Chapter 60: Christmas in Another World (4) (60/225)
Fedora, who still carried wounds from the past that had yet to heal, pushed herself harder in preparing for the Holy Festival with Jinseo's help.
She kept practicing hymns within the limits of what her throat could handle, and to compose a new hymn, she didn't let go of her pen until late at night.
To help Fedora, Jinseo drove the food truck to the cathedral every day.
Together with Julien, who had once been Fedora's junior.
"Cardinal, I think it would be better to polish this part a bit more. More lively—like the hymn you called a 'carol' before."
Julien spoke as he pointed to the middle of the sheet music spread open at the center of the food truck's counter seats.
"There are only five days left until the Holy Festival begins. Will it be all right?"
"It will be enough. I'll finish the rest today and send it to you."
Julien rolled the sheet music up and put it into the bag hanging at his waist.
They were proceeding in stages: Fedora composed the hymn first, Julien arranged it after listening to Fedora's singing, and then Fedora added lyrics that suited the Heirem Order's tone.
"More importantly—how is your throat?"
"Thanks to the new drink Jinseo gave me, it's much better."
Fedora answered while sucking down the bellflower-and-pear juice Jinseo had brought back from Korea.
Not knowing whether medicine used in Korea would work properly on the Francia Continent, Jinseo had brought various things said to be good for the throat instead of actual medicine.
Chamomile tea in teabags, omija tea, quince extract…
Even throat lozenges that were easy to carry and eat.
"Brother Julien, you should have some too. Isn't your job one where your throat matters even more than mine?"
"Ah… yes."
As Julien sucked down a pouch of bellflower-and-pear juice Fedora handed him, his expression subtly changed.
He checked Fedora's reaction, then turned his head aside and stuck out his tongue.
The Cardinal was drinking it just fine, but it must really not suit Julien's taste.
Without a word, Jinseo handed Julien a can of pear juice he had made.
Only after rinsing away the lingering bellflower taste did a smile return to Julien's face.
"Back then…"
Fedora turned her head toward the direction of the Doren Mage Tower.
"I used to study magic together with other colleagues at my grand-uncle's mage tower. It feels like only yesterday."
"Kuh, kuh!"
Because Fedora brought up the past first, Julien choked and started coughing repeatedly.
"Y-yes. That's how it was."
"I never imagined that you and I, who once walked the same path, would end up making hymns together."
Seniors and juniors who had once walked the same road.
But the shared point—painful memories that were hard to erase—ultimately led the two of them to different destinies.
"I heard you went through a hard time after leaving the mage tower."
"It's all in the past. I'm fine now. Music and song saved me."
At Fedora's comfort, Julien stroked the lute he had propped beside the counter seats.
"I'm the same. Within His teachings, I was able to be saved from pain."
Fedora gripped the Heirem Order emblem hanging at her neck with her right hand.
Two people each holding, in their hands, the symbol of the destination they had chosen.
Jinseo watched the two of them, reunited after ten years.
Neither Julien nor Fedora had completely cast off the pain of the past, but they looked much better than when they had shown Jinseo how much they were suffering.
As the fourth week of December began, the number of believers visiting Kaysus Cathedral noticeably increased.
And when the last day of the Holy Festival arrived—the 25th—the area around the cathedral was packed with people who had gathered from all over.
Even in the biting cold, people willingly took part in the event that would close out the year.
Inside the cathedral, a mass that had begun at 9 p.m. was underway, while Jinseo's food truck took its place in the center of the plaza in front of the cathedral.
The food truck's color had been changed from red to white, and small cypress trees planted in pots were placed at the front and back of the truck.
Cypress trees, also used as Christmas-tree wood, were unusual in that the Heirem Order also called them sacred trees.
So, with the Order's cooperation, Jinseo was able to install local cypress trees—but decorating them like Christmas trees was not permitted.
On the Heirem Order's Holy Festival—especially in front of the cathedral—it was unacceptable to cover the food truck with symbols of another religion.
In the end, Jinseo couldn't use a large portion of the Christmas decorations he had brought.
Instead, there were even decorations that became popular enough that the Heirem Order asked him to provide them.
"Waaah… it's really pretty…"
"I didn't notice during the day, but coming at night—yeah, the atmosphere is completely different."
Tree lights, which had become one of the decorations symbolizing Christmas even without a strong religious color.
For the believers, just seeing the tree lights glittering in the dark was enough to delight their eyes.
"Come on, brothers and sisters! Eat before you go—from the Order's sacred relic, the food truck!"
"To commemorate the last day of the Holy Festival, today's snacks are being provided for free."
Jason and Foltan, instead of their usual cooking uniforms, wore warm-looking fur coats as they welcomed guests.
"You're wearing clothes that look pretty warm today."
"You noticed! This outfit symbolizes Saint Kenis! I put it on with the heart of wanting to serve many people, just like him!"
Saint Kenis.
A saint of the Heirem Order with an origin similar to Santa—widely known across the Francia Continent.
Even his appearance was similar to Santa's.
But there was one difference: there was no single outfit that uniquely defined that saint.
Just from the outfit drawn on this paper, I don't really feel any other-religion coloring, and in any case, wearing a coat and a hat in winter is normal whether it's Korea or here…
After seeing the Santa drawn on the carol CD case cover, Fedora discussed it with other clergy and pushed for adopting Santa-style outfits.
To make the Heirem Order's image feel more friendly.
But instead of the red people associated with Santa, the color was changed to one that suited the Heirem Order.
"Here you go! Have a holy Holy Festival!"
"It's hot, so be careful. May His blessing be with you…"
Wearing pure white coats, Jason and Foltan worked hard to carry food.
Jinseo wore the same outfit, but the person who fit a Santa-style outfit the best was someone else.
Or rather, not a human—but another race.
"Do I really look that much like this 'Santa' person?"
"Santa is a saint from the continent where I live. I should say you resemble 'Saint Kenis,' a saint of the Francia Continent."
"Either way, they're both great saints, right? Then that's good enough!"
Except for being short—inevitable for a dwarf—Geshtain's appearance in a golden coat was Santa himself.
And thanks to his long beard, there was no need to stick on a fake white beard, making him perfect for the role of the "Santa of Heirem."
The sight of him waddling along with a huge cloth bundle slung over his back was more than enough to draw children's attention.
"Here! Take it! Gifts from the Heirem Order for human children who have done good deeds!"
Geshtain pulled gift boxes from his golden bundle and scattered them at the children who rushed toward him.
Floating along behind him, Nero wore Rudolph's outfit—the eternal partner of Santa.
Of course, to match the Heirem Order's tone, it wasn't red: it was golden antlers and golden nose paint.
As for the other spirit, Owl, no outfit or decoration was needed.
Just the sight of Owl—the white-feathered owl spirit—perched on the cypress tree was enough.
"Jason, take this."
Jinseo placed boiled noodles into a bowl and handed it to Jason.
For the Holy Festival, the menu Jinseo chose was different in character from before.
If it's food eaten at a cathedral, then it has to be noodles.
Banquet noodles that he had eaten whenever he attended religious events at a cathedral during his military service.
At first, Jinseo had planned to serve the same banquet noodles, but he changed it to noodles with a fuller, more filling texture.
Noodles similar to udon—garrakguksu.
A taste that wasn't spicy like tteokbokki or ramen gave comfort to everyone, young and old.
The hot broth warmed the insides of people who had endured the cold to come to the cathedral, giving them a sense of relief.
Most of all, it was a menu well-suited to serving many people quickly, because it didn't require a complicated process.
"Are there no other menus?"
"Today we are offering only garrakguksu. Please understand."
For today, Jinseo limited the menu to only garrakguksu.
He wanted Jason and Foltan not to be trapped solely in selling food, but to enjoy the Holy Festival like the other believers.
Thanks to Jinseo's consideration, the two of them took turns—leaving to participate in the events around the cathedral, then returning again and again.
Brother, is there some special meaning to choosing this snack called garrakguksu?
The day before, after tasting garrakguksu, Jason found it hard to understand why Jinseo had chosen it.
Of course it tasted good, but compared to the other snacks Jinseo had served until now, it was too mild and lacked a distinctive hook.
It was far from the new snack Jason had expected—something that would make everyone gasp in admiration.
It's the first food my parents ever bought me on Christmas.
Garrakguksu that his parents, back when they were dating, ate every time they met at Daejeon Station.
And when Jinseo turned six—the year he was born from their love—the taste of the garrakguksu he ate on the way home after Christmas Eve mass remained faintly in his memory.
Then… of course it has to be garrakguksu.
Remembering how Jason's attitude had suddenly changed and he had nodded as if it were obvious, Jinseo smiled without realizing it.
"Brother, isn't it about time to play the movie?"
"Ah, right. Everyone, we'll start the movie now."
On a day like this, one of the most fitting movies began playing on the large TV.
It was the movie Jinseo had cut off partway before—so people had flooded him with requests to play the rest.
I didn't think I'd be playing this movie here today…
In truth, Jinseo had agonized until the last moment.
Even if it wasn't heavily religious, was it really right to play a movie set during Christmas during the Holy Festival of the Francia Continent?
Then I will watch it to the end myself and make the judgment.
On the night before the Holy Festival began, a private pre-screening began—just for Fedora—in front of the cathedral, with no believers around.
Other clergy, uninvited, approached silently and joined in, and they showed a variety of reactions as they watched the large TV screen.
After the movie ended, the clergy held a short discussion.
In the end, they concluded they would allow it to be shown as a "reference film for how another continent spends the Holy Festival."
There were several grounds, but the most decisive reason was unexpectedly simple.
Even allowing for difficult-to-understand parts, it was fun.
"Wahahahaha!"
The children's laughter gathered in front of the large TV carried far away.
The adults with them watched the protagonist's mischief and silently patted the heads of the children beside them.
"Ugh!"
"Uuugh…"
"H-hey. You mustn't imitate that."
But when the protagonist delivered a blow to one of the thieves' groin, the male believers and clergy all flinched at once.
"...Didn't he die?"
Geshtain took off the pointy hat he was wearing and wiped the cold sweat that had drenched his forehead.
A brief silence settled, but from the next scene on, the mood returned, and laughter bloomed again.
And in the end, the movie finished with a scene where the importance of family love was realized.
"It was so fun! I didn't expect it to end with a lesson like that!"
"I'm looking forward to next year's Holy Festival too!"
"Jinseo, thank you very much."
After watching the movie while enjoying garrakguksu, everyone was delighted and thanked Jinseo.
Jinseo was happy as he watched them, but the smile at the corner of his mouth didn't last.
The movie's protagonist regained happiness by reuniting with the family he had been separated from by chance.
Come to think of it, the believers who had gathered to commemorate the Holy Festival blessed one another with their families—reverent, yet joyful.
But unlike them, Jinseo realized the reality that he was alone, without family, separated from them.
"I'm going to take a short break."
Jinseo took off his hat and mask, set them down, and stepped out of the food truck.
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