“No. Why are you trying to mix in spices again? I told you, just mixing things together doesn’t make it taste better… For goodness’ sake… Why are you like this?”
After only 30 minutes of teaching him how to cook, I was able to identify the root of the problem.
The issue lay in his intellectual curiosity and creativity.
He kept refusing to follow the instructions I gave him and tried to mix in extra things. This behavior repeated itself subconsciously.
“Ye-es… But what if we tried mixing this spice in here?”
“Stop… Just stop. If you mix anything in one more time, you’re going to meet the Hell Instructor.”
Even though it was an incredibly simple recipe, Brutus was once again failing to follow it, attempting to reinvent the dish instead.
“I’m sorry, but I suddenly got curious about what kind of flavor would be created… With this combination, surely…”
I wondered what kind of life he had lived to be so filled with curiosity.
‘I should start by reforming his spirit.’
I gathered Master Brutus in the training grounds—no, the front yard of the care home.
The instructor was Slot. The punk was even fully dressed for the part.
“Depending on how you perform, this instructor can be a devil or an angel. Do you understand?”
“Yes!”
After repeating eighty-seven reps of basic drills and several rolls, Brutus seemed to have come to his senses.
Once his discipline was somewhat established, we went back to making Chicken Soup.
“Seriously, does it have to be like this…?”
I was just trying to pass on a single Chicken Soup recipe, so why was this happening? Why did it keep tasting strange?
‘I’m going to keep repeating this until it’s delicious…’
We continued to make Chicken Soup over and over. As the repetitions continued, a decent flavor finally began to emerge.
It was already past 4:00 PM.
Everyone looked at the Chicken Soup placed before them with tense expressions.
I took a spoonful of the soup with a serious face.
It had a smooth, savory flavor and a rich taste of chicken. Since it hadn’t been cooked for a long time, it lacked a certain depth, but it was still a flavorful dish.
The harmony of the vegetables, herbs, and spices created a decent broth. The taste was almost as good as what I had made yesterday.
“You pass.”
“I passed!”
“Whoa! Our Director passed!”
Hyde and the children rejoiced as if it were their own success. I narrowed my eyes and gave a final warning.
“Don’t you dare add anything or experiment with it!”
“Thank you, Mister.”
“I’m not a mister. If you’re thankful, call me Brother.”
“Thank you, Brother.”
Lara looked at Slot instead of me and spoke shyly.
‘Seriously…?’
Then, the boy named Lan also approached, fidgeting. I picked Lan up and gave him a hug.
“I have to leave now because I’m short on time, but I’ll drop by again soon. From the looks of it, this care home needs an overall improvement to stay operational.”
Even if the cafeteria’s food improved, it would be difficult to run the care home solely on those earnings in a place without many tourists.
A new business item needed to be integrated.
“Oh, no. Lord William. You have already graced us with such great teachings; it is more than enough. I will do my best to manage things from here on.”
No… I’m saying I’ll come back because I don’t think you can. I emphasized my point once more.
“Absolutely do not mix anything else into this recipe!”
After completing the successful clinical trial, Brutus performed his final test by making Chicken Soup for the children.
The children hesitated for a moment, but once they tasted it, they began to gulp down the soup greedily.
“Huh… I just thought the children were picky eaters…”
A child’s palate is honest. The children who had eaten his food without complaint until now were the truly impressive ones.
“It was a short meeting, but I am grateful.”
Brutus was sincerely thankful. He was a bit clumsy, but he was a good man.
I had a feeling our connection wouldn’t end here. It wasn’t quite a second startup yet, but I wanted to do something for them.
‘But I’m just not… I’m not getting any inspiration…’
Unfortunately, an idea for a second startup didn’t come to mind.
Since a lot of time had been delayed, we left our regrets behind and boarded the carriage again.
As the carriage departed, Brutus and the children waved their hands at our receding backs for a long time.
***
Whinny!
“Whoa, whoa. No, not that way… The other way! The other way!”
“William. If you pull it like that, the horse will be in pain.”
After traveling for a bit, I took over the driver’s seat to practice driving the carriage.
Since Hyde was a veteran driver and Slot was also quite good at it, I thought I would be able to do it well too.
I had driven a lot on Earth, and since a carriage is a type of vehicle, I felt confident.
However, it wasn’t easy to learn. The feeling was completely different from a car.
‘Well, if it were easy, being a coachman wouldn’t be classified as a professional occupation…’
I was able to learn various coaching techniques from Hyde.
A carriage basically consists of four wheels, a cabin, a driver’s seat, and is pulled by horses.
The biggest difference from a car is the communication with the horses. To move the horse, you use the reins, voice commands, and a whip.
Reins are primarily used for control by pulling.
Pulling both reins back simultaneously is the signal for the horse to stop, and pulling only one side, left or right, is the signal for the horse to turn in that direction.
‘Pulling one side is like using a turn signal.’
Voice commands are also used to control the horses.
“Ho” or “Whoa” can be used to stop the horse, and “Hyah” is a command used to make the horse start moving or increase speed.
“I can’t believe ‘Hyah’ is an actual command… I think I used to shout that a lot at my toy horses when I was a kid…”
Beyond that, there is the whip. The whip is also used to adjust the horse’s speed or direction.
To give a warning, you strike the air near the horse to make a light cracking sound.
To start moving, you lightly touch the horse’s haunch with the whip.
When you want to run fast, you use the whip more strongly, but it is important to apply it moderately so that the horse doesn’t feel great pain.
To change direction, you use the whip on the opposite side of where you want to go.
Unlike the reins and voice, the whip must be used with the proper intensity—enough that the horse doesn’t feel pain—and because it requires consistency, it seems to be the most difficult part.
Additionally, although we were traveling on man-made paths, the roads weren’t as well-paved as those on Earth, so I had to understand the terrain and avoid difficult areas while leading us safely to our destination.
Doing it myself made me realize why a coachman is a specialist. Still, as time passed, I felt myself gradually adapting.
“William. Have you had experience driving a carriage before? How are you learning this so fast?”
Hyde seemed surprised by my learning ability.
Though there was some rattling, I was able to drive the carriage reasonably well.
Higher education was the reason I could be called a “munchkin” with superpowers in this otherworld.
On Earth, I had spent 12 years learning how to learn and master things quickly.
Despite some hiccups, I safely finished my first session.
Hyde took over the driver’s seat again, and the carriage raced through the darkness toward Tanne.
Although it was much later than originally planned, the carriage safely entered the village of Tanne.
Tanne was a fairly large village for the surrounding area.
It couldn’t compare to the city of Grunvalt, but it was larger than the village I lived in or the Mistrail Village I saw earlier.
“Welcome.”
The innkeeper who saw our carriage greeted us kindly.
We secured a room for the night. Since we were three men traveling together, one room was enough.
Finally, tomorrow, I would be able to meet Lord Serranos as requested by the Young Lady and perform my first Main Quest.
In the comfortable inn room, we fell into a deep sleep.
No matter how good the Base Camp is, it can’t beat an inn’s bed.
Zzz.
***
“It’s morning already?”
The dawn birds woke me up without fail.
Those birds chirped at dawn no matter where I went.
I felt like I had just closed my eyes, but when I woke up, it was morning.
If we trained in front of the inn, swinging swords might be seen as a threat, so the three of us decided to do some simple home training inside the room.
“Four hundred and ninety-nine… Five hundred.”
Seriously, making me do 500 push-ups… What a ruthless guy.
“Organization Leader. Now you just need to do the same for sit-ups. Are you feeling sluggish because it’s too easy? Me too.”
That little devil… Beside me, Hyde was in the middle of image training. Is he actually training? He looks like he’s sleeping.
I was happy because it was home training, but it was equally grueling.
After spending a long time performing the final Downward Strikes, the painful quota for today was finished.
Still, after doing it for several days, it felt like I was getting used to it.
‘Today, I am the strongest I have ever been in my life.’
We ate breakfast. Since they had been running for two days, I gave Thor and Lux a delicious reward and some rest time.
“My steeds. Rest well at the inn…”
Slot, Hyde, and I headed out into the village. The meeting place wasn’t a house but a place like a public square.
Looking at the note, I thought it might be hard to find, but the innkeeper said it was the easiest place to find in the village.
It was the village’s landmark—the fountain in the center of the village.
Water gushed from the fountain, breaking apart in the sunlight.
It was a peaceful scene. We arrived a bit early and waited for the appointed time.
Around the scheduled hour, a young girl who looked about the age of a late-elementary school student approached.
The young girl looked around for a long time as if searching for someone, then tentatively approached us after seeing us.
It was obvious she was looking for us…
The feeling wasn’t that she couldn’t find us, but rather that she was hesitating because she was too embarrassed to speak. Was she the shy type?
The girl had red hair. She was on the shorter side, and her face was very pretty.
‘She’ll be quite the beauty when she grows up…’
A large white ribbon was tied in her red hair.
Eventually, as if she had made a major decision, the girl took a deep breath and carefully spoke the password.
“Are you those who have received the protection of beauty through a secret journey?”
As expected, she was the person sent by Lord Serranos.
“A mysterious legacy has reached the north after a journey among countless stars.”
She seemed a bit embarrassed… and honestly, I was a bit embarrassed to say it too.
Sigh. That lady… why did she make such a password?
Something simple like “Hwarang” or “Tobacco” would have been nice.
For reference, “beauty” referred to the “Bella” in Prana Bella.
And “north” stood for “North”… as in Serra-nos?
I could smell the Young Lady’s influence on this riddle.
The girl spoke to us as if she were angry.
“I finally said it… Why on earth did you guys make such an embarrassing password! Follow me! I’ll guide you!”
The girl snapped, turned sharply, and began to walk away.
“What’s with her? She’s got quite an attitude.”
It wasn’t that she had a shy personality; she really was just embarrassed… Hyde spoke in a quiet voice beside me.
“Um… William. That little runt seems a bit rude… She looks like she’s only about 13 years old…”
Hyde spoke as if he were about to give her a piece of his mind.
“Organization Leader, it’s often impossible to gauge a Mage’s age, so it’s better to be careful for now.”
As expected, Slot gave useful advice.
“Let’s just follow her for now.”
We followed the red-haired girl toward the place where Lord Serranos was.
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