Chapter 63: Sharing Warmth (2) (63/225)
Craid had briefly joined the Raven Mercenary Group during the month-long monster subjugation campaign.
Even three years later, Malcolm still vividly remembered their first meeting, Craid personally driving a wagon loaded to the brim with his own food as he joined the mercenary group.
"The overall quality of the members seems worse than before."
"The Raven Mercenary Group that you knew was stricter with discipline than most. They were especially well known for not causing trouble for others, which gave them a better reputation than many other mercenary groups.
"We had no choice but to recruit in a hurry. Those men from earlier will be punished internally, so please don't be too angry."
"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to him."
Craid gestured toward Jinseo with his chin and stuffed an entire roll of gimbap into his mouth.
"Oh—my name is Malcolm. I lead the Raven Mercenary Group. I heard our men caused you quite a bit of trouble. If you tell me the amount of damages, I will compensate you immediately. Separately, I will bring those who acted rudely and have them apologize to you in person."
Unlike the mercenaries who had caused the disturbance, Malcolm's polite attitude eased Jinseo's mood.
He also noticed that Malcolm had deliberately come dressed neatly, unlike the others.
Of course, that consideration was likely more for Craid than for Jinseo.
"If you promise they won't cause trouble again, that's enough. Things like this happen now and then when you run a business."
Aside from driving customers away and nearly starting a drinking party, Jinseo had not actually suffered any real losses.
Dealing with obnoxious customers had long since dulled his nerves, and he shook off his bad mood quickly.
More importantly, they were people who would be leaving soon anyway.
If anything, he just hoped they would boost the food truck's sales before they left.
"Come to think of it, they even left without paying."
"Sir Craid paid on their behalf."
"As expected, you're generous when it comes to food."
"It was their first time trying bunsik. I wanted it to remain a good memory."
That's a bit… no, a nightmare would be more accurate.
Jinseo shook his head lightly in disagreement.
Since Malcolm had come as a representative of the offenders, he could only give an awkward smile.
"But is it really that good?"
Malcolm asked while looking down at the vegetable gimbap that Craid was already finishing his second roll of.
He had heard from the fleeing mercenaries that, although the food was quite spicy for them, it was delicious enough that they endured the pain just to keep eating.
Instead of answering, Craid slid the plate of vegetable gimbap toward Malcolm.
"Well then…"
Malcolm tried to eat an entire roll at once, but when he saw Jinseo waving his hands in alarm, he set it back down.
He picked up just the end piece instead.
"So you don't eat it all in one bite."
Chew, chew.
After swallowing a piece of gimbap, Malcolm's eyes widened as he stared at Jinseo.
"It—it's good?"
The vegetable gimbap he had eaten with no expectations delivered a burst of flavor to a tongue that had grown accustomed to preserved rations.
After devouring the rest of the roll without pause, Malcolm's gaze lingered on the kitchen where various bunsik were cooking.
"Would you bring more of what Sir Craid ordered? Ah, I can't eat three servings…"
"You came looking for me, so today I'll pay. Order whatever you want."
"Then I'll choose a variety myself. Is that alright?"
"Yes. I'm looking forward to it."
Jinseo brought out a recently introduced set menu, the Mini Tteok-Twig-Sun-Ra-Gim.
In response to requests from regulars who said the full set was too much, he adjusted the portions so that all five different bunsik together amounted to a single serving, and naturally lowered the price as well.
"They all look appetizing, but…"
Faced with so many unfamiliar foods at once, Malcolm did not know where to start.
He looked to Craid for help, but Craid merely propped his chin on his left hand and watched calmly.
Malcolm picked up his fork, tried each item one by one, then seemed to realize something. He dipped the soondae into the tteokbokki sauce.
Next, he dipped the fried squid.
Then the gimbap as well.
Yes. That's exactly how you eat it.
For newcomers to bunsik, tteokbokki sauce was practically an all-purpose sauce.
That was why Jinseo always served plenty of it, and he nodded in satisfaction as he watched Malcolm eat exactly as intended.
"Whew, that was a great meal. But this is unexpected. I've never heard there was a cook like this in Falstead Castle. Are you from another kingdom?"
Jinseo Snacks had caused quite a stir in the culinary world, but only within the Doren Kingdom.
On the Francia Continent, which lacked the internet, phones, or social media, rumors naturally spread far more slowly than in Korea.
Moreover, Jinseo had not even been doing business on the Francia Continent for a full year yet.
Having traveled all over the continent, Malcolm's return to the Doren Kingdom after a long absence explained why he had never heard of the food truck.
"I'm from Korea, far away from the Francia Continent."
"Korea? I've never heard of such a place. More importantly, you don't look like you've been cooking for very long, yet your skills are remarkable."
"If you count the time I worked under my parents, about ten years."
At the mention of ten years, Malcolm raised both hands and began folding his fingers, starting with his left thumb.
"What? Then your age is—"
"I'm thirty-one."
"Huh? You look about twenty. You're the same age as me?"
Huh? He looks at least ten years older than me.
The two men stared at each other, both at a loss for words.
Malcolm looked indignant, while Jinseo could only feel awkward.
As Craid was about to eat freshly made kimchi fried rice, he noticed Malcolm lowering his head and pushed the plate toward him.
"It's good… really good."
After taking a bite, Malcolm immediately regained his vitality.
In that way, he ended up eating all the bunsik that had originally been meant for Craid, successfully overcoming the cruel fate of looking older than his age.
"Wow, the other bunsik are excellent too. It makes me not want to leave."
He patted his protruding belly with satisfaction.
"Unfortunately, we can rest for at most three days."
"Where are you headed?"
"We're on a commission from Marquis Horus."
At the mention of that name, both Jinseo and Craid stiffened.
From what Jinseo had heard in his conversations with Oswald, Horus's reputation was far from good.
"It would be hard to say he has a good reputation."
"That's the nature of our work, isn't it? We're not in a position to be picky, especially in winter."
"True enough. Still, it's surprising the Lord of the Castle allowed you to stay here."
"As soon as we mentioned our destination, his expression soured. Still, he allowed us to stay outside the castle to resupply. He even lent us wagons so we could send injured or sick members to the cathedral."
"That does sound like him."
The Oswald Craid knew was not the type to vent personal grudges on innocent people.
"Still, for food supplies, the food truck should be more than enough."
"We're looking to stock up on sweet things that keep well. The bunsik here is delicious, but not suitable for carrying around long-term."
"Wouldn't GaX chocolate work?"
Hearing that, Jinseo picked up a box of GaX chocolate from the rack in the kitchen, then set it back down.
Mercenaries are basically soldiers… wouldn't that be better?
During his training camp days, there was a snack he used to stuff into his hardtack pouch and secretly eat in the restroom after religious services.
A snack that tasted good anywhere, but even better in the military.
ChoX Pie.
Not just any ChoX Pie, but the classic OXon ChoX Pie.
"Would you like to try this?"
Jinseo handed over a palm-sized item, something Malcolm had never seen before.
Malcolm tore open the strangely marked wrapper and froze when he saw the even stranger black object inside.
"This… is edible?"
"Yes. Don't worry. Just try it."
"Well then…"
Contrary to his expectation that it would be hard, it bit cleanly with barely any effort.
As he chewed in silence, Malcolm's expression gradually brightened, unable to suppress his admiration at the bliss filling his mouth.
"Sweet, soft, and the cream inside offers a different sweetness from the outside. But this isn't enough! Give me more!"
At Malcolm's fervent request, Jinseo brought out a large box containing twelve packs of ChoX Pie and opened it on the counter.
He assumed Malcolm would eat one more at most and take the rest with him, but that prediction was wrong.
Once Craid also took interest, Jinseo had to bring out additional boxes.
"Convenient. You can eat it all in one bite."
Watching Craid practically drink the ChoX Pie, Jinseo was reminded of a video he had once seen.
A baseball player casually stuffing an OXs snack into his mouth in one bite. The resemblance was uncanny.
It should be about time for a status message to pop up… ah, there it is. Huh? Sir Craid's showed up too?
{-Analysis of preferred foods for this profession group and other professions has been completed.--Those who wield weapons to protect themselves or others require foods that both please the palate and replenish expended stamina. For them, OXon ChoX Pie is an optimal snack that conveniently fulfills these needs.--Base preference for OXon ChoX Pie among mercenaries, soldiers, and swordsmen: 70When preference exceeds 50, special effects activate. Higher preference increases effect potency.Activated effects: rapid recovery of expended stamina; temporary strength increase; positive emotional shifts, etc.--Preference analysis completed for Malcolm, a mercenary. His preference for OXon ChoX Pie is 100.--Preference analysis completed for Craid, a swordsman. His preference for OXon ChoX Pie is 200.--When different preferred foods are consumed, their effects stack.--Caution: Products from other companies with the same name do not trigger these effects.-}
As expected, it has to be OXon ChoX Pie. Solid performance.
Jinseo nodded in satisfaction as he read the messages.
"One box of ChoX Pie here!"
"I'll take five bags of SXchi candy! And—what was it again? Ah! Three bags of scorched-rice candy!"
"Can't you sell ChoX Pie individually?"
"GaX chocolate is already sold out? That fast?"
"Sorry! We still have plenty of ChoX Pie, so please don't worry! Foltan! How much hardtack is left?"
"We've got plenty!"
Surrounded by countless mercenaries, Jason and Foltan were busily selling foods other than bunsik inside the food truck.
"I didn't expect it to sell this well."
"It's hard to replenish sweets while traveling, so they're stocking up. Plus, it's cheap."
Sitting at a table with Craid, Jinseo watched mercenaries walk away carrying plastic bags filled with snacks in both hands.
The sight of them crowding around the food truck to buy even one more treat reminded him of soldiers sprinting toward a golden supply cart when it arrived at the GOP.
Mercenaries with more money bought ChoX Pie by the box and loaded them onto wagons. Those with less opted for candies that would last longer for the same price.
The food truck was packed with treats they could enjoy.
"It's good from a seller's perspective, but I'm worried they might be buying too much."
"Worried they'll spend all their pay on ChoX Pie?"
"That too, but there's something else."
He worried that the mercenaries were spending money on food truck items instead of supplies they should have purchased from shops inside the castle, potentially harming the castle's own interests.
{"That's not the case. The mercenary group already purchased all necessary supplies from the castle. What they bought from you are snacks that Falstead Castle never had and cannot produce. So there's no need to worry."}
That was what Oswald said just the other day, dismissing Jinseo's concerns before carrying off boxes of ChoX Pie himself.
And now Malcolm, who had also bought large quantities, approached Jinseo, half-eaten ChoX Pie in his right hand.
"So this is where you were. Aren't you working with those two today?"
"They told me to take a break, so I'm catching my breath."
"But it's amazing. How did you prepare things that suit our tastes so perfectly?"
"I may not be a mercenary, but I used to be a soldier. For exhausted soldiers, sweet things are the best, aren't they?"
"Oh? You were a soldier?"
Malcolm looked at Jinseo with renewed interest.
If he had been a soldier, he must have experienced war.
Yet Jinseo's face bore no scars, no trace of battle.
"Have you ever participated in a war?"
"We're under an armistice."
"I see… that makes sense."
Once, a wagon loaded with ChoX Pie had gotten stuck in the mud on its way back to the barracks.
While the mercenaries were flustered, Jinseo rushed over from the food truck and lifted the wagon with ease, solving the problem.
A man with such monstrous strength, military experience, and excellent cooking skills.
As the leader of the Raven Mercenary Group, Malcolm felt it would be a terrible waste to let Jinseo remain just a passing acquaintance.
"Jinseo, if you're ever interested in something other than what you're doing now—"
"I'm sorry, but I'll have to decline."
Jinseo cut him off before he could finish.
Two years of military life had been more than enough for him.
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