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In fact, those who truly hold a high position are quite relaxed.

Most of the workload gets filtered out from below.

Of course, this did not apply to Alfred, who was practically recreating Iceland.

Even after all the filtering, it is he who ends up signing the final approval documents.

Such documents come in cartloads throughout the year.

In winter, the volume may decrease, but the time Alfred spends buried in various documents does not change, even when guests visit.

Unless, of course, Catherine didn’t unexpectedly show up with her entourage early in the morning.

At that moment of surprise, Alfred was stunned by Inamark’s confession.

“So you can’t eat meat?”

“Meat, fish, milk, oils extracted from animals—basically any ingredients and byproducts derived from livestock and animal monsters.”

Ianbert let out a sigh as if about to dig a hole in the ground, banging on his antlered helmet.

“Ugh… I barely managed to hide it.”

“Atanitas. A curse, perhaps?”

Is there truly a curse in the world as terrible as Catherine’s?

It was so shocking that I could hardly breathe. But Catherine shook her head firmly, denying it.

“It may seem like a curse, but it certainly isn’t.”

“Surely that can’t be true—Atanitas, could it be that you’re mistaken? How can something like that not be a curse?”

To be honest, if that wasn’t a curse, then nothing made sense.

To think of a curse that forces someone to become a vegan… If such a curse spread, the world would quickly be engulfed by deserts, and civilization would regress.

“Ugh, really. It’s top secret, so I can’t say anything.”

“Top secret? Could it be from the great sword noble?”

“Yeah. No matter how much of a brother he is, I can’t speak of it. It’s just that some troublesome matters came up, and this is an injury from that…”

Ianbert’s helmeted head tilted to the side. It seemed peculiar even to him for having said it.

“…So, it’s more like a feeling of consequence?”

“…Wait a moment. Ianbert Yeats.”

“Just call me by name. No titles or nobility here, why use ‘Lord’?”

“Then I will just say Ianbert.”

“…Really, you just do as you please.”

Indeed. Even without a title, he is of royal blood, so I wondered if he could afford such casualness.

Catherine squinted at Ianbert, making an O shape with her thumb and index finger, one eye closed.

“Then you mean you’ve maintained a diet like that of a forcibly ultra-conservative high elf?”

“I mean, I secretly gorged on greens and fruits, right?”

“How long has this been the case?”

“Roughly half a year? I ended up like this since last summer.”

Catherine’s body went rigid.

It was an obvious reaction to hearing something unbelievable.

“…A magic user, a plateau class knight—also, that a human, neither elf nor high elf, has been living solely on vegetables?”

“I struggled to keep it under wraps.”

It was indeed terrible, but thinking of someone who looked like a malnourished being after a month of forced vegetarianism reminded Karem of someone spending a delayed youth in the greenhouse.

“Well, if a knight, after all, they need to eat a lot, right?”

“Absolutely. Let alone a magic user, even after exerting themselves, they’d need to consume at least a quarter of their weight.”

“I remember the plateau knight was right below the master—”

“Exactly.”

With that, Catherine, who nodded in confirmation, looked at Ianbert with a face that seemed completely stunned.

“How did you manage to not get caught in all this?”

At her words, Alfred’s face had tensed as if confronting a muscle strain. It was naturally concerning in a scenario where a dear friend’s younger brother might perish.

“Well, I had some help from a magic tool.”

“A magic tool? You mean the helmet you’re wearing now?”

“Ah, you recognized it immediately, oh famous grand wizard.”

Ianbert’s helmet appeared to be made of the skull of a stag.

It was indeed unique, easily catching the eye.

“Kerununos’ bounty. A treasure that always keeps the wearer in prime condition.”

“So you sustained yourself for half a year eating nothing but vegetables using that?”

“As long as I wear it, I’m fine. Even if I take it off, I can hold out somewhat, but meat or bread just doesn’t digest at all—”

How casually he spoke of such a horrifying experience highlighted his incredible mental fortitude. Karem, amazed, observed the horned helmet and then looked down at the armor.

‘Then, is that armor also a magic tool?’

The armor Ianbert wore since yesterday was as unique and striking as the helmet.

The skull of a deer served as the shoulder guards.

Upon closer examination, intricate roots and vine patterns were etched all over the armor.

It looked like an identical set paired with the helmet.

“Then does the armor, being a set with the helmet, also have its effects?”

“Huh? An effect for the armor? What do you mean by that?”

“Isn’t it a set?”

“Oh, ohhhh.”

Ianbert opened his mouth to reply but then waved his hands left and right.

“The magic tool is just the helmet. This is plain armor.”

Catherine crossed her arms and scrutinized the armor as if observing it closely for details.

“Yeah. Just as I guessed, it’s merely a decorated piece of armor.”

“To say ‘just’ looking at it…”

It was indeed a foolish question to think of, especially to someone who dealt with dozens of magic tools every day. And a grand wizard at that.

“The way the armor looks is simply my taste.”

“Taste, you say?”

“I found the armor I originally wore clashed horribly with the helmet, so…”

Ianbert, as if to prove a point, lightly knocked on his head while wearing the helmet.

“So, I got one custom-made to match the design of this helmet.”

“Then is the reason you walk around the castle wearing it…”

“It’s simply because I like this armor. There’s no special reason.”

The expressions and gazes of the three individuals in the office looking at Ianbert turned as icy as a salt lake evaporated thousands of times faster.

“Then, perhaps the reason you were gagging yesterday…”

“People are watching; there’s the face of the one who prepared the banquet at stake, so I swallowed it down with effort. Besides, who do you think arranged that banquet?”

“What a foolish man.”

A deep furrow formed on Alfred’s brow.

“In this frozen land, who cares about anyone’s face? If you’re sick, just say so.”

“Ah, but there was a caravan following me everywhere; what was I supposed to do?”

“You should’ve told your brother! Wait a minute, could it be—”

“I boasted to my brother about it. How could I say anything? I would be embarrassed!”

“This kid’s grown in size but is still a child at heart—”

So they say all men are just big kids. As embarrassing pasts unfolded between them, Karem felt a warm sensation.

Catherine seemed to share this sentiment. Her expression reflected exactly that.

“Wait a moment. So you’re telling me you’ve been eating vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, and the like?”

“Ah, really, um? That’s true.”

“Then, while not a solution, isn’t there an easiest measure we can take until then?”

At that, Ianbert’s and Alfred’s eyes widened in realization as they looked at each other within the helmet.

“After all, there are herbivores from the mythic age that have been eating vegetables as staples since then.”

“Huh?”

“And geographically, they’re closest to Seophone Island.”

Only one nation staple-dieted on vegetables nearby, surrounded by seas in the Europian hamlet of Seophone Island.

“Bersengzeto?”

“Exactly. Of course, the elves there don’t exclusively eat vegetables, but wouldn’t they at least have recipes that primarily use them?”

“Judging by your words, it seems there are quite a few?”

“Rumor has it that there are high elves who’ve eaten only vegetables since the mythic age.”

Is that not simply some kind of cattle, regardless of whether they are elves or humans? Yet Catherine looked serious. Now that she mentions it, they did talk about ultra-conservative vegan high elves.

Karem thought he could understand the animosity dwarves and Seophone nobles had toward the elves of Bersengzeto.

“Culture of the elves from Bersengzeto? Openly? Phew.”

Ianbert shivered as if he heard something he shouldn’t have.

“I’d rather starve to death than accept the culture of those arrogant long-eared folks! I’d take my chances eating raw vegetables as I am now.”

“Bert.”

“Ah, don’t stop me, brother. Above all, how would other nobles think of me if they caught wind of this?”

It would definitely become a topic of gossip in high society for ages, with tales being told at length every time any scandal arose. It was obvious to Catherine, having been through both countries… wait a minute.

“Then are you saying that as long as it’s not from Bersengzeto, it wouldn’t matter?”

“Well… that’s right?”

“What if it were a dish personally developed by a brilliant chef born in the Kingdom of Seophone?”

“How could such a chef possibly exist in this land… huh?”

For a moment, a thought began to take shape. The many recipes pouring out under the Duchy of Iceland, led by no one other than the renowned chef “experts.”

“Then, you mean…?”

“Precisely that ‘then’ is, in fact, correct.”

Catherine whipped her head sideways. Naturally, Gordon’s gaze followed her to Karem.

“Kid.”

“Why so suddenly?”

“Can you do it?”

“Sure, why not. Let’s give it a try.”

Karem, formerly known as Garam in his past life.

Originally from South Korea.

I, a citizen born in a country where wild herbs and poisonous plants were staples, was born.

*

*

*

Karem briefly borrowed a private kitchen from Zigmeser and gathered the ingredients while reflecting.

Vegetarians don’t eat meat.

Therefore, vegetarians do not gain weight.

This is nothing more than a statement made by someone who doesn’t know either and pretends to know both.

The world’s largest land animal, the elephant, is also a herbivore.

Even Karem himself, in an attempt to lose weight during his childhood, ended up eating nothing but bibimbap made from wild greens for half a year and became an even sturdier pig.

Let alone the overwhelming majority of modern people whose tongues and brains are dulled by seasonings, they simply cannot endure a monotonous diet made up entirely of pure vegetables.

However, for some reason, companies compete to create “tasty vegetarian meals” aimed at those who choose the vegetarian path.

And the simplest way to make food taste good is to increase the calorie count.

The most efficient way to do that is simply to fry them up.

Just like the saying goes that even shoes taste great once fried.

‘Of course, it’s only the foolish ones who think of eating bread and meat as staples.’

As a proud Korean from the peninsula, I had long been eating seaweed and picking everything from sprouts to wild herbs, and when there was poison, either consuming or discarding it before it matured.

Deodeok salad and grilled dishes, zucchini dumplings, japchae, tofu kimchi, cold soup, Kong-guksu, dozens of stews, and countless side dishes, bibimbap, beverages, snacks, and ganjang doenjang, etc.

But that was something I couldn’t make right now.

Setting aside the ingredients, it would take too long.

With a hopelessly haggard look that suggested I could starve to death at any moment, I felt a specific sense of obligation that I had never experienced in my life.

Thus, Karem had no choice but to follow the first course.

Fry the vegetables in oil.

Surely, even picky eaters who dislike vegetables would find themselves saying, “Huh, I might actually like vegetables?” if they ate freshly fried vegetable fritters.

Someone who looked like a malnourished individual who had survived a month of forced vegetarianism would not be in a position to refuse this.

However, Ianbert, watching the raw form of all the ingredients, broke into a cold sweat.

“Young pea pods, carrots, onions, beets, eggplants, broccoli, cabbage, asparagus. Various mushrooms and bell peppers.”

“Is that one of the grand wizard’s personal chefs over there?”

“Huh? One of many? I have only that one.”

“…Let’s set this aside for now.”

Ianbert, with an even more haggard face, turned his eyes away from the pile of fresh vegetables beside Karem, where he was dumping white powder into a large bowl.

“….So what about these vegetables?”

“They are about to be served to the prince.”

“Eww.”

Ianbert outright grimaced.

Just hearing it made his stomach churn.

 

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