[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-saya-and-the-dragon":3,"chapter-saya-and-the-dragon-saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-53":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Saya and the Dragon",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1705040,2177,"Chapter 50: Poridge","saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-53",53,"\u003Cp>Morning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dew on the grass. Birds chirping. Fire crackling. My stomach growling loud enough to scare off wildlife.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And him. Hovering. Looming. Judging.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dragon sat coiled like a scaly monument to culinary perfectionism, watching me butcher breakfast with all the patience of a man waiting for a goat to recite poetry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re doing it wrong,” he said again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stirred the porridge harder. Not because it needed it. Just to annoy him. “I’mstirring.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’rewhippingit. Clockwise. Not counterclockwise. You’re agitating the starch.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t even know starch could be agitated. I gave him a look. “It’s mush in a pot. Calm your tail.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He made a noise like an exasperated volcano. “Use thewoodenspoon. Not the pine stick. Pine taints. The flavor will be sappy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I threw the stick behind me and grabbed the spoon. Whatever. I’d already ruined it, apparently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Now,” he said, leaning in like some ancient porridge priest, “gently. Lift. Caress. You coax it like a song.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m not making love to it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Clearly,” he muttered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I dumped in the rest of the oats with the flair of a tavern wench flinging beer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Too fast!” he barked. “Youburiedthe base. That’s anavalanche! You treat porridge like an enemy charge.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I gave him a big grin. “Itischarging. Up my nose.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He puffed smoke in my direction. “Why do I bother.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Because without me, you’d eat charred squirrels and cry.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t deny it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then the sniff came. That slow inhale that meant doom. “Did you already salt it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Maybe.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You always salt too soon! It tightens the grain!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Maybe Iliketight grain.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He gave me a look like he was debating torching the whole forest just to make a point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Back away,” he hissed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, nowyouwant to do it. After all that talk about apprentices and delegation.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Delegation does not mean sabotage,” he snapped, shuffling forward like a grumpy kitchen god. He took the spoon, stirred it twice—gently, sensually, like it owed him money—and the smell immediately changed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It smelled… kind of incredible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Show-off,” I muttered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I once cooked for the Emperor of Khor,” he said, not even hiding the pride.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did he eat it or worship it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He commissioned a temple.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He was probably high.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You are uncultured swine.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I plopped onto a rock and watched him fuss with spice pouches and fire levels like it was alchemy. He muttered the whole time. Stirred with reverence. Sprinkled something gold and bitter-smelling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He poured it into two bowls. His was basically a cauldron. Mine was a sip.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I tasted it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gods.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Okay, that’s stupidly good.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked smug enough to combust. “Porridge is sacred. Food is sacred.Iam sacred.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I rolled my eyes and licked the spoon. Slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t say anything, but I saw the twitch in his eye. Victory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tomorrow,” he muttered, “I’m roasting a goat.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Make it extra sacred,” I said, stealing a spoonful from his bowl. “This badger needs protein.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He groaned. “Don’t start.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I grinned, mouth full of creamy, perfect porridge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I may have botched the cooking. But I won breakfast.\u003C\u002Fp>",504,"2026-06-06T14:39:25.620Z",1,"novelbin.me","cb1de0bfd7351e743fce5085a175d30f9c0a0fe451ec46e8592f0fe706621874","saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-54","saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-52",228,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsaya-and-the-dragon-cover.jpg"]