Chapter 719
‘Saint Repalles Restaurant.’
It was a restaurant with a relatively short history, having opened after the appearance of the Tower of Trials. However, thanks to the skills of a genius chef and the right marketing, it quickly became a hot spot that captured everyone’s attention.
If things kept going like this, receiving a Michelin Star would only be a matter of time.
Its path seemed to be unfolding as smoothly as a road strewn with flowers.
However, the chef here, Piego, was facing the greatest crisis of his life.
“You’re telling me you served this as food?”
The customer’s complaint was justified.
Because the taste of the food had changed.
It was definitely a dish Piego had made, and yet a strange sense of discomfort lingered on the tip of his tongue and kept swirling there.
Something had clearly gone wrong.
“…I apologize. I’ll prepare a new dish right away.”
Piego immediately bowed his head.
The man before him was a notoriously famous gourmet.
Making a clumsy excuse here would only backfire. Admitting the mistake and presenting an even more perfected dish was the only way to calm his anger.
The problem was…
“What exactly are you trying to do? I came here because I heard this place had the best reputation lately. Or what, do you think you can just brush off my criticism as a joke? Do you think I’m beneath notice?”
The gourmet, Pablo, slammed his knife down hard.
Clang!
The metallic sound ringing from the table felt especially loud.
“Th-that’s not it at all. I sincerely apologize once again. I’ll identify the cause this time without fail, so please forgive my offense.”
“This is the last time. Keep that in mind.”
“Of course.”
But even the newly brought dish had its taste altered in a strange way.
It was only after Piego returned to the kitchen that he finally realized what was wrong.
The ingredients were changing.
For some unknown reason, all the familiar tastes and aromas had been subtly ruined.
Dissonance.
In course cuisine, which pursued the highest degree of harmony, even a small crack could ruin the entire dish.
Naturally, it wasn’t a problem that could be taken lightly.
“Wh-what should we do, Chef?”
“If this keeps up, the other customers will notice that the taste has changed too.”
“A request has come… from the VIP room… asking to see the Chef in person.”
Many people were gathered here now, including high-ranking executives from various corporations and celebrities.
Naturally, Gray, the master of the Dreadroar Guild and the host of the event, was also watching this scene from the VIP room.
Piego’s face turned pale.
At the same time, his gaze shifted toward the second-floor VIP room that had been fully backing him.
Beyond the heavily tinted window, another figure was watching everything unfold.
“Damn it. What is this?”
Gray’s eyes narrowed sharply.
He was already dealing with a massive headache from cleaning up the aftermath of the Main Event and the many casualties it had caused. In the middle of all that, this banquet had been a golden opportunity to blow away all those troublesome issues at once.
The Green Magic Stone Mine, known as the dream energy source.
And.
More importantly, connections with the residents of the top floor of the Tower of Trials.
It was a chance to secure both at the same time.
Grind.
Gray clenched his teeth hard.
The representative who had come here just happened to belong to the most powerful faction among the Twelve Zodiacs. And because that person had a particular interest in food, Gray had deliberately arranged this occasion.
“Hmm. I had some expectations, considering how confidently you recommended this place. It seems my expectations were too high after all.”
The being seated across from Gray lightly swirled his wine glass.
It was Seongsun of the Ancient Kingdom, attending as a representative of the Twelve Zodiacs.
Although he had come to the modern world specifically to secure useful cards as the balance of the Tower was being shaken, it was difficult to find anyone who felt satisfactory from beginning to end.
“……It’s just a minor issue.”
“Is that so? Seeing one thing tells you ten. In the Ancient Kingdom, we do not entrust important responsibilities to those who make small mistakes.”
Seongsun knew the cause of this disturbance.
‘Spores of Estrafa and Dew of Dawn.’
Someone had mixed Tower ingredients into the food and played a prank.
‘It must be the Titan Guild. They were also trying to form a connection with us through the Ruins of Lewis Coldmain.’
Who had caused the prank was not important.
What mattered was how cleanly this issue could be resolved.
Because he was looking for someone with exactly that kind of capability.
Murmur murmur!
As other customers began to notice the anomaly as well, a commotion started to spread.
Right then.
“My, the Chef seems to be in quite a predicament.”
A new figure stepped in.
It was Jinhyuk, smiling brightly.
===
‘Who would’ve thought the chef here had ties to the Dreadroar Guild.’
Jinhyuk shifted his steps leisurely.
The flash of inspiration that struck him when he saw the photograph hanging in one corner of the restaurant had allowed him to grasp both the party who orchestrated this incident and the interests tying everyone together. From there, a plan had begun to take shape step by step.
The interesting part was…
The person making all the noise over there was someone he had seen before.
‘It was back when I first met Seo Jeonghee in Korea.’
When he had enjoyed that splendid meal at the Shilla Hotel, that man had been among Seo Jeonghee’s group. At the time, his presence had been so faint that Jinhyuk hadn’t paid much attention to him.
‘So his main specialty was cooking.’
He had heard they were scouting talented people from all sorts of fields. If he hadn’t gotten information about Seo Jeonghee from Kim Hee-woong, it would have been something he’d have passed over without a second thought.
In any case, all the necessary cards were now in his hand.
Jinhyuk’s gaze flicked toward the second floor.
He could sense two sources of Mana.
One was Gray, tense and on edge.
The other was a man carrying the unique Mana of the Twelve Zodiacs.
With Berial waging war in the Demon Realm and the Egyptian side also in motion, he needed to leave a clear impression here.
“Wh… what can I do for you, sir?”
Piego let out an invisible sigh as he looked at Jinhyuk walking over.
He must have assumed yet another customer had come to complain.
“It’s nothing much. I’ve gone through something like this before, so I thought I might be able to help.”
“Excuse me?”
Piego blinked like a stunned turtle.
Well, that reaction was only natural.
Piego was someone who had devoted his life to cooking as his Karma. For a random customer to suddenly claim he could solve a problem even Piego had failed to handle with all his skill and effort…
Of course it would sound absurd.
“I’m sorry, but that doesn’t seem possible.”
“We’ll resolve it ourselves somehow.”
The sous-chef and the rest of the cooks immediately showed their reluctance as well.
Naturally, that was the expected reaction.
“That’s a shame. I thought the combination of Japanese Wagyu with White Sprout and Melon Tangerine from the Tower of Trials was incredibly creative.”
He spoke as if muttering to himself.
“…How… did you…?”
At that casual remark, Piego sucked in a sharp breath.
Because Jinhyuk had pinpointed his secret recipe with perfect accuracy.
“Anyway, Chef, you’ve got nothing to lose either way, right? Since it’s come to this, trust me just once.”
“……”
Piego pressed his lips into a firm line.
Certainly.
If this continued, all that awaited him was ruin.
He had no way of knowing whether this was a lifeline or a rotten rope, but instinct told him he had to grab it.
“I leave it to you.”
Piego bowed his head.
“Chef!”
“No, are you serious?”
“How much worse do you want to make this!?”
Objections followed immediately, but the head chef’s decision had already been made.
Jinhyuk stepped into the kitchen at once.
Whoosh!
Flames rose as a new dish began to take shape.
‘All I need to do is offset the contamination.’
No, rather, because they had clumsily used Dew of Dawn, it had actually given him an idea for enhancing the flavor even further.
[Lv77 ‘Otherworld Restaurant’ activates!]
Just like his combat skills, [Otherworld Restaurant] was one of the abilities Jinhyuk used constantly, both inside and outside the Tower. It wasn’t as though he had only once or twice handled massive banquets by himself after enormous battles.
His cooking ability had already reached a level that could be called top-class across the entire Tower of Trials.
He had the skill to make even the Chief Deities of Olympus throw away the underwear they were wearing and come running.
Thus, his hands began to move in a dazzling blur.
‘No matter how much they look down on us.’
‘Would people who’ve spent their whole lives eating high-end food even know how to make it?’
‘We’ll be lucky if he doesn’t just bring out hamburgers.’
It didn’t take long for the expressions of the cooks, which had been full of disbelief, to change.
How many minutes had passed?
By the time the dish neared completion, the sounds of annoyed throat-clearing had changed into the sound of people swallowing their saliva.
Gulp.
Gulp…
An unbelievably delicious aroma stimulated their noses.
They were desperately curious how he had managed to create something like this from ingredients that had already gone bad.
“At least… let me taste it… Ouch!”
Smack!
A merciless strike with chopsticks hit the back of the man’s hand.
“The customers first. You can eat after that. Tsk.”
Clicking his tongue, Jinhyuk carried the dish outside.
His first target was naturally Pablo of the Titan Guild, who had come here with ill intent.
“A new dish. Please try it.”
“Ahem!”
Pablo cleared his throat loudly.
“The smell is decent, but that’s probably all it has going for it.”
Absolutely.
There was no way some outsider who didn’t even know the first thing about cooking could uncover such a hidden trick. Those Awakened who only knew battle could never understand the essence of elegant and delicate cuisine.
No, even if the taste somehow turned out decent by sheer luck, he had no intention of giving it a good review anyway.
Because he meant to act according to the script.
But.
Munch.
The moment he took a bite, Pablo’s lips twitched without him realizing it.
“How is it?”
Jinhyuk asked.
“……”
The corners of Pablo’s eyes turned damp. And before long, shining tears streamed down his face in hot trails.
The greater the pride one had in one’s profession, the less one tried to tear down a level that could not be reached.
Purely and simply, one could only admire it and submit before a skill so new and so sublime.
“…Excellent… it is.”
Pablo forced out words completely contrary to his intentions.
===
“Kehahaha!”
At the same time, Seongsun, who had also been given a taste of the dish in the VIP room, reacted in exactly the same way.
He had been watching with interest to see how things would unfold, but this had exceeded even his expectations.
Gray hurriedly rose from his seat.
“Are you alright?”
“The taste was excellent. More importantly… that human helping you. Can I take it that Gray-ssi and Kang Jinhyuk are on friendly terms?”
To anyone watching, it looked like Seongsun had taken an interest in Jinhyuk.
There was only one thing Gray could say in response.
“We are… close… acquaintances.”
The guild master officially acknowledged it.
That the Dreadroar Guild would no longer be hostile toward Veteran Corporation.
Seongsun nodded, satisfied.
“In return for providing such an interesting spectacle, I’ll report favorably regarding the mine’s mining rights and my evaluation of you.”
“Th-thank you!”
“Then I’ll be leaving first. I need to hurry and report to the higher-ups.”
White clouds wrapped around Seongsun’s body.
And almost at the same time.
Knock knock.
Someone knocked on the door of the VIP room.
Gray knew who it was without even checking.
“Come in.”
Gray dropped himself back into his seat.
Creak.
The door opened, and Jinhyuk stepped inside, whistling.
How thoroughly he would demand payment for this matter.
And how to minimize the losses he would suffer against this leech-like high-level player.
The two met in one place, each focused on the other’s interests.
The real game starts now.