Delicious Tuna

It was the first time in a very long while that the entire family had gathered for a meal.

Baron Ark Farrow was a man who placed immense importance on the daily family dinner.

He was so obsessed with it that he had even hung a plaque on one side of the dining room that read: "A family that eats together stays together."

Jeron didn't think forcing everyone to eat together necessarily brought domestic harmony, but the Farrow family was close-knit ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠enough that it did provide a positive synergy.

Baron Ark had recovered enough to move around on his own.

Of all the places to get shot, the arrow had hit his right arm, causing a great deal of inconvenience. Fortunately, the Baron was ambidextrous.

He wielded his sword with his right hand, but he seemed to have no trouble managing daily life with his left.

"Hahaha! By the grace of the Goddess, our family is gathered in one place to share a meal. I cannot express how grateful I am."

"It is truly a relief, Father. I shudder to think what would have happened to the fief if you hadn't been here."

"It wasn't my time to die just yet. Besides, I heard what you did while I was bedridden. You managed the estate wonderfully, and your military strategy was flawless. You are more than ready to inherit the title of Lord."

"..."

Jeron broke out in a cold sweat.

Wait, shouldn't a lord return to managing his estate once he recovered?

Jeron was already on the verge of dying from overwork.

Even for a small fief with a population of thirty thousand, the administrative and social systems of this medieval world were so primitive that the lord had to handle almost everything personally.

Dragging a backward society forward was exhausting enough. If he kept overworking like this, he would go bald in his twenties—just like the current Ark Farrow.

"A-Father, you mustn't step down just yet. I still have so much to learn from you."

"Nonsense. I inherited and ran this fief when I was seventeen. I am old now, and it is time to prepare for my final days. I will be content building a small cottage to live in with your mother."

"But then we won't be able to have family dinners."

"Hmm? What do you mean? You and your sister can simply come to the cottage."

Ark Farrow was a man truly dedicated to his meals.

But to Jeron, mealtime was nothing but torture.

Here, food was merely a means of survival, forced down one's throat to keep the body running. There was no such thing as savoring the flavor. In fact, the moment Jeron had tasted the food of this world after his reincarnation, he had completely abandoned all culinary expectations.

The menu was almost always the same.

Today was no exception: a mysterious stewed meat, watery soup, sour wine, and bread.

The bread, which masqueraded as their staple food, was the biggest offender.

The flour was poorly milled, leaving grit that scraped against the teeth, and it was so hard that it felt less like bread and more like a cobblestone.

Jeron hadn't touched a single piece of the meat due to its bloody stench, yet his stomach already felt bloated and heavy.

It was no wonder he had practically lived on wine since the age of five.

Having visited Earth once, Jeron could no longer endure this culinary torture. He had prepared a secret weapon.

At Jeron's command, the butler brought out a special dish.

The round chunks of meat served on a large platter were none other than canned tuna.

Since the fief had a large lake used as a water source, fish dishes weren't entirely absent, but they were usually baked into awful fish pies that Jeron couldn't stand.

When Jeron had first opened a can of tuna from Earth and tasted it, he felt his long-dead taste buds scream in sheer ecstasy.

It was a sensation he had completely forgotten since his reincarnation.

Canned tuna was a masterpiece created by Earth's mega-corporations after countless experiments by food scientists.

Before the old Earth fell, tuna was just a cheap, common ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ingredient. But living here, it tasted like the ultimate delicacy.

"What is this?"

"It is a fish caught by the Young Lord, Master."

"Hmm. It looks rather unappetizing."

"..."

Visually speaking, wasn't a medieval fish pie far worse?

Compared to a pie with a fish head staring up at you from the crust, this neatly flaked, processed canned tuna was a work of art.

Besides, did people of this era even have the right to judge the appearance of food?

"I caught it myself, Father. Please, just try a bite."

"Well, since you went to the trouble of catching it, I suppose I must try it, even if it tastes terrible."

Without much thought, the family members picked up some tuna with their forks and put it in their mouths.

"C-Cough!"

"Ah!"

"B-Brother... what on earth is this?"

Everyone clutched their chests as if they were having heart attacks.

To put it simply, they were in shock.

Then, like dogs that hadn't eaten in days, they buried their faces in the platter and began devouring it frantically.

Table manners were instantly thrown out the window.

Baron Ark looked ready to lick the platter clean to get every last drop of the oil.

But remembering his dignity, he grabbed a piece of bread and scraped the plate so hard it threatened to break.

The rest of the family reacted the exact same way.

The corners of Jeron's mouth twitched.

To those who had lived their entire lives believing that the rotten culinary culture of the Middle Ages was the norm, the taste of canned tuna—perfected by fierce corporate competition on Earth—was bound to be a revelation.

"What is this? I have never heard of a fish this delicious in all my life!"

"Indeed! My mouth has been blessed today!"

"Brother, is there any more?"

They clamored for more.

When Jeron shook his head, their faces fell in disappointment.

They probably wouldn't be able to eat normal food for a while.

Once you tasted canned tuna, all the food in this world would inevitably taste like garbage.

Even on the ruined Earth, canned tuna wasn't something he could find every day. He only stumbled upon it when he was lucky, and on those days, it was a true feast.

Finding a few cans of tuna and other canned goods on the second floor of the pharmacy had been a massive stroke of luck.

Since everyone was staring at him, demanding an explanation, Jeron spun a quick lie.

"I was fishing today when I happened to catch a golden carp. I scaled it, cleaned it, and cooked it on the spot before bringing it here."

"Oh! The Guardian Dragon must have blessed you!"

"I have taken up fishing as a hobby lately. If I happen to catch another golden carp, I will bring it back."

"I hope you catch many of them. If we were to sell this in the county, imagine the fortune it would bring!"

"Unfortunately, they are not that common."

Jeron had considered that option as well.

The shock he had felt when he first tasted it was still fresh in his mind. The only problem was the limited quantity.

If he could sell it, it would undoubtedly be a massive hit.

People would pay any price to get their hands on it, and it might even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be offered to the King, who might then dispatch a specialized fishing unit to their lake.

But since he only had enough to occasionally share with his family as a special treat, he could only regret the lack of supply.

The Farrow family members usually didn't talk much during meals, but today was different.

The conversation bloomed around the tuna, and it even prompted Baron Ark Farrow to flesh out his plans to build a cottage by the lake.

"To think a simple can of tuna would have such an impact."

Jeron felt like offering another prayer of thanks to the family's Guardian Dragon.

When he had first learned of the weight limit on the items he could bring from Earth, he had cursed the lizard in his mind. But now he realized that even small items from Earth could cause a massive stir in this world.

Earth was at least a thousand years more advanced than this place.

And even though it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had fallen, its legacy remained.

If he searched carefully, he was bound to find many items that could revolutionize this society.

Today's tuna incident had made that crystal clear.

If he was lucky enough to find an unlooted supermarket, he would hit the ultimate jackpot.

He couldn't plunder an entire blacksmith's workshop or bring back a truckload of goods, but even this level of transport was an incredible power.

Before his trip to Earth tonight, Jeron opened the mana cultivation manual.

The manual itself wasn't very thick, and it looked like he could memorize it in a week, but the actual practice seemed incredibly difficult.

"..."

As Jeron memorized the manual, he began to suspect that the Count had scammed him.

The text was filled with vague, abstract descriptions and bizarre sentences.

The manual had a strange way of making even a perfectly literate person feel dyslexic.

In any case.

If he interpreted the text correctly, mana was scattered throughout the atmosphere, and sensing it was the first step. The second step was to use mental energy to draw that mana into the body.

At this point, he wondered if he should just give up on magic altogether.

Jeron had no master, and mages were extremely rare in the kingdom. Even Count Hanes, who had copied this manual for him, had only mastered the bare basics of magic.

"Still, I can't just give up."

It was a technique he had obtained with great difficulty.

Although the contents were cryptic and filled with metaphors that required interpretation, the book itself couldn't be a fake.

This was an era where magic was declining.

Count Hanes knew this, which was probably why he had handed over the manual so readily.

Jeron wondered if the Golden Key might be the key to unlocking the secrets of mana.

To summarize:

1. The Golden Key was definitely charged by mana.

2. If he focused on the Golden Key while moving around on Earth, he might be able to feel the flow of mana.

For now, he had no other choice. He just had to observe carefully.

Jeron put down the manual and opened the portal.

The interior of the blacksmith's warehouse came into view.

He had spent so much effort organizing the items in the workshop to take them back. If he had known about the weight limit beforehand, he would never have gone through such trouble.

Swoosh!

His body slipped through the portal as smoothly as passing through the surface of water.

The air felt somewhat cold.

Since this warehouse was safe, Jeron closed his eyes for a moment and tried to sense the energy around him.

Since mana was said to be mostly depleted on the Karen Continent, he wondered if there might be plenty of it left on Earth.

"..."

Of course, if it were that easy, the study of magic would never have declined in the first place.

He couldn't expect to succeed on his first try.

Jeron focused on the Golden Key while scanning the warehouse.

Through his trade with the Count, he had learned one thing for certain.

The perspective of the people of Earth and the people of the Karen Continent was completely different.

The cheap dragon rings favored by elderly men on Earth were treated as family heirlooms here. On the other hand, normal modern jewelry didn't fetch a very high price.

In that case, he needed to look for items that were tacky and gaudy.

Since this was a rural blacksmith's shop whose main customers were elderly farmers, there was a good chance he would find something.

After rummaging through the warehouse for a long time, Jeron found a pile of tools cluttered in a corner that looked like a hidden storage area.

It was filled with broken tools, half-finished sickles, shovel blades, and hoes that the blacksmith had apparently abandoned.

Amidst all the junk, a dagger caught Jeron's eye—one so incredibly tacky that it was almost painful to look at.

"Ha, it really was here."