“Did you make this yourself?”
Gerold, who had been working upstairs before being dragged down by Eddie, looked genuinely surprised at the well-prepared table.
“Yup. It’s partly for breakfast, partly a taste test. I’m planning to offer this as our morning menu.”
“Rice…?”
Of course, even in the Reneba Empire, egg dishes were common. But their staple was bread, and rice was widely considered a foreign food. Naturally, soy sauce egg rice wasn’t familiar at all.
There wasn’t even real soy sauce or dark soy sauce in this world—there were similar seasonings, sure, but not the real thing.
And sesame oil? Also missing.
That made all the difference.
Eddie grinned. He gestured for Gerold and Ketron to take their seats, then started on the final steps of plating.
“You two, how do you want your eggs—raw or cooked?”
“I prefer raw.”
“…Either’s fine.”
At that, Eddie poked a hole into the center of a bowl of fluffy rice using wooden chopsticks.
Ketron looked puzzled at the foreign-looking sticks, but Gerold, now fairly used to Eddie’s chopstick antics, remained unfazed.
Eddie cracked an egg into the hole, drizzled a loop of soy sauce around it, mixed it briskly, then poured the seasoned egg mixture into the warm rice.
“This one’s for Gerold.”
“Thank you.”
Then he prepared another: a loop of soy sauce, a drizzle of sesame oil, and a half-cooked sunny-side-up egg placed right on top.
“This one’s yours, Ket.”
He handed it to Ketron along with a spoon. Ketron accepted it a bit awkwardly.
“Break the egg and mix it up.”
Then Eddie slid over a few slices of grilled short rib patty, and the selected sides—pickled radish and salad. Ketron eyed the unfamiliar dishes with a small tilt of his head.
But Ketron, who once ate tree bark out of sheer hunger, wasn’t picky. Following Eddie’s instruction, he mixed the egg into the rice and cautiously took a bite.
“…!”
The expression said everything. Eddie smirked knowingly. Of course it tasted good—salty, savory, nutty. Whoever invented soy sauce egg rice had to be a genius.
It was a bit of a shame the sesame oil was a commercial product. Back home, Eddie had always eaten this dish with the homemade sesame oil his grandmother pressed herself. That part stung a little.
Before deciding on this menu, Eddie had debated whether to focus on lunch or breakfast first.
In the end, he decided to start with breakfast, since that was the last thing guests would eat before checking out.
Lunch and dinner could be varied and elaborate, but breakfast had to be simple—and that helped seal the decision.
Gerold began eating with a graceful, elegant manner, while Ketron, maybe because his enormous body required a massive calorie intake, polished off his bowl in the blink of an eye. Eddie quietly prepared another soy sauce egg rice.
Good thing I prepped for two servings each.
Pleased with himself, Eddie set the new bowl in front of Ketron, adding a bit more short rib patty on top. Ketron grabbed the bowl and practically drank it.
Eat up, my Ket.
Knowing how flustered Ketron got every time he heard that nickname, Eddie kept the sentiment to himself, not wanting to give him indigestion. Then he started on his own meal.
And, of course, it was delicious.
* * *
The general concept for the breakfast menu was finished.
With the sale launch just around the corner, Eddie found himself stuck on one remaining issue.
“Hm…”
A warm and inviting breakfast set. The items were udon and soy sauce egg rice.
There was nothing wrong with the menu itself. The problem was with the composition.
Aside from the smaller sides, he’d decided to pair croquettes with the udon and short rib patties with the rice—solid choices.
But everything about it would feel unfamiliar to the citizens of the Empire. These were dishes so common for Koreans that they barely qualified as “dishes” at all, but for people here, the taste would be utterly foreign.
Even if he couldn’t change the main menu, he thought it would help to include at least one thing that felt familiar to locals—like how kimchi is a staple side in Korea. Maybe it would be better to swap out the pickled radish for something that hit that same note for the Empire.
He thought about asking Gerold, but worried it would seem too suspicious if he didn’t know something so basic.
Not that he wasn’t already plenty suspicious.
It wasn’t the first time he’d asked himself: Why didn’t Gerold ever question Eddie’s sudden change in personality, or the strange items he brought out of the basement convenience store?
And just like before, he didn’t have an answer.
“Haa… guess I’ve got no choice.”
In the end, Eddie decided to go out to the market himself.
If he visited places that sold side dishes, he’d get a better sense of the Empire’s flavor profile. Besides, seeing the market firsthand would be worthwhile on its own.
The problem was, he still felt nervous leaving the inn alone.
Ever since possessing this body, Eddie hadn’t ventured anywhere out of sight of the inn.
There were lots of reasons for that.
For one, this was a fantasy world with other races, magic, and demons. It wasn’t exactly as safe as Korea.
And then there was the fact that this was a world with a functioning class system. If a clueless commoner like him accidentally offended a noble, depending on the offense, he could be executed on the spot.
Human rights didn’t really exist here.
The idea that one little mistake might keep him from ever returning to the inn was genuinely scary.
But more than all that—
“……”
Eddie unconsciously hugged his arms. He felt… cold. Not physically, but—
He knew it was just psychological.
But the fear lingered.
He was still afraid of blending into a crowd of strangers.
He was someone who, barely a month ago, had died from being stabbed.
When he left the inn to find Ketron, at least he’d had a purpose—to stop the hero’s descent into darkness. But now, there was no such urgency, and he’d kept postponing going out.
I can’t just force Ket to overcome his stuff if I’m not willing to work on mine too.
Sighing as if at himself, Eddie made up his mind.
Maybe going out alone was too much for now—but going out with someone might work.
Naturally, the first person who came to mind was Gerold, who’d been with him the longest since the possession.
Gerold was a certified yes-man, at least when it came to Eddie. He wouldn’t even need a reason—just ask, and he’d nod and get ready without complaint.
But there was someone who might be a better fit for this outing.
Someone else he needed to face.
Eddie stood in front of Ketron’s room.
He knocked—brisk and confident.
“Ket, got a minute?”
No reply.
As always.
So Eddie didn’t wait and opened the door.
Sure enough, Ketron was inside.
The unusual part?
He was doing handstand push-ups—wearing only pants—balancing on one arm with the other folded behind his back.
The room was thick with heat, his body clearly radiating effort.
Sweat trickled down his face as he silently watched Eddie standing in the doorway.
He wasn’t even fully recovered yet.
Eddie started to scold him, but let it out as a quiet sigh instead.
He’d seen that body before—but it still wasn’t something that could be built overnight.
Sure, Ketron hadn’t worked out for nearly a month, but his body was still dense with lean muscle. The way the muscles in his arm rippled while holding up that heavy body was almost threatening.
He’d be perfect as a bodyguard—even without a sword.
Eddie found himself grinning with satisfaction.
“Hey, Ket.”
No answer.
But Eddie casually walked over and crouched in front of him.
“I’ve got a favor to ask. That okay?”
He said it while pulling a handkerchief from his pocket. Without any hesitation, he gently wiped the sweat from Ketron’s face—still upside-down, still balanced on one arm—as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Hah.”
You’d think he’d be used to it by now, but Ketron still couldn’t get used to Eddie’s absurd antics.
Most people would’ve shut the door and walked out at the sight.
But now Ketron understood. Eddie wasn’t doing this to challenge him or provoke a reaction.
Eventually, he flipped his body upright. As he retied the waistband of his now-loose pants, he finally spoke.
“What favor?”
“Mm, I need an escort.”
“Escort?”
Eddie nodded.
“Where to?”
Was it a gambling den? Some shady deal?
Ketron, already imagining all sorts of criminal scenarios based on this suspicious man’s usual behavior, thought of dark back-alley errands.
But then Eddie answered cheerfully:
“The market.”
“…The market?”
Black market?
But what followed was nothing of the sort.
“Yeah, I heard there’s a big market nearby that sells food. Veggies, side dishes, stuff like that.”
“……”
“Can you come with me?”
That harmless smile—utterly devoid of any hidden agenda—left no room for suspicion.