Chapter 192: The Adolescent Dark Dragon (5) "The Holy Land?"
At Fedora's sudden claim that they had been on their way to the Holy Land, Lee Jinseo tilted his head in confusion.
"Ah… I see."
Then he remembered the side effect of the "Essence of Beer" he had made her take to save her, and he understood why she was saying that.
To deal with the situation, Lee Jinseo decided to first figure out exactly how far Fedora's memories went.
"Your Eminence, you know who I am, right?"
"You're Jinseo-nim, aren't you? Ah, goodness!"
Fedora, who had been lying on the sofa the whole time, hurriedly got up and straightened her posture properly.
"I apologize. I must have been so tired that I didn't realize I was just lying there the entire time."
"It's fine. But Your Eminence, this might sound strange, but I'd like you to explain what happened as you came here with me."
"What? I don't understand what you mean..."
"You might be thinking, 'What is he talking about all of a sudden?' but please follow what I'm asking for now. I'm asking you."
When Lee Jinseo put on the most serious expression he had shown yet, Fedora sank into thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Alright."
"Before that, just a moment."
Lee Jinseo went back to the kitchen and returned with coffee for himself and Fedora, along with individually wrapped cookies.
Even though she looked perfectly fine now, just a short while ago she had been attacked by a dragon and hovered on the edge of death, so she might have internal injuries that weren't visible. Creating a comfortable atmosphere without burdening her came first.
"Please start with what happened this morning."
"This morning… I ate the street toast and strawberry milk you made for me, and after that..."
Fedora took small sips of the coffee Lee Jinseo brought and began calmly explaining what she had experienced that day, by her standards.
Listening, Lee Jinseo compared her account against his own memories, and they talked like that for nearly thirty minutes.
As a result, Lee Jinseo confirmed that Fedora remembered only up to the day she left Selpier Castle, the capital of the Girvante Kingdom, and set out for the Holy Land.
So in exchange for drinking the Essence of Beer, she lost her memories up to about half a year ago. But seriously… wasn't this exactly like getting blackout drunk and losing your memory?
Lee Jinseo felt grateful to the Essence of Beer for saving her, yet at the same time he felt dumbfounded.
From the start, the idea that someone who nearly died could come back to life just by consuming something called the Essence of Beer was hard to accept.
But items from the other world weren't things he could understand with common sense here, so Lee Jinseo let it go.
Either way, thank god her entire memory didn't get wiped. And they said the side effect is temporary, so she'd probably recover her memories soon. Still… it was a relief. If AI hadn't carried out spatial transfer, ugh...
Lee Jinseo frowned as he recalled the moment Dark Dragon Evelyn's breath swallowed the food truck.
Meanwhile, after finishing her story, Fedora ate Nuxettine—famous for its crisp texture—while looking around the room.
"Then is this your home, Jinseo-nim?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Then I came to Korea, correct? Yes?"
"Huh? Ah, yes."
The moment she heard the answer "Korea," Fedora's eyes sparkled and she smiled.
Whenever Julien talked about the food he ate in Korea, she had always sounded envious and subtly showed that she wanted to go, so she had finally gotten her wish.
"First, I should contact the Holy Land and tell them I'll arrive later than planned—haaam..."
Even as she spoke, Fedora kept dozing off, then covered her mouth with her hand and let out a long yawn.
"You must be very tired."
"I slept well earlier, but for some reason I keep getting sleepy."
"Sleep in my room for now. Before that, just a moment."
Lee Jinseo went into the walk-in closet, brought out comfortable workout clothes and pajamas, and handed them to Fedora.
"Aren't you going to sleep, Jinseo-nim?"
"I still have things to do."
"Then I'll sleep first. Haaam..."
When Fedora yawned long and closed the door, Lee Jinseo sat on the sofa and stared up at the ceiling.
What do I do from here....
Propping his chin on his left hand, Lee Jinseo let out a sigh.
Even if he stayed in Korea, Fedora wasn't from here, so he had to send her back to the Francia Continent no matter what.
The problem was that he had no idea when spatial transfer would become possible again. There was nothing he could do right now except wait endlessly.
"Haa..."
Owl, who had been flying around the room, heard Lee Jinseo sighing over and over, quietly perched on the dining table and watched him. Nero sat on the glass table in a loaf position and stared up at Lee Jinseo.
"Nero. What do you think I should do?"
"…Can you hear me? I'm asking if you can hear me."
"Huh?"
When a human voice suddenly came out of Nero's mouth, Lee Jinseo doubted his ears.
"Jinseo? You're alive? Are you alive?! If you can hear me, answer me!"
"Charlotte-nim?"
"Jinseo? That's you, right? Can you hear me?"
"Yes, that's right. Cardinal Fedora is here with me too."
"You aren't hurt, are you? What happened? You vanished without leaving even a trace of mana, so I thought—maybe—khhk...."
"P-please calm down first. Both the Cardinal and I are safe, so you don't have to worry."
Hearing Charlotte's trembling, teary voice through Nero's mouth, Lee Jinseo broke into a cold sweat and panicked.
"S-so, what happened was..."
Trying to calm Charlotte down, Lee Jinseo explained everything.
He told her they used spatial transfer to Korea to evade Dark Dragon Evelyn's breath, that he treated the severely injured Cardinal Fedora by making her consume the Essence of Beer, and that the food truck was damaged, so they couldn't return to the Francia Continent for the time being.
"I see. Teleporting to Korea in that split second… that 'food truck' really is something amazing, isn't it?"
"But how can I talk to you, Charlotte-nim?"
"It's because of the necklaces hanging on Nero and Owl's necks. I added a function like that before, but I forgot about it since I never used it."
"Ah, I see."
Only then did Lee Jinseo notice the light coming from Nero's necklace and nodded.
"Veronica has been very worried about Fedora."
"Lady Veronica? When did she come?"
"She rushed to Falstead Castle this morning. She's right next to me right now, and she's overjoyed after hearing you. Also, I guess Korea is a completely different other world from here. No wonder the bunsik you make—and Korean culture in general—felt so different from this place."
As he explained why he couldn't return to the Francia Continent for the time being even though he ended up in Korea, Lee Jinseo had to confess the truth he had been hiding from everyone.
"I'm sorry for hiding it all this time, even if it wasn't intentional."
"No. That's not something you can casually tell others. Anyway, the point is you don't know when you'll be able to come back, right?"
"Yes."
"Then until the food truck is fully repaired, just rest properly in Korea."
"Huh? Rest properly?"
"You've been making bunsik nonstop on the Francia Continent and taking care of everyone else—you haven't really rested, have you? Think of it as finally taking a real vacation, and take it easy."
"Still, things over there must be chaotic. How can I be at ease all by myself...."
"Even if you worry, there's nothing you can do about the situation from where you are."
"That's true. But I can't help worrying anyway."
Just as Charlotte said, Lee Jinseo, who was currently in Korea, could do nothing at all for the Francia Continent, which had fallen into confusion.
Even so, he wasn't in a position to answer easily that he would rest.
"And don't worry. We put out the immediate fire first. I sealed that damn niece again. I did it in a rush, so it'll come undone after three months, but you can come back before then, right?"
"I'll return as quickly as possible. I didn't come alone—Cardinal Fedora came too, so we have to go back as soon as we can."
"And don't tell her about what's happening here. She already lost her memories, so there's no need to make her head even more complicated, right? For you or her, worrying about things here won't change anything, so just enjoy your vacation with an easy mind. Also… tsk… I'm jealous, but… huh… what's this?"
A moment later, crackling static mixed into Charlotte's voice, and the necklace around Nero's neck began blinking.
"Ah, we can't keep this up for long. Mana is being consumed much faster than I expected. It might be because it's a different world, but maybe Korea is a place with very thin mana? Either way, if we drag this out, that cute cat could break, so I'll contact you again later."
As Charlotte finished speaking, Nero—who had been relaying her words—slowly closed his eyes, lay down to the side, and fell fast asleep.
Even when Owl, watching from a distance, poked him with a wing, Nero didn't react at all.
"Whew… at least we were able to make contact, so that's something."
Letting out a sigh of relief, Lee Jinseo leaned back against the sofa.
Since nothing would be solved no matter how much he worried, Lee Jinseo decided to rest properly in Korea, just as Charlotte said.
But it was impossible to easily shake off the worry that had settled in his heart.
"Easy to say, but still...."
"Jinseo-nim's bed was so soft! Thanks to that, I slept so well!"
The door flew open, and Fedora, dressed in workout clothes, hurriedly ran to Lee Jinseo.
"It hasn't even been an hour yet—are you already awake?"
"This is the first time I've ever slept this well!"
Grrrkk.
"Ah, this is… I absolutely, absolutely did not wake up because I was hungry."
When Fedora stiffened her face and shook her head, Lee Jinseo smiled faintly and walked to the kitchen.
"Since I'm a bit hungry too, should we eat first?"
Lee Jinseo opened the fridge, but since he hadn't gone grocery shopping, there were barely any ingredients.
"Let's see, right now it's… not that late."
He glanced at the clock on the wall.
The time was 7 p.m.
It wasn't too late to order delivery, so Lee Jinseo picked up his smartphone.
"Since you came to Korea, you should try delivery food, right?"
"Huh?"
"…So in here, it'll be a problem if you act the way you did on the Francia Continent."
Slurp.
"When you go outside, you should go out with me."
Slurp.
"And if you need anything, tell me anytime."
Slurp, slurp.
Lee Jinseo explained the precautions she needed to follow while living in Korea, but Fedora—sitting across from him and inhaling jjajangmyeon like her life depended on it—didn't hear a single word.
She's really enjoying it.
In the end, Lee Jinseo stopped talking and silently watched Fedora, whose mouth area had turned completely black with jjajang sauce.
Just watching her eat made him feel full—she ate jjajangmyeon without pause, again and again.
After finishing all the noodles and eating the remaining toppings, Fedora noticed her gaze meeting Lee Jinseo's and froze on the spot.
"D-did I only eat too mindlessly?"
"Is jjajangmyeon that good?"
"I've watched actors eat it in dramas so many times, so I always wanted to try it. But now that I've actually eaten it, this is beyond imagination! It's so delicious!"
"But it doesn't feel completely unfamiliar, right? It should be similar to one of the ramens you tried before."
"W-what was the name again? Jja… something."
"Jjapagetti."
"Yes! It's similar… but different! And it's even better! Anyway, it's delicious!"
A food you can enjoy regardless of nationality once you get past the intimidating first impression from the sauce's distinctive black color—jjajangmyeon.
Lee Jinseo chose jjajangmyeon as the first delivery food because it also gets a good reaction from foreigners, and not only Fedora but the two companions also worked hard "slurping" down jjajangmyeon.
They ate so enthusiastically that Nero and Owl even got into a fierce tug-of-war over a single bowl.
The two of them strained not to let go of the noodles clenched in their mouths, and jjajang sauce smeared everywhere, turning the newspaper Lee Jinseo had spread on the floor—anticipating this—into a mess.
"Nero, Owl. I still have mine left, so you don't have to fight like that."
Lee Jinseo placed his half-eaten jjajangmyeon between the two of them, who were still bickering.
Then he picked up his smartphone and pressed the call button.
A task came to mind—something he needed to handle first while Fedora stayed in Korea.
"Jeongguk, it's been a while. I want to ask you a favor—would that be okay?"
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