Surviving on the Northern Front with Gukbap

Chapter 60 : New Friend(s) (1)

New Friend(s) (1)

Just as I was about to ask why it took so long just to break that stone necklace—

Thud.

Ralph collapsed.

Leaving the injured Plerine and Legion behind, I ran ahead.

I was the only one whose body was intact.

"Ughh."

Fortunately, it seemed he hadn't lost consciousness, as a groan escaped him.

Ralph sat up and said,

"Damn. How embarrassing."

Hearing his surprisingly lively voice, I felt relieved.

"Did you trip over some rock or something?"

"Yeah, something like that. But hey... where are your pants?"

Ralph reached out his hand to me and,

"......"

I grabbed his hand and pulled him up.

Seeing him stagger a bit, it was clear he wasn't in great shape.

Especially—

"Ralph. Your face...."

From above his right eye, crossing the eye to the tip of his chin,

Blood was oozing from a long, deep wound.

"How do I look? Don't I look a bit tougher now?"

Even based on looks alone, Ralph was already the strongest person in Granfen,

But I quietly took out mashed herbal ointment from my backpack and applied it for him.

"How did you end up in this state?"

"When I followed that lady, I didn't realize, but the path was much more complicated than I remembered."

Fair enough.

You must have taken a wrong turn and that made it take longer.

"Did you fight monsters?"

I asked in surprise.

To be honest, after getting kicked by Gardoc, Ralph shouldn't have been in any state to fight at all.

"I thought I was dead meat, too. But then suddenly I felt this surge of strength in my body. Just like right after eating your cooking. Thanks to that, I barely made it."

As Ralph spoke, the puzzle in my mind snapped into place.

Hadn't the quest failed to clear when I reached 3rd-rank?

The quest's reward was an increased buff application rate for regular and frequent customers.

'The anti-demonic power resistance buff remaining on their stomach must have increased, enabling this.'

Realizing this, the guilt lingering in my heart eased a bit.

I'd been regretting making Gardoc angry by reaching 3rd-rank for nothing,

But if I hadn't reached 3rd-rank, Ralph would have died, and all of us with him.

Now I was curious how much the buff had increased for a miracle like this to happen,

Ralph stood at attention and said,

"Special Investigator. Are you all right?"

The two women arrived.

Legion and Ralph were both in rough shape, but

Ralph maintained proper respect for a superior.

"Squad Leader Ralph. Did you destroy the minor Demon Realm? How did you do it?"

"I just did as Ian told me. Ah, Special Investigator, this is Ian, who was recently appointed as a cook under the direct command of the battalion commander."

"Save the greetings for later. Report how you eliminated the minor Demon Realm."

"Yes. I broke the stone necklace hanging on the demon statue at the entrance of the minor Demon Realm, and it was purified. And..."

Ralph continued as he took something out of his pocket.

"There was something like this inside the necklace."

Legion took the blue gem and inspected it from various angles,

"Hm. I'm not sure, but there's a mystical aura swirling around it."

Watching this, I felt a chill run down my spine as I tried to maintain my composure.

'No way. That came from here?!'

A treasure that can't even be compared to a low-rank Spirit Orb,

It was a Fragment of the Firmament.

*

I thought I'd gone through all that hardship and gotten nothing in return.

Of course, just surviving was something to be thankful for,

But humans are such greedy beings.

Once I survived, I started worrying about finding pants for my precious parts,

And felt a sense of emptiness from gaining nothing except the Goblet of Blood Iron.

But that regret was disappearing.

Because of the "Fragment of the Firmament" that appeared before my eyes.

'To think I'd see that here, of all places.'

Even after raising dozens of characters, this was a gem you'd be lucky to see once.

Well, to make someone like Gardoc into a Demon King, you'd need something like a top-tier item as a medium.

'Still, the Fragment of the Firmament showing up here was something I never even dreamed of.'

My mouth started watering but I kept my poker face.

Because the Special Investigator Legion would be the one to decide.

'She really seems totally by-the-book, despite how she looks.'

My excitement faded as I pondered how I might get that gem,

But then, Legion spoke to me.

"Hey, you with the black hair. You're a cook under the battalion commander?"

As expected, Legion seemed not to know much about me.

Well, she was a Special Investigator operating outside Granfen after all.

I answered with proper formality.

"Yes. The battalion commander himself appointed me recently."

"Hoh. A cook at 4th-rank, huh. The battalion commander's preparing something interesting again."

At her words, Ralph glared at me with his one good eye,

With a "what is that supposed to mean?" expression, since Legion had just said I was 4th-rank.

"But tell me this. Why are the three of you here alone in the minor Demon Realm, without any other soldiers?"

Legion's gaze pierced me as if interrogating.

"Not to mention that one of you doesn't even look like a soldier. It can't have been the battalion commander's order."

As expected, Legion's attitude was as by-the-book as befitted the Special Investigator name.

'Damn. What should I do?'

The made-up scenario I'd come up with had holes and wouldn't hold up.

I was likely to be found out soon.

Maybe I should just be honest.

'Should I just demonstrate my strength instead?'

Legion was injured, and I was at full strength.

Plerine would be sure to take my side.

But—

'That's not really right.'

No matter how much I wanted the Fragment of the Firmament,

Betraying those I'd just fought alongside didn't sit right with me.

At my core, I'm a modern, intellectual person.

In the end, I decided to try negotiating and spoke up.

"Then may I ask why you, Special Investigator, entered the minor Demon Realm alone without returning to Granfen? It doesn't seem like the battalion commander's order either."

"......"

Legion silently studied me at my words.

Next to me, Ralph seemed to be sending a 'are you crazy?!' signal.

But I looked her straight in the eye, regardless.

Because what matters in negotiations is spirit.

"... Pfft!"

Huh? Suddenly, Legion's cheeks puffed up.

"Kya-haha-ha!"

A girlish burst of laughter, totally unfitting for a soldier, erupted from her.

Whatever she found so funny, Legion clutched her stomach as she laughed and, finally catching her breath, said,

"It's obvious why you three came here alone. You wanted the Spirit Orb, didn't you?"

One moment giggling girlishly, the next, Legion was back to her military tone.

"You're right, as you say. We're the same. Rather than following the battalion commander's orders, we acted on our own. I never meant to interrogate you in the first place."

Ah, so she was just testing my reaction.

"The battalion commander has a good eye. You'd make a great asset to Granfen. Your name is Ian?"

"... Yes. Cook Ian."

"Your family name?"

"I don't have one. Just Ian."

"All right, Ian."

Legion wiped her smile away, her expression now solemn.

She faced me, kneeled on one knee,

Put both hands together before her chest, and bowed her head.

"I swear never to forget the favor I owe you today. May the gaze of Aureon fall upon you, Ian."

That voice was neither soldier nor maiden.

It was simply that of a devout believer serving her god.

'The favor Legion speaks of must be saving her from Gardoc.'

Legion had been stunned by the warrior's roar and nearly killed, until I stepped in.

It was a prayer not to forget that.

'To think I even considered a show of force against someone like her.'

Feeling bitter inside, I couldn't just stand there.

So I knelt on one knee as well and spoke.

"I too will not forget the experience of fighting alongside you, Special Investigator. Thank you for seeing me favorably. Though we don't worship the same god, I wish you martial fortune."

Legion and I stood up, neither rushing to outdo the other, and looked at each other.

Legion smiled slightly and said,

"What shall I do, Ian. You're growing on me even more."

"In that case, please overlook today. Let's just leave it as a happy memory between us."

"You're very bold, facing a superior like that. Fine, I will do so. But next time, you'll have to sleep with me. How's that?"

"?"

She was saying that again? I was at a loss for words,

But then—swoosh.

Legion held out the blue gem, the Fragment of the Firmament, to me.

I barely resisted swallowing my dry throat.

'Can I really have this?'

Some part of me, the RPG gamer's passive, the greed sense, was ringing,

Though it almost felt like I was selling my body for an item.

... But,

'The Fragment of the Firmament is irresistible.'

There's nothing like it—it's the Fragment of the Firmament.

For now, I'll accept it and worry about the rest later.

"I'll accept it with gratitude."

I took the Fragment of the Firmament.

At this, Legion grinned, took out rabbit ears from her utility belt, and put them on her head.

So she had a spare.

"I'll look forward to meeting you again in the spring."

With those words, Legion spun around and walked off.

In the exact opposite direction of Granfen Village.

"You're hurt! At least recover before you go!"

"My subordinates are waiting. The minor Demon Realm has been purified, so I have work to do."

With that, the red-haired girl grew more distant.

*

Once Legion was gone, we headed straight for Granfen.

On the way back, Ralph spoke with emotion.

"I got to fight alongside Special Investigator! What an honor...!"

Ralph then began to ramble about Legion.

He said after the bald battalion commander, she was the most respected officer.

True, Legion did seem far more of a soldier than Lantz or Hank.

"She's currently leading the Special Investigators on front-line reconnaissance missions, with lots of legendary stories."

This was what I expected after seeing her rabbit ear headband, so I wasn't surprised.

I was more curious why she had thrown herself into the North.

If I remembered right,

She was from the Holy Knights of Runthra's theocracy.

If her weapon was a modular six-section staff and she worshipped Aureon, that would be right.

'Wasn't their name something like the Lights of Shizua?'

Unlike the Duchy's knight order White Fang, that wasn't an easy name, so I get mixed up.

Anyway,

We were able to reach Granfen under the moonlit snowy mountain without stopping.

There was a bit of a commotion from the guards at the entrance when they saw Ralph.

"Squad Leader Ralph! Why are you so injured?"

"Shut it and mind your own business."

Thanks to Ralph's attitude, the guards didn't dare approach,

And Plerine and I, with our robes pulled low, followed Ralph.

Of course, the guards gave me suspicious glances at my bare legs and feet showing under the robe.

'Good thing I ate garlic from the [shop window], or I may have lost my toes to frostbite.'

Back home, at my shop, my sweet home, Happiness Gukbap.

As soon as we went inside, the warmth wrapped around me.

"Ahh."

My body was melting.

Ralph must have felt the same, as he plopped into a table chair with a thud and said,

"I think I'll survive now. I really will."

He was right.

Now it was finally starting to feel like we'd really survived.

"Rest for a moment. I'll bring some food right away."

I went into the kitchen, cooked up some meat and vegetable rice porridge, and served it to them.

They needed a stamina regen buff after those injuries.

Tap.

"Boss, aren't you eating?"

"I'm fine."

Aside from the cold, I was perfectly okay.

"Thank you, Ian. I'll enjoy this."

The two began warming themselves with the hot rice porridge.

"Ssshhh."

Ralph gave a classic middle-aged-man reaction.

"This is killer, killer! Really the best!!"

Ralph smiled with moist eyes.

Watching him enjoy it so much, I almost regretted not eating any.

As for Plerine, true to her identity as a fire mage, she repeatedly shoveled the steaming porridge into her mouth.

I'd given her plenty, knowing she'd eat like that.

Finally, I had some personal time all to myself.

While they were eating, I checked the system window.

'There's a lot to go through.'

Just as I was about to open the [Frequent Customer] window, Ralph asked,

"Ian, by the way, what was that blue gem?"

"?!"

Amazingly, Ralph's bowl was already empty after just that moment.

Was he a fire mage too?

"What was that thing, that you were willing to argue with the Special Investigator over? Huh?"

Looks like now's not the time to check the system.

I took the gem out and put it on the table.

"You've heard of 'OOPArts,' right?"

Chak.

Ralph's spoon dropped from his hand and rolled on the table,

And his massive chin slowly fell downward.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

Out of Place Artifacts(OOPArts)...

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】