Chapter 56: Never Ignore Appetizers Again (3) (56/225)
Jinseo grabbed an empty beer mug and lifted it high, mimicking the motion of drinking.
"It means draining a full glass in one go, without stopping. If you've already had too much, you can do it later."
"That's no problem at all! Just give me a moment!"
Geshtain answered confidently as he set the half-full mug down on the counter. Then he dragged over a beer barrel and cracked it open.
"Now then, everyone watch! This is what a one-shot looks like!"
He hoisted the sloshing barrel with one hand, pressed it straight to his mouth, and began drinking.
"One-shot! One-shot! One-shot!"
Gulp, gulp.
"One-shot! One-shot! One-shot!"
Gulp, gulp.
Amid the cheers, beer continued to pour into Geshtain's small body.
"There! Finished! That good enough for you?"
He flipped the empty barrel upside down and shook it, proving not a single drop remained. Then he brushed the beer-soaked foam from his beard, smiling as if it were nothing.
"Uh…"
Jinseo was speechless.
Even for a dwarf, the amount he had drunk was unbelievable—enough to make anyone worry about alcohol poisoning.
"Does that make up for the rudeness I showed toward bar food?"
"I-It does count as a one-shot, but…"
Aside from his face being slightly flushed, Geshtain looked perfectly fine.
"Then my debt to you is settled! Can I have more chicken?"
"Of course—ah? Owl!"
Perhaps stirred by watching Geshtain down an entire barrel, Owl jabbed its beak into the mug Geshtain had set down and started slurping the beer.
Jinseo reached out too late. Owl flapped upward first, wings beating hard, its face bright red.
But unable to handle the alcohol, Owl landed not on Jinseo's right shoulder, but his left, then collapsed flat on its back.
"Wahaha!"
The mages burst into laughter.
Meow! Meow! Mrrreow! -
Nero, having lost its spot, threw a series of kitty punches at Owl, sending the crowd into another wave of laughter.
"See? Even spirits can't resist dwarf beer!"
Now free from Jinseo's glare, Geshtain openly and happily devoured the chicken.
"What a wonderful country! The land of bar food—Korea… I really want to visit someday!"
After the Land of Bunsik, Korea had gained yet another nickname.
The chicken-and-beer party held in the ivory tower of knowledge continued late into the night. When Oswald joined after hearing of Jinseo's return, the atmosphere grew even livelier.
The aftermath came the next day in the form of brutal hangovers, forcing the already delayed exam to be postponed yet again.
Expecting this, Jinseo brought his food truck to the Doren Mage Tower earlier than usual. That day's special was hangover-relief ramen loaded with bean sprouts.
After finishing their bowls, the mages returned to the tower as usual, ice cream in hand.
The only one unaffected by the hangover was Geshtain, who bought ice cream in bulk from Jinseo and stored it in his subspace storage, praising it as something worthy of being kept alongside beer.
「Jinseo! While you're at it, how about some chicken too… can't you manage that?」
Jinseo replied that it wasn't possible right now. While there was still meat left from the Cockatrice King, it wasn't an ingredient he could freely obtain.
He promised that if the chance came later, he would package single portions like delivery chicken and add them in—along with the pickled radish he was gradually preparing.
Meanwhile, a response arrived from the royal palace after Oswald reported the appearance of a dwarf. They wished to see for themselves whether Geshtain was truly a dwarf.
「Then I will meet His Majesty in person. Geshtain, can you go?」
「Oh! An audience with the human king? How exciting!」
Painfolt and Geshtain moved to Colses Castle via teleportation magic, and the audience with Philip III took place almost immediately.
Geshtain introduced himself as a dwarf from another distant continent and expressed his wish to resume exchanges with humans after centuries of separation.
His sudden appearance threw the palace into chaos, and nobles flooded into Colses Castle, the capital of the Doren Kingdom, to see the legendary race.
The kingdom offered him every convenience to stay within the palace, but Geshtain politely declined, saying it would be better to work with the mages of the Doren Mage Tower to find a way home.
He added one more condition.
「And I need to go eat bunsik and bar food! You don't have that here, do you?」
In the end, instead of keeping Geshtain in the palace, the kingdom decided to dispatch a special envoy to the mage tower.
Since the report had come from Oswald, Duke Layton—an acquaintance of his—was chosen as envoy.
Duke Layton had helped Oswald in many ways before Oswald became the Castle Lord of Falstead Castle. Thanks to that connection, he was sent to Falstead as the kingdom's envoy, though in truth he had little actual work to do.
Geshtain was the only dwarf currently on the Francia Continent, and he spent most of his time with the mages at the tower. There wasn't much Layton could do for him.
Instead, under the pretext of socializing, he attended nightly drinking sessions.
The location was always the food truck, and Jinseo ended up extending business by one extra hour. To prevent crowds, the number of customers during that time was limited to just four.
"This bar food is every bit as good as yesterday's chicken."
A bright smile bloomed on Layton's face as he tasted budae-jjigae for the first time.
Just a sip of the broth made him crave alcohol even more. The meat called Spam that followed was tender and deeply savory.
"It's even better with pleasant music."
Julien, who had come with Painfolt but did not drink, sat alone on a tree stump, playing the lute.
"It pairs wonderfully with dwarf beer. It doesn't get better than this."
Glug, glug.
After draining his mug, Layton returned to the bubbling stew. Watching him ladle, eat, and refill again and again, the other three at the table shared the same thought.
We were exactly like that the first time.
"Did you come as envoy because you couldn't forget the food truck? I distinctly remember you saying you wanted nothing more to do with troublesome matters."
At Oswald's sharp remark, Layton lifted an eyebrow and drank more broth.
"That's something I said years ago when I saw you off. You remember well."
"My memory is one of my strong points."
"That, and when that man volunteered to be envoy, I hurriedly stopped him and came instead."
"That man would be…?"
Oswald trailed off, frowning slightly.
"Marquis Horus. Do you know what he said when the council convened after your report?"
「A dwarf? Ridiculous. Such a vulgar spectacle just to draw attention.」
"Sounds like him."
"And who else would say something like that so casually?"
"If it were him, he would have wanted confirmation before acting."
"Perhaps. Still, that wasn't the way to say it."
As the conversation grew heavier, the two drank in silence.
Unaware of the details, Painfolt and Geshtain chewed on dried snacks. Just then, Julien finished his tune, and silence settled in.
"Ah, almost forgot."
Glug, glug.
After emptying his mug, Layton grinned at Oswald.
"When the Headmaster appeared with Geshtain, that man's expression was priceless. You really should've seen it."
"A smiling face with trembling lips?"
"Exactly."
"We've clashed more than once."
Back when the former king still lived, Oswald and Horus—then a count—had opposed each other at every turn. That deadlock ended with the old king's death and Philip III's ascension.
In Oswald's one-sided defeat.
Horus, now Marquis Horus, had taken advantage of Oswald's emotional instability after his wife's sudden death.
"So that's why you avoided contacting me after leaving the palace?"
"I couldn't risk burdening you, Your Grace."
"You know that man well, yet misunderstand me. That's disappointing."
Layton smiled despite his words.
Oswald smiled bitterly, imagining his old rival trembling.
The mood improved slightly, but Painfolt still found it awkward to join in and continued chewing his dried snacks.
"By the way, Geshtain. Since the kingdom must form a delegation, could you give us a rough idea of when you'll return to your homeland?"
"I'll return the moment the return magic circle is completed! Failing to share these delicious foods—bar food that pairs so perfectly with alcohol—with my people even one day sooner would be a sin! Now then, in that spirit, everyone—one-shot!"
At last finding his opening, Geshtain leapt up and raised his mug.
"Hahaha! I'll finish it before the beer I brought runs out!"
His booming laughter reignited the atmosphere. Painfolt remained silent, but the other three drank noisily, mug after mug.
Standing behind them with his arms folded, Jinseo kept his eyes on Geshtain.
Something's off.
Amid the lively mood, a detail he had overlooked now nagged at him.
Why are a real dwarf's actions and way of thinking so perfectly identical to the dwarves I've seen in games and movies?
There were differences if you looked closely—but overall, the real dwarf was almost exactly the same.
Even in ways you wouldn't know without firsthand experience.
Could it be…
Meow. -
"Nero?"
Nero, curled up on the left side of the counter, suddenly sprang up and darted into the bushes beside the food truck.
Jinseo followed and found Fedora holding Nero in her arms.
"Cardinal?"
"Oh, long time no see."
Startled, Fedora nearly dropped Nero, but quickly caught it again with the sleeve of her vestment.
Jinseo turned toward the direction Fedora had been watching.
Painfolt, nodding silently along to the others' conversation, stood clearly in view.
"Senior Fedora?"
Julien pushed through the bushes behind Jinseo and widened his eyes the moment he saw her.
"Who are you?"
"Don't you remember me? It's me—Julien. Julien, who studied under Lord Rainfolt."
"Julien? The Julien I know…?"
"Yes."
Julien wanted to shout with joy, but knowing the relationship between Fedora and Painfolt, he lowered his voice.
"…So you are his kin. Forgive me—I didn't recognize you at first. It's good to see you."
Fedora's greeting was polite, yet firmly distant.
"You truly became a Cardinal. It's late, but congratulations."
"I merely chose a different path, as you did."
"I'd heard, but it was still unexpected."
The clerical robes Fedora wore looked foreign to Julien. Even if relations with his grandfather had soured, he had never imagined Fedora walking a path outside magic.
Likewise, the lute Julien held felt unfamiliar to Fedora. In her memory, Julien had been a boy devoted solely to magic, with no interest in music.
"Hey! Jinseo! Fry up some rice!"
"Yes! Right away!"
After asking Nero to stay with Fedora, Jinseo hurried back to the food truck.
"Yeah, this is what makes a meal feel complete."
A Korean meal isn't finished just by eating the dishes—you have to end with fried rice.
Using leftover fat from grilled pork, leftover sauce from dak-galbi, or even the remaining broth from budae-jjigae.
As he fried the rice, Jinseo kept glancing toward the bushes where Fedora stood, curious about the conversation happening out of sight.
"Jinseo."
"Yes? Ah—Headmaster."
"Pack one serving of rose tteokbokki to go."
"To go?"
The unexpected order made Jinseo stare.
Painfolt often bought ice cream in bulk, but it was rare for him to take bunsik to go.
"Not for me…"
Painfolt glanced toward the bushes.
"Don't say I ordered it. I'm asking you."
"Understood."
After finishing the fried rice, Jinseo returned to the kitchen.
Three men chatted while eating.
Painfolt stared straight ahead in silence.
Once they left, Jinseo handed Fedora a plastic bag filled with rose tteokbokki and other bunsik.
Fedora thanked him and made a request.
"Please don't tell anyone I was here."
"I won't."
"I didn't say to whom, yet you already know."
"Yes…"
"I caused you trouble. I'm sorry."
As she spoke, Fedora's gaze lingered on the direction where Painfolt had disappeared.
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