A sensation as if my soul was being sucked away somewhere, followed by a slight dizziness, washed over us.
“Your Highness.”
I tightened my grip on Kyle’s hand and called out to him.
“……Are you there?”
“Yeah.”
His voice echoed directly in my head, soft and gentle.
“I think we’re about to arrive at the territory…….”
“It’ll be fine. The reconnaissance team usually doesn’t spend more than three days on a search. They must’ve been alarmed when we vanished without a word, but they’ll soon return to the territory to request reinforcements. We can explain then.”
Surprisingly systematic. I was relieved to hear that.
“Alright. Well, that’s a problem we can deal with once we get there!”
Before long, the pitch-black darkness before my eyes gradually brightened. The floating sensation faded, replaced by the solid ground beneath my feet. My vision cleared, and then—
“Huh?”
What greeted us upon our return, bathed in radiant light, was the sight of the Blake Order of Knights, all shirtless, carrying bricks the size of small children.
“What the hell is this all of a sudden……?”
I blinked, dumbfounded, and slowly raised my index finger before pointing it at James, who stood nearby, his mouth gaping just like mine.
“Why… why are you all shirtless?”
James stared at us blankly before responding.
“More importantly, Sir Shu and Your Highness…… why are you dressed like that? Weren’t you supposed to be investigating the Mage Tower?”
“What?”
Only then did I glance down at my own outfit. I’d been in that other world for quite a while, so it hadn’t even crossed my mind, but now that I looked at it, my attire was definitely out of place here.
“Oh. This is, well… have you ever heard of a long padded coat? No, wait—never mind that! Isn’t it way weirder that you guys aren’t wearing anything at all?”
“We’ve been carrying heavy stones to rebuild the western wall. But, uh, it got too hot…… and besides, today’s a bit warm, so…….”
James’s voice trailed off, cutting off completely.
Whoosh.
A desolate winter breeze swept between us.
He had just said it was warm, yet as the wind hit him, he shivered like a fish hauled onto dry land.
An awkward silence settled between us.
At that moment, one of the knights standing behind James quietly nudged him in the back and handed him his clothes.
James hastily bundled himself into his clothes, clearing his throat a bit theatrically before speaking in his usual calm tone.
“That aside, what exactly happened? Why are the two of you back first—and so early at that?”
Kyle shrugged as he answered. He seemed intent on giving a vague explanation rather than the full truth, likely to avoid shocking James too much.
“There was an issue, and we ended up being transported to another Mage Tower. Because of the contamination, we had to change into whatever clothes were available there. There was a one-time teleportation magic circle, so we used it to return right away, but… we didn’t get the chance to inform the reconnaissance team.”
“Ah. The knights must’ve been startled. I’ll select a few of them and send them north to relay the message.”
“Do that.”
James furrowed his brows slightly, as if finding the situation troublesome, but he didn’t seem particularly shocked. It appeared this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened, with party members being unexpectedly separated due to unforeseen complications.
“Let’s head inside. If anything urgent comes up, report to the study.”
“Understood, Your Highness!”
As James moved, the other knights followed suit, springing into action.
Kyle and I exchanged glances before breaking into laughter at the same time.
“Now it really feels like we’re home.”
“It was fun.”
“I feel the same.”
Even as I said it, the words felt strange on my tongue. I never thought there’d come a day when I’d say I actually enjoyed returning to the world I once lived in.
Looking up at Kyle, who gazed at the knights with warmth in his eyes, I smiled softly.
Happiness isn’t something far away, after all.
As long as I was with Kyle, I could be happy anywhere—even if we ended up in another world again. Because he would make sure of it, just as I would for him.
“Shall we head to the study, Your Highness? There’s a pile of unfinished work waiting for us.”
“Talking about work the moment we get back?”
“But you don’t mind, do you?”
The way he said it, so certain, made me laugh brightly.
It was a late return, but the afternoon sun shining down on the North was warmer and softer than ever.
***
And then, a few days later—
I found myself facing an unexpected problem.
“Uh…….”
Tilting my head, I stared at that—the object one of the knights held out to me.
“So, you’re saying… this is what?”
“A chicken.”
“A chicken?”
The reason I had referred to that as simply “it” was straightforward—it looked nothing like the chickens I was familiar with.
A massive body so large it had to be held with both arms, a beak so sharp it looked like it could draw blood with a single prick, a comb that stood proudly like a warrior’s crest, and something on its body that might have been feathers or fur—I couldn’t even tell.
If they insisted it was a chicken, I supposed I could accept that. It didn’t seem capable of flight, and it did walk on two legs.
“This is a chicken.”
“Yes. More precisely, it’s a Northern Chicken. So, a chicken.”
“If you say it’s a chicken just because it’s a Northern Chicken… that’s like saying a crime is still legal just because it follows a law, or poison is still medicine just because it’s called a remedy.”
Well, in any case, despite how tough it looked, it could still be used as an ingredient. I studied the Northern Chicken—or rather, the beast in the shape of a chicken—with a conflicted expression.
“One of these could easily feed ten people. Alright, hand it over. How many did you catch? Five?”
I took the beast from the knight’s hands and turned around, only to hear another knight call out from behind me.
“We caught about twenty.”
“……What?”
If this were the old Blake Order of Knights, even ten would have been overwhelming. Magical beasts were inherently much stronger and more dangerous than humans, even if they were small—they were still destructive enough to be a serious threat.
Guess it was just the Northern Field Rats that were unimpressive and strange.
Regardless, excluding the knights working on the fortifications, a handful of them had gone out and hunted twenty of these things.
This was… good news. Definitely good news.
But also—
“When did you all get this strong…?”
I muttered absentmindedly, and the knight chuckled sheepishly.
“Everyone has been giving their best to protect the North, Beast Scholar. And didn’t you say you’d prepare a New Year’s feast to celebrate the changing of the year?”
Step. Step-step. Step-step-step.
I heard the approaching footsteps of several people.
About a dozen knights, each holding one of these chickens, were making their way toward me.
“We went all out!”
I pressed my fingers against my temples.
I didn’t need this many!
Well, with this much, we could make an absurd amount of chicken broth and still have plenty left over. With a sigh of resignation, I rolled up my sleeves.
“We can share some with the people of the territory. Alright then, let’s do this. Everyone, follow me to the kitchen!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Hey! Get the fire going under the cauldron! Hand Sir Shu a kitchen knife! Now that we have this much, we’re helping too!”
“Understood, Sir James!”
As I looked at the knights, their eyes burning with enthusiasm, I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Call some of the kitchen staff over, too! And take off those cumbersome suits of armor—just toss them over there!”
The dish I had planned to make was none other than tteokguk—rice cake soup made with chicken broth.
After an unexpected turn of events had me spending Christmas in Korea, I returned here, and before I knew it, the end of the year had arrived.
New Year’s isn’t complete without tteokguk!
Determined to spread the joy of hot, steaming tteokguk in the North, I had procured rice flour through the Castanets Merchant Guild and made garaetteok (long, cylindrical rice cakes). Then, I asked the knights to catch some chickens.
Thanks to their excessive enthusiasm, my initial plan of making ten servings had somehow ballooned into a hundred……
But I once worked a part-time job at a famous restaurant near Hongdae on a Saturday night!
There was no way I’d back down from this. Fine! Let’s go all out and feast on tteokguk together!
“Bring the rice cakes!”
“Here they are!”
“Whoa, wait, stop! That’s not how you cut them! Slice them diagonally like this! Not into chunks!”
“The-the beast is still alive, Sir James!”
“Are you planning to boil it alive!? Get over there and handle it first!”
The kitchen was absolute chaos.
At one point, miscut vegetables went flying, and at another, one of the supposedly dead giant chickens suddenly started thrashing around. But since the knights had assisted me with cooking a few times before, they somehow managed to keep up.
Gradually, the New Year’s tteokguk began to take shape.
All ten cauldrons of it.
“……I can’t believe we actually did it.”
It was practically the scale of a military mess hall.
I stared into the bubbling iron cauldrons while the knights groaned, rolling their shoulders and cracking their necks.
“Wow… we really pulled this off.”
“The sun’s almost set…….”
“We started at lunchtime…….”
Groans of exhaustion filled the kitchen from both the knights and the cooks. Every single one of them had collapsed onto the floor, staring blankly at the ceiling. Of course, I wasn’t any different.
“I… I can’t do this a second time.”
“You worked hard….”
“At least we’ll get to eat this for dinner!”
Despite the exhaustion, their voices carried a sense of accomplishment. And I felt the same way. My limbs were too heavy to lift, but I couldn’t stop laughing.
“Alright, now let’s go hand it out—huh?”
Suddenly, a shadow fell over me. Instead of the ceiling, a familiar face filled my vision.
Though backlit by the light, there was no mistaking who it was.
Kyle clicked his tongue as he looked down at me.
“I was wondering what you were up to. You’re still cooking? More importantly… what is this ridiculous amount……?”
“Let’s just say it’s my heartfelt wish to give Your Highness an unforgettable New Year’s gift. And, well, it’s nice to share a meal together.”
I grinned playfully, and Kyle, after a brief pause, smiled just as brightly in return.
“If I’m with you, every day is unforgettable.”
He extended his hand to me, his voice gentle as he added,
“Get up, my love.”
I can’t let then go yet😭😭😭 i can’t believe i finish this up in jst few daysㅠㅠ