Chapter 145: The Nation of Cuisine, Girvante (3) "It was truly a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Elric."
"The pleasure was mine, meeting Mr. Jinseo and your food truck. I will never forget the taste of Tteok-twig-sun-ra-gim."
"Then we'll be on our way. By the way, don't you need more fish cake and crab sticks?"
"I received them for free—I can't possibly ask for more! I'll savor them carefully!"
Vroom.
Leaving behind his brief encounter with the wandering chef Elric, Jinseo drove off in the food truck, while Elric—who styled himself a master of fish cuisine—waved toward the departing vehicle.
For a moment, he wore a regretful expression at not being able to follow the food truck toward the capital. But contrary to his claim that he would savor them carefully, he immediately began tearing open a package of crab sticks.
"I thought that amount would last about a week, but judging by that pace, it won't even last a day."
After confirming through the rearview mirror that Elric was diligently devouring the crab sticks, Jinseo gave a wry smile.
"For the people of the Girvante Kingdom, restraining themselves and saving food placed right before their eyes requires quite a bit of patience."
"If they eat that much, it seems like an interspatial storage would be absolutely necessary for the people here."
"In fact, quite a number of people learn magic for precisely that reason."
"..."
When Greg took his joke seriously, Jinseo let out a soft chuckle and closed his mouth.
"Come to think of it, hasn't it been fifteen days since we arrived in the Girvante Kingdom?"
"Probably so. We've already met ten wandering chefs during that time."
While heading toward the capital of the Girvante Kingdom together with five wandering chefs, Jinseo encountered several more along the way.
Like the original group of five, they were captivated by bunsik and wanted to follow Jinseo.
However, judging that it would be troublesome if the party grew any larger, Jinseo declined their requests to join.
Instead, he gifted them various preserved foods such as instant meals and canned goods. Though disappointed, they parted ways saying that if the opportunity arose, they would definitely visit Falstead Castle in person.
"I could fit more up top, but if the number increases any further, I honestly won't be able to control their behavior."
It was impossible to keep up with the food truck's speed on foot, yet it was also difficult to seat more of the five wandering chefs inside the Additional Trailer. So Jinseo carried out an upgrade.
He permanently attached an upgraded version of the structure that had once been installed during the autumn festival to allow people to safely ride atop the food truck for the parade.
"Mr. Jinseo! I can see a village over there!"
From atop that structure, Skelson—the first of the five wandering chefs to join—pointed toward the distant village entrance and shouted.
"Are we doing business there too?"
"I suppose we should?"
Fully utilizing the food truck's rapid mobility, Jinseo traveled through numerous cities and villages within the Girvante Kingdom.
True to its nickname as the Nation of Cuisine, even the smallest village had at least three or four restaurants.
Whenever he asked whether it would be acceptable to sell food, concerned about harming local businesses, the only response he received was why it wouldn't be allowed. That was how much Girvante treasured and enjoyed the culture of "food."
Just as before, Jinseo began selling bunsik in this village as well.
The food truck alone drew the villagers' attention, and once the five accompanying wandering chefs began proclaiming the greatness of bunsik as soon as they arrived, there was no way he could simply pass through without selling.
"Well now… this is excellent enough to wound one's pride."
The restaurant owner—practically a fixture of the village who had operated his establishment for over twenty years—ate tuna gimbap together with fish cake soup, grumbling yet unable to stop.
Though it had not even been an hour since dinner, there was more than enough room in their stomachs for the new cuisine called bunsik. The same was true for the other villagers.
"Would you like the tteokbokki sauce a bit spicier? Ah, is this level sufficient? Understood!"
"Fish cake soup is free—please help yourselves using the paper cups here! For drinks, please use the vending machine over there!"
"We don't sell regular dishes here! Only bunsik, so please order by referring to the menu!"
The five wandering chefs diligently assisted in selling bunsik—helping with cooking or delivering food to customers.
With at least twenty years of experience each, they handled unexpected situations skillfully.
"Please fill out the survey. If you cannot read, inform me in advance and I will complete it verbally for you."
Wishing to systematically record and organize how bunsik was received in the Girvante Kingdom, Jinseo had prepared surveys in advance, and Greg distributed them to customers who had finished eating.
He announced that those who completed the survey would receive one ChocoX Pie and one Yakult as complimentary service, and everyone readily agreed.
Beeeeep.
When Owl, perched on the crossbeam, suddenly began to cry out, the customers eating bunsik all raised their heads toward the roof of the food truck.
{The second companion of the Mobile Cooking Facility, Owl, has detected continuous misconduct by certain individuals.}
Misconduct?
As Jinseo moved to step outside the cooking area after hearing the AI's explanation, Hayward extended a hand to stop him.
"No need. Leave it to us."
"You already knew?"
"I spotted a few suspicious fellows and was keeping an eye on them. Looks like Owl noticed before we did."
Hayward, who had been eating fried food at the counter, turned around as he spoke, and Craid—who had finished his ramen down to the last drop of broth—rose silently.
"Was it you?"
He pushed through the group gathered near the counter to order, grabbed one man in each hand by the collar, and lifted them into the air.
"W-What?"
"Why are you doing this?"
Craid furrowed his brows slightly at their protests, then flung them upward.
"Aaagh!"
"S-Someone help!"
Just before the two men, who had shot into the air, could hit the ground, Craid caught each by the ankle and shook them up and down violently.
Small coin pouches spilled out in droves from beneath the two men dangling upside down in his grip.
"So they were pickpockets after all."
"Ugh…"
"Good grief, how can someone be this strong…"
As the two men collapsed onto the ground, groaning, they looked toward another man who had been loitering near the vending machine.
"Aaah!"
The man who had been trying to slip away tripped over Hayward's casually extended foot and tumbled across the ground.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Hayward grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and hauled him up.
"Seems that's all of them."
"Well done, Craid."
At that moment, the customers who had been eating perked up their ears and looked toward Craid beside Hayward.
His massive build.
The greatsword strapped to his back.
A glutton capable of finishing five servings of a Tteok-twig-sun-ra-gim set in one sitting.
And above all, the name Hayward had spoken pointed to a man well known among the villagers.
"Craid? Surely not the Craid we know?"
Though Craid returned to his seat at the counter as if nothing had happened, the villagers' gazes remained fixed on his back.
"I must have lost my mind! How did I fail to recognize Lord Craid all this time?"
"You didn't realize?"
When the wandering chefs who had been helping as staff expressed their astonishment, Jinseo reacted with surprise.
"Well, we were completely absorbed in bunsik…"
"And there are quite a few frauds impersonating Lord Craid."
"It's hard to believe. To think the hero of Girvante was right nearby…"
The wandering chefs stared blankly at Craid, still unable to believe it.
"Of all people to get caught by, it had to be Lord Craid."
"Hey, look on the bright side. Being personally captured by the hero of our Girvante Kingdom—isn't that the highest honor for a criminal?"
"When we get to prison later, I'm going to brag. I mean… hey! I got grabbed by the collar by Lord Craid… hey! I even knelt right beside Lord Craid… hey?"
The band of pickpockets who had approached hoping for a big score were bound and seated beside the counter, forced to wait for guards from the nearest city to arrive.
Even so, their cheerful chatter made Jinseo feel as if he were losing his mind.
"Ah, by the way, could we get something to eat?"
"Even if we're going to prison, isn't one meal acceptable? That dish called bunsik—we were busy working and didn't get to taste it. Could you give us some?"
Seeing them go even further and demand food, Jinseo was at a loss for words.
"Can't we just let them starve?"
"Aren't they hungry? I'll pay for it, so give it to them."
As a citizen of the Girvante Kingdom, Greg could not ignore the sight of anyone hungry, regardless of the reason.
Craid and the five wandering chefs nodded as if it were only natural.
Right, this is the Girvante Kingdom. A place where common sense doesn't apply…
If he stubbornly refused, he would surely be seen as the abnormal one. With a sigh, Jinseo took out a seolleongtang meal kit.
"Huh? You're taking that out?"
"Yes. Since it's come to this, I'll let them taste it properly."
Realizing what Jinseo was about to serve, Hayward looked down at the pickpockets and smiled.
"Listen carefully. The dish Jinseo is about to serve, called seolleongtang, is served as a special meal to prisoners at Falstead Castle."
"S-Special meal?"
True to being people of the Girvante Kingdom, they showed more interest in the term "special meal" than in "prisoners."
"You're really lucky. Normally, you'd have to commit a crime at Falstead Castle to eat this rare dish, but you get to eat it here, far away. But dishes just as delicious as that—I once tasted…"
Hayward launched into a lengthy explanation of bunsik and other foods he had tasted in Korea that Jinseo had yet to introduce.
"T-There are dishes like that too?"
"I only stayed in Korea for about a week or ten days, so I couldn't try everything. Jajangmyeon, Jjamppong, Tangsuyuk… Ah, I truly want to return to Korea."
As Hayward's food descriptions continued, not only the pickpockets but even the nearby customers swallowed repeatedly.
Meanwhile, Jinseo served seolleongtang in earthenware bowls to the pickpockets. Thinking they might find kkakdugi difficult, he served stir-fried kimchi as a side dish instead.
"Well then… let's try it…"
For the pickpockets, seolleongtang was a dish they had never seen before.
They cautiously scooped a spoonful and placed it in their mouths.
The moment the broth entered their mouths, their eyes flew wide open, and they began devouring it frantically.
Slurp, slurp.
Chomp, chomp.
Focused solely on eating, they quickly finished their bowls and looked at one another.
"You enjoyed it too? What about you, boss?"
"We're really lucky. We failed to pick someone's pocket, but we got the chance to eat a special meal. We'll probably spend some time in prison, but eating something this delicious makes it worth it!"
"To eat such a dish and not pay would be shameful as a citizen of the Girvante Kingdom!"
The man who appeared to be the leader reached for a coin pouch, only to realize it was empty, and froze.
"Kh… to eat such splendid food and be unable to pay—how disgraceful."
Jinseo was about to retort that attempting to steal someone else's money was what should be shameful, but when he saw the customers nodding in agreement at the pickpocket's words, he lost his nerve and closed his mouth.
"That dish called seolleongtang—do you only sell it to criminals?"
"It looks incredibly delicious… s-should we commit a crime right now?"
Some even began seriously contemplating committing a crime just to eat seolleongtang.
…My head is pounding.
Rubbing his throbbing temples, Jinseo frowned.
They were far more obsessed with food than he had ever imagined.
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