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Chapter : 8
In an instant, they devoured the sandwiches and stood up.
“Still, this is a lot of quantity. We should probably sell it in Havel before moving on, right? We’ll get less money compared to the capital side, but still.”
“Well… yeah. Let’s head to Havel’s black market.”
The captain shrugged and lifted a worn cloth bag containing materials from monsters with one hand.
He slung the bag over his shoulder. Not feeling even a trace of fatigue, he concluded that the monsters must have weakened and muttered to himself.
“We should report this to the Guild Union.”
The captain stopped the two who were still bickering and gathered the rest of the supplies again before heading toward Havel.
It was still a noisy, chaotic journey of the three of them.
In all that commotion, no one noticed.
That, at some point, there were no longer any wounds left on Jack’s cheek.
“Baemdori, did you sleep well? You’re cute as always! Rest up while I go to work.”
Hiss— hiss—
“You want to come with me? It’s dangerous though.”
A new morning had dawned.
Baemdori, as if determined not to leave my side even for a moment, climbed up my arm and looked at me with sparkling eyes.
It might be dangerous, and I was worried, but this cute snake showed no intention of leaving me, so I lifted Baemdori up and wrapped it around my neck, ready to hold it in my arms at any moment as I went down the stairs.
Maybe because I now had family, even the inn I hadn’t fully repaired yesterday looked beautiful.
I hummed like a certain magical girl and swung the broom around.
Seeing Baemdori wearing a ribbon made from leftover cloth after making tablecloths filled me with satisfaction.
The white ribbon around the black snake’s neck looked completely out of place—and therefore incredibly cute.
Though it seemed a little gloomy after I put the ribbon on, it quickly climbed back up my arm, so maybe I was imagining it.
In my past life, I never had the luxury to raise a pet.
No— I didn’t even have the luxury of having something that was truly mine.
As memories of the past tried to surface, I shook my head and pushed them away, gently stroking Baemdori beside me.
“I feel like something good will happen today!”
Today, I woke up early again, placed the adorably distinctive Baemdori with its white ribbon around my neck, and was busy making a large batch of soup to sell.
Today’s main ingredient was mushrooms.
Suppressing my drowsiness with a big yawn, I chopped the mushrooms into pieces and tossed them into the pot.
The sound of mushrooms sizzling in boiling water reached my tired mind.
Well, I heard that in actual medieval times there was something called an “eternally boiling soup,” where they would just keep adding ingredients when they ran out and add water when it reduced, never turning off the fire.
It would certainly make cooking easier for me, but…
…isn’t that a bit unhygienic?
A Korean person working in a sparkling romance fantasy world thought that.
It was funny to worry about hygiene in a romance fantasy world, but even if no problems would arise, the concept of hygiene—and the mindset of a Korean person—could not accept it.
“You should wash your hands before sitting at the table and sit properly! What are you doing!”
…Still, this was a romance fantasy world, so maybe stomachaches or diarrhea from hygiene issues wouldn’t happen.
Maybe someone would use diarrhea medicine as a weapon against rivals, but that probably had nothing to do with a small roadside restaurant like mine.
What a convenient world.
While I was lost in thoughts about this glittering romance fantasy world, Baemdori, who had been resting on my neck, lifted its head and tapped my cheek.
“Yes, Baemdori? What is it?”
Jingle—
“Are you open today?”
“Yes, welcome!”
So smart! This cute snake had noticed a customer coming in and called me!
People always say their own pets are geniuses, but mine truly is one.
I was certain. The smartest and cutest snake in the world was Baemdori.
I made a completely objective judgment. Objectively speaking, my baby is a genius.
I left the soup simmering and ran toward the door.
“Are you staying overnight, or just eating?”
“Just eating! Who would dare stay overnight in a place like this!”
Saying that, the rough-looking customers laughed loudly.
What? Had they already noticed my inn breaking down according to fantasy logic? Had rumors already spread?
Or were they looking down on my lovely inn that was supposed to earn me a living? If so, I would smash their heads with my shield and bury them under a flowering tree so red blossoms would bloom…
While I was lost in such delusions, the customers sat casually at a large table.
They chatted and laughed among themselves, then ordered meat dishes, salads, soup, baked bread, sandwiches with cheese… and more.
Hey you idiots. At least unify the menu!
“…I’ll let it slide since it’s not busy right now.”
I muttered curses under my breath and returned to the kitchen.
Inside, the soup that was almost done greeted me first.
After checking it, I reached out, took out smoked meat, sprinkled spices on it, and grilled it. The sound of the meat cooking was pleasant and stimulating.
In this world of Empress Has Become—a romance fantasy world—there was thankfully something called “mana stones.”
Thanks to that, as long as commoners had enough money to open a shop, they could live at a level somewhat similar to modern times. Well, it was romance fantasy after all.
That was probably why the standard of living was fairly high.
Even in a commoner district of a romance fantasy world, if they only ate oatmeal porridge without even a simple salad, it would feel dull.
In a world where the protagonist had to live and die in style, eating only oatmeal porridge while doing “commoner experience” would feel underwhelming.
It would look worse than politicians eating tteokbokki.
Thanks to that, commoners lived relatively well and decently.
“Honestly, I couldn’t even handle noble food…”
They piled on spices like crazy.
The richer the food looked—oily, greasy, heavy—the more prestigious it seemed, so everything was like that.
I chewed on those meats every day and thought:
“…I miss lettuce.”
If I could wrap it in lettuce with some ssamjang, it would’ve been amazing, damn it.
At least now I could cook freely, so that was a relief. (I couldn’t get ssamjang, but I could at least get lettuce.)
I plated the grilled meat to make it look appetizing, added mashed potatoes and various vegetables shaped like a salad beside it, and smiled in satisfaction.
Then I grabbed freshly baked bread and placed it on the plate.
To carry three plates at once, I balanced one on my head and held two in my arms, performing a little trick.
“Your food is ready!”
“Tha— huh? Whoa!”
Seeing me deliver food with a plate on my head, they started clapping in amazement.
How about that, medieval fantasy bastards. This is my secret technique, learned from watching grandmothers carry kimchi jars.
“What a strange girl.”
“Yeah… huh? This is really good?”
“It’s better than before…”
I had heard similar things from the Vengeance Mercenary Corps as well.
What? Had I awakened some hidden talent? Grandma would be disappointed. Was I secretly born with the hands of the sun?
“Am I… becoming a cooking genius…?”
While I stared at my hands in foolish admiration, the men spoke to me.
“Hey, this is really good! I’ve never had potato salad this tasty before!”
“…Haha, thank you.”
“Haha! Hard to believe you work in a haunted inn with such a bright personality!”
“Pardon?”
…Pardon?
I widened my eyes and opened my mouth. They exchanged glances, then asked, “You didn’t know?”
Of course I didn’t know! I only have Baemdori here, who I thought might be a ghost!
“Uh… did we say something unnecessary?”
“No, no, what are you talking about?”
I stopped on my way back to the kitchen and decided to hear the whole story.
What did they just say? The soup wasn’t important anymore.
A translucent human hand was about to appear in that soup—what could possibly be more important than that?
“It seems like you recently took over this place… but there are lots of rumors that this inn is haunted.”
“Something about the resentment of mercenaries.”
“Well, there are too many to know. At least a dozen rumors, haha!”
“Pardon?”
“Hahaha, of course! It’s a cursed inn after all!”
