After the first spoonful entered their mouths, the five knights remained silent.

Instead, they wordlessly began devouring the stew.

“Another bowl here!”

“What other dishes do you have?”

“Just bring out everything on the menu!”

Their mouths only opened again after they had cleared their bowls.

‘There’s no trace of curses, opiates, or witchcraft!’

‘Delicious. It’s so delicious!’

‘This must be what it means when people say something melts in your mouth!’

‘What is this flavor and aroma? How can meat be this tender?’

‘Is it really possible to create such a flavor with mere weeds?’

‘This is a disaster...! I don’t think I’ll ever be able to eat anything else again!’

The knights were halfway to losing their sanity over the heavenly taste, something they had never experienced in their lives.

“......!”

And among them, one person was particularly moved.

‘This is far better than the food I had on my birthday.’

Arina Rune Renslet, the Lady of Renslet and the Grand Duchess of the North, stared blankly at the empty bowl of stew she had polished off in no time.

‘Such an extraordinary dish, born in the North!’

Though it was just a single bowl of stew, it was like a rare flower blooming in a wasteland, bringing unexpected relief to her desolate North and her own weary spirit.

‘What should I do?’

At the same time, a sense of greed took hold.

Leaving such a talented cook confined to a single inn felt like an unbearable waste.

‘The cooking skill is impressive, but the real key is that Arad’s Salt. That secret seasoning.’

During the brief moment before the next dish was served, Arina’s mind was in turmoil.

The simplest and most common approach would be to intimidate the cook, Arad, whose face she hadn’t yet seen, into revealing the recipe.

It was a method frequently employed by nobles across the continent to exploit talented commoners.

Another option was to essentially kidnap him and bring him to Renslet Castle, monopolizing his cooking for herself.

‘No, neither of those options will do.’

But Arina shook her head.

Such methods had no place in the vocabulary of someone who valued honor.

‘The North has received a great blessing from Arad’s Salt. Or rather, it’s about to receive one. And... if we are given a blessing, it must be repaid. That is the principle of the North!’

Before she was the Grand Duchess of Renslet, Arina was a proud daughter of the North.

++++

 

“Both the quality and quantity are acceptable.”

“Haha… thank you. So…?”

“Here. I’ve added three more coppers. I especially like the winter apples. Please bring me more next time.”

They say human adaptability begins with language.

Although it hadn’t been long since I found myself in this otherworld, an old-fashioned manner of speaking, like something out of a historical drama, now flowed naturally from my lips.

“Th-thank you! May our ancestors bless you!”

“Next.”

“Mr. Arad! I’ve brought something too! How is it?”

“Hmm… This snow mountain herb won’t do. The larger ones are poisonous and unsuitable for consumption.”

“Ack…”

“But you managed to find white snow blossoms? Impressive. Here’s the promised five coppers.”

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

Behind Jack’s Inn, I was busy receiving, inspecting, and paying for ingredients from adventurers and city children I had hired.

“Arad! Arad!”

Just as I finished calculating payments, I heard Tom’s voice from behind me.

“Tom? Are we out of stew already?”

The only time Tom would come running like this was when the large pot of stew ran out, so I asked with a puzzled look.

“No, that’s not it. There’s another food order.”

“Another order?”

Jack’s Inn’s main dish was the Arad Stew, priced at two coppers and enhanced with Arad’s Salt.

Other dishes were rarely ordered.

The reason? Price.

While the other dishes were undoubtedly delicious, they were also expensive—very expensive.

It was a deliberate pricing strategy, designed to make people think, “Are you really willing to pay this much?”

The menu was simplified and structured for high volume and low margins.

“Is it another visit from some wealthy patron?”

I tilted my head at Tom’s words.

I had already handled lunch orders from affluent merchants, imperial adventurers, high-ranking mercenaries, and even the mayor who was dining inside.

That’s why I was out here inspecting ingredients.

“No, it’s some very important knights from the High Castle. Even the mayor inside seems completely paralyzed by their presence.”

“Knights? From the castle?”

Hearing Tom’s words, I immediately headed back into the inn.

The first floor of the inn was filled with palpable tension as I entered.

‘Are those the elite knights of Renslet?’

At the center of the atmosphere were five knights occupying a single table.

At first glance, they could be mistaken for famous mercenaries, but a closer look revealed a distinct air of authority and bearing that set them apart.

Their armor was adorned with elegant robes and capes, giving them a unified and majestic appearance befitting a knightly order.

Moreover, their disciplined actions exuded an intangible aura of dignity, evoking respect, admiration, and even a sense of submission from those around them.

‘For the mayor and officials of Haven to be so stiff… they must be high-ranking knights.’

Knights of the North, particularly those from Renslet’s formal order, wielded immense authority.

In fact, high-ranking knights of Renslet were essentially a walking judiciary and executive branch.

In terms of Earth, they combined the powers of police, prosecutors, judges, and the military.

They even had a license to kill, allowing them to execute nobles below the rank of baron on the spot if justified.

“You must be Arad?”

As I stepped out from the kitchen, all the knights’ gazes turned to me.

“Yes, I am Arad.”

Drawing on one of the max-level skills this body possessed, Etiquette, I greeted them politely.

“Ho…”

“Do you have a family name?”

The knights’ eyes gleamed with interest as they posed the question.

“I go by Jin.”

Recalling my name from Earth, I answered.

“Jin? That’s an unfamiliar surname.”

“Yes. My great-grandfather hailed from the distant Eastern Continent.”

“Were they nobles?”

“They’ve long since fallen, so I’m no noble now.”

“Then, is Arad’s Salt something brought from the Eastern Continent?”

“It’s a secret recipe passed down through my family that I’ve recently adapted to suit the North.”

“Impressive!”

I carried on a composed conversation with the knights, crafting a plausible backstory for this body’s history.

“In any case, the stew was absolutely phenomenal.”

“It’s a taste that will linger for a long time.”

“We’d like to try more dishes. Is that possible?”

“Of course.”

At their courteous request, I bowed my head again, adhering to etiquette, and began preparing food with swift, practiced movements.

“Those hands… they’re no ordinary hands.”

“If he had wielded a sword, he could’ve reached great heights.”

“To think someone with such dexterous hands chose to cook—should we call it a waste or a blessing?”

Having eaten two bowls of stew each to quell their immediate hunger, the knights now watched my cooking process with warm and generous expressions.

‘Who is this female knight?’

As I cooked under their gazes, I found myself glancing repeatedly at one particular knight. The knight, whom I presumed to be female, strangely drew my attention.

‘It’s not like female knights don’t exist in this world, but still, the circumstances are unusual.’

This was a world with mana.

As such, women weren’t uncommon in fields like knighthood, magic, or priesthood, which were tied to the domain of mana.

However, that didn’t mean female knights were numerous. The profession of a knight was inherently rough, and compared to magic or divine powers, the number of women in the field was quite low.

A female knight from the High Castle, and seemingly the highest-ranking member of her party… Have there been any renowned female knights of such stature in the North?

What stood out the most was how the other knights were subtly mindful of her presence.

On top of that, while the other knights naturally removed their hoods while eating, this particular knight kept her face concealed beneath her hood the entire time.

‘Could this female knight possibly be Arina Rune Renslet, the Grand Duchess of the North?’

A sudden suspicion crossed my mind.

‘No way. Why would someone as high-ranking as the Grand Duchess come all the way here, near the Abyss, with just a small entourage?’

At first, I dismissed the thought.

‘Wait. Didn’t the North’s downfall to the Empire begin with…?’

Then, recalling a detail from Era of Silver 1, I froze for a moment.

‘The sudden disappearance of Grand Duchess Arina and her elite knights… Wasn’t it around this time?’

I couldn’t help but consider the possibility, especially when factoring in this body’s Luck stat, my status as a reincarnator, and the twists of history.

“……”

My gaze naturally shifted to the female knight.

At that moment, she, too, was staring at me from beneath her hood.

++++

 

The five knights from the High Castle—one of whom I strongly suspected to be the Grand Duchess of the North—continued to devour my food with gusto, as if inhaling it.

“This meat... everything I’ve eaten before this was trash. Ah, except Polly’s ribs.”

“Can my tongue ever go back to the way it was before this meal?”

“Even the bread! It’s not the hard, dry bread I used to know. How can it be this soft and chewy?”

The amount of food the knights consumed was staggering.

While knights were known to be big eaters, the combination of my max-level cooking skill and Arad’s Salt seemed to push them into overdrive.

Chomp. Chomp. Chomp.

Eventually, even their usual decorum as knights of the High Castle was forgotten, and they ate like commoners enjoying a casual meal.

“……”

The female knight, whom I strongly suspected to be Arina Rune Renslet, the Grand Duchess of the North, continued moving her fork, spoon, and knife with relentless focus, all while keeping her face concealed under her hood.

It wasn’t until the sun set, and bonfires and lanterns began to illuminate the streets of Haven, that their meal finally came to an end.

“Ugh, I’m so full!”

“I feel almost resentful that I can’t eat another bite.”

“If only I could keep eating, even if I had to chew and spit it out.”

The knights, now patting their full stomachs with satisfied expressions, left the rest of us—including Jack, Tom, and the other customers—staring at them with a mixture of awe and disbelief.

“How much is it?”

“Well… it comes to three silvers and twenty-one coppers.”

Given the high price of my dishes and the sheer quantity they consumed, the bill was considerable.

“Three silvers?”

“Yes… y-yes, sir. You’ve eaten so much, I won’t charge for the twenty-one coppers. Haha…”

Jack’s voice trembled slightly as he named the price, nervous about the knights’ reaction.

“Take it.”

Whether out of pride, the presence of the Grand Duchess, or genuine satisfaction with the meal, the knights nodded once and opened their coin pouches.

“Here’s four silvers.”

They handed Jack four silver coins.

“Just a moment, I’ll get your change—”

“Hey! What do you take us for? Keep the change.”

The knights waved Jack off as he hurriedly tried to open the inn’s safe for their change. With a final pat on their full stomachs, they strode out of the inn.

As the knights departed, a ripple of movement followed.

“L-let’s follow them!”

“Agreed!”

“I’ll guide you! While you’ve eaten here, I’m sure you’ll be staying the night at my inn.”

The mayor and the officials of Haven, who had been standing frozen in the corner like mice, rushed to follow the knights.

“They’re gone.”

“They left.”

“Gone indeed.”

Jack, Tom, and I stood at the inn’s entrance, watching the scene unfold like bystanders observing the aftermath of a storm.

“……”

Meanwhile, my mind was tangled with a web of thoughts.

‘The disappearance of the Grand Duchess of the North…’

The history of the North, as I vaguely remembered from Era of Silver 1, unfolded in my mind.

‘The history of the North has been distorted and erased by the Empire. The details are unclear, but judging by the circumstances, it seems highly likely this is the time.’

I glanced toward the direction where the knights had disappeared, heading toward Polly’s Inn.

‘To think their disappearance happened like this.’

It was clear to me that the small party of high-ranking knights, led by the Grand Duchess herself, was heading toward the Abyss.

Otherwise, there was no reason for them to stop in Haven.

‘Should I follow them?’

To save the North, the Grand Duchess, who served as its linchpin, needed to be rescued first.

The situation felt like a classic cliché where I, the protagonist, had to intervene.

‘But how? I have no legitimate reason to join them. It’s clearly a top-secret mission, and if I barge in demanding to tag along, I’ll be interrogated in a cell before anything else.’

Determination and hesitation wrestled within me like a zigzagging tug of war.

‘And right now, I’m a pure non-combatant. I can’t contribute in a fight. Even if I were to join the party, there’s no guarantee I could prevent the Grand Duchess’s disappearance.’

At best, I’d avoid being a burden. At worst, I’d get myself killed in a battle.

‘Sure, I could cook or repair their weapons, but can I really survive in a party filled with monsters for such trivial reasons?’

The thought of being dragged into combat and losing my life was terrifying.

‘And come to think of it, wouldn’t I also need a mount to travel through the Abyss? Even in Era of Silver 1, top-grade mounts were incredibly expensive, and they’re probably even pricier now.’

As my doubts and indecision piled up, the desperate voice I heard when I was pulled into this world replayed in my mind:

“Save the North! Save the North, please!”

The pleading tone echoed like an automatic recording, accompanied by the intense feeling that fulfilling this request was the key to returning to Earth.

‘And yet, I can barely take care of myself right now…’

It hadn’t even been two months since I’d arrived in this otherworld, and already I was being thrown into what felt like an impossible high-difficulty quest.