ISMFWC 10

CHAPTER 10

The mercenary group that had once been intruders was now becoming a group of genuine customers, all focused intently on Sehee’s every movement.

Watching the scene, Sehee suddenly realized something.

This forest was attracting people more than she had expected.

She instinctively sensed that this wasn’t going to end with just today.

But that was a problem for later.

There was only one thing that mattered right now.

Teaching them how to cook the noodles.

Sehee placed a pot of water over the fire and said,

“Put about this much water in.”

“Yes…”

“Is this enough?”

The mercenaries followed Sehee’s every gesture, carefully tilting their pots.

Hands that would normally grip sword hilts and roam battlefields were now being exceedingly careful as they tried to get the water level just right.

“Don’t make the fire too strong. I’m not responsible if it boils over.”

At her words, the mercenaries hurriedly removed some branches, reducing the flames.

As they spread the firewood apart, the blazing fire quickly subsided.

“That’s about right.”

Sehee nodded and turned her attention back to the pots.

She put the noodles into the boiling water, drained the water at just the right moment, then squeezed in a generous amount of dark red sauce.

The spicy, intensely pungent aroma drifted through the air and brushed against the mercenaries’ noses.

Vargas was the first to cautiously pick up his chopsticks.

He stared at the tips for a long moment before looking back down at his bowl.

His expression made it obvious that he had absolutely no idea how to hold two thin sticks.

One of the men watching beside him swallowed nervously.

“Captain, are those… weapons?”

Vargas thought for a moment before tightening his grip on the chopsticks.

The two sticks crossed awkwardly with a sharp click.

Sehee lifted her head at the thin sound.

“Ah.”

She immediately understood the situation.

“That’s not how you hold them.”

Sehee picked up her own chopsticks and demonstrated slowly.

“Like this. Keep one still and move only the other one. Think of them like tongs.”

Vargas nodded solemnly.

Then he tried to imitate her.

The chopsticks bent in completely the wrong direction and struck the edge of the bowl.

Sehee watched him for a moment, then silently turned her head away.

Well… he’ll figure it out.

Meanwhile, Vargas gripped the chopsticks tightly, as though determined to preserve his dignity as captain.

Then he rolled up a large bite and shoved it into his mouth.

“……!”

Vargas’s face instantly turned purple, and he began rolling around on the ground, screaming.

He flailed his hands as if trying to grab his own tongue, while tears poured from his eyes like a waterfall.

“Vargas, snap out of it! What happened?”

The mercenaries beside him tried to help, but Vargas had already lost all composure and was making his way toward the faucet.

He slammed his head beneath it, desperately trying to cool himself down.

The sight was so horrifying that the other mercenaries froze in terror, chopsticks still in their hands.

Yet the spicy aroma drifting through the air was strangely irresistible.

Despite their fear, the hungry mercenaries began putting the noodles into their mouths one by one.

“Gah! This—this isn’t food! My soul… I feel like my soul is burning!”

His cry seemed to serve as a signal, and screams erupted from every direction.

“Water! Give me some water! No, ah—why is it getting even hotter?!”

“Why are my eyes sweating too?!”

One mercenary pounded his chest, while another kept eating the noodles despite his streaming tears.

“This is strange. It hurts so much, but I can’t stop.”

Another gritted his teeth and nodded.

Just then, Vargas, seemingly having cooled himself down somewhat, lifted his face, which was covered in tears and mucus.

Meanwhile, Sehee looked at the scene with a complicated expression.

Ah, I guess they put in too much sauce.

She watched the mercenaries’ reactions for a moment.

No wonder the red sauce looked unusually dark.

Sehee hid the smile spreading across her lips by putting on a stern expression.

“Okay, everyone, pull yourselves together and finish everything. You’ll be punished if you leave food behind.”

“Yes! I shall gladly endure this trial!”

“Understood!”

At Sehee’s words, the mercenaries collectively gasped.

Some swallowed their curses, while others squeezed their eyes shut.

Still, not a single one put down their chopsticks.

This is going pretty well, isn’t it?

The area in front of the tent was a complete mess.

Red sauce was smeared all over people’s faces and beards, while tears and mucus dripped down beneath their chins.

This is completely different from what it looked like earlier.

Only moments ago, these men had arrived here with weapons drawn.

Now, they didn’t even seem to have the energy to remember that fact.

“Is it really that spicy?”

Instead of answering, Vargas tried to nod, only to lower his head again.

A tear dropped from his chin.

“Haa, haa… My insides feel like they’re on fire.”

Vargas could barely continue speaking.

He tried to inhale, but it felt as though the air wouldn’t even reach his lungs.

Sehee tilted her head.

That’s strange. I only think it’s moderately spicy.

“Hmm. I don’t think it’s that spicy.”

One of the nearby mercenaries raised his head at that, only to lower it again immediately.

“That’s somehow the most terrifying thing you could have said.”

Sehee didn’t ask any further.

She had a feeling that hearing the answer would only give her another headache.

Vargas, however, stared at Sehee as though she were strange.

This is what she calls spicy?

He felt as though everything he had ever known about spicy food had been invalidated.

Vargas had traveled all over the place as a mercenary, but he had never tasted anything this agonizingly hot, like some kind of torture.

Through his tear-filled vision, he stared at Sehee’s back.

Sehee, unaware of his gaze, simply turned toward the tent as though nothing had happened.

She opened her inventory and took out a two-liter bottle of a drink.

When she poured it into a paper cup, the pink liquid glowed softly, almost as though it had sunlight trapped inside it.

“Here.”

Sehee held the cup out to Vargas, who had been suffering the most.

“Drink this and pull yourself together.”

Vargas looked at Sehee’s face before looking at the cup.

He couldn’t decide whether he could trust it in his current situation.

After all, he had just eaten noodles that felt like the fires of hell.

No way…

He eyed Sehee suspiciously.

“W-What is this?”

“A drink. You’re supposed to have something to drink when you eat spicy food.”

Vargas’s eyes wavered faintly.

His tongue and the roof of his mouth were still suffering from a searing pain.

“You don’t have to drink it.”

Sehee shrugged.

“Then keep suffering.”

When Vargas continued hesitating, Sehee added,

“I’d normally charge for this too, but you look like you’re having such a hard time, so I’m giving it to you as a free service.”

At those words, Vargas stopped hesitating.

He gritted his teeth, grabbed the cup, and took a sip with an expression of complete resignation.

“……”

Vargas couldn’t move.

The moment the cold liquid coated his burning mouth, another wave of sensation washed over him.

But this time, it was different.

An unbelievable sweetness followed the lingering sting.

The coolness enveloping his tongue instantly extinguished the heat that had been spreading like flames.

“Ugh…”

Vargas’s shoulders heaved.

And then—

“Aaaaaah—!”

This time, it wasn’t a scream of pain.

Still clutching the cup with both hands, Vargas simply dropped to his knees.

It looked as though all the strength had left his legs.

Tears were still streaming from his eyes, but his expression was completely different from before.

“How… how is this possible?”

Vargas shouted in a trembling voice.

“This isn’t just water. It’s holy water that purifies suffering…!”

Several mercenaries looked at one another and began whispering.

“Captain?”

“What did he just say? Did anyone hear him properly?”

“I think he said something about purification…”

Vargas hugged the cup to his chest and raised his head.

His gaze immediately fixed on Sehee.

There was no trace of hostility in his eyes anymore.

Instead, they were filled with awe, conviction, and an indescribable emotion.

“The pain is really gone.”

Vargas practically spat out those final words before, without hesitation, pressing his forehead to the ground.