Novels online

Episode 3

#3. MSG of the North (2)

‘Let's save the North after we settle down first..’

There was a reason and purpose for why I went out of my way to apply for the chef job..

‘It's easy to get information if you work at an inn. You can make money safely. Plus, if you're a chef, you can start working right away without any conditions.?’

While working at this inn, I am adapting to a different world..

Establishing a foundation to take care of your own business while earning money safely.

This was my primary goal.

‘Come to think of it, it’s fun, right? Life in another world.’

Anyway, I guess it's because I started off too safely.?

Although I fell into that uncomfortable medieval fantasy world, I didn't feel particularly at a loss..

It felt like I was on a trip. Or should I say that it feels like playing a realistic virtual reality game?.

If it weren't for that damn mission to save the North, it would have been a truly enjoyable other-world vacation..

* * *

About an hour later.

I made my first dish using the ingredients and tools in the kitchen..

The dish was the most popular and best-selling northern stew..

“Wow… … . It's really delicious!”

“It was worth suggesting with confidence..”

“It's much better than my dad's cooking.?”

“It's loud, you guy..”

Since I couldn't cook the stew for just one person, I unintentionally boiled the owner and his son's share as well..

And fortunately, those two really enjoyed the stew I made..

“…….”

The problem is me.

Unlike those two people, I couldn't even scoop up a few spoonfuls of this stew..

‘This is delicious?’

The stew had a strong odor, and more than anything, the taste was very bland..

‘Even if I try to control the blandness with salt, the smell is too strong..’

My head is staring blankly at the finished stew.

All kinds of know-how and knowledge at cooking level MAX were floating around. In addition, the values ​​of earthlings.

‘In this possessed body, Arad's mind, there is food ingredient information tailored to another world appropriate for the MAX cooking level..’

My possessed body was amazing..

To borrow an Earth expression, Arad's body is a high-performance computer. And my soul can be thought of as software, or OS..

‘It might not be a fantasy world, but there are some good spices and seasonings in the North too. Plus, there are rock salt mines, so salt isn't that expensive..’

Even if you focus just a little bit on an issue, various related information comes to mind as if you were using Chat GPT..

‘It would be more effective if we combined the vegetable culture used in Korea..’

Even as a possessor, my country of origin is Korea, which is more serious about vegetables and spices than any other country in the world..

Even the young shoots of poisonous plants are said to be weakly poisonous, so they chew them like iron bars and eat them..

Also, I am from a country where poisonous plants are mixed with rice, saying it is okay if you don't eat them often..

My soul and Arad’s body at the maximum cooking level met..

And with my hands, a smelly and bland stew was created before my eyes..

‘This stew is an insult.’

The stew that the innkeeper Jack and his son Tom ate in a hurry was a great shame to me..

* * *

early morning the next day.

I got up before anyone else and went out of the inn..

I wasn't tired. Even though this body was non-combat and had zero force and combat skills, the basic stamina and strength stats accumulated through hard work are not going anywhere..

The gang stats that naturally increased through hard work made it impossible to feel fatigue even in most situations..

“Ugh, it's cold.…….”

But the cold was a separate issue..

The good news is that I'm not wearing linen clothes and a leather jacket like I did yesterday..

Now I have on my body the northern fur coat I got from Jack, and fur gloves on my hands..

Thanks to this, I was able to walk around like this even in the early morning cold..

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh

The road to the outskirts of the city was very difficult due to the snow that fell overnight..

Who doesn't think it's the North? Even though it only snowed briefly, the snow was up to our knees..

“Ugh! It's like the damn devil's dandruff.!”

“What are you getting excited about already? This isn't like this for a day or two!”

As I walked down the street, I could hear the complaints of city people working on snow removal..

“We are recruiting people to clear snow! Working until lunch, 2 coopers! First 20 people!”

Anyway, Haven is a small to medium-sized city, and due to the nature of the city, there are more outsiders than citizens..

In other words, there were limits to snow removal work with city residents alone..

Therefore, cries of citizens recruiting workers were heard everywhere..

“Get out of the way! me first!”

“no! I starved for two days!”

Low-level adventurers flocked to the call for help..

Huh huh huh huh

I passed by those adventurers and headed toward the city entrance..

City Haven is a small to medium-sized city, but it is the front line facing the Demonic Land. The thickness, height, and length of the castle walls were no joke..

In addition, as I was walking through the snow, my breathing became heavy, and beads of sweat formed on my forehead..

How long did it take to walk like that? I finally arrived at Dongmun Gate, one of the entrances to the city..

The eastern gate of the city was in the opposite direction from the city gate and was not connected to the northern road, so there were not many people passing by or guarding it..

“hmm? He's the therapist who treated Lennon and Jack at Jack's Inn yesterday. The sun hasn't even come up, but I'm already trying to get out of the city.?”

As I get closer, a guard with the emblems of Haven and Lancelet engraved on his breastplate recognizes me..

It seems to be the guard who was dispatched yesterday..

‘Discipline is in order..’

The measure of military discipline can be seen just by looking at the uniforms worn and the maintenance of the weapons..

Northern Steel is the only company that can compete with Imperial Steel. The halberd made of northern iron shone brightly even in the cold weather..

Because Northern Hancheol requires so much work, soldiers other than knights are barely provided with main weapons..

In addition to the halberd, secondary weapons used regular iron weapons and wore leather and fur armor..

Then I saw another guard right next to me. The outfit was identical, as if it had been copied and pasted..

‘The guards' weapons have been unified. Does this mean that the Grand Duke will provide weapons and armor??’

It wasn't perfect. but it was great.

This is a world where it is common for soldiers to purchase their own weapons and armor at their own expense..

I can guarantee that the North is probably the only place in this world that provides uniform weapons and armor to even the lowest soldiers..

Just by looking at this, one could understand the military power and discipline of the North..

“To dig up some herbs near the city..”

After contemplating whether or not to show respect to the guard, I decided to stop talking..

Come to think of it, the guard didn't speak first.?

“There must be an apothecary in the city too.?”

“If I'm going to give you that money, I'll dig it up myself..”

“Hahahaha! I understood it right away. Hurry up and go.”

“Thank you.”

“But don't go beyond the cloud ridge. From there, monsters and beasts are often seen..”

“keep in mind.”

Fortunately, the guard wasn't offended by my tone..

Since my currently known profession is a therapist, I seem to have received some recognition..

The event that took place yesterday brought me many benefits other than money..

So I passed the city entrance without any problems..

Just in case, I got a letter of identity from the inn owner Jack, but there was no need to use it..

* * *

I went out of the city and walked for about 30 minutes..

At about that time, the sun began to slowly appear..

Since this is a Haven that borders the Demonic Land, even just this much could be considered quite an adventure..

Still, since this was in the opposite direction from the demonic area and the city smell was strong, there were no monsters to be seen..

The only animals seen were birds, rabbits, rats, and deer, which can be called non-first movers..

‘This world is another world. White grass grows like this even in snowy winter? I guess this is also because of mana.?’

Above all, the field we arrived at was easier to walk around than in the city..

There was a lot of snow in the city, but not that much where I was standing..

‘Looks like there's a magic stone mine nearby..’

I roughly guessed the reason and looked around..

I also wanted to visit the magic stone mine, but I put it off until later..

Nowadays, even if you take magic stones, there is no equipment, facilities, or sales route to use them..

‘Spices… … . It's spice…….’

I wandered through a field covered in shallow snow with the energy of the magic stone..

‘There's no rule that says pepper is the only spice..’

As I walked around, I searched for grass and roots that only grow in this world but are similar to those on Earth..

Although it was a cold winter, life of its own was growing in the northern fields blessed with mana and magic stones..

White weeds were spread out like a snow field..

‘I found it. northern spices.’

And soon I was able to find what could be the Northern Spice and Northern MSG..

As soon as I found it, I immediately collected various grasses and roots into the bag I had with me..

Creep Creep Creep Creep

For several hours, I cut the grass with a dagger, picked up fallen leaves, dug lightly into the ground, dug up the roots, and packed them in a leather bag..

It was a little annoying to gather using a dagger while wearing fur gloves, but it wasn't difficult thanks to the dexterity stat..

After a while.

I nodded while looking at the full bag..

‘This should be enough?’

The things in my bag were varied, but broadly speaking, they fell into two categories..

Snowflake roots and snowy leaves.

Both are common things found in the fantasy world of the North..

‘Next time, I'll have to give requests to city kids or adventurers..’

After completing the collection to my satisfaction, I headed back to the city, thinking to myself that it was not something I would do twice..

When I arrived at the entrance to the city with bold steps, there was a different soldier standing there than before..

“I heard from Jen during my shift, therapist. By the way, it's all already gone?”

But the soldier pretended to know me when he saw me, as if he had been handed over to me..

“I was lucky and was able to collect it quickly..”

“Snowy leaves and snowflake roots? There are also some small weeds. What are you going to do with this? Are these also used in medicine??”

“I wanted to use it in cooking.”

“cooking? They say they put things like deer in their food.?!”

Looking at the soldier's reaction, it seems that the northern spices have not yet taken hold..

It seems to be treated as a weed that cannot be used as medicine or as a plant that only herbivores such as deer eat..

“It's just like an experiment. I'll try it and if it doesn't work, I'll quit..”

I didn't want to argue with a soldier like that, so I just talked around..

“I don't know what to do with all this wasted food. Anyway, let's go in..”

The guard let me into the city without even asking for a bribe..

Since I was known as a therapist, it seemed like a cover in case I got hurt later… … is a guess.

The situation was possible because the North generally had strong military power and strict military discipline..

‘These tasteless northerners. Why haven't I even thought about eating these while I'm whining about how precious food is and how there's nothing to eat? These are all good spices and seasonings if used properly, but I can’t believe I don’t use them..’

As I passed through the city entrance and headed toward the inn, I clicked my tongue..

‘Well, the reason we started eating these in earnest was because of the imperial exploitation and great famine..’

Then, when the tragedy of the North naturally occurred to me, I stopped my tongue..

My steps toward the inn were lighter and more comfortable than at dawn. Meanwhile, it appears that citizens and adventurers have done a very good job of clearing snow..

* * *

When we arrived at the inn, the owner, Jack, and his son, Tom, were cleaning..

“Are you here? Where did you go so early??”

Jack, with balding hair, a bushy beard, and a protruding belly, was sweeping his broom with as much care as possible on his bandaged right arm..

His son Tom was mopping next to him..

“I had to dig up something outside the city for a moment..”

After receiving the two people's gaze, I briefly responded while pointing to the bag on my shoulder..

“Did you skip morning business??”

Then I looked around the particularly desolate and quiet first floor and asked:.

“To begin with, hardly any of the guests here eat breakfast. Even if it was, he looked at my hand and immediately headed to another store..”

Jack grinned and shrugged his shoulders..

“That means there will be someone to eat at lunch.?”

“That's it. For your information, I have high expectations. The stew I ate yesterday was really great. I bet all the adventurers and mercenaries in this city eat here..”

Jack looked at me with anticipation as I entered the kitchen..

Gulp.

Next to him, Tom is swallowing his saliva without realizing it, as if he was remembering the stew he ate yesterday..

“I'll show you a delicious stew that can't be compared to anything else..”

Leaving behind the gazes of those two people, I quickly started preparing lunch..

“From now on, can I ask Tom a small favor every time I cook??”

“Of course. Instead, I would be grateful if you could pay me some money for my trouble..”

“Don't do that. Tom, get some clean water first..”

“I'll scoop it up right from the well.!”

Was it because they said they would pay for their trouble? At my words, Tom rushed out of the inn..

“however… … . Why did we dig up so many of these inedible weeds and roots? Did a new medicine come out without my knowledge??”

It was a few seconds later that I heard Jack's incomprehensible question..