let's just eat, let's eat..."
"Hmph—!" Jashin-chan snorted, graciously allowing herself to be placated, and sat back down.
'This goofball...' Ryohei thought, laughing in spite of himself. He dangled the half-eaten piece of frog leg from his chopsticks. "Speaking of which, I'd really love to hear you say 'it's so good'."
"In your dreams!" Jashin-chan glanced at it and replied decisively. "Never in my life!"
A few minutes later—
"Mmm—! It's so good!"
"So crispy... it's a bit like chicken... but this is so much more tender and delicate..."
"..."
Jashin-chan couldn't escape the "It's So Good" Law.
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