“You’ve all worked hard during this week of combat practice, students. Rest well until tomorrow and shake off your fatigue, so that you may devote yourselves to your studies again starting the day after tomorrow.”
““Yes, sir! Thank you!””
The carriage arrived at the Academy’s main building.
The students who had been dozing jolted awake and climbed down, and once everyone had lined up, the instructor gave a brief closing address.
The students seemed to have formed ranks at random, but beneath it lay several unspoken rules.
The farther left one went, the more the line was dominated by students with higher grades, stronger combat ability, and greater status.
Isila, too, though she did not realize it, had been drawn by that current to the left.
And her one and only friend and rival.
Kariel also stood to Isila’s left.
The instructor is speaking right now, so I can’t talk.
Isila stole glances at the red-haired beauty standing beside her—Kariel.
Ever since she had begun to feel an unfounded sense of inferiority toward Kariel, all sorts of things had started to bother her.
She’s the same age as me, so why is she taller than I am…?
Even after a week of practical training, her hair is still incredibly nice.
Before, she had simply been proud to have a friend blessed with such beauty…
But now, if she was honest, she was jealous.
Of those proudly broad shoulders and chest, and even that confident smile.
‘Uuu… I don’t know, I don’t know. I should just hurry up, wash, and go eat.’
Isila shook her head lightly and brushed away her thoughts.
Yes, it was because her body was tired that her mind kept drifting in this direction.
Isila pulled her gaze away from Kariel.
But there was no way Kariel, who could sense even the gaze of a squirrel-like little animal, would fail to notice Isila’s attention.
Smile—
Kariel, having noticed her gaze, tilted her head and smiled brightly.
That flawless, clear smile, and the hand wave as warm as sunlight.
Isila hurriedly turned her eyes back to the instructor.
‘What? She noticed? Well… of course she did. She’s Kariel.’
Even though Isila herself must have been the one most conscious of Kariel, claiming her as a rival.
Jealousy could blind a person to this extent.
Isila’s face turned as red as a carrot.
Because she originally had the snow-white skin of the North, the change stood out all the more.
Isila was inwardly flustered and scrambling, while outwardly trying to act calm.
Kariel gave that adorable Isila a captivating smile with her eyes.
And without making a sound, she moved only her lips.
‘So. Cute.’
“All right, then, everyone dismissed! Get plenty of rest and recover from the journey!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Uh, yes. Yessir!!”
Flustered by Kariel’s provocative gesture, Isila even stumbled over her reply to the instructor.
The longer she was with Kariel, the blanker her mind became, and her body stiffened like rusted armor.
As soon as the dismissal order was given, Isila headed for the dormitory without looking back.
She didn’t know.
Why she felt so confused.
The emotional upheaval that any adolescent girl would naturally experience.
For Isila, it had simply arrived a little late, with Kariel as the trigger.
Yet even when it came to one’s own feelings, paradoxically, they were difficult to recognize oneself.
And so Isila moved her feet and fled.
From Kariel, the cause of the whirlpool forming in her heart.
Before long, Isila arrived at the dormitory and roughly sorted the luggage from the past week.
The laundry would be done by the maids anyway.
And since she would be resting until tomorrow, organizing consumables and supplies was not urgent either.
Isila melted away the fatigue of the past week in warm water, then prettied herself up.
The cooking master who had been living in seclusion? in the Kallian Forest—Kang Jinwoo.
She did not know why that man had come all the way to the Academy, but his skill was the real thing.
Before the semester began, when she had visited her hometown, she had learned of that supreme taste.
Perhaps because of that. Or thanks to it.
Isila had become unable to be satisfied with the Academy’s food.
Her threshold for taste had risen overwhelmingly.
Dressing up beautifully was courtesy toward such incredible cuisine.
And she also simply felt like dressing up for the first time in a while.
A cool-toned sky-blue skirt and a shirt as white as snow.
She even loved the texture of the fabric, which fluttered lightly.
After taking a pleasant shower and dressing up prettily, her gloomy feelings dulled a little.
With light steps, Isila left the dormitory.
Just as she was about to head toward the Kallius Trading Company estate that Kang Jinwoo had mentioned.
“Isila. Where are you going, dressed up like that?”
“U-uh, Kariel. I was just going to eat dinner.”
She was caught by Kariel, who was beautifully dressed as well, perhaps also planning to go out.
Their rooms were different, but they lived in the same dormitory building, so it was possible to run into each other.
Still, I… walked pretty quickly, didn’t I? I definitely arrived before Kariel.
How did she get ready so fast?
Various questions came to mind, but they were not especially important.
After all, Isila’s destination had already been decided, so she only needed to go on her way.
“Hmm, dinner? Perfect timing. I was just about to go eat too—with you.”
“Huh? With me?”
“Yeah. Why are you acting like it’s strange? We’ve eaten together often. Do you not want to eat with me anymore?”
“No… it’s not that.”
Just as Kariel said, Isila was always with her unless something special came up.
Going to school, attending class, eating meals—all of it.
Most of what she did at the Academy, she had done together with Kariel.
“You were walking so quickly, Isila, so I hurried a bit too. Were you that hungry?”
“That’s not it…”
“Hehe. Even if the new hardtack is tasty, it can’t compare to a proper meal. Still, you should have told me. I almost missed you.”
“Ah, s-sorry.”
“I don’t know where it is, but shall we get going, then?”
“U… yeah.”
Contrary to her reputation for being proud and cold, Isila’s chilliness was merely shyness around strangers.
And Kariel always approached with a gentle smile, anytime and anywhere, melting Isila’s frost.
Just like now, when Isila had somehow ended up agreeing to accompany her.
Isila was shy, but she was not foolish.
There was no malice whatsoever in Kariel’s words or actions.
Isila knew that too.
Perhaps that was why, all the more…
She could not refuse a situation like this.
Tap, tap, tap—
Tap, tap, tap…
The sound of two sets of footsteps echoed through the Academy street.
One was bold and spirited, like the steps of the sun.
The other was… somewhat shrunken and stiff.
***
‘Um… I think the person I called brought the wrong person with her.’
I wanted to say that, but looking at that imposing presence, I simply couldn’t get the words out.
She hadn’t even brought the wrong person.
“M-Master. I’m sorry… Somehow, it just happened.”
Isila, who had been briefly overshadowed by the presence of Princess Kariel, peeked her face out and spoke.
I was apparently about to have a tteokbokki party with the Empire’s one and only princess, and “somehow, it just happened” sounded far too light.
Uh… well, what am I supposed to do?
I should at least greet her, but do I kneel?
Was this the kind of situation people meant by “brain freeze”?
I stood there awkwardly, neither kneeling, nor bowing my head, nor offering a handshake.
“Isila, did you just call him Master?”
“Ah, I didn’t explain properly. Yes. This is Master Jinwoo, a cooking master from the East.”
“It’s surprising enough that a master is in a place like this, but a cooking master, no less. I failed to recognize an honored person.”
Wait, I can’t keep up with this conversation right now.
Master? I’m a cooking master from the East?
In the brief moment I faced Princess Kariel, I ransacked my past memories like I was hunting for a mouse.
And I found it.
The memory from the first day the shop opened, when I had told Isila to call me “Master”…!
No, that… by “master,” I had just meant the owner of the restaurant.
But apparently, by the common sense of this other world, “master” referred to people who had mastered a field—like a Sword Master, Guild Master, or Blacksmith Master.
The definition was similar to modern Earth’s, too, but in this other world, there were actually people who split the sky and dropped meteorites.
So how incredible would someone have to be to be called a “master” among monsters like that?
In short, the point was this.
Without even realizing it, I had gone and presented myself as the greatest cooking monster in history.
“A cooking master from the East, huh. Then it makes sense you wouldn’t know much about etiquette. Don’t worry about it. Honestly, I don’t care much for that sort of thing either.”
“Pardon? Ah, thank you, Your Imperial Highness. My name is Kang Jinwoo.”
“Mm, I am the princess of the Ethernia Empire. Kariel Ardia von Imperium. Nice to meet you.”
“The honor is mine. But I believe there is one misunderstanding.”
“Mm? What is it?”
“I am not a master.”
Princess Kariel’s tone and attitude were different from what I had expected.
She did not use stiff, archaic words; rather, her frank and rough manner left a strong impression.
Perhaps that made it easier for me to say, “I am not a master.”
I had never dreamed that Isila had misunderstood me like that.
Now Duke Kailan and Arthur’s first meeting with me made sense too.
So that was why they had somehow known my name, come looking for me, and treated me strangely well despite being nobles.
It was because Isila had introduced me as “a cooking master from the East.”
I could not let the misunderstanding grow any further.
Even Isila had been under that impression for months.
Of course, revealing now that I was not a master could be dangerous.
I had lied even to Duke Kailan because I feared he might harm me for insulting a noble or something—how much more so with a princess?
However, precisely because she was the noble princess of the Empire, I had to tell the truth.
In Duke Kailan’s case, it had already become difficult to fix… but with the princess, I could still shamelessly brazen it out now.
She had not eaten my food yet either, so if I did not reveal it now, there would be no chance.
At my words flatly denying that I was a master, Isila answered in surprise.
“What? But back then, you clearly told me to call you Master.”
“No, that is true, but…”
“Are you being modest? You don’t have to. I don’t know what food you’ve prepared, but the smell is… practically violent. I believe in you.”
“Ugh. If you believe in me, then why don’t you believe what I’m saying?”
Why can’t I, Kang Jinwoo, be happy?
Just as Princess Kariel said, the soupy tteokbokki was currently bubbling away in the kitchen, exploding with aroma.
Which meant there was no time to talk things over and clear up the misunderstanding.
For now, I would finish the tteokbokki and say it again right before they ate.
As I flusteredly looked toward the kitchen,
Eilenna, awakened by the commotion on the first floor, came down the stairs beside us.
“Haaam… Jinwoo, what’s going on? Huh. That girl is…?”
“You came at just the right time. Lady Eilenna, please show the guests in. I’ll just finish up the cooking and be right back!”
“Uh, huh?? All of a sudden?”
Nice timing, Eilenna!
I left welcoming the guests to Eilenna and headed for the kitchen.
Eilenna had been saddled with the task in her tousled, just-woken-up state.
But I couldn’t help it either.
Was I supposed to be okay with the tteokbokki sticking to the pot and burning?
‘Of course not.’
I quickly stirred the tteokbokki with a ladle.
Thankfully, it had not stuck to the bottom, and the sauce had reached just the right consistency.
Then it was more or less done.
Still, just in case, I tasted it for the final seasoning.
Slurp—
“Khhh, this is it.”
Spicy, sweet, salty.
The three pinnacle flavors of stimulation, combined with a savory anchovy base, sharp chili powder, and green onion…
The result was a supreme broth I wanted to lift up by the bowl and drink whole.
When I watched people, they would add all sorts of things to tteokbokki—sikhye, cola, and so on.
I was not saying that was bad, but the truth was that the core of tteokbokki was one thing and one thing only.
MSG. An overwhelming amount of MSG.
One spoonful of beef Da*da or Miwon was enough to bring every flavor to life.
Of course, MSG was the essence of modern food engineering.
There was no way such a thing would exist in a medieval fantasy world.
‘But I have it.’
=====
[Handmade Taste Lv. Max]
Through long years of cooking experience, you have reached the skill of a master.
The dishes made by your hands have increased savoriness!
*When cooking with ingredients obtained from the skill [Mana Market], additional effects will occur in the food!
=====
It was a status window I had begun to find suspicious due to various incidents, but…
Its effects were still certain.
Not a single bit of beef DaXda had gone into it, yet it had produced a broth this deep and brimming with umami.
I brushed the status window aside and was about to finish the dish.
But then, that sentence I saw every day and had never paid much attention to.
One word in it suddenly caught my eye.
‘Come to think of it, the status window did say I had master-level skill, didn’t it?’
That phrase I had thought was nothing more than a clichéd flourish.
But after realizing the series of misunderstandings, that short line read differently than before.
I wasn’t sure what master-level skill was supposed to mean.
Food was an incredibly relative thing.
Some people considered cheap noodles the best, while others considered a course meal costing hundreds of thousands of won per person the best.
I had no intention of belittling the effort I’d built up, and even less intention of overhyping it.
But in the end, if the standard for cooking skill differed from person to person, restaurant to restaurant, and dish to dish—
Then wouldn’t it be all right to call me a master-level cook in at least one domain?
Thinking that made my heart feel a little lighter.
Even if it wasn’t recognition from the world, but self-justification through the status window.
‘So what are you going to do about it? It’s delicious, isn’t it?’
At least when it came to this tteokbokki, I was the master of this other world.
I let even the boiled eggs soak well in the broth, then served the tteokbokki in a large bowl.
“Isila. By the way, how did you come to know that chef?”
“Mm… by chance on the way back to my hometown?”
“That’s a little bland. And your reactions lately, too… Are you upset with me about something, Isila?”
“Ugh, it’s not like that. I’m just tired.”
Holding the tteokbokki, I looked toward the dining table and saw girls in the prime of youth chatting away.
Isila’s reaction was subtly lukewarm, which meant there had to be something she was upset about.
Eilenna was just sitting there with an expression that said, ‘Why am I mixed up in this…?’
Because of Isila’s closed-off answer, the conversation awkwardly cut off as well.
Just as all three of them were sitting there stiffly, the awkward atmosphere about to overflow—
Thud—!
I set the large bowl of soupy tteokbokki down on the table.
“Uh… it’s not baeksuk?”
“Wait, can we even eat this? It’s too red.”
“J-Jinu. This is okay, right?”
A dish that would put an end to the dulled sense of taste from having just woken up.
To the minor discord between friends.
And… to the misunderstanding that I was a master.
They might be frightened by its appearance, something they had never seen in their lives, but once they actually tasted it…
“Please try it first. It’s soupy tteokbokki.”
A sharp, spicy kick that would sweep away tears, runny noses, and even those uneasy feelings.
The pinnacle of spicy, salty, and sweet—soupy tteokbokki—revealed itself before the girls.