Fruit syrup is really easy to make.

“It’s a bit of a hassle to prepare, but if you mix half the pulp and half the sugar and leave it to ferment, that’s fruit syrup.”

Geo brought a clean, sterilized glass bottle filled with friendship, peace, love, and affection.

It was so big that it was more like a jar than a bottle, but Geo, who resembled his grandmother, the village’s big boss, was not going to spare any ingredients when cooking. It had to be this big.

“Okay, let’s see.”

He washed the goblin fruit, which was full inside, and the drought-scented jars in water. The goblin fruit’s flesh was soft and juicy like a light jelly, while the drought-scented jars were firm and had little juice, like an unripe tangerine.

The goblin fruit’s skin was so thin that it would melt, so he simply cut it into quarters without any additional process, and he peeled off the white, translucent outer skin of the drought-scented jars, leaving only the flesh.

“And… .”

Just pour it in.

‘It would be better if the juicy goby fruit was on top.’

At the very bottom of the glass container, he placed a layer of drought pots and lightly sprinkled sugar on top. Then he placed the goby fruit again and poured in a generous amount of sugar to create a layer. Once the sugar layer was firmly formed, he could just keep repeating.

Jio pressed down hard so that no air holes would form between the flesh.

“It shouldn’t spoil.”

The food of this forest didn’t spoil or mold, but this process was necessary so that the flesh could mix well and the sugar water could seep in. Jio filled the glass jar tightly.

“I’m done.”

All he had to do was seal it and store it in a cool, shaded place for a few days.

“I wish it would ripen quickly, but it’ll probably take some time.”

“Kung-kung-kung.”

“You can’t eat it yet. Even if you take it out and eat it now, it’s just sugar-covered fruit. Later, when the flesh becomes more mushy and the sugar water infuses with its fragrance, you can drink it as tea.”

“Kk.”

“Cooking is sometimes the beauty of waiting.”

Honey grumbled and complained, but there was nothing she could do. It would take some time for the fruit syrup to fully ripen.

“It won’t take that long. The weather here is warm, so the sugar will melt quickly. The juice will come out smoothly.”

“Kk.”

“Don’t stick to the floor, you’ll get dusty. It’ll get dirty. If you keep doing this, you’ll end up cleaning all the floors of our house. You’ll go from being a honey bird to a dust bird.”

It was late and she was hungry because she had come back from an adventure to make a successful fruit syrup. It was time to indulge in a meal rather than the fruit syrup that might ripen at any moment.

“Hmm… .”

Let’s go really simple.

“Let’s make rice balls.”

“Kkuk?”

“Can you eat rice too?”

“Kururururur.”

“Where does the food in this transparent body get digested…?”

As expected, Honey was full of pig qualities. Geo, the father of this round piglet, nodded in satisfaction.

“Kurururur!!”

“Okay, I get it. Let’s go.”

This time, Geo’s rice balls were a real meal.

Freshly cooked rice with a little salt and sesame oil.

“Thank goodness I cooked the rice in advance.”

The hut had a stove, but no electric rice cooker. It couldn’t be helped since there was no electricity in the first place. That’s why Geo had already drawn a cauldron and placed it in the kitchen at the back of the hut.

When he opened the heavy iron lid, pure white steam rose up.

“Good.”

As I nodded, the steam that had been floating around me suddenly disappeared.

“… … ?”

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At that moment, Honey, who was next to me, caught my eye.

“… … .”

I don’t know if it was because of my mood, but for some reason, she seemed to have gotten a little bigger.

“Kururu.”

“… Are you really eating all the moisture that rose from the rice right now?”

“Kung.”

“Your body smells like freshly cooked rice. It’s so delicious, and if I sleep next to you, I’ll be so hungry that I won’t be able to sleep.”

“Kurung.”

“I’ve seen people put steam on their faces for skin care, but this is the first time I’ve seen someone eat the steam itself… .”

Is this what they mean by ‘give up your stomach instead of your skin’?

“This is amazing.”

The sweet scent of Rurupu’s juice and the delicious smell of freshly cooked rice were coming together. He couldn’t even define what kind of scent it was.

Geo scooped up some rice in a dazed mood. No matter how surprised he was, a living creature had to eat.

“Let’s make porridge with the stuck-on scorched rice. It’s a very easy-on food, so it’s easy to take out whenever you want. I’ve never seen anyone who ate this and got sick.”

“Kurur.”

“First, make rice balls, and then later. When you wake up in the morning and feel half-asleep, scorched rice porridge is really refreshing.”

Geo returned to the kitchen and lightly sprinkled salt and sesame oil on the fluffy rice. Since the cabin cupboard was equipped with all the basic ingredients, there was no need to worry about this or that.

‘What will happen when I use all of this?’

It would be fun if it filled up automatically like when I first checked the cabin, and even if it didn’t, I could just draw a picture and make it new anyway, so that was good. However, it didn’t seem to be filling up yet.

Geo stirred the hot rice with his chopsticks and seasoned it.

“Actually, this is delicious on its own.”

The smooth and savory taste of freshly cooked rice, the rich scent of sesame oil that gently envelops it, and the rice balls lightly seasoned with salt made it so warm inside when eaten right after it was made.

“It’s a good meal when you have to eat rice but don’t want to eat something fancy.”

“Gururur.”

“If you can eat it, eat it too. I don’t know how to eat it, but… Was the steam from the pot a little while ago not enough? Your body seems to have grown, but aren’t you already full?”

“Gururur.”

“Okay, then try it.”

It was the sight of water eating rice.

‘It seems fun, so let’s leave it alone.’

Geo made a promise to himself and made rice balls.

About 39 in total.

“… … .”

“… … .”

“Dad, I’m hungry.”

“Gurururuk… .”

“I’m hungry.”

Geo was a big eater.

“Sometimes, you have to eat a lot like this to feel full.”

But he didn’t stop there.

“I’m going to grill it for texture. When both sides are golden brown, the texture is good, and the rich flavor is stronger.”

“Kung…”

“I don’t know if it’s because the sesame oil flavor is stronger or because the grains are burnt… but grilling it like this is much tastier than just eating plain rice.”

“Kkukkkuung.”

“Well, I guess I’ll get sick of just eating rice.”

Geo lamented the situation his laziness had brought about. He knew that he would eventually regret it.

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“I should have made some side dishes in advance. Then I could have enjoyed a more colorful meal even if I just ate rice.”

“Keuuuung… .”

“It would be okay to make a soup with the fish caught in the lake, and it would also be good to mix this and that and make salted seafood. It would also be okay to have something like meat soup, but it’s a bit strange to eat meat here.”

When it comes to hunting animals on the ground, not fish, not only did he not know how to do it, but he also felt reluctant to eat cute, round animals that fit Geo’s taste. He didn’t know how much meat would be in that small, round body.

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

“Should I ask Yoo Seong-woon for this too?”

“Kurururur.”

“With the seeds, right?”

Geo placed a well-made rice ball on a pan ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) that was heated enough on the stove. With a sizzling sound, the rich scent of sesame oil and the fragrant smell of grains crackling rose together.

‘It’s a simple but good combination.’

Jio, who had finished grilling all the rice balls, sat down at the table and took a bite.

“… … .”

It was delicious, as expected.

‘… Is it because the rice is well-cooked and chewy? Thanks to grilling it once, the texture and flavor are good. The salt is just right, so it doesn’t get too salty.’

The rice in here was something Jio had drawn, so it wasn’t in great condition, nor was it bad. So it was a little hard to expect the power of the ingredients, but the rice balls were still quite delicious.

“Is it because it’s a meal after work?”

“Kururururung.”

“… … .”

A bird shaped like a rice ball entered Jio’s field of vision.

“Oh.”

No, it was Honey who had swallowed the rice ball.

“Oh, my God.”

“Kurururuk.”

“I swallowed this.”

“Kururururung.”

“Even though it’s bigger than you.”

Geo was convinced after 3 seconds.

“That’s funny.”

“Kkuk.”

“Since it’s come to this, should I just have one more? It might get bigger here.”

“Gurururum.”

“Yeah, it probably hasn’t digested yet. Of course. It looks like it.”

“Gurur?”

“Oh, Dad knows everything.”

That’s how the peaceful day went by.

“… … .”

Hey, huh… .

Yoo Seong-woon tilted his head in front of the portrait.

“You’re not opening your eyes again these days.”

I waited from midnight until the current time, 5 AM, but the portrait didn’t open its eyes.

Yoo Seong-woon muttered as he ran his finger over my chin.

“I don’t think there’s a separate rule for this part.”

The portrait would open its eyes at the time when there were the least number of employees.

The time when we could talk changed every day. As long as he didn’t ask rude questions, he wouldn’t necessarily run away, but he wasn’t always looking outside the painting.

He probably liked the world inside the portrait.

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‘Personally, I think it’s wiser to do that, though.’

No matter how the world inside the portrait was realized, it would be much better than looking at the dirty and complicated modern society. At least, that’s what Yoo Seong-woon thought.

“… If we think about it that way… .”

Perhaps ‘Portrait of Geo’ seemed to like silence.

“This could be considered one of the rules.”

Yoo Seong-woon sat against the wall in front of the portrait and took out his notebook.

‘I should keep a record.’

His job is to observe, analyze, maintain, and manage unknown objects or phenomena. With his vast knowledge, ‘Portrait of Geo’ was almost the first person Yoo Seong-woon paid this much attention to.

Fortunately, ‘Portrait of Geo’ was a relatively friendly person to humans. The way he answered questions and returned favors with favors was quite gentlemanly.

“Is that a rough summary?”

Thanks to this, the analysis was not that difficult.

Values ​​courtesy

Enjoys giving gifts

No change in expression (is it because it is a portrait?)

Knows humans well and respects them

'... This part is definitely unique.'

I haven't figured out Geo's true identity yet, but I had to be careful. There was a reason why humanoid monsters were designated as the most dangerous molecules regardless of their attitude.

'That's because they knew little about humans.'

11 years ago, a humanoid monster friendly to Earthlings was first witnessed. Based on this, associations of various countries sought ways to communicate with residents beyond the dimensional gate.

However, the bodies of the delegation that went through the gate for friendship returned as 'healthy deformities.'

'The humanoid monster at that time expressed it as his own goodwill... .'

The humanoid monsters saw that the bodies of the delegation had many inefficient parts, so they extended the legs to four and divided the mouth into six parts.

It was a favor, but at the same time, it was a disaster for humans. That was when the saying that monsters are monsters for a reason came into being.

“It’s scary even when I think about it again.”

Since that incident, humanoid monsters have also become targets of subjugation without exception.

No matter how friendly they are to humans, there’s no way to know how or when they’ll reveal their terrible true nature.

‘That’s why I want to be wary of this portrait, but there are many suspicious aspects to it. Geo knows too much about humans to be called a typical humanoid monster. He doesn’t unconditionally hate Earth’s creatures.’

He’s not very friendly toward humans, but he’s not very hostile either.

He’s a little cynical, but at the same time polite and considerate. ‘Geo’s Portrait’ seemed like an ordinary human who was just seriously blunt.

“… … .”

Thump.

Yoo Seong-woon pressed his pen against his notebook.

“That part is even harder to understand.”

Geo didn’t look like a monster.

‘If you’re not a curator or a gardener, you might say it’s a monster…’

Still, he wasn’t sure.

“Yeah, it could really be a monster.”

It could be an item with a sense of self, or it could just be a cursed portrait, or it could be a hallucination of a level beyond our imagination.

‘It’s only been about 30 years since the dungeon was created, so we can’t know everything.’

So for now, the best Yoo Seong-un could do was analyze this portrait and respond.

“Hmm….”

He had a question.

The portrait’s eyes were distant, not human, and its appearance was so beautiful that it didn’t seem like someone from this world, and its pale yet stimulating colors gave off a strange sense of unreality.

‘That AI’s businesslike tone and unchanging expression probably added to the pressure.’

However.

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“No matter what, Geo is still a gentleman.”

As you can see from the rules listed above, Geo’s actions so far have not been threatening or violent. As you can see from his deep understanding of humans, he was definitely considerate and respectful of them.

‘Unlike the ignorant humanoid monsters up until now, he thinks from the perspective of humans.’

That means he has a deep understanding that you can’t see from other monsters.

‘And based on that, he expresses his favor and shows consideration.’

He even gives them gifts?

“… … .”

Yoo Seong-woon, who was thinking for a moment, wrote a new sentence in his notebook.

He prefers kind or polite people (1:1 rule?)

‘… I’m not sure, though.’

If you look at the people Geo has given gifts to so far, they were all people he owed money to or who treated him kindly.

Since it was a portrait that could distinguish between good and evil in humans, I thought it might be that he liked kind and well-mannered people.

‘Well, anyway.’

That’s not the important part.

“… The problem is why the other employees were so scared and ran away… .”

All the employees here were people that Bisabal had insisted on raising or transferring one by one. Bisabal’s collecting instincts were shown not only on objects but also on people, and Bisabal, who had a strong attachment to his employees, would not have chosen someone stupid or incompetent.

So, no matter how low the level of employees, especially those who managed his beloved gallery, would Bisabal have chosen carelessly? They were all strong and competent people.

“But when he met Geo, he was scared and pressured.”

Yoo Seong-woon had never met Geo directly.

The last time he came out, Yoo Seong-woon had just followed him and watched him. So what did he feel when he met Geo head-on… I couldn’t figure it out.

I could only vaguely guess.

“… … .”

If he could oppress humans just by existing, then that soul’s status must be enormous.

‘… If we’re going to be that picky, should I be grateful that he’s quietly sleeping inside the portrait?’

Yoo Seong-woon sighed deeply with a troubled face.

“What on earth did you bring, Mr. Bisabal… .”

Are you finally planning to destroy the Earth?

It was a day when the cigarettes he had quit five years ago were becoming a problem.