Ch.39Chapter 2. Artificial Demons and Natural Demons (2)

Morning had come.

I spent the night drinking and talking with the Tavern Owner, and now welcomed a new morning.

If someone had been spying on this place, what typically happens between a man and woman who spent the night together—

Did not happen at all.

“You’re up? Want some chicken?”

“What kind of chicken is appropriate for breakfast?”

“Everyone knows the rule is to eat cold spicy chicken in the morning.”

“Forget it. Just make some ramen.”

“The Goblin is quite modest. Just ramen on a Sunday morning?”

“Then how about a hot bowl of soup rice?”

“That’s something I’m good at.”

The Tavern Owner took out two retort soup rice packs from the refrigerator.

“Oh my, you caught me. The secret to my soup rice. You don’t insist on only eating soup made with simmered beef bones, do you?”

“I’m not picky about that. Need any help?”

“No. Just sit down. I’ll take care of everything.”

“I’ll leave it to you then.”

I sat at the kitchen table and scrolled through last night’s events on my Taegeuk Watch.

Nothing special had happened.

Villains rampaging around the world was routine, heroes being deployed to incidents and saving as many people as possible, and endless discussions about how humanity should work together for powered and non-powered individuals to coexist harmoniously.

The only concerning thing was that there was no mention of a laboratory being flooded last night.

Of course, that made sense.

If it had been something newsworthy that everyone should know about, they wouldn’t have built an underground facility dozens of meters—thinking about it now, probably about 100 meters—beneath Sejong Island in the first place.

“Ah, found it.”

“Found what?”

“News about water overflow in Eden District.”

While it wasn’t in the news, social media posts mentioned that seawater had briefly backflowed through the sewers in Eden District last night.

“It was already resolved by dawn, so nobody’s paying attention anymore.”

“So what happens now? Will no one ever know? Forever?”

“Well. They might send divers in diving suits to check the building’s interior firsthand, or they could deploy powered individuals to drain the seawater elsewhere and explore underground.”

The possibilities are endless.

Human imagination is infinite, and humans will always find answers when faced with obstacles.

“Could you look into the people who come and go there later? Of course, if you think you might get caught, just don’t do it.”

“That goes without saying. As long as I’m not betrayed by someone within the Syndicate, I won’t get caught by anyone.”

Clank.

A stone bowl was placed in front of me.

“During the Japanese colonial period, many tavern owners secretly sheltered independence activists or gave them meals without getting caught. I’m that kind of tavern owner now, that’s what I’m saying.”

“Strange to hear that from a foreigner.”

“That’s harsh. If I live in Korea, speak Korean, and have Korean citizenship, doesn’t that make me Korean?”

“I just meant there’s a disconnect seeing someone who doesn’t look Korean say that.”

Whenever I see a foreign-looking person taking pride in being Korean, I’m reminded that this world is truly like another world—straight out of a light novel.

A foreigner who, after a night of drinking, serves hot soup rice in a stone bowl the next morning, even if it’s from a retort pack?

“Oh, would you like to try some kimchi radish cubes I made myself?”

“……”

“What?”

“You know how to make kimchi radish cubes too?”

“Of course.”

The Tavern Owner brought two separate dishes of kimchi radish cubes as if it were the most natural thing.

“Why two?”

“So it’s easier to pour the juice into the soup.”

As soon as the Tavern Owner sat down, she poured the kimchi juice into her soup rice.

“……”

“What?”

“Well. It’s just.”

I was just wondering…

“Do you have perilla powder too?”

“Perilla powder helps you stay drunk longer.”

“……”

“Was that not funny…? Strange. Everyone usually laughs at that.”

“Did you know? Adding perilla powder actually does help you stay drunk longer.”

“…Really?”

“Yes. So, do you have perilla powder?”

“Of course.”

Clank.

As if it were perfectly normal, she pushed forward an earthenware bowl from the table.

“Here.”

“……”

A red-haired foreigner who makes hot soup rice in stone bowls, prepares kimchi radish cubes herself, and even keeps perilla powder on the table?

‘I don’t even know anymore.’

Let’s just enjoy it.

I sprinkled perilla powder into my soup rice and finished the breakfast the Tavern Owner had prepared.

* * *

Things wrapped up faster than expected.

What I thought would take a full day ended in just one night, meaning I now had the rest of the weekend to enjoy my freedom.

‘I might feel a bit sorry for Ymir?’

If I had known things would end this quickly, I could have just made plans to have a meal with her on the weekend.

Of course, if I had made plans in advance, I might not have been able to focus on my original mission due to keeping my promise, but now that everything went smoothly, I feel a bit regretful.

There are still restaurants I haven’t tried.

Places where I could taste various cuisines from around the world.

‘Even on Sejong Island, there are Japanese restaurants, Chinese restaurants, and Indian restaurants.’

As South Korea became a leading country in the world, many Korean restaurants spread across the globe.

The problem was that Korean restaurants also spread throughout Korea itself.

-Oh, Korean pasta place! Looks good! But we came to eat soup rice.

-Is this Kim’s Heavenly Soup Rice, where you can eat Korean food anywhere in Korea? Amazing. Such a variety of Korean dishes for less than $10.

-Who eats pizza and pasta when visiting Korea? With that money, you could go to a driver’s restaurant, eat bulgogi wrapped in lettuce, and finish with a hot instant coffee.

Foreign tourists began visiting Korea in countless numbers, traveling all over the country.

In reality, many were secretly looking for places to settle, planning to stay illegally, or trying to marry Koreans to immigrate and live in Korea.

-Whatever their purpose, small business owners don’t discriminate against customers!

-Ah, everyone. Let’s not overcharge foreigners. Rather than making quick money for one season, let’s leave good memories so they’ll return in 10 or 20 years. Aren’t we South Korea, the most prestigious country in the world?

-What?! Not only dipping octopus in chili paste but also chewing on dried pollack? You foreigner, your tongue is already Korean!

Whatever their purpose for visiting Korea, most restaurant owners welcomed foreigners with broad smiles.

Most of them.

-I studied abroad in France…

-Steak or pork belly with soju? I know, I know, but I want to sell steak!

-Is it true there are more rice burger shops than Burger Queen locations?

Western and Japanese cuisine industries suffered devastating blows.

They explored various ways to survive, but after news spread that a ssambap restaurant frequented by foreigners made 50 million won in daily sales for three consecutive months, everyone started opening Korean restaurants.

As a result, I’ve had to experience something rather sad over the past six months.

“More rice cake shops than bakeries.”

Where London Baguette should be, there’s a rice cake shop, and where Tous Les Jours should be, there’s a traditional Korean sweets shop.

For the past six months, whenever I had to entertain people during my villain activities, I always ended up at Korean traditional restaurants instead of Chinese or Japanese places.

The pinnacle was the trip I took with the Syndicate’s executives and the chairman—six of us together.

-Let’s try ginseng chicken soup!

-Excuse me? Chairman, are you serious?

-Herbal ginseng chicken soup! Raise your hand if you agree!

-Looks like Manager Do doesn’t like chicken.

-What? Are you dissing me?

-Manager, do you dislike ginseng chicken soup? What should we do, Chairman?

-No, no. I’ll eat it.

…I never imagined I’d end up eating ginseng chicken soup when going on a workshop retreat to a valley with five women.

‘Korean food is fine once in a while, but eating it every day makes you crave something different.’

You can’t eat kimchi, vegetables, and meat every day.

Finding remaining non-Korean restaurants on the peninsula was truly difficult.

But here, Sejong Island is different.

‘This must be the street of globalization.’

In one area of Sejong Island’s restaurant district, formed for foreign visitors, each restaurant had its national flag fluttering outside.

It felt like looking at flags from all nations.

Seeing flags from around the world naturally made me wonder which restaurant to enter and what to eat.

It was like trying to decide which masterpiece novel to read first.

All restaurant owners were at least first-class, star chef-level people from their respective countries, so the quality of food was guaranteed.

‘If I’ve eaten kimchi and bibimbap for a week, I can have foreign food for one day on the weekend.’

Literally foreign food.

As I was contemplating where to go, I noticed someone approaching me from a distance.

“…?”

“What are you doing here, teacher?”

“…Student Yiseon?”

I encountered Yoon Yi-seon, the pink-haired girl in casual outdoor clothes.

“Are you here for lunch? …Alone?”

Ah.

“Hmm. Then… would you like to join me?”

Yoon Yi-seon extended her hand to me with a playful expression.

“Buy me lunch, oppa.”

“…A teacher can’t refuse a student’s request.”

Absolutely not.

It has nothing to do with her calling me “oppa.”