Surviving on the Northern Front with Gukbap

Chapter 65 : Spy(ies) (1)

Spy(ies) (1)

I learned a painful lesson from my duel with Sergeant Pab.

'Field of vision is extremely important in combat.'

During the duel, blood running down my forehead made everything feel stifling.

My opponent's attacks became invisible to me,

and my own attack routes were limited.

'At least I kept fighting while wiping the blood away back then.'

... But Ralph wasn't so lucky.

His right eye became useless.

He lost half his field of vision.

In other words, as a martial artist, he is now permanently and considerably weakened.

I had promised to make him stronger, but the result was the exact opposite.

'Because of me.'

A wave of self-reproach washed over me.

I knew how hard Ralph had worked to get stronger,

and I had seen what a good person he was.

It was heartbreakingly unfair.

That's why I went into the kitchen.

I began to cook for the person who has a lifetime free-pass to our shop.

But even as I cooked, this discomfort wouldn't fade.

"Go ahead and eat."

"Thanks for the food!"

Ralph cracked a joke as he started eating.

'He's just trying to act like he's okay.'

That only made me feel more out of my mind.

I wish he'd just blame me or yell or something.

I had no idea what I was supposed to say to him.

"Ian."

"... Yes."

"No matter what, rumors are bound to spread. Maybe you all won't be under suspicion, but I certainly am."

In the single night when the minor Demon Realm disappeared, Ralph got himself badly injured.

And even though he paid off the guards, people saw him wandering around at night.

That's more than enough for suspicion and rumors to start.

However,

"Still, it'll probably end as mere speculation."

"Yeah. I think so too."

If Ralph had gotten stronger, maybe it'd be different, but in fact, he got weaker.

He'd probably be left off the list of suspects.

"Hey, but what is this? It's disgustingly delicious."

"It's risotto."

"Damn. This is killer. Killer!"

Ralph made a big fuss while eating.

He was probably doing that to ease my guilt.

But I had already braced myself to face my sins.

I shouldn't avoid it—I'll beg for his forgiveness.

"Your right eye, can you see anything at all?"

"No."

Ralph answered with complete indifference, so matter-of-factly.

In contrast, my fists clenched tighter.

"I'm sorry. It's my fault, for dragging you into the minor Demon Realm for no reason...."

"......"

"I'm so sorry."

"Hmph. What do you have to be sorry for? There's no need."

"If it weren't for me, this wouldn't have happened."

"And what's 'this'?"

"You lost one of your eyes...."

"So what."

Grrrr. He ground his teeth for no reason.

"Because of me, Ralph didn't get stronger—he got weaker."

Thud.

Ralph, having finished his food, slammed his spoon down harshly.

He stared at me as if piercing right through me, and then he spoke.

"Don't talk nonsense. I'll keep getting stronger from here on out. One eye missing? Doesn't bother me at all."

"......"

"Look at your employee—the blind woman. She's incredibly strong despite covering her eyes entirely. I'll be like that too. Hehe."

I don't know.

Not sure what face I'm making right now.

"So just give me the best food you can. Just like you always have."

Ralph lifted his big chin and laughed.

But instead, what came to mind was what I had said to him before we went to the minor Demon Realm.

― I'll help you just like I always have. So, let's go together.

Anger boiled in my heart.

Help, yeah right.

I only used Ralph, and ended up leaving him worse off.

What a shitty outcome.

'I'm an even bigger bastard than Jeros.'

Who's the primitive medieval man here,

and what makes a modern man so great anyway?

My sense of despair wouldn't leave my head,

when Ralph's voice rang out.

"It's not your fault. It was my decision. So cut out the apologies."

"... Yes."

However, contrary to what Ralph wanted,

a heavy burden of guilt settled firmly in my heart.

*

Ralph left the shop right away.

That must have been out of consideration for me, too.

'Damn it.'

I wanted to just rest and gather my thoughts,

but of all times, I had a prior appointment.

"Do you know why I called you here?"

Once again, I was alone with the battalion commander, something that hadn't happened for a while.

Last time it was my shop; this time it was the battalion commander's office.

"You must want to talk about Jeros."

Naturally, I shouldn't mention the minor Demon Realm here.

If I brought it up first, it'd be like the thief making a guilty confession.

"Heh. There's that, too. I haven't received a report on that yet."

Clack. Sss.

While the battalion commander transferred the burning cloth to his pipe, I quickly put my mind to work.

If he says 'also', that means there's another topic he wants to talk about.

But what?

From the mood, it didn't seem to be the minor Demon Realm.

"Did you notice anything unusual about Jeros?"

A haze of pipe smoke drifted out as he spoke.

I started with my prepared answer.

"The day we got back from Grey Fortress, I asked Jeros for swordsmanship lessons. He told me to pay him 10 shillings an hour."

"Hahahaha! Didn't you say he only asked for 1 shilling before? For him to raise the price tenfold—that's just like Jeros. And then?"

"I gave no choice but to say yes, and waited for him at the training hall. But he arrived really late and abruptly canceled, saying he couldn't teach me after all."

The battalion commander's eyebrows twitched at my words.

"... Hmm. Jeros refused that much money on the spot? And?"

"That's all."

Actually, there's more.

Right before that incident,

he told us to open the shop as late as possible and then canceled on even that.

But admitting to that much is pushing it.

Because then I'd have to explain that most of the shop's profits go to Jeros.

'If it was revealed that 80% of the officers' meal money ended up with a mere guard, there'd be trouble.'

Of course, I could try reporting everything truthfully, then using the battalion commander's leverage to get Jeros ousted,

but I decided it was too soon for that.

I still wanted to find a peaceful solution if possible.

...... It's definitely NOT because Jeros's affinity with me has reached 82%.

After being lost in thought for some time, the battalion commander finally spoke.

"Thank you for the useful intel. You make me feel keeping you alive was worth it. Ha ha."

I wondered why this would be useful, but

the battalion commander's next words brought me back to reality.

"More importantly, today's meal was even better than yesterday's."

"I'm glad it suited your taste."

"No. That's not it."

The battalion commander looked at me with a strange smile.

Those eyes seemed to pierce right through me,

and in the end, I gave up pretending not to understand.

"You mean the effect got stronger, right?"

"Heh. That's right. It was obviously different from just the day before! Ha ha ha."

I'd gained a new buff after ascending to 3rd-rank in the minor Demon Realm.

The battalion commander instantly detected that after just one meal,

which was probably the real reason he called for me.

'He's subtly fishing, like an old snake.'

I'd forgotten because he helped me during my duel with Pab.

That bald old man isn't an easy opponent, either.

Pull yourself together, Ian.

"It's amazing, your skills improving so much in such a short time. That's why I want to ask you something."

"Please, go ahead."

"You said the effects of your cooking only appear if you make it at Fairy's Leg, correct?"

No, not Fairy's Leg, it's Happiness Gukbap.

"That's right."

Then a subtle, crazed gleam flashed in the battalion commander's eye.

"... Is that still the case?"

That time he unexpectedly visited my shop popped into my mind.

'He came to decide my fate.'

The battalion commander had already been convinced I'd killed Burt when he tried to grill me.

If I'd denied it to the end, I'd probably be dead.

And if my cooking and buffs hadn't passed muster, I'd be gone, too.

With the memories of that day, I could guess what was happening now.

Both the real point of his question,

and what he ultimately wanted from me.

'He wants food I cook outside the shop to have a buff effect as well.'

After all, that would be a lot more useful for him in the coming war.

'Damn it all.'

To be honest, the day I became a cook,

I'd bluffed with a little white lie, but I had a feeling it'd end up like this in the end.

That must be why my system told me to reach 3rd-rank to prepare for the 'coming war.'

'God, my luck...'

I guess it's something I can't refuse in the end.

If so, I'll tell the truth.

Laced with a few harmless lies, of course.

"I haven't cooked outside of 'Happiness Gukbap' yet, so I don't know, but I think the location restriction will disappear soon."

"Heh. And when do you mean by 'soon'?"

"I'll try it before the spring flowers bloom."

At last, the battalion commander smiled, satisfied.

"Hahaha! Very good! I'll look forward to it then."

Before I knew it, the office was thick with pipe smoke.

*

For the spring flowers to bloom, the snow has to melt first.

Right now, that seems like a distant thing.

This is the north, where the uncleared snow still piles up deep everywhere.

But time never slows down.

If you let your guard down, it'll fly by.

You can't see it yet,

but spring is definitely coming.

'So I need to live even more fiercely!'

My conversation with the battalion commander last night meant my participation in the war was now 100% certain.

When that day comes, I'll have to leave the shop.

Before that, I have to hire more workers and make sure the shop can run without me.

Especially, I can't skip training.

On the battlefield, power literally equals your chance of survival.

Plus I need to prepare the 4 golden to give to Gerald,

'But for now, I need to do the accounting and settle what I owe Jeros.'

That's why I got up much earlier than usual and sat at my desk.

I opened my parchment notebook and picked up a quill.

I wondered if this was what it felt like to do overdue summer break homework as a kid.

"......"

Damn it.

After sticking with my workouts, maybe my brain's turned to muscle.

My head just refuses to do the math... at all.

Wobble.

Oh crap. I almost smacked my nose on the desk, but barely snapped out of it.

"... I'll do this at night."

Longing for an Americano, I left my room and stood in the hall.

Even if I'm sleepy, knife skills are easier than math.

Swish. Whirl.

Immediately, my head felt clearer.

Once my body had fully warmed up, I even surrounded myself with Sword Energy and swung the kitchen knife.

Swoosh!

The thrill of using Sword Energy, even without the rice's strength buff, was just incredible.

Honestly, the best.

'This is what makes being a successor worthwhile.'

Come to think of it, I forgot to ask Ralph about the voice of enlightenment.

'Do I even have the right to ask Ralph for favors now?'

Thinking about Ralph made my heart heavy all over again.

There went my appetite to practice knife skills.

'Better just get ready for work.'

I went to the kitchen and started using my kitchen knife for its intended purpose.

Tap tap tap tap.

Like I said, time moves incredibly fast.

It shot right past in the blink of an eye.

The employees woke up, we got ready for business together, the officers finished breakfast, the few remaining night customers left—

It all happened in a flash.

Now, with just the last bit of cleaning up, I'd be free for the day.

"Hey, rookie. You were moving pretty well today, I'll give you that."

Naba, carrying dishes, said with a cocky air.

Harper sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

"Thank you. I'll work even harder."

Harper was in a much better mood than the day before.

Most of his stiffness was gone.

Seizing the moment, I slyly asked the third rookie employee:

"You learn things awfully fast. What'd you do before this?"

Harper answered with a wry smile.

"I'm from Texas. My job... I was an ordinary office worker."

"Oh, Texas. Nice place, right?"

Not that I'd ever been to the U. S.

"M-Mr. Boss, where are you from?"

Harper seemed to ask with some courage.

I answered proudly and confidently.

"I'm from Korea. I'm Korean."

I was about to add that I'd definitely go back, but Harper cocked his head slightly.

"Korea?"

"You don't know Korea? Ko-rea."

"... No. Never heard of it."

I was left speechless by Harper's apparent first time hearing of Korea.

"A small but mighty country between Japan and China! Hey, are you being racist just because you're American?"

I was about to pull a "K-Do-You-Know" joke,

but Harper's expression only twisted further.

"I know Japan and China, but Korea... and what's the U. S. supposed to be?"

What did this kid just say?

"You said you're from the U. S."

Harper paused, then replied.

"I'm from Texas. I don't know what the U. S. is."

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

Opp...

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