The Taste of Warmth

“Hmm, so, do you know where you used to live?”

“……The Kailos Empire?”

“Yes. I’m glad you know that much.”

Honestly, I was at a loss for where to begin explaining, but this was a good start. Sian sighed inwardly with relief.

“The eastern continent where the Kailos Empire is located is called Inchamber, and this western continent is called Outchamber. You’ve crossed the boundary to another continent.”

“I… crossed a boundary?”

Theodore finally showed signs of being flustered. Still, he seemed to have a vague understanding of the meaning of ‘boundary’.

In this fantasy world, there are two continents. The eastern continent where Theodore, the protagonist, was born, and the western continent where Sian lives.

Formally, the eastern continent is called Inchamber, and the western continent is called Outchamber.

There’s a theory that the two continents were once a single landmass, but since even Drake, the dragon, doesn’t remember it, it’s hard to consider it true.

Moreover, a vast mountain range separated the two continents, cutting them off completely.

That mountain range is the very mountain where Sian has settled.

Theodore, the protagonist, was the only one who could freely travel between these two continents, which serve as the boundary.

“So, is this….”

“Hmm, the Mountain of Death… does that ring a bell?”

“……!”

Theodore’s face turned white. Sian felt a little complicated to see Theodore, who seemed to know about the mountain.

This mountain, which is the boundary between the two continents, has no exact name.

People simply called this place, where no living things could survive due to the evil dragon’s magic and where monsters were rampant, the Mountain of Death.

It seemed that it was notorious even in Inchamber, which had been isolated for a long time.

Theodore, with a terrified look, asked.

“Are you going to… eat me?”

The dragon from the old stories the nanny told was terrifying.

Surely, the man in front of me wasn’t a dragon, but people said that everyone living on the Mountain of Death were demons who followed dragons.

Theodore, who firmly believed that demons eat people, trembled and tightly hugged himself.

“What?”

Sian was taken aback by Theodore’s unexpected question, but seeing Theodore trembling with fear made him laugh.

So, is this how it is? In Korea, old people used to scare children by saying that a tiger would come if they kept crying.

Here, a dragon is like a tiger, I guess. Sian muttered inwardly.

And with a mischievous expression, he looked at Theodore.

“Well. You look too skinny to have anything to eat.”

“……!”

“We’ll have to fatten you up before we eat you.”

“Ugh….”

Theodore made a face and shrank back. Sian, with a smile, watched him and then suddenly realized.

I shouldn’t get too carried away with teasing him; Theodore’s reaction is so cute. Sian felt regret.

This is a problem if he really believes it.

“I, I….”

Kkrr-runch.

It was when Theodore, who had been trembling, finally opened his mouth.

A huge sound, which couldn’t be thought to come from that small stomach, echoed around. It was like thunder.

Kkrr. Kkrr-runch. Kwarrk.

“……”

“……”

Come to think of it, Theodore had been starving for three days.

Moreover, if you consider the time it took to come here from the Imperial Palace, he had been suffering from an empty stomach for even longer. Sian jumped up from his seat.

“Wait here for a moment.”

“Yes, yes?”

It was good that I went out so boldly, but I was worried about what to feed him.

Since he just woke up, I should feed him soft food. Soup would be good. I harvested a lot of potatoes the other day, so I should make potato soup.

Sian decided to go to the kitchen himself to make the soup.

It was because he felt sorry for waking Carly, who was probably resting after working all night.

“……”

Theodore, left alone in the room, blinked and slowly looked around.

The demons in the stories the nanny told built their houses on graves, but this place didn’t seem like that.

The house, which seemed to be made of wood, gave off a cozy and comfortable feeling.

In the fireplace, not far from the bed, a warm, bright red fire was crackling.

Theodore liked this place much more than the vast and gorgeous Imperial Palace.

Just now, the man was worried about eating him, but such a carefree thought came to mind.

Theodore was sitting on the bed with a complex heart.

Click.

After sitting there blankly for a while, the door opened again. Theodore was startled and looked at the doorway.

Sian was walking carefully, holding a tray with a bowl on it. White steam was rising from the bowl full of potato soup.

“Here, eat.”

“Uh….”

“Eat it carefully, it’s hot.”

Theodore’s eyes widened as he looked at the tray and soup placed on his knees.

It was because he didn’t expect the man who had just left to come back with food.

“……!”

Drawn by the smell, Theodore, who instinctively picked up the spoon, flinched.

The conversation he had with the man just now came to mind.

〈Well. You look too skinny to have anything to eat.〉

〈We’ll have to fatten you up before we eat you.〉

Could he really be trying to feed me to eat me…

Theodore, with a worried look, glanced up at the man watching him.

“……?”

Why isn’t he eating? Is something wrong? It did smell a bit burnt when I was making the soup, but the taste should have been fine. Sian raised his hand and scratched his head.

“What? Does it smell strange? It shouldn’t be inedible.”

“It’s….”

“……?”

Sian, looking at the hesitant Theodore, recalled the conversation they just had.

‘Could it be… because of what I said about eating him earlier?’

He said it to tease him, but the child seemed to have taken it seriously.

What should I do? Should I say it was a joke now? But will he believe it? Sian’s mind became quite complex.

Kkrrruuurrr….

“……”

“……”

As if it were an ultimatum, a huge sound came from Theodore’s stomach.

The two of them stared at each other for a moment without saying anything.

In the end, Theodore, unable to bear the hunger, picked up the spoon.

“……!”

Theodore’s eyes widened as he put the white soup in his mouth. It was because the taste wasn’t bad, contrary to expectations.

“……?”

But the aftertaste was a bit subtle. What is this taste? Theodore tilted his head at the taste he had never experienced before.

“How is it?”

“Hmm….”

Sian, unable to help himself, asked Theodore, who had only taken one bite of the soup.

But Theodore didn’t answer and kept tilting his head. Then he took another spoonful of soup and put it in his mouth.

“Delicious….”

“Sir Sian!”

The moment Theodore murmured softly, the door slammed open. Everyone turned their heads.

Carly was standing in the doorway she had just opened, glaring.

“What is it?”

“You went into the kitchen without telling me again?”

“Yes, I wanted to make some soup for him….”

“You should have woken me up!”

“I’m sorry, so I didn’t.”

Sian made the soup himself without waking Carly, who was sleeping.

He thought that he wasn’t good at cooking, but he thought that he could make potato soup.

In front of Sian, who had such thoughts, Carly held out something.

“Look. The pot is burnt black again!”

“Ah….”

The bottom of the pot was burnt black to an extreme extent. It was because Sian had made a mistake in controlling the heat when making the potato soup just now.

Anyway, the parts that weren’t burnt didn’t taste that strange, so Sian brought only a little of the top to Theodore.

“You can just have Kunta make another one for you.”

“I’m annoyed just by asking that dwarf guy to make it!”

“Shouldn’t you two be getting along by now?”

“With him? Absolutely not!”

“……”

Carly shouted as if having a seizure at Sian’s words. Sian shook his head at the sight.

Various races lived in this fantasy world. Carly was a Dark Elf, and Kunta was a Dwarf.

The bad relationship between the two races was the rule in the fantasy world.

It’s been years since they’ve been living together, but she’s still this upset. Sian sighed.

“Haa… Alright. Then I’ll tell him.”

“That’s not the only problem. You need to make breakfast right away, and if you ruin the pot like this… Honestly, Sir Sian…”

“Okay, okay.”

Sian frowned at the scolding that came right away.

It was useless to make excuses, as it would only make Carly’s scolding worse. Sian just nodded at what Carly said.

“Are you even listening to me?”

“Yes, of course.”

And adding the appropriate interjections. Sian smiled as if he had drawn it.

“……”

Theodore, who was eating the soup, blankly watched the two of them and then glanced back at the soup he was eating.

‘So that’s why it tasted strange.’

Theodore, having gotten the answer from the conversation between Sian and Carly, thought blankly.

All the food he ate in the Imperial Palace was perfect in taste.

Theodore, who had never experienced a burnt taste, was surprised by the unfamiliar taste when he ate the potato soup made by Sian.

‘This is the burnt taste….’

Theodore looked blankly at the potato soup, which had a strange taste in the end. For some reason, his chest felt heavy.

He was always alone when he ate at the Imperial Palace.

The servants who brought him meals were unfriendly and reluctant to get close to Theodore.

In fact, except for the nanny, no one properly met Theodore’s eyes.

But eating here, surrounded by people he didn’t know. His heart kept pounding for an unknown reason.

“Theodore? What’s wrong?”

“Ah….”

Sian, who had been arguing with Carly for a while, was puzzled by Theodore, who wasn’t eating the soup and just staring blankly, and asked.

Then Theodore raised his head. His eyes were filled with tears.

“Are… are you crying?”