"Are you all right?"
After downing three consecutive cups of CoolXs, Fedora took deep breaths and slowly opened the eyes she had shut tight.
"I… am fine."
"Really?"
"Though my flesh was engulfed in the pain that ascetic practice bestowed, my heart is more at peace than ever, because of His voice."
Fedora wiped the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief, but the tteokbokki sauce already smeared there only made the area around her lips messier.
In the end, Jinseo handed her a roll of paper towels, and she wiped her mouth again.
"And it seems I am not the only one who is fine."
With a benevolent smile, Fedora remained seated and turned to look behind her.
"Huh? The cut on my palm from yesterday… it's healed without even a trace?"
"Huh? The molar pain that tormented me for a whole month…"
"My shoulder stiffness is gone?"
One by one, the customers confessed the chronic problems they'd been dealing with, and at the same time reacted in disbelief, saying they were completely cured.
"Huh?"
And Jinseo, just like the customers, slowly raised his right arm with wide eyes.
The pain that had been tormenting his wrist was completely gone.
He moved his palm back and forth, rotated it left and right in circles, then even lifted a heavy box with only his right arm.
Even then, it didn't hurt at all.
What? Did she really hear God's voice?
"Brothers and sisters, please calm yourselves." Fedora rose, clasped her hands together, and bowed her head. "This is a small blessing that He has granted you all, through me."
Jinseo still wore a face that said he couldn't understand any of it.
But the word "blessing" alone was enough to plunge everyone besides him into excitement.
"Waaaah!"
Everyone seated at the tables set down their forks and spoons and burst into cheers.
The merchants, who hadn't understood what was happening, started celebrating wildly after experiencing the blessing for themselves—something they'd only heard of.
"Brothers and sisters. It is good to enjoy your joy, but before that, let us offer thanks to Him."
When Fedora drew the sign of the cross with a kindly face, the believers followed her with faces overflowing with emotion.
"And I express gratitude to Chef Jinseo, who allowed me, His unworthy servant, to meet Him, if only for a moment."
"Ooooooh!"
A strange food truck that had never existed before, selling delicious food called bunsik.
Jinseo's mobile snack shop, which had gifted the residents of Falstead Castle a fresh daily life filled with mystery and enjoyment.
From this moment on, that place was reborn as a solemn, sacred space.
Only one person—Jinseo—still wore a face that said this was ridiculous.
I didn't know Buldak ramen sauce could be this insane.
Unlike the mascot drawn on the black package—furious at the spiciness, breathing fire—the sauce's heat brought happiness to everyone.
If this is already like this, if it were Nuclear Buldak, it'd be no joke.
He picked up a packet of ramen in dark red packaging—one he'd bought, but never eaten even once.
"Is tteokbokki already sold out?"
"Yes. The clergy bought it all, so we ran out of ingredients."
"Then it can't be helped if they bought it for ascetic practice. Give me more fried stuff instead."
"Yes, understood."
After the day at Kaysus Cathedral when that "holy blessing" freed many people from pain…
Once a week, on the day the clergy regularly purchased "special" tteokbokki in bulk, customers like this ended up empty-handed.
Even if the cathedral bought a smaller amount than usual, it was impossible to sell what remained to other people.
Because the "special" tteokbokki made for the clergy's ascetic practice was so absurdly spicy.
Even by Jinseo's standards.
"Um… if it's possible, could you… sell the tteokbokki that the order folks eat?"
"I'm sorry. I promised I would only provide it to the clergy."
Sometimes customers who couldn't let go of tteokbokki quietly hoped he'd sell it to them in secret, but Jinseo had to refuse every time.
At least, the one fortunate point for Jinseo was that, just like with ice cream, the special tteokbokki had no effect unless you were a priest with a certain amount of holy power.
He didn't want to see people forcing themselves to eat extremely spicy tteokbokki they didn't even like, just to become clergy.
One thing was certain: the effect of the blessing he received that day continued even after returning to Korea.
The day after receiving the blessing, Jinseo went back to the hospital.
And the doctor gave him a shocking result.
"Your wrist is basically reborn. Did you receive separate treatment somewhere?"
When Jinseo asked, saying he didn't know what had happened either, the doctor instead bombarded him with questions.
In the end, Jinseo had to flee the hospital to escape the endless storm of interrogation.
Now I get why religion stays solid on the Francia Continent.
If blessings like this came down, you'd have no choice but to believe, even if you didn't want to.
Anyway, his tenosynovitis was cured, and Jinseo suggested that for the time being, he'd provide tteokbokki for free—limited to the clergy of the order.
Out of sincere gratitude.
But Fedora's side refused, saying ascetic practice without paying a price wasn't true ascetic practice.
Jinseo wanted to say, Isn't undergoing ascetic practice itself the price?—but he'd been refused so seriously and politely that he didn't argue, and instead sold special tteokbokki to the Falstead Diocese.
Once a week.
And in addition, only for the tteokbokki that went to the cardinal, Jinseo made it with "Nuclear Buldak" sauce.
After that, when he asked the clergy who came to pick it up about her reaction, he was told she was very pleased.
Even while writhing in even harsher ascetic suffering.
"Hey, Peter! Long time no see. Anything happen lately?"
"Something good did. Look at this. I can raise my arm all the way up here!"
"Didn't you say you had frozen shoulder? What happened?"
"I went to mass at the cathedral a week ago, and the cardinal personally bestowed a blessing! On everyone who attended that day!"
That led to good results even for the residents of Falstead Castle.
Because blessings could now be given more often, and with better effects.
"A blessing? But the lord received one a month ago. And it's already possible again?"
"Now it's possible at least once a week! And unlike before, it can be given to way more people at once!"
"Seriously?"
For clergy of the Heirem Order to give blessings, they needed holy power.
And it was known that the only way to recover the holy power consumed in that process was through faith in God, and through ascetic practice.
But now, simply by eating the special tteokbokki Jinseo made, they could recover holy power far more easily than before.
It's obvious the food I make—or buy—has some kind of special effect.
Mages who ate ice cream gained extreme concentration and reached a higher realm.
Clergy who ate tteokbokki recovered holy power and could give more blessings.
Then what about me?
Over thirty years of life, Jinseo had eaten so much bunsik (Korean flour food) that it was impossible to count.
In Korea, maybe not—but here, in this other world, there was a strong chance he'd gain some kind of special power like those two cases.
But magic is hard to figure out when I can't use magic, and holy power is the same—I can't even get a sense of it.
{—Congratulations! The Mobile Cooking Facility has reached Level 10.—}
{—As the Mobile Cooking Facility's level has risen, the additional taste enhancement rank has slightly increased (E-rank achieved).—}
{—From now on, detailed analysis of the owner of the Mobile Cooking Facility is possible.—}
Huh? At a time like this?
After his tenosynovitis was cured, he'd completely forgotten the level-up reward.
Jinseo didn't want to miss the chance to find out exactly how strong he was.
AI, analyze my body.
{—Understood. Please wait a moment.—}
After about a minute of analysis, a status window appeared before Jinseo's eyes, and messages began outputting.
{—Owner of the Mobile Cooking Facility: Lee Jinseo (32, male)
Owner's physical rank: B-rank
Owner's possessed abilities: Status ailment nullification (B-rank or below), Magic nullification (B-rank or below), Damage received reduction (B-rank or below), Special ingredient processing available (B-rank or below), Special cooking tool usage available (B-rank or below)...—}
As "B-rank or below" repeated over and over, Jinseo felt strange.
It definitely sounded like good abilities, but somehow it also felt ambiguous.
Even if it shows a rank, I don't know what it means. I need a comparison target…
Jinseo stepped out of the food truck and looked around.
Then he stood in front of a tree near the driver's seat.
My tenosynovitis is gone, and I've finished the orders. Should I test how strong B-rank is?
Jinseo clenched his right fist and thrust it quickly toward the tree.
No—he was about to, but he pulled back at the last second, right before contact.
Am I insane? I make a living with my hands. What the hell was I trying to do?
Steeling himself, Jinseo decided to kick instead.
At first he lightly tapped it, then gradually increased the force.
Even with this much force, it doesn't hurt at all?
Then, as he increased the force, Jinseo bit his lip once and kicked the tree with all his strength.
Like he was kicking a soccer ball.
Crack!
The instant his right foot hit, the tree snapped and toppled beyond the bushes.
"…"
Jinseo stared at his right foot with wide eyes.
He felt no pain at all.
"Is this real?"
With a dumbfounded face, Jinseo took off his shoe.
There wasn't a single injury on his right foot, and even when he massaged it with both hands, there was no pain.
"H-hyung…" From beneath Jason's lips, water he'd been holding spilled down in a steady stream. "My eyes aren't wrong, right? Right?"
"I… don't know either. Maybe it was rotten wood?"
"Even if it was rotten, how many people can break it with a kick?"
"I-I'll test again."
Thinking it might be a fluke, Jinseo kicked the tree next to it.
Crack!
This one snapped too and fell into the bushes.
Stacking on top of the tree that had already fallen.
"H-haha…"
A dumbfounded laugh burst from Jinseo.
He'd gained strength beyond imagination, but he wasn't purely happy.
If someone who lifts weights succeeds at a 500 total, they'll naturally be happy.
But if they succeed at a 5000 total, the first thing they need to consider is whether they're even human.
"Haa…" Jinseo sighed and looked around.
A hush had fallen. The customers bowed their heads and focused on eating, trying as hard as possible not to meet Jinseo's eyes.
One of them gathered their courage and came up to Jinseo holding an empty plate.
With both legs trembling.
"Um… could you give me more fried stuff?"
"Oh, fried stuff? Just a moment!"
Jinseo hurried into the food truck, put on a fresh pair of sanitary gloves, and started preparing the fried items.
"How many would you like?"
"One of each… no, two of each!"
"Two is enough, right?"
"No! Three! Five!"
The customer hurriedly raised the number while staring at the stump of the tree Jinseo had just shattered.
Somehow, it had turned into a situation where bunsik was being forced on people.
There was only one way to break this sudden chill.
Service.
"D-do we need to… order more?"
"…I'll just give you one each for free."
After finishing business and returning to Korea, Jinseo went back to his rented studio with a pounding heart.
After a quick shower, he immediately went up to the rooftop.
At first he couldn't decide whether he should be happy or not, but once he accepted reality, he wanted to know exactly how strong he was.
No one dislikes being stronger.
Of course, that's when it's within common sense—but still, he wanted to satisfy the urge to test the strength he'd gained.
"They said anyone can use it as long as it's not being used by the owner…"
Jinseo smiled at the home gym equipment the landlord's son had installed.
"Yeah. If it's come to this, I'll find out how strong I got. I'll start with deadlifts."
He planned to max out the barbell weight and try.
After taking a big breath, he lowered his posture and gripped the bar with both hands.
"Ugh…"
The barbell didn't budge.
"Why? Is my form wrong?"
Jinseo tried the deadlift again, but only a groan came out of his mouth.
He repeated it several more times, but the result didn't change.
The barbell—something he'd assumed he could lift easily—still didn't move.
"What? Didn't I get stronger?"