Chapter 172: Ah, You're Saying You Couldn't Eat It Because It Wasn't There (8) "I asked Rainfolt. I asked him whether he could endure seeing his nephew and niece-in-law revived without any memory of their lives, living like dolls after losing their reason. He gave up cleanly after that."
Beryllus continued in a calm tone, repeating the very words he had once said to Rainfolt.
However, Fedora Artran's face was anything but calm as she listened.
As though she were witnessing her parents revived exactly as Beryllus had described, she wore an expression of utter despair.
"Cardinal."
"..."
"Cardinal, are you all right?"
"Ah… my apologies."
Hearing Lee Jinseo call out to her, Fedora Artran belatedly came back to her senses.
"Lee Jinseo, anything is fine—please give me something to drink."
"Y-yes! Just a moment!"
Lee Jinseo opened the drink refrigerator and hurriedly grabbed the first thing that caught his eye—a round bottle of banana milk. He quickly inserted a straw and handed it to her.
Ah, in a situation like this, should I have given her alcohol instead?
Only after the fact did he regret his choice and glance around for liquor, but Fedora Artran had already drawn a long sip through the straw.
"Phew… I apologize for showing such a discomposed side of myself."
"It's fine. It's difficult to remain composed in the face of a relative's death. Perhaps it's stranger that a long-lived race like mine grows numb to it. There's no reason for you to blame yourself. And…"
After finishing his sentence, Beryllus pointed at Lee Jinseo with his right index finger, then alternately pointed at the banana milk and himself.
Lee Jinseo immediately caught on and handed him one as well. After taking a sip, Beryllus blinked and smiled in satisfaction.
"Anyway, after I explained it that way, I hoped he would give up. But next, he asked whether—like how I create subordinates through blood-sucking as a vampire—he could turn the dead into subordinates and revive them that way."
Beryllus lightly shook the half-finished bottle of banana milk in his hand.
"Is that possible?"
Fedora Artran asked again, hope rekindled in her eyes.
Beryllus gave a bitter smile and drained the remaining banana milk to the last drop.
"That… compared to the magic I mentioned earlier, it's far better. But I told him that method is a secret art for prolonging the lives of the living. It is not a way to revive humans who have already died and returned to dust."
"I see."
Fedora Artran looked at him with deep disappointment, then slowly lowered her head when their eyes met.
"Still, he said he would not abandon the goal itself of reviving his nephew and niece-in-law, no matter what. It's been ten years since he left this place saying that. For me and the elves, it's a short time. But for him, it's long enough that he might have found some method by now."
After finishing, Beryllus continued drawing on the straw until he confirmed it was completely empty, then rose from his seat.
"Let's talk in detail after we arrive at the village. The elves waiting for human bunsik aren't limited to the ones here."
Upon arriving at the elven village—composed of spirits, lush greenery, and towering trees—Lee Jinseo stood dazed for a while, looking around.
It was entirely different from the refined beauty one could feel in Dwarf Town.
This was a place filled with the untouched, innate beauty of nature, born without the hands of anyone shaping it.
In front of the elves' homes nestled beneath massive trees, long-grown grass and flowers served in place of doors. Elves and spirits parted the grass and emerged, gazing at the food truck with curiosity.
The walls surrounding the village were formed by trees grown close together, and thick ivy covered them, naturally creating an ancient atmosphere.
"It feels like a scene straight out of a fairy tale. It's truly fascinating."
"I see."
Unlike Lee Jinseo, Painfolt Artran, seated in the passenger seat, showed little reaction. He had been here before, and more than that, his interest lay solely in the whereabouts of his twin brother. The unique beauty of the elven village did not enter his eyes.
"This alone would make a pictorial spread even without editing. I'm glad I came."
Feeling once more the mystique he had sensed when he first arrived in the Elven Forest, Lee Jinseo took out his smartphone the moment he stepped out of the food truck.
However, before he could capture the scenery, he had to respond to the demands of the elves crowding around the food truck.
They wanted food from a new realm—something they had not tasted in hundreds of years.
Lee Jinseo hurried into the Additional Trailer and began preparing barbecue.
"Hyung! How many tables should we set up?"
"Bring out all the ones inside!"
"Jinseo, how much meat should we take out?"
"Half for now!"
With Jason and Paulo's help, Lee Jinseo finished preparing the barbecue and entered the food truck's kitchen.
He left the barbecue and meat dishes to the two helpers and began cooking bunsik and vegetarian dishes inside the food truck.
Meanwhile, the mercenaries of the Raven Mercenary Group set up convenience store tables and folding chairs in neat rows at equal intervals in the center of the village.
"Shouldn't we greet the elves first? We've entered someone else's village—starting by laying out grills feels a bit much."
"Doesn't seem like they're particularly asking for greetings."
"Stop talking nonsense and finish setting up the chairs. We can eat only after this is done. Don't forget it's barbecue for the first time in a while."
One mercenary pointed out that it might be strange to start grilling meat right away, but the others brushed it off.
In truth, none of the elves crowding around the food truck objected to the allied delegation immediately beginning to grill meat.
Sizzle.
The smell of meat grilling alongside dwarf-made sausages filled the air, and the elves swallowed repeatedly.
"All right, it's ready! Elves! The meat you've waited hundreds of years for! Take as much as you like onto your plates!"
Jason clapped his hands and invited the elves to come forward.
But perhaps because they had eaten meat so long ago—or never at all—the elves stood before the golden-brown meat without even knowing how to begin.
"First time having meat?"
The food truck regulars stepped in to help.
"Samgyeopsal. If this is your first time with meat, it's the safest choice. First, dip it in this sesame oil sauce."
Craid picked up five slices of perfectly grilled samgyeopsal at once with his chopsticks, dipped them generously into the oil sauce, and put them into his mouth.
"When making a wrap, you should definitely add ssamjang. Adding scallion salad also enhances the flavor of the samgyeopsal. Garlic is optional, but I recommend it. However, it may cause odor, so refrain if you must meet someone officially. Now, open wide."
Fedora Artran personally placed the wrapped bite into the mouths of female elves, enthusiastically promoting samgyeopsal.
"How is it? The taste of sausages made by us dwarves? The elasticity is incredible, isn't it? One of the few prides we dwarves can boast of against Lee Jinseo's cooking—especially with beer! Enjoy it to your heart's content!"
"Beer? A new kind of alcohol? We elves drink only fruit wine…"
"What? You've lived without knowing the taste of beer? You've gone hundreds of years without drinking proper alcohol! Here—try the beer we dwarves are proud of! First, take a big bite of this sausage, and then—"
Geshtain and the other dwarves passionately promoted their dwarf-made sausages and beer.
Following the dwarves' lead, the elves tasted the sausage with beer and could not hide their astonishment at the perfect pairing.
"Now, this is bulgogi. One of the most popular meat dishes in Korea. You can wrap it like samgyeopsal, but bulgogi is best with white rice."
Surrounded by elves, Hayward ate the bulgogi Paulo prepared in an elegant manner.
He first scooped an appropriate spoonful of white rice, then placed a slice of bulgogi soaked in broth on top.
Watching the bulgogi's juices seep down and moisten the rice beneath, Hayward smiled with his eyes.
"And this kimchi! You can't leave out kimchi. Though it may be difficult to appreciate immediately, you can leave it out if it's too much."
After placing a piece of well-fermented kimchi atop the bulgogi, Hayward opened his mouth wide.
Chew, chew.
Seeing him savor the bulgogi so deliciously, the elves immediately piled the sizzling bulgogi beside them onto their plates.
Having learned how to properly eat meat, the elves gathered around the tables and began eating.
Most, encountering meat for the first time in their lives, could not even react properly at first and simply devoured it hastily.
Only after emptying one plate, then a second, and finally filling a third plate to the brim did they begin to articulate the taste.
"Ah… so this is the flavor of meat…"
"This elasticity and chewiness—that must be what they call texture. My teeth are rejoicing with every bite, as if they've finally found something worthy to chew!"
"How extraordinary must the outer continent be, where one can enjoy meat like this freely…"
The elves marveled at the taste of meat while lamenting the hundreds of years they had lived without it.
"Hey! Line up properly!"
While busily grilling samgyeopsal, Jason gestured at the spirits surrounding him and pointed to the ground.
Though spirits could live merely by absorbing the mana that filled the earth, they had grown curious about the meat and various dishes that had appeared after hundreds of years and hovered around the food truck.
Eventually, Jason paused grilling and began cutting the samgyeopsal into bite-sized pieces with scissors, distributing them to the spirits.
His inexplicable ability—normally used to handle Nero and Owl—worked even on the spirits of the Keinua Continent.
It's like watching a zookeeper…
Watching the spirits move in perfect order under Jason's instructions, Lee Jinseo placed a freshly grilled rare steak onto a plate.
"Lord Beryllus, how is it?"
"As a vampire, I prefer this far more than thoroughly cooked meat."
Beryllus chewed on the rare steak dripping with blood, wearing a deeply satisfied expression.
"I didn't expect the elves to enjoy meat this much."
"They've spent up to nearly a thousand years living the same routine over and over, like a squirrel in a wheel. The mere appearance of new dishes excites them. Still, not everyone will like meat."
Beryllus pointed with his fork toward a table where elderly elves were gathered.
"Hmm, delicious."
"The savory flavor is excellent. The cuisine of the outside world has advanced greatly without our noticing."
On their table—far removed from the elves enthusiastically enjoying meat—not a single piece of meat could be found.
They were elven elders who had lived for at least five hundred years, enjoying the vegetarian dishes Lee Jinseo had specially prepared.
Glossy white rice.
Various seasoned vegetables boasting different colors, flavors, and textures.
Vegetarian doenjang-jjigae and dolsot bibimbap made without meat, among others.
The dishes Lee Jinseo served precisely targeted the tastes of those who had adhered to vegetarianism for so long.
"There is no need to eat meat when one can enjoy such a delightful meal with vegetables alone. These young ones these days… tsk."
"Exactly."
As if displeased by the smell of meat filling the air, the elven elders frowned and chewed on vegetable gimbap.
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