The Strongest in the World Doesn’t Want To Do Anything

15 – Episode 15

Wolfgang had been riding a ghost for hours through an unnamed forest.

“Ugh… I’m starving…”

The chaotic victory celebration had been his last meal, and now he felt an intense hunger.

Unable to bear it any longer, Wolfgang dismounted and concealed himself in the bushes, plotting to hunt down any passing animals for sustenance.

How much time had passed? Not even a single rabbit or squirrel was in sight, let alone an ant or birdling.

“Dying of hunger was not part of my plan.”

He briefly contemplated teleporting to the nearby village, but the uncertainty of where he might end up dissuaded him.

“If I land in some desert-like place, it’ll truly be the end…”

Wolfgang lay on the ground, gazing at the ghost he’d tethered to a tree.

“You’re lucky. You don’t even need to eat.”

The greatest trait of creatures revived by necromancy was their ability to act continuously until the spell was broken.

Staring at the ghost’s exposed rib bones, Wolfgang genuinely envied that aspect.

“If you were alive, you’d have been a splendid meal.”

Whether the ghost understood his sentiment, blue flames flickered from its nostrils.

Clutching his rumbling stomach, Wolfgang slowly rose.

“What would Dore Grills have done in this situation?”

He recalled the contents of a book he’d read in the academy library about the legendary adventurer, Dore Grills, and his extraordinary survival techniques.

“‘Cicadas make for excellent ingredients.

As commonly known, insects boast a high protein content.

Among them, the cicada stands out as the creature with the highest protein content.'”

If you remove the poisonous stinger, you can eat it alive without any problem, but when skewered and roasted over the fire, the tough shell softens, making it much easier to eat.

Its crispy texture, combined with the flavorful creamy interior, is exceptional.

Despite its gruesome appearance, perhaps it’s safe from extinction due to its availability in the wild, the locust is considered one of the best delicacies easily obtainable.

“Locusts!”

As knowledge that could be applied immediately came to mind, Wolfgang closed his eyes and listened to the buzzing of the beetles.

Various insect cries echoed through the night air.

Concentrating only on the locust’s cry, he tried to collect the nearest one.

Following the sound, he soon discovered a locust vigorously crying in the nearby bushes, unaware of its impending fate.

Wolfgang reached out and swiftly caught the locust.

Its repulsive and gruesome appearance was surprisingly fascinating.

“Damn. It can be done.”

Holding the grotesque insect in one hand, he aimed the other hand with a makeshift club at its head.

Thud—

The locust’s head, with the stinger attached, detached from its body and disappeared into the bushes.

“Processing complete.”

Looking satisfied at the cleanly severed head of the locust, Wolfgang found a suitable twig and skewered the locust’s body onto it.

Approaching the Ghost, he began roasting the skewered locust over the blue flames of the blaze.

With the crackling sound reminiscent of firewood burning, the insect’s body gradually cooked.

“That should do.”

Despite the visually unappealing appearance, even this was a delicacy to Wolfgang.

“Damn… it can be done.”

With determination, Wolfgang closed his eyes and took a large bite.

Along with the crispy sound, the inside of his mouth was filled with a nauseating taste.

“Ptuh!!! Damn it!”

With a distorted face, Wolfgang spat out everything in his mouth.

Profanity followed.

“No, Dore Grills, hyung! What the hell is this?”

At that moment, suddenly, the contents of the back of the book came to mind.

[Translator’s note: Based on the author’s eating experience, the taste of the locust was very, very contrary to the content of the text.]

ps: the note above was written by ai kek

Perhaps distorted by his persistent aversion to bizarre food, the highly subjective content with the distinct taste of Doré Grills warrants caution to readers attempting to venture into it.

“Damn… son of a bitch…”

Wolfgang, having thrown the skewer in his hand, pressed his mouth against Ghost’s fur to erase the lingering taste and scorched his mouth with the spikes of the creature.

The burned mouth, suffering a serious injury, soon sprouted fresh skin and became tidy.

Wolfgang, who had only discarded his taste but failed to satisfy his hunger, began to rapidly sink into melancholy.

Simultaneously, memories of the most delicious foods he had ever eaten began to surface one by one.

From the refreshing lemon cake, the freshly made hot potato salad, a piece of juicy steak, to the Eastern traditional dish of mandu filled with minced pork and fragrant perilla leaves wrapped in moist dumpling skin.

“If only I could have a bite of that mandu…”

It was during the height of the war, on a day when Wolfgang, after engaging in a battle as usual, was resting at the camp.

Guided by a delicious aroma wafting from somewhere, he encountered Chaewon-so, who was eating mandu at a place she had found.

Using the authority of the squad leader, he could taste the mandu she was eating.

It was a historical moment when Wolfgang’s favorite food changed.

Since then, Wolfgang had been pestering Chaewon-so for mandu at the camp.

He had obtained so much that for a while, Chaewon-so avoided Wolfgang.

“If he lets me eat only that mandu, even our dog-like engineer can turn a blind eye to what’s behind my back.”

Thinking of another traitor, anger started to build up, but it disappeared into the grumbling sound of his stomach.

“Ha… damn. Teleportation… I guess I have to master it?”

At that moment when Wolfgang, who had given up everything due to the continuing hunger, was about to use teleportation, he turned his head at the faint scent of mandu that brushed his nose.

“Me… I had this ability too?”

His sense of smell became extremely sensitive.

Only to a specific scent.

Since inheriting the powers of the gods, he had never been hungry, so it was an unknown hidden ability.

With no need to escape, just like the teleportation he had never tried before, in this extreme situation, he discovered a new ability.

Wolfgang quickly mounted Ghost and began to run towards the direction of the scent.

As the scent grew stronger, Wolfgang’s heart raced.

‘Mandu! Mandu!!!’

He ran to a place where a very small inn appeared.

Located in the middle of the street, it seemed to target travelers or traders.

Since there was no need to attract attention, he tied Ghost at a distance and hurried towards the inn.

‘Oh!‘

Forgetting for a moment that he was a well-known figure, Wolfgang pulled a black hood from his pocket, roughly flipped it over his head, and opened the inn’s door.

The warmth enveloping his face and the delicious scent of hot dumplings wafting through his nostrils made his heart involuntarily warm.

The interior of the inn had a very ordinary layout, consisting of a ground floor with tables for dining and a second floor for accommodation.

A few guests were having their meals at the tables, and the innkeeper sat at the counter, nodding off with his fists on it.

No one paid any attention to Wolfgang.

Satisfied with such a reaction, Wolfgang approached the innkeeper and lightly tapped the counter with his fist.

Awakened by the sound, the innkeeper adjusted his posture and greeted Wolfgang.

“Welcome. Are you here for lodging, sir?”

“No, just a meal.”

“Ah, I see. Our menu…”

“Hot dumplings.”

“Hot dumplings?”

“Yes. The smell in the air… Give me one with this food.”

“I see. So it includes hot chrysanthemum. I didn’t know it was called that. I’ll prepare it for you right away.”

With a content smile at the innkeeper’s hospitality, Wolfgang took a seat and waited for his food.

He was thrilled at the thought of tasting hot dumplings after a long time.

After a while, the innkeeper approached Wolfgang’s table, carrying a bowl of food.

Wolfgang closed his eyes and began a thankful prayer in a reverent posture.

“Oh, Lord, you haven’t forsaken me. I will gratefully enjoy this daily sustenance.”

The sound of a clatter accompanied the rising heat of the food on the table.

“Enjoy your meal.”

The innkeeper’s footsteps faded away.

Wolfgang, full of anticipation, slowly opened his eyes.

“Well, damn.”

Before him was a large plate of bright red, fully ripened hot chrysanthemum with kimchi, emitting steam.

“Hey! Innkeeper!”

In a voice tinged with anger, the innkeeper returned to Wolfgang, looking perplexed.

“Yes?”

“Is this hot dumplings?”

The innkeeper looked back and forth between the bewildering expression on his face and the food he had brought for Wolfgang.

“Yeoncham… I may not know much about a dish called mandu, but among the foods we sell at our house, this is the only one that contains yeonchamnamul.”

“Sigh… Are there any other dishes?”

“Grilled or fried mandu…”

“…Is there any damn dish without mandu?”

“We specialize in mandu, so…”

At the thunderous noise, Wolfgang turned his head to check another table.

On every table where people were eating, dishes of mandu, cooked in various forms, were placed.

“This is insane…”

“Um… I’m sorry, sir, but this food has already been prepared, so even if you don’t eat it, you still have to pay…”

Wolfgang let out a deep sigh and spoke calmly to the owner.

“Do you have flour?”

“Yes?”

“Do you have flour in the kitchen?”

“Yes… we do.”

Wolfgang handed the plate of food to the owner.

“Knead the flour, finely chop these ingredients, put them in, and shape them into a round form. I’ll pay double the price…”

“Oh… I understand.”

Taking the plate, the owner looked interested and went back to the kitchen.

“Darn it… Why are all these newly acquired abilities so messed up?”

With a grumbling sound, Wolfgang, feeling exhausted, sat down as if his strength had drained away.

“Let’s eat even the fake yeoncham mandu…”

He lowered his head and looked at his stomach stuck to the leather.

“Why does a restaurant specialize in mandu in the first place…”

With a deep sense of disappointment, as he waited for the fake yeoncham mandu, suddenly, as if lightning had struck, everything flashed before his eyes.

“What is this?”

A moment later, a tremendous flash of brightness engulfed the entire inn.

Wolfgang urgently stood up from his seat and shouted.

“Everyone, get down!”

With an enormous roar, the inn exploded.