episode_0046

It’s been a week since I left the World Tree Forest.

I thought I could have a good rest in a nice inn for the first time in a while, but

“Come here~.”

-Sleep softly.

When I came to my senses, I found myself gently waving a skewer to lure the girls who had attacked us.

Considering the age difference, it may seem a bit criminal, but…

Fortunately or unfortunately, my height is not inferior to that of the shortest and thinnest girl among them.

In a scene that was so wholesome and bright for anyone to see, I lured them in by waving a skewer.

-Roaring.

-What is it, that kid… ?

-These are kids who live in an abandoned house on the outskirts, right? What’s going on… ?

‘… what?’

However, my temptation seems to have caught the attention of more people than expected.

By the time I reached the city’s central square with the girls, I was met with a lot of residents asking, ‘What is that?’ I was surrounded by gazes.

… More than half of them are very dry, which clearly shows what the food situation is like in this city. hmm.

‘Ugh. I was just trying to take care of the kids. It really makes me weak… ah. Should I try that now?’

“Elizabeth. Arthur. Lucia. I’m sorry, but can I make pork belly next time?”

“Huh? It’s okay, but… Are you sure you can feed everyone here?”

“Yes. Everyone looks hungry, right?”

Feeling weak from that gaze, I decided to use my strength after such a long time.

I was cooking a large quantity of food in the forest every day, and while traveling, I was a little dissatisfied with the food I was eating for my companions, and I thought of something I wanted to try.

“… Warrior. You can’t do this every time you stop by the city. I understand that it’s just a matter of helping one or two little kids, but if it’s like this every time… .”

“Ah. I will get money this time.”

“… … … ?”

Then, the group’s eyes widened slightly when they heard that this time they would sell food for money.

Everyone seemed surprised because it was the first time I received money for helping someone.

“Savior. Need money? What I got from my sister… .”

“A warrior. If you need money, tell me… .”

“Oh, that’s not it.”

But I didn’t do this because I needed money, as my companions expected.

Next to me is the princess of a kingdom and the princess of the elves, and the points that can be used to purchase items are accumulated in tens of millions. What do I need the money for?

The reason I want to get paid is just…

“It feels better to pay to eat these things.”

“… … ?”

There is a romance of its own to filling your stomach with a few coins.

‘There’s no one who looks like they need treatment, so I guess I’ll have to try ‘that’ for the first time in a long time.’

* * * * * *

After a while. The city, which had been quiet and devoid of activity, was now filled with the bustle of the gathered people.

“Oppa… ? Can I leave this here?”

“Yes. Thank you~.”

“Hero. We also brought all the well water.”

“Hehe. Thank you always.”

The place where citizens’ attention was focused was the central square.

There, Sihyeon was busy preparing something, taking care of the three little children and the royal family’s servants.

Among the makeshift street stalls that were suddenly installed in the middle of an empty square.

… However, citizens did not gather here just because an outsider did something strange.

‘oh my god. That kind of food… .’

‘Flour of that quality. ‘If you want to buy a bag of that, you’ll have to give me gold coins.’

The reason they gathered was to look at the enormous amount of ingredients that Sihyeon had piled up on one side of the stand.

This was because the value of food ingredients had skyrocketed in this city for a long time.

The trading city, Mercant, is a city with very poor food production capabilities.

Therefore, we had no choice but to rely on external sources for food supply, but after the invasion of the Demon King’s army, monsters frequently appeared in the fields, so normal food imports had long been difficult.

​

Occasionally, merchants seeking to make a quick fortune risked their lives to succeed…

There was no way the merchants who worked so hard could sell food at the right price.

The price of limited food, which came at a price of life, continued to rise without end, eventually squeezing the stomachs of commoners.

However, Sihyeon was putting out enough food to feed hundreds of people.

It was natural for citizens to turn their gaze towards it.

But soon.

​

There was astonishment in their eyes.

“Then… Shall we begin? Eight.”

-Wrrr.

“… … … !!!!?”

This is because all the food that would have filled the pockets with gold coins if sold all began to be cut down and put into the pan.

The first thing that went in was the white rice cakes.

‘First, let’s make tteokbokki… .’

Rice cake and water poured into a large commercial square pan summoned by Sihyeon.

With the induction plate radiating heat, his Chinese food cravings turned to various vegetables.

-Tang tang tang tang!!

‘Since I already have a knife, I should prepare all the vegetables in advance.’

Afterwards, the cheerful sound of a knife hitting a cutting board filled the square.

It is different from regular kitchen knives and chef knives that have to be pushed or pulled to cut. A sound that can only be made by a Chinese sword that can cut ingredients by simply hitting it with the weight of the knife.

In that steady rhythm, people became immersed in Sihyeon’s cooking as if they were watching a bard perform.

‘Add cabbage and green onions ~ and fish cakes ~.’

-Rumble.

A lot of cabbage and green onions went into the pan where only rice cakes and water were boiling. Thin fish cake.

Thanks to this, a little color was added to the already dry dish…

‘The seasoning… Umm. Gochujang gets too thick, so just use red pepper powder instead. neatly.’

As the seasoning sauce was poured over it, the tteokbokki had already turned an appetizing red color.

​

A quick-aging marinade made by mixing red pepper powder, sugar, starch syrup, MSG, beef flavor seasoning, and a little salt and pepper with water.

When he used time acceleration to boil it down, a bright status window appeared before Sihyeon’s eyes.

-Tiring! You have succeeded in making ‘Market Tteokbokki’! As a quality bonus, an additional effect, ‘Fairy’s Blessing’, is applied to cooking.

[Market Tteokbokki – Korea’s representative street food made using simple ingredients. It is difficult to resist the sweet and spicy taste of the sauce wrapped around the rice cake.]

‘okay. Tteokbokki is fine.’

The starch syrup and starch thicken the sauce, and before you know it, the tteokbokki is so delicious that you can’t even imagine its original appearance.

It even has the ‘fairy’s blessing’ that cured Elizabeth’s malnutrition just by eating a bite, so this would be enough to feed the hungry…

However, Sihyeon’s cooking did not end there.

-Crrr

‘It sounds good.’

Crispy vegetable fritters made by adding shredded sweet potatoes, onions, pumpkins, carrots, and perilla leaves to the batter and mixing them until they become soft.

Tempuras boasting a fantastic combination of tteokbokki broth began to appear in front of the stands.

Due to the use of cooking skills that have already reached the level of perfection, it only took 15 minutes to get to this point.

Even the remaining dishes were finished faster.

“Oh, brother. I took all of this out… .”

“We are finished too.”

“Hehe. thank you. I’ll fry it up deliciously for you in no time.”

-Crabble.

While the tteokbokki and fried food were being prepared, the three sisters and their employees were putting together a bunch of skewers of sotteok and sotteok.

After giving a light smile, Sihyeon picked it all up and threw it all into a pot full of oil.

It was a dangerous task that could explode if done incorrectly.

‘If you fry it at a low temperature for a long time, it won’t turn into a grenade.’

The reason the rice cake bursts is because the moisture that evaporates rapidly while frying at high temperature is trapped under the tightly fried rice cake, and eventually tears the surface and spews out.

Sihyeon knew very well that they had to be fried gently at a low temperature to prevent that from happening.

Thanks to this, the sotteok sotteok skewers were fried safely and crisply in an instant without bursting.

‘They told me to pour the sauce on myself.’

Sihyeon placed a container of ketchup, mustard, and spicy and sweet rice cake skewer sauce in front of a stand filled with small rice cakes.

​

With this, the third dish is finished in a blink of an eye.

And, the last dish…

‘There should be some soup too. Summons!’

The epitome of Korean street food. Food stall fish cake.

It was completed simply by inserting a large number of fish cake skewers into the broth containing radish, anchovies, kelp, and green onions.

Since a huge amount of broth comes out of the fish cake skewers anyway, I didn’t put much effort into the basic broth.

All that was left was to place a jar full of seasoned soy sauce next to the fish cake skewers.

-Teook. Tiring!

‘Wow, this is a huge success.’

​

Food stall fish cakes are ready in just a few minutes.

​

Although it was a simple fish cake using commercially available fish cake skewers, the status window generously judged it a great success.

It was a very simple recipe by Sihyeon’s standards, so I didn’t expect it to be a huge success…

​

This happened because the broth, which was well-infused with the savory flavor of the fish cake, was so clean and delicious.

Soon he smiled happily as he looked at the food on the shelf.

‘tteokbokki. Vegetable tempura. Fish cake. Sotteok sotteok. K-Street food sensibility is perfect.’

“Hey, over there. brother. Then, if you eat this… … .”

And, the three sisters, who sensed that the cooking was over, looked at Sihyeon eagerly.

No, it wasn’t just them.

The warrior party members and the citizens who were watching it all were drooling as if their mouths were flooding.

In the midst of it all, a mischievous smile appeared.

‘You could just give it to me, but then it wouldn’t have the feel of a night market.’

“Thank you for helping me today. Now, salary.”

-Clink.

And Sihyeon placed something in each of the three hands.

… It was only one silver coin.

“Uh, uh… Hey, that’s… .”

‘Even if I had ten silver coins to eat that kind of dish, it wouldn’t be enough, but I only have one…’ No, I received a lot of silver coins for helping with this… .’

Silver coins from the Kingdom of Hohenstein are more valuable than silver coins from the Kingdom of Montpellier due to their higher silver content.

However, it was obvious that the silver coins would not be enough to eat the deliciously fragrant food in front of them.

The three of them waited for a moment and then lowered their shoulders.

… However, they soon heard Si-hyeon’s words.

No, all the people gathered could not help but widen their eyes and be shocked.

” Buy it and eat it. Oh, by the way, this red food here is only 5 fairy tales per bowl! The sotteok sotteok skewers you made are also 5 pieces each!!”

​

“… Yes, yes?!!!!”

———Because, the price of the food Sihyeon mentioned.

Because it was unbelievably cheap.

“Hey, that… Not gold coins or silver coins. A fairy tale… … ?”

“Of course!”

‘Buying things with a few coins. This is street food, this is the romance of the festival… ! How can it be possible for a cup of cupbokki to cost several thousand won!!!’