Editor 106

The Northern Side of the Mountain Range (3)

“Where in this neighborhood could you possibly make any money? Hardly anyone lives here, and even if you tried to collect something, the duke’s private land must all be mountains, right?”

“You only know one thing and not the other. There aren’t many people, but rare creatures are scattered all over these mountain ranges. Even so, for outsiders to sneak in and dig them up, the wild animals are fierce and the terrain is rugged.”

“Well, even the road coming in was nothing but a single winding road by the train track, and the rest was all deep mountains.”

“In front of the people here, you can curse the king, but if you curse the Duke of Tristain, you’ll get buried at night. There’s no industry, so the lord never sold any land, you see? That’s why most of the territory is still the duke’s private land, but it’s open to the people without any conditions for generations, so he’s hugely respected.”

Fundamentally, since Leonid I, all land in Albion belonged to the king and his vassals. As time went by, some families died out and their land was reclaimed by the royal family, or lords sold land to businessmen or farmers, resulting in private ownership.

‘But here, the land is still divided exactly as it was a thousand years ago. And yet the lord has such generous policies for the people.’

Clayeo found himself looking at the food on his plate with fresh eyes.

The lamb meatballs, with finely chopped brown-fried onions for extra savoriness, were filled with cumin and caraway seeds, while the beef roasted in the oven was generously coated with smoked paprika powder and allspice.

The cooking style was simple and bold, but the dishes spared no expensive spices.

“No wonder, even though this is a modest pub attached to a small town inn, I thought each dish was packed with spices from the continent of Meredies.”

“Hey, you’re a sharp one. That’s right. The port of Zecabre is frozen now, but from spring, merchant ships come in one after another. Thanks to the Asser Company launching direct cargo ships from Zecabre to Colpos and Notos ports 25 years ago, you could say the world turned upside down.”

‘Asser again, even here. Hah, they really are something.’

There seemed to be nowhere in the known world untouched by Gideon Asser’s hand.

Chel’s face lit up.

“Wow, amazing. Your father must have been a truly great man.”

Mietz nearly fell out of his chair in surprise, then blatantly looked Clayeo up and down.

“What? You’re the young master of Asser Company? I heard you were supposed to be older?”

“I’m the second son.”

As the focus of the conversation suddenly shifted to him, Clayeo became flustered. In this situation, forcing himself to eat more would only give him indigestion, so he put down his fork.

“So there was a second son in the Asser family. Then are you a student who skipped a grade like those twins?”

“No. I’m the same age as Arthur.”

“Goodness. And yet you’re so skinny from picking at your food. Does the food not suit your taste?”

Seeing the food left cold on Clayeo’s plate, Mietz clicked his tongue.

This Mietz was a person excessively interested in the welfare of children and adolescents.

In fact, Clayeo could not say, I don’t belong in the category of children or adolescents, so a half-hearted answer came out on its own.

“No, it’s delicious.”

Of course, the food tasted good.

It’s just that the cold weather and the long train ride made his stomach uneasy. Today, all the rich meat just felt dry and heavy.

He was generally satisfied with being in another world, but in moments like these, he felt a small sadness.

‘Ah, I really want something spicy and hot… like seonji-guk or sundae-guk.’

In the blizzard-swept northern mountains, on a day like this, it was only natural to want to warm up with a steaming red broth.

He wasn’t about to go searching for kimchi in another world, but even if he couldn’t have kimchi, he still wanted sundae-guk.

But of course, there was no such thing.

“Then eat some more, don’t leave so much, goodness. You need to eat well to grow!”

“I guess because it’s so cold, I wish there was some kind of soup.”

Hearing Clayeo’s small voice, Mietz jumped up and loudly called for the pub owner.

“Ah, come on! Owner! Why is the stew coming out so late? Are you making it from freshly slaughtered cow and pig?”

The chubby owner, cheeks red from tending the oven, popped out by the bar and shouted back at Mietz with an equally loud voice.

“Oh, how did you know? We slaughtered a cow just last night. So you have no idea how fresh and tasty the blood sausage is. Here, once you taste it, you’ll come back for more.”

“Owner, you and your tall tales. Fine! Bring it out quick so we can judge for ourselves.”

“Ha, you’re so impatient. It’s all done, here! Boys, bring out the pots. Both of them.”

Thud!

Bang!

From two pitch-black iron pots, a stew with bright red oil floating on top and a soup with black blood sausages bobbing up boiled vigorously.

Clayeo took a big sniff.

‘This!!!’

An incredible aroma spread through the pub. Liffie and Leticia were the first to rush to the pot with ladles.

“Smells amazing.”

“Totally, such a new flavor.”

“Wow, it’s so spicy. But it’s delicious.”

Chel, quickly scooping a spoonful, only gave Isiel stew with blood sausage and pushed the red stew far away.

“This red stew here, Isiel, you better not. You can’t eat spicy food.”

“Thank you for telling me.”

Receiving their bowls in turn, the moment ‘Jeongjin’ took a spoonful of the red stew, it felt like fifty LED bulbs lit up in his head all at once.

‘As expected!!!’

It was about 85% similar to kimchi jjigae, that exact flavor.

Watching Clayeo eat the stew with his face almost buried in the bowl, the chef with the wrinkled apron looked proud.

“Student, isn’t that good? We fry salted pork with sour pickled cabbage and lard, then boil it up with a heap of chili. It’s our signature dish. One bowl and you’ll feel warm all over.”

“It really is delicious.”

“If you like the pork stew, you’ll find the blood sausage stew a real delicacy too. Hurry and try it.”

Clayeo, who had just been picking at his food, unbelievably emptied a whole bowl of pork stew in an instant.

There was barley at the bottom of the stew as well, so he could truly enjoy the taste of kimchi jjigae with rice.

“As you said, the stew with blood sausage is also excellent.”

“That one, we boil bones and meat with bouquet garni to get a clear broth. Then we add garlic and sausage, and finish with chili oil and minced pepper paste. Doesn’t it just clear your insides?”

Clayeo nodded vigorously, holding his spoon.

“It’s truly impressive.”

“Ha-. You look like a bookworm, but you really know your food. How about a drink?”

As Mietz took an interest in Clayeo, Arthur, who had been wolfing down stew, quickly jumped in.

“Teacher, Ray can really drink. Maybe even more than me. He drinks a ton but I’ve never seen him drunk.”

“Really?”

Mietz, staring openly at Clayeo’s thin shoulders and skinny wrists, looked disbelieving.

“Not to that extent, but I do know my way around a drink.”

“That’s not the answer of an amateur.”

A drinker knows another drinker.

Clayeo inadvertently understood why Arthur was a drinker at his age.

‘He calls himself a mentor, but it seems he didn’t just teach swordsmanship.’

“Owner! That! The clear liquor made only in this region, you have it here, right?”

“The vice-captain of the knights said not to sell strong liquor while the monsters are out.”

“Ah, just for today. It’s not like I’ve only eaten soldier’s food for a day or two. If you’re going to die from drinking, you’d die even if you didn’t drink. Don’t hold back, bring some out.”

Mietz pulled a gold Aurum coin worth 100 dinar from his robe pocket and slyly slipped it into the pub owner and chef’s front pocket.

Aurum coins had power.

Soon after, a large glass bottle of clear distilled liquor appeared, stuck in a bucket filled with snow. Tiny glasses followed.

.

.

.

“Yeah, good. Drink up! Yeah~, you really are Arthur’s friend. You look like you couldn’t handle a drop but you’re no ordinary kid!”

“This distilled liquor is so clean and crisp, for its strength it goes down smoothly.”

Clayeo neatly emptied the little glass, then used his left hand to scoop up some of the hot pork stew broth.

‘Ah, this is the taste.’

Clayeo, who had forgotten all the hardships of the day, felt really good. It was like a bonus, encountering 85% recreations of sundae-guk and kimchi jjigae. Adding a vodka-like drink, he couldn’t help but let out a satisfied sigh.

‘Actually, soju is too sweet, so I hardly ever had it with stew… But eating it again after so long, this really is a soul-stirring flavor.’

Soul food needs no explanation. For Koreans, red stew and clear distilled liquor are soul food.

“That’s right. The ‘Three Lakes’ of the Tristain territory, this is the best distilled liquor anywhere. The only thing that grows here is potatoes, so that’s the ingredient, but it’s made with this crystal-clear underground water!”

“As expected, this clean flavor doesn’t come from nothing. Thank you for introducing me to such a good drink.”

“Ha, you recognized the pork stew right away, and you know your drinks! I really like you, Asser student.”

“It makes me happy that you think well of me, Teacher Mietz.”

Though they had just met, the two became drinking buddies as if they’d known each other for ten years, while the twins went upstairs with Isiel.

Chel and Arthur, who had been drinking together, ended up falling asleep, sitting close together, completely drunk.

Aether [Enhancement] was not a cure-all, so it couldn’t speed up metabolism or dramatically improve liver function. Even knights couldn’t dispel drunkenness or hangovers, so drinking capacity was purely a natural gift.

Amazingly, among them, Clayeo could drink the most. That one thing hadn’t changed, no matter the name, body, or world, so ‘Jeongjin’ found it amusing.

‘Here, I’d only had wine with Behemoth or a couple of glasses of whisky or brandy before bed, so I never really drank like this.’

“Asser student looked like a walking fishbone, so weak, but you’ve got a twist! Who knew you could drink so well!”

“You never get drunk on good liquor.”

The clear liquor called Three Lakes was a 40-proof distilled spirit made from potatoes.

Tradition was to serve the bottle in a bucket filled with snow, and if the snow melted, you could just scoop more from outside and refill it.

The colder it was, the thicker and more refreshing it became, and if you emptied the glass in one shot, it burned down your throat, almost scraping out the shape of your esophagus.

‘Different name, but it’s vodka.’

This cold, fiery northern drink paired perfectly with rich, spicy food.

Teacher Mietz, clearly an even bigger drinker than Arthur, emptied a 1.5-liter bottle back and forth with Clayeo and still looked perfectly fine as they toasted again.

‘This guy who drinks it like water is no joke either.’

Drinkers recognized each other, and as if to test each other’s skills in the world of martial arts, Arthur, who had his head on the table, suddenly shot up.

“Ugh, huh!”

“Arthur, what’s wrong?”

“Ah, ah… Teacher. Ah, I think I had a nightmare from sleeping uncomfortably… or maybe I’m still drunk, it’s hot in here.”

Arthur, still unable to hold up his head, pushed Chel to the wall and started unbuttoning his shirt. His earlobes and cheeks were all red, probably from the alcohol.

“Hey, don’t strip here, go outside and stick your head in the snow if you’re hot.”

“I don’t want to. It’s cold…”

“If you’re cold, why are you taking your clothes off! If you have to, use Aether [Enhancement]. You’re a knight-in-training, what’s there to fear from heat or cold!”

“Ah, Aether, right. Pierce Klagen has brownish Aether… Ugh, it was like snow melted in the mud by the carriage wheels.”

Ignoring his teacher’s protests, Arthur mumbled nonsense as he undid his shirt with glazed eyes.

“Hey, stop dawdling here and go upstairs to sleep.”

Though he spoke roughly, Teacher Mietz, concerned for Arthur, sighed deeply as he approached the boy. Normally, Arthur would never allow anyone near him, even in his sleep, but Mietz seemed to be an exception, as Arthur just stared blankly at his teacher.

Tall and well-built, but with a lingering fragility in his bones, Mietz lifted the boy to his feet, then suddenly stopped moving and abruptly pulled Arthur’s shirt wide open.

“…Where did you get this wound! An assassin? What kind of third-rate assassin uses sword energy like this?!”

When Mietz shouted, Arthur just swayed left and right like a top, as if the noise hurt his head. Because of that, his thin single-layer shirt slipped aside, exposing his upper body completely under the light.

The terrible sword wound across his back and chest had not fully healed even with healing magic, leaving red, crumpled scars as if burned by a fire blade.

Scars far too old for a boy his age, and over the shallow traces from years at the lake, the mark of an 8th-level Sword Master’s blade was drawn, still brutal even though it had healed.

Clayeo was also shocked.

‘Is that the wound he got from Pierce Klagen during the finals? For it to be that…’

At the time when Pierce and Arthur faced off, the world had not yet twisted. After that, Arthur had gotten up after three days, so Clayeo had never imagined the wound would be so deep.

In place of the busy Zebedi, Clayeo had quietly offered to cast extra healing magic, but Arthur had waved him off, so he hadn’t forced it. Now, he felt a bit of regret.

‘Was I… negligent in my duties…? No, this guy should have said something if he was in pain instead of just enduring it.’

Mietz and Clayeo, each shocked in their own way, stared at Arthur’s wound.

In the heavy silence, Arthur, oblivious, just kept yawning, but finally, as the alcohol started to wear off, he blinked his eyes open.

“Huh, why am I dressed like this?”

Arthur slowly buttoned up his shirt, one button at a time. Holding Arthur’s wrist, Mietz asked in a voice barely containing his anger.

“I never taught you to show your back in battle. Who dared to do this to you? Answer me, Arthur Riognan.”

“Ah, must have been the mud…”

Arthur, as if mocking Mietz’s seriousness, gave a meaningless answer and then, still held by the arm, collapsed again in a faint.

“Hey!!!”