Using the power of the Lord of Gluttony, I quickly entered the dungeon and gathered the ingredients. Seon-ah had apparently gone to the Blue Forest by now, as she wasn’t in the village.
“This, this, and this too.”
‘Ah! If only I had some soybean paste, soy sauce, and red pepper paste!’
Regretfully, I made sure to gather all the ingredients I had on hand.
Afterward, I went outside again, received a message, and went to find Jae-seong, who was waiting in the kitchen.
“Jae-seong! Jae-seong!”
“Hi, Ara! Are you okay? How’s Kyu-seong? Is he hurt anywhere?”
Jae-seong was concerned about us, hearing the news of the attack.
“Yeah, we’re fine. Thanks to Ara, we made it through safely.”
“I caught the suspicious person!”
Ara spread her arms wide, boasting, and Jae-seong picked her up with a grin.
“That’s a relief. Our Ara did a great job.”
“Is the cooking ready?”
“Yeah, I prepared it before you came.”
“Okay, good.”
Besides Jae-seong, there was no one in the kitchen. I wondered if it would really be possible for just the two of us to cook for nearly 30 people.
“Of course it’s possible.”
When I expressed my concern, Jae-seong confidently assured me there was no problem. His eyes widened in amazement as I started taking out the ingredients.
“What is this?”
“Seafood.”
There were oysters, clams, abalone, shrimp, half a mackerel the size of my arm, and a giant cutlassfish.
“Is this enough for 30 people?”
“It’s more than enough. If we make the mackerel into bite-sized pieces, and the cutlassfish will yield even more than 30 portions.”
Jae-seong’s face lit up as he examined the seafood, clearly intrigued. It seemed his curiosity had been thoroughly piqued. We then started cooking together. Even Ara helped this time, and her strength surprisingly came in handy.
Dum-dum-dum.
Ara casually moved the giant pot full of soup, and she fetched ingredients back and forth as we requested them.
Chop-chop-chop!
Sizzle!
The sound of chopping, flames, and food frying in oil filled the kitchen. In less than 30 minutes, most of the dishes were nearly complete.
“No way, did we really finish this quickly?”
“As long as you know the techniques, the quantity of food isn’t a problem.”
“R-really?”
Although I had gained some confidence in cooking recently, I realized I still had a long way to go. The finished dishes were served with the help of the headquarters staff.
“Thank you for waiting.”
The conference room was silent, with everyone quietly chatting among themselves, but as the food arrived, they all straightened up.
“The smell…!”
Some people were already excited, as they had tasted my cooking before. Especially Hanul and Jeong So-yeon, who had eaten my food before coming here, were now looking at me—or rather, the food—with eager eyes.
“The first dish is ready.”
Jae-seong presented the same dish to everyone gathered in the conference room. He felt a bit disappointed that he couldn’t serve a full course meal, but I thought this was more than enough. A proper course meal required pre-prepared sauces, prepped ingredients, and many chefs working together, so considering that we did everything from scratch, this wasn’t bad.
“This is a light bread, perfect for starting a meal. It’s made with plants from the dungeon, and there’s a bisque sauce made from crustaceans to dip it in. Next to it is a bite-sized tart made from finely chopped small seafood and crop items.”
As Jae-seong fluently explained the dishes, the reactions varied. Some people started eating before he finished, some were too busy checking the item effects to listen, and a few quietly listened to his explanation. Once he finished, everyone began to eat.
“Hmm?!”
“Wow.”
“Yum!”
Soon after tasting the food, people began exchanging glances, as if questioning whether this was real.
“No way, how can it taste this good…?”
“The item’s effects are astonishing, but this flavor…!”
The representatives from the European Union, who were tasting my food for the first time, looked back and forth between the dishes and me, their faces filled with bewilderment.
“The next dish is mackerel ceviche. It’s served with a bisque sauce made from crustaceans and includes items like onions, bell peppers, garlic, tomatoes, lettuce, and ambergris.”
The next dish featured lightly smoked mackerel served with vegetables. Once again, the European Union members were surprised by the item’s effects and amazed by the taste.
“Can I have more of this?”
“I’ve never had anything like this before!”
Their expressions of admiration made me feel rather pleased.
“The next dish is roasted potatoes with sweet potato puree, accompanied by lightly blanched Yggdrasil mushrooms, which are served as a garnish in bite-sized pieces.”
The roasted potatoes were cut into crescent shapes, just large enough for two bites, and were accompanied by a sauce made from sweet potatoes and Yggdrasil mushrooms. Although a simple dish, its simplicity allowed the natural flavors of the ingredients to shine.
“…I can’t believe it.”
“I’ve been to many restaurants and tried even more dishes, but this is the first time I’ve had food like this. I’m glad I came to Korea.”
By this point, they seemed to have forgotten all about the item’s effects, instead becoming increasingly captivated by the food itself.
“The next dish is grilled cutlassfish. This fish also comes from the dungeon. We’ve topped it with small shrimp from the dungeon and perfectly cooked carrot items. The sauce is made from itemized vegetables, and it’s best enjoyed when you eat the cutlassfish, shrimp, and carrots together.”
Finally, it was time for the main course. Considering it was a quickly prepared course meal, it turned out quite well.
The enticing aroma of the main dish caused a stir in the conference room even before the food was served. As the guests took their first bites of the cutlassfish, they seemed to sit in a daze, almost as if they were dreaming. Everyone quietly wielded their forks and knives, with only the clinking of cutlery breaking the silence, until suddenly, someone exclaimed:
“Huh?! Where did it go? Where’s my food?!”
The person stared at their empty plate in disbelief, as if they hadn’t just devoured the entire dish. Moments ago, they had even licked the plate clean.
Amusingly, others had similar reactions. They hadn’t even realized when they finished their food, and then, noticing the behavior of those around them, their faces turned red.
Lick.
Some slower eaters licked their plates clean, only to wonder where their food had gone. Those who had finished earlier realized they had done the same and were left speechless, embarrassed by their own actions.
‘Well, it happens.’
I had experienced it myself, after all.
After successfully finishing the main course, we moved on to dessert. The dessert consisted of strawberry and layla sorbet, along with soy milk pudding topped with fairy honey.
“This is it!”
Ryu Wang-jin expressed his delight at the soy milk pudding, which he hadn’t tasted in a long time. Despite his love for bizarre foods, he had completely polished off all the dishes served so far.
“How was the meal?”
“Ahem!”
“It was… exceptional.”
The European Union members seemed to finally regain their composure, struggling to maintain their dignity. But having already seen their unguarded moments, we looked at them with sly smiles.
“As you’ve tasted, my items aren’t valuable simply because they are items. Those who have tried my food will go to great lengths to get it, even if it isn’t an item.”
The European Union members were left speechless.
They probably all agreed internally.
“So, if you want my items, we’ll need to adjust the shares a bit…”
“We’ll need to discuss this a little. It’s difficult at the moment, but could you give us two days?”
“Of course.”
It wasn’t a flat-out refusal, so it seemed they were already half-persuaded. After everyone finished eating, the meeting resumed briefly. Those on my side were passionately advocating for more shares, insisting that they needed to secure more immediately due to the quality of my food.
In the end, I succeeded in making everyone fall in love with my dishes, just as I had planned, and I thanked Jae-seong for his help.
“Thanks to you, everything went well.”
“Brother.”
“Hmm?”
“I’ve been meaning to tell you something.”
I tilted my head in curiosity at Jae-seong’s serious expression.
“What is it?”
“I’m thinking about opening my own restaurant soon.”
“Oh, wow! Already?”
“Yeah, I’ve already mentioned it to Junichi-san.”
It’s already been quite a while since Jae-seong went to Japan for work and study. But he hasn’t even been there for a full year, and he’s already planning to open his own restaurant… Impressive!
Thinking that, I asked, “Don’t worry about money. I’ll help you out. But where in Japan are you planning to open the restaurant?”
“Huh? Why would I open it in Japan?”
“Oh, are you coming back to Korea? Then where are you planning to open it?”
“At your place, Brother.”
“?”
“…?”
What? Did I hear that right?
As I stood there in shock, Ara cheered, “Is Jae-seong coming too? Seon-ah is already staying at our house!”
“Oh, really? What’s Seon-ah up to?”
“Seon-ah is studying hard! She wants to become a veterinarian!”
“Wow, I didn’t know that. Seon-ah’s working hard too. I should hurry and open my own place and work hard as well.”
Wait a minute!
We need to get something straight here!
“You’re planning to open a restaurant at my place?!”
“Well, your ground floor is empty now. Wouldn’t it be perfect for a restaurant?”
“Oh?”
The Infinite Slime Dungeon, which we’ve completely cleared out, now only has a small garden left on the first floor. If Jae-seong opens his restaurant there…
“That could work.”
The basement could be used as storage or living space, and the first floor as a restaurant. It didn’t seem like a bad idea at all. After all, I own the dungeon and the surrounding mountains and land, so we wouldn’t even need to search for or rent a location for the restaurant.
“I’m not planning to start right away, but I’ll start preparing things here slowly.”
“Sounds good. Come by anytime you want. I’ll help you set up the restaurant.”
If necessary, we could even level the land around the dungeon and build a new structure there. There were plenty of options. As we discussed these plans, the meeting gradually came to an end. By then, it was already late at night.
Ara, who had helped with the cooking and then sat next to Jeong So-yeon to enjoy the meal, was now dozing off. Ryu Cheon gently held her and put her to sleep.
“Kyu-seong, the meeting is wrapped up for today. We’ll take care of the remaining details.”
“Thank you for all your hard work, Guildmaster.”
Han Seok-jun waved off my thanks with a smile but then seemed to remember something and turned to me.
“Oh, by the way, the artworks you entrusted to me last time…”
“Oh! Right.”
I had almost forgotten. Sorry about that, Mammon.
“The artist’s name hasn’t been revealed yet, and the works have only just been exhibited, so there hasn’t been much response yet.”
“Ah…”
“But if you keep producing consistently, I’m sure your name will become known. By the way, is the artist’s name still confidential…?”
“I’ll check with them. Is a pseudonym okay?”
“That’s fine. You can let me know if there’s a pen name or something.”
“Alright, I’ll take care of it.”
After saying our goodbyes, I got into the car with the now sound asleep Ara in my arms. Ryu Cheon looked visibly disappointed, so I told her we could meet up again tomorrow or the day after if she had time.
“Mm, Kyu-seong Kyu-seong?”
“Yeah, I’m here, Ara.”
“Are we going home?”
“Yes. You did great today. Are you sleepy?”
“Mmm.”
As I watched Ara doze off again in the passenger seat, I drove us home.
Cliche Novel 