episode_0028

“Come here, Elden. If you can’t avoid it, then enjoy it. Remember what you told me?”

“Hahaha! You’re just going to take it now, like I did.”

“How does it feel? Hurts, right? Don’t think about running away. We have a destiny, don’t we?”

Bam!

This is the summary of this morning’s wake-up call.

It seems that the effect of the curse letter sealed in a cross was quite remarkable.

Just by passing by, such a nightmare was dreamt.

Of course, it was an absurd dream, but enough to reignite the desire to escape.

The probability of marriage between the female lead and me had approached zero, but just staying still would open up a cool escape route.

“Ugh.”

Anyway, it’s a creepy morning.

Standing by the window, I looked at the spot where I had sealed the anti-nightmare spell last night, shrugged my shoulders once, and began preparing for the evaluation battle.

After a refreshing shower, I lounged on the sofa in the study, crossing my legs on the table.

I hummed a tune.

I opened a book.

I read with a smirk.

This was the preparation for the evaluation battle of the one who would eventually withdraw.

Training the body and mind for a worthless evaluation battle is a sacred act of surrender.

Pretending to be accommodating, pretending to be indifferent, and that’s all there is to it.

So, I spent a leisurely morning until the knock on the door reminded me that the departure time was approaching.

Knock, knock.

“It’s already this late. Come in.”

Butler Rendall came to urge the tardy candidate to depart.

As expected, Rendall opened the door and entered, bowing his head.

“Master.”

“I’ve been waiting. Let’s go.”

“The guest is waiting.”

“What?”

“They said there’s something important to tell you before the evaluation battle departure.”

Who could it be this early in the morning?

Putting on the fur coat handed to me by Rendall, I asked.

“Who is the morning visitor?”

However, the sentimental and emotional butler looked at me with a mixture of joy and tears in his eyes.

With moist eyes filled with emotion.

“…Again.”

“Since I’ve been serving you, today seems to be the happiest morning I’ve ever had.”

“Again, what are you trying to say?”

Except for the aristocrats, no one else was allowed to enter or exit the annex, and only the organizers of the marriage pre-tournament were allowed to enter, so it couldn’t be Remyan or Gelwood.

Moreover, their visit could not have made the butler’s morning ‘happy.’

Wiping his nose with a sniffle, Rendall said.

“Since serving you, when asked about your status, the one who introduces you as a ‘friend’ is someone I’ve never seen before. I am very happy today.”

…You seem to have a lot of happiness. Inspiration.

It seems that such things will happen more in the future, but in old age, one should also do some bad things to avoid being overwhelmed by happiness.

“A friend?”

“A very cute and lovely young lady.”

“…Young lady?”

A cute and lovely young lady.

Although there were many such people in the palace, if I had to choose one who would come to me, it would naturally be Ariel.

Blonde with a rolled bun, Lady Ariel was objectively cute and lovely, but the problem was that at this time, she should be in the library.

Furthermore, it was unlikely that Ariel, who knew I was a withdrawer, would come to offer meaningless support.

With doubts in my mind, I headed to the annex entrance with Rendall.

“Ariel?”

And there she was.

“Ah, Elden!”

Ariel ran towards me with a big smile.

Judging by the book she was holding in her arms, it seemed like she hadn’t even been to the library.

She who should be in the library at this time, why did she visit now, saying, “I have something to tell you before the evaluation begins?”

“What’s going on? If the bookworm is so busy that she even visits the library, it must be quite a story.”

“Yes! It’s a really amazing story.”

Giggling.

Looking at her face unable to hide her smile, it seems like it’s not a lie…

“Ear, ear.”

Ariel gestured for me to give her my ear, and as I leaned in and covered my mouth with one hand, she secretly revealed the story, reenacting the morning nightmare.

“Last night, I met with Erenshia, and in fact, the 3rd Duchess hopes that you will marry her. So, don’t give up and do your best.”

…

…

…

…

…

Hmm.

It’s a very eerie morning.

**

“Fighting! Elden!”

“Please take care of yourself.”

I got on the carriage, receiving farewells from Ariel, who energetically raised her clenched fist and cursed with a bright smile, and Rendell, who alternately smiled at her and me.

There’s no morning like one filled with misunderstandings.

‘By the way… the female lead seems to be in a hurry.’

I noticed Remyang, who was wrapping her head around the determination of the dropout to encourage her, from encouraging notes to visiting Erenshia as Ariel herself to persuade and support her.

There was no way to inform her that Junwoo Lee had been possessed by an alien from another dimension, and since it was obvious that I would face backlash for deception, all I could do was enjoy the current situation and avoid and watch.

Just like now.

Reading the [Monster Cooking Encyclopedia].

“Oh, Drake Tail Stir-fry… Rachel? Have you ever tried it?”

As the carriage headed towards the northern snowy mountains where the evaluation was taking place, Rachel was also riding along.

Just hearing the name Drake Tail Stir-fry makes my mouth water.

To satisfy my curiosity, I asked Rachel.

Having enjoyed monster cuisine since childhood and traveled around the kingdom for training, she must have tried Drake Tail Stir-fry, raising my expectations.

“Yes.”

Oh!

“Then, could you tell me how it tasted?”

“It was delicious.”

“……”

Well.

It’s the disciple’s fault for expecting a flavorful expression from the blunt master.

As expected, it seems like I have to try all the dishes in this encyclopedia myself.

Thinking that, I started reading the encyclopedia again, and had to look up at Rachel’s question.

“However, what is the reason for you to train for a culinary journey?”

“…Are you already tired before even starting?”

“If the purpose is safe travel, wouldn’t it be easier to hire mercenaries?”

Of course, if the purpose is travel, there is no need to train.

Even though the impoverished viscount had enough funds for a culinary journey, hiring mercenaries to ensure safe travel would be sufficient.

Traveling safely to enjoy the specialties of each city, but for me, a culinary journey was not just about that simplicity and ordinariness.

It was a culinary journey with added elements of [adventure] and [romance] that cannot be missed in medieval fantasy, a journey to find the best freshness in a medieval era where the preservation of ingredients’ freshness was weak.

Therefore, looking out at the vast snowy landscape beyond the carriage window, I answered.

“No matter how good a restaurant is, there’s no way to experience the taste of cutting and eating a fish I caught myself in the sea.”

“…Are you going to hunt monsters yourself?”

“Yes. There’s no fresher ingredient than a freshly caught monster.”

“So you’re willing to take risks for the sake of taste.”

Exactly.

Flicking his fingers, he nodded.

“Hao-na, I have never seen Confucius cooking.”

“A very sharp observation.”

….

He was pondering about that point.

Whether to invite an expert or try cooking himself, drawing on his modern memories.

For the lonely young man with nothing to spare, delivery food was a luxury, and he had memories of barely seasoning his meals with various condiments to save on food expenses.

He thought about incorporating that, but it was still difficult.

He couldn’t get modern condiments here, and in this place with limited cooking tools and skills, it was hard to replicate that taste.

Modern memories and methods were meaningless here.

He thought about learning to cook himself, but for a busy bee who divided his day with delicious reading and rigorous training, time was scarce.

Cooking skills weren’t something you could master overnight.

In many ways, it was a difficult situation, but he had instructed the butler to look into inviting an expert, so news would come soon.

Therefore, for now, he decided to fold his hands.

Crunch.

The carriage that was running on the dazzling snow-covered field stopped.

The evaluation match that appeared in the last episode of the original free part.

The evaluation match described in the original was superficially a ‘hunting competition,’ but strangely, the female lead called it ‘tag.’

The reason was not mentioned, and since it was the last part of the free section, I couldn’t read the rest.

There was no need to worry or be nervous about what it would be, but he was curious.

The reason why the hunting competition was called tag.

“Well then, I will be waiting.”

“Okay.”

With Rachel’s farewell, he got off the carriage and started climbing the snowy mountain with that curiosity.