Surviving on the Northern Front with Gukbap

Chapter 43

Discipline (3)

Seeing the soldiers clear a path for Jeros,

I was reminded of the time when the battalion commander showed up at the sparring tournament.

Into the splitting crowd, that narrow-eyed bastard had appeared, clapping.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

Did that jerk always make his entrance at times like this?

Jumping in just as things were wrapping up.

Was it the god's trickery?

"Interesting. This is getting interesting. Kukuk."

I almost shot back a stock phrase about how this was not remotely interesting,

but the weaselly squad leader was a step quicker in responding.

"Jeros, aren't you off duty?"

Jeros was known to vanish entirely—avoiding both meals and training—when he was off duty.

The squad leader seemed to know that as well.

'Could he have calculated even that, coming to target me?'

If so, that would be scary to think about.

"Kukuk. What does it matter where or what I do off duty?"

With a sneer, Jeros tilted his chin loftily as he spoke.

"Isn't it more unusual to see the squad leader in the soldiers' training hall? Kukuk."

At Jeros's provocation, the weasel retrieved his sword and got up.

"I'm just here as an officer to check on the troops' training."

"Is that so? How admirable of you."

"Yeah. Do you have a problem with that, rank-and-file guard Jeros?"

"A problem? Not at all. Why would I?"

Before I knew it, the two were glaring at each other, completely ignoring me,

but their standoff didn't last long.

The spindly squad leader brushed past Jeros' side.

"... See you in three days, outsider."

Before the squad leader had taken more than a few steps, Jeros muttered,

"Kukuk. Scared, are you?"

Pause.

The squad leader briefly halted, but quickly resumed walking and disappeared out of the training hall.

At the same time, the watching soldiers drifted away as if nothing had happened.

"Kukuk. Wait long, Ian?"

"Do you even need to ask?"

I replied gruffly without thinking,

honestly, I was impressed on the inside.

'Damn, that's cool.'

Just his presence made the soldiers yield on their own,

and even officers like the squad leader wouldn't carelessly cross him.

He's strong—this is the northern Duchy, where only the strong prevail.

That's why I need to get stronger as soon as possible too.

"By the way, what took you so long?"

Jeros looked different from when I'd seen him in front of the smithy a few hours ago.

His clothes were smudged with dirt here and there,

and his hair was a bit mussed from sweat.

"Kukuk. Had a few errands to run."

It was obviously a question about what those 'errands' were,

but seeing him snicker that way, there was clearly no point in pressing.

I let it go.

"When did you start watching?"

"From the moment you challenged him to a duel. Kukuk."

Haaa. He really had appeared just a whisker too late.

"It would've been nice if you came just a bit earlier, wouldn't it?"

"Cocky brat. Still, you handled things pretty well. Kukuk. So what's your plan now?"

"What else? I'll just have to prepare for the next three days."

"Kukuk. Are you serious?"

"?"

"Ian, what do you think your chances are of beating that scarecrow?"

As I was about to run another simulation in my head, Jeros cut in,

"I could bet my life savings on your defeat. Kukuk."

Annoying, but true.

That skinny squad leader is 3rd-rank.

To confront a 3rd-rank, you need to be at least 3rd-rank yourself.

If he uses Sword Energy, I need to counter with Sword Energy.

But there's something Jeros doesn't know—

'With the strength buff from rice, I can at least imitate Sword Energy.'

If I have plain rice right before the duel and maintain the strength buff, I should at least be able to clash swords.

So, I asked,

"What if I can use Sword Energy? Would it be the same?"

"You're going to master Sword Energy in three days? Kukuk. Forget it."

"I mean, hypothetically. Even if I could use Sword Energy, are you saying there's no chance?"

Jeros, after a pause in his laughter, stared at me and replied.

"You're awfully serious, cocky brat. Fine. Let's say you miraculously master Sword Energy—what's your primary sword style?"

"Quick Sword."

"Congratulations. Even if you master Sword Energy, it's still a total defeat for you. Kukuk."

From Jeros's response, it was clear—the squad leader's main sword style is—

"He uses Flowing Sword, doesn't he?"

No wonder.

My ambush simulations kept getting blocked easily.

"Correct. Did you see that scarecrow's long arms? He uses Flowing Sword with those. Even if you have Sword Energy, your odds are slim. No, actually, you have none. Kukuk."

Jeros was right.

Between fighters of the same rank, Quick Sword's speed is poorly matched against the Flowing Sword's deflection.

But I wasn't out of tricks that Jeros didn't know.

'Namely, when I have the strength buff, I can also use the Strong Sword style.'

Talking this far, my strategy was beginning to take shape.

The crucial points: the Flowing Sword's reach due to his long arms,

and using Strong Sword instead of Quick Sword.

'It's not hopeless.'

Three days.

I'd use every means I had to become stronger.

I'd survive—at all costs.

And the first step was clear.

"All right. I get it. So let's get started with the sword training."

Spending money to get sword lessons from Jeros himself.

This was the start of my turnaround.

"Kukuk. That's right. I completely forgot why I came."

"Right. You came to give me sword lessons at 10 shillings an hour—"

"That deal's off. No sword lessons. Kukuk."

"...?"

What kind of nonsense is this now?

*

― I'll be very busy for a while. Kukuk. I don't have time for you.

― You came all this way just to say that?

― Yes. You should be grateful.

― Wait, wait! I said 10 shillings an hour!

― Hmm. That's a bit of a waste, but... kukuk.

With those words, Jeros waved his hand and left.

I could do nothing but stare after him, dumbfounded.

'Is he insane?'

Yes. Jeros is an insane bastard.

And now, he's become an unpredictable crazy bastard.

He used to be obsessed with money, and now he was turning it down.

If I die in the duel, there'll be no money left for him to collect anyway.

'I really don't get it.'

What could it be?

Could it have something to do with why he told me to postpone my shop's opening?

'Haaa. What does it matter now?'

Whether Jeros is shady,

whether the battalion commander told me to keep an eye on him,

none of that matters at the moment.

'The problem is, I just lost one way to get stronger!'

There were three days until the duel, and I'd planned to train on two tracks.

Daytime: get sword lessons from Jeros,

Nighttime: research ingredients via the [shop window] for ultimate food recipes.

That was the plan for preparing for the duel.

'It's off to a rough start.'

I was boiling with frustration, but I had no choice.

When things turn out this way, you just have to accept it and move to plan B.

I'd have to practice alone.

'At least the soldiers aren't causing trouble anymore.'

Whether it was because I busted up a soldier's jaw with mana,

or because Jeros acted friendly toward me, I didn't know,

but all the troublemakers had disappeared.

I pulled out the kitchen knife I'd stuck in my belt.

Its length, just longer than my palm, caught my eye.

'It really is short.'

I hadn't considered it a major problem before,

but facing an opponent with much longer reach made it obvious.

Can my kitchen knife really pierce through that long-armed monkey's Flowing Sword?

"...."

It looks tough. It won't be easy.

I couldn't picture it at all.

But still—

'You never know until you put them side by side.'

To clear my head, I swung my knife,

and distraction turned to focus, which spurred my body on.

...

...

...

How many times had I swung, over and over again?

My whole body, drenched in sweat, my muscles and joints screaming,

only then did I notice the red sky turning dark.

"Haah. Haah."

I wanted to keep going, but damn, time flies fast.

Grrrgle.

My concentration broke at the sudden rumble in my stomach.

Now that I thought about it, I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast.

If I continued training in this state, the efficiency would obviously be poor.

'Time to head back.'

I suppressed my impatience and sheathed my knife.

Three days' time had been given to me,

and I needed to spend that resource efficiently.

Now it was time to replenish my stamina and develop a meal for right before the duel.

So I left the training hall and arrived at my shop,

formerly Fairy's Leg, now Happiness Gukbap.

The sign hadn't gone up yet, but the door had been replaced with a new one.

It looked fancier and sturdier than before, which pleased me greatly.

'This is why you spend money.'

Feeling gratified that I'd traveled all the way to Grey Fortress for this, I opened the door,

and saw construction materials scattered across the hall.

And then—

"You're back..., boss...."

"Boss... I'm hungry..."

Came the dispirited voices of Employee #1 and #2.

Both were slumped over the table, faces pale.

Surely they hadn't—

"You two haven't eaten, waiting for me?"

"Mmm..."

"Yes..."

Haaa.

I found myself shaking my head without meaning to.

"You should've eaten something first."

"We didn't know when you'd come back, boss..."

Should I praise their loyalty, or scold them for being foolish?

"What about the stonemason guild people?"

"They said they were finished for today and would be back tomorrow morning...."

Sounds like they'd rented a room at another inn.

Well, the construction payment included extra lodging, so that made sense.

"Boss... I'm so hungry..."

The blind woman's voice grew even more pitiful.

Is this how a mother feels about a child who can't cook for themselves?

It was both pathetic and pitiable—sigh.

"All right, just wait."

As soon as the duel ends, I'll teach these employees how to cook.

I made that promise to myself as I entered the kitchen—

'Whoa. That startled me.'

A chunk of meat, stripped bare and exposing pale flesh, was lying there.

It was bear meat, from the Ice Bear that Naba had finished processing.

'Still amazing, even now.'

To have skinned such a huge beast so cleanly—

I was impressed by Naba's usefulness,

but simultaneously worried about the meat.

It was cold outside while traveling, but inside it could start spoiling.

'Maybe I'll have to smoke some or sell a portion.'

Thinking these things, my body automatically started preparing to cook.

On the way back to the shop, I'd already decided what dish to make,

and which cut of the bear meat to use.

'The belly meat!'

You need a balance of muscle and fat for meat to be delicious.

Based on the state of the neck meat I'd had before, the belly should have just the right amount of fat.

'Please let it taste good.'

My body was exhausted, but the thought of cooking fired me up all over again.

Excited, I washed my kitchen knife and stabbed it into the center of the bear meat.

Fwoosh.

Careful not to damage the innards,

I cleanly cut off a chunk of meat, rinsed it, and set it on the cutting board.

It was missing compared to pork belly,

but at least it had some marbling—much better than the neck meat I'd had before.

'I wonder how the system will rate this if I go all out.'

The "Unrefined Meat Soup" it graded last time still bugged me a bit.

This time, I'd spare no ingredients and pour all my cooking skills into the dish.

'Shop window!'

Ding.

My mind cleared with expectation and excitement.