Chapter 16

Chapter 16. The Lady Knight and Drake Bone Soup

Deep down, I must have been anxious that Ria might not come back.

Seeing her return brought such relief.

Had I ever been this glad to see someone after a long time?

"Welcome back, Ria. Have you eaten?"

Leave it to a Korean to ask someone they have not seen in a while if they have eaten as the very first greeting.

For Ria, a foreigner—no, an otherworlder—this Korean-style greeting must have seemed very unfamiliar and amusing.

"Pfft! We meet after all this time and your first greeting is 'have you eaten'? That is so like you, Seon-u."

"......I am really glad to see you, deep down."

"Really?"

"Of course. I was secretly worried you might not come back. I also worried something might have happened to you."

"I am happy to hear that."

Ria approached and gently hugged me.

"There is no way I would not come back. Your food is so delicious."

Having lived abroad for a long time, I was used to light hugs like this that expressed joy at reuniting.

I should definitely be used to it.

But maybe it was because Ria was such a beauty.

I do not know.

"So what did you miss eating the most?"

"Hmm, everything really. But I was most curious about that bone broth thing, the beef bone soup. I wanted to eat it before leaving, but I had to leave right away."

"That is right. I felt sorry sending you off without making it for you. But I can make it for you right now. I have Drake bone broth that I prepared in advance."

"Really? I am looking forward to it! I will set up the camping gear while you prepare it."

Ria began setting up the large tent I had folded and stored in the corner.

She did it well without me having to explain how.

'Tents have a nice camping feel, but I really need to build a house.'

For Ria, who has nowhere to return to, this place is now home.

I immediately began preparing the meal.

I took out all the necessary cooking tools from Acresia and set them up.

First, I started the rice, which takes the longest.

Then I took out the container holding the Drake bone broth.

After stirring the broth well with a ladle, I scooped four ladles into an earthenware pot and put it on the fire.

Then I sliced the boiled Drake head meat I had made and stored in Acresia into thin pieces and added them to the boiling pot.

I also added some boiled beef knee cartilage and seasoned the broth with salted shrimp as the basic seasoning.

'Just boil it a bit more and it is done.'

I wanted to show the most basic taste of beef bone soup, not an adapted version, so the cooking process was simple.

On another fire, I put water on to boil thin noodles.

Then I took out two types of kimchi I had personally made from Acresia.

When it comes to soup with rice, it has to be diced radish kimchi and cabbage kimchi.

I also took out pickled onions.

These were things I had made in advance.

As for the chives, I seasoned them right away to make seasoned chives.

Soon the rice was done.

I briefly boiled the thin noodles, placed them in the bone soup pot, topped it with finely chopped green onions, and finished by neatly plating the side dishes and pot on the table.

Ria had already finished setting up the tent and was watching me cook.

"It has been so long since you made food for me. I really missed it."

"It was not that long to miss."

"Of course I missed it. While I was away, I could not eat proper food because I was traveling in secret."

"Is that so? That must have been hard. Tell me about it slowly. Let us eat first."

"Okay! I will eat well."

Ria immediately took a spoonful of the broth.

"Mm, it tastes like Seon-u."

"What kind of taste is that?"

"It means it is a comforting taste that warms the heart."

Am I that kind of person?

No way.

"I am not that kind of person."

"To me, you are that kind of person. Anyway, it is really delicious. Savory and clean. I feel like after I finish eating, my stomach will be full and I will gain strength."

Ria kept spooning up the broth.

That is what soup with rice is.

It fills you up when you eat it.

Soon she tried the noodles, meat, and cartilage.

"So delicious. Especially this cartilage thing—it is my style."

"Cartilage is delicious, right? Want to try kimchi too?"

I had never given Ria kimchi until now.

I had never made her a dish that paired with kimchi either.

I did not want to push kimchi on a foreigner—no, a person from another world.

'One of the rules of chefs who studied abroad.'

Do not recommend kimchi unless the other foreign person enjoys challenging foods.

Kimchi is a far more unfamiliar food to foreigners than Koreans think.

Pushing kimchi could create a negative prejudice against Korean food.

However, eating it with soup and rice is entirely different.

'Grilled kimchi with pork belly, kimchi with soup and rice—they are different.'

Kimchi eaten with pork belly or soup and rice leans more toward favorable than unfavorable, even for foreigners.

"Kimchi? Do I just eat it?"

"You can eat it as is, or soak rice in the broth, add a piece of meat, and put diced radish kimchi on top and eat it. It is delicious."

"I will try it."

Ria ate it as I instructed.

Crunch!

Ria's eyes widened as she chewed, her mouth moving.

An expression as if she had discovered a new world of flavor.

"It is a very exotic taste. But it is not bad. Like you said, it really seems to freshen my mouth. This time I will try eating it separately."

She took a sip of broth and ate the diced radish kimchi again.

Then she took a sip of broth and tried the cabbage kimchi.

She also tried combining the seasoned chives and pickled onions.

"All the side dishes seem to refresh my mouth. So they pair so well with this bone soup."

"Sharp observation. That is right, so you do not get tired of it easily."

Because it does not get boring easily, there are even soup and rice devotees who eat soup and rice for one meal a day without fail.

Soon, without me telling her, she ate kimchi with the noodles.

She also dipped cartilage in the special soy sauce.

"Delicious......!"

Soon she emptied the entire pot.

"Whew! That was such a satisfying meal."

"I am glad it suited your taste. I will make coffee."

I brewed coffee and continued our conversation while drinking with Ria.

Ria told me about what happened while she was away.

She had wandered around looking for a way out of the Rift.

She struggled to escape the Rift and return to her original world, where she met with her comrades—the subordinates from the knight order she had commanded—at a secret location.

But she heard that several comrades had been captured by her enemies, and she had a very hard time rescuing them.

Finally, she found the hidden slush fund of her family, handed it over to her comrades, and ordered them to flee to a distant foreign country with their families using that money.

"But the guys would not follow orders."

"Why?"

"They said they would follow me even unto death and tried to come with me, so I ran away under cover of night."

That much?

They must have refused to let her go to the point where she had no choice but to run away.

"You must have been a respected commander."

Leaving for a distant foreign country beyond the Empire's reach with the knight order would have been an option too.

But she came here, keeping her promise to me.

"Anyway, I tried to come back as quickly as possible, but I was delayed for various reasons."

"No, you were not late at all."

"Still, I was worried that you might be attacked by Monsters while I was gone."

"That is why I did not enter the Rift often while you were gone—it was dangerous. I spent my time fairly busy too."

"You were busy? I am curious. Tell me your story too. How did you spend your time?"

I told Ria about going to do business on the first and second floors.

Ria's expression hardened.

"Is that not too dangerous?"

"No, there were no dangerous situations. Besides, since you gave me my Second Awakening, I can easily defeat most Monsters."

"Really? Then I am glad. But you can still encounter strong Monsters even on the lower floors, so be careful."

It has not happened yet in Rifts opened in Korea, but it has been confirmed that up to High-Grade Monsters can appear even on the first floor of a Rift.

A High-Grade Monster appeared in a newly opened Rift somewhere in the Middle East, wiping out the party exploring the Rift, and the rescue team that went to save them was also wiped out.

Moreover, that High-Grade Monster even came out of the Rift and was only caught after causing great casualties.

'Similar incidents happened in Korea too.'

By Mid-Grade Monsters.

In any case, if you are really unlucky, you could encounter up to High-Grade Monsters even on the first floor of a Rift.

"Got it. I will not go for a while, so do not worry."

Still worried, Ria took drastic measures.

"This will not do. Seon-u, I will train you."

"Train?"

"Yes, I will make you stronger. I may not look it, but I am a former knight commander, so I am confident in training people."

"Uh, well...... thank you. But you will go easy, right?"

"Of course. I do not go hard on beginners."

I had trusted Ria until now.

The image she had shown until now was trust itself.

She always tries to repay what she receives twofold.

She always keeps her promises.

However, this time she lied to me.

Like when climbing a mountain and you are so tired you ask how much farther to the summit.

A lie like a hiker saying "almost there."

And so my grueling training under Ria began every day.

***

More than a week passed since I started training with Ria.

But I still could not get used to it.

Ria's training was that grueling, and my whole body hurt.

Running every day, doing pushups with a rock on my back, hanging from a tree branch doing pull-ups, twisting my whole body to increase flexibility.

I also trained in spearmanship that Ria taught me.

The most painful of all was sparring training with Ria.

I held a spear, and Ria held a wooden stick.

Ria said she was going easy and matching my level, but I had to endure pain every time I was hit.

However, the training effect was certain.

[Stamina stat has increased by +1.]

[Agility stat has increased by +1.]

[Strength stat has increased by +1.]

My stats increased by a total of 5 so far.

Stamina 2, Agility 2, Strength 1.

As much as it was difficult, my body and reflexes grew and I was rewarded.

"I will prepare this meal."

Seeing me sprawled out and struggling, Ria said she would prepare the meal herself.

I took out the ingredients Ria wanted.

'Some ingredients in Acresia are starting to run out. I will have to refill them soon. I should stock up on seasonal ingredients too.'

The dish Ria made was Tomato Beef Stew.

It contained potatoes, pine mushrooms, beef, bell peppers, carrots, cherry tomatoes, and broccoli.

A stew flavored with tomato-based sauce.

I was quite surprised when I tasted it.

"This is good? The seasoning is right and the consistency is good too."

"Really? But of course it is delicious. You gave me advice from the side."

"I only helped select ingredients. You are the one who cooked, Ria."

"Is that so? Well, even if my cooking knowledge and skills are lacking, I am confident in my palate."

It is true.

I am sometimes amazed by Ria's palate too.

Even when eating food for the first time, she immediately grasps the intention of the flavor and surprises people.

"Seon-u, teach me cooking next time."

"Cooking? Why?"

"I cannot keep asking you to make it for me all the time. We should take turns."

"Alright, I will teach you. What cooking genre do you want to learn?"

"Food from the country you live in. Was it called Korean food?"

"Korean food? Why Korean food?"

"Because the most delicious food you made for me was that Korean dish called Eonyang-style bulgogi. And the bone soup was really delicious too. I think Korean food suits my taste well. And most of all, since I will be eating with you, would not food from your hometown be good?"

I was slightly touched.

"Alright. Then next time I will teach you from the very basics."

Starting with making fermented sauces.

I think 'jang' is the foundation of Korean cooking.

The three great fermented sauces of Korean cuisine.

Gochujang, doenjang, ganjang.

And these three fermented sauces start from soybeans.

'Thinking about soybeans reminds me of something I forgot.'

After finishing the meal.

I brought a hoe from home and dug into the ground in a corner to execute something I had forgotten.

"What are you doing, Seon-u?"

When Ria asked, I lifted a small pouch containing something.

"Going to plant this."

"What is that?"

"Applecherry tree fruit seeds."

"Ah."

These were seeds I had set aside when handling the Applecherries before grinding them.

I do not know if the seeds will take root and grow, but I will try anyway.

"I will help too."

Soon Ria and I began digging the ground and planting seeds together.

Many chefs say this.

If only they had land and time, they would want to cook and eat vegetables or fruits they grew themselves.

Of course, there are chefs who do not feel this way.

But it is one of the dreams of many chefs.

'When I was working, I had no time and no land, so I could not do it. But now I have plenty of time and land, so it is nice.'

On this Rift floor, there are only Ria and me, just the two of us.

It is as if I have this vast land all to myself.