The bright sun of March was setting.
The Silvaerin Knights, who had set out to patrol the Callian Forest before the crack of dawn, were now gradually hastening their return.
It was an operation carried out with limited personnel, not even scouting the entirety of the Callian Forest.
With fewer members to worry about, they were able to scout for danger all the more quickly.
"It seems there are no major issues this year either."
"Yes, that is so."
Kailan, having received the reconnaissance report, replied blandly.
Originally, the 1st Platoon of the Silvaerin Knights was supposed to handle this patrol, but for some reason, Duke Kailan had declared he would accompany them.
At the caprice of a sudden superior, Arthur, the 1st Platoon Leader, was coiled tight with tension.
"Hmm... Perhaps because it's still March, the days are short. It will be night before we return."
"Judging by the sun, that seems to be the case. Shall we move more quickly from now on?"
"No. There's no need for that."
They had left the city early that morning, and even lunch was a rough affair of field rations supplied to the knights.
Of course, Duke Kailan ate those rations too. Being for field use, they were extremely dry and tough.
They provided the calories needed for activity, but satisfaction and satiety were lacking.
The soldiers seemed no different in that regard; the idle chatter occasionally heard among them consisted of things like "I'm hungry," and "I want to eat something tasty."
Duke Kailan looked around.
The right fork of the Callian Forest. A restaurant that would appear if one walked along a small side path near the middle.
Gauging the location Isilla had described, it was near here.
Duke Kailan had not joined the reconnaissance out of boredom.
Rather, official duties for city management were piled up like a mountain.
*A promise is a promise...*
The promise to personally visit the restaurant, check the master's character and food, and promote it.
The reason he had joined the reconnaissance was to keep this promise with Isilla.
Duke Kailan let out *ahem*, a dry cough, and spoke to the soldiers.
"All personnel, halt!"
"Halt!"
"Halt!"
Repeating the supreme commander's order, the soldiers' warhorses came to a stop.
"We will take a brief rest here before going. Everyone, rest easy."
"Rest easy!"
Since there had been no difficulties in the patrol and they weren't traveling a long distance, the rest order was somewhat puzzling, but the soldiers dismounted and seated themselves.
Do not question your orders. In other words, when you're told to do something, you simply do it.
It was a universal truth for the military of any era.
"Arthur, follow me alone."
"Yes. 1st Platoon! Do not leave this spot and take your rest."
Duke Kailan called Arthur aside alone and began heading not down the proper road but a strange side path.
Arthur, watching his cues, kept to the Duke's side and followed.
"Don't be so stiff. Actually, it's because of a promise I made with Isilla."
"A... promise, sir?"
What kind of promise would require coming this far into the forest?
Arthur awaited Duke Kailan's explanation.
"Isilla said her carriage broke down and stopped along this road, and by chance, there was a restaurant nearby. Apparently, it was even a Master Chef's restaurant."
"I beg your pardon?"
Hidden within the calmly spoken sentence was a shocking term.
A Master Chef existed in a forest like this, which couldn't even be called the outskirts but was simply raw nature itself?
Having heard an unbelievable story, Arthur blurted out a phrase he hadn't used since his days as a new recruit: "I beg your pardon?"
"Heh heh. You have every right to think so. I was suspicious too. But Isilla made a huge fuss insisting it was real... Honestly, there's no reason she would lie about something like this, is there?"
"That is... true enough. But still, a Master Chef? If it's true..."
"Yes. It would be the first time in the Empire's history."
Throughout the long history of the Empire, the title of Master Chef had always been a blank space.
Knowing the weight of that title, Arthur let out a low murmur.
"Oh, I suppose that's it. Quite close."
"The restaurant's exterior is truly... peculiar."
"I quite agree."
Before they knew it, yellow lights faintly illuminated the descending darkness, and the restaurant's sign, [Pyeonsik], came into view.
"Now, go call out."
"M-me, sir?"
"Then should I go?"
*That's not it, really...*
Convinced by the sheer authority of the Duke's rank, Arthur awkwardly approached the entrance.
*Clank! Clank! Boom!*
The gauntlet he was wearing produced quite an intimidating knocking sound.
"Is Mr. Gang Jinwoo present?"
As he had heard from Duke Kailan, Arthur called out the master's name.
Then, not long after, an answer was heard.
"Yes, I'm coming out...!"
Along with the voice heard from beyond the wall, the door opened.
The master who thus revealed his face, Gang Jinwoo, was a man with a sharp gaze and a fairly sturdy build.
His black hair and black eyes, rarely seen in the Empire, were striking.
Gang Jinwoo stared intently at Arthur, looking utterly bewildered.
"Forgive the sudden intrusion. I am Arthur, the 1st Platoon Leader of the Silvaerin Knights."
"Ah, yes. I'm Gang Jinwoo... um, are you here to eat?"
"Can we dine now?"
Duke Kailan stepped forward, answering Gang Jinwoo's question in Arthur's stead.
Kailan quickly looked over Gang Jinwoo, the self-proclaimed Master Chef.
*His body is quite sturdy. He has basic stamina. His magical power... hm?*
As Kailan examined Gang Jinwoo, there was something strange.
Mana was clinging to Gang Jinwoo's body rather than his soul.
Mana and magical power were distinctly different.
Mana was the energy that composed this world; it could reside in all things, and in living beings, it resided in the soul.
Magical power was the force obtained by converting the mana one's soul possessed.
In the case of mages or spirit mages, they often supplemented mana from the outside, but the basic principle was converting one's own mana.
However, there had never been a case where mana clung to the body from the start, as with Gang Jinwoo before his eyes.
He hadn't absorbed mana from the outside; rather, the mana was sliding across him, as though he wore a water-repellent cloak.
*Well, that's fascinating... but it's not important right now.*
Kailan reminded himself of his original purpose.
"Yes. We can serve you, but are you two the only guests?"
"No, there are more."
"How many more are there?"
"Twelve, including the two of us?"
"Excuse me?"
Gang Jinwoo's head swam at the abrupt group order.
On modern Earth, group customers usually made reservations, but this was a medieval fantasy world.
The concept of reservations wasn't nonexistent, but ordinary restaurants did not take them.
"Twelve, then. Will it be difficult?"
"Not exactly... it will take some time."
"Time is fine. If we inspect our equipment, it will pass quickly."
"Understood. Would it be alright if I decide the menu at my discretion?"
Kailan paused and pondered briefly.
He had wanted to see the self-proclaimed master's skills, so he intended not to place conditions on the cooking if possible.
However, before he knew it, the sunlight had vanished, and the chilly air of early spring could be felt.
At times like this, craving a sip of steaming hot broth was a universal truth.
"It's cold, so I would like some warm broth. Aside from that, please make whatever is convenient."
"Broth... understood. I think it will take about an hour; would you like to come inside?"
"That won't be necessary. I shall bring the men. Might we borrow your front yard for a moment? Everyone is carrying quite a lot on their bodies; indoors would likely be more uncomfortable."
"Yes, well, that's fine. Then I shall prepare the food."
Gang Jinwoo entered the kitchen to prepare the meal, and Kailan and Arthur turned back to fetch their men.
*Gang Jinwoo, was it? He's got guts.*
Commoners would naturally feel gratitude and fear toward the lord of the city they lived in.
The Callian Forest was Silvaerin territory regardless, yet Gang Jinwoo didn't cower or watch his words in the least before Kailan.
Interest was visible in Kailan's eyes.
Arthur, for his part, didn't care about any of that and just wanted to get off duty.
***
They had suddenly popped up, placed an order for a party of twelve, and left.
Cooking wasn't something done so quickly, and twelve people was a number one should have prepared for in advance.
"Ugh, medieval times."
The telephone ringtone he had hated so much on Earth was now dearly missed.
But those guests hadn't looked like commoners.
They were knights, and since they had said they were the Silvaerin Knights from the start, he supposed they were quasi-nobles.
Who was the man who talked to me besides that Arthur fellow?
His status or rank seemed higher than Arthur's, since Arthur had been watching his cues from the side.
He seemed like quite an important person, but Gang Jinwoo didn't really know.
*What do I care, I should just cook.*
What was important right now was the meal.
To prepare twelve servings in one hour, he couldn't use rice.
He didn't have a pressure cooker, either. Cooking rice for that many people in a pot? That wasn't easy.
In modern times, rice was made with the click of an electric rice cooker, but there was no such thing here.
Then he would have to cook rice in a pot or cauldron, which required considerable skill.
Even at inns, there was dedicated staff who managed nothing but the cauldron in front of the fire.
Rather than forcing himself to copy know-how accumulated over a long time, it was better to just make a different dish.
Fortunately, there was one suitable dish already decided in his head.
The chilly weather of early spring, soldiers returning from a mission.
And they wanted warm broth?
"Then you're janchi-guksu."
There are the Three Great Mukbangs of South Korean YouTube.
The Pohang mulhoe guy.
Pork belly on a cast-iron pan, with kimchi fried till crispy in the rendered fat.
And...
"It really clears your insides, doesn't it?"
The janchi-guksu guy who pushes the noodles into his mouth like he's drinking them after winter fishing in the cold.
I'll have to show the soldiers of this other world.
The destructive power of janchi-guksu eaten after suffering in the cold.