CH 36

Runie frowned. She finally realized that the guy in front of her did not have the slightest interest in her, or whatever she was saying. She called out again, "Excuse me. Did you hear what I said?" 

"Kghhk. I think it would be good to make some sauce with pineapples and cherries... Ah, I should try and make it later~" 

However, the man was simply oblivious. In the end, Runie could not take it anymore. She grabbed the man’s shoulders and said, "Hey!! Kim Seokhyun is offering you one billion won as payment right now..." 

Slap! 

The atmosphere suddenly changed, as the man slapped her hand away from his shoulders. His voice was fierce as he spoke, "No! I have told you earlier... I’m doing this because I just want to eat something delicious. Why do you keep on bothering me?!!" 

"N, no… one billi…" 

"One or ten, I don’t care. I don't care how much his offer is, or whatever. Eating this tonkatsu in front of me is more important!" Minhyuk said. After all, he currently had ninety billion won in assets to his name. 

"B, but it’s that much… And Kim Seokhyun himself…" 

"Touch me one more time and I'll stab you to death with my fork!" The man said as he glared at her, picking up the fork as if it was a weapon. Killing intent flowed fiercely from his eyes.

Swoosh! 

Minhyu swung his fork menacingly.

"Kyack! I'm sorry!" Runie shouted, escaping away quickly. Then she sent a whisper to Ravel. 

[Runie: Ravel... ㅠㅠ] 

***

“H… he answered!” Soohyun shouted hurriedly. Hearing his words, Kim Seokhyun immediately came in front of him. His face was filled with interest as a smile crept along his lips.

‘One billion is enough money to make anyone bend. You know? However, I will make sure to squeeze every bit of your value to exceed one billion. Besides…’

With this, Kim Seokhyun would be able to eliminate his competition. His title of the best was not for nothing. If he could not make a potential competitor one of his own, then he would go all out to trample on him. This was Kim Seokhyun, a person who made his dish special through his own efforts alone.

"About the offer..." Soohyun said hesitantly, abruptly cutting Kim Seokhyun’s train of thought.

Kim Seokhyun smiled and said, "Of course, he will accept..." 

"He refused."

"What?" 

"...R… really?!" 

"Gasp?!" 

Everyone present in the room was shocked.

“What bullshit! Enough with the games, tell the truth!!” 

“From what the female player had said, it seems like he does not know who Kim Seokhyun is. He also threatened to stab her with a fork if she disturbed him again.”

"...?" 

"And..." Soohyun said, a solemn look on his face.

"He didn't care if it was one billion or whatever. He said that what was important was eating the tonkatsu in front of him."

"..." 

"..." 

"..." 

Silence hung heavily in the room. Then, Kim Seokhyun thought, '...He’s just trying to counter the offer, right? Does he want me to increase the price?' 

After all, anyone who heard that tonkatsu was more important than one billion won would say that it was a completely ridiculous statement. Simply put, the man must know his worth. So, he was trying to increase the price. To Kim Seokhyun, it seemed that the man was telling him, ‘You can’t buy me with something like that. Raise your price a bit more!’.

'Interesting.' Kim Seokhyun thought, smiling lightly. By this time, he had already arrived at Isbin Village in Athenae. It was only a matter of time for him to catch up with the goblin subjugation troops. Anyway, that was his destination too. He could just deal with everything he needed, quickly.

‘That’s right. Since he’s making a counter-offer, I’ll just meet him in person and increase the price a bit more. The fact that he looked at this deal means that he’s at least interested.’

Kim Seokhyun was already counting his chickens before they even hatched.

***

The subjugation troops continued to advance forward. At the pace that they were going, they would be able to arrive at Bordy Plains soon. Once they arrived, they would start the subjugation quickly. At this moment, Minhyuk was currently washing the dishes late at night. That was when he recalled the event that happened a few days ago.

'Kim Seokhyun...' 

Of course, Minhyuk knew who he was. He was not some kind of ignorant person. He was kept up-to-date with current affairs. Minhyuk knew that Kim Seokhyun was currently the best chef in the country. He was also Alex’s disciple. There was no way for him to be ignorant of that.

'Is he trying to get me with money?' 

Minhyuk was furious. Although he had been preoccupied with eating his tonkatsu, he kept on hearing the word money back then. The reason why he offered him that much money was probably because he was coveting his Food God’s Cooking Skill. However, Minhyuk’s father had taught him this, 'If you want to obtain something from someone, never offer them money first.' 

Before offering money, one had to show their character first. They had to show that they were a business partner that the other party could trust and believed in, for them to work together. That was simply the case. What Kim Seokhyun did back then was something absurd in Minhyuk’s eyes.

'Does he think he can get everything with money? And in the middle of my welcoming of Sir Tonkatsu at that.' 

Minhyuk was really angry at him because Kim Seokhyun had tried to talk about money with him when he was busy trying to enjoy tonkatsu. However, since the incident was over, Minhyuk quickly swept it to one side. It had become something at the back of his mind.

"My favor with the NPCs has really increased by a lot." 

Some of the NPCs that did not like Minhyuk before were now showing a favorable attitude towards him. He had been hearing the notifications about the increase in favor over and over again. It seemed like it was because they were able to proceed with the subjugation easily thanks to his buffed dishes. He could hear the patrolling soldiers fighting with the goblins outside. 

However, a military chef's job was to prepare for tomorrow's meal. Right?

'There are people that eat my food and feel happy.... This doesn't feel bad.' That was what Minhyuk thought, 'But, eating by myself is still the best! Wahahah!' 

Just then…

[You have contributed 40% of the achievements in Bordy Plains Subjugation Troops.] 

[You have received the title 'Subjugation Troops' Soldier'.] 

[You have gained 3 REP.] 

"Oh...?" Minhyuk said in surprise. He hurriedly checked the contents of the title. 

[Subjugation Troops' Soldier] 

Unique Title

Title Effects: +3 to all 5 basic stats

Twenty people had volunteered, but Minhyuk alone contributed 40% of the achievements. This was completely surprising since Minhyuk only ate and cooked. However, the reason why Minhyuk’s contribution increased to this point was because…

'It was because of the buffed dishes.' 

The soldiers had kept on telling Minhyuk that it had become easier for them to hunt because of his buffed dish. Although the increase was only a slight percentage, the overall strength of all seventy soldiers had still increased by a lot. Because of that, Minhyuk inadvertently influenced the smoothness of the task on behalf of the entire subjugation troops.

'I heard that this title will change once I exceed a certain number.' 

Titles that changed depending on factors were called evolutionary titles. If a title could increase one’s strength by an additional 20% from the initial 40%, it would change to a better title. Of course, there were some requirements, also, some titles could change while others could not.

"Ahem!" Len coughed loudly, to catch Minhyuk’s attention.

***

Len always felt a sense of kinship whenever he looked at Minhyuk. He felt proud and happy seeing him grow tremendously, especially so under his guidance. 

‘Perhaps this was what it felt like to have a disciple?’

Even when he was still in the Imperial Palace, he was alone. He never took in any students or disciples of his own. After all, he was a very strict chef, only focusing on reaching the pinnacle of ‘flavor’. Minhyuk happened to be someone who valued ‘flavor’ more than anyone else. However, Minhyuk would also leave the subjugation troops soon.

Len was walking around the campsite late at night when he saw the lights in the cooking carriage were still on. He knew that it was Minhyuk. And when he entered, he truly saw him there. So, he coughed to get his attention, “Ahem!”

"Ah. Master, you’re here?" 

"Yeah. Sit down and get some rest." 

"Yes!" Minhyuk answered, bringing some hard bread and milk along. He even offered some to Len.

"Captain, have some too. Hehe." 

"Oh? You’re saying that, but the look in your eyes tells me something else, huh? You look like you will tear my hands to pieces if I accept it though?” 

Screech! 

Minhyuk smiled awkwardly and said,  "T… that's not true!" 

Len’s eyes narrowed as he said, "We’re supposed to have enough food for the soldiers to eat for a month but... ten days' worth of food seemed to have disappeared in an instant." 

Screech! 

This was the second time that Minhyuk had stopped in his tracks. However, he noticed Len was smiling softly at him. After all, Len was the one who allowed him to eat all of these things, besides, Isbin Village was not lacking in food. 

Minhyuk chuckled when he saw that Len was only joking around. Then, he said, "Come to think of it, I have never seen Master Len eat anything." 

Minhyuk truly had not seen him eat even once. 

"I usually eat my own packed lunch. There are times when I need to take medicine, so my diet has to be healthy." 

"Ah… Is that so? I thought my master was also a flavor-seeker like me!" 

"Flavor… I also pursue it. Unfortunately, my tongue tastes food differently than other people." 

"...." 

‘Ah, there were people like this too,’ was the thought that crossed Minhyuk's mind.

Then, Len slowly said, "I have never tasted anything in my life." 

"Eh?" Minhyuk gasped, startled at the words that he heard.

But then, notifications suddenly rang in Len’s ears.

[The God of Athenae is imposing sanctions on you.] 

[This quest can't be given to another player. There is a player currently undertaking this quest.] 

'...Damn it!' 

Len bit his lips tightly. There was a quest that he could personally give and he really wanted to give it to Minhyuk. However, someone else was currently undertaking the quest. If Len was going to give away that ‘item’, he truly wanted Minhyuk to have it. 

However, the God of Athenae was imposing a sanction on him. Even if he wanted to speak, he would not be able to say a word about the quest at all because of the sanction.

"Are you sick?" 

"No." 

"But… How did you become a master if you can't taste the food...?" Minhyuk asked. This was really a surprising achievement.

Len grinned proudly as he said, "Dexterity." 

"..." 

"I placed everything on my DEX." 

"Ah…!" Minhyuk exclaimed in enlightenment. He knew that NPCs also had the concept of stats. It seemed like Len had continued to raise his DEX.

‘If one's DEX reaches twenty, the flavor will go up by +1. DEX can also influence how one handles food, helping the person move expertly. But, reaching that level without even tasting anything…?’

How much DEX would be needed for that? Was that even possible at all?

"I've done everything to raise my DEX. I even followed blacksmiths, painters, carpenters, miners, and even fishermen." 

"...!" 

This was an amazing piece of information. This also meant that Len cooked not for himself, but truly for others. However, Minhyuk also thought, 'I… it's a pity…' 

He was obviously just an NPC. But Minhyuk felt pity for him. He knew, more than anyone else, just how important taste was. After all, he was already sick and tired of eating 5,000 tasteless cherry tomatoes every day. He did not like to eat them but he could not stop his addiction. It had not been just once when he ran to the bathroom to throw his food away. 

Food was a vital part of daily life, and flavor, taste, smell, they all played a huge part in food.

“I did everything I could to increase my DEX. After doing everything to the best of my abilities, I was able to stand tall and be proud of my cooking, even if it was with just my DEX.”

Minhyuk believed that with Len's efforts, Len would be able to reach the realms of a Master Craftsman, perhaps even beyond that, if he could just taste the food.

"Boy, what does food mean to you?" 

Minhyuk pondered over the question for a moment before saying, "Food, to me, is life and discovering a new way of life, each and every day." 

"Discovering a new way of life..." 

"I eat three meals a day. In my lifetime, I will probably eat 100,000 meals, but, there are more than 3 million dishes in the world." 

"That's right." 

"If I am able to eat something new or different every day, then it will be a kind of healing, an adventure in this boring life of ours. Of course, it's only good if you know that you're eating something delicious." 

"Yeah," Len said, grinning at his answer, before turning to stare blankly at the sky without saying anything for some time. Then, he spoke up softly, "Me too… I also want to be able to taste." 

"..." 

Minhyuk could not respond. Len stood up to leave as he said, "Get some rest." 

"Yes." 

As he left, Len felt sorry that he could not issue the quest to Minhyuk. He believed that Minhyuk was the deserving owner of this item. However, he did not have a choice. So, he walked away without saying anything anymore.

"Hmmm…" Minhyuk hummed as he fell silent, thinking about Len who was living a life that seemed far worse than his own.

He chewed on his bread as he thought, 'How does it feel to have no sense of taste?' 

Perhaps food might taste like an eraser in their mouth? He would never know.

'Maybe this is…' 

Minhyuk thought of a possibility. 

‘Perhaps this was a quest? It was possible.’ 

The quest would likely be titled the ‘Chef with No Taste.’ However, if that was the case, then why did Len turn around without giving him his quest? He did not know the reason. Len did teach him how to cook, so Minhyuk wanted to help him. Then, he recalled something.

'Ah… Maybe that can help!' 

What came to mind was none other than his Ingredient Tracking skill. 

‘I can choose the buff that I want with this!’

In fact, he had been thinking about testing the skill. It seemed like the right opportunity to test it.

"Use the Ingredient Tracking skill once," Minhyuk said as a hologram appeared in front of him with various cuisines listed on it. Korean cuisine, Western cuisine, Japanese cuisine, Chinese cuisine, etc.

"Hmm... Chinese cuisine." 

The moment he heard about Sun’s Wheat, Minhyuk was already planning on making some Chinese cuisine.

[You have selected Chinese cuisine.] 

[What is your desired buff effect?] 

"Reviving someone’s lack of sense of taste."

[Searching for the ingredients in a 1-km radius.] 

Minhyuk was excited about the results. It was not just for Len. He had an intuition that it could also be of help to his DEX. It was clear that something was hidden from him. Minhyuk had this great ambition to improve his cooking skills. If this was successful, perhaps he could kill two birds with one stone. 

Then, the notifications rang. 

[The search has failed.] 

[The search will continue for 3 days and will depend on the player's movement and travel range.] 

[You have 2 more times to use your ingredient tracking skill.] 

[As a penalty, Food God's True Worth can't be used for one day.] 

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