Chapter 208: Become a Food Fighter for the World (3) To "properly" seal Dark Dragon Evelyn, the condition for maintaining the invincibility magic Charlotte had improved was simple.
While invincibility magic is in effect, stamina is depleted several times faster than before, and a maddening hunger surges in.
So, to replenish that stamina, cooks had to produce dishes as quickly as possible—and in massive quantities.
Then, the troops who received the invincibility magic had to eat those cooked dishes as fast as possible, and as much as possible.
Fortunately, many cooks had gathered at Falstead Castle, and more cooks were still coming from across the continent, so there was no real issue with securing cooks.
However, they still needed a way to ensure the troops under invincibility magic would not get sick of the cooks' food and could keep eating nonstop.
"Lee Jinseo-nim! Chicken gratin is finished!"
"It tastes excellent. You cooked it perfectly, but it took longer than the set time, didn't it?"
Lee Jinseo checked how long it took using the timer function on the smartphone beside him and asked.
"Y-yes, it did."
"Normally, I wouldn't make a big issue of it, but we must produce food of a set quality quickly. From now on, I would like you to focus on speed as well. Next dish—who's up?"
"The bulgogi hamburger set is finished! How is it?"
"The patty is grilled appropriately. But the quality of the fries served as the side is lacking. They need to be fried more crisply."
"Ah… I focused only on the hamburger and missed that part."
"In a set, not a single hamburger, what matters is the harmony between the hamburger, fries, and carbonated drink. The carbonated drink is an existing product we serve as-is, so there's nothing for us to adjust there, but the taste of the other two changes depending on the cook's skill. This clashes with what I said earlier, but while making it quickly is important, we also have to maintain taste."
"Yes! I'll keep it in mind!"
Lee Jinseo tasted the various dishes the cooks made and pointed out, one by one, the exact things they needed to improve.
To keep invincibility magic active on yourself, you must eat at least thirty servings a day to replenish stamina and calories that are burned away quickly.
But once you have to provide thirty servings, the cycle at which the same menus reappear inevitably becomes shorter.
No matter how delicious the food is, if you keep eating it, you eventually get tired of it.
So to prevent people from getting sick of food, the cooks worked up a sweat learning new menus from Lee Jinseo that had not yet been revealed.
In contrast, the ones who ate the food felt relatively less pressure.
They just had to eat a lot of whatever the cooks brought out.
Even so, they still had to prepare in their own way.
Once invincibility magic activates, they have to eat hard to fill the stomach that empties rapidly, but the speed at which each person eats varies widely, which can cause problems.
The invincibility magic would last one week for the one thousand most elite troops.
They had to fight at full strength during that week, but if eating time dragged on too long, the reason for using invincibility magic would be undermined.
So all forces currently stationed around Falstead Castle went into training to eat as quickly as possible—and as much as possible—within a set time.
"Wow… those noodles vanished in an instant. It's like magic!"
Slurp.
"The ramen Lord Craid is eating right now—apparently it's ten servings..."
"No wonder it looked like so much. Ten servings? That's insane."
Slurp, slurp.
"There's still steam rising… if he keeps slurping noodles that hot, won't he burn his mouth? Is he alright?"
"No! Look closely! He's constantly shaking the noodles he lifted with the chopsticks in his left hand to cool the heat! He's alternating and doing it with his right hand too!"
Gulp, gulp.
Craid set the huge bowl down on the table while drawing everyone's attention.
Inside the empty bowl, not a single drop of broth or piece of topping remained.
"Now, did you all see? If you use two chopsticks at once, you can finish noodle dishes quickly."
"Oooooh!"
The soldiers burst into admiration at Craid, who had devoured ten servings of ramen in the blink of an eye.
Known by the nickname "the solitary swordsman," Craid was showing an appetite and eating speed worthy of his other title: the greatest big eater on the Francia Continent.
His assigned position was Food Fighter Training Instructor.
Shortened to "Instructor," he carefully memorized a scene from a cooking manga Lee Jinseo brought, then actually succeeded in doing it.
I didn't think he'd copy a scene from a comic exactly. I only showed it to him just in case and even asked Fedora-nim to translate it… but people from another world really are different.
Watching something even more comic-like than the comic itself, Lee Jinseo clicked his tongue.
"If you keep putting only the same sauce on a Korean-style hot dog, you'll get sick of it easily even if you haven't eaten much. The basics of the basics: ketchup, mustard sauce, sugar, and so on… if you spread them one at a time in order, you can eat more."
"Or you can spread them all at once! It's also great if you drizzle mayonnaise!"
"Mayonnaise on a Korean-style hot dog? It's not even American-style. What are you doing to Korean-style hot dogs? Forget what that fellow just said, and only remember what I said."
Not only Craid, but the food truck's longtime regulars were also teaching the soldiers ways to keep eating Lee Jinseo's bunsik without getting tired of it.
Sometimes there were people trying to pass on overly niche tastes, but most of them earnestly taught their know-how without holding back so the soldiers could do their best in this battle.
"I have trouble eating hot foods, so… could I rinse the noodles in cold water and eat them separately?"
"Rinse ramen? Are you out of your mind?"
"If you're going to rinse ramen, you might as well eat something else… why?"
In an instant, the food truck regulars who had been teaching ways to eat faster glared at one soldier.
And among them, the one who showed the strongest hostility was Craid.
"Eating that way is discourteous to the person who made the food. It is also a method that lacks respect for the food itself."
"Huh?"
"It is heresy, not 'a bit much.'"
When Craid answered with a stern, serious face, the soldier who said he couldn't handle hot food shrank back in fear.
"But since we must win a battle that decides the survival of the world, we should show some flexibility to a degree."
Lowering the eyebrow he had raised, Craid patted the soldier's back, who had been receiving sharp looks from the food truck regulars.
"Still, if possible, I recommend a method that preserves the dish's original taste as much as possible. You said you struggle with hot foods?"
"Yes, y-yes!"
"But you don't want to give up noodle dishes you like, right?"
"Yes, that's right!"
"Then I recommend bibim noodles without broth. Or cold noodles served with an icy broth cold enough to make your teeth ache would also be a good choice."
"What? Noodle dishes like that exist? Wasn't ramen the food truck's only noodle dish?"
"You didn't know?"
"I-I've only been here three days..."
When the cat-tongued soldier mumbled awkwardly, the expressions of the food truck regulars—who had been antagonistic toward him—changed in an instant.
"Ah, that young human… a bunsik beginner? Then it makes sense he'd say that."
"Oh dear, we pushed too hard. We were too hasty."
"Later, stop by the forge inside Dwarf Town! As an apology, I'll forge you a fine Adatium sword!"
With the sudden reversal of the mood, the bunsik-beginner soldier didn't know what to do, and Craid placed a hand on his shoulder.
"The noodle dishes Lee Jinseo makes are far more diverse than what I mentioned. The world of noodles is vast. I hope you learn a new joy besides ramen through this opportunity."
"Yes! Y-yes!"
"In that spirit, I will tell you about jjolmyeon, a representative brothless noodle dish. As a noodle dish that lets you enjoy sweetness, sourness, and spiciness all at once..."
Craid explained bunsik to the soldier steadily, with the eyes of a seasoned veteran who had found a clueless newbie.
"Good! I'm first place!"
"Tsk, I'm second. If I hadn't choked when I drank the broth earlier, I could've eaten faster than you—damn it!"
"I can eat up to three servings without trouble… but after that, it's hard..."
After being taught by Craid and the food truck regulars, the soldiers even competed over who could eat faster.
At an age where they were still growing, they rejoiced at the unlimited bunsik and various foods and stuffed themselves freely.
Normally, superiors would pressure them to eat moderately because supplies might run short, but now those same superiors urged them to eat more, so there was nothing to stop their appetites.
As a result, empty plates and bowls piled up under the tables where the soldiers were eating.
"Hey! You all digested it, right? Let's go play soccer to work it off!"
"Who wants to go play baseball with me?"
"What, you already got enough people for soccer? Tch… then let's go play jokgu instead!"
That didn't mean they were focused only on eating.
Once the food had digested somewhat, they had to quickly empty their stomachs and practice eating again, so after meals they ran off to play sports they liked.
Until a few days ago, they had been doing military training, but since sports were chosen as a more active way to burn calories, they could enjoy sports freely without worrying about anyone's eyes.
"It's a shame the soccer league got suspended, but it's also good that we got the chance to actually run on the field ourselves."
"Even when I was only watching games from the stands, I never thought I'd get the chance to use a soccer field directly."
"But it's still hard to get a field. The competition is intense. Let's eat a bit more and go play once a spot opens."
Most of the people gathered here were soldiers.
And for soldiers, sports were an excellent way to train the body while also releasing stress, so the area around Falstead Castle filled up with soldiers exercising with balls.
This feels like a bunch of older guys gathered to hang out together....
Lee Jinseo recalled when he was in the army and went to a cathedral for religious events, chatting cheerfully with soldiers from other units.
Only their clothing and races were different, but the way they held Chox pies and drinks while talking didn't feel unfamiliar to him.
"Then it seems you've mastered all the dishes I taught you yesterday… anyone who wants to submit an original dish, come this way!"
The cooks' heavy responsibility didn't end with simply producing and serving lots of food to countless soldiers.
They absolutely needed food that was delicious, not too bulky, yet could replenish a lot of calories.
So, in order to create so-called "calorie bombs," the cooks presented new menu ideas and asked Lee Jinseo to taste them.
"Hyung! Th-this—what do you think?"
After thinking all night, Jason presented Lee Jinseo with a plate: a Korean-style hot dog covered all over with square fries stuck tightly together.
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