Chapter 204: Forty Years of Life in Another World (4) "Alright. With this, the repairs to the spatial transfer spell formula are finished."
Rainfolt brushed the dust off the back of his hand and closed the food truck's hood.
The restoration of the spatial transfer spell formula—which took ten days—had been completed around yesterday noon, but just in case a mistake had created a wrong part somewhere, Rainfolt checked it over again and again.
The inspection he carried out without sleeping all night only ended once morning came, and Rainfolt tapped the hood a few times with a refreshed expression.
"While I was at it, I also finished repairing Interspatial Storage. Now there should be no problem with putting items in and taking them out."
"Thank you very much."
"Still, just in case, don't forget to have the artificial intelligence installed in the food truck confirm that everything was repaired properly."
"Yes, understood."
AI, please confirm whether the spatial transfer function is fully restored. Ah—Interspatial Storage too.
{—Confirming… please wait a moment… Confirmation complete. We inform you that the restoration of the requested functions has been completed.—}
Alright.
"It says there's no problem. Finally… Cardinal Fedora can return safely."
With the weight lifted from his heart, Lee Jinseo looked at Fedora with a genuinely happy expression.
Before coming here, he had even agonized over what kind of measures he would need if she couldn't return to the Francia Continent.
Fortunately, because he met Rainfolt—the creator of the food truck—they could return to the Francia Continent sooner than expected, and Lee Jinseo couldn't hide his joy.
More than anything, the thing that made him happiest was that a grandfather and granddaughter who had been separated for over ten years had miraculously met and could finally pour out what they had held in their hearts.
"That's a relief."
"Your Eminence, you didn't suffer for a day or two waiting for today, so you should be even happier."
"Yes, that's true..."
Unlike what Lee Jinseo expected, Fedora reacted with nothing but calm indifference, and a silence fell.
Rainfolt put a hand on Lee Jinseo's shoulder as Lee Jinseo stood there not knowing what to do, shook his head, and led him farther away from Fedora.
"She has her own troubles. It's hard to explain in detail… anyway, I would be grateful if you would just think of this much: that it's a relief we can send my granddaughter back."
"Understood."
"Then are you leaving immediately?"
"After we gather all the ingredients and other supplies we need. I already placed orders by phone, but since the quantity is so large, it'll take several days just to go around and pick everything up."
"Do you plan to resume bunsik sales the moment you return?"
"No. It's because Charlotte-nim asked me."
"Ah, that dragon who woke up after hundreds of years?"
Two days ago, Lee Jinseo exchanged contact with Charlotte for the third time through Nero.
When Lee Jinseo said the food truck's repairs would be finished soon and he'd be able to return, Charlotte abruptly made a strange request.
Bring back a huge amount of ingredients to make bunsik and other dishes. Enough to fill Interspatial Storage.
Lee Jinseo had expected something like a request to bring back a huge amount of cola that would have run out by now, but he was baffled by the much bigger scale of her request.
However, the time he could talk through Nero was limited, and there wasn't time for a detailed explanation, so Charlotte ended the contact with only a demand that he follow her instructions for now.
"She's not planning to hold a banquet to celebrate your return with my granddaughter… but if a dragon asked, you have to do it no matter what, don't you?"
"That's right. For now, since I'm here, I plan to visit my parents' graves first."
"Visit graves?"
"My parents' grave is not far from here."
Maybe it was because he had seen Rainfolt sipping soju in front of his companions' gravestones a few days ago.
Lee Jinseo decided he would stop by his parents' grave once more—the one he had visited on Lunar New Year's Day.
"You said both your parents passed away, like my granddaughter. It must have been very hard. That's why, among the wishes, you chose th—"
When Fedora, who had been watching from a distance, approached, Rainfolt hurriedly wrapped up what he was saying and stepped away from Lee Jinseo.
"Little Grandfather, are you done talking?"
"It was nothing much. Anyway, it's a relief that things worked out."
"Ah, and Your Eminence. I couldn't tell you earlier… I can't return to the Francia Continent immediately because I have work to do. Please understand."
"That's fine."
"Then after I visit my parents' graves, I'll collect the ordered ingredients as quickly as possible and come back."
"Visiting graves… Lee Jinseo-nim. I do not know if I am overstepping, but may I go with you?"
"Visiting graves? The grave is up high on a mountain, so we'll have to walk up for quite a while. Are you sure you're alright with that?"
Even though Lee Jinseo voiced concern, Fedora nodded without hesitation.
While driving the food truck toward his parents' shared cemetery, Lee Jinseo checked the navigation and saw there was a cathedral not far away, so he stopped by the cathedral with Fedora.
Fedora had long wanted to see religious facilities in Korea, and once she entered the cathedral she had only heard about, she couldn't take her eyes off it in fascination.
As Fedora looked around in a daze, a priest hurried over to her.
Hearing that a foreigner had come to a quiet cathedral that didn't get many visitors, the priest personally guided Fedora.
"To think there was such a story… I respect those who protected this place with nothing but faith even in hardship."
"And you really speak Korean well. My English is poor, so at first I truly didn't know what to do."
"Actually, my English is not good either. So you may continue speaking Korean."
"I wish every foreigner who comes here spoke Korean fluently. Hahaha..."
Fedora walked around the cathedral with the priest, chatting about the cathedral's history.
During that time, Lee Jinseo stood alone at the cathedral entrance, recalling old memories of going to church every week with his mother.
It has a similar layout to the cathedral I used to go to. But… it only feels awkward.
When his mother was alive, the cathedral had been a familiar place, but after several years of not coming, it had become unfamiliar.
Instead, the Heirem Order's cathedral on the Francia Continent felt more familiar.
I used to really hate coming to church. Every time, Mom would buy me a hamburger and persuade me to go with her… I was so immature back then.
When he was young, Lee Jinseo hadn't noticed how his mother's hands had grown rough from working in the bunsik shop.
After he realized how hard she had suffered to raise him, he felt heartbroken whenever he saw those rough hands, and he vowed he would let her live in comfort.
But before Lee Jinseo's resolve could come true, his mother followed his father, who had left first.
"Lee Jinseo-nim."
"Huh? Ah… you're back."
Only then did Lee Jinseo notice Fedora standing beside him and flinch.
"Aren't you going to look around inside, Lee Jinseo-nim?"
"Well… it's been quite a while since I did confession, so it feels hard to go inside."
As someone who had fallen away, Lee Jinseo felt uncomfortable stepping inside the cathedral.
And since his mother—who always stood beside him whenever he came—was no longer there, the awkwardness only grew.
If my mother were here… she'd have grabbed my hand and dragged me inside, telling me not to mope like that.
With a lonely gaze, Lee Jinseo stared at the cross deep inside the cathedral.
"And I've been here a lot before. But Your Eminence, are you done looking around already?"
"Yes. We have to go visit the graves too, so I cannot stay too long."
"What do you think of Korea's cathedral?"
"It felt like a familiar space, and yet also exotic. If possible, I would like to see believers attending Mass as well, but I gave up because it is in the evening."
"I see."
After that, the conversation between them stopped.
Not knowing what to say, their gazes naturally drifted toward the inside of the cathedral, and time continued to pass in silence.
Only after about thirty minutes did Fedora start walking toward the food truck, and Lee Jinseo followed.
Arriving at the shared cemetery halfway up a high mountain, Lee Jinseo parked the food truck and climbed the stairs toward his parents' grave.
After climbing for quite a while, Lee Jinseo placed flowers at his parents' grave and did weeding together with Fedora.
Then he laid out the food he brought on a mat.
After placing fruit, rice cakes, dried pollack strips, and the foods his parents liked, Lee Jinseo poured clear rice wine into two ritual cups.
"It is similar to the ancestral rite we performed at the Chuseok festival."
"Yes. Come to think of it, that has already become last year's event. Back then, it was done in a very cheerful atmosphere."
Lee Jinseo smiled lightly as he recalled last year's Chuseok festival, when many people bowed together.
The sight of customers attending the ancestral rite amid a lively atmosphere and enjoying holiday food, and the scene of people lining up long to experience the ritual sharing, left an impression on Lee Jinseo deep enough that he still couldn't forget it.
Unlike then, this was a cemetery, and they were here alone together, so the mood couldn't help being heavy.
"Dad. Mom. I'm here."
After greeting his parents, Lee Jinseo bowed twice.
Then Fedora, standing beside him, tried to bow as well, but she hesitated, seeming uncomfortable because she was conscious of the skirt of the dress she had worn.
"You don't have to bow."
Lee Jinseo tried to stop Fedora, but she didn't yield and firmly bowed twice.
"Like this, correct? It was not improper?"
"Yes, no problem."
"Please look away for a moment. Because of the wind, my clothes..."
While Fedora adjusted her outfit, Lee Jinseo lifted one of the ritual cups.
Since he had driven the food truck, Lee Jinseo didn't drink the clear rice wine and instead sprinkled it onto the ground.
When he was about to sprinkle the remaining cup too, Lee Jinseo stopped mid-motion and held the cup out toward Fedora.
"Your Eminence, could you drink this for me instead?"
"Me?"
"As you can see, I drove the food truck here. In Korea, you absolutely must not drive under the influence."
"Well… I..."
Fedora stared at the cup Lee Jinseo held out and began to hesitate.
"If you don't like alcohol, you don't have to force yourself. Then I'll just—"
Gulp, gulp.
Fedora drank the entire cup of clear rice wine in one go, grimaced, stuck her tongue out briefly, then pulled it back in.
"It is stronger than I expected."
"A-are you alright?"
"This is bearable."
As if it were nothing, Fedora lifted her head sharply and stared straight into Lee Jinseo's eyes.
"You don't look alright at all..."
Contrary to her words, her face began turning red.
"If you were weak to alcohol, you should have told me..."
Lee Jinseo looked at Fedora lying in the back seat rather than the passenger seat, feeling sorry for her.
After they finished visiting the grave and got into the food truck, Fedora couldn't endure the drunkenness and fell asleep on the spot.
Realizing only later that she was asleep, Lee Jinseo pulled into a drowsy-rest area he spotted on the way, then helped her into the back seat so she could sleep comfortably.
"Now that I think about it, I've never once seen Your Eminence drink."
Lee Jinseo felt awkward, regretting that he had urged her to drink the ritual cup.
Because there were so many heavy drinkers on the Francia Continent—like Hayward and the dwarves—he had mistakenly assumed Fedora would naturally be able to handle alcohol to some extent.
"Little Grandfather..."
"You're awake? Just a moment."
When a sobbing voice slipped out of Fedora's mouth, Lee Jinseo hurriedly brought her a honey-water drink.
But Fedora still couldn't fully wake, keeping her eyes closed.
"Let's go back together..."
"...."
"I don't want… to be separated again."
Tears ran down Fedora's cheek as she spoke in her sleep.
After wiping her tears with a handkerchief, Lee Jinseo took off the button-up shirt he was wearing and covered her face and shoulders with it.
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