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Gu Yeong looked around the inside of the inn.
It was strange how the Black Spirit Faction, a place he'd thought he'd never have reason to visit until just yesterday, had been transformed like this in a single day.
More than that, the more he looked, the more it seemed like a rather solid inn.
"Impressive."
Gu Yeong muttered quietly to himself and looked at Jin Cheon, who was smiling contentedly.
He'd been different from ordinary people since long ago.
W̊ё b no vеl _Еǹūṁ а̄
Gu Yeong had thought it was no small thing that Jin Cheon had gone off to the northern battlefield and come back with all his limbs intact, but seeing him clear out the Black Spirit Faction, which had dominated the Sea Pine area, in an instant, it felt almost unreal.
Swish, swish—!
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On top of that, that Black Serpent Blade was silently wiping down the tables and chairs with a rag.
The pickpocket with the fierce eyes had turned overnight into someone who smiled brightly, as if she were the granddaughter of some noble family.
This wasn't something that could be made just by having strong martial skill.
It was a sight that only someone with enough generosity to embrace people could create.
Е̄ n ũḿ а̄
Jin Cheon really was something else.
Gu Yeong nodded inwardly and asked.
"Is lodging available?"
Naturally, Jin Cheon didn't know.
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"Do-chi."
"Yes, Master."
Е n um а
He immediately called for Heuk Do-chi.
The man wiped his forehead with his sleeve and answered in a thick voice.
"We've tidied up one or two rooms for now, but they're not in proper condition, so I wouldn't recommend it."
"That's our Do-chi for you."
"Ha ha, thank you."
The fearsome mountain bandit bowed politely, all the way at the waist, smiling.
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Jin Cheon, pale as a scholar, smiled with satisfaction and accepted the greeting.
Rub, rub—
Gu Yeong rubbed his eyes with both hands.
He'd prided himself on having seen every strange sight there was after Heavenly Sword Castle moved into Sea Pine and it turned into Sanghae overnight, but this was a first even for him.
Pushing down the thought that it might be time for him to retire, he reached out his hand, but there was no tea to wet his parched throat.
"No tea, I see."
Е̃ n̊ um̃ а̂
"Oh! I'll bring some right away!"
Eyeballs immediately ran into the kitchen.
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You could take away a Central Plains man's liquor, but never his tea.
Since everyone drank tea before meals, of course every table in an inn ought to have tea.
I should get that prepared.
Jin Cheon thought to himself.
Е n̈ û m a .іd̂
Through Heuk Do-chi, of course.
"Well then, Innkeeper Jin Cheon."
Gu Yeong addressed Jin Cheon, now properly the owner of the inn.
"Old man, just call me the way you always have."
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"Al—right, then."
Gu Yeong was curious how the actual ownership issue had been settled, since it was the Black Spirit Faction that had built and run the building even if not the land, and how much Heuk Do-chi was being paid, but he held back for now.
W̊ӗbn ó v̄ ёl̀ Е̊ ń ŭm а̀
Such questions would naturally be answered in due time anyway.
"Looking at this, it seems like this place would do better with meals than lodging."
"That does seem to be the case."
"Then wouldn't a restaurant or a teahouse suit better than an inn? Back in the day, it only took in lodgers temporarily because so many fishermen came through in autumn."
Heuk Do-chi, who had also been curious about this, and Eyeballs, who was bringing out the tea, both turned to look at Jin Cheon.
If you were confident in your cooking, a place that mainly served food would be better.
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But the inn Jin Cheon had made prioritized taking in people who would stay, and what it served was mostly plain meals rather than dishes meant to showcase skill.
It wasn't the best environment to show off good cooking.
"Because it's a place where people live."
Back in his childhood, in the North, in the Imperial Capital.
And now, too.
Jin Cheon had wanted to run an inn.
Е̊ n.um̂ а .і̌d
The reason was nothing special.
"……?"
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"Eating, sleeping, relieving yourself. Isn't that basically all of living? I just like that kind of thing."
Everyone blinked.
Too many people have died.
Jin Cheon smiled bitterly.
Еň u m.â.іd̊
How many more deaths would he have to witness?
How many more funerals would he have to hold?
If you could at least hold a funeral when a comrade died, that was a good death.
Most of the time, it was what people called a dog's death—dying without anyone knowing where or when, and a body rarely even remained.
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I'm sick of it now.
That was why Jin Cheon had wanted to run an inn.
Е̃n um̈а́. ĩ d̂
He wanted to see living now, more than dying.
That was why he had made this inn.
Heuk Do-chi smiled as if he liked Jin Cheon's answer, and Eyeballs took the attitude that whatever Jin Cheon said must be right.
And Gu Yeong—
"…A place where people live, is it?"
He nodded slowly.
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He wondered if the life of a physician trying to save people and the life of an innkeeper might, in some way, be the same path.
And he thought that Jin Cheon, returning after thirteen years, seemed to carry something deep within him.
He gazed quietly at Jin Cheon, then asked with a small laugh.
"As it happens, I haven't had dinner yet—is there a meal to be had?"
He was curious, too, about this cooking skill Jin Cheon claimed to have.
"Hm."
W ё b̃ nо̀ v.е ľ Enü m̊.ӓ
Jin Cheon recalled the ingredients in the kitchen.
Thanks to Hwa-ryeong having gone shopping, there were quite a few kinds of ingredients on hand.
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But considering Gu Yeong's age and the fact that it was nighttime, a meal that was too rich or heavy wasn't good.
He'd seen more than once or twice on the battlefield how eating a big meal in the evening left men helplessly caught off guard by a night raid.
Jin Cheon gestured for Heuk Do-chi and Eyeballs to come sit at Gu Yeong's table as well.
"We have to eat dinner too anyway, so let's all just eat something simple together."
W̄_ѐ b̄n о v е́_l̃ Е̃ nům̄а̊
"Sounds good, Master."
"Finally, I get to eat it!"
Both of them happily sat right down.
Of course, Gu Yeong's expression wasn't the best when the burly Heuk Do-chi sat down right next to him...but he made a point of looking only toward Eyeballs instead.
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Leaving the mismatched trio together at the table, Jin Cheon went into the kitchen.
So it was true that Heuk Do-chi did carpentry work when he was young.
Е̊ n.ü m а. і d̊
It was tidy.
From the prep counter to the shelves where the spices and ingredients were arranged, it was all put together with a delicacy that was hard to believe had been done in a single day.
Not only that, but the kitchen had even been laid out with a cook's workflow in mind.
Realizing he'd somehow ended up with quite a decent fellow, Jin Cheon first lit the fire under the steamer.
Too late to make rice, so it'll have to be noodles—
The meal most commonly served at an inn was usually thin noodles.
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Since they came with broth, they were easy to slurp down quickly.
The noodles aren't ready yet, so I'll have to steam some dumplings instead.
And surprisingly, the second most popular dish wasn't rice but dumplings.
Of course, not dumplings packed full of meat filling, but roughly shaped ones with hardly any filling at all.
Dumplings served with side dishes and tea was one of the meals an inn typically offered.
Then what matters is the side dish to go with them.
W̌ е́ b̄ n̈о v̆ ѐl Én̄um̀а
Jin Cheon reached his hand out through the slightly open window.
Whoosh—!
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Since spring was ending, a slightly muggy, sticky wind was blowing.
The way it blew—weaker even than an old man's stream of urine—was exactly the weather for this time of year.
On a day like this, when things felt sticky and unpleasant, having something refreshing to eat helped clear a person's mind too.
Jin Cheon looked over the ingredients, pondering what to make, then grinned.
Eñu̇m а̊ ._іd́
Ah, there's this.
Cucumber.
He tapped it lightly with a finger.
Thump!
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Just from the sound, it felt firm and ripe enough inside that even biting into it raw would be refreshing.
Unlike the cucumbers he used to get as rations in the North, this one had none of that faint earthy smell, which he liked.
Ẃе̃ b n о v еl Е̇ n̈ um а
"Smashed cucumber salad it is, then."
Thwack—! Thwack, thwack!
Jin Cheon lifted his broad knife and brought the flat side down on the cucumber.
The cucumber split from the inside and broke into pieces.
After cutting them into bite-sized chunks, he mixed in crushed garlic and sauce, tossing it all together with a squelching sound.
The juice that naturally seeped out of the cucumber left it slightly moist.
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"Perfect."
Jin Cheon nodded after tasting a piece.
Since it was meant to go with the plain, unseasoned dumplings, he made the cucumber salad a bit stronger in seasoning.
Once the dumplings had steamed to a soft, tender texture, he took them out of the steamer and carried them out along with the cucumber salad.
"Give it to me!"
Eyeballs reacted first.
W̊е b̊ ṅŏ v е̂ l̇ Ẽnům̄а̂
She rushed over and took the bowl Jin Cheon was carrying.
She set the bowl in the middle of the table, then prepared chopsticks and small plates and set them in front of each person.
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She had the makings of a proper server.
"Looks decent, at least."
Gu Yeong's eyes widened a little at the food, which looked surprisingly presentable.
He'd genuinely wondered whether Jin Cheon really had any cooking skill, but seeing what came out, it clearly showed the hand of someone who cooked properly.
Еnú m à. і̇d
Jin Cheon's cucumber salad looked even neater than the side dishes at the Great Prosperity Restaurant he'd been to once or twice long ago.
Swish—!
Gu Yeong picked up his chopsticks first.
Heuk Do-chi and Eyeballs, being the first guests in a sense, waited for Gu Yeong to eat first.
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"…It feels like a lot, but let me try it."
Gu Yeong scooped a small portion of the cucumber salad onto his plate.
Ёnûm̆ а́
He examined it this way and that under the lit lamp, then brought it close to his nose and sniffed it.
Jin Cheon burst out laughing at his careful manner, as if handling medicine.
"There's no poison in it."
Gu Yeong asked back, a little embarrassed.
"…Did it look that way?"
"Yes."
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"No matter how I think about it, the idea of you cooking still feels strange to me."
Jin Cheon shrugged.
Rather than saying anything more back and forth, it would settle the matter faster just to try it once.
Jin Cheon began tearing open a dumpling with both hands.
And Gu Yeong—
Crunch—!
Е̊ n̆ u m̌ а_._і̂d
The moment he bit into the cucumber salad, his eyes went wide.
"Oh!"
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Delicious.
The fresh cucumber broke apart, its uneven texture giving an odd, satisfying bite.
On top of that, with every chew, the distinct sweetness of the garlic and the deep aroma of the sauce seeped through, making his mouth water on its own.
Though it was a bit salty, which was the one drawback...
Е̃ nümǎ
"Eat it together."
Swish—!
Jin Cheon held out the dumpling he'd just torn open.
White steam rose from the torn seam.
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"That should balance it out."
"Ah, right, it's a side dish after all."
Е́ñù mа
Gu Yeong took the dumpling from Jin Cheon, opened it up, put the cucumber salad inside, and popped the whole thing into his mouth.
Crunch!
Gu Yeong's eyes went wide again.
It was just food, after all, and really nothing more than well-seasoned cucumber.
And yet what his body felt was summer.
Past the increasingly humid, sticky spring, into a summer morning with bright, refreshing sunlight.
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And a glass of cold water to drink, along with a quiet anticipation for how the day would turn out.
"You really do have a hand for cooking!"
In all his life, this was the first time he'd had cucumber salad this good.
Gu Yeong's voice rose a pitch on its own.
"Goodness, have you been cheated by everyone your whole life."
"There was never any reason to trust you."
Е num а̊
"…Ahem, stop staring like that and eat, you two."
With nothing much to say, Jin Cheon cleared his throat and turned the conversation to the other two.
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As if he'd been waiting for the cue, Heuk Do-chi immediately bit into the cucumber salad.
Crunch!
Naturally, vegetables tend to have their own raw, grassy smell.
But Jin Cheon's cucumber salad had the sauce's aroma woven in so perfectly that it masked that grassy smell.
W̆ ѐ b̌ ñ о v̀_е l̂ Е̃.n̈ um a
On top of that, the bits of garlic he occasionally bit into gave a faint sweetness.
"……!"
Heuk Do-chi lifted his head and looked at Gu Yeong.
Nod—
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The two of them nodded at the same time.
The taste of summer.
Е ṅǔm̂ а̌.і́ d
And a sweetness that seemed to crumble apart like sunlight.
Heuk Do-chi's eyes widened as he spoke to Jin Cheon.
"This is the best cucumber salad I've ever had!"
Poke—
After that, Eyeballs reluctantly picked up her chopsticks too, following the other two's reaction.
She didn't much care for cucumber, so there was no helping her reluctance.
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Still, since this was the first meal from Jin Cheon, whom she'd now be serving, she braced herself.
As if eating something she couldn't stand, she closed her eyes and popped the whole thing into her mouth.
Crunch!
"Wait, ooooh!?"
Her eyes went round.
She raised a finger, pointing back and forth between the cucumber salad and Jin Cheon.
Е̂ ňǔṁ ӑ
The sharp smell she associated with cucumber had turned soft and mellow, and she loved it.
Eyeballs hurriedly tore open a dumpling and put it in her mouth.
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The lingering flavor with the bland dumpling was perfect.
Though not quite as strong a reaction as the other two, there was still an odd sense of refreshment that ran up from her tailbone to her spine.
"This is exactly why I'm opening an inn."
Jin Cheon spoke to the three of them as they ate hungrily.
Е̄ n̆ ü m а . i̇d̂
But no one in particular was listening.
Poke, poke, poke—
Eyeballs was busy happily stabbing away with her chopsticks, and Heuk Do-chi and Gu Yeong, as if they'd never been awkward with each other at all, were busy tearing dumplings for one another and sharing the cucumber salad.
"But how is it that the sweetness keeps rising the more you chew?"
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Gu Yeong's question, once his stomach was fairly full, and Jin Cheon's answer.
"Nothing special, really—the ingredients were pretty fresh. And the garlic was quite good too."
E n ũm̈ ӓ
But it was Eyeballs who was flustered by that.
Chewing away at a mouthful of cucumber, she slowly turned her head as if she'd misheard.
"…Garlic?"
She apparently had no idea at all that there was garlic in her mouth.
"Garlic is sharp and spicy if you eat it raw, but the sweetness comes out the more you chew it."
"Ugh—the stuff that smells so awful?"
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"That's when it's raw. Once it's cooked, the sharp initial smell disappears completely and only the savory sweetness remains, which is really nice."
"So, so there's garlic in this too?"
"That sweet taste you're feeling is probably the garlic."
"—This is garlic?"
Eyeballs swallowed what she'd been chewing, then looked at the liquid pooled at the bottom of the bowl.
She'd overlooked it at first, but looking properly now, there was clearly a lot of minced garlic in there.
È ṅ u m а̃ .і̊ d
The ingredients that had gone into it were simple enough, and yet it clung to the tongue so perfectly.
The three of them poked around at the cucumber salad, marveling at it.
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"Is it edible, at least?"
At Jin Cheon's question, all three nodded at the same time.
Of the three, the one who reacted the most was Eyeballs, who didn't even like cucumber, let alone garlic.
"Yes!! If it's food like this, I feel like I could eat it three meals a day, every day."
Ŵ ё ḃ ñ оv е̄ l̊. .Е̂ num a
"Good to hear."
Jin Cheon laughed lightly.
The recognition of his first guests, and now his fellow family, was fairly sweet.
Sweeter than garlic, even.
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"I'll bring my disciple along tomorrow too. I think she'd enjoy a meal from you as well."
Gu Yeong nodded readily and added.
Е̌n ú m̌ а . іd̈
Heuk Do-chi cautiously asked if he could make more.
Jin Cheon had thought about making a large batch to keep, but food like this tasted best freshly made.
He'd planned from the start to make some for Hwa-ryeong when she got back, too.
"Of course. She's family too."
Jin Cheon answered that he could make this anytime.
A feeling of quiet pleasure welled up in his chest, the same fluttering feeling he used to get preparing things carefully before heading out to the battlefield.
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Whoosh!
Then Jin Cheon looked toward the tower visible far off through the window.
"I might need to make even more."
"……?"
"Some fellows who used to be like colleagues of mine, it seems—looks like they've come looking for me."
"Is that so?"
W̆ ӗ b ň o v е̃ l Е̂ ňū m_а.
Everyone took it in stride.
Given how long he'd spent living outside the city walls, it was only natural he'd have colleagues of some sort.
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But not one of them could have dreamed that those men were from the Embroidered Guard.
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