Chapter 132: Since There Are So Many Festivals, Let's Combine Them (1) On the day Falstead Castle's autumn festival began, a massive crowd gathered on the open ground between Falstead Castle and Dwarf Town, forming a long, packed line.
Carriages carrying people lined the area, and even those who walked from far away joined in, making it so crowded there was barely space to step.
"This side is the entrance into Falstead Castle, and the opposite side is the entrance into Dwarf Town! The beer party will be held in Dwarf Town, so don't get confused!"
At the guard's shout from the entrance, people heading the wrong way turned back in clusters.
"We're opening the gates!"
Kreeeak.
The moment the gates to the two different zones opened, the crowd split in two and streamed into Falstead Castle and Dwarf Town.
Structures that showcased dwarven craftsmanship filled the streets, and banners welcoming tourists fluttered in the wind.
Everything in sight drew attention, but what the tourists wanted most at that moment was only one thing.
Bunsik from the Food Truck to fill their stomachs after arriving early and skipping breakfast.
"Oh, there it is!"
When someone spotted the Food Truck and shouted, tourists surged forward.
"Huh? It's here."
"It's over there too. Wasn't there only one?"
When the sacred relic that was supposed to exist as a single unit appeared more than once—up to three—people froze in confusion.
But the confusion lasted only a moment. As soon as the smell of bunsik drifted from the kitchens where cooks worked busily, the tourists scattered toward their true goal.
The shops mistaken for the Food Truck were bunsik wagons originally created by Marquess Horus to compete with it.
Jinseo hired not only cooks who once worked under Marquess Horus, but also technicians and mages. Only now, months later, did the results show.
They remodeled the exterior of the existing bunsik wagons to resemble the Food Truck as closely as possible, and they improved the cooking environment repeatedly.
As a result, aside from lacking the sacred emblem permitted only to the real Food Truck, it was difficult to find any visible difference.
"Dear guests! We sincerely welcome you to the autumn festival! First, please take this!"
Clerks wiping tables greeted customers warmly and handed out flyers.
The flyers listed the scheduled events by time slot, and on the back was a map of Falstead Castle.
"Let's see… a tteokbokki-only shop? So they only sell tteokbokki?"
"It says that place over there specializes in gimbap."
"The shop in the east sells omurice… Ah, and the shop farther up only sells ramyeon. Still, they sell different kinds of ramyeon, so choosing will be fun."
"Looks like each shop sells only one bunsik item. Then where do we get drinks…?"
"Thank goodness! It says palate-cleansing fish cake broth and udon broth are handed out everywhere!"
After confirming which bunsik wagon sold what and where, the tourists dispersed in all directions.
The bunsik wagons marked on the map were evenly distributed throughout Falstead Castle.
Because of that, tourists roamed the entire castle to taste different bunsik items, and along the way, they watched or joined various events.
With most of the cooks from bunsik street mobilized to the wagons inside Falstead Castle, the original bunsik street transformed into an area selling beer and side dishes.
Bunsik street filled with customers who came to taste dwarven beer, and many chose to explore Dwarf Town first before returning later.
For those visitors, a "beer wagon" appeared—one that went directly to them.
"Khh… so this is dwarven beer! I'm really glad I came to drink it!"
"So this is the Half-and-Half MuMani I've only heard about. It goes perfectly with beer."
"The sausage flavor, made by dwarves themselves, is excellent too. I should buy some to take back."
Tables and chairs set throughout the streets filled with tourists enjoying beer and side dishes.
Starting this year, Dwarf Town's festival concept was "Oktoberfest."
Naturally, the star was dwarven beer.
After that came Half-and-Half MuMani, and then various side dishes such as sausage and pizza.
"Who ordered beer? Hands up!"
"If you order together with the dried-snack assortment set, you can enjoy beer and side dishes at a cheaper price! Order now!"
Human, dwarf, and centaur women dressed in traditional Oktoberfest outfits carried brimming beer mugs without rest.
The dwarf women recently arrived from the Ashred Continent suited the outfits particularly well.
Even while carrying multiple full mugs, they moved effortlessly.
"Dear guests! We're moving to the next zone! Mercenaries will collect empty mugs, so please leave them on the tables! You may take them, but they're heavy!"
"Oh, and if you bring an empty beer mug to bunsik street, you can get additional beer at a lower price! Please remember!"
"Did we miss anything? Everyone, hop on!"
After finishing sales, the clerks climbed onto the beer wagon.
The beer wagon—created by combining two bunsik wagons—rolled down the road to cheers.
Though beer and side dishes were already sold on bunsik street, the beer wagon's concept of bringing beer directly to roaming tourists exceeded expectations.
Meanwhile, in the plaza near the dwarf embassy, a new competition was about to begin.
"Searching for the Strongest Bunsik Glutton!"
Under the bold banner, long tables stood ready, and participants sat in a row with tense expressions.
As the contest neared its start, tourists enjoying beer nearby gathered at the venue.
"I came to taste bunsik, but I didn't expect a contest like this."
"They say centaurs eat a lot. Should we bet on them?"
"I used to eat a lot in my youth, but not anymore. I'll just watch."
They placed bets while holding oversized beer mugs.
Still, no one denied that the burly man at the far left seemed the strongest candidate.
Craid, known as Girvante's hero and a lone swordsman.
Today, however, he sat not as a hero, nor as a swordsman, but as a solitary big eater, arms crossed, imagining the bunsik to come.
"Aston! We're out of mustard sauce!"
"Here it is! We still have sausages, right?"
"Yes! Should we slice more buns in advance?"
Inside the Food Truck kitchen, Aston and Jason worked frantically preparing the contest dishes.
Unlike usual, curtains concealed the cooking area.
Prince Charles and Princess Angelica sat at the counter enjoying snacks while Jinseo stepped forward to address the crowd.
"Before we begin Searching for the Strongest Bunsik Glutton… there's something I'd like to ask. Please focus on the large TV."
He played a mukbang video of someone eating a hot dog in an appetizing, normal way.
Then he showed footage of a hot dog eating contest overseas.
"Wait, does it even taste good eaten like that?"
"That looks disrespectful to the food."
The audience frowned at the sight of soaking buns in water and stuffing them down.
"If you eat bunsik I make in private however you like, that's your choice. I don't intend to force a method. But in this contest, please do not eat by shoving food down without tasting it."
The participants nodded.
"I'm not asking you to eat unnecessarily slowly either. You understand."
"But that dish earlier… I've never seen it."
Jinseo smiled faintly.
"It's one of the Food Truck's new menu items. A hot dog."
"But doesn't the Food Truck already sell hot dogs?"
"Strictly speaking, what we sold before is a corn dog. What you saw is a true hot dog. In Korea, most people call corn dogs 'hot dogs,' so to avoid confusion, I'll call this an American-style hot dog."
He pulled back the kitchen curtains.
"And this is the first event of the glutton contest."
Dwarven sausages sizzled over charcoal.
Long buns lay split open.
Finely chopped pickles and cabbage, mustard sauce, and ketchup waited nearby.
The participants' stomachs growled.
"All right, begin!"
Mercenaries distributed the American-style hot dogs quickly.
The challenge: eat ten within the time limit, with a 1.5-liter bottle of cola provided.
"Wow… I like this more than regular hot dogs."
Some participants became absorbed in the taste.
Craid finished his ten as if inhaling them. Others followed, and qualifiers began emerging.
"Something this delicious… and they soak the bun in water? I don't understand."
"Anyway, we don't need to compete now. Let's eat slowly."
Out of fifty participants, twenty-five advanced.
The eliminated half moved to empty tables and savored their remaining hot dogs while waiting for the next dish.
"For the second event, we'll go with this."
The host spun a circular wheel.
"The second event is… gimbap! After tteokbokki–tempura–sundae, the foundation of bunsik, it's another beloved item. Easy to carry, easy to eat—even I eat it often while guiding. That bunsik is today's matchup!"
Carefully rolled gimbap stacked in front of the participants, accompanied by fish cake broth and udon broth.
Once again, Craid displayed overwhelming appetite, finishing ten rolls first, then crossing his arms and waiting in silence for the other qualifiers to finish.
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