The Blessings of Civilization and a Homemade Breakfast
I woke up feeling incredibly refreshed. Maybe it was because I’d slept in a proper bed. When I checked the time, it was already eight. Sleeping comfortably really does mean you need less rest. I’d gone to bed at two in the morning, so I’d only gotten about six hours, yet it felt far better than any night I’d spent in a tent out in the wild.
“As expected, people should live in civilization, not in the wild.”
Ever since becoming a Lord I’d usually rolled out of bed around lunchtime, so waking up this early felt like a first. Since I’d promised yesterday that I would cook for them myself, I got to work right away. Not that it was anything fancy—just the kind of simple meals I used to throw together when I lived alone.
“Awakened really do have it easy.”
There was no need to go shopping. I could just buy everything through the market in my status window. Sure, the prices were higher than at a regular supermarket, but the sheer convenience was worth it. Of course, that might have been easy for me to say since I had plenty of money.
Most low-ranking Awakened hated running gates and dungeons, so they made a living by buying goods cheap and reselling them at a markup. If I hadn’t had the Summon Inhabitant skill, I probably would have done the same. My abilities weren’t combat-related anyway, so I doubted I’d be much use in a real fight.
People called it reselling and showered the practice with hate, but the status window market was completely anonymous. No matter how much someone cursed you, there was nothing they could actually do about it. It wasn’t like you were meeting them face-to-face to trade eggs or rice.
“Still, it really is worth cursing over. One egg for one silver?”
Food prices had skyrocketed after the Gates and Dungeons appeared. The last time I’d gone shopping, a carton of eggs cost around fifteen thousand won. In the status window market, they were one silver each. Since one silver equaled a thousand won, that meant a thousand won per egg. A carton held thirty, so sellers were making thirty thousand won per carton—just by listing them. Double their original cost for doing practically nothing.
Most items in the market followed the same pattern: roughly twice the original price. At first, people said competition kept profits low, but with limited listing slots available, sellers had quietly settled on fixed prices.
“It’s not that I’m short on money. I just don’t want to waste time traveling back and forth to the mainland.”
I bought a magic-stone-powered rice cooker and a large bag of rice—big enough for ten servings since everyone ate so well. After washing the rice and setting the cooker, I started on the hangover soup. The menu was a refreshing bean sprout soup. The ingredients were cheap and it didn’t take much effort, so I used to make it often.
I seasoned the water with salt, sliced some green onions, washed the bean sprouts, and let it all boil. Since the others couldn’t handle much spice, I cracked an egg into it at the end to mellow the heat. “Hehe… With money to spare, I can use a seafood broth pack for a deeper flavor.”
Just adding the pack made the broth rich and wonderfully refreshing. To keep it from being only soup, I decided to grill some fish. Spanish mackerel—one of my favorites that I rarely bought because it was surprisingly expensive. If you handled it right, it was absolutely delicious.
I lightly dusted the fillets with flour, then pan-fried them over low heat in a lightly oiled pan. I mixed an egg with a pinch of salt, poured it over the fish, and continued cooking until the egg set. Then I flipped the fillets and coated the other side the same way. The result was a beautiful, golden-brown grilled mackerel that looked incredibly appetizing.
Rice, grilled Spanish mackerel, and refreshing bean sprout soup. If only I had my own homemade kimchi it would have been perfect, but I settled for a store-bought brand from one of the big companies. Since none of the others handled spice well, I also picked up some white kimchi and dongchimi. If we ran out, I could always buy more. I portioned everything into bowls, stored them in my status window, and left the house.
Preparing ten servings had taken over an hour.
“They should be getting up about now. Miya~ Asne~”
I called out to them as soon as I stepped outside.
“My Lord, you rose early today?” Asne appeared almost immediately. “Judging by that savory aroma… you cooked yourself? If you had called me sooner, I would have helped. You must have worked hard.”
“I wanted to do it for everyone today. I heard Sirens sleep a lot—do you really not need more rest?”
“Sirens tend to sleep when there is nothing of interest to occupy them. In truth, sleep is not strictly necessary. It is less about needing rest and more about passing the time.”
While we chatted, Miya finally emerged, groaning.
“Ughhh… My head feels like it’s going to spliiit…”
“You got drunk off one drink and now you have a hangover? Guess alcohol and you don’t mix. Want to rest more if you’re feeling bad?”
“Uuuu… Nooo… I can’t miss Minsoo’s cookinggg…”
With a still-suffering Miya in tow, we headed to Heugildo using Asne’s power.
“Lei~? Ruin~?”
I called for the two Black-winged women while setting the table. One serving each: rice, grilled Spanish mackerel, kimchi or white kimchi, dongchimi, and bean sprout soup.
“My Lord, let me help.”
“Thanks. I’ll dish out the rice and soup, so could you set the bowls down?”
“Of course.”
What we laid out was a rather modest spread, but anyone who’d lived alone would know—this was practically a feast. When you’re too lazy to cook, it’s usually instant ramen, convenience store food, or delivery if you have the cash. At best you might fry some spam. Otherwise it was just whatever ingredients you had, stir-fried, or the eternal bachelor classics: soy sauce egg rice or gochujang rice.
“Lord, you’re up early.”
“My Lord, did you really cook breakfast yourself?”
The two of them emerged while we were finishing preparations. All four had answered my call almost immediately. They’d clearly just woken up, yet none of them looked the least bit disheveled. If anything, they practically sparkled. Everyone settled into their seats gracefully.
“I kept breakfast simple. I hope it suits your tastes.”
They stared at the dishes in front of them with open curiosity. I wasn’t sure how they ate back in their own worlds, but this was standard fare here. If I had more time, I would have loved to prepare a full eight-dish spread, though I wasn’t sure if that was even possible.
“Do you eat rice? It’s called ‘bap’ here—it’s the staple food.”
“My Lord, these are all new to me.”
“Minsoooo… I’ve never seen any of this before either…”
Both Miya and Asne claimed they’d never seen rice or any of the side dishes.
“We Black-winged are fond of grains, so we know rice,” Lei said.
“As Lei says, we recognize the rice, but everything else is new to us as well.”
I explained that it wasn’t complicated. “Just eat it with the sides however you like. The regular kimchi is spicy, so I prepared white kimchi, dongchimi, and the bean sprout soup instead. Have them together.”
I used my chopsticks to cut a piece of mackerel, placed it on my rice, scooped up a spoonful, and ate it. The savory egg, the salty richness of the fish, and the fragrant rice blended perfectly. Then I took a sip of the refreshing bean sprout soup.
Krr… This is the life.
Everyone immediately copied me.
“Wow…! The fish doesn’t fall apart at all. It’s so springy and chewy, and the seasoning is perfect! And this bean sprout soup is a little spicy for me, but it has this deep flavor that’s hard to describe! It’s truly delicious!”
“Ah, that’s what we call ‘siwonhada’—refreshing.”
“Refreshing…? Hmm… Yes, I see. It feels like it cools and soothes you from the inside!”
Asne was the first to burst into admiration. The bean sprout soup wasn’t anything special—just a little heat that warmed you up. I’d even added egg to make it milder, yet she still found it spicy.
“Krrrr… Uuuu~ Haaaa~ This is so gooood…”
Miya took one spoonful of rice, then immediately lifted the entire bowl of soup and started drinking it straight. Whether from the spice or the heat, she was sweating buckets, but the more she drank, the more her expression melted into bliss. This was the true power of Korean hangover soup. Even foreigners, after a night of drinking, would gulp it down shouting “Krr~ Fuck yeah! Goddamn!” in pure satisfaction. The national DNA for soup and rice was clearly real.
“It’s difficult to separate the flesh without a knife.”
“Lei, I’ll do it for you.”
The two Black-winged women were carefully deboning each other’s fish. They could have just done it themselves, but it was cute to watch, so I didn’t mind.
Overall, the reactions were positive. The soup’s slight heat seemed completely new to them; none of them could handle the regular kimchi either. Still, adaptation was everything. As someone once said, it isn’t the strong who survive—it’s the ones who survive who become strong.
And no one adapted faster than Miya. After downing plenty of the restorative bean sprout soup, she fully revived and began devouring the other dishes. Eventually she eyed the bright red kimchi in front of me.
“Minsoo, that kim-chi? It looks tasty. Can I have some?”
“It’s going to be spicy. You sure?”
“Woong! I’ll try just a little, and if it’s too much I’ll stop!”
In the end, she ate it extremely well—tongue flicking out, sweat pouring down her face. She looked like she was dressed for midsummer.
“My Lord, could I try just a little as well?”
“You want some too, Asne?”
“Yes. Seeing Miya enjoy it so much has made me curious.”
“Then just a tiny piece, okay?”
“Please.”
I tore off an extremely small piece and offered it with my chopsticks.
“A~ang~”
I’d meant for her to take it with her own chopsticks, but Asne leaned forward and ate directly from mine. Her beautiful eyebrows curved into delicate crescents, clearly pleased—until she started chewing. Then her face crumpled instantly. Her cheeks flushed bright red, her large eyes filled with tears.
“Hic! Sss—eugh, heu, huu, hic! Sooo spicy…!”
“Too much? Here, drink this.”
I quickly bought a carton of milk, opened it, and handed it to her. Asne took one sip and then downed the entire thing in one go. She was so desperate that some of it spilled from the corner of her mouth, trickling down her chin, over her breathtaking collarbone…
Hup! Pure thoughts! Pure thoughts!
Asne was still wearing that revealing white bikini. And now a white liquid was flowing down those beautiful curves… I forcefully stopped that train of thought.
I thought it would just be cute when she struggled with spicy food, but everyone really is different…
It was still morning, so I desperately tried to suppress my lower half, which was starting to show far too much enthusiasm. If I looked left, there was Miya drenched in sweat. If I looked right, there was Asne with teary eyes, tongue slightly out, and white liquid running down her body. In front of me, the lovey-dovey Black-winged pair were being sickeningly sweet with each other.
I turned my head and stared vacantly at the endless horizon.
It’s happy… It’s definitely too happy… So why… does it also feel a little miserable…?
I swallowed the tears that had risen for no reason and pretended to admire the beautiful scenery. And so our definitely delicious, happy, wonderful, yet somehow tragic breakfast came to a magnificent close.