Novels online

Episode 7

#7. Northern Rewards (1)

After putting the first spoonful in your mouth.

The five knights said nothing..

Instead, he started emptying the stew without saying a word..

“Here's one more bowl!”

“What other menus are there??”

“Just get all the menus here.!”

It was only after they finished the stew bowl that their mouths opened..

‘There is no trace of curses, opium or witchcraft.!’

‘delicious. So delicious!’

‘The saying that it melts in your mouth is what they mean when they say something like this.!’

‘What on earth is this scent and taste? Can meat be this soft??’

‘Did you really get this taste from weed or something??’

‘It's a big deal... … ! I don't think I'll ever be able to eat any other food from now on.!’

The knights lost half their senses due to the ecstatic taste they had experienced for the first time in their lives..

“……!”

And among these, there was one person who was particularly impressed..

‘It's much better than the food I ate on my birthday..’

Arina, a female knight of the North, head of the House of Rensley, and Grand Duchess of the North, looked at the stew that had been emptied to the bottom in an instant with blank eyes..

‘How could such an amazing food be born in the North?!’

Although it was only a bowl of stew, it was like a precious flower found in the wasteland to the north, which had become increasingly desolate these days, and to myself, who was exhausted..

‘what should i do?’

At the same time, I became greedy..

It would be such a waste to have someone who cooks dishes like this stay in just one inn..

‘Cooking skills are a skill, but that Arad salt. That secret is the key.’

A brief moment when the next food comes out.

Arina's mind was racing..

The simplest and most common way is to find out the secret recipe by bullying a chef named Arad, whom you haven't seen yet..

This is a method mainly used by continental nobles to rob talented commoners..

Alternatively, you can kidnap them to Rensley Castle and monopolize this taste..

‘no. neither.’

But Arina shook her head..

In her dictionary of honor, the above two methods are absolutely impossible..

‘The North benefited greatly from Arad salt. To be exact, I plan on wearing it. and… … . If you have received a favor, you must repay it. That's the northern principle!’

Before she was Prince of Rensley, Arina was a proud Northerner..

* * *

“Quality and quantity are okay..”

“ha ha ha… … . then……?”

“Here it is. I added 3 more coppers. I especially like winter apples. Next time please.”

It is said that a person's adaptability comes from language..

Even though it hadn't been long since I had been possessed in this world, a tone similar to something seen in a historical drama was naturally flowing from my mouth..

“Thank you! May our ancestors bless you.”

“next.”

“Arad! I brought it too! how is it?”

“Umm… … . This snow mountain plant is not allowed. It's not good to eat something this big because it's poisonous..”

“Ahhh…….”

“Still, you managed to find Snow White Flowers? Here it is. It's the promised 5 Coopers..”

“thank you! thank you!”

At the back of Jack's Inn, I was receiving, inspecting, and accounting for food ingredients requested from adventurers and city children..

“Brother Arad! Arad brother!”

Just as I finished counting, I heard Tom's voice from behind me..

“Tom? Are you out of stew already??”

The only time Tom came running was when I ran out of a large quantity of stew, so I asked with a puzzled look on my face..

“No, I ordered another dish..”

“different cuisine?”

The main dish at Jack's Inn is the 2-cooper Arad stew with Arad salt..

Other dishes didn't turn out well..

The reason is because of the price.

The dishes except the stew were definitely delicious, but expensive. It was also very expensive.

‘It was because the price was set with a clear intention of ‘are you still going to eat it after all this?’.

The menu was designed that way on purpose to simplify the menu and reduce the number of items..

“Has the High One come again??”

I tilted my head at Tom’s words..

Wealthy merchants, imperial adventurers, high-ranking mercenaries, and even the mayor currently dining at the inn..

I dealt with everyone who could order expensive food for lunch..

That's why I'm calculating food ingredients here now..

“Well, very high-ranking knights from the High Castle came. Even the mayor inside seemed unable to move..”

“article? From nature?”

At Tom's words, I went straight into the inn..

There was a very tense atmosphere on the first floor of the inn that we quickly entered..

‘Are they Lancelet's elite knights??’

At the center of the atmosphere were five knights filling one table at the inn..

At first glance, he looked like a mercenary from a famous mercenary group, but upon closer inspection, an aura and demeanor not seen in mercenaries was noticeable..

Wearing beautiful robes and capes over their armor, they gave off a unified elegance befitting a knightly order..

In addition, their restrained behavior created an intangible aura of dignity, naturally eliciting respect, admiration, and submission from viewers..

‘The mayor and officials of Haven are stuck, so they must be high-ranking knights..’

The knights of the North, the regular knights of Lancelet, have enormous authority..

In particular, the high knights of Lancelet were a walking judiciary and executive branch.

If we were to consider the Earth, would it be said to be the combined authority of police, prosecutors, judges, and the military?.

He even had a license to kill, so he could execute a nobleman below the rank of Viscount on the spot if the reason was justifiable..

“Are you Arad??”

When I came out to the kitchen, the eyes of all the drivers were focused on me..

“Yes, it's called Arad..”

So, I politely greeted him using ‘etiquette’, one of the max level skills imbued in this body..

“Hoo……?”

“Do you have a last name??”

The knights' eyes lit up when they saw this..

“My last name is Jin..”

They asked me my last name, so I answered using my Earth name..

“It’s Jin… … ? This is my first time hearing this last name..”

“yes. My great-great-grandfather was from far away on the Eastern Continent..”

“Was he a nobleman??”

“Now he's fallen and he's no longer a noble..”

“So, was Arad salt brought from the Eastern Continent??”

“We have recently succeeded in adapting the vision that has been passed down through generations to the North..”

“indeed!”

I talked to the knights while making up the past of this body..

“Anyway, it was a fantastic stew..”

“I think I'll remember it forever.”

“I would like to ask for some other food as well. Is it possible??”

“Of course.”

In response to the knights' polite request, I once again bowed my head in accordance with etiquette and quickly moved my hand..

“Your hand movements are unusual..”

“Even if I had held a sword, I would have succeeded.”

“A person with such dexterity can cook, should I call it a waste or a blessing?…….”

The knights, who satisfied my immediate hunger by eating two bowls of stew each, watched my cooking process with kind and generous faces..

‘Who lives here??’

While I was cooking under their gaze, I glanced at someone. I was strangely concerned about the article that was presumed to be a female article..

‘It's not that there are no female knights in this world, but it's complicated in many ways.?’

It is a world where mana exists..

Therefore, there were many women in the realm of mana, such as knights, magic, and priests..

However, this does not mean that there are many female knights. Because the profession of knighthood was inherently a rough field, the proportion of women was very low compared to magic or divine power..

‘A female knight from the High Castle. It's even the highest position in the party... … . Was there a person of such renown among the female knights of the North??’

Above all, the knights in the party were knowingly or unknowingly watching the female knight..

In addition, the other knights naturally took off their hoods while eating, but the female knight had her face covered with her hood until the end..

‘Surely that female knight is not the Northern Grand Duke Arina??’

Suddenly a guess crossed my mind..

‘Hey, what is a person as big as a grand duke going to do in such a simple manner?…….’

At first I thought no.

‘for a moment? The reason why the North was taken over by the imperial family in earnest was……?’

Then, I couldn't help but pause for a moment at the setting of Silver Age 1 that came to mind..

‘It was right after the Northern Grand Duchess Arina and the high-ranking knights protecting her suddenly disappeared. I didn't know the exact time, but maybe it was around this time??’

Then, the luck stat set for this body came to mind..

Considering the luck stat, the situation of being a possessed person, and the flow of history, it makes sense that there is a female archduchess in front of you..

“…….”

While I was cooking, my eyes turned to the female chef..

At that moment, she was also staring at me with her eyes covered by her hood..

* * *

The five knights from the High Castle (strongly presumed to include the Grand Duchess of the North) ate the food I made with great relish, as if inhaling it..

“All the meat I've eaten so far has been trash. ah! Except for Polly's lip..”

“Will my tongue ever go back to how it was before eating this food??”

“The bread isn't the hard, dry bread I'm used to. How can bread come out so soft and chewy??”

The amount the knights ate was enormous..

The knights were usually gluttons, but when combined with my max level cooking skill and Arad salt, they became even more gluttonous..

Crunch Crunch Crunch

Afterwards, we forgot the shame of belonging to a high castle and continued to eat comfortably like commoners..

“…….”

The female knight, presumed to be Northern Grand Duchess Arina Rune Renslet, also moved her fork, spoon, and knife without stopping while covering her face with a hood..

So the sun sets.

Their meal did not end until it was time to light bonfires and lanterns throughout the haven..

“Ugh! I'm so full!”

“It's a shame that I'm so full that I can't put any more in my mouth..”

“I want to eat more even if I have to chew and spit it out..”

The knights patted their swollen bellies and looked satisfied..

“…….”

I, Jack, Tom, and the other guests looked at us with tired faces..

“How much?”

“that is… … . I got 3 silver and 21 copper..”

Food was priced expensive to begin with. Because I inhaled so much of that food, the price of the food also went up a lot..

“3silver?”

“yes… … . Yes, that's right. Since you ate a lot, I won't accept the next 21 Coopers. ha ha ha…….”

That's why Jack's voice trembled slightly when he said the price..

“receive.”

But I don't know if the knights were for their own honor, or because of the Northern Grand Duke who was here, or because they were truly satisfied with my cooking..

I nodded once and opened my money bag..

“Here's 4 silver.”

Then he handed four silver coins to Jack..

“Take some change…….”

“Hey! What do you think of us? I don't need any change.”

The knights stopped Jack, who was trying to open the inn's safe in order to receive four silver coins and give change, and left the inn while pounding his stomach..

So let the knights leave,

“Ooh, let's go too!”

“That's right!”

“I will guide you. You will eat here, but you will sleep at our inn..”

The mayor and officials of Haven, who had been standing in the corner as if dead, rushed to run in the direction where the knights had gone..

“went.”

“I went.”

“You went.”

Jack, Tom, and I just watched the scene blankly from the entrance of the inn where the storm had passed..

“…….”

Meanwhile, my mind was tangled with other thoughts..

‘The disappearance of the Northern Grand Duchess.…….’

The history of the North that we roughly knew through the Silver Age 1.

‘The history of the North was distorted and erased by the empire, so I don't know the details. But given the circumstances, it is highly likely now..’

I looked in the direction where the knights disappeared, toward the Polly Inn, and fell into deep thought..

‘I never thought the disappearance would be like this.’

I am sure that the party neatly organized by the Grand Duchess of the North and Lancelet's high-ranking knights was most likely going to the Demon Lord..

Otherwise there would be no way I would come here to Haven..

‘Should I follow??’

To save the North, we must first save the Northern Grand Duke, who will become the central point of the North..

I felt a clichéd sense of obligation, like I had to step up and intervene..

‘But by what means? There is so little justification. It looks like a top-secret mission at first glance, but if you tell me you're willing to join, you'll be interrogated in prison..’

Decisions and hesitations zigzag through my thoughts..

‘Above all, I am now a strictly non-combatant. It's absolutely not helpful in battle. Even if you join the party, there is no guarantee that you will contribute to preventing the disappearance of the Grand Duchess..’

It would be fortunate if it wasn't a hindrance rather than a help..

‘I may be able to cook and repair weapons, but will I be able to survive in a party full of monsters just for that reason??’

I could have gotten caught up in a fight and lost my life..

‘Come to think of it! There has to be a horse you can ride in horse racing, right? Special horses were very expensive in Silver Age 1, but they will be more expensive now.?’

When conflict and hesitation arose,,

-North, save the North!

The sorrowful voice I heard as I fell into another world automatically plays in my head..

There was also a strong feeling that I could return to Earth only if I listened to that heartbreaking request..

‘It's still hard for me to make a living alone.…….’

It was really embarrassing to run out of such a difficult quest after less than two months in this world..