I Became a Hotelier at the Goryeo National Hotel - Chapter 24

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 24

 

“Is the cooking finished now?”

 

“No. I need to let this dough rest while making more. There are a few things I need to do in the meantime.”

 

“Tell me.”

 

Lee Jeong Ah’s eyes showed trust in Seo Rin.

 

“I think it would be good to warm up the place where the guests will dine in advance.”

 

At those words, Lee Jeong Ah smiled warmly and said.

 

“Don’t worry about that.”

 

Lee Jeong Ah had already arranged for braziers to be placed in the dining hall that the guests would use. She found Seo Rin, who even thought about the guests’ comfort, very admirable.

 

‘To have such a caring heart for the guests. If I bring this child to our department later, she’ll surely be of great help.’

 

“And there’s one more thing I’d like to ask…”

 

“Yes, what is it?”

 

Lee Jeong Ah’s eyes looking at Seo Rin were practically dripping with honey at this point.

 

“Do you happen to have a tool that can show direction?”

 

“A tool that can show direction… Are you perhaps referring to a compass?”

 

I don’t know the old names well. That’s probably right, isn’t it?

 

“Yes, that… seems to be correct.”

 

“What do you need it for?”

 

“I’d like to prepare a prayer room.”

 

“A prayer room?”

 

Seo Rin roughly explained Muslim laws and prayers to Lee Jeong Ah.

 

“…Amazing. How do you know about such things?”

 

“When you learn a language, you naturally come to know about that country’s culture as well.”

 

“I see. Is the food almost finished?”

 

“Yes, I just need to bake this dough and it’ll be done.”

 

“Alright, then I’ll go find a suitable place.”

 

After receiving Seo Rin’s request, Lee Jeong Ah left while making another resolution.

 

‘As expected, I must bring this child to our department!’

 

“S-Seo Rin. Is there anything I can help with?”

 

Gap-i, who had been waiting behind for the conversation between the Deputy Commander and Seo Rin to end, approached and asked.

 

“Yes! Could you get me some cold water?”

 

“Y-yes!”

 

Gap-i quickly went to fetch water from the well.

 

‘Now, the dough has finished resting, so let’s shape it.’

 

Seo Rin sprinkled barley flour on the cutting board, placed the dough on it, rolled it out with a rolling pin to shape it, then carried it to the stove.

 

At the stove, Da Sim was cleaning the inside of the pot completely and putting in firewood to start the fire. Looking at the temperature, while it wasn’t quite like a tandoor, this would be enough for the dough to bake well.

 

When Da Sim moved aside, Seo Rin carefully attached the shaped dough to the heated inner wall of the cauldron, making sure it wouldn’t fall off.

 

“Huh? Why are you sticking the dough there?!”

 

When Da Sim exclaimed in shock, Seo Rin smiled and answered.

 

“In Dashi Kingdom, they bake dough like this and eat it. It’s delicious because it has a smoky flavor.”

 

After a while, when the outside turned golden brown, Seo Rin took out the lavash with a metal skewer and divided it into baskets.

 

“Phew…!”

 

Seo Rin’s eyes sparkled as she wiped away sweat with her sleeve.

 

“There, now all preparations are complete!”

 

* * *

 

“…Don’t tell me they took the wrong path?”

 

Lee Eun Cheon and Jeong Jun Gyeong were waiting on the ridge of Hyeeum Pass for Hyeeumwon’s first guests, the merchants from Dashi Kingdom.

 

However, even though the appointed time had passed, the merchants were nowhere to be seen on the road.

 

Jun Gyeong spoke with an irritated voice.

 

“Why~ do we have to escort and bring these people who turned Hyeeumwon upside down by changing the schedule as they pleased?”

 

Upon hearing the sudden news that the schedule had been moved up, Hyeeumwon hurriedly sent messengers to arrange the changed meeting place and time, while deciding to greet them for safety.

 

Since it was a large trading company coming for trade, the risk of encountering bandits or thieves targeting their wealth could not be ignored.

 

“I heard it’s quite a famous trading company. Then their guards must also be skilled people, right? They’ll manage to come on their own. To think that this Jun Gyeong has to go out to greet mere trading company lackeys.”

 

“I don’t recall asking you to provide escort. If you’re dissatisfied, go back.”

 

This trading company that Hyeeumwon was going out to greet and escort was not just ‘any ordinary trading company.’

 

The Imperial Court was pursuing trade with the Al-Fairuz Merchant Group, which wielded great power in international trade, and this visit was no different from laying the groundwork for that.

 

The Imperial Court saw Hyeeumwon as more than just a lodging facility. They had noticed early on the possibility that this place would become an important base for trade and diplomacy.

 

That’s why they exceptionally dispatched officials and even Da Bi to support this director selection, and entrusting Lee Eun Cheon, who held the position of Imperial Censor, with the important responsibility of overall management was also in the same context.

 

Lee Eun Cheon, who understood the Imperial Court’s position well, had personally come out to greet them to show sincerity.

 

“Yes, I’m saying this out of worry! Where on earth are these people?!”

 

When Jun Gyeong changed his tune, Eun Cheon said calmly.

 

“We sent messengers ahead, so they shouldn’t have taken the wrong path.”

 

Then Jun Gyeong uttered an ominous remark.

 

“They weren’t dragged away by tigers, were they?”

 

“If that were the case, the road wouldn’t be so clean. There would be some traces left.”

 

Upon hearing Jun Gyeong’s words, the sound of Hyeeumwon’s guards whispering among themselves and chattering could be heard.

 

“Could they really have been dragged away by tigers as the General said?”

 

“Or maybe they were attacked by bandits.”

 

Although Hyeeum Pass was a road that was always bustling with frequent traffic of people and goods, it was a place where hundreds of victims appeared every year because tigers and bandits often harmed travelers due to the deep valleys and dense forests.

 

One of the reasons the Emperor ordered the establishment of Hyeeumwon was to protect and provide convenience for the people traveling between Gaekyeong and Namgyeong.

 

“That’s why the lords personally came out here to greet them, but if it’s true, what happens now?”

 

As the guards said, if their first customers, especially merchants from a foreign country, had been dragged away by bandits or tigers, it would certainly be a disaster for Hyeeumwon.

 

That’s when it happened.

 

Clang! Kang—!

 

Jun Gyeong and Eun Cheon simultaneously looked in the same direction.

 

It was the sound of metal clashing against metal.

 

“Eun Cheon! Did you hear that?!”

 

Eun Cheon had already spurred his horse and was galloping toward the source of the sound.

 

“Tch! Let’s go together!”

 

Jun Gyeong also quickly spurred his horse and followed behind. The guards likewise hastily gripped their weapons and closely followed the two.

 

The place where the sound came from was not far from the mountain pass.

 

The two who arrived at the scene first saw about ten people armed with weapons surrounding people in exotic attire.

 

On the wagon they were protecting hung a flag with a blue-green jewel pattern representing the Al-Fairuz Merchant Group.

 

“Are those them?”

 

When Jun Gyeong asked, Eun Cheon nodded.

 

“Don’t kill them. We need to check if there’s someone behind this.”

 

“Got it!”

 

Jun Gyeong leaped from his running horse like an acrobat and struck the bandits’ necks with the back of his hand.

 

“Argh!”

 

Each time Jun Gyeong swung his hand, they fell helplessly like hollow scarecrows.

 

While Jun Gyeong was running wild, Eun Cheon approached the merchants. Fortunately, there seemed to be no casualties among the group.

 

[I am General Manager Lee Eun Cheon from Hyeeumwon. Who is the person in charge of the trading company?]

 

When Eun Cheon asked in fluent Dashi language, an older-looking person from among the merchant group stepped forward.

 

[Ah, General Manager, you came at just the right time. I am Rashid Ahmed, deputy leader of the Al-Fairuz Merchant Group.]

 

[What happened here?]

 

[We were attacked on the way up to the pass.]

 

At that moment, a young merchant standing behind the deputy leader grumbled as if wanting everyone to hear.

 

[If you built lodging facilities in a bandits’ den, you should have given us a heads up beforehand.]

 

[Be quiet.]

 

Even when deputy leader Rashid warned him, he deliberately muttered even louder as if wanting to be heard more.

 

[Well, it’s not like I said anything wrong.]

 

[Nasim!]

 

[Yes~ Yes~]

 

Rashid let out a small sigh and then apologized to Lee Eun Cheon.

 

[…I’m sorry. That boy is my nephew and the heir to the trading company, but this is his first time in Goryeo so he doesn’t know much. I’ll give him a stern warning.]

 

[It’s fine. But what exactly is the current situation?]

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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