Board 35: The Village with Beer

Paltau and Ferguson.

Something hot passed between the father and son.

The two were silent for a long while.

Then, finally, Ferguson opened his mouth.

“Mother…… It was Mother’s taste. The food that Rice-nim made for us was a dish that Mother often cooked for us. Only after eating the food did Father and I realize that Mother had disappeared from our memories.”

A bitter smile flickered on Paltau’s face.

“My wife passed away last year. She always fried the flesh of the mayonejo that I caught. We enjoyed sharing it as a side dish with a glass of beer. She really liked the beer I brewed. Of course she did. I’m the best brewer in Tirko Village, after all.”

“Ten years ago, Father quit being a mercenary and opened a brewery.”

Ferguson chimed in on Paltau’s story.

Paltau continued speaking.

“Until now, I didn’t really know why I was drowning myself in alcohol. I just thought it was because I had lost my sense of taste. But…… that wasn’t it. After losing her, I lived soaked in liquor, and that’s why my taste flew away.”

Ferguson, who had been listening to Paltau, closed his eyes tightly.

His tightly clenched fists trembled parur.

He must be thinking of his mother who had gone to the heavens.

“Perhaps the Demon King erases the most painful memories for humans. But…… that doesn’t make us happy. If we become happy that way, it would be a half-hearted happiness, and we’d be playing into the Demon King’s false game. If you truly want happiness, you have to stand up after overcoming that pain. And now…… I’m ready for that.”

Paltau’s gaze turned downward.

“There’s a liquor storage in the basement of this building. I had stored a year’s worth of brewed alcohol, but I ended up drinking almost all of it myself. The building right next door is the brewery.”

“I…… after losing the person who loved my beer the most, I didn’t want to brew anymore. But I should stop running away here. In truth, besides her, there were plenty of people in this village who loved my beer.”

The moment Paltau finished speaking.

[Job Quest – Lost Sense of Taste]

-CLEAR!-

Reward: Ferguson’s father’s treasure, Ferguson’s favorability greatly increased

Da.

The exclamation mark above Ferguson’s head disappeared, and the quest was cleared.

He wiped away tears, overjoyed at Paltau’s appearance, which had clearly changed from before eating Irim’s food.

Ferguson bowed deeply to Irim.

“Thank you, Rice. Thanks to you, Father and I were able to regain our precious memories.”

Ferguson’s voice, full of moisture, stirred Irim’s heart.

This world was merely virtual reality, and the beings before him were nothing more than characters with artificial intelligence.

Yet Irim was sharing emotions with them.

“Cook.”

Paltau called to Irim while stroking Ferguson’s back.

“You found something precious that I had lost, so I should repay you. Ferguson.”

“Yes. Father.”

Ferguson finally straightened his bowed waist.

“Go down and bring ‘that’.”

Ferguson’s eyes widened as he immediately understood what Paltau was talking about.

He froze for a moment, unable to move.

“Hurry.”

Only after Paltau’s urging did Ferguson leave the room with a dazed face.

A short while later, when Ferguson came back up to the second floor, he held a longsword sheathed in a rough scabbard.

Paltau gazed at the sword for a moment with eyes full of regret.

He took the sword and handed it to Irim.

“This is……?”

“It’s my treasure. I’m giving it to you.”

Paltau’s treasure.

It was the item given upon quest completion.

Irim accepted it without refusing.

He thought a sword, being made of metal, would be quite heavy, but surprisingly, it was light.

“Draw the sword.”

Irim grasped the hilt, intricately wrapped in some unknown leather strap.

And slowly drew the sword.

What emerged from the scabbard was a sharply honed double-edged sword.

It had the shape and length of what was commonly called a longsword. 

An information window about the sword appeared in Irim’s eyes.

[??? Sword – Bound]

-A sword made from the mysterious ore Laonium. Light, hard, and highly durable.

-Attack +40, Agility +10

‘This is good.’

The attack power was 10 higher than the Sturdy Horn.

On top of that, it added 10 to agility.

But strangely, the sword’s name appeared as question marks.

When Irim tilted his head, Paltau said.

“That sword is now yours. So I should discard the name I used and give it a new one. What name will you attach?”

As Paltau finished speaking, a system message appeared.

[Please name the sword.]

Irim thought for a moment before opening his mouth.

“Boning.”

Boning.

To disassemble bones. It was the English word meaning ‘deboning’.

This sword would kill countless monsters in the future and debone them, so the name ‘boning’ was perfect.

But calling it Boning Sword would lack coolness, so he named it Boning Sword.

[Boning Sword. Is that correct?]

[Yes/No]

Irim selected ‘Yes’.

Then, the sword’s name, which had been question marks, changed to ‘Boning’.

Paltau stroked his chin and nodded.

“Boning Sword, huh. Seems like a pretty good name. What do you think?”

“It’s very good, Father.”

Ferguson agreed and then cautioned Irim.

“Rice. That sword accompanied Father during his mercenary days. Please treat it with care. And if you ever need it repaired, come to me. I’ll repair it for free, no matter what.”

“Sometimes clumsy blacksmiths ruin swords while repairing them and say nonsense like ‘Aigoo. My hand slipped!’ I’m a blacksmith of a different quality from those quacks, so trust me and come.”

“Got it, Ferguson. Thank you.”

With that, Irim had received everything he was supposed to from the Paltau father and son.

But Irim couldn’t readily take a step and kept glancing toward the kitchen.

At that, Paltau asked.

“Is there something you need?”

“If it’s not too rude, could I take some of the seasonings in the kitchen?”

At those words, Paltau nodded readily.

“Take everything if you want, feel free.”

It was possible because his favorability with Paltau had increased.

Irim excitedly rummaged through the kitchen.

Butter, ketchup, vinegar, red pepper powder, garlic, sugar, sesame oil, and so on.

He put everything he saw into his inventory.

Irim, having replenished various seasonings, left the kitchen with a satisfied face.

Paltau looked at him and smiled.

The drunken Paltau, soaked in alcohol, was no longer there.

He saw Irim off, went outside, opened the long-closed door of the brewery, and entered.

It was a huge building even from the outside.

The first floor of the brewery was for manufacturing and selling alcohol, and the basement first floor was for storage.

A hologram video unfolded before Irim as he watched Paltau’s back disappearing into the brewery.

It showed Paltau diligently brewing alcohol and selling it to people.

Some came directly to the brewery to buy alcohol, while others drank the alcohol delivered to the pig restaurant.

Paltau’s face was full of life.

Ferguson, watching such Paltau, also looked happy.

[Thanks to Rice’s efforts, Paltau and Ferguson were able to stand up after overcoming their past pain. Paltau will brew alcohol again, making the rest of the people in Tirko Village even richer. Rice’s footprint in retrieving the alcohol that had disappeared from Tirko Village is etched into history.]

The text flickered along with the video.

Soon, the history book status window appeared.

History Book (HISTORY)

[Completed Main Stream]

None (NONE)

[Completed Sub Scenario]

The One of the Red Queen Spider

Rozelan’s Cooking Master

Lost Sense of Taste

[A new footprint has been recorded in the history book. Bonus stat points 5 are awarded.]

Once again, his achievements were recorded in the history book.

Irim cheered and invested all the bonus points into attack power.

[You have contributed to the development of Tirko Village. Acquired 10 contribution points.]

[Some people in Tirko Village recognize you. You can purchase items in Tirko Village at a cheaper price.]

[Acquired Fame ‘2’.]

‘Now I’ve really finished all my business in this village.’

Just as Irim was staring at the brewery for a long time and about to take a step.

“Cook! Take this with you.”

Paltau came running out of the brewery with a huge beer keg slung over his shoulder.

He handed it to Irim.

“There was exactly one keg left in the underground storage. It’s quite good beer. Have a drink when you’re tired from traveling and want to rest deeply.”

There was a faucet at the bottom of the beer keg, and you could adjust the valve to pour and drink the beer.

Irim checked the information of the beer keg.

[Delicious Paltau’s Beer 10]

-When consumed, Attack +10, Defense -10 for 5 minutes (non-stackable)

500cc deducted each time poured

It increases attack power but eats away at defense.

It seemed to express well the state of becoming brave when drunk but unable to control the body as usual with an attack buff and defense debuff.

Irim decided to drink this beer mainly when resting rather than using it in battle.

The taste of a glass of beer after a hard day’s work is a great reward that cannot be exchanged for anything.

He wanted to savor that feeling as much as possible.

‘By the way, where should I go now.’

The virtual reality game Real is a game with extremely high freedom.

So you can go anywhere and do anything.

There is clearly a given main storyline.

Defeat the Demon King!

But that held no great meaning for Irim.

The purpose he entered the game was to cook, taste, and sell delicious food.

‘I want to do some proper business.’

Rather than making and selling food on the street, he wanted to get at least a mobile food cart.

‘I wonder if I can buy something like that here.’

While pondering, Irim headed to the pig restaurant.

To get information related to cooking, it’s best to ask someone working in that field.

Surprisingly, there was now even a waiting line in front of the restaurant.

‘It’s a huge hit.’

Irim felt proud for no reason at the sight.

He wasn’t there to eat, so he ignored the line and entered the restaurant.

Then a player who was working part-time blocked him.

“Sorry, but please line up and come in order.”

“Ah, um…… I’m not here to eat.”

Irim looked at the player blocking him and his face brightened with recognition.

“Melina?”

“Huh? Rice!”

At her shout, the gazes of those eating all focused on Irim at once.

“Rice? The one who passed down the menu here?”

“Is it real?”

“Wow, look at the equipment he’s wearing. It looks really impressive.”

The players looked at Irim with curious eyes and chattered one by one.

Irim pretended not to hear those words and asked Melina.

“Melina. What are you doing here?”

“As you can see, hall part-time job. Hehe.”

“You can do that too?”

“Yes. It’s fun. The pay is good too. But what in the world did Rice do? You passed down food to a restaurant that only sold bread and soup. I never even dreamed that was possible.”

“It just happened.”

Irim smiled awkwardly and scratched his head.

At that moment, a group of people who had been eating all stood up and approached Irim.

The shaggy-haired burly man at the front asked Irim.

“Rice? Are you really Rice? The one who passed down the cooking to the restaurant?”

“Ah, yes.”

“I love you!”

The man suddenly hugged Irim tightly.

“Oh my.”

Melina’s cheeks flushed red as she witnessed the forbidden love right before her eyes.