The Fugitives (2)
The stifling darkness of the dungeon cried out for food that could make people forget it. In truth, I didn't have to go this far for them. Even though they'd been branded as heretics and persecuted, the central pillar of their lives was still the Blood God, Blatian. The ones leading them were Vampire Carol and Harhil.
But ever since I'd learned this world wasn't a game, I'd come to feel that even the smallest hill needed something to lean on. If these people could flourish under Carol and Harhil's leadership, perhaps they could become a force I could rely on in my own way. After all, tasks too difficult to handle alone often became manageable with many hands helping.
First, I needed to improve their image by making something for them, then teach them how to prepare food they could make and eat even without me around. As I thought about it, a few ideas came to mind.
The image of them sitting in the dungeon's dark space with nothing at all made me stop by a lighting store first. I did have camping lanterns that could run on batteries for over ten hours, but there was a problem. Pelani the priest and Lewis the priest. Showing them items from my original world didn't seem like a good idea.
With no other choice, I bought boxes of ritual candles from the mart and handed those over instead.
“Dad, give me one that makes fire too.”
“You don't ride your bike at night, so you don't need a headlight.”
As I passed the bicycle shop inside the mart, the conversation I overheard made me think, This is it. Back in the day, there used to be headlights that attached to the front wheel of a bicycle, converting the wheel's kinetic energy into electricity. If I could get that device and simply spin the wheel, I'd have light.
Unfortunately, the bicycle shop inside the mart focused mainly on selling bikes, so they didn't carry the device.
“In Japan, where people ride bicycles daily, Hub Dynamos are still popular. But in Korea they're rarely sold, so there aren't many types available. Still, since even a major company like Shimano makes kits, you can buy one of those and install it.”
Following the shop owner's recommendation, I went all the way to Seoul to get the parts. The sample displayed to demonstrate the product's operating principle was exactly what I was looking for. It was a sample that showed how attaching a pedal to a wheel and turning it by hand would make light appear. I didn't even need the bicycle itself—just this mechanism would do.
“If this rotating drive unit turns, it converts kinetic energy into electrical energy, so you can turn it by hand. Of course, the larger the wheel, the greater the kinetic energy and the stronger the electrical output.”
“Can I buy this sample exactly as it is?”
“Ah, this is a sample sent from headquarters for demonstration purposes, so I can't sell it. But if you buy the parts used in this sample along with the hub kit, it comes to 250,000 won.”
I felt like I'd just gotten ripped off, but since nothing else fit as perfectly as this, I bought three sets. I also purchased a 600,000-won mountain bike complete with the kit, and managed to get the wheel-securing equipment for indoor use as a free service.
When I got home, assembled everything, and tried turning it by hand, the LED light came on properly without requiring much effort. If they could create light like this themselves, the atmosphere would improve, and their moods would brighten along with the space.
I stored the bicycle and parts in my inventory and headed back to the mart. I bought several 18-liter containers of cooking oil, five 20-kilogram bags of strong flour, and one 20-kilogram bag of glutinous rice flour. I'd decided to make high-calorie fried foods to energize the people.
After adding yeast for the dough, various containers, and bowls, the cargo space of my sports SUV was completely full. Then I stood in front of the beverage section, deep in thought. For oily food, carbonated drinks were best. I naturally thought of cola, but since it was a black liquid that might not appeal to everyone, I had no choice but to buy a hundred 1-liter cartons of white milk.
“This is seriously burning through money. I need to melt down some gold coins soon...”
“Yanne. Pyurie. Before we head up to the surface, let's make something delicious and eat it together.”
Meni tried to join in, but she had a separate task.
“Meni, turn this for me.”
I sat her down and had her grip the pedal section with both hands and turn it. As the wheel spun, electrical energy was generated and bright light began pouring out through the LED.
“Whoa!”
“It's white light!”
In the dark dungeon cavern where there had been nothing, the bright LED headlight shone, and people naturally gathered. I took out the table and ingredients I'd prepared from my inventory so everyone crowding around the headlight could see clearly.
I mixed flour and glutinous rice flour in a 4:1 ratio in a basin, then added sugar, salt, eggs, and powdered yeast to make the dough.
“It looks like you're making dough to bake bread, but white sugar is unusual.”
“But even if you make that much dough, don't you need an oven to bake it?”
Since everyone in the dungeon had been baking bread in pots, they seemed to think making this much dough wasn't practical.
After preparing three basins of dough, the first batch began to ferment and stretch. I cut it into pieces smaller than a child's fist and let them ferment again. Then I rolled them out by hand into long 30-centimeter strands and twisted one end to create the characteristic twisted shape.
I was making the twisted pastries sold in street markets.
“Master, is this the end?”
“Yes. These are called kkwabaegi. Once you've twisted them all and stacked them up, the dough preparation is finished. After that, you just fry them in oil.”
While Yanne continued twisting the dough, I set a pot on the gas burner and filled it with oil. Once it reached temperature, I started frying the pastries. The smell of frying flour began to spread through the air.
The golden-brown twisted pastries were taken out, cooled, then rolled once in a container of sugar. Their brown appearance coated with white sugar sparked curiosity among the people.
You could eat them as they were, but first I cut up the very first one and gave small pieces to Sezanne and the three people working with her.
“It's s-sweet. Sweet and delicious.”
Sezanne seemed to like the oily yet sweet flavor.
“Sezanne, please roll them in sugar. Harhil, please distribute them to everyone. Let's give one to each child first, then the adults can eat.”
Each kkwabaegi weighed roughly 100 to 150 grams. With 20 kilograms of flour and 5 kilograms of glutinous rice flour, calculations suggested we'd get over 200 pieces. Since there were about seventy people and I'd already told them everyone could have three each, no one grew impatient.
“Also, it's delicious if you put a spoonful of this on top of the sugared ones.”
I brought out a mixture of ketchup I'd made in Booktoria and commercial ketchup from Earth. The combination of the sugar's sweetness and the ketchup's savory saltiness perfectly hit everyone's taste buds.
I also took out the milk and distributed one 1-liter carton to each person. When I showed them how to open the paper cartons by flipping the top, they were all amazed.
When the elderly Harhil tried the milk and kkwabaegi together, he marveled at the rich, sweet taste of milk that filled his mouth. The milk, which went down as smoothly as water, meeting the greasy yet sweet kkwabaegi created a surprisingly heavy satisfaction.
Jinwoo the holy knight wondered how such things could be obtained.
“...Holy Knight. Where did you get all these things you've so graciously provided?”
“The god I serve, Sadalla, always wishes to bestow abundance upon those who follow him. He grants such foods to those who believe in him sincerely. Though your group, Harhil, are not believers, he took pity on your empty stomachs.”
Harhil was deeply moved upon hearing Jinwoo's words about the god called Sadalla. To think he would grant such delicious food even to those who didn't believe in or follow him.
“Then, does the god Sadalla desire something from us?”
“Desire something? The god originally desires nothing from humans. He believes that simply being believed in is enough.”
Harhil was shocked by Jinwoo's words. A god who wanted nothing—this was different from all the gods he knew.
“But it doesn't make sense for a god to simply give like this. Shouldn't we offer tributes or human sacrifices to honor him?”
Jinwoo found Harhil's persistent belief that something must be offered to a god frustrating. It seemed the Blood God Blatian had constantly demanded offerings.
“Sadalla does not desire such things. And believing in a god means receiving that god's infinite love. The greatest offering you can give to the god is your faith. That is enough.”
The idea that nothing was needed except faith in the god left Harhil, Carol standing behind him, and the other believers speechless.
If you don't offer anything, how does the church sustain itself?
Then where does all this food come from?
If all you need to give is faith, wouldn't that god be the greatest of all?
Their curiosity about Sadalla only grew stronger, and they wanted to ask more, but they couldn't disturb Jinwoo, who was busy frying kkwabaegi.
“So this is the taste of those Berk tomatoes I've only heard about in rumors.”
Pelani the priest licked the sugar from his lips while savoring the rich umami of the ketchup that came with it.
“Yes, this is the taste of the Arean Continent. Seeing how much everyone likes it, it seems like moving there would be fine.”
“Hehehe. It's quite a long journey we'll be taking.”
I'd told the priests that we would cross over to the Arean Continent, but in reality, I was thinking of heading to Hool Lake in the south. Although it was a swampy area, there was a vast lake and plenty of empty land. It seemed like a group of around a hundred people could hide and live there. Especially since the warlike unicorns and other races were said to be fighting against humans, if I—who had some acquaintance with them—went and proposed forming an allied front, we might be able to settle.
Once we'd made over a hundred, I taught the recipe to a few skilled wives among those who'd already tried one, and set aside flour and various utensils on one side for them to take.
“Then I'll go make my report and come back, so please wait just a little longer. I've left some food, but do you have enough supplies to hold out separately?”
“Our numbers have decreased, and with the supplies Ikshion the evangelist brought, we should be able to last about two weeks. Besides, one of these kkwabaegi seems like it could sustain us for a whole day.”
Since they were sweet, made of flour, and fried in oil, they probably contained enough calories for a full day.
When I came out of the dungeon using the newly created map, the rangers' temporary tents that had been set up in front were gone. Moreover, there was no one in the rangers' quarters or command post either.
When two rangers blew on a whistle that sounded like a bird call, one ranger finally appeared, grinning from ear to ear.
“We won the war and the front lines have been pushed way up! This place is no longer a border dispute zone.”