Chapter 148: The Nation of Cuisine, Girvante (6) Lanster II looked down at Craid with a gentle smile.
"Greg, now that I have seen you healthy with my own eyes, I can finally put my mind at ease. When I heard you had fully recovered, I intended to send someone, but you had already left for the Kingdom of Doren. I hope you will not feel too slighted."¹
"Your Majesty, how could that be? I am only overwhelmed by Your Majesty's consideration."
Greg, seated beside Craid, bowed his head deeply.
"So you are Lee Jinseo, the foreign chef."
When Jinseo tried to follow Craid and Greg in kneeling on one knee as well, Lanster II gestured that there was no need.
It might be less so than in Korea, but cleanliness was still one of a chef's essential virtues in the Kingdom of Girvante.²
Lanster II could not allow Jinseo's cooking clothes to be dirtied by the dust of the road for the sake of a mere gesture of respect.
"Thanks to the great and supreme being's generosity, I was able to encounter your bunsik first. However, I heard that the tteok-twig-sun you fed me then was only a very small portion of the many kinds of bunsik. I wish to experience other bunsik I have not yet tasted. Is that possible?"
"Of course, Your Majesty."
"I heard that tteok-twig-sun-ra-gim is both the foundation and completion of bunsik. I have already tasted tteok-twig-sun, so I ask for ra-gim."
"Yes, understood. Please wait a moment."
Jinseo stopped by the Additional Trailer to take out the lacking ingredients, then entered the cooking area.
"M-Mr. Jinseo! Are we really going to make bunsik to offer to His Majesty?"
"I've been in cooking for o-over t-twenty years, but I-I've n-never b-been this n-nervous…"
The five wandering chefs, who had no experience of serving food before a king, repeated deep breaths with pale faces.
"Come on, don't be too tense. Three of you help me, and the other two, please handle serving."
After calming the flustered wandering chefs, Jinseo tore open the ramen packets with a calm face.
"Aren't you nervous, Mr. Jinseo?"
Looking at Skelson, whose hands trembled as he spoke, Jinseo only gave a light smile.
He had served bunsik not only to King Philip III of the Kingdom of Doren, but also to the leaders of other races.³ There was no reason to be that nervous.
As he always did, Jinseo boiled the ramen with care, placed it on a tray with pickled radish, and set it on the counter.
Then the wandering chef Andrew carefully carried the ramen to Lanster II's table, afraid he might spill even a single drop of broth.
"Y-Your Majesty! R-Ramen!"
"So this is ramen…"
Lanster II, who had never used chopsticks before, lifted the noodles and toppings together with a fork and put them into his mouth.
Slurp.
"..."
Quietly savoring the noodle texture with tongue and teeth, he took a spoonful of broth.
"If I had to name what was lacking when I ate tteok-twig-sun, it was that there was no broth… but ramen solves that all on its own. I understand at once why ramen is included in tteok-twig-sun-ra-gim."
A smile settled at the corner of Lanster II's mouth as he marveled at the ramen's taste.
Slurping another long pull of noodles, he took a bite of the gimbap glistening with sesame oil and began chewing.
"The white steamed grain that wraps these various ingredients… is rice."
"Y-Yes, Your Majesty!"
Andrew, standing with the empty tray held to his chest, stammered out his reply.
"And the black, paper-like thing wrapping that rice is gim, which harbor folk mainly eat, and the fragrant oil that gives that gim its shine is… sesame?"
"I-It's sesame oil!"
"I see. So that's it. Hahaha."
He gave a hearty laugh and gestured that Andrew could go.
From then on, he focused only on eating, enjoying the ramen and gimbap with pleasure.
"Hoo, that was a fine meal."
After finishing the ramen and gimbap neatly without leaving a drop of broth or a single grain of rice, Lanster II looked around the area near the food truck.
"However, Jinseo."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"I heard that a precious person of the Order came with you, but it seems they are not here."
"The Cardinal… believed that coming out in a situation where so many people have gathered would only cause more confusion, so she deliberately did not come out."⁴
"I see. But before I am king, I am a believer of the Heirem Order, so I wish to meet her. Can it not be arranged?"
"Please wait a moment."
When Jinseo went into the Additional Trailer and explained the situation, Julien, who had been with Fedora, came out first.⁵
He paid respects to Lanster II, then quickly hid behind Craid to avoid the countless gazes pouring onto him.
Meanwhile, Fedora—who had been in a T-shirt and sweatpants the entire time inside the Additional Trailer—hurriedly changed into her clerical robes.
"All done."
At her words, Jinseo opened the back door of the Additional Trailer.
At that very moment, Jinseo urgently pointed at her bangs and shouted.
"Cardinal! Your hair! Your hair!"
"Huh? Ah!"
Fedora belatedly noticed the hair roller clipped in her bangs and quickly removed it.
"And your mouth! Your mouth too!"
Jinseo pointed at the snack crumbs around her lips, but in her fluster, she only brushed at the wrong places with her hand.
In his hurry, Jinseo picked off the crumbs with his own hand, then froze when he saw Fedora flushing red.
"Ah… I'm sorry."
"N-No, it's fine. We're good now, right?"
"Yes, yes."
Stepping out of the Additional Trailer, Fedora appeared before the citizens with a benevolent smile as if nothing had happened.
"So that's the Cardinal of the Kingdom of Doren…"
"I heard she's only in her thirties, yet she's already a Cardinal—what an impressive person."
"They say she's a leading candidate for the next pope?"
The rumor that she had appeared out of nowhere with Dragon Charlotte and saved Greg—who had been on the brink of death—with blessing had long since spread throughout the Kingdom of Girvante.⁶
As she sat at the same table facing Lanster II, the citizens moved closer and closer to the food truck to see her up close.
They wanted to hear what Lanster II and Fedora were saying to each other, and to see what food the two of them were eating.
*This feels like it could get dangerous again. What do I do?*⁷
As Jinseo worried that the citizens might surge forward again like before, an idea flashed through his mind. He approached Lanster II and respectfully shared it.
"Oh? Such a thing existed?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Lanster II reacted with keen interest and permitted Jinseo's suggestion.
"Owl!"
Beeee.
Owl, perched on the roof's pole, flapped its wings and flew up, then slowly descended.
Owl landed right beside the table where Lanster II and Fedora sat facing each other. The moment Owl settled on the table and its eyes sparkled, the large TV turned on.
"Uh… what is that?"
"Isn't that His Majesty? And beside him, Cardinal Fedora?"
"Wait, be quiet! The snack His Majesty is eating is called We… WeXis?"
"I've never heard of that snack."
Seeing and hearing their faces and voices through the large TV, the citizens were astonished and couldn't take their eyes off the big screen.
Thanks to that, they were able to prevent the mishap of citizens breaking through the escort line the knights had formed.
"I see. For the people of the Kingdom of Girvante, a huge appetite itself is pride."⁸
"That's right. Regardless of high or low status, those who eat a lot are respected. In that sense, I can proudly say I am the one most respected in the Kingdom of Girvante."
As Lanster spoke confidently about his own appetite, his expression suddenly darkened.
"Your Majesty?"
"No, that's wrong. One person. Except for that man."
Lanster II slowly lowered his head as he recalled a painful memory he had forgotten.
Crunch.
Taking a large bite of the WeXis Jinseo had served, Lanster II cast a sideways glance at Craid's back as he sat at the food truck counter.
"Craid, are you listening?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Slurp.
With his back turned, Craid slurped up the noodles of jjambbong ramen.
"The defeat five years ago… I still have not forgotten it."
"At that time, I was fortunate."
"No. It is an undeniable fact that I lacked capability then."
Crack-crunch.
With vigor in his expression, Lanster II shoved ten WeXis into his mouth at once and chewed.
"But now it is different. While you were away from the Kingdom of Girvante, I steadily increased my capacity, believing that one day I would surpass you. I wish to avenge that humiliation."⁹
At Lanster II's challenge, Craid finished drinking the jjambbong ramen broth and rose from his seat.
"Th-Then I will take my leave…"
Sensing the atmosphere turning strange, Fedora read the room between the two men and quietly stepped aside.
And Craid sat in the seat she had vacated.
"In my heart, I would like to compete in a match of eating until one side gives up…"
Lanster II could tell from the sharp gazes pouring in from all sides that the citizens' patience—those who wanted bunsik—would not last very long.
"Given the situation, we must decide the winner by who eats more within a set time."
"Yes, we will do so."
Lanster II looked up at Girvante's hero with determined eyes.
Craid looked down at his homeland's king with a calm gaze.
Through the large TV, the citizens watched the ongoing staring contest between the two men with excitement.
"However, Your Majesty, your images are being broadcast on the large TV right now. Is it all right to proceed with the match like this?"
At Jinseo's question, Lanster II nodded and tore open the wrapper of a ChocoX Pie.
"Of course. I do not fear losing before many people."
"Understood, Your Majesty. Then Owl, switch the screen."
As Owl, which had been watching Lanster II and Craid, turned its head slightly to the side, the faces of the three seated side by side at the table beside them appeared on the large TV.
"Citizens of Selfier Castle, what did you eat for lunch today? I am Greg, who operates restaurants in Selfier Castle."
"Hello. I am Julien, a wandering bard who travels the continent with Lord Craid."
"Many of you may be startled that an eating match has suddenly begun. We feel the same, but we have arranged this broadcast so that more people can watch the eating match between these two."
"And we have invited a distinguished guest as special commentary."
Fedora sat demurely between Greg—speaking in a slightly excited tone—and Julien, who continued in a calm voice.
"May His blessing be with all who watch this screen… I am His unworthy servant, Fedora."
"For reference, sunbae—no, Cardinal—is an unparalleled expert when it comes to spicy food. And she doesn't just enjoy spicy flavors; she has sublimated the pain of spice into faith and saved many people."¹⁰
"Hahaha, Cardinal Fedora's blessing is truly exceptional. Thanks to her, I was able to survive."
"That is proof of how incredible Lord Jinseo's bunsik is. I merely ate Lord Jinseo's bunsik and pursued austerity in accordance with His will."
"Ah, we've just received breaking news. We're told the menu for this eating match has been decided! It's this!"
Greg shouted, looking down with great excitement at the bunsik Skelson brought.
"This bunsik is… tonkatsu, isn't it?"
Perhaps because it wasn't spicy food.
Disappointment was obvious in Fedora's voice as she named the menu.
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