novel
| ← Ch.050 | Ch.052 → |
Translated by: ShawnSuh
Edited by: SootyOwl
Although the smoked salmon was of top-quality, the taste was somewhat mediocre. In fact, there was hardly any difference between it and salmon from a sushi restaurant. Then, while the unimpressed champion was eating his salmon, there was an announcement informing the passengers that the plane would no longer be making an emergency landing, and it would instead fly directly to Frankfurt International Airport as planned.
After that, Min Sung pressed the call button and asked for the next course.
"I apologize for the delay, sir. I'll bring it right out, " the flight attendant said, still looking nervous even though the plane was no longer under threat from griffins. After walking away in a hurry, she brought out the next course, which was foie gras flavored with champagne paired with a king crab salad. Unfortunately, the champion's first experience with foie gras turned out to be incredibly disappointing. In fact, it was so gamy that he couldn't eat it all.
'Is this what foie gras tastes like? If so, I'm not eating it ever again, ' Min Sung thought. The king crab salad also turned out mediocre at best, further adding to the champion's disappointment. So far, the first-class meal had been a complete letdown. Though the presentation was superb, the overall meal experience was far from that. The roasted tenderloin was nothing out of the ordinary either, leaving the champion desiring for more. In the end, Min Sung left the entire meal almost untouched. Deeply dissatisfied, he furrowed his brow, leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes, thinking, 'Can't wait to get some real food in Germany. '
—
The plane landed at Frankfurt International Airport. Having drunk a large amount of coffee before the plane took off, Ho Sung seemed to have gotten no sleep whatsoever, and the dark circles under his eyes were proof of that. Glancing at the champion, Ho Sung thought as he walked through the gate, 'Maybe he'll let me get some shuteye in the car if I ask nicely... No. That's wishful thinking. I might never wake up again. That is NOT an option, even if it means falling asleep behind the wheel. I'll just have to feed him as soon as possible. '
When they walked out of the airport, Min Sung and Ho Sung were greeted by a wave of reporters and photographers. Cameras flashed from all directions.
"There was a report that the plane was attacked by a flock of griffins. Is this true!?"
"We were told that the plane was scheduled for an emergency landing. How were you able to land in Frankfurt safely?"
"What happened to those griffins!?"
The airport was bustling with people, including the reporters who were swarming the passengers for an interview.
"What's with all these reporters?" Min Sung asked with a furrowed brow.
"I think they found out about the griffins."
"Make way."
At the champion's command, Ho Sung led the way and made way for the champion to get through.
"Move, bastards!"
After leading the champion out of the airport safely, Ho Sung wiped the sweat off his forehead, looked toward Min Sung and said, "I'll go get a cab, sir."
After Min Sung put his sunglasses on and nodded, Ho Sung caught a cab and waved to the champion. Then, when Ho Sung got in the passenger's seat after opening the door for the champion, the champion checked the time on his wristwatch and said, "Take us to the restaurant."
At which point, Ho Sung, with sunken eyes, looked toward the driver and said the name of a restaurant. Paying no attention to the reporters banging on the window, the driver drove off.
—
Ho Sung was certain that the champion had never been to Germany before. Yet, the champion seemed to have no interest in sightseeing or experiencing the culture. Rather, he seemed like someone whose sole purpose for the trip was to eat authentic German sausages.
"We're almost there, sir. If you would allow me to walk you through our schedule, I would be glad to do so."
"Go on."
When the cab was near the restaurant, Ho Sung rolled the window down and pointed toward a certain direction and said, "We'll try some sausages at the pub over there and then move on to another restaurant for some schweinshaxe."
Looking in the pub's direction, Min Sung smiled subtly. With his eyes fixed on the pub, he got out of the cab as soon as it came to a stop.
—
With sparkling eyes and his mouth watering, Min Sung waited anxiously for his order to arrive. Then, just as his patience was starting to wear thin, the sausage sandwich made its way to the table. Taking the order from the server's hands, Ho Sung handed it to the champion politely. Taking it from Ho Sung, Min Sung stared down at the sausage steaming between two fairly large pieces of bread. Though simple in appearance, Min Sung was hopeful that the dish would make up for the disappointment that was the airplane food.
Without hesitation, Min Sung opened his mouth wide and bit into the sandwich.
"Huh!" he let out, chewing while breathing out steam. The intense saltiness coiled around his tongue and brought out his appetite. The flavors were inherently different from the sausages made in Korea.
Within its thin yet snappy casing, was the tender, succulent, meaty inside.
'This is incredible!' Min Sung thought as he went for another bite of the sandwich. Because it had been grilled over an open fire, the sausage had a smokey fragrance. The flavors definitely lived up to the country's reputation.
Looking down at the simple sandwich, Min Sung chuckled. He couldn't believe that a dish topped with only mustard and ketchup had such complex flavors.
At that moment, Ho Sung called to him, "Sir?"
"What?"
"Would you like to try another one?"
Min Sung nodded affirmatively. After placing an order, Ho Sung gave the champion a brief explanation of the sausage he had ordered, "The sausage I just ordered is called Paprikawurst."
"Is there paprika in it?"
"That's right. It's mostly made of pork and paprika. It has a slight kick to it."
"I see, " Min Sung replied, swallowing the food in his mouth. Soon, the next dish arrived at the table. Taking his fork, Min Sung poked the middle of the sausage, picked it up, and took a bite.
Although it was incredibly well-seasoned, making sauces unnecessary, Min Sung couldn't help but crave a bowl of rice after a while.
'I must be addicted to carbs just like all other Koreans, ' he thought, chuckling and putting what's left of the sausage in his mouth. Predicting that the champion could use a palate cleanser, Ho Sung poured him a cup of Cola, which Min Sung downed without hesitation. The refreshing fizziness of the drink made for a perfect pairing for the greasy sausages. Overall, the sausage experience in Germany was a devastating success.
'That was amazing. '
Then, Ho Sung called to champion again.
"Uh, sir?"
When Min Sung looked toward him, Ho Sung was pointing toward a TV in the pub. Looking at it like the rest of the customers in the pub, Ho Sung said, "I guess it really was about the griffins after all."
Just like Ho Sung said, the news was making a fuss about a flock of griffins that had attacked a Frankfurt-bound airplane.
"So, uh... You seemed very displeased with your meal in the plane, so I couldn't find the right timing to ask you this, but... Did you kill those griffins, sir?"
"What if I did?" Min Sung asked as he wiped his mouth with a tissue, looking toward Ho Sung, who blinked awkwardly and asked, "But how's that possible? How could you have killed those griffins when you were inside the plane?"
"I just could."
"..."
"A little demonstration, perhaps?" Min Sung said. At that moment, a fork next to his plate started to glow blue, levitate, and point toward Ho Sung's face.
"S-sword manipulation!?" Ho Sung let out, staring at the glowing fork with widened eyes. Then, the fork fell to the ground. While Ho Sung was at a loss for words and with his mouth agape, Min Sung lightly tapped him on the chest and said, "C'mon. We have pork hocks to eat."
As the champion walked on ahead, Ho Sung stare in his direction, befuddled.
—
After the news of the griffin attack went out, the world fell into chaos. Media outlets across the globe treated the news as a serious matter, not to mention the mysterious phenomenon of the creatures having been torn to shreds in the air. Germany, despite its active investigation effort, remained clueless as the team of investigators kept returning empty-handed. Hypothesizing that there had been a hunter on board, the investigators had looked into the manifest of the flight. But, to their disappointment, the only hunter on board had been a mere level-200 hunter named Ho Sung Lee. No matter how unique a skill he might have had at his disposal, killing a flock of griffins flying around the plane while remaining inside was unheard of, making the mysterious phenomenon a popular subject for media outlets across the globe.
"Could you tell us more about the situation on the plane that day?" a reporter asked. To which, a certain individual who had been on the plane replied, scratching their head, "I did hear some noise coming from outside the plane, but I didn't notice anything strange within the plane. Before I knew it, the griffins had been torn to shreds."
After that, the reporter concluded the interview by saying that the mystery of the recent griffin attack remained unsolved.
| ← Ch. 050 | Ch. 052 → |