Spin.
It needed no help from any utensil. The viscous surface rippled like silk, stirring as a tiny whirlpool appeared within it.
Carrying fine bits of mushroom, warm steam rose from the milky-white soup—the sweet aroma of cream and butter mingled together, the savory freshness of mushrooms awakened by heat, and the clean, grassy scent unique to parsley.
Half a spoonful was lifted. The thick white soup clung around the belly of the spoon, and diced mushrooms speckled with black pepper quivered as they were brought into his mouth.
His palate pressed down gently. It was as if a layer of velvet had been laid over the tip of his tongue. Delicacy and fresh sweetness filled his mouth, the silky smoothness of the cream forming a marvelous contrast with the grainy texture of the minced mushrooms.
Stray thoughts and tangled worries were washed away by an indescribable sense of satisfaction. His mind went blank, leaving only the purest, most primal, simplest—
Happiness.
Adeline sat across the dining table, watching the black-haired young man before her look as if he were the worst kind of magic addict drawing in Magic Power, his whole soul seeming to leave his body in an instant.
The expression on her face was indescribably strange.
"Is it really that good?"
She muttered, then also scooped up a spoonful and stuffed it into her mouth.
Unlike her usual habit of wolfing things down, this veteran Adventurer, who was more manly than a man and whose arm muscles could even strangle a Goblin outright, actually pursed her lips on purpose, keeping the Cream Mushroom Soup on her tongue for a few extra seconds before slowly swallowing it.
"It does taste pretty good." She smacked her lips, looking especially puzzled. "But it's not that exaggerated, is it..."
"It's just