Surviving on the Northern Front with Gukbap

Chapter 7 - Word-of-Mouth (1)

Since I was young, I always thought this while watching my parents' shop.

'The food is really good, but……'

Compared to how good the food was, there weren't that many customers.

It never became a famous restaurant.

As time passed, around when I was in high school, I started to see the reason.

'My parents had no talent for business.'

Not only was the restaurant's location ambiguous, they barely even did the common flyer advertisements.

Honestly, it was frustrating.

That's why I chose business administration as my major in college.

Since I was going to cook for the rest of my life anyway and was confident in it,

I wanted to learn 'how to do business' instead of cooking.

However,

The marketing and business administration I learned in the modern world were utterly useless here in this medieval fantasy.

“……”

My shop had so few customers that my parents' gukbap restaurant looked like a divine paradise in comparison.

I'd be happy if even flies were buzzing around, but,

Since it was winter, there weren't even any bugs.

'It's a good thing I don't have to pay rent.'

A week had already passed since the day I killed Bert and became the figurehead boss.

During that time, I scrapped Bert's pumpkin soup, and sold Ian-style pumpkin soup.

A few customers stopped coming, saying it didn't suit their palate, but most of them liked it.

As a result, I was able to earn points too.

< The customer is satisfied with the food. >

< You have obtained 1 ‘Satisfaction.’ >

< The customer is satisfied with the food. >

< You have obtained 1 ‘Satisfaction.’ >

..

.

Moreover, they didn't stop at one bowl and ate several bowls each, and sales also rose, however slightly.

Jeros, after seeing the shop's ledger for the first week, said this wasn't bad.

Saying something like, 'What more could you ask for than sales not dropping, heh heh.'

But it didn't satisfy me at all.

Because there have to be a lot of customers in the shop for me to earn money and, more importantly, to collect points.

But the situation was not favorable.

The only possible forms of advertisement in this world are touting or word-of-mouth.

“Sigh.”

Neither was easy.

Touting is only effective in restaurant districts or busy areas; in a place like this frontier town with a fixed floating population, it was futile.

'Jeros dragging people here by force can only work for a day or two.'

And as for word-of-mouth, well, 'The Fairy's Leg' was already infamous as a cheap inn.

In other words, there was nothing I could try.

Meaning, I had no customers and was bored.

“……”

Just then,

Creeak.

The shop door opened at an odd time.

“Welcome!”

Thick jaw, clad in leather armor.

Jeros's superior and the Guard Squad Leader, the middle-aged big-jawed Ralph spoke.

“The usual, three bowls.”

The 'usual' referred to the pumpkin soup.

“Aren't you tired of it? The potato stew today isn't bad either.”

“Cut the nonsense.”

“……Yes, sir.”

A week ago,

Ralph had eaten three bowls of pumpkin soup every day since the day he was dragged here by Jeros.

He was always in full gear, just like now.

It seemed he was either about to go on duty or about to train.

Which meant,

'He's probably noticed the buff.'

Is that why?

There was no joy whatsoever in Ralph's eyes as he ate the pumpkin soup.

It seemed he was eating it for some ulterior motive rather than for the taste.

And so, the big-jawed man drank down three bowls as if swallowing them.

Now, I didn't even hear the system voice anymore.

'……Is he sick of it already? He's not even giving me Satisfaction points.’

It was a little bitter.

Anyway, Ralph would soon be leaving 3 copper coins on the table and taking his leave.

“?”

But unlike usual, Ralph seemed to be strangely watching my reaction.

What is it, does he have something to say?

“Hey, outsider.”

“Yes.”

Just as I thought.

“The owner here? Has he still not returned?”

I almost flinched for a moment but answered as calmly as possible.

“No. He hasn't returned yet.”

“Is that so? He must trust you. From what I know, he's not that kind of guy.”

“……I'm not sure myself.”

Why is he talking to me out of the blue?

And about Bert, of all things.

'Making me tremble.'

Just when I was wishing he would just piss off.

“Heh heh. Chief, you came again? Excellent.”

Jeros appeared at the shop with a satisfied look on his face.

“You ate three bowls again. Do you want to beat Kale that badly? Heh heh.”

Kale? Who's that?

“……Damn it.”

Ralph, as if embarrassed, shot up from his seat and brushed past Jeros on his way out, and I placed a bowl of pumpkin soup where Jeros had sat and asked.

“Want to beat Kale? What does that mean?”

To be honest, I wasn't that curious, but I was so bored from being in the shop alone that I asked.

“Heh heh. Where should I even start explaining to this outsider bastard who knows nothing.”

Jeros smirked and continued.

“The Dark Period ends in a week, you know. On January 1st, when the new year dawns, this town of Granpn holds something called the 'Regular Martial Arts Demonstration'.”

“……A Regular Martial Arts Demonstration?”

At that moment, I got a feeling.

That the 'Regular Martial Arts Demonstration' that came from Jeros's mouth,

would become some kind of turning point, or opportunity, for my shop.

……

Granpn, a place that became a town as the 2nd Battalion's garrison on the northern front grew.

On January 1st in this town, there was an annual event and festival—

The 'Regular Martial Arts Demonstration'.

At this demonstration, the soldiers of the unit engage in ranking duels and grade evaluations.

Last year's demonstration was the same for Ralph.

“That's when Ralph was miserably crushed by Kale. Heh heh. He got his ass kicked like a neighborhood dog.”

Kale, who was the leader of Guard Squad 2.

And Ralph, who was the leader of Squad 1.

In their ranking duel, Ralph was utterly defeated without being able to put up a fight.

And so, Kale took the title of Squad 1 Leader, and Ralph became the Squad 2 Leader.

They say he had the title snatched away four years after becoming the Squad 1 Leader.

“That's an interesting system.”

“Other units don't have this. It's a tradition unique to this place.”

A system where you take the opponent's unit numbering through a duel and the ranks are decided.

Indeed, it's a system befitting the north, where power rules over everything.

“I see. So that's why he eats pumpkin soup every day and trains. To get revenge on Kale and take back the Squad 1 Leader title.”

“That's right. Heh heh. Still, though,”

“?”

“I don't know if it's thanks to you, but it seems he's been attaining some enlightenment lately. Heh heh.”

That's good news, I guess.

“No wonder. It seemed like he was eating out of a sense of duty rather than for the taste these days.”

“Really? It's still just as delicious to me. Heh heh.”

< The customer is satisfied with the food. >

< You have obtained 1 ‘Satisfaction.’ >

'That's probably because you're the crazy bastard who used to stuff his face with things like Bert's pumpkin soup.'

No matter how delicious the food, isn't the limit about a week straight?

How many meals of gukbap in a row did I eat back in Korea?

'Hmm. Was it two weeks straight?'

Anyway,

Unless you're a unique case like Jeros or me, eating the same meal every time wouldn't be easy.

“Heh heh. Anyway, work hard, Ian.”

“Goodbye.”

As I saw Jeros off, I thought.

'Jeros and Ralph both, it seems they've noticed the buff from my cooking.'

Then again, it'd be hard not to notice when they eat it so repeatedly.

'If they know, they could at least go somewhere and spread the word that my food has some effects.'

Just as this thought of disappointment surfaced.

“Word-of-mouth?”

An idea for word-of-mouth promotion suddenly popped into my head.

'He said all the town's residents gather for the martial arts demonstration.'

What if Ralph beats Kale in a place like that?

If Ralph, who lost so miserably in the last duel, wins, everyone will be amazed, and what if the fact that Ralph got stronger because of the effect of my food spreads at that time?

'There couldn't be a better word-of-mouth advertisement than this, could there?'

In other words, the equation 'Ralph's victory = The shop's promotion' was established.

So then, how should I help Ralph?

'Should I try making a new menu item besides pumpkin soup?'

If I develop a dessert menu item with a lot of sugar, it would be good for Ralph too.

But there's a slight problem.

'The fact that I'm a complete amateur when it comes to desserts.'

The dishes I knew how to make properly were mostly Korean food.

And just the menu items of 'The Fairy's Leg' that I learned from Bert.

I didn't know jack shit about dessert foods.

'Hmm. Isn't there anything suitable?'

Desserts.

What are some representative examples.

'Macarons? Cake?'

The desserts that come to mind right now are these two, and both are bakery items, bread.

And of course, I didn't know how to bake things like bread.

Bert didn't bake bread either.

He used to serve the rock bread he bought from the general store to customers.

'Huh? Rock bread?'

I looked at the rock bread in a corner of the kitchen.

The food-garbage rock bread that you can buy two of for 1 copper coin at the general store.

A crazy bread, true to its name, that's hard as a rock and impossible to eat unless you moisten it with saliva.

As I was staring at it.

'Ah!'

I remembered my time in the military.

Something I used to make on days I got sick of Gundaeria*.

[TL/N: Gundaeria, a build-your-own burger meal served in the Korean military. The name is a portmanteau of Gundae (military) and Lotteria (a fast-food chain). It is a well-known meal among Korean men who have completed their service.]

'Fondue bread!'

That bread where you poke holes all over the surface of a hamburger bun, pour milk on it, and dip it in jam to eat.

“This is it!”

The dessert idea was complete.

I immediately placed two pieces of rock bread on the cutting board.

And I tried to poke it with a fork but soon gave up.

Because it felt like the wooden fork would break.

Instead, I used a kitchen knife to make several cross-shaped (十) cuts on the surface.

And I slowly poured milk into the gaps.

So that it would seep in and become moist.

Next, I melted sugar in a pot to make a sugar syrup.

'Since there's no jam, I'll use sugar!'

I put the milk-soaked rock breads in there and coated them with the sugar syrup.

Finally, I took the bread out, placed it on a wooden plate, and drizzled the remaining sugar syrup on top of the bread.

As it cooled, the hardened sugar syrup turned into a sugar coating.

'And with that, the Ian-style Fondue Bread is complete!'

I didn't measure it exactly, but one Fondue Bread contained the equivalent of three bowls of pumpkin soup's worth of sugar.

With just one of these, he'll be able to enjoy three consecutive sugar buffs and the extension effect.

'But the taste…… hmm.'

Since rock bread was such a garbage-like ingredient to begin with, it was a mystery whether the taste I imagined would come out.

'Still, it'll probably be delicious.'

Because it's food made by none other than me.

After confirming that the sugar coating on the Fondue Bread had completely hardened, I picked one up and brought it to my mouth.

CRUNCH!

“?!”

It chewed more naturally than I thought.

Making cuts here and there to soften the surface, and soaking the inside with milk seemed to have been effective.

< Concentration rises by a minuscule amount. >

< Vigor rises by a minuscule amount. >

Amazing. Let's try another bite.

Crisp!

It was a perfect feast of 'crispy on the outside, moist on the inside'.

To the point where I wondered if this was really food made from rock bread.

< Concentration rises by a minuscule amount. >

< Vigor rises by a minuscule amount. >

And so, as I took the last bite and finished off the Fondue Bread.

< Concentration rises by a minuscule amount. >

< Vigor rises by a minuscule amount. >

It was just as I expected.

A taste and effect that naturally brings a smile to my face.

'This is good enough to sell to customers!'

However, the problem is how much to charge for it.

Since I poured in quite a lot of sugar and milk.

'Hmm.'

It has to be much more expensive than the pumpkin soup for the unit price to make sense.

As I was pondering this.

“Hey, outsider! Huff. Huuk.”

Someone called me from the hall.

When I came out of the kitchen, Ralph was there, gasping for breath.

Ah. Did he come back right as the buff's effect ended?

Ralph took a deep breath and said.

“Sell me the pumpkin soup by the potful.”

I could see madness in his eyes.

It seems he wants to train while maintaining the buff's effect, no matter what.

'30 minutes might not be enough.'

However,

Even so, I couldn't sell it by the potful.

Because I also need to cook and sell it.

“That would be difficult. Other than the pumpkin soup, there's another—”

“Hey, you fucker! What did I say? I said I don't need anything else, didn't I?”

Anyway, is being hot-tempered a characteristic of these medieval guys?

I suppressed the irritation that was about to flare up and said.

“I'm not talking about the potato stew.”

“……What?”

“There's a new menu item. If you eat just one of these, it's the same as eating three bowls of pumpkin soup.”

Only then did Ralph show curiosity in his eyes,

and I brought the Fondue Bread from the kitchen to show him and said.

“Just one of these will do. Please, try it.”

“……Hey, you bastard.”

“??”

“That's rock bread.”

Crap. He looks even angrier.

If that's the case, do I have no choice but to use the ultimate marketing move of a business administration student?

“I won't charge you. So please, just try it once.”

Its name, is 'Serving the New Menu Item for Free'.

“……”

Ralph kept his mouth firmly shut and stared at the Fondue Bread.

At a glance, it's no different from rock bread, but if you look closely, you'll notice the differences.

As if having finished his brief contemplation, Ralph spoke.

“If this is any different from the pumpkin soup, you'd better be prepared to be half-dead.”

I was a little intimidated by his serious voice, but I had already confirmed its taste and effect.

I said confidently.

“Try it first, then we'll talk.”

Instead of an answer, Ralph picked up the Fondue Bread.

CRUNCH!

.

.

.

< Customer-Nagel Ralph acknowledges the food. >

< You have obtained 1 ‘Recognition.’ >

< Customer-Nagel Ralph acknowledges the service. >

< You have obtained 1 ‘Recognition.’ >

Two Recognitions at once.

A grand total of 20pt.

……

A week has passed since the day I developed the Fondue Bread.

The 13th month, the Dark Period, which was cold enough to kill and in which I actually almost died, had finally ended.

There's almost no sentiment about having endured it.

Because a new year is faintly dawning.

Today is January 1st.

It's the day of the Regular Martial Arts Demonstration.

I'm excited.

Just as much as big-jawed Ralph, I too have been waiting for today.

'I have to make the most of this opportunity.'

Even though the new year has dawned, I am the same.

Business comes before what year it is in the Imperial calendar. Survival comes first.

I left the shop, carrying a heavy bundle.

My face is probably one of grim determination.