Chapter 7: The Mage Who Stole My Food

Inas opened his mouth.

A thick piece of Sagmil fish slid inside.

“…”

The moment of truth.

I rubbed the area over my wildly beating heart and swallowed dryly.

“Hmm…”

Was I about to get thrown out?

It felt like I was standing at the biggest crossroads of my life.

“S-so… how is it? It tastes good… right?”

It had to be good.

No, it must be good.

In my entire life, I had never poured this much effort into anything before.

“I-is it… not good?”

“…”

“…Can you hear me?”

“…”

“Ha…”

But seeing Inas’s reaction, all the tension I had built up vanished instantly, leaving only bewilderment behind.

Inas clearly liked the food.

The reason he wasn’t answering was simply because he was too busy devouring it like it might disappear at any second.

“Good grief… yeah, go ahead and enjoy it.”

I felt like an idiot for being so nervous.

Seriously, what kind of person is this?

[Sagmil Stew is recommended. The fish has little of the typical fishy smell and is easy to cook. Steaming preserves its natural flavor better than grilling.]

Anyway, I survived.

All thanks to the System.

I knew it was powerful, but I didn’t expect it to actually teach me how to cook Sagmil.

It even recommended a method suited to my current skill level.

“Oh, this is delicious.”

Even the smartphones and AI from my world couldn’t compare to the System.

No, comparing them would be insulting.

I had simply followed the instructions, yet the result tasted like this.

Even I was shocked enough that my eyes widened.

“How can fish taste like this?”

No wonder it was a regional specialty.

I had thought it was famous just because its tail shimmered in five different colors.

But I could confidently say it was the best fish I had ever tasted.

It was easy to understand why Inas had been too busy eating to respond.

“You…”

Inas suddenly spoke.

At that moment, I had finally started shoveling food into my mouth to satisfy the hunger that hit me all at once after three days of labor and barely any proper meals.

“Wha-?”

Startled, I answered with food still in my mouth.

Inas had stopped eating and was looking at me.

Did he suddenly decide it wasn’t that good…?

Just as I started feeling slightly uneasy, he asked an unexpected question.

“…What’s your name?”

“My name?”

“Yeah.”

“My name?”

“…”

I couldn’t even see his face properly through his hair, but it felt like he was silently asking, Who else would I be talking about?

“Ah, haha… yes, my name…”

I laughed awkwardly for no reason.

It wasn’t even a strange question.

But somehow it felt strange.

‘Ah… it’s been a long time since someone asked my name.’

Come to think of it, everyone I met after arriving in this world had only called me “Hero.”

Actually… even before coming here, people rarely asked my real name.

A nickname had always been enough.

There was no need to ask.

‘When was the last time?’

My memory was blurry.

Almost as if no one had called my name in ages.

Who had been the last person?

I couldn’t remember.

“My name is…”

Introducing myself after three whole days.

That was ridiculously late.

Maybe that was why it felt embarrassing.

“My name is Go Seongyeon.”

“Go… Seongyeon?”

“Yes. You can just call me Seongyeon.”

“Hmm…”

Inas made an odd sound and nodded.

Why did he suddenly ask my name?

Did he just get curious about the person who cooked for him?

I tried to hide my awkward feeling with that silly thought.

“Seongyeon.”

Inas called my name.

“Uh… yes?”

I had literally just told him, but hearing it spoken aloud still surprised me.

Especially in such a serious tone.

“More…”

“…”

“I’m hungry…”

“…Oh.”

So he called my name just to ask for more food?

Looking closer, his bowl was completely empty.

When did he finish that?

I was pretty sure I had served him at least twice the amount a normal adult man would eat.

More importantly, I had only taken two bites.

“…Is there none left?”

For some reason, it felt like his gaze was fixed on my portion.

If there wasn’t more, he looked ready to take mine.

“There is more, so could you please stop eyeing my food…?”

“I wasn’t…”

“The merchant must’ve bought out every Sagmil on that island because we’re not running out anytime soon. But just to say it again, stop looking at mine.”

“I didn’t…”

Yeah, right.

He looked exactly like someone ready to snatch it the moment I turned around.

“I’ll go bring more right now, so just stay there quietly. Don’t touch mine.”

“Seongyeon, you’re very suspicious…?”

“…Don’t touch it.”

“Okay…”

Inas finally nodded obediently.

Only after seeing his body lean back from its earlier forward position did I feel safe enough to turn around.

Honestly, even if he did take some of mine, it wouldn’t matter.

There was plenty left.

‘I feel like I should set boundaries early.’

Something about this felt suspicious.

If I let it slide once, it felt like it would keep happening.

It was fine now because we had Sagmil.

But who knew what would happen later?

“…Huh?”

Wait.

Inas had obtained the Sagmil through trade.

Wouldn’t he continue trading?

If so, we wouldn’t have to worry about ingredients at all.

Thinking about how that merchant had practically worshipped Inas’s potions, there was no way the trade would stop.

He had tried so hard to fulfill even ridiculous requests.

If the ingredients were something normal, it probably wouldn’t take long.

Honestly, the merchant would probably be thrilled not to hunt for rare regional specialties anymore.

‘Ah… that actually makes me mad.’

I couldn’t just let the guy who tricked and sold me profit happily.

Maybe I should get involved in the potion trade.

If I didn’t get revenge for being backstabbed, it wouldn’t feel fair.

I piled Sagmil stew into Inas’s bowl and headed back.

Thinking about revenge made my steps quick and light.

“Mr. Inas.”

“I didn’t eat it…”

“…”

“I waited.”

“…”

“Really.”

But my thoughts of revenge disappeared instantly.

Because Inas immediately insisted he hadn’t eaten anything, before I even said a word.

“You… didn’t eat it?”

“Yeah…”

Should I point out that his cheeks were suspiciously puffed out?

“I only had two bites. Don’t you think there’s way less left than there should be?”

“Maybe Seongyeon just takes big bites.”

“…”

Oh really?

“Mr. Inas, let me ask you one thing. You really didn’t eat it?”

I wasn’t exactly in a position to scold him over a little food…

But still.

“Mr. Inas.”

It annoyed me that he didn’t trust there was enough food and tried to take mine.

No matter how hungry he was, could he really be worse off than me?

I’d spent the entire day wrestling with trash in this house.

“…I didn’t eat it.”

“…”

“Just one bite…”

“Hah…”

It definitely looked like more than one bite.

A laugh escaped me in disbelief.

“I see. Then I’ll take one bite from your bowl too.”

“…Why?”

“Because you ate some of mine.”

“…”

He pressed his lips together, apparently unable to argue.

‘…That feels good.’

Landing a hit like that felt surprisingly satisfying.

“I’m joking.”

That was enough.

“Next time I’ll give you more. So please leave my portion alone. I need to eat properly so I have the strength to prepare the next meal too, right?”

“…”

The moment I handed him the bowl, Inas fell silent again.

Because he was already busy eating.

Is he an animal or something?

Actually… he’s more like a dog.

Not as an insult, literally like a woof-woof dog.

Well, they say you shouldn’t bother a dog while it’s eating.

So I’ll let it slide.

‘Still… has he been starving?’

Judging by the way he staggered when walking, his weak voice, and his habit of stuffing anything remotely edible into his mouth…

It seemed like he had gone without food for quite a while.

But maybe not to the point of dying.

Otherwise he wouldn’t have spat out that fruit earlier just because it tasted bad.

When people are starving, taste usually doesn’t matter.

They just eat.

‘Actually… he might still care about taste.’

I couldn’t say I knew Inas well.

But strangely, I felt certain.

If he had been starving, he wouldn’t have been able to resist eating the food right in front of him.

Now that he wouldn’t starve anymore, maybe things would gradually improve.

There was no point worrying about it right now.

Instead…

‘What’s the best way to get revenge so everyone says I did well?’

It seemed better to focus on planning the revenge I hadn’t expected to carry out.

I smirked as I finished my meal, even though more than half of it had disappeared instead of just one bite.

“Mr. Inas.”

“…”

“Eat well and regain your strength.”

So you can make potions.

And trade them.

And help me get my revenge.