Chapter 25: A Taste of the Eastern Continent

The village had the warm, cozy atmosphere typical of any countryside.  

“Yumin, your brother’s back.”  

“Brother, where were you?”  

A child, about 13 years old, was lying in the room. Even at a glance, their thin frame looked frail.  

“I got you some medicine. If you take this, you’ll get better soon.”  

Yujin helped his sibling sit up, propping up their upper body. 

He broke off a piece of ginseng root and placed it in Yumin’s mouth.  

“Chew it well and swallow.”  

Munch munch.  

“Cough, cough.”  

The mother patted Yumin’s back as they choked.  

“Oh no, they can’t swallow it.”  

“Yumin, you have to swallow it, even if it’s hard. The ginseng will make you better.”  

Yumin chewed again, their dry lips trembling with effort.  

Unable to watch any longer, I stepped in.  

“Ma’am, have them wet their throat with this first.”  

“What is it?”  

“It’s a health juice. It’ll give them strength.”  

I handed over the watermelon juice I always carried in a canteen for when I got tired.  

“Yumin, try drinking this first.”  

Yujin brought the canteen to Yumin’s lips. 

The light red watermelon juice flowed between their dry lips.  

Gulp.  

Yumin’s lips moved slightly, and they said in a small voice,  

“…More.”  

“Huh? Okay.”  

Gulp gulp.  

“Slow down, take it easy.”  

Chug chug.  

“They drank the whole bottle?!”  

Yumin had drained every last drop from the canteen. 

Yujin and their mother stared at Yumin in disbelief, eyes wide.  

At that moment—  

Yumin sprang up from the bed.  

“My body feels light!”  

“Oh my goodness!”  

“I think I can move now!”  

Not only did Yumin stand, but they started hopping around as if they’d never been sick.  

“Brother! Mom! Look at me! I’m jumping!”  

“What in the world?!”  

The mother couldn’t close her shocked mouth, and Yujin’s wide eyes darted between the canteen and the ginseng.  

“No way, is there ginseng in this?”  

Even I was astonished by what I saw.  

Can I puff out my chest a bit now?  

“Ginseng? No, it’s just a health juice made from crops I grew.”  

“Crops? You mean it’s this effective with just crops? That doesn’t make sense!”  

“Why not? You’re seeing it with your own eyes. The crops I grow are packed with nutrients, so they make you burst with energy. That’s why it’s called a vitality drink!”  

I spoke casually, but inside, I couldn’t help but marvel. 

Making an exhausted person stand is one thing, but instantly reviving a child bedridden with a cold?  

Isn’t this more effective than ginseng?  

“Oh no, I went through all that trouble for the ginseng, and now it’s useless.”  

“Ha, haha.”  

Yujin let out a hollow laugh, unable to continue.  

“All that effort… for just crops… What have I been doing all this time…”  

“Why so down? Thanks to you bringing me here, you saved your sibling. By the way, since you don’t need the ginseng anymore, can I have it back?”  

“What kind of person gives something and then takes it back?”  

“Relax, I was just kidding.”  

Yujin’s mother, eyes brimming with tears, looked at me and said,  

“Thank you again for saving our youngest. Yumin, come say thank you.”  

“Brother, thank you so much!”  

“Eat well and exercise so you don’t get sick again, okay?”  

“Yes! I’ll remember that!”  

Yumin grinned innocently.  

“Thank you. We’ll repay this kindness for the rest of our lives.”  

Yujin bowed deeply to me.  

“For the rest of your lives? No need for that…”  

Feeling a bit embarrassed, I turned my head away.  

Now that I thought about it, I’d been too distracted to notice earlier, but this place was full of fascinating new things.  

From the large jars lined up in front of the house to the vegetables drying around the home.  

I spoke to Yujin, who was still bowing.  

“In return, I’d like your help. I’m new to the eastern continent.”  

“Of course, I’ll help. Come back anytime you need me.”  

“Oh my, look at me. I’ve been so rude, not offering our guest any hospitality.”  

“I’m fine, you don’t need to go to any trouble.”  

“No way. Just wait a moment. I’ll whip up a meal in no time.”  

“Our mom’s cooking is amazing. Since you’re in the eastern continent, you should try our food.”  

Yujin’s mother hurried to the kitchen. Soon, an unfamiliar savory aroma wafted from it.  

“Come, let’s eat.”  

We gathered around a table set up in the yard. 

In that short time, a feast was prepared, enough to make the table legs wobble.  

“Wow, isn’t this too much?”  

“For a special guest, this is the least we can do. Eat before it gets cold.”  

“With so many dishes, I’m not sure where to start.”  

Yujin spoke up.  

“I’ll explain. This is rice, made from the grains you saw earlier—it’s our staple food. Next to it is doenjang soup, and the rest are side dishes made from wild vegetables and herbs.”  

I nodded. 

Each dish looked appetizing, and I was excited to try them all.  

“Thank you for the meal.”  

“Eat up.”  

I first brought the white rice to my mouth. 

The savory aroma from the kitchen came from this rice.  

“Each grain is sticky and gets sweeter the more you chew! It’s so delicious!”  

“Try it with the soup and side dishes.”  

I stirred the doenjang soup with a spoon. 

It had pieces of potatoes, green peppers, and zucchini.  

Slurp.  

A sip of the soup filled my mouth with a rich, savory flavor.  

“This is a new taste for me. It’s clean, or maybe refined? I can feel the depth of flavor.”  

The mother smiled warmly.  

“Does it suit your taste? That’s made with doenjang, a traditional eastern continent sauce made by fermenting soybeans.”  

“Soybeans?”  

Upon closer inspection, I saw mashed beans floating in the soup.  

“It’s fermented in jars for a long time to develop that deep flavor.”  

“That’s amazing! I’m already loving eastern continent food. I’d love to learn how to make it sometime.”  

“I’d be happy to teach you anytime.”  

“You, ma’am?”  

“If you’re okay with the simple food we eat every day.”  

“Simple? Everything in front of me is extraordinary and precious.”  

I savored each side dish and cleaned my rice bowl. Yujin’s mother was an incredible cook.  

“That was delicious.”  

“Come back anytime.”  

“Brother, take care!”  

“See you next time, little one.”  

I ruffled Yumin’s hair. Finally, Yujin spoke.  

“Can I call you brother?”  

“Call me whatever you like.”  

“Brother Fabir, see you again.”  

“Yeah, I’ll stop by soon.”  

With their farewells, I climbed onto Dorori’s back.  

Upon reaching the Floating Island, Elenia swooped over.  

“You’re back now?”  

“I was delayed visiting the eastern continent.”  

“The eastern continent? How’d that happen?”  

“I met someone from there in the Elf Forest.”  

“What a curious encounter. By the way, did you get the basil?”  

“Yup, it’s in my bag. I tried some, and it worked pretty well.”  

“With the essence of the Elf Forest, it’s bound to be effective, though not as good as things from the Floating Island.”  

I planted the basil next to the citronella. I plan to turn this area into an herb garden.  

Then I pulled a small pouch from my bag.  

“Look at this. It’s a grain they eat in the eastern continent.”  

“Rice seeds, huh? You’re going to plant them?”  

“You know about rice seeds?”  

“I’m a fairy. It’d be strange if I didn’t know about plants.”  

“That’s true.”  

I was hoping to surprise her, but I guess I missed my chance.  

Elenia tilted her head.  

“You’ll need a paddy to grow rice, won’t you?”  

“Maybe it’ll grow on the Floating Island without one?”  

“Could be. It’s worth a try.”  

Without overthinking, I planted the rice seeds next to the potato field and watered them.  

“What’s your plan if the rice grows? Do you know how to cook it?”  

“I’ll learn as I go. I found a great teacher for eastern continent cuisine.”  

“Really? Thanks to you, I’ll get to try eastern dishes. I’m already excited.”  

***

The next day.  

“Look at this!”  

Elenia was making a fuss from early morning.  

“Today’s my day off from morning trading. Let me sleep in.”  

“I’d love to, but the rice sprouted!”  

“What? Really?”  

At that, I jumped up and ran to the field.  

“No way, it actually sprouted! At this rate, there’s nothing the Floating Island can’t grow.”  

If it kept growing like this, I could harvest in a few days.  

“The basil’s grown a lot too. I should pick some to take to the apothecary.”  

While I was at the field, I picked some basil and put it in a glass jar.  

***

I carried a box of vitality drinks to Bernard’s apothecary.  

Ding.  

As I entered, Bernard was dealing with a customer.  

“I was shocked! All those mosquitoes disappeared completely. What kind of recipe is this?”  

“It’s a trade secret, so I can’t tell you.”  

“Come on, just tell me the name of the herb, please?”  

Seeing Bernard’s discomfort at the persistent questioning, I jumped in.  

“It’s citronella.”  

“Citronella? That’s it?”  

Having gotten what he wanted, the man quickly dashed out.  

“That guy works at the alchemy shop I supply to. He’s definitely here to snoop!”  

“I figured as much.”  

“What? And you still told him?”  

“Citronella isn’t an easy herb to get. Even if they manage to find it, they won’t replicate it easily.”  

“You’re that confident, huh?”  

“Let them try to copy it if they can.”  

As if they could replicate citronella grown on the Floating Island.  

Bernard finally let out a sigh of relief.  

“Lately, more people like him have been showing up. Even the alchemy shop next door seems to be subtly keeping an eye on us.”  

“That’s great news.”  

“Huh?”  

“They ignored us at first, but now they’re wary. That means our shop’s doing so well that the biggest alchemy shop in Alburton is jealous.”  

“Now that you put it that way, you’re right.”  

“Might as well enjoy the situation. By the way, I brought something new.”  

I placed the glass jar of basil on the table.  

“Isn’t this basil? You grew this too, didn’t you?”  

Bernard brought the basil to his nose.  

“As expected from you, Fabir, even the scent is different. This is the finest basil I’ve seen. High-end restaurants will be fighting over it.”  

“Not only that, it’s great for mouth ulcers.”  

“Really? Another health food, then. We could sell this for more than regular basil.”  

“Let’s start at one small silver coin per gram and adjust the price after seeing customer reactions for a week.”  

Bernard nodded in agreement.  

“By the way, how’s Cayton doing?”  

“He’s been so focused on training, I haven’t seen him. Oh, today’s the qualification exam! Why don’t you go check it out?”  

Hearing that, I hurried to the arena where the adventurer qualification exam was being held.  

When I arrived, there were more spectators than I expected.  

As I sat in the stands waiting for the exam to start—  

Murmur murmur.  

“There’s a pretty good rookie this time, right? I heard his name’s Cayton.”  

“Yeah, I’ve heard of him too.”  

A familiar name came up from the conversation nearby.