Chapter 161: Who Will Be the Next Pope? (8) The miraculous recovery of the current Pope, Karl X, who had been suffering from a grave illness.
Fedora's internal designation as the next Pope based on the merits she had accumulated thus far.
The designation of the special tteokbokki as a sacred meal, and the establishment of the food truck's third branch.
Contrary to his original plan of merely selling bunsik at the Holy Land, Jinseo found himself handling one major matter after another. After completing all fifteen days of scheduled duties, he finally prepared to leave the Holy Land.
Everyone who had tasted his bunsik there came out to see him off, regretting his departure.
Each of them carried a small snack as they entered the Grand Cathedral to attend the Mass personally officiated by Karl X, praying for Jinseo's safe return and blessings upon his future.
Jinseo seated Fedora in the passenger seat and slowly drove the food truck from the cathedral entrance toward the Holy Land's outer gate.
Veronica, the Holy Land's chefs who had learned bunsik from Jinseo, and Marco—who had been at Selphier Castle until just yesterday—followed him all the way to the gate.
"Marco, I leave it in your hands."
"Please entrust it to me. I will do my utmost to create excellent bunsik under the name of the food truck."
Marco, who had now taken on one of the most important roles among the food truck's supporters, answered confidently.
Although the conversion of one building within the Holy Land into a food truck branch had been completed, someone still needed to remain behind for a while to continue guiding the Holy Land's chefs after Jinseo's departure.
Using Owl's delivery ability, Jinseo contacted Marco and asked him to come to the Holy Land as soon as possible. Thanks to Julien's teleportation magic from Selphier Castle, Marco arrived at the Holy Land the day before Jinseo left.
"Even now, I still can't quite believe it. To think I would come to the Holy Land and oversee the chefs here—I never imagined it. Ever since I met you, Jinseo, each day has felt rewarding."
Jinseo's first meeting with Marco had not been particularly pleasant from his own perspective.
Still, now that the outcome benefited them both, Jinseo could smile and listen without dwelling on the past.
"Every time I cook, I'm reminded how grateful I am to you. Thanks to you and to bunsik, I've begun a second life as a chef."
Marco smiled as he gazed toward the Grand Cathedral at the end of the wide central boulevard.
"Marco, how is the Selphier Castle branch?"
"Thanks to the chefs who came with you, business is running smoothly without any major issues. It's steady enough that I can leave for a while. Ah, by the way—when training the chefs here, is there anything I should pay special attention to?"
"Sanitation is the most urgent matter."
"As expected."
"To improve that, first…"
Jinseo began explaining in detail the methods he had once used to instill proper hygiene awareness in Jason.
Meanwhile, Fedora stepped out of the passenger seat and clasped both of Veronica's hands, exchanging farewells.
"So we part again."
"You'll be staying at Kaysus Cathedral, right? I'll send letters from time to time."
"You'll be leaving the Holy Land soon as well, won't you? When you write, be sure to tell me where you are. I'll ask Owl to deliver my reply."
Even after finishing their farewells, Fedora and Veronica remained standing face to face, unable to let go of each other's hands.
"Your Eminence, it's about time to depart…"
"Yes, just a moment. Veronica, unless something special arises, I'll be at Kaysus Cathedral. Come visit whenever you like. There are still so many kinds of bunsik we haven't eaten together. Let's meet again and finish them."
"Yes. Until we meet again, Sister."
Reluctantly, Fedora climbed back into the passenger seat. After finishing his conversation with Marco, Jinseo entered the driver's seat.
"Jinseo, please take good care of my sister."
"Yes, I will."
"Jinseo, you said you'd teach us how to make kimchi at the beginning of next year, didn't you? I'm looking forward to it."
"Ah, that's right. I almost forgot. Then I'll see you again at that time."
Flash.
An intense light burst out around the food truck, flooding everyone's vision in white.
Marco stood silently for a long moment, staring at the spot where the food truck had been.
Yes. Jinseo entrusted this to me. I must carry it out properly. It's also the way I can repay the debt I owe him.
"Now then, everyone—you haven't forgotten the instructions I gave yesterday, have you?"
Marco turned toward the Holy Land's chefs who had come to see Jinseo off and slipped on the white cotton gloves that Jinseo and Jason often wore.
The chefs instinctively flinched, breaking into cold sweat.
"Jinseo emphasized this to me repeatedly. Even if cooking skills are lacking, they can be improved with effort. But hygiene awareness tends to grow lax over time… Therefore, today we'll inspect every corner of the branch even more thoroughly than before."
"We're finally back."
After teleporting to the entrance of Dwarf Town, Jinseo stepped down from the food truck and looked around.
Snow had fallen throughout the previous day, blanketing the entire town in white. As Nero passed over the snowfield, a long trail of cat paw prints formed behind him.
"Oh, but…"
Jinseo looked up at the tree lights decorating the entrance to Dwarf Town, puzzled.
"Your Eminence, it looks like the Feast of Nativity period has already begun here. It wasn't like that in the Holy Land. Is that normal?"
"Oh dear, did I not explain that earlier? In the Holy Land, the Feast of Nativity is observed for only a week, unlike other regions. I completely forgot."
"That makes sense. Time passed so frantically. In any case, it seems we'll be busy again preparing for the festival."
After traveling throughout the Girvante Kingdom and even visiting the Holy Land, Jinseo had remained on the Francia Continent for quite some time. He had planned to spend a while resting in Korea.
However, the moment he learned that the Feast of Nativity had begun, he changed his plans and fell into thought about what new bunsik or dishes to present this season.
If I had talent in baking, I would've tried making a Bûche de Noël… but I don't, so that's out. Maybe I should choose something from street food instead?
He paced in front of the food truck, deep in contemplation, while Fedora watched him quietly from the side—snacking one chip at a time from a can of cheese-flavored potato chips.
"Oh! The food truck has returned!"
"Hey! Jinseo! Long time no see!"
The dwarves who had been busily installing a Christmas tree across from the entrance rushed over the moment they recognized him.
Last year around this time, only Geshtain had worn the red-and-white Santa coat and hat. This year, every dwarf wore one.
"Hyung! You're back! Your Eminence! Have you both been well?"
"We truly missed you. It felt empty while you were gone."
The moment they heard Jinseo had returned, Jason and Aston hurried to the food truck to greet the pair warmly.
"Were there any problems while I was away?"
"No! We always kept your words in mind and took sanitation very seriously!"
"Thanks to Lord Paulo, everything proceeded smoothly. By the way, he seemed very curious about what new bunsik you'll introduce for this Feast of Nativity."
"I'll let you know once I decide. I see preparations were already well underway before I arrived."
"They say the Feast of Nativity is one of the most important events for humans, so the dwarf elders have been preparing with great enthusiasm."
Dwarf Town was filled with the spirit of Christmas.
For dwarves, who normally did not hold special year-end celebrations, the Feast of Nativity was their very first festival of this kind.
After hearing what Jinseo had presented during last year's season, the dwarf craftsmen poured their efforts into decorating the town even before his return.
Among all those enjoying the festival period the most were the centaurs from the Crudian Continent.
"Oh! Jinseo! And Cardinal Fedora! You're here!"
Angelica Crudian, princess of the centaurs, began galloping from afar the moment she spotted the food truck's arrival.
A sled trailed behind her across the snow, and decorative antlers adorned her head.
"I truly waited for your return. It is a joy to see you both."
"It's been a while, Your Highness. Even with this much snow, are you still making deliveries?"
"There are patches of ice here and there, but such risks must always be borne when running. Rather, racing across a white snowfield feels invigorating—I almost wish to run more."
"It doesn't snow on the Crudian Continent, does it?"
"That is correct. A few days ago, I witnessed snow falling from the sky for the first time and stood there in awe. By the time I regained my senses, the vast land had turned entirely white. Snow is delightful to behold, but as the weather grows colder, that becomes troublesome."
Having lived in a climate without even winter, the centaurs struggled to adapt to the cold of the Francia Continent.
"However, thanks to the clothes you gave us—and with Stella's adjustments—moving about poses no difficulty."
Angelica wore what was commonly called a "tteokbokki coat" over her upper body, and her four legs were protected from the cold by thick black tights that had been cut and fitted.
"Are your hooves all right?"
"Thanks to the horseshoes Lady Charlotte provided, there are no issues. But more importantly—curry! Give me curry! The curry made by the other chefs is good, but compared to yours, it still falls slightly short."
"Hahaha, of course."
Receiving a curry order the moment he returned, Jinseo smiled and stepped into the cooking area.
"Damn it, another wasted day?"
Jungkook sighed as he looked around the empty junkyard.
"I've been coming every day for a week… How is it possible I haven't seen him even once?"
Breathing out white vapor, Jungkook peered through the window of the residential container beside the junkyard.
He stood in a remote mountain junkyard. True to its name, piles of miscellaneous scrap filled the open yard. Yet not a single person—not even the seller of the food truck he was seeking—was in sight.
"It's not just anyone's request—it's Jinseo hyung's. I can't just half-ass this… What a pain."
At Jinseo's request—someone he had met through their senior-junior relationship in the military and come to regard as an older brother—Jungkook had come here to find the seller of the food truck.
On the first day, he waited about an hour for the junkyard owner before leaving.
For a week, he continued visiting in this manner. After the first day, he searched the surrounding forest to track the owner's whereabouts. Today, he waited more than half a day—but the result was the same.
"Ugh… it's freezing. Sorry, hyung, but I can't keep looking anymore."
After grumbling in the cold for a long while, Jungkook finally sighed and got into his parked sedan.
"This is really strange. I swear someone's here… tch."
Vroom.
As Jungkook's car crested the uphill road and began descending, the entire residential container shimmered as if heat haze rose from it.
Moments later, a white-haired old man who had been concealing himself appeared, stroking his full beard with his left hand as he stared in the direction Jungkook's car had gone.
"A human with quite sharp instincts. Though it seems he cannot sense mana…"
The old man took a large bite of the triangle gimbap he had bought from a convenience store.
"It's nearly been three years now. I wonder… if the food truck is being put to good use."
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Read 65 more chapters ahead on NovelDex!
https://noveldex.io/series/mythical-otherworld-food-truck
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━