Hall Of Exchange (5)

I saw the people gathered in the dining hall and shouted, ‘Good morning,’ but Vincent sighed and spoke to me.

“It is past noon, my Lord. Could you please try not to skip meals?”

“I apologize. The truth is, I didn’t skip it because I wanted to…”

Just then, Beni, whose skin looked dry and cracked, followed me in, walking like a zombie. Allena and a few other maids looked at her and me with envy, but I felt the need to correct what was clearly a slight misunderstanding.

However, a hangover cure came first, so I looked at Riin and said,

“I was hoping to borrow the kitchen for a bit. Is that alright?”

“W-while it is alright, why would a Lord and a Noble such as yourself wish to enter a humble kitchen?”

“It’s fine. I have something I want to make, and I absolutely must borrow it because it’s something I urgently need right now.”

Hearing my words, Riin reluctantly guided me, and after a quick glance at the maids and Vincent swarming around Beni, I decided they were incorrigible and went straight into the depths of the kitchen.

I then picked up a large wok and asked Riin,

“Do we have any pig pumpkin?”

Here, zucchini was called pig pumpkin. At my words, she asked why.

“I’m going to make a jjigae; I need a hangover cure.”

Riin didn’t understand my words but somehow said she did and prepared the squash. Next, I asked for pork.

It was the meat of a wild boar called “Beoeu.” Pork was absolutely essential for the jjigae I was trying to cook, and since I had to use either Beoeu meat or orc meat, I asked for the Beoeu meat as a second-best option.

I then bothered Riin by asking her to bring several other food ingredients.

I lit a fire in the magic brazier and, using its intense heat, asked Riin to put in the large pieces—sliced about the size of a finger joint—and began to stir-fry them.

I then tossed in vegetables and various other things, stir-frying them sweetly with pork fat. Riin, who watched from nearby, asked,

“I notice this every time, my Lord, but your cooking is quite unique.”

“It has to be…”

I couldn’t say that it had to be unique because it was food from another world. The previous statement was all I could offer. Afterwards, I poured in an appropriate amount of water, let it simmer, and slowly began to season it by dissolving the Gochujang.

Honestly, I don’t know if the way I’m making it is the standard method. I was simply making it as a hangover cure because this Gochujang-jjigae was the cheapest and tastiest drinking snack I could make during my single life, which brought back those memories.

However, as the scent left the kitchen and drifted into the dining hall, the people who had been continuously asking Beni questions began to take an interest in this area.

A rather spicy aroma was wafting out. The maids and Vincent were already used to it and ate it well, but feeling a bit of regret to keep it to ourselves, I shouted to them:

“Could you bring a few bottles of moderate-strength alcohol? And I’d like to request some Sikhye or other beverages too. Water would be nice! Oh, Riin, is there any leftover rice? Cold rice is good too!”

It had been a long time since I taught Riin how to cook rice, so even now, Riin made sure to prepare rice for my meals.

And today, there was rice. As the Gochujang-jjigae simmered, I checked that everything I requested was set up, and I left the kitchen, carrying the stew in the large pot.

It was incredibly heavy, but I felt I had gained a little strength recently. Although it was a bit wobbly, I managed to carry it to the table. We distributed appropriate amounts into the bowls that were prepared, and then Beni and I served ourselves a large ladleful each into our big bowls and said,

“Alright, this is an incredible dish to have with alcohol. It really settles your stomach. Day drinking… is mom and d… no, never mind. Anyway, it’s so delicious you might lose your mind, so no more alcohol. One bottle per four people, no more than that!”

Having said that, I picked up my spoon while placing a bottle for myself alone in front of me. I scooped a big spoonful of the stew, blew on it, and put it in my mouth, immediately confirming that this was a perfect hangover stew.

“Kheu-eueu… This is the taste.”

I quickly pulled the cork from the bottle and poured the drink into a wine glass. The greenish color suggested it was Herbal Liquor. I didn’t know what kind of medicinal effect the Herbal Liquor had, but I filled the glass, thinking I might as well enjoy what had been brought, and took a sip. It was very good.

“Kyah, this is amazing, isn’t it?”

At my words, the maids and Vincent, who had been watching, also started eating. The moment they put the first spoonful in their mouths, they froze, unable to utter a single word.

Then Vincent, who had closed his eyes to savor the flavor, opened his mouth.

“This tingling sensation and the deep flavor of the broth. And the solid ingredients are unbelievably plentiful. Did you sauté various vegetables and meat and then simmer them?”

I thought he was quite perceptive and confirmed it. Vincent then asked me to teach him how to make it later. Next, Vincent followed my example, pouring the alcohol into his glass, taking a sip, and swirling it in his mouth as if rinsing, before swallowing the drink and giving me a thumbs-up, a gesture I occasionally made.

“It’s fantastic. This is the first time I’ve had such a harmonious meal.”

After that, the maids were equally excited. One of the maids couldn’t handle spicy food well, so I advised adding some of the pre-prepared water to adjust the spiciness and seasoning. Their reaction of adding a little salt themselves and adjusting the seasoning as they ate was impressive.

As the clattering sounds filled the dining hall, Beni looked much more comfortable and thanked me.

It was a dining hall in a noble house, exuding a cozy, family-style hangover soup atmosphere for lunch.

If I had to pick the most inconvenient things after coming to this world, I would say the internet, cell phones, and basic living infrastructure. But after living here for a long time, there was one thing I truly missed.

Whenever I stopped working and put everything down, I would let out one lament.

“I want to drink coffee!!”

Beni, hearing my sudden outcry again, looked puzzled and asked what it was. I vaguely explained coffee trees, coffee berries, and the approximate climate they thrive in by drawing pictures on paper, but Beni said she had never heard of such a thing.

“Areas with a tropical climate require traveling quite far south. I believe I heard that the extreme southern part of the Terakan Empire has a tropical climate.”

The fact that a single nation had multiple climates was surprising, but more important was the existence of a region with a tropical climate.

“Would merchants who trade back and forth know about it?”

Hearing my words, Beni shook her head and said,

“I’ve never even heard talk of such a thing.”

“Hmph… I suppose so?”

It was nothing short of heartbreaking. I was disappointed that I probably wouldn’t be able to find an item to replace it, but I hoped to travel south someday if the opportunity arose.

“I can’t just leave right now… and the Demon God’s Month is right around the corner.”

Now, only a week remained. Demon God’s Month was just a nice name for it.

The weather outside was the brutal cold of midwinter, so much so that going out was considered madness.

It was a strange realization that several months had already passed since I came here, but more than that, I missed coffee, cocoa, ginger tea, and a few types of black tea that were necessary for this cold weather.

But perhaps tealeaves could be easily obtained even here?

I thought about it, and it occurred to me that I had never seen a noble in this world enjoying a drink other than ‘wa-an’ (wine) since I arrived.

“Do you happen to know what ‘Cha’ (tea) is, Beni?”

“‘Cha’?”

She looked like she didn’t know. So I explained roughly what it was. She clapped her hands and nodded.

“We do boil medicinal herbs and drink them that way. Is that also a kind of ‘Cha’?”

I corrected the term to ‘Tea’ in case it was a word issue, but Beni still didn’t understand. In the end, it meant it wasn’t common.

‘No, what have they been doing, bringing so many humans from other worlds, yet not doing even this one thing?’

I was disgusted by the moronic actions of the Apoca Kingdom and others. Did they just send everyone straight to the battlefield?

The thought occurred to me that if I had been unlucky, that might have been my fate, too.

Just thinking about it was horrifying.

“Hmm… it’s too cold to travel right now…”

I was currently living in the Lord’s Official Residence, not the Lord’s Castle.

The Lord’s Castle was extremely cold because it lacked magical devices to maintain the indoor temperature. The fact that I hadn’t known this was absurd, and the building, being constructed solely of stone, felt even colder.

I briefly considered covering it with wood later and trying to implement an underfloor heating system system, but in reality, I had already ordered several magical tools.

What’s the point of a well-built Lord’s Castle if I can’t use it?

Anyway, the absence of ‘Tea and Cha’ made me sigh. Yet, I didn’t give up.

I resolved to introduce this continent’s people to the New World, including coffee, and simply concentrated back on my work.

And a few more days passed…

Half a day before the long-awaited Demon God’s Month was to begin, I gathered the Beastkin and required them to take the Magic Power Suppressor I had given them.

Even though the cold wave was raging, the Beastkin were dressed very lightly. Was it because of the fur covering their bodies?

Or were they fine because of their naturally born resilience?

It was utterly incomprehensible, and the Beastkin also looked at me with incomprehensible expressions.

This was because I was completely covered in several layers of fur. Having lost more weight recently, I looked like a skeleton, making me even more vulnerable to the cold.

‘They say you’re cold if you don’t have fat…’

That was exactly my condition. But was I lacking in physical strength?

That wasn’t the case either. So, I needed to seriously consider the cause, but for now, I couldn’t figure it out.

“Now, everyone has taken the medicine, so in a little while, you won’t be able to move your magic power. However, if the magic power moves despite taking the medicine!! Then you must take the reserve medicine I gave you and come to the Lord’s Castle. Understood?”

Just in case, I had provided two spare pills, which were different, out of the fifteen pills. I expected the spare medicine to have a slightly stronger effect and longer duration. Since the ingredients used were entirely different from the existing ones, I prepared them beforehand in case the reaction was different.

This measure was taken because I estimated that the Beastkin could run at full power and reach the Lord’s Official Residence in as fast as one day or as late as a day and a half.

“I wish for all of you to be happy. You remained here because you trusted me. I told you that our children, who are our future, do not need to be evacuated, but there will be those who evacuated them anyway, won’t there?”

A few Beastkin nodded their heads. Looking at them, I said,

“There must be a reason why your Goddess selected me to lead you all. Therefore, I thank you for trusting me. I, too, cannot do without you now. So… let’s try to overcome this well, shall we?”

A quiet and somewhat respectable atmosphere settled among the Beastkin in the deep silence. And as time passed, on the day that marked the New Year…

Peace settled upon the Ingrad Domain.