A Taste of Civilization
Chapter 10
In the end, I recovered 90 health just by sitting there. Using a recovery item when my health wasn't even depleted—it was like getting food rations in a survival game when you're not even hungry. From a game perspective, it was the kind of move anyone would call a waste. Yet what filled my heart wasn't the sting of loss, but a deep, quiet satisfaction.
Who would've thought a mere 30-health recovery item could feel this moving?
Just as I swallowed the last piece of meat—
"Tasty?"
Esmar's voice came from beside me. I turned to look up and saw he'd already finished all three skewers. While the country kid had been lost in waves of emotion, the merchant had simply treated it like any other meal and polished it off.
It felt a little embarrassing to realize I really was just a country bumpkin, but that was the truth, so the feeling was strangely complicated.
Tasty? Obviously.
"It was really good."
"Pfft, such a fuss…"
When I answered while staring blankly at the empty skewer, Esmar let out a dry laugh. He seemed to think I was overreacting to something ordinary, but my words were completely sincere.
In the village, fresh meat was something you only got when adults banded together to hunt the occasional beast that wandered near. Unless it was dried or smoked for long-term storage, it wasn't something you ate often. Yet here in the city, that same precious meat was piled high for just five copper coins…
A pang of regret rose in me. I smacked my lips and looked up at him.
"Can't you buy me more?"
"What? We should have a proper meal. Skewers are a bit…"
His curt refusal cut my suggestion down instantly. My head drooped.
Today marked the saddest day of my thirteen years of life.
I'd wanted more boar skewers…
Still, what could a penniless kid living off an adult's wallet possibly do? I could only smack my lips again, savoring the lingering taste of meat and vegetables in my mouth.
"Let's go. I've already picked a restaurant."
"Yes, sir."
With no choice but to follow his lead, I trailed after him obediently.
And the dishes listed on the menu were…
[Roast Chicken]
[Steak]
[Cream Stew]
[Large Omelet]
[Deluxe Burger]
[Wine]
[Cutlet]
Strangely familiar names lined up in a row.
…Burgers in a fantasy world?
The oddity of modern food culture suddenly appearing in a world of swords and magic only lasted a moment. Since everyone around me treated it as normal, I quickly blended in. At least they were Western-style dishes, so the sense of dissonance faded fast. Before I knew it, my mind was filled with thoughts of "Well, I guess that's possible."
Even if the food was the same, names could differ quite a bit, right? …I'll just accept it like that.
"What do you want to eat?"
"Uh, well…"
Though I hesitated at Esmar's question, my heart was already set on one dish. Omelets were just eggs no matter how you cooked them. Stew was just a variation of the soup dishes I ate all the time. The choice that called to me—the eternal friend of men and ancestor of pork cutlets—was the cutlet.
Just as I was about to speak, Esmar's voice cut me off.
"Ah, right. You probably don't know any of these. Then something familiar like stew—"
"C-Cutlet, please!"
In that critical moment when my choice was about to be taken away, I interrupted and shouted "cutlet" at the top of my lungs.
I don't want stew anymore.
"Huh? Do you even know what that is?"
Esmar blinked, surprised that a country kid fresh from the village would know the name of a city dish. Still, I forced an awkward excuse to secure the pork.
"I-I don't, but it just seemed good…"
"Really? Then give it a try. As for me… let's see, I'll go with steak."
Whew.
I let out a huge sigh of relief at how easily he accepted it.
True to the words "proper meal," the cutlet cost twenty copper coins, and so did the steak. This was a fairly expensive restaurant where a hearty meal could easily cost half a silver coin.
Pork coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried in luxurious oil. I wondered if they called it boar here too. Anyway…
The taste of fried food, something I hadn't eaten in so long, was indescribably blissful.
How much health did cutlet restore again?
Who cares? That's not important right now.
I'd long forgotten the recovery values of minor items from early-game restaurants. The boar skewer was memorable only because it was given in the tutorial. Recovery or not, if it tastes good, that's all that matters.
After finishing the satisfying meal, I stepped out of the restaurant while patting my full stomach. I glanced back and memorized the sign.
Rest for the Soul. It had a nice ring to it.
Rest for the Soul… I'll remember that.
Promising myself I'd return someday, I turned forward and kept walking.
As we passed through the streets where guards chatted among themselves, we headed back toward the inn. More importantly, when was I supposed to get that item…?
The acquisition condition itself was ridiculously simple. Plus, I'd already met the requirements. All I had to do was enter a specific building without ever having possessed a weapon. Not "without equipping one," but "without ever having possessed one." In other words, I had to be in a completely fresh state, never having bought any weapon at all.
And this opportunity was given only once throughout the entire game.
I really was an idiot back then.
Even though I started with all the information, I'd still gotten blindsided. After receiving the "first weapon equip" quest in the royal capital, if you went into a weapon shop, the quest reward would automatically give you a weapon. That moment, the chance to obtain a good weapon usable throughout the early game flew right out the window.
When I saw other places grayed out, I'd assumed it was the tutorial and followed the choice out of habit… The moment I received the basic weapon, I got so annoyed I reset.
In reality, whether the surroundings were grayed out or not, all I had to do was enter a specific building.
Just then, Hansen's Weapon Shop—the store of love and hate—passed by in my field of vision. It was run by a friendly-looking bald Black merchant. Since it was the middle of the night, the shop was closed.
As I stared at the weapon shop with narrowed eyes, Esmar, walking beside me, spoke up.
"What, see something you want in there?"
"No!"
The trauma of forced weapon distribution flashed through my mind, and I shouted the denial instantly. Esmar looked momentarily stunned by my lightning-fast answer.
That only lasted a second. With a small laugh, he continued as if a traveler would naturally be interested in weapons.
"No way. You're going to be a traveler, yet you won't even carry a self-defense weapon?"
"Ugh."
His logic was flawless. I swallowed the rest of my words with a single grunt. I wasn't uninterested, but I couldn't exactly say, "Not from here!"
Seeing me shut my mouth tight after that grunt, Esmar spoke again.
"Heh, you're still too young for that."
"Yes…"
His attitude, acting like he knew everything while completely misunderstanding, was a little irritating.
Anyway, where was the place I could get my first weapon? Since the condition was before acquiring any weapon, I had to choose between two locations. Personally, I wanted a dagger. I didn't even know if I could use magic, so a magic attack weapon would be useless, and it was only really useful in the very beginning anyway.
The problem was timing—when should I go get the royal capital item…?
While thinking that, I glanced sideways at Esmar walking beside me. He was both my means of leaving the village and my wallet and guardian. I still wasn't prepared enough to step out from under an adult's shadow.
Should I just give up for now?
If I tried moving while he slept like I did in Windren, it would be pointless. Except for certain black markets, any place where I could get a weapon was only open during daytime hours according to the system. They probably set it that way considering business hours. For me, whose only time to move alone was at night, there was no more frustrating situation.
Besides, if a child wandered around alone, the guards wouldn't just stand by and watch. The high security I'd thought was great was now becoming an obstacle.
Asking to go with Esmar during the day would raise questions about why, and I had no answer. Even if I said I wanted to go, if he refused, that would be the end of it.
I'd come all this way, getting beaten up just to do something, yet all I was learning was my own powerlessness.
Back at the inn, I lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling with wide eyes. If only I could at least hunt some weak mobs near the capital by myself…
Still too far off.
Muttering those empty words in my heart, I threw a pointless punch into the air. No matter how fit my body was, without the miracle of magic, even the weakest monster would require me to be at least sixteen to take one down in hand-to-hand combat. At the earliest, three years from now—only then could I start hunting something and grasp that unrealistic power.
I took off my glove and fiddled with the gold ring set with a red gem on my finger. Actually, because I had this… if I risked my life in a fight that would be trivial for an adult, I might barely manage to take down one or two. Still, I only had one life. I couldn't assume there would be convenient systems like time reversal or resurrection like in a game.
You had to know the difference between courage and recklessness.
Three years…
Telling myself the time might pass faster than I thought, I slipped the ring inside the glove and closed my eyes.