Surviving on the Northern Front with Gukbap

Chapter 66 : Spy(ies) (2)

Spy(ies) (2)

A gamer living in Texas shouldn't be saying this.

'You don't know the U. S.?'

Tap.

I spread out the diary and set Harper next to me.

It was the same diary of the outsider I'd found on the day I killed Burt.

Scratch. Skrk.

I drew the world map as I remembered it.

Around the Korean Peninsula and East Asia, which I knew well, I drew in detail,

while the continents I didn't know were a rough sketch.

"Here, mark where Texas, Japan, and China are. As you know them."

0

Harper was a bit flustered but quietly took the quill.

"My country, Texas, is here."

"... Hold on. Draw the surroundings of Texas and explain as you go."

The United States that Harper drew was split into several countries.

Texas was one of them.

There was no United States of America as I knew it.

"China, Japan, and Asia, I'm not exactly sure..."

Shocking as it was, the Korean Peninsula and Manchuria were all Japan.

There was no Korea in East Asia.

I couldn't help but feel uneasy.

General Ahn Jung-geun would probably weep if he saw this.

"Do you want me to draw the other parts, too?"

"Just focus on the major countries."

It was clear that Harper had come from a different Earth than the one I'd lived on.

After all, having crossed into a medieval fantasy world, there's no law stating there can't be more than one Earth.

'Did Harper and I even play the same game?'

If so... Harper might have crossed over here by a different process than I did.

"Harper, tell me—what did you hear just before coming to this world?"

"Ah, boss, you heard that strange voice, too, right?"

"Tell me everything you remember. Don't leave out a single word, not a single letter."

"...... You have cleared all 10 endings."

"A new play mode has been unlocked."

"A new character is being created."

That much was just like me.

But—

"...?"

There was nothing after that.

"And? That's it?"

"Yes. After I heard that voice, I opened my eyes, and I was here."

I spotted another difference.

'Harper didn't hear anything about achievement rates or perks being granted.'

Could it be Harper doesn't have a perk ability?

Is there any chance Harper was lying?

... Judging by Harper's face, it didn't seem like a lie.

"Would you like me to tell you what I heard after arriving in this world, too?"

Suddenly, a chill ran down my spine.

I hadn't heard any system voice after I arrived.

Taking a deep breath, I asked,

"Go ahead. What did you hear?"

"In the midst of disorder flows chaos...."

Damn it.

I recognized those next words.

"A new possibility is born."

"... Y-yes. That's it."

The strange system voice I heard after devouring the imp's wings in the minor Demon Realm,

Harper had heard it immediately upon coming to this world.

'Why?'

I wanted to find the difference, but I didn't have enough samples to compare.

Perhaps, with another outsider, I could find out.

"Anything else? No other points of interest?"

"N...no."

Even though I had a mountain of unresolved problems,

I'd just received a brand new one.

*

After finishing work, I sat at my desk and grabbed my quill.

I needed to organize the ledger and get to training,

but my mind was elsewhere.

'An outsider from a world where the United States split into multiple countries, and Germany and Japan won World War II.'

A new hypothesis forms.

'Maybe the outsiders on the Belkhazium continent each came from different Earths.'

Did the outsider who killed Gardoc also come from another Earth?

I wondered.

Other outsiders, other forms of Earth...

I was burning with curiosity.

And I actually had a way to solve some of this curiosity.

"Hoo."

In the end, I opened the system window.

[Shop Window]

〈Point Balance〉

[Satisfaction: 198] x 1pt

[Recognition: 59] x 10pt

[Emotion: 1] x 300pt

└ ▶ Outsider Harper

----------

For a moment I basked in the luxury of accumulated points.

Without hesitation, I pressed the triangle under 'Emotion'.

〈Do you want to replay Outsider Harper's major memories? (Consumes 1 Emotion)〉

A 'Emotion' worth a whopping 300 points.

But I could earn more points in the future—I actually could.

'What's more important is the 'information' and the opportunity cost.'

I wanted to know how different a world Harper came from compared to mine,

and I had an instinct this would be useful to me.

More than anything, saving up and losing out had never worked well for me.

I didn't want to repeat the same mistake.

'Replay Harper's major memories.'

Let's see if it really is a sakuranji or not.

〈Replaying Outsider Harper's major memories valid for special trait holders.〉

"?!"

Before I knew it, I was standing in the middle of a bustling U. S. city.

It seemed like Texas, but it wasn't the rugged Texas I'd imagined.

It was fancy and sophisticated.

'Feels kind of like Gangnam or Apgujeong.'

I started moving.

Of course, not by my own will.

This point of view was Harper's, first-person.

Soon, Harper's emotions came over me.

It was an unusually strong emotion.

A mix of earnestness, excitement, and ambition.

A moment later,

Harper's footsteps stopped at the destination.

I—Harper—looked at a building that exuded artistic value, determined to succeed.

My heart pounded stronger.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

As Harper, with fists clenched, approached the entrance, the automatic door opened,

and I took a step toward the rich scent of food...

〈Your understanding of Outsider Harper increases.〉

"Huh?"

The end came as suddenly as the start.

Suddenly, I was back in my room.

But my mind was busy sorting through what I'd seen.

There hadn't been any truly unusual information,

but just as the system said, I got to know more about Harper.

"Damn."

I let out a curse, unsure if I was happy or angry,

then opened the door and shouted.

"Harper! Come into my room!!"

Thududadada.

I heard hurried footsteps on the stairs and Harper appeared.

"D-did you call for me, boss?"

"Come in and shut the door."

With military-like discipline, trainee Employee #3 swallowed nervously and stepped inside.

"Harper, you—"

"Uh, y-yes!"

Recalling the sign I'd seen in Harper's memories, I asked,

"You used to work at a fine-dining restaurant, didn't you?"

"H-how did you know that?"

Harper's eyes went wide with surprise.

Just as I thought.

No wonder he adapted to work so quickly.

"You said you were an office worker! Is a chef what you'd call a normal office worker?"

At my pointed question, Harper scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

"No, well, I really did work at a Michelin fine dining place, but..."

He smiled awkwardly and continued.

"I wasn't a chef—I was in charge of management support and accounting for the restaurant corporation. That's why I just said office worker."

I was at a loss for words, having guessed wrong.

'He wasn't a chef, he was in restaurant management?'

The image I'd envisioned changed.

Instead of a chef's coat, Harper wore a business suit.

*

It didn't take long to accept this new frame of thought.

'... Actually, this is even better?'

I'd majored in business administration instead of culinary arts.

Cooking was something I'd do my whole life anyway.

I'd wanted to learn business, not just cooking.

But now, as I confess,

'My grades in college were awful.'

No surprise—my parents, business owners before cooks, passed down their genes.

Business administration bored me to tears, and hardly any of it stuck in my head.

And here comes a restaurant accountant rolling my way.

You might call it divine luck.

'Better than a chef.'

If Harper were a chef, I might be less swamped,

but I'd be worried about food quality too.

I trust my own palate, but not others'.

But a professional restaurant manager is a different story.

They can fill my 'business' gaps.

And above all,

'I can shove off the pain of keeping the ledger!'

Should I pray to the gods?

Now that I'm about to start Harper's second interview, my mouth is watering.

"All right, office worker Harper. What's your highest education level?"

"I got my Bachelor's and Master's in Management at the University of Austin."

I didn't know that world's universities, but I could feel pride in Harper's voice.

Well, if he'd gotten a Master's, he was an elite.

"What kind of work did you do at the fine dining restaurant?"

Somehow, my voice came out gentle.

Harper, too, sat with much more relaxed posture.

"I did everything to do with management and accounting. Handling transaction slips, settlements, payroll, General affairs, and even audits. Sometimes I helped with HR, too."

I had to bite down to keep the corners of my mouth from twitching.

A list of everything I found troublesome and difficult.

Next question.

"Impressive. How long did you work there?"

"Just at that one place...for ten years."

There was sadness in Harper's voice.

Regret and longing radiated from him.

Sure enough, the memory I saw was probably Harper's first day out of those ten years,

and they say it takes one to know one.

'That guy is my kindred spirit.'

Just like I'm obsessed with gukbap and cooking,

Harper seems truly devoted to restaurant management.

It was obvious from the feelings I experienced in his memory.

And I,

As the boss, had an obligation to guide my subordinate down the right path.

"Harper. From now on, let me explain the plan and vision for our shop."

It was time to give a new dream and hope to my experienced new hire.

*

Harper was an outsider from a different Earth.

So first, I had to bridge the most basic differences in common sense.

― So on boss's Earth, the most popular and revered food is rice porridge—and you intend to conquer the Belkhazium continent with that dish."

Harper listened closely to my ambitions,

and asked about the journey that led me here.

I only told him about the shop's growth and handed him the ledger.

Naturally, I hid any connection to Jeros.

― This ledger...hmm. It's truly medieval.

Harper muttered quietly as he looked over the ledger,

and in the process discovered I'd made some trivial mistakes.

― You priced things way too low. No, this is—ah... This price doesn't make sense at all.

Given the cost and rarity of ingredients, popularity, location, and dish function, he said the price was absurd.

...... Mm. Yeah. Doesn't seem like a minor mistake.

I'd argued with my father so many times in the past to raise prices,

yet here I was making the same mistake.

Genetics are a formidable force.

'No wonder, as we got busier, I didn't feel like the cash was increasing much.'

Finally, Harper grabbed the quill.

His eyes sparkled as he started on the books,

and a whole different atmosphere settled over him.

At the same time, Harper started giving all sorts of suggestions, and I pretended to listen.

After all, these were tasks I'd give to Harper anyway—

and if he got frustrated, he'd just do them himself.

'I'll have to hire the next employee myself.'

Harper said we needed to bring in experienced workers as soon as possible, not just newbies.

But for a second-day outsider, recruiting experienced hires would be tough.

That's my job.

Anyway, I was happy.

'Farming out bookkeeping—sweet.'

I ordered Harper to finish up the ledger and review the finances,

told Plerine and Naba to help Harper—really meaning watch over him—and then headed to the training hall.

My steps were light.

Who knew missing only two days' training hall would make me this excited.

But,

That excitement was shattered the moment I entered the training hall.

"Under the gods' blessing, I request an honorable duel. Security Division 1 Squad Leader, Nagel Ralph."

The two security squad leaders who had faced off at the sparring tournament were now facing each other,

one knee on the ground.

"With the gods as our witnesses, I accept the duel. 2nd Squad Leader, Fremont Keil."

A duel between Ralph and Keil had been agreed upon.