Chapter 319: Evening in the Maple Forest!
Perhaps it was because he was too relaxed, but Ryohei unknowingly drifted off to sleep.
So much so that when Yurine tried to chat with him, she received no response for a long time.
Yurine propped herself up to check, only to find that Ryohei had fallen asleep.
A gentle smile spread across her face. She pulled a blanket out of her hiking bag, softly covered both of them, then lay back down and quickly fell asleep herself.
By the time Ryohei woke up, it was nearly three in the afternoon. A blanket was draped over him.
Yurine was sleeping soundly beside him, her breathing light and steady.
Well, we reached our destination, set up the tent, and immediately took a nap!
Ryohei rubbed his drowsy eyes, lifted the blanket, and carefully got up.
He put on his shoes, stepped out of the tent to stretch his body, and then set up the outdoor table and chairs they had brought along.
While he was at it, he brewed a pot of autumn fruit tea to combat the dryness.
As the tea brewed, Ryohei took a light novel out of his storage space, sat down in the moon chair, and began to read leisurely.
"Ohayo~."
From the tent behind him came Yurine's slightly sleepy voice, sounding soft and mushy.
"You shout 'Ohayo' right after waking up?" Ryohei turned around with a smile.
"Can't I?"
Yurine propped herself up on the sleeping mat, folded the blanket neatly into quarters, and set it aside.
She then scooted to the tent entrance—
Bending over to slip on her orange round-toed loafers, she stepped out of the tent. After taking two steps, she stood on her tiptoes, raised her hands above her head, and stretched lazily, loosening up her body.
A charming, soft moan escaped her lips.
Then, Yurine walked up behind Ryohei and naturally wrapped her arms around him, resting her chin on his right shoulder as she looked at the book in his hands. She asked curiously:
"What are you reading, Ryohei-kun?"
"One of Takatsuki Sen-sensei's representative works, The Black Goat's Egg." Ryohei turned the book over to show her the cover.
This book was a gift from Takatsuki Sen herself.
A signed copy!
"Un."
Yurine hummed in acknowledgement, then whined coquettishly, "Come with me to the restroom."
"Is that really appropriate?"
Ryohei turned his head to look at her.
"What's inappropriate about it?"
Yurine paused for a second, then realized what he meant. She playfully smacked him. "What are you thinking? I'm going to the restroom seriously!"
"Just joking."
Ryohei laughed, put down the light novel, and got up from the moon chair.
After accompanying Yurine to the restroom, he took care of his own business as well.
Returning to the campsite—
Ryohei continued reading The Black Goat's Egg.
Yurine, meanwhile, crawled back into the tent, her little butt sticking up as she rummaged through her hiking bag for a fashion magazine. She then sat down next to Ryohei to read.
Reading books and drinking fruit tea in a maple forest dyed red by the autumn wind, the two of them felt a profound sense of peace and tranquility.
And so, time passed until four o'clock, when the sun began to set.
Ryohei put down the half-read Black Goat's Egg and stood up to prepare dinner.
Watching him pull cold rice, marinated beef, and other ingredients out of his storage space like a magic trick, Yurine couldn't help but ask curiously, "What are we having for dinner?"
"Stone Pot Bibimbap. Later, I'll mix us two cocktails for a little drink."
Ryohei took out a charcoal stove as well.
"Eh~."
Yurine was a bit surprised. She glanced at the ingredients on the table and reminded him, "Did you forget the kimchi?"
Stone Pot Bibimbap was usually served with kimchi.
"No, I didn't prepare any kimchi."
Ryohei smiled and pointed to the pickled cabbage (suancai) on the table.
"See this pickled cabbage? I'm going to use Chinese-style pickled cabbage instead of kimchi to make a Northeast Chinese-style Stone Pot Bibimbap."
Cooking is all about innovation!
Compared to traditional methods, Ryohei now preferred to innovate on existing foundations!
"Northeast Chinese-style Stone Pot Bibimbap?"
Yurine blinked her beautiful eyes—she definitely hadn't tried that before.
She gave full emotional support: "That sounds exciting!"
Then she asked, "Is there anything you need help with?"
"Not for now."
Ryohei used a torch to ignite the charcoal briquettes as he spoke. "Just look forward to it! I guarantee you won't be able to stop after one bite!"
"Mn." Yurine glanced at the prepped ingredients on the table. Seeing there really wasn't much for her to do, she responded softly and waited quietly on the side.
The charcoal crackled softly under Ryohei's poking. He crushed the red-hot briquettes and added a layer of new binchotan charcoal on top.
By the time the binchotan caught fire, the sky had turned dark.
Night always fell particularly fast in the mountains.
Yurine had already turned on two camping lanterns. The warm glow dispelled the darkness around the tent, creating a cozy and peaceful space.
Clack—!
Ryohei placed the newly acquired stone pot onto the charcoal stove.
He took out a 5L bottle of clear water from his space, blanched the bean sprouts and spinach separately, then drained them and set them aside.
Shredded carrots and potatoes were stir-fried quickly in a pan, seasoned with a pinch of salt, and plated.
Next came the core part of this cooking session!
Hot pan, cold oil. When wisps of green smoke rose from the oil surface, Ryohei slid the marinated beef into the pan.
With a loud sizzle, a tantalizing aroma surged up—that was the Maillard reaction created the instant the beef touched the scorching oil!
"It smells so good!"
Yurine sniffed the air, praising softly.
"It'll smell even better soon."
Ryohei replied with a smile, quickly stir-frying the beef until it changed color, then removing it to keep the texture tender.
Next, he fried two beautiful sunny-side-up eggs and set them aside.
Then—
Using the remaining oil in the pan, he tossed in minced garlic until fragrant, followed by the squeezed-dry pickled cabbage shreds, patiently stir-frying them until slightly dry and aromatic.
Ryohei added a small spoonful of sugar to the pan to neutralize the acidity and bring out a sweet umami base similar to kimchi.
He drizzled in a few drops of light soy sauce to add savory depth and umami, then added a touch of chili oil to align the pickled cabbage's flavor profile with the bibimbap.
After a few quick tosses, he removed it from the heat.
Finally—
Using an oil brush, he evenly coated the inner wall of the stone pot with sesame oil, spread the cold rice inside, and gently pressed it down with the back of a spoon. He then neatly arranged the various prepared toppings on the rice, leaving a space in the center for the fried egg, and covered it with the lid—
The preparation for the Stone Pot Bibimbap was complete!
"Next up, cocktails..."
Ryohei walked to the table with great interest, taking out various liquors, ice cubes, and bartending tools from his space.
He thought for a moment, opened the shaker, and dropped in a few ice cubes first.
Then he picked up the jigger—
"Gin 90ml, elderflower syrup 40ml... lemon juice..."
Ryohei cut half a lemon and juiced it with a manual juicer.
He capped the shaker.
Shake, shake...
He shook it skillfully.
Yurine watched Ryohei with bright eyes—she had always loved watching him mix drinks; it looked so cool.
Ryohei finished shaking and poured the liquid smoothly into two glasses, adding a cube of ice to each. Finally, he slowly poured about 10ml of red wine along the side of the glass.
The wine settled naturally, forming a soft and beautiful gradient.
"So pretty!"
Yurine couldn't help but exclaim softly.
Ryohei put down the red wine and looked at her, smiling. "This drink is called 'Evening in the Maple Forest.' Shall we have a toast first?"
...
"Kanpai—!"
Yurine raised her glass.
Ryohei picked up the other glass, clinked it against hers, tilted his head back, and downed it—glug, glug, glug.
Yurine also drank hers in one heroic gulp!
"Ryohei-sama..."
It was as if she had become a noble lady from ancient times!
Recently, Yurine particularly enjoyed taking a carriage ride at sunset, rushing to that maple forest dyed red by autumn to meet her beloved.
She and Mr. Tanaka especially loved the evening scenery of the maple forest—
They loved the maple leaves that burned like fire, more bright and moving than the spring flowers of February!
Meeting in this brilliant maple forest, even the air they breathed was filled with an indescribable romance!
~~~
Get early access to 20+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
~~~
Every 5 new reviews = 1 extra chapters
Every 150 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter