Past Memories, New Memories
Past Memories, New Memories
"Because beef brisket is the greatest taste you've ever shown me."
A woman who calls the very first flavor I fed her the best.
Some might be touched, but my competitive fire was ignited.
I'll mercilessly crush that memory with a superior taste.
"I warn you. You will never be able to return to before you knew this taste."
"You said something similar before I ate the grilled chicken skewer."
"And could you go back to before you knew the taste of grilled chicken skewers?"
"...No, I couldn't."
"If grilled chicken skewers are a knight apprentice, then the perfected Samgyeopsal Lettuce Wrap is a Sword Master."
"I-it's that level?"
"Prepare yourself thoroughly."
I brought out the kerosene burner and two grill plates.
The knights got one plate per person, but Hildea would have to start with two plates for herself.
Fresh samgyeopsal—let's start light with 10kg.
Lettuce, perilla leaves, kimchi, white kimchi, garlic, onion, mushrooms, soybean sprouts, pickled chives, ssamjang, seasoned salt, perilla seed powder, sliced green onion salad, and more—I requested them all from the PX items.
And then....
【Samhae Gwiju (375ml)】
【Seoul Intangible Cultural Heritage Traditional Soju Premium Lineup】
【ABV: 71.2%】
【Budget: 300】
"Pi-Piel Major... what is that...?"
"It's liquor brewed from rice."
"Rice...! A crop I've only ever heard the name of."
In this medieval era, rye, oats, and sorghum are the mainstream.
Wheat receives the treatment of an emperor, but rice is treated like a barbarian tribe's crop from the frontier.
"This one bottle equals 300kg of flour."
"Heok! Th-that can't be!"
Hildea, who had been startled beyond belief, tilted her head and asked.
"Piel Major, then the Valentine 17-Year is...?"
"That would be 50kg of flour."
"A full sixfold difference."
"The throat burn will be that much fiercer as well."
I opened the windows of the official residence's reception room wide.
When I placed the samgyeopsal on the heated grill plate, it sizzled with a chiiik sound, cooking away.
Before I knew it, Hildea, who had seated herself on my left, couldn't tear her eyes away from the grill.
Every time I flipped the meat with the tongs, she let out exclamations of admiration, rejoicing like a young girl.
"Be careful not to burn your hair."
I poured the 71-proof Samhae Gwiju over the meat and lit it with a torch.
Hwareureuk!
A transparent red flame bloomed over the meat, and Hildea grabbed my arm tightly, clinging to it as she screamed.
"Piel Major! The meat is burning! Uwaaa! That precious meat!"
"This is a cooking method that eliminates gamey odors and deepens the aroma."
Though the real purpose is a performance to heighten the diner's anticipation.
Hildea, with her cheek pressed flat against my shoulder, stared transfixed at nothing but the grill.
It was almost done now.
"Please cup your hands together."
"Okay!"
Hildea pressed both palms together and held them out obediently.
I first laid down a lettuce leaf, then placed a piece of grilled samgyeopsal dipped in ssamjang on top.
I added a spoonful of instant rice heated with hot water.
Fresh garlic, grilled garlic, sliced green onion salad, grilled kimchi, grilled onion, grilled soybean sprouts, grilled pickled chives—I meticulously layered them all.
Like a girl receiving a gift, Hildea's eyes sparkled as she watched the Samgyeopsal Lettuce Wrap being completed within her two hands in a daze.
"Stacking food in layers like this—it's rather similar to the Marshall Burger."
"Now that's a fresh interpretation."
I poured the opened Samhae Gwiju into a glass.
Hildea looked at me with a pitiful, whimpering expression.
"Piel Major, I am currently holding the Samgyeopsal Lettuce Wrap with both hands...!"
"I'll feed it to you."
I brought the glass to Hildea's lips and tilted it slowly.
Hildea met my eyes, then parted her lips and swallowed the liquor.
Her slender, pale throat moved up and down as the alcohol traveled down to her stomach.
Hildea suddenly furrowed her brow.
"Ugh...!"
"It burns, doesn't it? Here, now eat."
***
The moment she swallowed the liquor Piel had held to her lips, Hildea felt a scorching sensation she had never experienced before.
An intense burning incomparable to the Valentine 17-Year rang through her throat with a tingling jolt.
"It burns, doesn't it? Here, now eat."
Hildea hurriedly shoved the lettuce wrap in her hands into her mouth.
The crisp texture of the green lettuce pierced through as lightly as a sheet of paper, and the savory meat aroma and chewy protein and fatty texture contained within spread mercilessly throughout her mouth.
A relentless storm of flavor, beyond compare to the grilled skewers.
The various grilled side vegetables, seasoned greens, and spices exquisitely cut through the greasiness of the fatty meat.
And the throat, already primed by the 71-proof rice soju, let the rich and savory lettuce wrap pass straight through in an instant.
A kaleidoscopic rush of sensations starting from the tongue and spreading throughout her entire body.
There had never been a moment when Hildea cursed her impoverished vocabulary as much as now.
"De-delicious! Why is this so delicious!"
"The Penal Unit ate a samgyeopsal dish without the lettuce and rice."
"Without lettuce and rice! Then that's not a Samgyeopsal Lettuce Wrap at all!"
"Indeed. Commander Hildea-nim, you are the first to ever eat it. Ah, and the Penal Unit drank a cheap 13-proof rice soju, not this 71-proof Samhae Gwiju."
"You've done something truly cruel!"
The melancholy she had felt upon seeing the Marshall Burgers stacked on the table gently melted away.
Hildea obediently held out both hands, and Piel carefully stacked another lettuce wrap upon them.
Piel filled the empty glass and once more personally poured the liquor past her lips, and she ate the lettuce wrap.
On the grill, the meat sizzled and cooked away.
Hildea, who had been clinging to his side, holding out both hands and receiving lettuce wraps, at some point naturally shifted to sit in front of Piel.
Leaning her back against Piel's chest, Hildea watched with happy eyes as a perilla leaf wrap was assembled in her respectfully cupped hands.
Once the wrap was complete, Piel's two hands poured liquor into the empty glass before her eyes, brought the glass to her lips to let the alcohol flow in, and then she gulped down the perilla leaf wrap....
At some point, thoroughly intoxicated, Hildea was lounging drowsily in Piel's embrace.
"Commander-nim, could you say that again?"
"...This is the best thing everrr...."
"I can't hear you. Again."
"Th-the Samgyeopsal Lettuce Wrap is indeed the greatest taste everrr...."
"I believe you've left something out?"
"B-beef brisket combat rations are trashhh...."
"How could long-term preserved food, designed to be eaten roughly in the field to conserve combat strength, possibly compare to a Samgyeopsal Lettuce Wrap meant to be enjoyed at a party?"
"O-of course, in terms of pure taste, it is vastly superior to beef brisket, but there is a specialness to the first experience...."
"Then shall I serve only Marshall Burgers instead of Samgyeopsal Lettuce Wraps from now on?"
"You are correct.... I was foolish.... Samgyeopsal Lettuce Wrap is unconditionally the best...."
Melting like ice cream on a midsummer day, Hildea filled her stomach to the brim with the lettuce wraps and traditional soju that Piel personally grilled, assembled, and poured for her.
***
Hildea had gotten considerably drunk.
And I got to hear how desperately Hildea had struggled to become a soldier befitting the Commander-in-Chief.
"The County of Balckenhardt was my first, largest, and most precious asset.... I wanted to protect everyone who followed me...."
That her rigid and solemn demeanor was a mask desperately maintained by a twenty-year-old maiden.
"But Piel... ever since you came, something goes awry. I get strange.... The dishes you feed me... they seem to make me lose myself more and more...."
"You're wrong, Commander Hildea-nim."
"Wrong? I am?"
Hildea was sitting sideways in my arms.
Thanks to that, even while wrapping ssam and feeding her drinks, I could meet her eyes.
Because she was too drunk to properly hold a ssam, at some point I had started wrapping them myself and putting them into her mouth.
I poured liquor into her mouth, waited for her to swallow, then put a ssam in and continued speaking.
"You're not losing yourself, you're finding your true self."
"Is thaaat so? This is... my true self...?"
"Far more than the image of you cutting open a wyvern's stomach to retrieve a swallowed subordinate's body, your current appearance suits you much better."
"Heehee...."
Hildea laughs with completely relaxed eyes.
"Piel, why aren't you drinking?"
"I am...."
"You drink too. Hurry up. It's unfair if I'm the only one drunk."
"It's fine. I'm really...."
"Drink, hurry! It's an order!"
She changed her tone.
The solemn Commander-in-Chief had vaporized somewhere, and before my eyes was an art school goddess excited at a freshman welcome party.
Since she's a Sword Master I should compare her to a phys ed goddess, but her looks were exactly close to an art school goddess anyway.
"Here, drink. This glass is Piel's!"
"Urk!"
Pretending to drink herself, Hildea suddenly pried my mouth open and poured it in.
In an instant, the drunk feeling surged up.
Since the world began to spin, I commend myself for at least turning off the burner first....
'Wow, what kind of one glass gets you 71-proof drunk scary strong like this?'
No, no, what am I even saying.
My sentences are all jumbled up.
Ah, what a relief.
Still, it's a good thing I made a ton of fried rice beforehand on one griddle.
Hildea, delighted, grins and shovels down fried rice.
"Piel, you eat too. You're hungry, right?"
"I'm fine, ooph!"
"Here, eat quickly."
Hildea kept spooning fried rice, one bite into my mouth, one bite into hers, back and forth.
Don't match my pace to your eating volume and speed, I'm telling you.
I'm just a mundane ordinary who can't use mana or anything...!
At some point, I lost consciousness and collapsed asleep.
And in my dream, I think I might have heard someone's tipsy voice....
「Piel... is it okay if I like you...? No, sorry... just forget it....」
I know it's a dream that will be completely erased once I sleep and wake up anyway.
***
"Aya-ya...."
I woke up suffering from a splitting headache.
Looking around, it was my room.
When I stepped out of the room, everything was spotless.
Not a trace of the frenzied samgyeopsal lettuce wrap party could be found.
The meat smell still swirling throughout the entire office made it clear that last night's party was no dream.
"Major Piel! You're awake now! Let's go, quickly!"
The door burst open and Hildea, in her dress uniform, entered with a bright smile and reached out her hand.
"Where are we going?"
"Where else? Your promotion ceremony, of course! Everyone is waiting! Let's go, quickly!"
Ah, right.
It was time to finally pin my precious lieutenant colonel rank insignia, delivered by the messenger who risked his life, onto my chest.
My head throbbed with a ringing sound as the memories from last night flashed by like a panorama.
A wicked smile spread across my face without me realizing.
"Commander Hildea-nim, so is beef brisket the best?"
Her flinching reaction was amusing.
Hildea, her face slightly reddened, spoke in a crawling voice.
"B, beef brisket cannot defeat samgyeopsal, let alone the Marshall Burger or the grilled chicken skewer... that is an indisputable fact...."
Strength suddenly returned to Hildea's expression.
"Ho, however, the fact that beef brisket is the ultimate memory does not change! No matter how delicious the samgyeopsal lettuce wrap is, that fact does not change!"
"In that case, I shall serve a full-course beef brisket meal at every meal starting today."
"N, no! Not that!"
"Do you dislike memories?"
"E, even so, a person cannot live on memories alone!"
After teasing her a reasonable amount, I followed Hildea to the promotion ceremony venue.
"Major Piel... when can we eat the samgyeopsal lettuce wrap again?"
"Since we decided to hold a samgyeopsal party with the Penal Unit once a week, it seems Commander Hildea-nim can attend then."
"Is that true? Understood! No matter what happens, I will most definitely attend that party!"
Since the traditional fine liquor is expensive, I'll only give it to Hildea.
***
After pinning the rank insignia to my chest, Hildea gave a small laugh and tapped my shoulder.
"Name and rank. Keep it short."
Thinking of the old days, I accidentally let out a chuckle.
Ah, who can beat a surprise attack like this?
But the difference from back then... none of my classmates showed any sign of holding back laughter.
My classmates, still stuck at the rank of Water Ensign, couldn't even breathe properly due to the atmosphere of the promotion ceremony teeming with senior officers like Rebecca.
"It seems our Supply Commander was quite tired from planning supplies all night. So let's finish quickly and go rest."
"Lieutenant Colonel Piel! Reporting my promotion!"
Thunderous applause swept through the auditorium as if to tear it down.
Both officers and soldiers alike clapped like seals, cheering passionately.
The burning cry was vividly felt in each and every gaze.
'Special meal! Special meal! Special meal!'
Dammit, the entire unit smelled the samgyeopsal.
But I have no intention of handing out samgyeopsal so easily.
If they want a special meal, they'll have to earn the corresponding merit.
"Lieutenant Colonel Piel, I look forward to working with you from now on."
"It is I who looks forward to working with you."
Instead of the smell of samgyeopsal, the familiar scent of shampoo wafted from Hildea's silver hair.
It was a cheap commercial product supplied from the PX goods, but Hildea was using it with great satisfaction.
I checked on the 202 members of the Luna Unit standing at attention to one side.
A direct unit that has everything, including life and death, subordinated to me, and moves solely for my sake.
'First, I'll switch their uniforms entirely to match US military standard. I'll instill a sense of shared identity that they are a personal troop unit thoroughly belonging to me as an individual, not part of the 3rd Army.'
While I was formulating future plans in my head, the alarm bell suddenly rang out noisily.
"Wyverns! Wyverns have appeared! At least ten of them!"
"Mortars! Bring the mortars!"
"This time we'll definitely succeed in shooting them down in midair!"
Even with the wyvern flock's surprise attack, no one was surprised. Instead, they excitedly rushed out as if an express delivery had arrived.
Hildea tapped my shoulder from the side.
"The atmosphere of the unit has changed so much. Hasn't it, Piel?"