Chapter 156: Who Will Be the Next Pope? (3) Jinseo quietly listened to the cardinals' conversation as he put battered kraken flesh into the fryer.
Sssss.
Maybe because the topic had turned heavy, everyone at the counter seats kept their mouths shut, and in the silence, a savory aroma spread in all directions.
"Kraken Tempura."
At Jinseo's explanation that it was fried food made with the rare ingredient known as kraken, the cardinals silently reached out with their forks.
Crunch.
A smile flickered at the corners of the cardinals' mouths after tasting a delicacy they rarely encountered, but as they recalled what they had just been talking about, their expressions hardened again.
"Many people helped me after I entrusted myself to the Order at a later age than the other brothers and sisters, and His Eminence in particular soothed me when I was struggling. Is it too greedy of me to wish that the current His Eminence could remain at the top of the Order for longer…?"
Fedora spoke in a gloomy voice as she looked toward the entrance to the Holy Land.
"This, too, must be His will."
The cardinal in her sixties, seated to Fedora's left, gently placed her right hand over Fedora's left hand to comfort her.
Looking at her kindly smile and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, Jinseo was reminded of a grandmother consoling her granddaughter.
"Now, now. What we can do is pray for His Eminence to recover. And as His Eminence said, we shouldn't grieve too much—we should live our daily lives faithfully. Enjoying the food this young brother has served is also something necessary for a faithful daily life."
The cardinal in her forties, seated to Fedora's right, put a piece of Kraken Tempura into her mouth in one bite and began chewing heartily.
Even so, the way she handed a piece of tempura to Fedora right beside her looked almost like an uncle.
"More fried food is out."
Jinseo served the basics of the food truck's fried menu: squid, seaweed rolls, and sweet potato tempura.
They weren't delicacies like the kraken, but the cardinals were satisfied with the three kinds of fried food that stayed true to the basics, and a calm smile settled on their lips.
"I want to eat another plate, but sadly, I'm already full."
"We're old, so it's hard for us to eat more, which is regrettable. So please, Sister Fedora, since you're still in your prime, eat more."
The cardinals took one piece of fried food at a time from their own plates and began piling them onto Fedora's plate.
Clergy in the Order addressed each other respectfully, and even among cardinals, they spoke with respect regardless of age or status.
But because of the age gap, even though they were fellow cardinals, Jinseo could feel nuances here and there as though they were speaking to a child or granddaughter.
"If so, you can dip it in the tteokbokki broth and eat it. Here, like this."
Fedora soaked a halved seaweed roll tempura in the tteokbokki broth and fed the cardinals one by one.
Even though they said they were full, the way they happily ate the tempura she gave them looked just like family.
"So that's how it is. But wait a moment—there's tteokbokki broth on your face."
"Yes? Which side?"
"Hold still."
The cardinal seated to Fedora's left personally wiped the tteokbokki broth from Fedora's left cheek with a roll of tissue.
"It looks nice. Like a family."
Smiling softly, Jinseo mixed coffee mix into paper cups and handed one to each of the cardinals.
"Everyone here, and everyone in the Order as well, is my family. And…"
Fedora stared at a large tree across from the food truck.
Then someone who had been hiding behind the tree hurriedly left and disappeared between the buildings.
"Is there someone you know over there?"
"Well…"
At Jinseo's words, Fedora neither confirmed nor denied it. She only gave a bitter smile and put tteokbokki into her mouth.
After talking with Fedora for a while at the food truck's counter seats, the cardinals each returned to their lodgings.
With freshly steamed, piping-hot hoppang in one hand, and a carton of milk in the other.
After receiving permission to enter the Holy Land, Jinseo planned to look around inside under Fedora's guidance.
However, because rumors about the food truck had spread, the moment Jinseo entered the Holy Land, he was surrounded by clergy who wanted bunsik, and he had to start selling again.
Jinseo parked the food truck a little away from the Grand Cathedral in the center of the Holy Land and kept making bunsik, and only when it became prayer time after dinner did he finally get a moment to breathe.
Because the inside of the food truck was more comfortable than the lodgings, he went into the Additional Trailer to catch some sleep, but he couldn't rest for long.
People who had heard late that the food truck had come to the Holy Land crowded in around it.
After getting up again, Jinseo didn't get irritated even once and focused solely on serving bunsik.
I've owed the Order a lot, so I should repay them like this. And it's not even harder than I expected.
Maybe because he had made countless bunsik in the land packed with big eaters—the Girvante Kingdom—his skills had improved compared to before.
Jinseo could handle the clergy's pouring orders smoothly even by himself.
And this is the first place that has wanted bunsik this desperately, so I should work more.
Inside the Holy Land's solemn atmosphere, there didn't seem to be much to enjoy, and for clergy who lived in such a place day after day, bunsik appearing anew was like unexpected happiness itself.
After savoring the joy of eating delicious food for the first time in a long while, the clergy traced the sign of the cross along with words of blessing.
Even if Jinseo felt it was more than he could handle, he couldn't bring himself to say he wanted to rest.
In the end, the long line that had stretched out in front of the food truck for bunsik only disappeared around midnight, and no more customers came looking.
"Would you like more fish cake?"
"Yes! Please!"
"Me too!"
Jinseo poured warm Fish Cake Soup into paper cups and handed them to the soldiers standing guard to protect the food truck.
"I'm sorry it feels like you're suffering because of me."
"Not at all. It's an honor to escort Lee Jinseo, the owner of the sacred relic."
"And we get to eat bunsik from time to time, too."
Even though Jinseo told them again that an escort wasn't necessary, the Order assigned soldiers to guard the food truck, saying it was for him as he had come to the Holy Land from far away.
Then they could've just made it easy and allowed me inside the Holy Land in the first place… Well, they must've had their own reasons.
Jinseo didn't want to get involved in the Order's complicated internal affairs, and he didn't want to know about them either, so he let the doubt pass.
"It'll be midnight soon. I'll go to sleep first. Will you keep standing guard here?"
"We're scheduled to rotate in an hour."
"Then should I make you a late-night snack? I'll prepare plenty so the ones rotating in can eat too."
Jinseo poured Fish Cake Soup into a plastic bottle and began rolling gimbap.
The soldiers were happy they would get to eat bunsik again, and behind them, someone walked over.
"Everyone, you've worked hard."
At the young woman's voice, the soldiers quickly turned around, straightened their backs, and snapped to attention.
At a glance, her outfit looked the same as the church knights', but the armor's design was subtly different.
"I'd like to speak with the brother here, so I'd appreciate it if you could step aside for a moment."
"Yes! Understood!"
After saluting her, the soldiers quickly moved off to a distant spot.
Judging by this, she seems like someone high-ranking. The captain of the church knights?
Not knowing much about the Heirem Order's positions, Jinseo only guessed she must be important and cautiously observed her.
Her tone was gentle, but she carried a heavier presence than the church knights, and just looking at her made Jinseo tense up.
"They're all foods I've never seen before. Ah, you call them bunsik here, right?"
"Yes, that's right."
"There are so many kinds that I'm torn over what to choose."
Seated at the counter, she set the long hammer she had been carrying on her back down on the ground and swept her eyes over the menu board.
As Jinseo bowed his head while pouring Fish Cake Soup into a paper cup, the edge of his vision caught the thick book at her waist.
Unusually, the border of its cover was wrapped in metal, and it was connected to her waist with a thin metal chain.
"Are you curious about me?"
"Huh? Ah… I'm sorry. I guessed you were someone important, but I don't really know much about the Order."
"My introduction was late. I am that One's unworthy servant, and the one who punishes those who defile that One's name—Inquisitor Veronica."
"What?"
Jinseo flinched when Veronica introduced herself as an inquisitor.
"Do not be afraid. I have no authority to impose any punishment on someone who is not a believer, so rest assured."
"Ah… is that so?"
The inquisitors Jinseo knew of were an image drenched in blood—fanaticism as a given, throwing around the word "heresy" at will.
But unlike that image, she only looked like a young woman with a neat appearance, her shoulder-length hair tied back.
Of course, the massive hammer she had brought was enough to show she was no ordinary person, so Jinseo treated her with caution.
"Lee Jinseo, even though it's late, may I order bunsik?"
"Yes, of course."
"Then please give me the special tteokbokki that my older sister ate."
"Older sister?"
"Cardinal Fedora and I used to be like sisters—older and younger. A long time ago, though."
"I see."
Jinseo was curious what kind of relationship Veronica had with Fedora, but when he saw her clamp her lips shut without saying anything more, he quietly prepared the special tteokbokki.
In the meantime, Veronica opened the book at her waist and whispered the contents written inside.
"It's ready. Ah, I couldn't tell you in advance, but the special tteokbokki is significantly spicier than the regular tteokbokki."
"Yes, I knew before coming. They say even regular tteokbokki is quite spicy, right?"
Veronica, who had confidently challenged the special tteokbokki from the start, poked the tteokbokki—covered in a dark red sauce—with her fork.
Then, without hesitation, she put it into her mouth and chewed.
"This is… strong."
Veronica set down her fork, bit her lower lip hard, and drew her brows together.
"My older sister said she eats this at least once a week, right?"
"Yes. If it's too hard, drinking the CoolXse that comes with it will make your mouth feel much better."
"No. I can't drink it yet. If it's pain my older sister overcame… then I must endure this pain, too."
Veronica picked up her fork again and put the special tteokbokki into her mouth one bite at a time.
As time passed, her face grew redder and redder, and the tendons in her right hand gripping the fork stood out.
But she didn't yield to the pain in her mouth, and she finished everything—not just the rice cakes, but the fish cake and eggs as well.
Fwoosh.
Bright light burst out around the once-dark area near the food truck, startling the soldiers in the distance.
"With this level of pain… it's bearable, more or less."
Veronica gargled with the CoolXse in a paper cup, then gulped it down.
"Are you all right?"
"Yes. The drink I just had cleans the pain in my mouth away completely. Still… this is truly astonishing. I never imagined I would bestow a blessing in this way."
Wiping the fine sweat beading on her forehead with a roll of tissue, Veronica couldn't take her eyes off the dark red tteokbokki broth left on the plate.
"It's a structure where you bestow pain through tteokbokki's spiciness, and then savor a joy greater than the pain through CoolXse's sweetness. Not only does it taste good, it even has the effect of elevating one's holy power by enduring pain… astonishing. May I have one more cup?"
After drinking another cup of CoolXse, Veronica swept her eyes through the food truck's kitchen with a peaceful face.
"Now I understand why my older sister designated the food truck as a sacred relic. I also understand why she brought you, a non-believer, all the way to the Holy Land."
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