The Cook of a Perished World - Chapter 39

Episode 39: Empty supermarkets (3)

Cans with three dogs on them.

The meaning of the picture was not difficult to guess.

Pet food.

“Those kids. “It looks like you’ve been eating this.”

“Do you think so?”

When I was checking out the supermarket, I was surprised to see that even the pet food section was completely empty.

Its whereabouts were discovered fairly quickly.

“They seemed like little kids. “It’s so pitiful.”

A soldier standing next to me said.

We were lucky that we didn’t starve during this time.

I heard that food is becoming more and more scarce on earth.

After all, that county is the place with the most survivors.

It’s the place with the most zombies, monsters, and food.

It would have been fortunate for those children to have at least pet food.

“still. “It hasn’t even been half a year since the monster appeared.”

The world has already changed this much.

I am surprised once again.

Given the circumstances, it appears that the children were hiding without being able to eat proper food.

To be honest, as a human being, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

but.

There was something I had to think about separately from that.

“Sergeant Shin Young-jun. “Could you please come here for a moment?”

Corporal Seo Soo-hyuk called me.

I can guess what they’re going to say.

I also nodded and followed him to the corner.

The effect of ‘sensitive hearing’ that was given as a result of cooking has also disappeared.

Corporal Seo Soo-hyuk opened his mouth in a low voice.

“May I ask what you plan to do with those kids?”

An expected question.

The first survivor I encountered after coming down to earth.

We had to decide on its treatment.

“What do you think?”

“They are young children and they look pitiful.”

He speaks after sighing.

“I think that and whether we can protect it are separate issues.”

“yes.”

After coming down to the ground.

We somehow managed to settle down in a temporary base called the official residence.

but.

To put it bluntly, there was not enough room.

‘The only food there is is monster meat. Even this will only decrease if additional supply is not provided.’

There are already more than 100 mouths to feed.

The rate at which food is decreasing is also faster than expected.

Even the temporary base is literally temporary.

To be honest, there was no stability as a proper base.

What’s worse is that the survivors who joined haven’t even awakened yet.

‘If only in terms of protecting survivors. The environment is worse than when I stayed in the 423rd Battalion.’

At least the 423rd Battalion was sufficient to serve as a base.

“furthermore. They seemed like children. If you have to move, you may have physical problems. “Especially if you get sick, the problem will get bigger.”

“Healers’ healing abilities are not omnipotent.”

Although there are priests and healers, even these have limitations.

Because there is a limit to the number of powerful healing skills.

Treatment of common diseases is possible, but even that is not easy now that there are no medicines.

It’s like not being able to utilize half of my abilities as a chef if I don’t have the ingredients to cook.

Now that there is a shortage of medicines, their treatment ability is not perfect.

What if even one person gets sick like that?

It doesn’t stop with one person’s problem.

One person’s illness puts shackles on the group’s actions.

Although there are young children among the survivors already accepted.

As the number increases, it also means that the risk increases.

“Accommodating survivors and increasing the number of people is definitely something that needs to be done someday, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be done now.”

“hmm.”

I might be able to protect those two right now without any problems.

But then what about the other survivors we meet next?

Maybe after the situation improves.

It’s impossible to protect them all.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Wise choice. “I’m looking forward to it.”

I thought it was not an easy decision to make, so I was worried.

I slowly turn my eyes and look around other parts of the supermarket.

I could still see the soldiers searching for something useful.

‘I’m sure many other soldiers have similar opinions to this guy.’

It’s not that the other guys are selfish or anything.

All I can say is that based on recent observation, there is a high possibility that this is the case.

As they fought together in the unit, the camaraderie among the unit members became quite strong.

Although opinions may differ, the sense of being colleagues has become firm.

This has advantages, but it also has disadvantages.

While my feelings for my allies became stronger.

Interest in other things actually decreased.

‘It’s been a few days since I came down to earth. But none of the soldiers said anything about going to rescue anyone else.’

Same goes for those two.

It seems like there are some soldiers who feel sorry for it right now.

It is highly likely that only a small number of soldiers believe that they should accept the damage and accept them.

‘If you take that into consideration. ‘It’s right to leave it behind.’

Those children had somehow managed to survive by hiding before we arrived.

Even if we don’t protect it, it may be able to endure longer with its own know-how.

But…

there was one thing that bothered me.

‘Pet food rolling around on the floor.’

The price is never cheap.

They must have definitely been valuable foods for dogs and cats.

but.

‘It’s not food for humans.’

Even if taste comes second.

Because we don’t know what effect it will have on our health.

Especially at a young age when food is important.

If we leave it like this, we will have to fill our hunger with the remaining food.

…hmm.

decided.

“Let’s try feeding them some food first.”

“yes?”

That’s what I suddenly said after keeping my mouth shut while thinking about it.

“What do you mean by feeding me food?”

Corporal Seo Soo-hyuk’s reaction was that he was embarrassed.

“no way. Are you trying to talk about taking us under protection?”

“It’s not like that.”

I shrugged my shoulders and said.

“Even if we send them away, we want to feed them at least one meal.”

“Hmm.”

It is true that there is a shortage of food ingredients.

If you ask me if I don’t even have enough to feed the kids, it’s not that much.

“…being vaguely nice to someone can actually be toxic. “If you’re going to cut it out, I think it would be a good idea to definitely cut it out.”

“That’s not wrong either. “It’s not because I want to be nice to them or anything like that.”

“Then for what reason-.”

“Self-satisfaction as a chef.”

“yes?”

I feel sorry for it too.

As a human being, I also want to help.

“If that had been the focus, it wouldn’t have been like this.”

Actually, that’s not the main point.

The reason why I wanted to feed him a meal is simple.

First of all, I am also a chef.

‘It’s inconvenient.’

Pet food, not proper cooking.

The problem with seeing people filling their stomachs with it was that it felt very stuffy and uncomfortable.

There is no other reason than to send someone off after giving them a meal.

I just felt uncomfortable.

Work for my self-satisfaction.

“Self-satisfaction…”

Corporal Seo Soo-hyuk looked dumbfounded after hearing my explanation.

But then.

“Then I can’t help it.”

“hmm?”

The one who joined the conversation from the side.

It was Sergeant Lee Min-jae.

“That’s not what I want to say. “Shouldn’t we stop it a bit?”

“No. You are also the guild leader. Food management is also your job. I have no right to stop you. “I guess you should do what’s comfortable for you.”

In the following words of Sergeant Lee Min-jae:

Corporal Seo Soo-hyuk bowed his head and took a step back.

“You went through a lot of trouble managing the soldiers’ mentality, but I was worried that you didn’t seem to be able to manage your stress well.”

Minjae is in a position to give me advice.

I also tend to listen carefully to advice.

“It’s not a bad deal if you can solve your discomfort with a meal for two. Do whatever feels comfortable. “Guild leader.”

It seems that what Minjae prioritizes most is my judgment as the guild leader.

‘It’s a little surprising.’

There are only detailed class differences.

Except for Lieutenant Kim, all members of our unit are former soldiers.

When we go out in society, we talk informally to each other.

Naturally, I thought that the hierarchical relationship was not strict.

The same goes for the guild leader position.

I used to think it was just an armband that did nothing but cause trouble.

‘That’s not true.’

Some soldiers seem to respect the authority of the guild leader.

Otherwise, there is no way they would respect my decision to put my mind at ease.

“Soohyuk too. “It won’t matter, right?”

“That is my judgment as the guild leader. “There is no room for me to intervene.”

Well, it doesn’t matter anyway.

Ultimately, it means that they support what I want to do.

‘then.’

I decided to go and do what I wanted to do in peace.

To prepare food.

* * *

A moment later.

I held a large bowl in one hand and headed to a corner of the supermarket.

“Commander of the Corps?”

Someone who noticed me like that approached me.

Manager Lee Sang-ah.

And the survivor siblings we encountered just before.

They were sitting there.

Did she lighten the mood in her own way?

It looked like a small conversation was taking place.

But let me get closer.

-I flinch.

‘haha. ‘It’s difficult for kids.’

Lighten up the mood and all.

Children are still wary of me.

It left a little scratch on my delicate heart.

Do I look that scary?

But whatever.

It doesn’t really matter anymore.

‘This time we have prepared countermeasures.’

I placed the bowl I had brought down in front of him.

And let’s open the lid of the bowl.

“Are you hungry?”

Paaaa –

The strong scent of meat spreads throughout the supermarket.

“I brought some dishes. “Let’s eat.”

Fortunately, there was quite a bit of seasoning left.

It is a sweetened soy sauce stew that children will like.

There is no need to reveal what the meat used is, so I decided to skip it.

‘It’s been said since ancient times that eating is the best way to attract kids.’

It’s not for nothing that they say not to follow a man you don’t know even if he gives you candy.

This saying comes about because the temptation to eat is so strong.

“….”

But it was different from my expectations.

The two children did not pick up chopsticks right away.

Doesn’t it look tasty? I wanted to, but that was only for a moment.

Drool…

I could see drool flowing from the boy’s mouth as he looked at the food.

As well as the sparkling eyes.

It looks like he really wants to eat it.

It seems that he is still on guard and is trying to restrain himself with all his might.

“Because I didn’t hear anything poisonous or anything. “You can eat it.”

“….”

“If you don’t eat it, they’ll take it away? “There’s no one to eat it, so I guess I’ll have to throw it away.”

“Ah…”

Only then did the children carefully lift their chopsticks.

Vigilance is no joke.

I carefully picked up the piece of meat with my chopsticks and put it in my mouth.

OK.

“…!!!”

There were no words.

I didn’t think it was necessary to ask whether it was delicious or not.

‘Should I say it’s like a child? It’s fun to see the facial expressions change so dramatically.’

My younger brother took a bite of meat and looked surprised.

Then he started moving his chopsticks continuously.

My older sister didn’t say anything, but she seemed quite surprised.

‘then. ‘Who made this dish?’

Of course, you should eat it deliciously.

The children, who were hesitant at first, started eating properly.

After seeing that, I quietly stepped back to eat in peace.

Leader Lee Sang-ah saw that and followed me out.

“How was the kids’ mood?”

After a little distance from the children who were eating.

I asked Captain Lee Sang-ah.

“For now, it’s enough to have a conversation. “I think there was some misunderstanding.”

“A misunderstanding?”

“I guess they thought we were monsters.”

“what?”

What a monster.

“Do we… or do I look that scary?”

“Puhup. It’s not like that. “There can be things like humanoid monsters or monsters that steal other people’s appearances, right?”

“ah.”

“I guess they thought it could be that kind of monster.”

I thought he was strangely sharp, even though he was wary of other humans.

Was that the reason?

“Why is it that the unit commander’s ability has strengthened the hearing of the unit members like ghosts? “The children’s location was also detected by sound.”

“It’s impossible for a human to have hearing like that, or something like that.”

“yes.”

A humanoid monster.

I thought of the criminals who visited our unit.

‘No, they just had a different job, but they were still human.’

If such people are mixed in as internal enemies, they can grow into a huge threat.

But to take it one step further, does it mean that monsters in human form also exist?

“You’ve never met such a monster, right?”

“Yes. “I’ve never even heard of it through rumors.”

In our unit, the only detailed information on the ground was about her and the survivors.

But that was a month ago.

“It’s been a month since we climbed the mountain. “It seems like information among survivors has been considerably updated in the meantime.”

Civilization was destroyed in just two months.

One month, half of that period.

The information she has is definitely useful.

You have to understand that there are some parts that are a bit outdated.

“Anyway, after talking to him somehow, I think he now at least believes that I’m not a monster. “It was impossible to get to the point of not being on guard at all.”

“Even to that extent, where is it? great job.”

I glanced at the children who were eating.

-Sister, this is so delicious! Right?

-Yes. That’s right.

Now I can see children eating without paying attention.

[Special sauce for peace of mind]

I added a little sauce because I was nervous and thought the rice wouldn’t cook well.

The impact must be quite big.

at that time.

The children are still chewing meat with excitement.

Among them, I made eye contact with my younger brother.

“how is it. “Is it delicious?”

“Yam is delicious.”

Our eyes met, but I couldn’t just ignore it, so I talked to him and he got an answer.

I can’t believe I heard the answer.

This is a huge improvement in relations.

“Is that actually the dish that this brother cooked?”

“Are you uncle?”

Oh man?

This bastard.

As I talked about such trivial things, my sister was also looking at me.

“…it is delicious. thank you for this food. thank you.”

It’s a little late to say ‘I’ll eat well’, but it’s still somewhere.

I could see my sister’s eyes turning slightly red as she said that.

I guess it means there have been a lot of difficult times.

Huh.

“If it’s not enough, let me know. I’m sorry that the only ingredient is meat. “There’s a lot of meat right now.”

I felt embarrassed and said that.

There is no problem in feeding two children.

“There’s just a lot of meat…?”

However, my sister, who heard me, looked a little puzzled.

“Usually people have a hard time because they can’t find meat. “Are you the opposite?”

“what. “It just happened to be like that.”

Thanks to the success of enticing them with something to eat, the atmosphere became somewhat more relaxed.

I also decided to answer comfortably.

“Actually, the reason I came to this supermarket was because I thought I could get other ingredients and other necessary items other than meat.”

“Ah…”

“Unfortunately, I failed.”

My older sister shrugged her shoulders and nodded when I spoke.

Did you have any thoughts after hearing what I just said?

The speed of the chopsticks seemed to have slowed down.

‘My younger brother is a bit like that, but my older sister seems to be the type to think a lot.’

Is it because the world is like this that such an attitude is necessary?

Or maybe he had that kind of personality to begin with.

* * *

So the meal ended smoothly.

Seeing him eating well made me feel good.

The inconvenient parts were resolved well.

Now it’s time to talk seriously.

“What is your name?”

“I’m Suyeon Lee. “My younger brother is Soo-hyuk.”

“okay. Suyeon. Wait a minute… big. “Let’s talk to you.”

I opened my waist pocket.

Then he took out the contents and handed them to her.

“receive.”

“yes? This…?”

“It’s not strange, so don’t worry.”

What I gave her was beef jerky.

Combat rations I made.

“You’ll know when you open it. These are simple beef jerky. “It probably tastes good, too.”

“Are you just giving us food?”

“As I said before, there is a lot of meat right now.”

We also received some from other soldiers, so there was a lot of beef jerky.

Since it was manufactured as combat rations, it is close to having no expiration date.

“And it’s important to start from here, so listen carefully.”

“yes? Ah yes.”

“From here to here. Eat these jerky when you can’t stand eating other things. It is a food that is small in size but high in calories. Just eating half of it will be enough.”

The ones I pointed to were jerky with properties that were helpful in battle.

However, there is a high probability that stat increases will not be applied to these children.

When it is difficult to eat only that pet food.

Or maybe it would be better to eat it when the food runs out.

“And from here to here. Don’t eat these jerky on a regular basis. “You can hide it anywhere.”

“Then when should I eat it?”

“When I leave here.”

This is separate from the increase in ability scores or combat power.

These were beef jerky with properties that could be helpful to survivors.

Alaur’s dish, which increases hearing, is a representative example.

“When you can’t hold out any longer while hiding here and you have to move. Eat it then. “It will help.”

“Can’t the soldiers protect us?”

I thought this would come out.

But the answer was fixed.

“I’m sorry, but that might be a bit difficult.”

“Why?”

“Even though we are soldiers, we have lost all contact with other units. The base established on the ground is also unstable. “It is difficult to add another element of anxiety here.”

“….”

“I’m sorry, but for now, try to survive as long as you can with that food. “Someday, when our situation stabilizes, we’ll come back to this area again.”

It’s a bit heartbreaking, but it can’t be helped.

The moment he continued talking like that.

“I know a place.”

Suyeon, who had been listening quietly, opened her mouth.

She continues speaking with a solemn expression.

“What are you saying?”

“I heard you came here because you wanted to get other ingredients. The result was a failure.”

“hmm.”

Only after hearing that story did I begin to guess what she was going to say.

“There is a place where you can get the ingredients you want. It’s not far away.”

“Why are you suddenly saying that?”

“In exchange for telling you the location, there is a condition.”

It’s a condition.

in other words.

“Let’s make a deal?”

“…yes.”

her.

You suddenly proposed a deal.

A child who was treated like a child.

But I guess my feeling that he wasn’t an ordinary kid was spot on.

I never thought you would suddenly show such a bold side.

It’s a little absurd, though.

Eat.

“That’s fun.”

It’s a bit interesting too.

I decided to agree to the conversation for now.