Chapter 49: A Blanket Is Dangerous (1) (49/225)
There were two main criteria for classifying chicken.
Fried or sauced.
Bone-in or boneless.
Jinseo liked both fried and sauced chicken without discrimination, but if he had to choose by the second criterion, he preferred bone-in. It might be annoying to eat, but when it came to chicken, nothing beat the pleasure of holding it in both hands and tearing the meat off the bone piece by piece.
But for a beginner, boneless chicken might be better.
Unfortunately, considering the Cockatrice King's size, making bone-in chicken was physically impossible.
So the choice was fixed as boneless chicken. He decided to maximize its advantage—being able to pop it into your mouth in one bite without the hassle of deboning.
Jinseo pulled out a huge amount of the Cockatrice King's breast meat he had prepped and stored in subspace storage. He had already finished brining it, so there wasn't much left to do.
All that remained was frying it as crispy and juicy as possible.
"Ooh, he's frying it! Frying!"
"So chicken is fried food. But we already have fried Kraken—can anything really surpass that?"
It will, and then some.
"Hey, what are you talking about? It's Jinseo! Has he ever served us something that disappointed us?"
"You couldn't eat that red, weird-tasting vegetable either."
"Ah… that one was kind of…"
The chicken slowly frying inside the fryer. The harbor residents and their companions watched it with eyes full of anticipation.
But Jinseo didn't feel nervous or afraid. Not unless he'd used low-quality ingredients or made a mistake in the cooking process. He had hardly ever seen anyone be disappointed by chicken itself.
"All right, it's done."
Jinseo set a plate piled high with boneless fried chicken down on the counter seats.
"This is… chicken?"
"It's definitely fried, but it's completely different from fried Kraken."
Boneless chicken turned a beautiful golden color in the hot oil.
Just looking down at it made Jinseo salivate, but the people who'd been waiting for it simply stood there blankly.
Was it because it resembled the sacred food truck's color? They only stared at it with reverence, unable to bring themselves to reach out.
"Why are you all hesitating? Move aside!"
Hayward shoved his way through the residents who were only watching, then confidently stabbed a piece of boneless chicken with a fork.
"I already emptied my stomach earlier anyway—time to eat as much as I want!"
He shoved it into his mouth and took a bite without hesitation.
Crunch.
"How is it?"
Crunch.
Crrunch.
Hayward didn't answer Jinseo's question. He just silently chewed the boneless chicken in his mouth.
Then he ate another piece in silence. And another. And another.
Seeing him, Jinseo smiled in satisfaction and began frying more chicken.
There was no need to urge anyone to eat. Watching Hayward inhale it without stopping, people started picking up pieces one by one.
"Is it okay?"
Not a single person answered Jinseo's question.
Crrunch.
Crunch.
Crrunch.
Only the gentle sound of batter breaking apart in their mouths echoed quietly.
All right, should I take a bite too?
Jinseo popped a piece into his mouth—a piece he'd set aside because its shape hadn't come out right.
Mm… yeah. It's delicious. I made it, but it's seriously good.
Jinseo had lived in Korea for thirty years and eaten countless kinds of chicken. Even for him, this Francia-Continent-style chicken made from cockatrice meat was special.
If he could sell this cockatrice chicken back in Korea, he was confident he could survive even against the big-name chicken franchises.
At least in taste.
Then why are they just eating quietly… ah. I get it.
It wasn't that they weren't expressing the taste. They couldn't. They were so captivated by the flavor itself that they didn't have the leisure to talk.
Otherwise, they wouldn't be shoving each piece into their mouths the moment he fried it.
I'm glad they're eating well, but…
Jinseo was happy just watching everyone enjoy it, but he couldn't shake a sense of regret.
It tasted best when it wasn't eaten alone—when everyone was chattering loudly together.
And Jinseo knew exactly what would break that silence.
"I didn't mention it earlier, but there's a drink that pairs extremely well with chicken."
Jinseo took a 1.5-liter bottle of cola out of the refrigerator and set it on the counter.
"Beer—and cola. I can serve cola from the food truck, but the beer I have won't match your tastes. So…"
Before he could even finish speaking, people started sprinting toward the liquor storage.
A moment later, residents holding beer mugs began drinking slowly. Only Julien and Jinseo chose cola.
Glug-glug, crrunch.
Crrunch, glug-glug.
"This is… incredible!"
As soon as he experienced the perfect combination of chicken and beer—chimaek—Hayward burst out in amazement.
"Wahahaha! Jinseo, your bunsik really is the best!"
"Beer just keeps going down! If it's like this, we'll have to close shop tomorrow too!"
"It's great—I can keep eating chicken without my throat drying out!"
"Come on, what's there to say? Everyone, have a drink! Wahahaha!"
Once beer entered the mouths of people who'd only been focused on chicken, the atmosphere flipped instantly.
A lively scene you'd commonly see in a Korean beer hall unfolded—except that most of the customers were bronze-skinned, muscular men.
"…"
Even while the chimaek party Jinseo wanted was in full swing, there was someone eating far more quietly than usual.
Craid didn't give the short food critiques he usually did whenever he ate Jinseo's cooking.
He didn't drink the beer the residents brought, either. He was purely engrossed in savoring the chicken itself.
"The outside is crisp…"
At Craid's words, Jinseo nodded.
"The inside is moist…"
At the continuation, Jinseo nodded again.
When chicken was fried properly, it didn't need fancy phrasing.
Crisp outside, moist inside.
Those two sentences were enough.
Without anyone teaching him, Craid had grasped the truth of chicken on his own.
As Jinseo watched him, the status window suddenly appeared in the center of his view.
{ -Preference-food analysis for the relevant job group has been completed.- }
{ -They stake everything on the sword, and more than anyone, they crave overwhelming strength and inexhaustible stamina. For them, the high protein contained in the Cockatrice King's breast grants physical robustness, and the abundant fat in the batter is an optimal food that replenishes lacking calories.- }
{ -Base preference for Cockatrice King chicken among swordsmen: 70.If preference exceeds 50, a special effect activates for the consumer. The higher the preference, the stronger the effect.Activated effects: for a certain duration, sword-based attacks are greatly enhanced, a slight increase in the probability of physical rank rising, increased aura maintenance time, etc. -}
{ -Preference-food analysis for the individual of this job group, Craid, has been completed. This individual's preference for Cockatrice King chicken is 150.- }
Is chicken really suited to a "swordsman" job? Wouldn't it just give you belly fat? Isn't this the kind of food you should avoid?
Jinseo found the messages ridiculous, but he realized there was no point arguing and gave a bitter smile. Ice cream restoring a mage's mana and boosting concentration hadn't made sense either.
Fine. It's cockatrice meat, not chicken, so I'll accept it.
"This feeling… could it be…?"
Sensing the change happening in his body, Craid clenched his left hand hard.
Flash!
Brilliant light created by aura spread outward from Craid, who sat at the center of the counter seats.
But perhaps because everyone had alcohol in them, they brushed it off like it was nothing. Enjoying the chimaek party mattered far more than digging into a mysterious light.
Everyone except Jinseo and Julien, who were drinking cola.
"W-what is this?"
"Well… maybe…"
Craid had already been strong to begin with, so it was hard for Jinseo to tell how much stronger he'd become just by looking.
{ -Congratulations! You have achieved an achievement.- }
{ -Achievement: Successfully raised a customer's physical grade (S-rank) by serving food cooked through the mobile cooking equipment.Reward: 20,000 mana, 20,000 mileage, 20,000 experience.- }
{ -When achievements are completed, additional experience rewards are granted.- }
{ -As a first-time achievement reward, maximum mana capacity increases.- }
{ -Congratulations! The mobile cooking equipment's level has increased to 40.- }
{ -From now on, you may reduce the mileage required for upgrades by inserting specific materials.- }
He could confirm it easily through the mileage and mana gained from the achievement instead.
"I see."
And Craid realized by instinct that he had become stronger.
But he needed something to test it against. A strong opponent—no, something whose very existence could prove his strength.
Then the Great Kraken corpse left on the dock entered his view.
"Chief, I wonder if it would be acceptable to cut that Kraken."
"Cut it? That?"
"Hey, buddy. You're not already drunk, are you?"
"Quit talking nonsense and drink another beer."
Even to the residents, Craid's sturdy body looked confident and capable. But to them—who had already killed Krakens three times—he simply looked like someone a bit better than themselves.
They hid the envy under their casual responses.
"Can a young man really do it? If you'll butcher it yourself, it's easier for us."
The chief brushed off Craid's words and took a swig of beer.
"Haaah!"
Following the arc of Craid's greatsword swing, aura was released.
The aura flew in a vertical line to the ground and split the Kraken corpse cleanly in half.
A literal single stroke, two pieces.
"Is that… even possible?"
"Am I… too drunk?"
"I think I need to drink less. I'm seeing things…"
The residents who'd been laughing at Craid simultaneously sprayed out their beer. At the same time, the alcohol cleared from their heads and their senses returned.
And yet the Great Kraken, split in two, remained—still reality, not a hallucination.
"As expected, you really are different, Craid."
Jinseo walked up to Craid, who had proven his power in front of everyone.
"Craid?"
The chief dropped the fork in his hand.
"Y-you… you're the swordsman called the Hero of Girvante?"
"That man was the Lone Swordsman, Craid?"
"To think we'd meet two heroes in one place…"
Realizing his identity late, the residents scrambled to their feet and surged toward Craid.
The Hero of Girvante, Craid.
The Hero of Orte Harbor, Jinseo.
To the residents, the sight of the two men facing each other with the sunset behind them looked like a painting.
"Jinseo…"
Craid gripped Jinseo's shoulders with both hands.
"Thanks to you, I learned something. The path I've walked with bunsik… it wasn't wrong."
Chicken isn't bunsik. And getting stronger from eating bunsik is honestly ridiculous.
Jinseo had one or two—no, countless things he wanted to point out, but he kept them in his heart and sealed his lips. He didn't want to ruin Craid's emotion as he looked down at Jinseo with moist eyes.
"Thank you."
The frenzied chimaek party that began with Jinseo's visit continued until the next morning.
As a result, two people who had drunk heavily, and one more who had collapsed on the spot even though he claimed he'd only have a single glass, were all sleeping soundly inside the extra trailer.
Hayward and Julien on the soft bunk bed.
Craid, who hadn't been granted permission for the bunk, leaning back against the sofa.
And Jinseo, the driver, sleeping with the driver's seat reclined as far back as possible.
Because he had to drive, Jinseo didn't drink and fell asleep earlier than the others. Even so, perhaps because he'd fried an enormous amount of boneless chicken by himself, the fatigue didn't fade even after he woke.
After leaving Orte Harbor under the residents' enthusiastic send-off, Jinseo eventually pulled the food truck over on the road and shut his eyes.
About an hour after everyone fell asleep, the ground began to tremble faintly.
Then the navigator—previously used to announce the Kraken's appearance and swift defeat—turned on automatically, and displayed a large circle in the lower-left corner of the screen.
Not red. Not green.
A gold circle.
{ -An unknown existence has awakened from a long slumber.- }
{ -The unknown existence slowly exhales. A massive amount of mana carried in its breath is spreading into the surroundings.- }
But Jinseo—and everyone inside the food truck—remained in deep sleep, unaware of what was happening.
They didn't know that mana particles rising from the ground were being absorbed into the food truck.
Owl, perched on the roost, flew down and pecked at the window, but it was impossible to wake Jinseo.
{ -Congratulations! The self-repair process for the spatial-transfer magic formula has been completed.- }
"Mmm…"
Still not fully awake, Jinseo shifted at the AI's report echoing in his head.
{ -For stabilization, the mobile cooking equipment must be forcibly transmitted to the original world. Please be advised in advance that once this process begins, it cannot be canceled.- }
"Yeah… I need to restock things that are running low anyway… good…"
Muttering in his sleep, Jinseo rolled onto his left side.
{ -There are three lifeforms aboard the mobile cooking equipment besides the owner. Proceed with spatial transfer as is?- }
"Don't know… handle it…"
{ -Reviewing potential issues that may occur if this command is executed…- }
{ -Review complete. Given the current stored mana amount in the mobile cooking equipment, the likelihood of serious problems occurring is extremely low.- }
{ -Proceeding with spatial transfer per the owner's command.- }
Jinseo had forgotten.
That there were other people riding in the extra trailer with him.
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