Chapter 30: It’s a Festival, Not a Funeral (5)
Chapter 30: It’s a Festival, Not a Funeral (5)
(30/225)
On the day of Orte Harbor’s festival, held once a year in summer.
Since it was a fairly well-known festival in the surrounding regions, a considerable crowd gathered at the harbor, and the escort soldiers guided them into the village.
“Huh—what the hell?”
“Did something big happen?”
After passing through the village entrance, which had been decorated fairly lavishly, tourists freaked out at the sight of the shattered docks.
On top of that, even though the festival had already begun, there were unfinished installations here and there, and the harbor residents were running around preparing things.
Instead of the festival’s usual lively atmosphere, a chaotic air hung over the harbor.
“I heard a kraken attacked this place not long ago.”
“Seriously? Then I get why it looks like this. Still, it doesn’t feel like last year.”
“The mood seems a bit down, but it doesn’t look that bad.”
“I barely made time to come here and it’s like this… Should we just go back?”
The tourists stopped in place, conflicted.
Then one of them spotted something and pointed with their right hand.
“Still, we came all this way—let’s at least eat before we go. Looks like they’re selling food over there?”
A delicious smell drifted out from the row of tents set up in the center of the harbor.
And among those tents, a golden carriage in a bizarre shape standing between them caught the tourists’ eyes.
“Come on in! The food truck recognized as a holy relic by the Heirem Order! We’re selling bunsik with seafood in it right here!”
“Food truck? What’s that?”
“A holy relic? A holy relic of the Order?”
Drawn by the hawker’s shout, a few people approached the food truck out of curiosity.
“I-It really is a holy relic!”
Recognizing the sacred emblem, three young men hurriedly made the sign of the cross and sat at the counter seats of the food truck.
“Welcome.”
“Welcome to the food truck. Three of you, right?”
Two cooks in unusual outfits.
And a man serving them handed over a menu filled with unknown dish names.
A carriage that didn’t look like a carriage at all, packed with all kinds of cooking equipment.
The customers stared, bewildered, tilting their heads.
“Tteok-twig-sun set? Ramen? Jjolmyeon? Gimbap?”
“Tteok-twig-sun… I feel like I’ve heard of it somewhere… Is it actually good?”
“Whatever—let’s just order something and fill our stomachs. Hey! Three sets of that tteok-twig-sun thing!”
“Yes, understood.”
A moment later, when the unfamiliar dishes came out, the young men fell silent.
They just nudged each other in the waist with their elbows as they stared at the steaming bunsik.
“Hey, we’re not gonna die from eating it!”
One of them worked up the courage and took a bite of the tteokbokki.
“S-So?”
“Is it edible?”
“……It’s spicy.”
After his first bite, he started eating slowly—first the soondae, then the fried food, one by one.
The other two held their breath, watching, then followed and began eating too.
They couldn’t stand the hunger, with cooking smells coming from all over, including the food truck.
“This is…”
“Hm, this taste is…”
At first, they didn’t realize it because the flavor and texture were so far beyond what they expected.
But before long, their hesitation and fear changed into happiness spreading across their tongues.
“It’s spicy but delicious! I’ve never had food like this!”
“I came last year too, and I’ve never eaten anything like this! Is this Orte Harbor’s new specialty?”
“Wait—he said bunsik, right? Is this the food that supposedly showed up out of nowhere in Colses Castle?”
When the young men at the counter reacted so strongly, the people who had only been watching from afar began approaching the food truck one by one.
And without exception, they reacted just as strongly—then called even more people over.
“It’s spicy! It’s spicy but good!”
“Another tteok-twig-sun set! And that fizzy water that pops in your mouth too!”
“Can I get this to-go?”
“Guhhh…”
Oswald lifted the bowl and downed the ramen broth, letting out one exclamation after another.
It felt like the alcohol he’d shared with the village chief the day before—while the chief lamented his bad luck—was getting washed out of his system instantly.
“It’s got a kick. Nice.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
“It’s yours, so of course I do. Still—seafood ramen. I’m starting to wonder where ramen’s limits even are.”
Unlike the ramen he usually cooked, Jinseo had added crab and various other seafood.
And even the noodles and seasoning were chosen after tasting multiple types of instant seafood ramen and selecting the best fit.
The seafood ramen, introduced to the Francia Continent for the first time, earned praise not only from Oswald but from other customers as well.
Additionally, Oswald’s job preference increased and shimmered with light as it had before—but no one noticed except Jinseo.
Everyone was too busy eating.
“I don’t usually get many chances to eat seafood, so this is a real treat.”
“The seafood here is so fresh, that’s probably why it tastes even better.”
Most of the ingredients the harbor had stored were ruined in the kraken attack.
So a large amount of seafood caught in a rush the day before the festival was used instead.
The seafood the fishermen provided for free as thanks was freshness itself.
Because of that, Jinseo could experiment with all sorts of variations on his usual bunsik.
Seafood ramen, seafood tteokbokki, assorted fried food, and more.
Even so, I didn’t expect them to catch this much fish in just one day…
Jinseo had, just in case, provided kraken tempura to the fishermen up until the day of the festival.
And the fishermen who received the effect threw themselves into fishing with almost fanatical intensity.
No fish could escape their hands, and the seafood they hauled up after diving for several times longer than usual was fresher than ever.
They even displayed enough force to take down a shark in one strike with a spear.
On the sea, they weren’t fishermen anymore.
They were fearless warriors.
“Kraken dishes are this cheap? Isn’t it fake?”
“No! I’ve eaten kraken before—this texture is definitely it! But what they sell here is… beyond that!”
Among all the seafood-injected dishes, the one that caused the biggest stir was kraken tempura.
Taking the exchange rate AI had given him into account, Jinseo priced the kraken tempura higher than the other fried items he normally sold.
Even so, people who had eaten kraken before couldn’t forget the taste and hurried to order.
Meanwhile, those who had never tried it lined up in front of the food truck to see for themselves if it was really that good.
Anticipating this, Jinseo limited orders of kraken tempura to one plate per person.
Since it was hard to obtain, he wanted to find other ways to use it elsewhere.
Even so, the kraken tempura’s popularity didn’t fade in the slightest.
“Hey, not just the kraken tempura—try this too. I’ve never seen this dish before, but it’s insane.”
“Everything that golden carriage puts out is something we’ve never seen before.”
“Whatever—shut up and eat. This goes way too well with booze.”
“But they don’t sell alcohol here.”
“The shop next door does.”
Adding seafood pajeon on the side sent sales climbing even faster.
Technically, pajeon wasn’t part of the bunsik category Jinseo usually sold.
But he served it for this festival for one reason.
Alcohol—the drink that couldn’t be left out of a festival.
They said the warehouse storing alcohol survived, like a miracle…
Jinseo considered taking out the alcohol stored in the food truck, but he held back since he only had enough left for himself to casually enjoy when he had downtime.
More importantly, the alcohol he brought from Korea didn’t suit the tastes of the Francia Continent people at all, so he didn’t dwell on it.
Even if someone gets drunk, it won’t be a big problem.
To prepare for worst-case scenarios, Oswald’s guards, Dan and Austin, stood watch on either side of the food truck.
Occasionally sipping from 500ml plastic bottles of cola at their waists.
If anything truly happened, Jinseo planned to step in himself and resolve it peacefully.
Very “peacefully.”
“It’s fish cake soup! Using the secret method personally taught by the owner of the holy relic, the broth is—seriously unbelievable!”
“Try the spicy fish stew! It goes crazy well with booze!”
“Try this too! This was also passed down by the owner of the holy relic—”
It was impossible for a single food truck to fill the bellies of everyone at the festival.
So Jinseo taught the harbor residents a few recipes.
Where ingredients were missing, they substituted local alternatives, and the result was well-received.
It even sold well.
I was so worried when the kraken attacked… I didn’t think things would work out this smoothly. And most of all…
{Special ingredient processing available (A- rank or below): If you sell dishes made from monsters on the Francia Continent that can be used as ingredients, obtainable experience increases by 10%.}
{Local ingredient processing available (A- rank or below): If you sell dishes made with ingredients from the Francia Continent, obtainable mileage increases by 10%.}
He had learned these abilities before, but never had a chance to actually use them.
Now that he finally could, Jinseo smiled in a good mood.
It had become an environment where everyone could enjoy themselves—buyers and sellers alike.
Maybe that was why, at least around the food truck and inside the makeshift tents, the atmosphere was even hotter than any festival held here before.
But if a festival only has food, it can start to feel a little lacking.
And his “companion” was working hard to fill that gap.
“Nero, help me out!”
“Meow!”
At Jinseo’s command, Nero gave a low cry and raised his tail, glowing red-hot.
A fierce flame surged up over the wide grill made by linking multiple grates together—then vanished.
It was only an instant, but it was long enough to toast dozens of dried fish fillets spread out separately on the grates to a perfect golden brown.
“Alright—those who ordered, pick yours up in order!”
“We don’t sell alcohol here! Buy it elsewhere and eat it together! Here’s your change. If you buy five, you get one extra!”
“Alright, next up—dried squid!”
The mages who had accompanied this journey were helping by selling goods from a tent set up immediately to the right of the food truck.
Jinseo hadn’t forgotten how precisely Nero had controlled magic when thugs attacked the food truck before.
With that skill, Nero grilling modern Korean processed dried fish and assorted dried seafood alone drew in plenty of customers.
Especially the drinkers.
“Just one bite and the booze goes down smooth.”
“Dried fish grilled by a spirit… this is precious.”
“But this song—who’s singing it? It’s fast and upbeat.”
“I don’t know why, but just listening makes my shoulders start dancing.”
On top of that, the songs blasting from the large speakers made the vibe even more festive.
He excluded quiet, solemn classical music from the start.
K-pop, which had started gaining recognition overseas, seemed too shocking, so he excluded that too.
Trot got cut at the final stage, and after multiple rounds of filtering, the genre Jinseo chose was none other than ppongjjak.
A song by Doctor Lee that had once been popular in Korea.
(Translator’s Note: Lee Seung-chul also known as “Doctor Lee” (닥터 이) because his ballads are said to “heal” listeners emotionally.)
Flames bursting up from under the grill every time Nero raised his tail.
That distinctive aroma of grilled dried seafood spreading everywhere.
Those three things combined in a strangely perfect way, setting the festival on fire.
It definitely felt different from the festivals Orte Harbor used to hold—but the harbor residents, as hosts, didn’t care at all.
Because the festival that had almost been ruined was now thriving.
“What a huge success.”
Having filled his stomach with bunsik, Oswald turned around and sipped SolX Snow as he looked over the tourists.
Except for the counter seats, every table seat was packed, and everyone wore happy expressions.