The Grill-Wielding Saintess of the Dead

Chapter 140: Blade Centipede Soup 3

[Kekekekekekekeke]

[Isn’t that the same one who came out last time???]

[Who?]

[You know, the one who was squeezed next to the channel master’s mom when she went to hunt a unicorn.]

[Who was that again?]

[Aaaah, I remember nowwww.]

[But what’s that one’s name?]

[Don’t know?]

Probably because of the cognition filter, Yane’s appearance wouldn’t be clearly visible to the viewers.

They might recognize the outline of her face, silhouette, or maybe her figure, but if the cognition filter worked correctly, the viewers wouldn’t even realize that Yane was an evolved insect-woman from a blade centipede.

“Now, from this point on, I have to focus on cooking, so I might not be able to read the chat?”

[When did you ever care about us kekekekeke]

[Didn’t you stop looking at the chat since you started hunting a mountain of blade centipedes?]

[‘ToiletPaperStringUnderwear’ has donated 55,000 won!]

So, you’re seriously going to make soup out of blade centipedes???

“Nen-ne!”

Alright, let’s see.

Roux is basically a fundamental ingredient for French cuisine.

Not just for French food, but it’s the most basic of the basics in all Western cuisine. The usual method is to heat butter until it darkens and then stir in an equal amount of flour.

Normally, using holy fire, powered by holy energy, would provide a powerful heat source, but when making roux, it was important to cook over very low heat.

If the heat was too strong, the butter would burn black in an instant.

The standard method, according to the internet recipe, is to mix flour and butter in a 1:1 ratio and stir over low heat, but…

‘Personally, I prefer to add a little more flour.’

The internet might say to mix the butter and flour in equal parts, but in reality, I liked adding more flour. A ratio closer to 2:1 works better for me.

Once you stir this mixture over medium-low heat without burning it, and add chicken stock and milk, you’ll have something you can really call soup.

[Wait, why is she putting in so much flour???]

[If you add flour, it becomes smoother. Not heavy.]

[Not heavy, more rich lol]

[Ahn! Rich…]

[Nonono kekekeke]

[Isn’t it supposed to be a 1:1 butter and flour ratio?]

[Roux recipes vary by person.]

[I feel a little uneasy kekekeke]

What I was aiming to make was one of those creamy soups with milk as a base.

Of course, I wasn’t making it myself.

Yane would handle it.

“You got it? Keep stirring it so it doesn’t burn.”

[Scree… damn.]

“Hey, watch your language.”

[Screeeee… Damn…]

“Good.”

At least it was better than swearing, right?

Too much suppression isn’t good for anyone.

If you keep repressing someone, they’ll eventually explode.

“Good, keep stirring so it doesn’t burn.”

[Scree… My… arms… hurt…]

“Keep stirring anyway. I’ll reward you with something tasty.”

[What the heck? Is she the channel master’s slave or something??]

[Heu-eung… Make me your slave too…]

[I’m not sure how my cognition filter works, but she looks like some centipede-woman to me.]

[Isn’t she really a centipede-woman?]

[Don’t talk nonsense kekekeke]

[Well, if she’s a mutated Awakened, it’s not impossible.]

For the record, I had made soup myself several times.

When did I try it first?

It must have been around 2020, I think.

That was before I became the Saintess of the Dead.

Before I even enlisted in the army or took the college entrance exam—back in my youthful school days.

I had never cooked anything before, but the reason I tried making something was simple.

I came home after school and no one was there.

A celebrity on TV was excitedly talking about making broccoli soup or something, so I attempted cooking on my own, only to completely wreck the kitchen.

When my mom came home later, she gave me a proper scolding that left my back on fire.

Still, that experience was invaluable and useful. When I became the Saintess of the Dead and waged a long war against the Demon King’s army in another world, soup and roux, which could be made with just flour and butter, were quite handy as a menu item for a large army.

Soup, being simple to make, was easy to digest like porridge, making it gentle on the stomach.

On the battlefield, to balance nutrition, I would bless the soup with holy energy or add the meat or protein from whatever we hunted to fill the soldiers’ bellies.

Since I had gone through that process many times, I’d say soup is probably what I’m best at cooking.

As long as you don’t let it burn, it’s not hard.

“Yane, I can see your hands.”

[Screeee…]

Of course, it wasn’t me stirring today, but Yane.

It’s not difficult.

All you have to do is stir it constantly over low heat.

By the way, when making roux, for one serving, about two spoons of flour are enough… But, when have I ever eaten just a little?

When I was eating with the soldiers in the other world, there was a time I ate half a sack of flour’s worth of soup all by myself.

And now, it wasn’t just me.

There were Menelapie and Yane as well.

Menelapie was fine, but Yane also had a pretty big appetite.

Not to mention the 29 viewers waiting eagerly for me.

So, I just dumped an entire sack of flour into the giant pot.

With Yane stirring it diligently, that large pot now had a full sack of flour inside, which was sure to be a workout.

Of course, I paid close attention to the ingredients.

The flour was ordinary, delivered by a transport drone, but the chicken stock was made from the Crazy Red Chicken I caught when that stalker was chasing me.

The butter was an organic gift from the elves of the Great Forest, and the milk was also a gift from the elves.

I didn’t know what kind of milk it was, but it had a richer and more savory taste than most, so if I used it as a soup ingredient, the result would surely be amazing.

If I were the only one eating, I wouldn’t go to such lengths, but there were civilians participating in the collab, plus Menelapie.

There was no reason not to make it with care.

“So, hang in there, Yane.”

[Screee…]

[Kekekekeke]

[Kekeke;]

[It doesn’t seem like she’s the one who should be hanging in there kekekeke]

[What does the channel master even do?]

“Me? I’m more like a director.”

[Stop bullshitting kekekeke]

[For real kekeke]

[Hey, watch your language, students. You’ll get banned from the collab.]

[Scary;]

[By the way, are the collab participants still in the channel master’s room??]

[Seems like it.]

[Actually, no idea lol.]

Good.

While Yane was diligently stirring the roux, I couldn’t just sit around idly.

“Let’s see… where should I start?”

I looked at the huge pile of blade centipedes and recalled dismantling the Centipede Dragon last time.

Actually, calling it dismantling is an overstatement.

My tentacles devoured 90% of the Centipede Dragon’s body, and all that was left were a few segments that I fried up.

Even though I used the purification miracle, it wasn’t something you could really call cooking.

Alright, let’s think this through.

Today’s dish was blade centipede soup.

Blade centipedes are covered in venom and prefer damp, narrow spaces, so their exoskeletons are usually teeming with mold and bacteria.

“In the name of the Father, the Son, the Glutton, the Starlight, and the Hunger, I pray…”

But I had the ultimate miracle: the Purification Beam.

[Miracle – Purification]

“Purification Beam!”

[Purification Beam!]

[What kind of skill is that;;;]

[Aaah, this is purification…]

The high-output holy energy wrapped the blade centipedes, the ingredients for today’s dish, in a white light.

Sizzle…!

[What the hell; what’s that sound.]

[Sounds like pouring something into a vat of acid kekeke]

There must have been a significant amount of accumulated venom, considering how much the massive pile of blade centipedes sizzled as the purification miracle hit them. It sounded like turning on a vacuum cleaner in a dust-filled room.

‘Good. The purification is done…’

Even with purification, there wasn’t much edible meat on a blade centipede.

They could range from as small as 1 meter to over 10 meters long like Yane, but the part with actual edible meat wasn’t the legs—it was the inner flesh of the segments.

While the Centipede Dragon had a lot of meat to offer because of its size, the much smaller blade centipedes needed to be carefully deboned to get any edible parts.

Crunch!

Squeak!

So, I pulled out my tentacles and started cracking open the tough exoskeletons of the blade centipedes.

Breaking them wasn’t difficult.

I simply wrapped my tentacles around their bodies, squeezed tightly, and crushed the shells to separate the flesh from the exoskeleton.

Since they were already dead, and the purification miracle had removed all the venom, breaking the shells wasn’t too challenging.

With my strength, toughness wasn’t really an issue to begin with.

“Crunch, crunch… Hmm, it’s like biting into a snack.”

[Is she seriously eating that..?]

[Gross;]

[No, eat the flesh, not the legs…]

After chewing on the remaining shells and legs, I realized that while I could eat them, the other collab participants might have a harder time.

Actually… not just a hard time—they probably wouldn’t even touch it.

Because of the size of the blade centipedes, it felt more like handling the shell of an extremely large king crab rather than a centipede.

In any case, I dismantled the 4-meter-long blade centipede, breaking apart the tough, black exoskeleton to get to the inner flesh. After separating it, I used the purification miracle once more to make sure no venom was left, completing the process.

Once the shell was shattered, the inside revealed tender, shrimp-like flesh. I couldn’t help but salivate at the sight.

Its multi-legged form might look monstrous, but its flesh was as soft and pale as any premium shrimp or crab meat.

‘Hehe, this is going to be delicious…’

Menelapie would definitely love this.

No, the collab participants would love it too!

They’re a bunch of troublemakers who adore me—and whom I adore!

There was even better news: among the mountain of blade centipedes were several 10-meter-long giants.

The bigger they were, the more flesh I could extract.

“Doesn’t this remind you of Yane’s lucky blade centipede days?”

[…Screee…screw…off…]

“Oh, so you think so too, Yane!”

[No… damn it…]

Yane truly was a brilliant, clever child.

It was obvious, but Yane had no qualms about eating her own kind.

Blade centipedes aren’t ravenous monsters, but in situations of hunger or scarcity, they engage in cannibalism without hesitation.

It was more likely that Yane didn’t even see them as her kind anymore.

Having been with me and blessed directly with my holy energy, Yane was practically a new species.

After receiving my holy energy and imitating my body, Yane’s appetite grew far beyond what it was in her blade centipede days.

For over 30 minutes, Yane tirelessly stirred the roux, making sure it didn’t burn. Fortunately, the roux was completed to absolute perfection.

“Alright, it’s done. You did well, Yane. So…”

[Scree… Aaaah!?]

“A reward!”

As a reward for her hard work, I gathered a bunch of the remaining blade centipede legs and stuffed them into Yane’s mouth.

[Ugh, gross;]

[The channel master is terrorizing people!]

[How can she feed her that? kekeke]

[Even with purification miracles, I feel like I’d throw up.]

[Forget throwing up—those sharp legs would shred her mouth and gums, right?]

[Maybe she’s fine…?]

[Terror: Achieved]

[Whoever you are, good luck hanging in there with the channel master!]

[Why hang in there though;]

Gulp, gulp…

Chew, chew…

At first, Yane looked like she wanted to spit it out, but surprisingly, she kept chewing, as if it wasn’t completely inedible.

Good. The roux that Yane had been stirring for so long also turned out quite well.

‘I added an entire sack of flour, and half the butter was organic from the Great Forest…’

Next, I added four packs of the milk the elves gave me.

Normally, when you make soup without cream, you add milk, but since I had extra heavy cream from the transport drone, I added that as well.

Now that the roux was ready, I just needed to mix in an appropriate amount of chicken stock… Uh…

‘How much should I add…?’

Hmph, this was always the problem.

“Appropriate,” “suitable,” “to taste.”

It was always confusing to figure out exactly how much to add when cooking.

For a small pot, two cubes of chicken stock were enough, so for this large one, I figured adding a whole pack would be fine.

“Oh, this looks good.”

[…Oooooh…]

“Right? Yane, doesn’t it look delicious?”

If this were a mushroom soup, I would add chopped mushrooms and onions. If it were carrot soup, I’d grate carrots into it… but that’s not what I was making.

This was blade centipede soup.

A soup full of the delicious inner flesh of blade centipedes!

Fortunately, the flesh of the blade centipede tasted like a mix of shrimp and crab.

To bring out the smooth texture and rich flavor of the ingredients, the key was the chicken stock.

Since the stock was made from the Crazy Red Chicken, it would definitely be tasty.

“Now, I’ll drain the blade centipede flesh and add it to the soup…”

Wow, it already looked delicious.

This was definitely going to be amazing.

The creamy white soup bubbling away, with the plump blade centipede flesh floating in it like egg whites—it was a perfect example of Western cuisine at its finest.

Maybe because the roux was made from scratch?

Unlike the other dishes I’d made before, this one looked beautiful from the start, and the flavor seemed even richer with the addition of the blade centipede.

Next, I sliced some green onions and added them. To give it texture, I also tore up some enoki mushrooms and threw them in.

“Yane, do you want to try it?”

[………….]

Though it looked fine, Yane’s eyes narrowed as if she wasn’t pleased about being the taste tester.

Ugh, she really hates this…

That’s the expression she had.

But what could glaring at me do?

“Come on, try it.”

[….Damn it!]

Oh dear, such language.

I put a lot of care into this, you know.

Reluctantly, Yane took a spoonful of the soup and put it into her mouth.

Chew, chew…

Gulp!

[………]

“So, how is it?”

[……………………]

Before I could even ask, Yane’s face froze over.

[Ptueeh!]

What? What was wrong? I thought it was perfect…?

[…It’s not salty… it’s not salty at all…]

“Not salty? Oh, so it’s bland?”

[…….]

Looks like I didn’t add enough chicken stock.

Thank goodness.

It’s much easier to fix a dish that’s too bland than one that’s too salty.

The roux was done, and it was time to simmer the soup properly, so I poured some holy energy into the burner to increase the heat. Then I added more chicken stock made from the Crazy Red Chicken.

One, two, three… Actually, let’s just add two more.

After opening the lid of the pot to check, I saw that it was coming together much better than before.

The pot was boiling nicely, and the flesh of the blade centipede inside wasn’t overcooked or getting tough, so I kept a close eye on it.

If the heat was too high and the soup reduced too much, it could become overly salty, so controlling the heat was crucial.

With the chicken stock added, and the blade centipede flesh and milk balanced just right, it was perfect.

“Yane~”

[Ugh, damn it…]

Time to make her try again.

Thanks to Yane’s taste test, I now had a good idea of how strong or weak the flavor was in real-time.

And let’s not forget about the decoration.

It’s blade centipede soup, so it should look like it’s made from blade centipedes, right?

At the moment, it looked more like an ordinary crab soup.

Alright.

For an iconic touch, I placed the purified head of a blade centipede right in the center of the soup.

Then, I arranged its razor-sharp legs and fangs densely around the edges of the soup, making it obvious that this was, indeed, blade centipede soup.

“Yane~?”

[………..]

“Come on, do it~”

[………..]

“I said do it.”

[…..Damn… it…]

[Kekekekekekekeke]

[Look at her expression kekekekeke]

[She looks like that sad cat meme kekekeke]

Yane’s face gradually started to look like that of a sad cat, but the soup was almost done, and that was what really mattered.