Surviving on the Northern Front with Gukbap

Chapter 9 - Word-of-Mouth (3)

Suddenly, the crowd began to stir again.

At that, I closed the system window and looked at the dueling stage.

'My god.'

The once-even tide of the battle had already turned.

'He's overwhelming him?'

Kale, seemingly flustered by Ralph's sudden surge of spirit, was busy just parrying his sword strikes.

'A 9% difference was this huge?’

Clang, clang! CLAAANG!!

“G-Ghk!”

Kale, cornered, spat a curse and powerfully parried, and Ralph leisurely took a few steps back.

Kale, watching that Ralph with a vein popping on his forehead, muttered.

“This bastard…… I'll really kill you.”

At the same time, the air around Kale's sword began to shimmer.

It seemed he was condensing mana, aiming for a big single blow.

At this, the crowd's cheers and boos grew endlessly louder, and Jeros curled the corner of his lip and muttered.

“Heh heh. He's won.”

KRRRANG!

The opaquely shimmering sword that Ralph swung.

It made a heavy sound as it met Kale's sword, and,

CRACK.

Fragments of the broken sword blade scattered and fell to the floor.

Along with Kale's thumb.

Thump.

“Aaargh! My hand! My haaaand!!”

Kale immediately collapsed to his knees, clutching his hand, but he couldn't stop the blood that was pouring out.

But Ralph didn't stop.

With an unchanging expression, he took another step towards Kale, in a stance for a follow-up attack.

At this, Kale, with a face full of terror, quickly opened his mouth,

“I forfe–”

THWACK!

Ralph's pommel, faster than his mouth, struck Kale's temple, and the orange head's eyes rolled back to show only the whites as his body slowly tilted.

Thump.

As soon as Kale lost consciousness and collapsed,

“Gasp. Gasp.”

The light in Ralph's eyes weakened and his breathing became rough.

'The buff just ended.'

Goosebumps rose on my forearms.

It was a good thing he ate right before getting on stage; I thought he was overdoing it, but to think it would be a godly move.

“My money!”

“That bastard Kale!”

While those who had bet on Kale were pouring out curses and most of the crowd couldn't believe what they had just seen.

“Hey, emcee. You should get on with it.”

Jeros's voice rang out strangely across the square.

It was probably a feat made possible by imbuing his voice with mana.

“A-Ah. Y-Yes, I should.”

Only then did the emcee come to his senses and shout at the top of his lungs.

“The winnerrrr is!! Leader of Guard Squad 1, Ralphhhhh!!”

Only then did Ralph lift his large chin high and perform a victory ceremony.

But the crowd was still in a state of bewilderment.

“What just happened? Did Ralph really win?”

“No, before that, how did he raise his Hierarchy?”

“Ralph's over forty. Does that make sense?”

The people's reaction, as if they couldn't believe the underdog's rebellion.

The atmosphere was becoming strange due to the shouts of the gamblers who had bet on Kale, but,

'Rather, this is an opportunity.'

Since people can't accept Ralph's victory,

It's the perfect timing to provide the reason why Ralph was able to win.

'The time for sales promotion has come!'

I shouted at the top of my lungs.

“Are you curious as to how the leader of Guard Squad 1, Ralph, won?!”

I tried to imitate Jeros's mana-infused vocalization, but the taste of blood rose in my throat.

It's not easy, as expected.

“What's with that black-haired guy?”

“He's the outsider slave.”

Still, I succeeded in drawing people's attention, and this time I shouted with less force.

“Good day, ladies and gentlemen. I have something to show you! The very bread that Ralph ate right before his duel!”

As I spat out the words, my body was busy.

I unfolded my bundle, displayed the breads, and made an impromptu stall,

And then I took out a Fondue Bread, held it high, and said.

“The miracle bread that raises one's Hierarchy even at a late age! It is this very Fon.Due.Bread! We offer this Fondue Bread for the low price of 5 copper coins!”

Most of the crowd at the demonstration were soldiers.

They showed interest in my statement that they could become stronger, but at the same time, they stirred with doubt.

“……? Rock bread?”

“Is that the same rock bread Ralph ate earlier?”

Hmm. It seems they couldn't gauge whether it was the truth or just a snake oil salesman's pitch.

I spoke quietly to Jeros, who was snickering beside me.

“Jeros. Help me.”

“Eh? Why should I? You're doing fine. Heh heh.”

Seriously, am I doing this just for my own sake?

I'm doing this so we can all eat and live well together, but he's being so cold-hearted.

Just as the people were hesitating on whether to buy the bread,

“Hello there, outsider. Could you give me one of those breads?”

A resonance like Jeros's vocalization, but unlike Jeros, a voice overflowing with dignity rang out across the square.

Immediately, the crowd filling the square parted like the miracle of Moses, and the owner of the voice revealed himself.

A bald head and a neat mustache, a man in light armor was walking towards me.

However,

The quality of his equipment looked extraordinary.

'What is this? He seems like a high-ranking person.'

I kept my eyes fixed on the bald man and whispered.

“Jeros. Who is that person?”

But no answer came back.

At that, I turned my head in Jeros's direction.

'……Son of a bitch.'

Jeros had vanished without a trace, and before I knew it, in front of me was the middle-aged bald man, and a blond man who seemed to be his subordinate.

……

Well-maintained leather armor, a middle-aged bald man with an even more well-groomed mustache.

Behind him, a blond young man wearing heavy iron armor.

The crowd, making way for the two of them.

'Hmm. Did I show off too much?'

I thought it was the perfect timing for promotion, but it seems I've drawn the aggro of someone important.

“Outsider.”

The blond man said, exuding a subtle killing intent towards me.

“Show some respect.”

Seeing that, the bald man is definitely a high-ranking person.

But the problem is,

'What kind of respect am I supposed to show, and how.'

Since this is a frontier town, should I salute like a soldier?

But I didn't know the first thing about military salutes.

Because when I played the game 'Belkazium', I skipped all the dialogue and event scenes.

'And I'm not a soldier either.'

After a brief moment of thought, I decided to lean into my identity.

Raising the corners of my mouth and slightly lowering the corners of my eyes,

“Welcome, customer! Here is the Fondue Bread!”

I politely offered the Fondue Bread with both hands.

“Please enjoy!”

I am a merchant, not a soldier.

This was the best and most respectful gesture I could show,

“……”

But I could feel the surrounding air freeze coldly.

'Was that the wrong choice?'

Soon, the blond man stepped forward and said.

“I will kill him.”

In the modern world, words like that would mean something like 'I'll beat him up' or 'I'll beat him half to death',

But in this world, I broke out in a cold sweat, thinking it probably meant exactly what it said.

“That's enough, Lantz. Didn't I tell you to fix that habit of trying to kill people at the drop of a hat? Ho ho.”

“But, Battalion Commander. That impudent outsider bastard didn't even salute, sir.”

“Ho ho. I said it's enough. He's an outsider, so he might not know any better. Isn't that right?”

“……If you say so, Battalion Commander.”

Before long, the blond bastard took his hand off his sword hilt and stepped back.

But his eyes were still glaring at me as if to kill me.

'That wasn't a joke, I was really about to die.'

I realized it once again.

That in this world, the life of an outsider is endlessly cheap.

“Right, outsider. Did you say that eating this bread is effective for raising one's Hierarchy?”

The bald Battalion Commander asked as he took the bread from my hand.

'Damn it. What am I supposed to say here?'

While regretting the exaggerated advertisement I had made earlier, I rapidly racked my brain.

'I can't just stand here with my mouth shut.’

If I'm not careful, it's the perfect situation to be branded a fraud, isn't it?

At that, I decided to confess the truth.

“To be honest with you, your Hierarchy doesn't rise all at once. However, your concentration and vigor improve, which helps with training, and through that, you can raise your Hierarchy.”

“Hmm. Is that so.”

At my answer, the bald man's expression became slightly disappointed, and the blond bastard's killing intent became blatant.

'Damn it.'

The moment I felt my life's peril with my entire body, a person appeared, breaking through the crowd.

To think I'd be this happy to see that large jaw.

The blond bastard, seeing him, said.

“Squad Leader Ralph?”

Ralph brought the thumb-side of his right fist to his left chest and said.

“I swear on iron.”

At that, the bald man assumed the same posture and replied.

“May loyalty and righteousness shine upon you.”

Ah, I remember now.

That must have been the salute and slogan of the north.

'Why was I so obsessed with only character specs and builds?'

It would have been easier if I had been well-versed in the lore and minor details like that.

“Battalion Commander. May I say a word?”

“Speak.”

Upon the bald man's approval, Ralph answered with his fist clenched.

“That outsi…… no, Ian's words are the truth. I repeated my training while eating Ian's bread, and at the late age of forty-five, I was able to rise to Hierarchy 3.”

Ralph said, and glanced over at me.

His slightly intense gaze made me flinch without realizing.

I was just a merchant who sold food for money.

“Huuuum. Really? Is that so.”

The bald man looked at the Fondue Bread again with a look of renewed interest, and handed the Fondue Bread in his hand to the blond bastard.

“You eat it first, Lantz.”

“I eat first, sir?”

“What if, by some chance, there's poison in it?”

“Hmm. That would certainly be a problem.”

The blond bastard nodded, took the Fondue Bread, and opened his mouth wide.

As soon as he took a bite,

Crisp.

His blue eyes went wide, showing the whites all around.

To the point where I wondered if his eyeballs were going to fall out.

“N-No. Huh? Hu-huh?!”

The blond bastard, at a loss for words, looked back and forth between the Fondue Bread in his hand and me.

CRUNCH.

And took another, bigger bite.

The bald man, watching this display,

“It seems to be tasty. Then I suppose it's safe to eat.”

Said, showing me the palm of his hand.

As I took a Fondue Bread from the bundle and handed it to him, he broke the bread in half and took a bite.

Crisp.

The bald man's brow furrowed deeply.

It was the 'forehead of truth' I had often seen on YouTube mukbangs.

“……UHAHA! HAHAHAHA!”

The bald man burst into a hearty laugh, and took another big bite.

CRUUNCH!