Isekai Nonbiri Sozai Saishu Seikatsu - Chapter 216

After delivering the materials to Drogon and Rosca, I returned to the Cat’s Tail Pavilion.

“Welcome back, Shuu~nya!”

“I’m home.”

At the reception, Mia seemed to be bored.

It was just before evening.

There were no customers coming to the reception, and no guests were eating in the dining area either.

“You seem bored.”

“In a few hours, it’ll be hectic. So, I’m storing up my energy now.”

Mia answered and closed her eyes.

Her back was hunched, and she was resting her head on the table, looking just like a cat.

I moved away from Mia to avoid disturbing her nap.

Other employees, including Kuroi, were yawning while cleaning or chatting peacefully in the back room. It was so relaxing, and it was nice.

I didn’t feel like locking myself in my room, so I sat on an empty chair in the dining area.

With the faint sounds of conversation as background music, I took out my favorite materials from my bag and stared at them.

“I’m a little hungry.”

While observing the materials, I suddenly felt hungry.

Should I ask Bandel-san to cook something? But it’s not like I’m starving; I’m just in the mood for a small snack.

While thinking about what I could make from the ingredients I brought back from the Gourmet Reserve, I remembered the golden corn.

I could only harvest one, but I was allowed to take it back in exchange for teaching how to gather it.

When I took it out, the large corn glowed with a golden light.

The golden glow is as beautiful as ever.

“Nya-nya! Shuu, is that a gold nugget?!”

While I was gazing at the golden corn in admiration, Mia came over with wide eyes, staring at it intently.

She must have been napping, but it seemed the strong sparkle of the golden corn woke her up.

Also, her eyes were completely turned into money signs, and it was kind of scary.

“No, it’s not. It’s called golden corn, an ingredient harvested from the Gourmet Reserve.”

“Even though it’s this beautiful, it’s still corn?”

When I let her touch the golden corn, she seemed to understand it wasn’t a gold nugget, and let out a disappointed sound.

“Even if it were a gold nugget, it wouldn’t be yours, you know?”

“In that case, I’d become Shuu’s wife.”

After I gave her a warning, Mia blushed and shyly said it.

“Your reasoning is too obvious.”

It was the first time I’ve been this unimpressed with a woman approaching me.

“It’s natural for females to be attracted to strong males.”

In this case, “strong” probably meant financial strength, not physical strength.

Since I’ve just regained youth, if I were to fall in love, I’d prefer to move in an age-appropriate way.

“Anyway, joking aside, is this corn really delicious?”

“I hear it’s exquisite when used in cooking, but this time I’d like to try turning it into a small snack.”

Even if you roast regular corn, it won’t turn into popcorn, but this golden corn and Bombcorn are, of course, bursting types.

When heated, the moisture inside the kernels turns into steam and expands. The pressure causes the skin to rupture, and it becomes popcorn.

“Wow! Turning such an exquisite ingredient into a snack is such a waste!”

“It’s not like it’ll taste bad just because it’s turned into a snack.”

“Then it’s fine.”

When I reassured her that the popcorn would taste good, Mia, who had been noisy, quieted down.

It seems she doesn’t mind if the snack is delicious and she gets to join in.

“Anyway, I want to cook the golden corn, so can I use the kitchen?”

“Bandel isn’t here, but if it’s Shuu, it’s fine.”

Guided by Mia, I was allowed into the kitchen at the back of the dining area.

Even so, I’m just making popcorn. There’s no complicated cooking process.

I’ll just put it in a frying pan and heat it.

But since the corn is large, I should consider the popping and use a large pot.

“Do you have a large pot? Ideally, I need something big.”

“How about this size?”

Mia brought a soup pot large enough to hide her upper body, but considering the size of the golden corn, I was worried.

“Isn’t there anything bigger?”

“Do you really need such a big pot?”

“When heated, the kernels will pop. So, it needs to be a big, sturdy pot.”

“If that’s the case, how about this?”

When I made the request, Mia brought out a pot larger than her own body from the back room.

For an ordinary woman, it would definitely be too heavy to carry, but since she’s a beastkin, she seemed to handle it effortlessly.

“Thank you. With a pot this size, it should work.”

“—Ah! What am I doing, carrying such a heavy thing in front of a man?!”

After placing it on the stove, Mia muttered with a shocked expression.

I wasn’t expecting such a delicate character from Mia, so it’s fine.

Ignoring Mia, who was holding her head in distress, I opened the large cooking pot and threw the golden corn in along with some oil and salt.

Normally, corn would need to be dried, but with golden corn, it seems it’s fine to heat it up just like this. I adjusted the stove and began heating it.

“Is that it?”

“Yeah, now we just wait for the corn to pop.”

“I’m excited to see what kind of snack it’ll turn into!”

We stood in front of the large pot, waiting patiently. About ten minutes passed, but the corn still hadn’t popped.

“Is it ready yet?”

“Maybe it’s taking longer because the corn is so big.”

I slightly increased the heat that was set to medium and waited another fifteen minutes. Then, I heard a bubbling sound coming from the pot.

“Oh, it might be soon!”

“I’m happy about that, but isn’t the pot shaking a lot? And it’s glowing too…”

Just as Mia pointed out, the large soup pot was shaking on the stove. It was shaking so much that I wondered if it was okay.

Soon, the shaking of the pot became more intense, and golden light began leaking from inside.

It looked like it was about to explode.

“This might be bad…”

“It’s not ‘might be,’ it’s definitely going to happen! Quickly, we need to get away from here!”

I moved away from the pot with Mia, and then the soup pot glowed strongly in golden light.

Then, there was a big explosion.

Due to the pressure, the lid hit the ceiling, and golden popcorn shot out from inside.

“Nyaa~!”

“Popcorn!”

The golden popcorn danced in the air, falling like rain, creating a beautiful scene.

“Hey! What are you doing?!”

“What’s going on? That’s a huge noise!”

As I looked up at the popcorn, the staff, including Kuroi, came out from the back room. Not only them, but the guests who had apparently been relaxing in their rooms also hurriedly ran down the stairs.

The golden corn was still popping loudly, and the sound of the lid flying off had been so dramatic. It was no wonder they all rushed out to see what was going on.

“Shuu, what’s happening here?!”

“Sorry, I was just trying to make a snack, and it turned out like this…”

“What kind of snacks are you making that cause something like this?!”

Kuroi asked, unable to hold back.

For those who didn’t know what popcorn was, it must have been an incomprehensible phenomenon. It was understandable.

“Hey, when is this going to stop?”

“I’m not really sure myself.”

While we were having this conversation, popcorn continued to pour out of the pot.

The kitchen where Mia and I were had already been filled with popcorn, and it had piled up even into the dining area, but there was still no sign of it stopping.

At this rate, the entire first floor of the Cat’s Tail Pavilion might be buried in popcorn.

If I raised the Magic Bag above the pot, maybe it could stop, but half of the dining area had already been filled. By this point, I felt like whatever happens, happens.

In a moment of desperation, I started eating the popcorn nearby.

The outside was crispy, and the inside was soft, almost like eating cotton candy.

The savory flavor spread in my mouth, and the rich sweetness of the corn slowly followed.

The gentle sweetness was intertwined with salt, creating a truly wonderful taste.

“It’s delicious!”

Even though I had just eaten the first one, before I knew it, I was already eating the second and third.

The deliciousness was irresistible.

“Really! This is so delicious! I can’t stop eating!”

Mia seemed to have fallen under the same spell, eagerly devouring one after another.

“Hey, what are you two doing, eating so carelessly?”

Seeing us, Kuroi spoke with a look of disbelief.

“You should try it too, Kuroi! It’s delicious!”

“Eh?”

Kuroi picked up some popcorn piled on the table and sniffed it.

Then, Kuroi’s eyes widened in surprise, and she cautiously put some in her mouth.

“Wow, it’s delicious! What is this?!”

Kuroi let out a surprised voice, then chewed as she ate her second bite.

Her pitch-black cat ears and tail twitched as if showing her joy.

“Wow, it really is! It’s so savory and delicious!”

“The sweetness of the corn and the saltiness are perfect.”

Before I knew it, it wasn’t just Kuroi; the other employees were also eating the popcorn.

“Hey, Shuu! Is it okay if we eat this popcorn too?”

The familiar guests who had been watching the situation from the stairs asked.

Although I could collect it later with the Magic Bag, it didn’t make sense to hold on to so much popcorn.

“As you can see, there’s plenty, so help yourselves.”

“Yay! A mountain of snacks!”

“Wow, this is delicious!”

“I can’t stop eating!”

After giving my permission as compensation for the trouble, the guests eagerly began eating the popcorn.

Some were eating it right there, absorbed in it, while others busily packed the popcorn into leather bags to take back to their rooms. Everyone had their own way of enjoying it.

What started as a small snack or accompaniment quickly turned into an obsession with the popcorn.

It was truly the kind of thing you can’t stop eating once you start.

Ah, this is what popcorn is all about. No, its deliciousness and addictive nature are even more than the popcorn from my past life, so I can say the taste far exceeded my expectations.

I’m glad I turned the golden corn into popcorn.

By the way, the popcorn supply from the golden corn stopped once it filled the entire first floor of Cat’s Tail Pavilion, and when Bandel returned from shopping, he naturally scolded me.