Chapter 48: Full and hungry

As Rudy and the others climbed the stairs and reached the first floor, Franz hurriedly ran towards them in the living room.

“Father! How is mother’s condition?”

“Don’t worry, she managed to survive somehow.”

“Really? That’s a relief…”

Franz felt relieved upon hearing Karl’s response. Rudy and Noemi smiled, glad that they made it in time for Franz, who was thinking about his mother.

However, as Rudy shifted his gaze towards the living room, his body stiffened upon seeing something.

It was dark matter, the remnants of a burnt cup ramen.

“W-What is this…? It’s incredible.”

When Rudy heard from Noemi that she hadn’t eaten anything, he assumed it was just a matter of not adding enough hot water or miscalculating the waiting time. Even if the cup ramen tasted bad, it could still be eaten. So, he couldn’t understand why it couldn’t be eaten due to a cooking mishap. But upon witnessing the tragedy, he understood.

“Could it be that you didn’t use hot water?”

Rudy lifted the plate with the cup ramen and asked Noemi, who blinked her eyes.

“Hot water? Was this how it’s supposed to be cooked?”

“…Cooked? Well, it’s not completely inedible, but… damn it, that fool from Solaris should have explained how to make it!”

Rudy sighed and silently threw away the burnt cup ramen into the trash can.

Standing in the kitchen, Rudy decided to serve everyone coffee first before preparing a late-night snack. None of them had eaten anything since noon, and it was already past 9 p.m. It would be better to avoid high-calorie foods with oil and such.

While Rudy was contemplating, something happened.

“Bitter!”

“It’s so bitter!”

“Hahahaha!”

After the screams of Karl and Franz, laughter could be heard from the living room, presumably coming from Noemi.

“She seems to be enjoying herself. But sometimes when she’s alone, she has a gloomy expression…”

Rudy, unaware of Noemi’s past, thought that if she wanted to talk about it, she would approach him, and he started cooking.

“You guys have been waiting for a while. Today’s dish is Pho!”

Rudy entered the living room with a large pot, and the hungry trio sat at the dining table.

“Pho?”

“Ta-da!”

In response to Noemi’s question, Rudy placed the pot on a trivet and opened the lid. A delightful aroma of miso-based stewed pumpkin wafted out.

“It’s a mixed dish inspired by Japanese cuisine called ‘Houtou’ but without the noodles, and instead, I’ve added Vietnamese pho. The seasoning includes dried shiitake mushrooms, miso, nam pla fish sauce, and it’s loaded with ingredients like pumpkin, pork, shimeji mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, carrots, and ginger as a hidden flavor.”

Noemi nodded with approval at the explanation, and Karl and Franz, seeing Rudy’s dish for the first time, were captivated by the simmering and bubbling pho.

“Hey, Noemi. Are you eating such delicious food every day?”

“Well, it’s even more extravagant on regular days. Isn’t it Rudy”

Upon Karl’s question, Noemi smiled and replied. Then Rudy nodded when the conversation was directed at him.

“Today’s dish is a simple one because we’re short on time.”

“Seriously…”

While the three were talking, Franz used tongs and a ladle to serve the dish from the pot. It wasn’t because he was a helper or a master of the pot; he simply wanted to eat quickly.

“Raise your hand if you drink alcohol.”

While Franz was serving the food, Rudy asked a question, and only Noemi raised her hand.

“I drink.”

“I refrain from drinking when my wife is unwell.”

“I don’t drink.”

With that said, Rudy served Noemi and himself a brand of Japanese sake called “Onibaba Killer,” while he served Karl and Franz green tea.

With the food and drinks ready, everyone began to eat the pho. When Rudy took a sip of the pho broth, he tasted the sweetness of pumpkin, combined with miso and fish sauce. The umami flavor from the ingredients, including shiitake mushrooms, permeated his mouth. The noodles in the pho absorbed the flavors and were delicious as well.

Satisfied, Rudy looked at the others. With their hunger acting as their motivation, everyone was engrossed in eating and going for seconds.

“You guys eat so fast.”

Rudy also joined in, swiftly scooping up a small dish of pho and getting himself a second serving.

An hour had passed since Solaris rescued Dominic and Shawn in the dark forest. The three of them were relying on Shawn’s magic light to navigate through the darkness. After an intense battle, they had been walking without food or water, and Shawn, whose energy was running low, had reached his limit. The battery usage of Solaris’s internal power source was still at 67%, so even if she continued walking for three more days, she would have enough power.

“Brother, I want to rest soon.”

“Yeah, I agree.”

Dominic nodded in response to Shawn’s voice. Then, he called out to Solaris, who was walking ahead without getting tired.

“Solaris, shouldn’t we take a break soon?”

“Understood. Let’s rest here for today.”

Solaris stopped abruptly and turned around. The two of them felt relieved and sat down in a suitable spot, while Solaris also knelt on the nearby ground.

“Shawn, do you have any food?”

“When we left the village, we didn’t bring anything. There’s no way.”

“Yeah, you’re right. We should have at least brought water.”

Shawn was capable of creating water with his magic, but the water he created was fake, so it wouldn’t quench their thirst. If Solaris had emotions, she would have considered bringing food and water for them before going on the rescue mission. However, the order she received was simply to go and retrieve them, so she didn’t bring anything except a chainsaw for self-defense.

Food and water were necessary for a rescue mission. Solaris observed the conversation between the two and stood up, opening her mouth.

“I will secure water and food. Please wait here for about two hours.”

“What?!”

“Huh?”

The two were left dumbfounded as Solaris quickly disappeared into the forest.

“Hey, brother. Who is Solaris?”

“How should I know?”

Left behind in this place, the two decided to hide so as not to be found by wild animals and simply had to trust her for now.