Chương 145: You Never Do This for Us

The next morning, Kichan went out to the market with Riphiel. Argaon stayed in the tent. Kichan tried to wake him, but he opened one eye and closed it again. Paul went to see the people who had overexerted themselves the day before. The market at the front was busy before the sun got high. It was a day the supply carts came in, so boxes and sacks were piled in every aisle. Kichan squeezed between people looking for the meat shop. Riphiel kept talking behind him.

"You never do this much for us, and yet..."

"What do you mean, I don't."

"You have never gone shopping and prepared a meal for us."

"I did it all the time in Seoul."

"Not since we came here."

"We've only been here a few days." Riphiel did not answer. A large cut of meat with the bone still in it hung at the first meat shop. Kichan pressed the flesh and the fat and smelled it. It was not the same as beef, but the grain was close.

"Can you cut this with the bone in?" The owner raised his knife to show him. Kichan marked a thickness with his fingers. The first piece came off too thick.

"A little thinner." The second piece was thick too. Kichan sighed and took the knife himself. He brought it down, but it left only a shallow mark on the bone. The owner laughed and took the knife back. Riphiel said from beside him.

"You never took that long picking out our food."

"We have guests coming."

"We eat it too."

"That's why I'm buying a lot." At that, Riphiel's mouth closed for a moment. Kichan asked for more of the cut meat. The pile of meat on the wooden board grew. The owner first prepared one basket, then brought a second. When a third basket came out, the customer behind them went to another shop.

"You're taking all of it?" The owner asked. Kichan looked back and forth between the piled meat and the empty basket. Then he thought of Argaon.

"More, please." The owner's knife stopped. Riphiel took one of the meat baskets in both hands.

"This might be a little short, or it might be just right..." They went around the market one more time. There was no fermented bean paste to be had. Kichan checked the doenjang and soy sauce left in his bag, and bought local beans, root vegetables, and lightly scented leaves. He picked out fruit and liquor for sweetness as well. A round vegetable layered like an onion had a stronger smell. Kichan cut one and tasted it, and his eyes watered. Riphiel laughed beside him.

"Why are you laughing." Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

"You're crying."

"It's because it's spicy."

"I know."

"Then why are you laughing." Riphiel did not answer and picked up the vegetable basket. On the way back, both of them had their hands full. Argaon was waiting in front of the tent. He saw the meat basket and stood up at once.

"What is all this?"

"Dinner for the guests."

"Do we eat too?"

"If you're not eating, I'll make you something else." Argaon took the heaviest basket.

"Who said I wasn't eating?" Kichan lit a fire in the cooking space behind the tent. He scored the meat and rubbed on a marinade mixed from liquor, fruit juice, soy sauce, and finely chopped vegetables. Riphiel watched from the side at first, then took charge of turning the meat. Argaon sat in front of the fire and watched the coals heat up.

"You can't eat yet."

"I know."

"Don't try to cook it with your eyes."

"What does that mean?"

"Stop staring at it." Kichan dissolved doenjang in a small pot. He sliced in the local beans and root vegetables and poured in water. When it started to boil, the familiar smell of doenjang mixed with the unfamiliar smell of the vegetables. Paul came back after the stew had boiled up once. His sleeve was rolled up, and bandage powder clung to his forearm.

"Is there anything to help with?"

"Wash your hands first, then set the table." Paul put his rosary in an inner pocket and carried the bowls. As the sun went down, the ribs went on the fire. The marinade dripped onto the coals. Flame rose up and a sweet, salty smell spread between the tents. Passing soldiers slowed their steps. While turning the meat, Riphiel cut off a piece whose edge was done. Kichan slapped the back of her hand.

"The guests are coming."

"I have to check whether it's cooked."

"I'll check."

"You never do this much for us."

"How many times is that now."

"I haven't said it enough yet." At the promised evening hour, footsteps came. The supply captain came with two bottles of liquor. Beside him stood a demonkin who had taken off the silver armor and worn dark gray clothes. The guard captain was tall with square shoulders. Even without the armor, angles remained in his build. Two horns lay back beside his short-cropped hair. Unlike the supply captain, he carried only one small knife at his waist.

"Thank you for the invitation." He greeted Kichan and bowed his head to Riphiel, Argaon, and Paul in turn. The supply captain raised a bottle to show them.

"We brought the one I've been saving."

"Sit down first." The ribs piled up on a large plate. Marinade pooled glossy between the meat still on the bone. Kichan set the small pot of doenjang stew in the middle of the table. Steam rose and the smell of beans and meat spread. The guard captain waited with both hands on his knees. When Kichan picked up meat and put it on his own plate, he picked up a piece too. He took the bone and bit the meat off. His jaw stopped chewing and his eyes widened a little. The supply captain was already taking his second piece.

"Didn't I tell you?" He slapped his friend's arm. The guard captain swallowed and took a spoonful of the doenjang stew. Hot steam touched his face.

"And what is this?"

"Doenjang stew."

"What is it made from?"

"Beans." The guard captain looked at the beans and root vegetables in the pot. The second spoonful was bigger than the first. Riphiel waited for the guests to eat, then filled her own plate. She had grumbled the whole time they were shopping, but her speed in stripping ribs was second to none. Argaon had said nothing from the start. Bones piled up quickly in front of him. He gathered the bones he had stripped clean into a neat stack on one side.

Paul was about to cut a rib with his knife, saw the supply captain eating with his hands, and put the knife down. He took the bone in both hands and bit into it.

"Father, doesn't it taste better eaten like that?"

"It gets all over my hands."

"You can wash that off later." Paul bit into the second mouthful more deeply. The plates on the table emptied fast. Kichan went between the cooking space and the table setting down fresh meat. At first the guard captain took only from the plate nearest him. When that plate emptied, he reached for the plate in front of the supply captain. The supply captain grabbed the same piece. Both hands stopped on the same bone.

"Give it to the guest."

"I'm a guest too."

"You're the one who brought him."

"I brought the liquor too." The guard captain did not let go of the bone. The supply captain did not either. Argaon took the last rib between them first. The two demonkin were left holding only an empty plate. Riphiel pulled the pot toward herself.

"There's stew left." At that, everyone's hands went to the pot. Only after a good round of eating did the pace slow. Only marinade and bones were left on the rib plate. A few beans clung to the bottom of the doenjang stew pot. Paul wiped the marinade off his fingers with a cloth. The supply captain opened a bottle but could not drink as fast as before. The guard captain looked down at his empty bowl. He wiped the corner of his mouth and straightened up again. His gaze came back to Kichan.

"I'm ashamed that we went straight to eating the moment the greetings were done."

"I invited you to eat."

"Still, I heard you had business with me." The guard captain set both hands on his knees.

"What can I help you with?"