The Cook of a Perished World - Chapter 57

Episode 57: Spiritist (2)

“Isn’t it because of those eyes?”

“How did you even get to that…!”

The attitude that had always been expressionless collapsed.

A woman looking at me with her white, blind eyes wide open.

and.

Still in my sight.

[Ingredients Identification]

[Occupation: Spiritist]

[Attribute: Spirit Eye]

Her information was emerging.

Even though.

You probably didn’t expect that there would be people who could peek into other people’s status windows.

‘It’s a spirit in a spirit temple.’

There are wizards working in the unit without any problems.

There’s also a spiritist… so there’s nothing strange about it.

It feels strange to actually see it like this.

‘If they know about our unit, then of course the only reason it’s possible is because of that spirit or something.’

Of course, I can only assume that he did something with the spirit.

I don’t know exactly how it was done.

“How on earth can you do that….”

“Should I tell you?”

“Ugh.”

I see that you are surprised by my point.

It looks like you got the answer right.

You might be wondering how he discovered his abilities.

of course.

However, I have no intention of explaining my abilities in detail.

“Anyway, I think you learned quite a bit about us through those eyes.”

“….”

“You had a hard time pretending not to know earlier. From our perspective, he approached us by pretending not to know us even though he knew us well. How should we accept this?”

I crossed my arms and watched her reaction.

Even though he knew information about us, he hid it and approached us.

Depending on the reaction from here.

You will be able to find out why.

‘If there is a strong reaction.’

I moved my body slightly and checked the feel of my waist.

I felt a clanking sensation in my waist.

Two knives made by Mr. Park’s grandfather.

I was ready to pull it out at any time.

“Whoa….”

But.

Unfortunately, there was no need to pull out those swords. The woman

glared at me for a moment,

then sighed and spoke.

“It looks like you already know everything.”

“Well, roughly.”

No, I actually don’t know.

What can be seen through [Food Ingredients Identification] is the extent of her abilities.

What I mean is that Taejun just took a quick look at the information he gave me.

I have no idea why she approached us or anything.

But I couldn’t tell the truth, so I roughly answered like that.

Then she opened her mouth as if in desperation.

“I didn’t mean to approach you with malicious intent.”

“You don’t deny that you tried to approach me.”

“…yes.”

He seemed to answer quite obediently.

Thinking that I would never have to use a knife, I changed my posture to become more comfortable.

“Let me explain.”

“Ha, it seems like you already know everything. “I should introduce this child first.”

I didn’t plan for it to be like this, but it ended up like this….

The woman muttered and raised one hand.

Let’s spin it around in the air with that hand.

Squeak…

centered around that hand.

Something like a water droplet appeared.

It’s translucent, so it’s hard to see.

Maybe that one.

“It’s a water spirit. “I named it Bell.”

“Spirit….”

Spirit.

…Ignore the unsuitably cute names for now.

I turned my gaze towards that transparent figure.

I wondered what I would do if it didn’t work.

[Ingredients Identification]

[Freshness: Best]

[Race: Water Spirit (Level)]

[Skill – Chef’s Eye is activated.]

[Acquire ‘Minor Cooking Secret – Enlightenment of the Low-Level Spirit Preparation Method’.]

My characteristics are probably the same . It seems that spirits are viewed as food ingredients without any problems.

Information about spirits entering your mind.

‘Hmm. The spirit’s abilities feel like this.’

A being you see for the first time.

I was just staring at it, thinking it was amazing.

Grrrrrrr…

“Huh?”

Shallow waves hit the transparent water droplets and began to tremble.

“That’s strange.”

“What’s going on?”

“this child. “Bulli is scared of you.”

no.

What did I do?

“I guess. “I think that gaze is the problem.”

“Looks are the problem. “Are you so sensitive that you hate it just by looking at it?”

“No, it’s not like that. What should I say? “I think I was scared because I felt like it was looking at its prey.”

“…ah.”

Prey.

After hearing that, there is a part that pricks me.

[Characteristics – Ingredient Identification]

[Skill – Chef’s Eyes]

Amazingly.

These are abilities that make them look like prey.

That’s right.

‘…Are you saying that you noticed that you were being observed to evaluate food ingredients?’

They say it’s a spirit from its name.

It seems that he is very sensitive to magic power and supernatural abilities.

This was pretty important information to me.

Observation using characteristics or skills.

There are beings who can sense that.

“anyway. “This child is the spirit I made a contract with.”

“Hmm.”

“And these eyes, of which my characteristic speaks.”

She touches her eyes.

“As you can see, I am blind.”

“Is it always like that?”

“no. It hasn’t been long since I went blind. It’s like the price of a contract. Instead, I got another pair of eyes.”

“What about other eyes?”

“Bullet.”

Let her call the spirit’s name.

A spirit in the shape of a transparent water drop flew through the air.

Then he goes out the window.

At the same time.

The woman opened her closed eyes.

The white-washed eyes looked into space.

A slightly bizarre scenery.

The surprising thing is next.

Those were the words she said.

“Surprisingly, there are no monsters or zombies around here.”

“what.”

“ah. I see soldiers walking around over there. “I guess it’s because they organized it?”

The place where we are talking now is inside the building.

Monsters and soldiers roaming around.

It’s a place where you can’t see anything.

If there is something that can be seen.

It’s like a spirit that just jumped out of the window.

in other words.

“Are you saying you share vision with spirits?”

“yes. “It is an ability that has many limitations.”

oh my god.

A spirit that can move by flying in the sky.

Sharing vision with such a spirit?

When I heard the explanation.

One thing comes to mind.

This is perfect.

‘It’s a drone, right?’

Did you observe our unit in that way?

When I saw the attribute name “Spirit Eyes,” I thought it would be a somewhat similar ability.

This.

It is a more powerful ability than you can imagine.

“If there is a place with flowing water nearby, bellies can be active from a little distance away. Thanks to you, I was able to discover you all.”

After hearing that, I thought back to the places we stayed.

‘There is a stream flowing inside the ammunition battalion. Or is it from when drinking water was obtained at the official residence?’

The places we set up base were all near flowing water.

Rather than being a coincidence, it is a good condition to use as a base in that it is easy to secure drinking water in the first place.

I guess it was thanks to you that they were able to find us.

“I was honestly surprised when I found a military base that was operating relatively well.”

She continued speaking.

“From the looks of it, it doesn’t look like it’s attacking other humans. After all, you had enough weapons after retaking this place, right?”

“So you were trying to contact us?”

“yes. “I was thinking of offering a few deals.”

She sighs.

“I was looking at your situation, so I planned to pretend I didn’t know and provide necessary items and information to make the transaction more advantageous.”

“aha.”

“…I don’t know how you knew, but it’s gone to waste.”

indeed.

This is a reason that is understandable.

I also know that this approach was not done with malicious intent.

It’s shameful that they tried to make the transaction a little more advantageous, but it’s not a bad thing.

however.

One thing is a little puzzling.

“If I had known it was a normal unit, I would have thought about joining rather than offering a deal.”

“ah. “That’s…”

It’s a little hard to say it with my own mouth.

Our unit is probably pretty solid.

There has already been a successful occupation war once.

There are many awakened people.

Resources are plentiful right now.

however.

“It’s not that I haven’t thought about it, but there is one problem.”

“What is it?”

There’s a problem with our unit.

That’s something you need to listen to carefully.

I wondered what would come out of her mouth.

“That way.”

“yes?”

Her eyes turned to me.

…me?

Am I the problem?

“Exactly. “It would be correct to say that the dish was prepared by them.”

“ah.”

“I saw people eating the food you made.”

As she spoke, she trembled as if she were afraid.

“There were several instances where the soldiers’ personalities changed in an instant. “It was as if he had become a different person.”

“….”

“Honestly, it was a very scary sight.”

[Chef’s Special Sauce]

Of all the skills and characteristics I have, it’s probably the most powerful.

The ability that seems to be the most dangerous.

When used in a unit, everyone receives the buff effect.

Because of this, I generally don’t notice anything strange.

After the buff ends.

Although there are some who find his behavior strange.

Most people just understood it as excitement during battle and moved on.

‘But if you look at it through a third party’s eyes.’

That would be very different.

Because the personalities of otherwise normal people are transformed in an instant.

‘This is the problem with this skill.’

The ability to touch human emotions.

If only I knew the effect.

It’s bound to feel awkward.

“so. I thought joining was risky. Instead, we changed our route to making a deal. From what I observed, it seemed like it would be safe as long as they didn’t trade food.”

“…understand.”

“That’s it.”

After speaking, the woman asked with nervous eyes.

“What happens to me now?”

What happens?

“He knows your secret. Are you going to remove it?”

“Removal.”

“Escape from here would be impossible with my abilities. “Can you tell me at least what will happen?”

Remove it.

I understand why he said that.

‘It’s an ability that people would inevitably be reluctant to have if they found out about it.’

The fewer people who know, the higher the value of [Chef’s Special Sauce].

Until now, the only person who had at least a rough understanding of the special sauce was Sergeant Lee Min-jae.

This woman was added to it.

Unlike Sergeant Lee Min-jae, he is an untrustworthy person.

If only I could put it away.

It would be easier to just put it away.

“I won’t kill you.”

“If you spare my life, I won’t tell anyone… okay?”

“I won’t kill you.”

I remembered the diary of the battalion commander of the ammunition battalion that I saw a few days ago.

Even before his death, he kept a journal as a soldier.

Even though I was just a cook, I was in a much better situation than them.

I have no intention of losing my spirit as a soldier.

Killing innocent civilians for my own benefit.

Because the situation is not so extreme that it has to be like that.

“Well, as you said, it would be difficult to talk about abilities, so there must be some restrictions.”

“Are you sure?”

Even if they tell me they’ll save me, I don’t believe it.

“I’m not some kind of crazy killer. Does that make you look like someone who would kill a normal person?”

“yes? Oh well. that is.”

I only said that because I didn’t believe him at all.

Strangely, she couldn’t answer those words and was speechless.

…this.

Are you saying he seems like a worthy guy?

“I’m sorry. “I think it was because I was a little frightened when I saw the effect of the dish he made.”

“Is that what scares you that much?”

“It’s a bit much to say this, but. He also has a bit of a dirty look… I guess he’s sharp and that’s why. “I think I misunderstood someone.”

“….”

I feel this sometimes these days.

Is my impression that bad?

I felt a little hurt.

“Whew. Well, it’s okay. Anyway, while trying to contact us, we were unlucky enough to be attacked by looters. “That’s pretty much the explanation, right?”

“I don’t know about that.”

I was a little dumbfounded and tried to organize the conversation.

She said with a slight frown.

“It is true that we were suddenly attacked by looters. “But I’m not sure if it’s because of bad luck.”

“what do you mean?”

“I used my own power to check the surroundings diligently. “There were no looters operating near our route.”

hmm.

I guess there’s something I don’t know about.

“Those marauders who attacked our group. There were a few familiar faces. “I don’t know you about that.”

“It looks like it was someone I saw through that spirit eye.”

“yes. They are part of the largest group of marauders in this area. But they were originally active from a bit further away.”

“hmm.”

“Marauders who were not active in the vicinity suddenly attacked. It was as if he knew where we were going. “This is…”

The woman closed her eyes and thought for a moment, then spoke.

“I feel like I was betrayed.”

“Betrayal. To whom?”

“There are several groups that share information. I wanted to get their help someday, so I secretly gave them a favor with the information I learned through Bangpolyi. A few days ago, I told them about the location of the military base and that we would be heading there. “The person who knows and can reveal our group’s location or destination is probably one of those groups.”

The sound of teeth grinding was heard.

“A few of our group members were even taken away by those looters. “Returning a favor with vengeance…”

I’m not sure.

There are other groups that interact with them.

I think one of them betrayed them and joined the looters.

‘hmm.’

this.

It could be a very useful story for us.

After gathering my thoughts, I opened my mouth.

“The group members were captured?”

“yes. That’s what the looters we encountered earlier said, right? You can hand over resources, so just hand them over to us. “They capture people and use them as slaves.”

“Slave.”

In normal society, only a few months have passed.

I wonder if words like slave come out this naturally.

“Then you don’t want to get your group members back? “You probably want revenge on the traitors.”

“That’s true, but… it’s probably going to be difficult. “They are marauders who have formed quite a large force, so we can’t do it with our own strength.”

“If you don’t have enough strength, we can help you.”

“…?”

To her looking at me as if asking what I was talking about.

I answered casually.

“If your problem is lack of power, we can help. Instead, there is one condition.”

“What a condition.”

“a moment ago. “You said you decided not to join the unit because you were afraid of my cooking, right?”

“Yes?”

“Please take back what you said and join our unit.”

Our unit succeeded in creating a somewhat stable base.

Now we need to increase the scale, but the problem is that the perception of soldiers is at an abyss.

Although it is difficult to appease the survivors using normal methods.

What about a deal like this?

The woman who heard my suggestion was hesitant to answer.

That must be very uncomfortable.

If you join the unit, you will eat the food I cook.

You don’t know what will happen to you as a result of that effect.

But from my perspective, this deal is full of benefits.

Once I get her into the unit, I will be able to control her from bragging about my abilities.

If you’re a marauder active around here, you’ll have to clash with them at some point, so don’t expect to meet them in advance.

There’s one more thing.

‘The spirit eye I saw earlier.’

A living body…

no, a spirit drone.

It is difficult to move around a dangerous city relying on [sensitive hearing] like now.

But what if a spirit illuminates your vision from the sky?

Activities will become much easier.

Honestly, I want it.

and.

After hesitating for quite some time, she opened her mouth as if she had made up her mind.

“If I can save my captured comrades… that’s great.”

“Well thought out.”

I said, handing her my right hand.

“It seems a little late. “This is Shin Young-jun, a cook sergeant.”

“ah. “My name is Jeongsu-ah.”

“I feel like I got a good deal.”

After a brief handshake and self-introduction.

“Just tell me the location of those marauders. “Me and my unit members will head towards and rescue our comrades.”

“yes? ah.”

“Is there something wrong?”

“I know the location of those marauders…”

Huh?

what is this sound.

“Didn’t you say earlier that this is a group that operates quite far away? “I knew the location…”

“They are famous for being a large group of marauders, but I don’t know the area where they operate and their base.”

“That drop? “Isn’t it okay to ask the spirits?”

“As I said, it’s an ability that has many limitations.”

She said, stroking the transparent water droplets floating in the air.

“This child can only be active near places with running water. “Maybe their base isn’t near the water.”

“But it probably isn’t located very far from the water.”

“That’s my problem, not this child’s.”

Su-ah touches her eyes and sighs.

“Depending on the condition of your eyes, the distance you can see with your spirit eyes also changes.”

“ah.”

“Recently, I have been using the spirit eye a lot to observe this unit, so the distance I can see has become shorter than before.”

hmm.

then.

“If the condition of those eyes improves tremendously. Is it even possible to find the base of the marauders?”

“yes? It’s probably possible. I know roughly the area where they are active, so I could search around there… but it’s impossible. “It’s not like the state of the spirit can improve at will.”

“If it’s possible, it’s okay. “There is another way.”

“What a method.”

“My cooking. “You said you couldn’t eat because you were scared, right?”

“…yes?”

Toward the puzzled woman who seemed to be asking what she was talking about.

I said with a grin.

“I wonder if I can say that after trying some cuisine. Let’s take a look.”

“…Hibb.”