Chapter 62. The Taste of the Universe, Eternal Curry (1)
“So when is Kevin coming to Korea?”
Victoria asked from the kitchen, resting her chin on one hand.
Yukgap was busy stirring a pot and preparing a new menu item.
“A few weeks from now.”
“At least that gives us time to prepare.”
“Let’s just hope Abraxas doesn’t pull anything before then.”
They had even received a recommendation letter from Subin that could get Yukgap a meeting with Kevin.
According to her, Kevin would be coming to Korea in a few weeks.
Kevin almost certainly knew something about Yukgap.
If they could meet, Yukgap might finally learn more about himself.
The past that had always seemed like a blurry afterimage was finally starting to feel within reach.
“Don’t worry. Restaurant Shelley’s steak sauce is still bubbling away for any unwanted guests.”
Victoria answered proudly, apparently trying to reassure him.
Yukgap recoiled.
“You still haven’t gotten rid of that?”
“Of course not! We never know when Abraxas might attack again.”
“You really are something.”
Yukgap scooped up a little of what he was cooking and tasted it.
The rich savory flavor he had wanted had soaked in perfectly.
“It’s done.”
Victoria immediately became curious.
“What are you making this time?”
“Curry.”
Yukgap proudly lifted the ladle.
The distinctive aroma of curry spread throughout the kitchen.
“I was thinking about something easy to serve when we get crowded. Curry is simple to make, and you can cook a huge batch at once. Hard to beat that.”
“Smells good.”
Victoria seemed to like it too.
Yukgap covered the freshly finished curry with the lid.
“All right. Curry’s done. Now I just need to let it rest overnight.”
“Why?”
“Curry tastes deeper after it sits for a while. The flavors from the ingredients have time to blend into each other.”
Yukgap continued,
“That’s why people say curry gets better with time.”
“You even know things like that? Impressive.”
Victoria sounded genuinely amazed.
Yukgap looked proudly at the curry he had carefully prepared.
“Anyway, it’s finished. All I have to do is leave it like this.”
He smiled.
“It’ll taste even better tomorrow.”
At those words, Victoria’s eyes began gleaming with curiosity.
“Hmm... really?”
“Yaaaaawn.”
Yukgap entered the kitchen with a long yawn.
It was almost time to open the restaurant.
But for some reason, the curry he had made was nowhere to be seen.
“Huh? Where’s the curry?”
Yukgap quickly looked around in confusion.
There had been far too much of it to simply hide somewhere.
Then an ominous thought flashed through his mind.
“Don’t tell me...”
Yukgap immediately rushed into the laboratory.
Trying to suppress his growing anxiety, he called out,
“Victoria! Victoria!”
Victoria, dressed in a white lab coat, turned to him.
“What is it, Yukgap?”
“Did you see the curry I made last night?”
Yukgap asked with a trembling voice.
Victoria pointed toward an experimental table.
“That? It’s right here.”
A huge flask sat where she was pointing.
Inside it was all the curry Yukgap had painstakingly made the previous night.
Apparently, Victoria had scraped in every last drop.
“What kind of experiment are you doing with my food this time?!”
Yukgap shouted.
Victoria gave him a meaningful look.
“Yukgap, have you ever wondered about something?”
“Curry gets tastier the longer it rests, right?”
“So what would happen if an enormous amount of time passed? Just how delicious would curry become?”
“It would rot before that happened.”
“Exactly. Normal curry would.”
Victoria calmly explained,
“But curry adjusted by me will never rot.”
She continued,
“First, I used Elixir processing to destroy microorganisms and prevent decomposition. Then I arranged for water, ingredients, and amino acids to be periodically supplied.”
She pointed toward the flask.
“If I control the air and pressure inside while heating it and accelerate entropy to reproduce the passage of time as quickly as possible...!”
“Explain it in normal words.”
Yukgap cut her off.
Victoria immediately summarized.
“I kill the microorganisms so the curry can’t rot, then put it inside infinitely accelerated time.”
She grinned.
“That way, I can make special curry that’s been resting for an absurd amount of time!”
“Is that even possible?”
Letting curry rest for an absurd amount of time?
Yukgap already had questions about why anyone would do that.
But before even getting to that, could it actually work?
Victoria, as usual, looked completely confident.
“Nothing is impossible in alchemy.”
She raised her chin dramatically.
“There are only realms we haven’t conquered yet!”
Then she grabbed the lever connected to the flask.
The curry inside continued simmering peacefully, completely unaware of the fate awaiting it.
“You said curry gets better with time, right?”
Victoria pushed the lever down with all her strength.
“Then how delicious would curry become after resting for eternity?”
She raised her voice like a mad scientist addressing her creation.
“Awaken, my creation! And answer my question! Mwahahahahaha!”
Blue electricity began crashing violently into the flask.
Victoria’s mad laughter echoed through the laboratory.
“Ugh!”
Yukgap reflexively squeezed his eyes shut against the flashing light.
The mechanical hum, Victoria’s laughter, and the crackling electricity blended into a chaotic roar.
Who knew how long it lasted?
