Chapter 129

Chapter 129: Kimjang and Boiled Pork

Yeona had entered her third month of life.

The frequency of her Competentia skill usage was increasing.

Lately, she was using it once every two days.

The target was always Rin while she was growing crops.

"The buff is in! Thank you, Yeona!"

Rin was excitedly growing crops with her enhanced abilities.

The Adult Dryad watched and commented.

"Each time. Surprising. Child. Young. But. Ability growth. Fast."

What the Dryad was referring to was not Yeona, but the fact that Rin's abilities were exceptionally advanced for her age.

"Right? Rin works hard every day to hone her abilities."

I had decided to speak casually to the Dryad.

I already spoke casually to Ashley and Fenrir, after all.

"Talent. Effort alone. Not possible."

She was saying that talent and effort alone could not account for Rin's rapid ability growth.

Well, there were limits to talent and effort.

The reason for Rin's rapid growth was probably.

"Could it be because she eats mana-infused vegetables and fruits every day? I make Health Juice from them and give it to her at every meal."

The reason the vegetables and fruits were infused with mana was Bell's fertilizer, produced after eating Magic Stones.

"Probably. True. Dryad. Good nutrition. Ability. Stronger."

"So that is how it works."

Rin was a Dryad.

And Ria and I had limited information about the Dryad species.

It was at that juncture that the Adult Dryad had come to stay at the Rift house to watch over Rin, now on her third day.

'Since I already let her stay, I should gather as much information about Dryads from this Adult Dryad as I can.'

When Rin had fallen ill in the past, Ria and I had felt like the world was collapsing.

We had been consumed with anxiety, terrified we might lose her.

But it had turned out to be growing pains.

That had all been due to a lack of information.

"How many times does a Dryad experience growing pains in their lifetime?"

"Two times. When small. Once. When grown. Once."

The Dryad continued her explanation.

To summarize, a Dryad experienced growing pains once during childhood.

After that, they grew to a certain point before their growth stopped entirely.

That pause lasted for quite a long time, and only after experiencing the second bout of growing pains could they grow into an adult.

'Rin would be pretty shocked if she heard this.'

Rin had been saying she wanted to grow up quickly so she could take care of her little sister.

But apparently, after growing a bit more from her current state, her growth would stop.

Until the next round of growing pains, for a fairly long time.

'She might even get outgrown by Yeona......'

That would really deflate Rin.

Hopefully the growing pains would come before that happened.

Of course, I did not want Rin to be in pain.

"Then please keep watching over Rin. I need to get to work."

"Understood."

Today was a rare day off from the restaurant.

But there was still work to do.

That work was Kimjang.

Kimchi that would be served as a side dish at the restaurant and also eaten by our family.

The ingredients going into the kimchi filling were quite extravagant.

'A-Rank red pepper powder made from A-Rank peppers, garlic, radish, green onion, ginger, mustard greens, and scallions.'

Seven types of A-Rank vegetables went into it.

The napa cabbage was also A-Rank.

In addition, though not graded fruits, pear and persimmon were included.

Pear contributed a refreshing sweetness, while persimmon provided a natural sweetness.

'With pear and persimmon, there is no need to add sugar.'

This method produced a more natural sweetness than what sugar could offer.

And even if the kimchi over-fermented, the off-flavors were less pronounced.

Ria, wearing rubber gloves and an apron, sat down on a mat laid out in the yard.

"This is my first time making Kimjang."

"You have made fresh-mixed kimchi several times while helping at the restaurant."

"Still, I have never made Kimjang kimchi before."

Recently, after I finished the lunch service and came home, Ria had started helping with ingredient prep for the next day's food and making side dishes in advance.

I had tried to dissuade her, saying she did not need to help, but Ria would not listen.

She even said she would return to the restaurant soon.

I tried to stop her by telling her to stay by Yeona's side, but Ria insisted she would work during Yeona's nap times.

She refused to budge, saying Ruina was taking excellent care of the baby.

'Well, I do enjoy working with Ria.'

There were never any clashes of opinion when we worked together, and our personalities meshed well.

Working together was enjoyable.

More than enjoyable, it was blissful.

I only tried to stop her because I was worried she would exhaust herself juggling child-rearing and work.

"By the way, Ria, you look beautiful even in rubber gloves and an apron."

"Hehe! Beautiful? I just look like a regular housewife."

"You do not look like a housewife at all. If someone who did not know you saw you, no one would ever guess you were a married woman with two children."

"You are the only one who sees me that way."

Han Se-a refuted Ria's claim.

"No way. Even I think you look like a twenty-year-old, ma'am. A stunning face with a youthful complexion. I am so jealous."

"Not at all. Se-a, you have a youthful look too, and you are beautiful. The silver hair suits you perfectly."

Ria called Han Se-a, who was older than her, "sister."

Han Se-a was one year older than me.

"Thank you for saying that."

Then the Sword Saint elder, seated nearby, spoke up.

"Se-a is pretty, indeed. I wish she would hurry up and find a good match to settle down with. But her strong personality seems to keep her from finding the right person. Ha ha!"

"Elder......!"

Han Se-a's face turned red.

The two still had their father-daughter chemistry in full display.

Han Se-a then said.

"I had originally planned to live alone as a single woman, but my thinking has been changing lately."

"Why the change of heart?"

When the Sword Saint elder asked, Han Se-a pointed at Ria and me.

"Watching the two of you build a family and raise children so happily made me think that marriage might not be so bad after all."

So our couple had inadvertently become a marriage advertisement again.

'In the end, it all comes down to who you meet.'

Someone you can cherish, respect, and love.

Only then could marriage be happy.

'If I had not met someone like Ria, I would have been a lifelong bachelor too.'

We then began Kimjang in earnest.

The A-Rank napa cabbage had been trimmed and salted the day before.

So all that remained was making the seasoning paste and mixing it in.

First, we prepared the ingredients for the paste.

Ria julienned the radish, while the Sword Saint elder and Ji-young, both experienced in making kimchi, sliced the green onions, scallions, and mustard greens.

I took the glutinous rice paste I had cooked and the hot dried pollock broth to the Glace Mushroom cultivation area to cool them down quickly.

'I was only there briefly, and they cooled down in no time.'

The Glace Mushroom cultivation area still boasted a formidable chill.

I poured the cooled glutinous rice paste and dried pollock broth into a large stainless steel basin and began making the seasoning paste.

Red pepper powder, minced garlic, ginger, salted shrimp, Salted Anchovy Sauce, and pureed pear juice and ripe persimmon.

Into the paste went the julienned radish, green onion, scallions, and mustard greens, all mixed together.

I tasted the seasoning paste.

"Hmm, not bad."

It seemed fine to proceed without any adjustments.

We then began coating the salted napa cabbage with the paste.

Ria, the Sword Saint elder, Han Se-a, Ji-young, and I coated the kimchi and packed it into containers.

The male members of the former Knight Quartet carried the kimchi containers.

Three hundred heads of kimchi, and the coating was done in roughly an hour.

But it was not over yet.

'If you have done Kimjang, boiled pork is a must.'

I immediately began boiling a massive batch of pork in an enormous cauldron.

Whole pork belly, whole pork neck, and front leg cuts.

The whole belly and neck had been seared on the surface once.

Since they would be boiled for a long time, this was to minimize the loss of juices.

To eliminate off-flavors and impart aroma, I added coffee, onion, whole garlic cloves, bay leaves, and Soybean Paste.

The Soybean Paste was one that Ria and I had made ourselves.

'We use our homemade Soy Sauce, Red Pepper Paste, and Soybean Paste too, not just the Soybean Paste.'

Before our marriage, I had taught Ria how to make Meju from soybeans and how to make Soy Sauce, Red Pepper Paste, and Soybean Paste from Meju.

After that, Ria had said our homemade jang tasted far better than store-bought, and she had made two more batches, producing all three condiments.

As a result, the Korean food we cooked at the Rift house always used homemade jang.

'We even make our own tofu and soy milk, on top of the jang.'

Rin was particularly fond of the homemade soy milk.

My mother had also been generous with her praise of Ria after tasting her Dubu Kimchi made with homemade tofu.

And so Ria was becoming a true native Korean, with homecooking skills rivaling a country grandmother's.

'She is my wife, but she really is remarkable.'

For my sake, she had learned an unfamiliar language and absorbed various aspects of the culture, reaching a master level.

I felt a renewed sense of gratitude toward Ria.

"Ria, I will do even better from now on."

Caught off guard by the sudden remark, Ria looked bewildered.

"What is the matter? Did you do something wrong?"

"No, I am just feeling grateful all over again."

"Hehe! That came out of nowhere. You are already doing more than enough. How could you possibly do better than this?"

"No, I can do more."

"You are something else."

Ria was being shy.

Looking at her like that, I wanted to wrap my arms around her and kiss her, she was so lovable.

But there were too many eyes watching, so I had to restrain myself.

Neville was thumping his chest with his fist.

"Urgh! My stomach is starting to turn......"

"Mine too, Master!"

Ji-young chimed in.

I said to the two of them.

"You two will understand when you get married someday."

The moment I delivered that old-man line, both Neville and Ji-young turned red.

"Wh-who is getting married to who?"

"We are not in that kind of relationship yet!"

Huh......?

I had not been implying anything about the two of them together.

"Not in that kind of relationship yet" meant that maybe.

"Are you two, by any chance......?"

At my words, Neville scratched his cheek with his index finger and shook his head.

"We are not in that kind of relationship...... not yet."

Ji-young, her face crimson enough to burst, nodded as well.

"That is right. We are not in that kind of relationship yet."

In that case.

"So you are in the talking stage?"

When I said they were in the talking stage, Neville did not understand the phrase.

Ji-young gave a slight nod.

It seemed that teaching and learning spear techniques had drawn them to each other.

In any case, they were from different worlds, so dating would not be a simple matter.

'Ria and I went through the same thing.'

There would be multiple hurdles to overcome.

"Neville, Ji-young is a good kid. She is my employee, and also like a youngest sibling to me. Please treat her well."

"......Of course."

"Personally, I think you two are a great match. Do not overthink things. If you feel a connection, it might be worth officially giving it a try. If there are difficult issues like nationality, Ria and I will help."

Ria and I, who had been in a similar situation, were living happily together.

Our marriage had set a good precedent.

At those words, Ji-young looked at me with glistening eyes and bowed her head.

"Chef...... thank you!"

She seemed moved by the offer to help with difficult matters like nationality.

"No need to thank me."

Those two aside.

The prospects between Eriksson and Ruina still looked exceedingly slim.

Moving on.

I lifted the lid of the cauldron.

A substantial amount of meat was boiling away.

'I am boiling extra now for tomorrow's sales as well.'

The boiled pork was also part of tomorrow's lunch menu at the restaurant.

Tomorrow's menu was a set that included a choice of noodles or spicy mixed noodles, plus Kimjang kimchi and boiled pork.

Even the amount currently boiling would not be enough, so I would need to boil another batch tomorrow.

'The folks working hard on the moat construction need a proper protein boost.'

Time passed.

I pulled out the pork after a good two hours of simmering.

The meat was boiled to a supremely tender finish.

We then sat down for a meal with the freshly made Kimjang kimchi and boiled pork.

"The taste is absolutely stunning!"

The Sword Saint elder, after tasting it, exclaimed in admiration.

Han Se-a also stuffed her mouth full and squinted her brow while giving a thumbs up.

The Knight Order members, who had hesitated at the sight of the red seasoning fearing it might be too spicy, tried one bite and then could not stop shoveling it in.

"This is way too good."

"I had an aversion to kimchi after eating the fermented kind, but freshly made kimchi is incredibly delicious!"

"The combination of kimchi and meat is divine."

Neville, Benny, and Zephyr Garrett's reactions.

It was a relief to see them eating so well.

Judging by their reactions, the customer response tomorrow looked promising as well.

Ria and I also enjoyed our meal.