30 – Episode 30
# 30
On the Middle-Age fantasy cuisine, Ian once said, “These barbarians only know salt.” This statement was only half true. The further north you go, the greater the proportion of ‘salt cuisine’ Ian talked about. Salted meat, salted fish, salted cabbage… vinegar or butter would be a new world of taste. There’s no Columbus of flavor. The northern continent was truly land of the barbarians.
However, it was different in the south. In the south, there was a variety of properly cooked dishes using spices. Not only spices but also various vegetables, seafood, grains, and meats created a real Western-style cuisine in the southern continent.
In fact, there are many delicious foods in the world. Ian is just having a hard time. Perhaps it’s Ian’s fault for being born a citizen of the Holy Empire. However, Ian also has the opportunity for gourmet food.
Unlike the citizens of the Empire who were inevitably wandering the world, the wizards could taste a variety of foods that existed in the world. It’s not for no reason that Erudis was good at cooking. In this sense, wizard Marnie Campbell also had a deep knowledge of food.
In her youth, she roamed the world to collect seeds of rare plants. During her journey in the southern continent, she encountered a spice called ‘garlic’ in a kingdom beyond the Coral Sea. Garlic, a unique vegetable with a tangy and spicy taste, was a popular ingredient in the cuisine of the Coral Sea people. The first taste of garlic shocked her – the electrifying aroma and spicy taste! This exciting spice, garlic, was something she couldn’t find in the north. Enchanted by the taste of garlic, she brought it to the north and grew it in her own garden. Although garlic was a difficult crop to grow in the north, to her, a sorceress who could raise sunflowers in a cave and cacti in the snow, it was a piece of cake.
“Hee hee hee…”
She held the garlic in her hand, an eerie laughter escaping her lips like a wicked stepmother. At first, she had intended on sharing this delicious garlic with her neighbors. However, the northerners – these uncivilized barbarians who were enemies of the empire – refused to eat it because it was spicy and stank! Even when they did eat it, they only used a tiny piece to get a faint aroma, which they liked in their food. This paltry amount was outrageously insufficient for her, who had by now become an ardent garlic maniac.
“If you want my help, you should at least enjoy the meal I’ve prepared!”
She prepared a meal for the knights who came seeking her. She put a chicken in a pot and boiled it. Up until this point, it was a standard chicken dish. But here… she added ginseng from the east and a significant amount of garlic from the south and boiled it!
“Hee hee hee…”
The pungent aroma of garlic made her burst into laughter. She used so much garlic that it almost overflowed from the pot, putting in as much as one might put in potatoes. As the bitter and unique aroma of ginseng added to this, a spicy smell indescribable in words engulfed the surroundings. If any passing farmer caught a whiff of it, they would have pinched their nose and fled. The smell of garlic wafted from her cottage was so atrocious that it was nearly unbearable for the innocent noses of the northerners. It was the consequence of angering a sorceress. A part of her felt slightly sorry for the knights.
They were righteous fellows wanting to catch the Manticore. But what crime did they commit to merit such an ordeal?
However, she soon shook her head.
This kind of fuss must be made, so the priests won’t take Mani lightly. The thought of a sect ordering around a magician like a slave was intolerable to her.
She felt a bit sorry for the knights…
But there was no choice but to feed them Mani’s special ‘garlic, ginseng, chicken soup’!
Mani simmered the soup for a long time until the smell of garlic permeated deep into the chicken.
She expected the knight order to flee as soon as they smelled the soup.
… however.
She hadn’t expected that the black-haired alien ‘Ian Eredis Raven’ would be mixed in with the knight group.
#
The wizard built a cabin in a secluded forest and lived alone. While Elder was heading towards the wizard’s house, he explained about the wizard.
“Mani Campbell is a famous herbomancer.”
“Oh. A herbomancer?”
Herbomancy. Magic that deals with brushwood and trees.
Ian also knew about the existence of herbomancers. They were extremely good at handling plants, but oddly, they were seldom involved in agriculture.
Instead, they had rich knowledge about various medicinal herbs and rare plants, making them the capable wizards that nobles prefer.
Well, which noble would dislike any wizard?
“If you want to hunt a powerful monster like a Manticore, you need a strong poison.”
Herbomancers were also talented poisonmongers. They knew how to concoct deadly poisons by mixing plant toxins.
“Well this should be simple then. All we have to do is go get the poison, right?”
When Ian said this, Elder gave a bitter smile.
“It won’t be as easy as you think. Considering the aggressive way the sect sought cooperation, she must be pretty pissed off.”
“It’s funny, isn’t it? Why do we have to clean up the mess that the priesthood made?”
“… Because the knights received money from the priesthood.”
It’s about money. Well, it can’t be helped, then.
Ian shrugged his shoulders. Behind the unusually well-armed knights was a hidden secret of donations from the priesthood.
“Well, we’ll still have to kill it! At least seeing your face, they might take it easy!”
“No…”
Elder seemed to consider Ian as a charm to avoid a wizard’s wrath. Indeed, it had such a function. Ian didn’t know this, but there was a high chance he knew the name Eredis.
While they were chatting, the mage’s hut was getting closer.
“… What is this smell?”
One of the knights scrunched up his nose. An indescribable stench wafted from the mage’s hut.
“So, he is a herbomancer after all. This smells like boiled plants.”
The chatter subsided as if it was a lie.
Everyone was busy covering their noses.
Except for one.
Ian was the only exception.
‘… Chicken stew?’
Oddly enough, from the mage’s hut, it smelled like the one he smelled at a chicken stew restaurant. Not to mention it was heavily garlicked chicken stew!
‘Ah… I want to eat chicken stew…’
Upon smelling the garlic chicken stew, saliva pooled in his mouth.
Ever since he fell into this primitive medieval fantasy world, Ian, who had no choice but to eat super salted food. But the soul of Ian, whose previous life was Korean, constantly ached for stimulating food.
Spicy, savory, and hangover soup!
In fact, there are quite a few Koreans who dislike Baeksuk. Why bother soaking perfectly good meat in water, they would question.
But Ian loved Baeksuk as much as he loved chicken. No, he didn’t bother to distinguish between the two.
Such a foolish kid. The chicken and the Baeksuk. Both are chicken. How could they discriminate between them?
Stop the hate and discrimination.
Peace and chicken. Amen.
“Ugh!”
“Elder! Let’s turn back!”
Unlike Ian, who was soaking in the fragrances of a past life, the knights of the Santiago Order were noticeably shaken.
They hadn’t even seen the wizard’s face, but there were those who were whining about wanting to turn back already.
To the Northerners, who lived without knowing the first thing about spices, the pungent smell of garlic was too difficult to bear!
“Are we really going back? It’s foolish to fight a manticore without the wizard’s antidote. And if we run away just because of bad odors, what would the believers think?”
“But…!”
In the midst of the knights’ unrest, the de Heitry brothers stepped forward.
“God is watching over us…”
He began to sing a hymn titled “God is watching over us”.
Even as the stench of garlic wafted around them, he boldly advanced forward with the power of faith and belief.
The knights watched de Heitry’s back with amazement, and headed for the hut, singing hymns together.
“The sun shines brightly!”
“He is with us!”
‘Hmm. Is that really possible?’
Ian found it hard to understand the knights’ behavior. They made such a fuss just over the smell of garlic.
The knights boldly stepped into the wizard’s hut.
But as soon as they entered the hut, the knights froze stiff.
“Ha ha ha! I’ve been expecting you, warriors of Santiago!”
In a setting that felt like Latin music might start playing at any moment, an old wizard who looked like a grotesque hag welcomed the warriors.
“Mani Campbell?”
Even though Elder was talking to Mani, his eyes couldn’t leave the dishes and pots set on the table.
What in the world was this gruesome smelling soup, as if it was boiled in hellfire!
‘We’re in trouble.’
Elder had already told the knights not to retreat, but upon confirming the ‘meal’ that Mani had prepared, he was filled with dread.
There was a magical power infused in Mani’s soup. It gave even Elder a powerful will, enough to want to catch a Manticore without the wizard’s potion.
The knights also looked at Mani with expressions saying, ‘Surely, she wouldn’t have us eat that…’.
But bad premonitions always proved right.
“You must be starving from your long journey! Eat the special meal I have prepared!”
Mani pointed at the food piled up on the table.
The spicy smell of garlic filled the air, it was the signature ‘Garlic Ginseng Chicken Soup’ of Mani.
Upon seeing the dish, Ian was taken aback.
‘Samgyetang? Is it really Samgyetang?’
…Let’s call it Chicken Soup, mentioning Samgyetang makes it sound too Korean.
Even though it looked like Samgyetang, it was nonetheless Chicken Soup.
The knights twisted their faces at the sight of the Samgyetang…no, Chicken Soup.
“Magician Mani. We are already aware that you are a renowned herbalist. We don’t think you need to demonstrate your abilities in this way.”
Elder spoke in a chastising tone.
In summary, his words meant ‘Are you kidding me?’.
“Even if a wizard prides herself on being quirky, isn’t this a bit much?”
However, Mani gave a dismissive snort of a response.
“Do you not understand? I’m simply treating my guests to my favorite dishes. All made from the precious crops I’ve meticulously grown. If you had any manners, you wouldn’t pretend not to know.”
“…”
“Well, if you’re not a guest, then feel free to leave.”
Mani exuded the aura of a fighting game master, skilled in the art of devilry.
At this point, would they endure the foul smell and tear into the chicken while receiving the hospitality of their host or alternatively, forfeit their guest status and flee this awful imposition?
Either way, it was a severe loss from the knight’s perspective.
‘I guess there’s no choice.’
Elder sat at the table with a grave expression. It was a place from which he, as the mental advisor, could not be absent.
Upon seeing Elder take his seat, the rest of the Knights carefully followed suit.
“hehehehe…enjoy your meal!”
Mani let out a wicked chuckle as she took a large bite of her ‘Garlic Ginseng Chicken Soup.’
‘Hmmm…’
A moment later, she wore an odd expression.
Had she overdone it? Had she put in too much garlic…?
Even though the dish was more likely to be called a garlic soup than a chicken soup, Mani nonetheless savored and finished her portion.
What if the garlic was a bit overpowering? The sight of the confounded church folks was well worth it!
“Cough, cough!”
“Ugh!”
“…Water! Bring water!”
Sure enough.
Following Mani, the knights who had put the soup in their mouths begged for mercy as they suffered horrendously. The catastrophic result of treating a spice like garlic as a main ingredient and boiling it hence was nothing short of tragic.
Elder had detected the crisis early on, and was merely pretending to eat while cheering on the others.
‘…Huh?’
But then, Elder’s eyes caught a glimpse of an alien scene.
On a table causing an uproar due to an insufferable garlic smell…
A man was voraciously gulping down garlic soup, as if crazy.
Not like crazy, he seemed just plain mad.
A magician.
The actions of Ian Eledis Raven broke the boundaries of human rationality and entered the realm of madness.
“…You.”
People feel fear in the face of ignorance.
For a brief moment, Elder felt fear towards Ian. Hence, he looked at Ian ‘as if looking at a monster.’
“Are… you okay?”
Elder wanted to ask ‘Is it tasty?’, however, he couldn’t risk breaking his worldview and common sense, so he opted for a safer question.
Because it seemed impossible to enjoy the soup broth soaked with that garlic odor.
Hence, the chaotic, disorderly word that came from Ian’s mouth was enough to shatter Elder’s sanity.
“Da*n…”
“Pardon?”
“It’s da*n delicious.”
“…”
Elder had forgotten.
People said Ian Aeredith Raven was a brilliant wizard who handled Drake like his pet. It had been too easy to forget due to his carefree behavior… Still, Ian was indeed a wizard.
From Noble mtl dot com
“What a peculiar person.”
The Order of Knights including Elder lowered their spoons to stare at Ian as he ate, as if entranced. The knights all shared a sentiment similar to Elder’s.
Wow. That guy. He’s nuts…!
If Ian wasn’t a wizard, there would be no other explanation for such madness. His behavior was so outlandish that he could be running a Drake ranch rather than summoning Drakes, and nobody would even bat an eye.
And the knights weren’t the only ones surprised.
“Does he really think this tastes good?”
Manny Campbell, who cooked the meal himself, drew a breath of disbelief at Ian’s antics.
There is no way that could taste good.
While some looked on in total astonishment, and others shot over incredulous glances…
Ian was nonchalantly enjoying his chicken soup more than anyone else at that table.
Wow! Reminds me of home after such a long time!
This guy named Manny Campbell, could he cook better than my teacher???
Ian looked absolutely delighted by the taste of this Korean food, so rarely encountered.