Chapter 34: Ketchup Is Fundamental (2) Every year around this time, Falstead Castle held an autumn festival.
It was his second festival since coming to the Francia Continent, but the last one at Orte Harbor hadn't been a proper festival.
It was mostly something held together by Jinseo's food truck and bunsik.
Maybe that was why Jinseo was brimming with excitement that this time, he would finally get to experience a real festival in a fantasy world.
Not just as a participant, but as a tourist too.
"Finally, I can drive the food truck into the castle."
"Huh? You've never gone inside the castle even once?"
"Somehow, that's how it turned out. And I'll get to see Aston again after a long time."
After the last escort trip ended, Jinseo hadn't met Aston once.
He probably stayed away on purpose because he still had regrets about cooking. But this time, he'll definitely participate.
"Did you know? These days, after work, Aston practically lives in the kitchen."
"Really?"
"He says he can't show you rusty skills, so he's training like crazy… Apparently he puts more spirit into gripping a kitchen knife than a sword."
"Then that's reassuring for me."
Compared to Orte Harbor, the food truck's share of the spotlight would be relatively smaller, but the scale of the festival itself was several times bigger at this autumn festival.
So Jinseo planned to run the food truck with a three-person setup by bringing Aston in as well.
But he didn't intend to stop at simply adding a helper.
"Also, I'm thinking of putting you in charge of a new menu for the festival, Jason."
"What? A new menu? Me?"
Jason stared at Jinseo, eyes sparkling.
"W-what is it?"
"Well…"
Jinseo glanced casually at the new fryer he added to the food truck yesterday.
Falstead Castle's autumn festival, held while praying for a bountiful harvest in fall.
By Korean standards, it was closer to Chuseok, and this time, the number of visitors from other regions had noticeably increased.
The reason was simple.
Bunsik—the dish that took the capital of the Doren Kingdom, Colses Castle, by storm and then vanished without a trace.
There were only three places where you could currently eat bunsik: Falstead Castle, Kaysus Cathedral, and the Doren Magic Tower.
For people who hesitated because it was too far even if they wanted to go, the autumn festival became a perfect excuse.
They could enjoy the festival and indulge in bunsik at the food truck at the same time.
"I don't really feel like eating in such a crowded place, but…"
"Well, it's a festival. What can you do?"
"It's cleaner than I expected, but with this many people… honestly…"
A group of older men, dressed in a way that clearly marked them as nobles, sat together at one table.
They were nobles from other regions, who came a long distance after hearing rumors about bunsik.
In truth, they planned to have bunsik delivered and enjoy it privately among nobles in a spacious mansion.
But after hearing that some bunsik couldn't be taken out, they had no choice but to visit the food truck themselves.
"With flavor like this, it's worth coming all this way. Absolutely."
"To only learn about this taste now… it feels like I've wasted my life. Ha-ha!"
"Still, isn't it fortunate we've found bunsik now and won't lose out any further? And if we receive the protection of the holy relic, even better."
But the moment they tasted bunsik, their complaints melted away like snow.
"And it's nice and roomy. Even with a lot of people gathered, there's plenty of space."
Because competition among merchants trying to set up stalls for the big festival was fierce, the festival street was packed tight with vendors.
But Jinseo's food truck alone was assigned a fairly wide area, set apart from the other stalls.
It was Oswald's judgment that since it was obvious a huge crowd would gather at the food truck, providing an isolated space would be better for both customers and other vendors.
With the truck now able to accommodate more customers, the guards who had joined the previous escort trip volunteered to serve.
And unlike before, Oswald also sent in maids from his household.
They were dispatched to the food truck three days ago to learn the basics, and today they were working for countless customers.
"Th-that's a spirit. So spirits really exist."
"Oh! It's looking this way! No matter how you look at it, it's just a cat, but it's a spirit…"
Thanks to that, Nero was freed from serving for the first time in a while and was instead entertaining customers in a different way.
There was no need for Nero to approach them.
Just sitting proudly atop the cat tower was more than enough.
Good. Adding one more person really sped things up. With each of them handling the bunsik they're best at, efficiency went up too.
With everyone's help, Jinseo could focus entirely on cooking bunsik.
Even with the largest crowd he'd ever seen, watching orders get processed one after another made him feel satisfied.
And those two really worked hard. Their bunsik cooking ranks all went up evenly while I wasn't looking. At this pace, adding an extra menu should be fine.
"Jason, I think it's about time to start."
"Oh, it's finally time. Got it!"
Jason attached the menu board he had prepared in advance to the driver-side door.
The item name "Hot Dog" written in thick letters, and the hot dog drawing Jason made himself beside it, were enough to grab customers' attention.
"Hot dog?"
"When I stopped by the food truck yesterday, there wasn't anything like that."
"A new menu? Then I can't pass that up!"
Strictly speaking, it should be called a "corn dog," but in Korea it was bunsik commonly known as a hot dog.
Because of the nature of festivals, items you could hold and walk around with were especially popular.
In that sense, the hot dog was the safest choice Jinseo could make.
He wanted to add hotteok too, but for now, Jinseo was satisfied with just one new item.
(Translator's Note: hotteok (호떡) — Korean sweet pancake, pan-fried dough filled with brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts.)
"One hot dog here!"
"You can give me the tteok-twig-sun I ordered earlier later—hot dog first!"
Hot dog orders poured in like a tide, and Jason, just as he practiced, placed the batter-coated hot dogs into the fryer one by one.
Then, at the right timing, he pulled out each hot dog browned to a perfect golden color and sprinkled sugar over it.
But unlike other bunsik, he didn't plate it—he handed it to the customer by the stick.
"You eat it like this while holding it. When you're done, throw the leftover stick into that trash can over there."
"Ah, I see."
The first customer to receive one held the stick and turned it around this way and that.
And just as they were about to take a big bite, Jason thrust a red bottle toward them.
"And if you spread this on top, it tastes even better!"
"T-this?"
Despite Jason's strong recommendation, the customer hesitated.
At the food truck, red symbolized spicy flavor.
Just looking at the red ketchup bottle made their mouth feel spicy on its own.
"Honestly, even tteokbokki is too spicy for me…"
"It's absolutely not spicy! If it's spicy, I'll refund you!"
Jason squeezed ketchup onto the hot dog himself on behalf of the hesitant customer.
In the most standard way—zigzag lines.
"Then… huh? It's really not spicy."
"Right?"
"It's sweet, if anything. And this isn't just regular fried food, is it?"
Since it was cooked in a fryer full of oil, the customer assumed it would taste similar to the other fried items sold here.
That expectation was completely wrong.
The unique texture created by coating it twice.
The sugar sprinkled in advance, and the ketchup layered over it.
And the springy bite of the sausage inside.
A flavor from an entirely different realm than the fried food the truck had sold so far unfolded in the mouths of customers who ordered hot dogs.
"It's so good! As expected of the food truck!"
"Can you give me the hot dog first, please?"
"Please sell this ketchup sauce by itself!"
As praise for the hot dogs kept coming, Jason looked at Jinseo and gave a big thumbs-up.
"Dad! Buy me that!"
"Me too! Me too!"
It was especially popular with children who came with their parents.
Not only because it tasted good, but also because of another phrase written on the menu board advertising the hot dog.
"Children who buy a hot dog will receive a balloon."
The moment he launched the hot dog, Jinseo hung colorful round balloons all over the food truck.
As a result, more and more children began to fill the streets, hot dog in one hand and a balloon string in the other.
Meanwhile, even after finishing their bunsik, a significant number of children didn't leave the food truck.
Because a children's movie was playing on the large TV.
For this festival, instead of a drama you had to watch in sequence to understand, Jinseo chose to show movies.
A background and setting that could be accepted smoothly even in this other world.
An adventure and love between sisters in a frozen land of ice.
That animation that became wildly popular even in Korea.
Just like I thought—this works here too.
As Jinseo expected, the children kept nibbling on the hot dogs in their hands while never taking their eyes off the large TV.
The parents too sat beside their kids, staring blankly with mouths slightly open at the images they'd never seen before.
{ -General Quest: You have completed "Provide a free gift when customers under a certain age purchase a certain bunsik." As a completion reward, 5,000 mileage and 5,000 mana have been will be distributed.- }
The idea of giving children a gift was actually thanks to the quest content he had just completed.
The quest was completed, but Jinseo didn't stop giving out balloons.
Just seeing the children's bright smiles made him smile too.
"Everyone! We're going to eat something and rest too! We'll resume in one hour!"
Jason raised his voice while finishing the last orders, and Jinseo hung up the sign that said "On Break."
"Alright, let's fill our stomachs too."
"I've been waiting to hear that."
"Yes, big bro! Alright, everyone! Come this way! You too, come on!"
At Jason's shout, the guards and maids who had been working hard gathered around and sat close together at a table.
Jinseo placed the bunsik he saved for them onto the table one by one.
With men and women mixed together, it felt like a faint pink vibe might start flowing.
This feels like we came to some kind of group blind date.
But the mood went in a completely different direction than Jinseo expected.
"Yeah, this is what I wanted. The hot dog. Watching customers buy it nonstop was driving me crazy."
"But Jason… did you put on a bit of weight?"
"Thanks to bunsik. But when you guys went on Lord Oswald's escort trip, you looked like this too. You didn't forget already, did you?"
"Hey, talking is a waste of time. Let's eat first!"
After hauling nothing but other people's bunsik like mad, the guards started eating bunsik as if they were inhaling it from sheer rebound.
And they were people who had lived on bunsik for two months while escorting Oswald.
With their suppressed appetite exploding, the only thing in their vision was the delicious bunsik in front of them.
"Nero! Here!"
"Want some tteokbokki? Here! Here!"
Nero neatly stole a bite of the tteokbokki the maids offered, then groomed itself.
The maids were completely captivated by Nero's aloof charm and couldn't escape.
I thought about playing some romance movie OST, but… it'd be better to just give them more bunsik.
Jinseo gave a bitter smile and brought more of the remaining bunsik.
The guards ate so fast that he had to seriously consider whether he needed to make more.
"Wow, this is really…"
Jason couldn't stop marveling as he ate the hot dog he made himself.
Even after downing three in a row, he wasn't satisfied and picked up a fourth.
"When you add ketchup, a hot dog that's already good becomes way better, big bro. This ketchup sauce… it seems like it could be used in other dishes too."
"Dipping french fries in ketchup is really good."
"French fries? Like squid fried food?"
"Ah, without batter. And it's also good drizzled over omurice."
"Omurice? Is that bunsik too?"
"I'll make it for you sometime. Before I add it to the official menu, tasting is obviously necessary."
Maybe because they were all people who genuinely cared about bunsik.
Even while squeezing in a meal during break, the topic of conversation inevitably circled back to bunsik.
"Oh, Aston. Earlier, when you were boiling ramen, I watched closely from the side…"
"That is…"
While the two talked about what happened during cooking, Jinseo sipped cola and looked around.
Even though it was break time and they weren't taking more orders, people were still crowded around the drink vending machine.
Tables several times more numerous than usual were filled with customers waiting to place additional orders even after finishing their bunsik.
There are so many waiting customers that I can't find the timing to leave my spot alone. I'll only be able to look around the festival streets after business ends.
Calling it "break time" was just words—after they finished eating, they would spend the entire remaining time prepping ingredients.
Maybe they sensed what Jinseo was thinking.
Jason and Aston looked at each other and nodded.
"Jinseo, we'll handle ingredient prep, so how about you go look around the streets? Unlike last time, there should be plenty to see this time."
"I've had my fill of festival fun for years, but you haven't, big bro. Go enjoy yourself!"
Even during the Orte Harbor festival, Jinseo basically only worked and didn't get to enjoy it properly.
And with the kraken attack, the festival events were limited to food, making it feel somewhat monotonous.
"Is that really okay?"
"This is a good chance for you to rest too. You guys think so too, right?"
The guards who had accompanied them as escort members nodded while continuing to eat bunsik.
Jinseo gave a light smile and stood up.
"Alright. Then I'll go take a look around."
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