Putting Aside Nationalistic Bias, It’s Really Delicious

14 – A shot of soju and pork belly after work.

Should they say that the open room attracted more visitors than expected?

The restaurant for drivers had a Busan atmosphere.

It seemed to be thanks to the drivers’ group and the internal affairs staff who actively promoted it since early lunch.

There were even more guests in the evening than at lunchtime.

Perhaps they had spread the word when they went into the town of the self-made nobles.

Although it was a rural self-made noble town, there must be quite a few servants working inside.

The territory had vast farmland, high-quality hunting grounds, and dense forests full of trees, making it quite prosperous.

There were no money-making mines, but one could say that it had everything else it needed.

Anyway, thanks to that, I was busier than ever.

As the sun set and the farmers and hunters returned from their work, they stopped by our newly-opened restaurant.

“Is this the new restaurant?”

“Bulgogi and rice? Give me one of those, please.”

“Wow! What a large portion! Does the chef here have a generous hand?”

“Hey, do they sell alcohol here?”

I served a free bottle of soju to the dinner guests who came to order food.

“Enjoy one bottle each. It’s a service provided by the owner.”

“What? Free booze?”

“It’s a gift to celebrate our grand opening.”

“You sure know how to run a business!”

“I’ll enjoy the meal.”

It was necessary to let people know that we sold alcohol here.

Especially for those who work in physically demanding jobs.

There’s nothing more comforting for a laborer than a meal and a drink after a hard day’s work.

A bowl of bulgogi and rice with a shot of soju.

With a side menu of spicy stir-fried chicken gizzard to top it off.

If you provide that, it’s game over.

I was sure that a single bottle of soju would win over the farmers and hunters of this semi-medieval fantasy world.

“Ugh, this is to die for! Boss, give me one more bottle!”

“Sure, one more bottle of soju! It’s in the fridge, so just let me know when you take it out!”

“Is that okay?”

“It’s hard for me to serve the soju while I’m cooking the meat since I run the place alone.”

The woodcutter, who had taken a shot of soju with his wrapped vegetable and bulgogi, tightly closed his eyes with a flushed face.

“This is insane. The beer at the Evergreen Inn has been getting bland lately, but this place is the real deal.”

“Should we have another glass?”

“Of course!”

The drink bottle was quickly refilled.

As the customers’ faces grew redder, my face filled with a smile.

Do you know what menu item has the most profit margin in a restaurant?

It’s neither pork cutlet nor bulgogi rice.

It’s not even the chicken gizzard served as a side dish.

It’s alcohol.

Alcohol has the highest profit margin.

A customer who takes up space for a long time by boiling fish cake soup and drinking eight bottles of soju contributes more to sales than a customer who orders four servings of food and side dishes on a full table.

Especially since they claimed they would only charge the cost price and shipping fee for helping with the idea and basic design of development from the top of Golden Wagon.

As the alcohol bottles emptied, my wallet quickly swelled up.

That’s right. Drink more.

Drink so that it turns into money in my wallet.

“Hehehehe.”

I unknowingly let out the laugh of a villain.

This shouldn’t be happening.

But I can’t help but laugh.

“How much is all of this? Hehehe.”

Please enjoy your meal, everyone.

“Mr. Boss, I’ll take another bottle of soju here, please!”

“Yes, yes! As much as you want!”

As my wallet filled up, the sizzling sound of bubbling oil grew louder.

Sizzle, sizzle.

Ah, what a delicious sound.

I’m hungry.

***

After seeing off the last customer, I stood at the counter and tallied up today’s earnings.

Daily revenue: 30 gold.

A whopping 30 gold!

Considering that 10 silvers in this world are equivalent to 10,000 Korean won, that’s a staggering 3 million won.

My daily revenue had reached an astonishing 3 million won.

It’s a well-known fact that the profit margin for restaurants is typically low, but I had used half of my retirement fund from the Knights to build this building.

What does that mean?

That’s right.

It means I’m a landlord, a landlord as magnificent as the Creator.

That’s right, the biggest expense for a restaurant owner, the rent, is completely free for me.

There’s no need to worry about expenses here.

Labor costs?

Why would I need labor costs when I work alone?

That’s also a pass.

Maybe later if business picks up even more.

Right now, there was no need for additional labor.

And while it’s true that the cost of other ingredients and mana usage for Flare Range would add up, it was still a fact that my profit margin was much higher than that of ordinary establishments.

On top of that, a significant portion of today’s sales came from soju.

Those empty green bottles were all the soju I had sold today.

I had sold so much that I worried I might run out of soju before the next shipment from Coby.

Business had certainly gone better than expected.

“Considering the almost-cost price of soju…”

An involuntary smile appeared on my face.

I earned more than I did back when I was a knight and was in charge of cooking and catering, and that’s with less effort.

“This is it.”

Now, there’s no need to worry about my death in the capital, and on top of that, I earn much more than I did when I worked as a knight.

Although I lost the rank and status that came with being a knight and the honor that came with it…

‘No honor will protect my life.’

If honor is what puts my life at risk, I don’t need it.

“Long live the restaurant!”

Of course, I have to consider the fact that there is an initial boost in business.

Traditionally, the opening day of a food business is the most successful.

There’s no guarantee that it would always be this good.

To avoid becoming extinct, it’s important to work even harder.

And to develop new menus aggressively.

But maybe I can take a break today?

“Alright. Just enjoy it for today.”

I closed the door of the knight’s restaurant.

– CLOSED.

I hung a sign indicating that we were not doing business, and then turned off the lights in the hall.

Shouldn’t I enjoy my last meal before going off work?

After working so hard.

I whistled as I took out a portable Flair Range and Brousta.

I cut the leftover green onions into thick chunks.

I took out some kimchi that’s served as a side dish for grilled meat, transferred it to a dish, and brought out some soybean paste sauce before heading to the backyard.

At the back of the restaurant, in the backyard, various vegetables were being grown for use as part of the wraps served with grilled meat.

But the reason I came all the way to the backyard with all the side dishes wasn’t to pick the lettuce wrap.

In the corner of the backyard, there was a small table placed under the shade of a large tree.

“Wow, the view is great.”

It was the prime spot where I could see the vast field of the estate, the forest, and the cultivated rice paddies all at once.

If it were daytime, I might have seen several villages connected to the estate in the distance.

The picturesque view was possible because the estate was located on a hillside that gently rose from the end of the vast plain.

Of course, there was more to see during the day than at night.

It wasn’t like the capital of the empire, which was always bright at night, but rather, there were only a few torches placed along the main road of the estate.

However, the lack of things to see on the ground meant that the beauty of the sky was even more pronounced.

The stars were densely embroidered in the black sky.

The beautiful Milky Way, formed by the dense gathering of stars, and the two striking moons among them, gave an overwhelming feeling to those who looked up.

Eclipse and Luna.

The two moons, as bright as full moons, illuminated the surroundings.

The subtle moonlight was bright enough to see the surrounding scenery without having a torch lit.

“This is amazing.”

I lit the brazier and placed a wide grill pan on top of it.

Enjoying the scenic view provided by nature, I took out the protagonists of the day’s meal: pork belly from a nearby farm and soju from a green bottle that I had taken from the fridge.

The pork belly, displaying its charm with alternate layers of pinkish lean meat and white fat, easily slipped into my hand.

A perfect harmony of lean meat and fat in a thick cut, it was truly a perfect piece of meat.

This miraculous gift, which tasted good just by grilling it, was going to be my dinner tonight.

“It’s a present for me after finishing work.”

Yes.

Only something like this could be considered a gift.

However, the people of the empire did not enjoy eating pork belly, as they thought it contained too much fat.

I heard that it’s common to extract the fat and eat it like smoked meat instead.

To think that this delicious pork belly is merely turned into bacon.

Of course, bacon is tasty too.

But it’s not as good as pork belly wrapped in grilled kimchi.

I feel sorry for the imperial citizens who don’t know the deliciousness of pork belly.

The pigs that are being slaughtered might even shed tears inside.

Considering the evil act of discarding their most confident part as tasteless.

“Since it’s a part that doesn’t sell anyway, please take the pork belly for free. It’s a service.”

I take back my previous words.

Long live the imperial citizens.

It’s an excellent dietary habit.

The fact that imperial citizens don’t know about pork belly.

Being able to enjoy this delicious taste at a low price.

I placed the chilled pork belly on the sufficiently heated grill.

Sizzzzzle!

“Ah, eargasm.”

The pleasant sound resonated.

I recalled the times I ignored my own stomach to satisfy the customer’s stomachs.

My nostrils widened at the smell of the pork belly grilling.

Oh, I must resist this.

“It smells great.”

The scent of the oil melting and dripping down tickled my nose.

The transparent grease flowed down the grill and dripped into a cup prepared beforehand.

I placed the kimchi, which I had cut into proper sizes, in the path of the flowing oil.

Swooooosh!

The sound of the soybean-paste soup and the lard fiercely sizzling resonated in the night accompanied by the song of the magpies.

Of course, the kimchi I made wasn’t as skillful as the ones made and fermented directly in Korea, but I had done my best.

The smell of the kimchi seasoning and oil mixing and cooking was delightful.

I also put finely chopped garlic on the grill and flipped the pork belly, cooked to a golden brown by the Maillard reaction.

Sizzle!

The meat with a brownish hue following the grain looked appetizing.

Watching it cook was unbearably painful.

I wanted to eat it quickly.

They said not to eat pork before it’s fully cooked.

Eating pork butchered using modern 21st-century techniques might be fine, even if it’s not completely cooked, but I couldn’t be sure here.

Magic may have replaced science, but that doesn’t mean the hygiene standards are the same as in the 21st century.

Sizzle!

I waited until the pinkish hue had disappeared from the pork belly.

“Argh! I can’t stand it anymore. Seriously.”

Even as I flipped it with tongs, my eyes never left the meat.

The sight of the Milky Way spread across the sky and the breathtaking landscape went unnoticed.

Though I intended to enjoy the beautiful scenery as a side dish, my heart was not in it.

“Ugh.”

When it felt adequately cooked, I picked up the meat with the tongs and cut it with scissors.

Chop! Chop! Chop! Chop!

My mouth watered each time I cut the thick pork belly.

The oil on the meat seemed to represent my feelings, dropping like the saliva pooling in my mouth.

Having confirmed it was thoroughly cooked, I picked up the pork belly with chopsticks.

Pop!

I opened the soju bottle.

Gulp gulp gulp.

Pouring the clear soju into the transparent shot glass and holding it with my left hand, I picked up my chopsticks with my right.

And after soaking the well-cooked meat in plenty of ssamjang,

“Phew, phew.”

I gently cooled down the hot steamy meat and took a big bite.

“Delicious.”

The strong flavor of the ssamjang stimulated my taste buds.

The savory taste of the pork fat penetrated through the deep flavor of the ssamjang lingering on my tongue.

The infiltration attack of the pork belly was more blatant than anyone else’s, but it was like an absolutely unstoppable silver punch.

It was a destructive taste.

The chewy texture of the meat and the savory taste created by the Maillard reaction seemed like tap-dancing in my mouth.

Although it was so hot that I felt like the roof of my mouth would get burned, it didn’t matter.

“Freakingly delicious. It’s seriously so delicious.”

I poured the chilled soju from the refrigerator into my mouth.

“Krrrrrr.”

The soju cooled down my mouth, which felt like it would be burnt from the heat of the pork belly.

However, the soju that flowed down my throat heated my empty stomach intensely.

It was a signal to prepare now that food was going down.

“Wonderful.”

Pork belly and soju after a hard day’s work.

What could be better than this?

“Crazy.”

If I wrap it with grilled kimchi, wouldn’t it make me faint?

I’m sure it would.

Despite knowing, I couldn’t stop my chopsticks.

When the meat, generously wrapped in oil-soaked kimchi, sizzled together, the meat and kimchi, still bubbling with heat, scattered essence as they emitted a palpable presence.

Taking a moment to cool the grilled pork belly and roasted kimchi with a gentle blow, a hearty bite ensued.

“Ah, hot. Phew.”

Too hot to handle, it was bitten with teeth, and forcedly cooled before being placed in the mouth.

“Phew! Phew!”

To cool the heat inside the mouth, there was no choice but to exhale again.

Today, I had tried not to drink too much alcohol.

Oh well, it can’t be helped.

Gulp.

“Ah! The taste of the alcohol is good.”

Savoring the galaxy with a roof made of stars and the night view of the expansive Milky Way, paired with pork belly that was consumed as a side dish, it was indeed a luxury.

I could die like this.

At that moment, a sense of human presence emanated from the undoubtedly closed store.

“Is the owner inside?”

Who interrupts someone while eating?

I’m pretty sure there’s a sign saying the business is closed.