Outing (2)
Outing (2)
The first rice cake shop I ever visited was a traditional Korean-style establishment.
The shop had wooden frames with walls finished in pure white hanji paper, and it sat among a sea of tile-roofed houses whose roofs were elegantly finished in blue-green tiles. Surprisingly, they had rented out an entire tile-roofed house for the shop.
Shocked by her absurd suggestion to go inside, I grabbed Baek A-rin's hand to stop her, but she dragged me in, insisting we were already here.
A female employee smiled at the two of us and told us this was quite a famous brand.
Now that I thought about it, it wasn't surprising. If they'd managed to secure a spot inside Siyoram's grounds and were allotted such a large property, they must be famous indeed.
'Even rice cake shops have brands.'
I felt a new sense of wonder. It might be an old-fashioned way of thinking, but to me, a rice cake shop was just a local mill.
"The interior is quite nice as well."
Baek A-rin, who had been carefully examining the exterior and interior on the way to our private booth, nodded approvingly.
"The floor material is so good you could just sit on your bare butt... but having one is better, so I'll use it."
She then brought back the luxurious purple cushion she'd temporarily set aside and planted her butt on it.
"After all, no matter how big your butt is, a soft cushion is more comfortable than the bare floor."
[Yes]
[Huh?]
[What?]
After seating Seo-yul on a cushion and replying reflexively, I felt something off.
"Yes? The butt, the butt."
Baek A-rin tilted her head as if wondering what I meant, and even patted her pelvic area with her palm.
"Especially during dungeon raids or expeditions. Unless it's a well-prepared base camp with a proper perimeter, you often have to sit and lie on hard ground for reconnaissance missions or expedition subjugations."
[Yeah, right?]
"Every time it happens, I'm reminded of how lucky I am to have a big butt. While others complain about their tailbone aching, my fat acts like a cushion, so I can at least tough it out."
Baek A-rin explained, flicking her fingers.
People might assume that as the Heir of the Azure Sea, she'd grown up pampered, but in truth Baek A-rin had been tagging along on expeditions with the adults of her family since she was little.
It was only natural she'd had such experiences.
"Of course, it's still less comfortable than a fluffy cushion."
As Baek A-rin grumbled at the end of her sentence, I inadvertently observed her lower body.
A waist as thin as an ant's, contrasted with widely set hips. Even through her sweatpants, her butt clearly had plenty of generous flesh—I didn't even need a closer look.
[Uh... maybe you're right...]
She definitely didn't seem like she'd hurt much sitting on the ground.
"Right?"
Baek A-rin grinned.
The tone had felt slightly indecent, which was why I'd questioned it, but upon further thought, it wasn't really a problematic comment.
I awkwardly replied and sat down on a cushion.
Soon, steaming rice cakes were served in several dishes, neatly arranged.
'So many kinds...'
I was a little taken aback by the unexpected number of varieties.
Duteop-tteok, Mangyeong-tteok, Messak-tteok... cakes with all sorts of names.
The employee even explained where each cake came from and what ingredients it was made with.
"Shall we eat, then?"
[Yes, thank you for the meal.]
There were so many that picking where to start was a dilemma, but for someone like me whose sense of taste and smell are broken, it didn't matter.
Texture was all that really counted anyway.
First, I selected several types of rice cake onto a small side plate and cut them into bite-sized pieces with scissors.
This was for Seo-yul.
In my mind, she was still a baby who needed a bottle, but in reality, she was a child who could handle chopsticks on her own and even chew meat.
Seo-yul stared intently at the plate of rice cake for a moment, then moved.
Her choice was sweet-potato rice cake.
"Nom."
Her mouth clamped shut. Then, as she chewed, her eyes grew wide.
[How is it? Is it good?]
"...Yes, it's good."
Seo-yul blinked, swallowed the bite, and answered. She'd liked the sweet-potato snack I made her last time too, so sweet-potato rice cake must suit her taste.
To begin with, Seo-yul barely ever refused food. She ate meat well, and fruit and vegetables without being picky.
Her one and only dislike was this:
Egg-type foods... meaning eggs.
There was a time when she was starting solids and I'd boiled an egg to give her just a bit of the yolk.
- "Waaaah!"
- [Seo-yul...?]
- "Don't want egg! Won't eat it!"
I witnessed Seo-yul throw the most epic tantrum imaginable.
That same Seo-yul, who was so gentle and good that even an angel would pale in comparison... threw herself flat on the floor and flailed her arms and legs in resistance, and I was genuinely shocked.
I couldn't understand why a child who happily ate any vegetable would have such a fit the moment she saw an egg.
Thinking maybe she just hated chicken eggs, I even tried showing her quail eggs, but that triggered a fit too.
Yet, on the other hand, she liked chicken meat...
It was an utterly baffling hatred of eggs.
Had she forgotten that she was born from an egg, like some great hero from a founding myth?
"Still..."
[Hm?]
"Still, the food you make is much better."
Just as I was recalling the past, Seo-yul, who had been chewing her rice cake, suddenly looked up at me and said it.
[Aha-ha]
[I'm so happy you say that!]
I felt a swell of emotion.
Whether Seo-yul actually found my cooking delicious or not wasn't important.
What mattered was the kind heart that would say such a sweet thing.
[Who told you to only say such pretty things? Hm?]
"Hee-hee! Daddy taught me!"
I spread my arms and hugged Seo-yul, who was sitting right next to me. She laughed brightly and nuzzled her cheek against mine.
.
.
.
After filling our stomachs reasonably, we walked around the Commercial District.
We were heading toward the facilities to buy materials, the main purpose of this outing, while also letting Seo-yul, who was still holding my hand tightly, see the outside world.
I also scanned the surroundings, rotating my observation.
[A lot of cadets came out today.]
My impression surfaced through the necklace.
It wasn't strange that many people were visiting the Commercial District, but what was unusual was how high the proportion of cadets was among today's visitors.
"It's because the Tower Entry just ended yesterday. Everyone probably ran out to relieve stress."
[Ah.]
After hearing Baek A-rin's explanation, I checked the observed information, and indeed, first- and second-years made up the most.
I'd been ejected on Thursday and thought nothing of it, but everyone else had exited on Friday night.
With a big schedule finished, they must have all dashed out with friends to have fun and play.
Come to think of it, Hong Yeon-hwa and Ellia, who said they had things to do, might also be out playing with other friends.
[...Baek A-rin, is it really okay for you to be with me?]
"Huh? Suddenly?"
[You're helping me instead of resting or hanging out with your friends...]
While other cadets were out relaxing and enjoying themselves, wasn't Baek A-rin wasting her time being dragged around by me and Seo-yul?
"Pft, but I'm resting and having fun right now, aren't I?"
[What?]
"We ate together, and now we're walking around holding hands like this... That's resting and playing, what else."
When the thought suddenly hit me and I asked, Baek A-rin shrugged as if wondering what I meant and shook the hand she was holding with mine.
[Uh... um...]
[Thank you for saying that.]
"I'm the one enjoying it, so no need for thanks."
At her beaming smile, I turned my face slightly away.
My chest felt strangely ticklish.
[Um... let's go buy the materials first.]
I massaged Seo-yul's hand—she was squeezing the stiff fingers of my prosthetic arm—and led the way toward the destination.
I ignored the chuckle coming from Baek A-rin behind me.
.
.
.
The Commercial District had plenty of convenience and entertainment facilities, but also many shops where you could buy and sell materials used for crafting activities like alchemy and metalsmithing.
I'd never set foot in one before, but today I did.
[Hmm...]
I stroked my chin for a moment and observed the merchandise on a nearby shelf.
I was on the second floor, the one dedicated to metalsmithing materials.
Because of that, most of the items on the shelves were ingots.
There were also tools including hammers, and all kinds of reagents used as catalysts were placed there as well.
"They've got everything you could need."
Baek A-rin stood beside me and looked around at the products.
She was right; they had everything.
And the quality was flawless.
As a shop approved by Siyoram, there were no shoddy or fraudulent goods anywhere.
Seo-yul, still holding my hand tightly, was also peeking here and there, examining things.
For now, I passed by the ingots. I'd already secured those main materials and could get them separately.
What I needed were the sub-materials, like the reagents.
As I approached the shelves where those were gathered, the employee who'd followed us from the entrance moved silently along with us.
All kinds of sub-materials nearly filled one entire wall.
There were medicinal herbs in their original state, finely ground sparkling powders, and liquids portioned into small glass bottles.
I checked the price tags attached to the shelves.
A single reagent no bigger than a finger. Yet its price began with a 7 and had multiple zeroes trailing behind it...
Even now, having gotten somewhat used to the world's price levels and with my bank account grown quite fat from various rewards and earnings, the amount left a sour taste.
Such products were displayed to the point of covering an entire wall.
I did some mental arithmetic.
The work I needed to do, the materials required, the extras I'd add after a moment's thought...
[Excuse me, employee?]
I finished my calculations. I called to the staff member standing behind me.
"Yes, is there something you need?"
The employee answered with a service smile.
I never thought I'd actually get to do this in real life.
With an awkward smile, I raised my hand and pointed to the leftmost shelf.
[From here...]
Then I swept my hand all the way to the rightmost shelf.
[To here, give me everything.]
"Pardon?"
A question mark appeared above the employee's head.
That reaction wasn't strange.
A single reagent alone had that kind of price tag; buying multiples was a burden most people couldn't afford.
But to ask for not just an armful but enough to fill one entire side of the building—that was an insane financial flex practically impossible for most.
Even for me, who'd earned rewards from the Association for resolving the Sipnaha and China incidents, plus other income, it was a bit of a burden.
But...
At Siyoram, a Special Admission Cadet is invincible...
I pulled out the card the Vice Headmaster had handed me last time.
That day, I purchased those products with a 30% discount plus an additional 65% discount.
My wallet got a little lighter.