The Cook of a Perished World - Chapter 17

Episode 17: Threat (1)

“It seems like there’s a story we need to tell about the awakening of that supernatural power.”

“that’s right. I don’t know the exact criteria, but… according to our guess, I think it’s possible to randomly awaken while killing zombies. “I thought I should tell you that information.”

“Thank you for your cooperation.”

Sang-ah also added that he can fight monsters, so if there is a problem, please call him at any time.

Would you say he is a man who protected the survivors and guided them safely to this place?

‘I don’t think someone like that is planning something bad.’

If so, it means that the entity threatening our unit is somewhere else.

While Mr. Ivory fights alone to protect the survivors from the monsters.

Those who were hiding behind it and hiding their identity.

“Well, other than that… is there anything you would like to ask us? First of all, we have provided all the minimum conveniences, but…” “

Then, can I get some extra clothing?”

“If that’s the case, there are still active uniforms… no, sweatpants for soldiers who are not in the unit right now. We will make sure you have as much care as you need. “Is there anything else?”

“Not right now. Conversely, is there anything we can do to help?”

“Then, if you could help with the cleaning work in the dormitory or the dishwashing work in the restaurant…” “

Then how many people from our side…”

Minjae asked if there were any other inconveniences and if there were any special needs. etc.

Several detailed discussions were held.

In the meantime, we are going so far as to proceed with the conversation in a direction where we are not just giving, but also requesting cooperation from civilians in areas where they can.

The appearance was enough to make me think that it was a good decision to appoint him as the representative for this conversation.

After confirming that the conversation was progressing properly, I turned my head and looked at the survivors’ representatives.

These people occasionally ask questions to Minjae and have conversations about things like the cleaning schedule for the dormitory.

‘There must be a hidden awakened person. This is almost certain.’

In fact, it wouldn’t be very difficult to find out who it was.

Because there’s already someone whose tail I stepped on.

‘The man who asked me what my job was.’

It is said that he asked several soldiers about their jobs after that.

Unless you’re really curious about other people’s jobs, it’s clear that you’re considering awakening.

In that case…

“I guess I should ask politely.”

* * *

After meeting with survivors.

There was one change that occurred the next day.

“Dishwashing help is here!”

“…hello.”

“Oh, please come quickly.”

After my successors in the kitchen department died and I was left in charge of the restaurant alone, I had to take charge of all restaurant duties, from basic cooking to dishwashing and cleaning.

‘Originally, the soldiers would help, even if it was just washing dishes, but now that monsters are appearing, we’ve turned them to a reconnaissance team.’

Fortunately, the ‘lowest level cooking skill’ obtained through awakening showed tremendous performance, befitting the name ‘lowest level’.

Thanks to this, tasks related to cooking can be done at tremendous speed and without much effort.

In addition, the number of troops in the unit was reduced to less than half, so the restaurant was somehow able to run alone.

But what if preparing meals for soldiers were all part of the job?

Making food for the awakened buffs.

Understanding all situations in the unit and even participating in meetings to prepare measures.

Basically, cooks get up early in the morning and start cooking, so they are given rest time during work hours in return, but recently, they have had to work even during break time.

‘I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t tired.’

Meanwhile, conversations with survivors took place.

As a result, it was decided that the survivors would help with some of the unit’s work that civilians could also do.

In the case of restaurants, this consists of dishwashing and cleaning assistance.

‘Thanks to you, I can focus entirely on cooking.’

In other words, if I were to express the current situation in one word…

‘Fuck…’

It’s completely comfortable.

“The dishes are done!”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

The first to come to help with dishwashing were two female students who had not yet lost their youthful appearance.

While I was working, I asked around to kill time and found out that she was a sister who went to a nearby high school.

What was a bit surprising was that the younger sister was quite polite and friendly.

The older sister seemed strangely weak and intimidated.

‘There must be something going on.’

The world has become like this.

It’s obvious that you’ve experienced all kinds of unpleasant things.

Besides her, there were many other survivors who seemed particularly lethargic.

‘Hmm… then.’

Thanks to you, my work has become easier, so let’s return the favor.

After finishing washing the dishes, I called the sisters who were about to return and gave them ice cream.

“This is a snack I made. Let’s eat one by one.”

“yes? “Is it okay to eat it?”

“You helped with the dishes and cleaning, right? “This is my reward.”

“Wow…!”

It’s nothing particularly new to me.

Even when the unit was in good condition, the soldiers who volunteered to work in the cafeteria would be given a side dish, like ice cream, to thank them for their hard work.

Of course, now that the supply of corrosion has been cut off, we cannot provide ready-made products like back then.

‘The unit’s water is still flowing well as it has been using groundwater from the beginning. As the generator is still running well, there is a lot of ice. There is no ready-made ice cream, but….’

No ice cream?

Then you can just make it, right?

There were a few simple snacks that could be made with only the ingredients left in the bag.

[Happy emotional misut powder ice cream]

Ice cream made using sugar starch syrup, which is the only ingredient left in the unit, and misut powder, which is an ingredient brought by subordinates.

Some people may be wondering what misutgaru ice cream is.

But this is also surprising.

“it’s good!”

“Yeah… that’s right.”

I mean, it’s delicious.

A little bit of the chef’s special sauce was also added.

“uh? “Are you laughing just now?”

“…I?”

“Sister… I haven’t laughed once since Mom and Dad died…”

The effects of the special sauce were immediate.

My younger brother said that and started crying as if his brave attitude had gone away.

Have you recently lost your parents?

I’m acting like I’m bright, but my younger brother must have had a hard time in many ways.

“I really enjoyed the meal!”

“Thanks for your efforts.”

After a long and short conversation with the two sisters.

My younger sister wiped her tear-filled face and said that, smiled brightly, held my older sister’s hand, and disappeared into the dormitory.

Before leaving the restaurant, he smiles brightly and bows his head in greeting.

Although it was a little bit, it warmed my heart.

“…The abilities I gained after awakening are buffs and cutting skills. “Well, there are many things.”

Powerful skills and characteristics that are very useful in battle.

Perhaps, in the world changed by this ‘game’, the job called ‘chef’ belongs to the buff class of jobs that are useful in battle.

but.

“The greatest ability of all is….”

The power to bring stability to people’s minds.

[Chef’s Special Sauce]

The world is changing and people are not only suffering from physical injuries.

The place where the wound is bigger than the body is none other than the mind.

In our unit alone, we lost senior and junior comrades who were living with us until the day before.

If that’s the case for the unit members, what about the survivors who may have lost their loved ones right before their eyes?

The emotional change that can be achieved with [Chef’s Special Sauce] is only temporary.

When Gwang-il fed him ‘Courage’ cooking.

The guy who lost his temper due to excessive courage went on a rampage like a berserker, but the next day, he returned to his gentle personality as if nothing had happened.

However, that temporary change in emotion does not mean that it is meaningless.

After that incident, Gwangil no longer gave in to fear.

‘Once I had the courage to fight a monster, it broke the wall in my heart.’

The change in mind caused by the skill itself is temporary, but the events caused by the change in mind affect people even after the effect ends.

Those sisters must have also been heartbroken by the shock of losing their parents.

The memory of happiness gained from eating sweet ice cream will ease the shock a little.

* * *

After that, the unit’s work continued without any significant changes.

The monsters that still invade the unit one or two at a time are dealt with with the guns of the awakened gunners and the non-awakened unit members.

When it is time to awaken, the unit members pretend to approach to remove the body of a dead monster so as not to be noticed by the survivors.

“There is no need for me to intervene.”

Thanks to this, I continued to focus on restaurant work.

Now, we divide and split the few remaining ingredients to distribute meals and devise buff dishes that the awakened unit members can eat.

A daily life with nothing special going on.

Meanwhile, something unusual happened.

“You cook sick.”

“yes?”

“What is your name?”

The person who asked that question was none other than Mr. Park.

The old man who was constantly being strict with us came to help with the dishwashing and instead of doing the dishes he was told to do, he started talking to me.

“My name is Sergeant Shin Young-jun.”

It wasn’t difficult to tell him the name, so I answered without thinking, but…

“Hmph… I thought so.”

“What do you mean you thought it would be like that?”

“That sword you’re using is yours, right?”

“…!”

What followed next gave goosebumps all over my body.

This long sashimi knife I’m using.

I got my hands on it for the first time to hunt the monsters that attacked the restaurant.

Since then, I’ve been using it for cooking because it feels strangely comfortable in my hand, but…

‘It’s not my knife.’

He is my successor who is now dead.

It is a keepsake of Corporal Lee Jun-hyuk, who was called ‘Hwang Jun-san’s mother’ because she was good at her work and had an easy personality.

“How did you know?”

“Are you asking because you don’t know? It’s engraved in Chinese characters, right? Hyuk will shine? It has a good meaning, but it’s not a name you can just put on a knife. “I guess that’s the name of the knife’s original owner?”

When I looked at the blade near the handle, it was clearly engraved with Chinese characters.

Junhyuk, who was studying Japanese cooking, said that this knife was a fairly expensive knife that he received as a gift from his teacher.

Junhyuk said he studied at a proper Japanese restaurant.

The teacher must have engraved his name on the knife to be given to his student with affection.

If you listen to the reason, there is a basis for noticing it, but even taking that into account, it was an incredible observation.

“…That’s amazing. you’re right.”

“Tsk, the guy who uses such a good knife is managing it like that. Anyone would think it was strange and would look at it closely. “Whose is it?”

I can’t believe they managed it like that.

I worked hard to sharpen the blade and took care of it…

“This is the knife that my successor used.”

“It’s past tense?”

“yes. The day the unit was attacked by monsters…”

“Hmph. Well, I thought that might be the case.”

The old man said that and started staring at my face.

‘what.’

As I was about to turn my head because of the burden of his gaze, the old man spoke again.

“Give it to me.”

“yes?”

“Give me that knife.”

A sudden declaration of extortion.

‘This old man…!’

No matter how good the knife is, trying to touch something left behind by someone else’s successor…!

I should have known from the beginning when he was being strict, but was this old man the enemy trying to threaten our unit?

“her. Look at this guy’s eyes. “I’m not trying to steal it, so don’t worry, give it to me, you guy.”

Then the old man forcibly took away the knife.

While I was glaring at him, wary of whether he was trying to get away with it, the old man held a knife as if he knew nothing and headed to the corner of the kitchen.

Then the old man takes out something.

“Whetstone….”

Three square stones.

It was a knife sharpening stone used in restaurants.

“I think I took care of it in my own way, but if someone who doesn’t know how to do it properly takes care of it, it’s just as bad as not doing it at all.”

The old man said so and soaked the whetstones and knives in water.

Then check whether the whetstone is level.

What is the condition of the knife?

After going through various checks.

Shagak Shagak.

He brought the blade to the whetstone at an angle and began to sharpen it.

I too was able to understand the old man’s intention when he took out the whetstone.

‘…If you want to sharpen the knife, just say so.’

Feeling embarrassed for no reason, I scratched my cheek and opened my mouth.

“I’m also a bit of a cook. “I think I know how to sharpen a knife.”

“I’m not telling adults to talk while they’re working.”

“….”

“And it’s true that you don’t know how to sharpen a knife.”

“….”

The knife sharpening, which I thought would be over quickly, took longer than expected.

“It’s a good knife.”

The old man returned the knife to me after over an hour had passed.

“It’s solid and well balanced. Thanks to this, cleaning takes time and is difficult. “If you take good care of a knife like this, it will stay sharp for a long time.”

A knife sharpened to the point where it shines.

When I lifted it up, a cold air flowed from the blade, and when I turned it to the side, I could see my face reflected on the blade.

‘…It’s already a good sword, but I never thought it could change so much.’

I have nothing to say.

After seeing this result, I have no choice but to admit that my knife sharpening skills are at the ‘bad’ level.

“…thank you.”

“joy. “I heard you made ice cream for Hyunji and Hyeji?”

“yes?”

Local hyeji?

Who is that?

“Hyeji said she thought she would never see her smile again. I don’t even know how long it’s been since I last had sweet food. I don’t know if it’s because it was so delicious. Think of this as the price.”

After hearing that.

Hyunji and Hyeji.

I realized that it was the name of a sister who had recently come to help with dishwashing.

‘Now that I think about it, this old man was one of the representatives of the survivors.’

The survivors had designated a representative for each room.

The two sisters must have been included in the room where this grandfather received the representative.

“…If you give the knife sharpener an ice cream and ask him for it, he will be very angry. “I don’t know if this is the right price.”

“Tsk tsk. Then just assume that the ice cream is prepaid. “Pay off the rest slowly.”

“I have more ice cream. Would you like it, Grandpa?”

“I can’t eat because it’s so cold. Instead…”

Mr. Park said, wiping the sweat from his forehead as if he had exerted a lot of effort.

“I will continue to cook for people from now on. “I’ll just pay the balance with that.”

After saying that, the grandfather returned to the dormitory.

‘You didn’t wash the dishes, but…’

I turn the sashimi knife around.

When you look at a knife that is so sharp that it even sparkles, it feels like nothing.

‘Cook for people.’

[Chef’s Special Sauce] has the power to touch people’s emotions.

That power can be used to heal someone’s heart like this.

I guess I’m asking you to use my power for good rather than abusing it.

If so…

I’m sorry.

I think we will have to delay paying the balance that Grandfather Park mentioned.

‘Because the cooking I’m going to cook from now on won’t be very good.’

That evening.

After the dishwashing support team was established.

The man I had been waiting for the most visited the restaurant.

“…Long time no see.”

“Haha, I see. Where can I wash the dishes?”

To the man who diligently washes dishes without any suspicion.

I handed over a snack that I had prepared with great care.

[Misutgaru ice cream made with the honest heart of a novice chef]

“I made a snack for you. Let’s eat it and go.”

Perhaps the sweetest confession in human history.