The way he winked while saying it made me force out an awkward laugh. I mean, sure, he’s not my type—just some scruffy young punk—but I still felt oddly harassed.
Besides, all that talk about love must be because of Theorde, right?
Damn it. Gilbert definitely spread those rumors.
In the end, I just cursed internally and brushed it off with a laugh.
But then the swordsman shrugged and continued.
“I’m not joking, I’m serious. Strangely enough, whenever I eat gukbap here, my subjugation success rate goes up. It’s become my routine, like a good luck charm.”
“What?”
“It’s not just me either. There are plenty of adventurers who say their subjugation efficiency improved after eating gukbap here. Haven’t you heard?”
I just blinked at his words.
Well, I had heard it. But I thought they were just throwing out lip service to make the customers feel good. That was actually real?
“First time hearing this? Must really be the power of love, huh?”
I brushed off the bullshit for now and fell into thought. The spicy seasoning would release endorphins and relieve stress, and filling your stomach would naturally give you energy. I just thought it was that simple.
But when I really thought about it… the inn really was swarming with adventurer customers, and strangely enough, they all stopped by before going on subjugations.
Could there really be something in my gukbap? Does MSG work like a stimulant on people here?
Doubt and anxiety were mixing together when—
Jingle, jingle.
Thinking it was the bell hanging above the door, I turned my head, but no customer was coming in. No, listening more carefully, it wasn’t quite a bell sound… it had some weight to it.
The familiar resonance of round metal rolling and colliding on the floor.
Jingle, jingle.
Right, it was the sound of money rolling.
In that moment, my mind lit up.
This wasn’t just noise—it was practically a revelation. A revelation meant only for me, clearer than any oracle or divine voice.
Soon after, ding-a-ling— the inn door opened with the bell’s chime.
And walking through that door was our VIP. My cash cow.
Theorde.
He looked at me with a faint smile.
However, there was something that caught my eye more than his smile. A golden aura visible only to me.
“…!”
Ah, that’s not a human—that’s a giant money bag. A man walking in with a halo after I received a revelation!
Theorde, as always, sat in his usual seat and ordered gukbap. But today was different. I had just received a revelation from the god of money—no, the god of business. I couldn’t let this golden opportunity slip away.
Before serving the gukbap, I broke the inn’s unspoken rule of never initiating conversation with a male customer dining alone, and casually spoke to Theorde.
“By any chance, have you been feeling low on energy or strength when going out on subjugations lately?”
“…?”
“We have a new product launching tomorrow—a Love Spell Service—and today I’m offering a special free demonstration. Would you like to try it?”
Of course, I just made that up on the spot, enchanted by that revelation.
But when a human billboard is sitting right in front of you, how could I miss this opportunity?
This was practically like a celebrity endorsement. No, it was the perfect chance to make a VIP my model!
Theorde blinked for a moment, then slowly nodded.
Good, he’s hooked.
I grinned widely and made a hand heart with both hands.
Not stopping there, I wiggled my body, shook my hips, and fired off hearts.
“Slurp up a bowl of gukbap filled with happiness, ttukbaegi, do your best! With the power of love, kyaa!”
At the end, I shot toward the gukbap like firing a bullet with a hand heart—pew!
“…”
“…”
…The air inside the inn froze solid.
I know.
A scruffy guy in a grease-stained apron doing this kind of moe act is honestly disgusting. But the customers’ words about feeling energized kept popping into my head… so I just tried it. Like the smile service at fast food places or the order service at maid cafes.
But the inn fell into a deathly silence, so quiet you couldn’t even hear the clinking of dishes.
In that silence, I just rolled my eyes around.
…Is this not it?
My earlobes felt like they were burning up from embarrassment, but Theorde’s blue eyes trembled, and soon he picked up his spoon and took a bite of gukbap.
Slurp.
And soon, a surprised exclamation flowed from Theorde’s lips.
“…I really do feel energized.”
Hey, you’re not joking—seriously? You’re rescuing me right before I die of shame, right?
As I looked at him with tearful eyes, he calmly ate a few more spoonfuls and finished it in an instant.
Then he stood up abruptly and tried to push in his chair—
CRACK!
The chair lost its form and shattered.
“…”
“…”
Silence fell. All eyes turned to the broken chair and the golden money bag—no, Theorde—standing there looking bewildered.
Theorde also frowned slightly with a troubled expression and said,
“I can’t control my strength. I’ll compensate you.”
“N-n-n-no, no! It’s fine!”
I frantically waved my hands and shouted.
“We can just buy another chair! I’m more grateful that my spell gave you such reliable strength!”
At those words, the corner of Theorde’s mouth curved up just a little.
Just one line—an expensive smile.
And in that moment, I felt it. The gazes of the surrounding customers converging.
There was a more intense longing than for the broken chair, the gukbap, or even the gaze directed at Theorde.
Right. The gaze toward the Love Spell!
With Theorde’s single word and that one line of an expensive smile, the inside of the inn exploded like a powder keg.
“Innkeeper, me too! That thing! The Love Spell!”
“Do it for me too! Ttukbaegi, do your best—that one!”
“If you don’t do the service, I won’t eat the gukbap!”
As soon as Theorde left, customers immediately stood up from their seats, regulars clutching at my apron begging me to cast the spell, adventurers waving their spoons and chanting like it was a slogan.
In this pandemonium, the ‘Love Spell’ instantly became an official product on the menu.
“Yes, coming right up.”
I smiled brightly and fired off hand hearts.
Long live the human billboard. Long live Theorde.
Just for today, I wasn’t a gukbap shop owner—I was a maid cafe owner and a cult leader.
***
But happiness was fleeting.
For several days, thanks to the human billboard, the inn overflowed with customers. However, my face became haggard, my voice grew hoarse, and my arms and legs creaked like rusted metal.
“…I can’t go on like this.”
Whether MSG or secret seasoning got exposed or not, I needed to hire someone. Otherwise, I’d die first.
Even though it wasn’t a day off, I ended up closing the shop and going down to the village to post a part-time job notice. The shop owners nearby gave me fruit or treated me to a meal when they saw my pathetic state. Only after my stomach was pleasantly full did I finally return to the inn.
As I patted my stiff shoulders and caught my breath, the door opened with a ding.
Could it be Jeffrey? Today of all days, I want to avoid him… I lifted my tired eyes, and it was Lionel in his robe.
He’d been coming with Theorde often lately, but today he was alone. Somehow, his face looked more relaxed than before.
Before I could even stand up to greet him, he spoke first.
“I have something to say about your cooking.”
Did he notice something about the taste? I looked at him anxiously, and Lionel continued.
“At first, I was puzzled that the Knight Commander came here every day. But soon I noticed that adventurers going on subjugations all stopped by here without fail, so I thought—this isn’t a coincidence.”
The Crown Prince wasn’t a Crown Prince for nothing. I thought he’d come to pick a fight, but it was calm deduction and suspicion. I waited tensely for his words.
“If your cooking contains addictive drugs, that would be a serious matter, so I came to check for myself.”
“Wh-what?! Addiction?!”
Addiction? From his tone, isn’t this basically concluding I’m a gukbap drug manufacturer?!
In an instant, I was about to be dragged from being the Boundary Inn owner to a drug dealer. My heart sank and my voice shot up reflexively.
“Absolutely not! I’m not that kind of person!”
At my voice clearly showing my agitation, Lionel quietly looked at me for a moment.
“Right, it wasn’t a drug reaction.”
Th-thank goodness…? I frantically lowered the hands I’d been flailing in the air and rubbed my chest. I could feel my pounding heart right through my palm.
However, with his gaze still seeming to assess me, anxiety rose to my throat wondering if he still suspected me. Just then, Lionel spoke as if reaching a conclusion.
“You, did you use alchemy?”
“What? Alchemy?”
I tried to deny it immediately, but the words stuck.
Actually, isn’t MSG a kind of alchemy when you think about it? Since it’s a modern scientific seasoning.
As I froze, unable to affirm or deny, Lionel raised his head with an expression that said ‘I knew it.’ That youthful expression was the same as Lionel’s original appearance that I knew from the novel.
“I knew it. Your cooking combined with alchemy creates a kind of buff effect. That’s why the subjugators could demonstrate their strength on the battlefield. That’s why those who know the taste can’t help but come back.”
MSG had that kind of effect?
“As I thought, this was definitely made with alchemy.”
I still had a dubious expression, but Lionel sat down in a chair with a proud face, like a genius who’d solved a complex math problem.
“Gukbap. Can I get it now?”
