Chapter 4. The Retired Court Chef (3)
Uwaagh!
Oseul fell flat on his backside with an embarrassing cry.
He couldn't withstand the look in Kim Seongchan's eyes.
I was only trying to scare him. Why is he overreacting like that?
Oseul really had only intended to frighten him.
Of course, it would've been even better if If misunderstood his command and killed him on its own.
But Oseul's plan had gone wrong.
I need to get out of this.
He needed to divert Kim Seongchan's attention.
Otherwise, he might irritate Kosdal enough to lose a piece of his body to the knight's sword.
Although he had retired, Oseul had once worked as a chef for the Positk Kingdom, so he knew Kosdal's personality quite well.
"Sir Kosdal, judging by that vicious expression of his, I don't think he'll be able to help."
"What expression are you talking about?"
Oseul turned his gaze away from Kosdal and looked at Kim Seongchan.
Kim Seongchan gave Oseul a faint smile.
"Is my face really so rough-looking that you'd openly call me vicious?"
Seeing how frustrated Oseul looked, Kim Seongchan became certain that his guess had been correct.
He tried to hide his naturally fierce appearance behind a smile.
Judging by how upset he is, he really did have the intention of killing me.
If Oseul had nothing to feel guilty about, there was no reason for him to react so strongly.
If it had merely been a misunderstanding, instead of calling out to Kosdal, he should've protested his innocence.
Even though Kosdal hadn't moved, Oseul frowned.
Then he even raised his voice.
"If! You need to be punished for failing to produce the fire! Ella!"
The water spirit, which had the form of a dolphin, floated in the air while keeping its distance from Oseul.
When things didn't go his way, Oseul tried to shift his anger toward the easier target—If.
Ella approached Oseul, then shook her head with a pained expression.
Watching the exchange, Kim Seongchan tried to guess what the two were communicating about.
Did he tell her to spray water on If?
A spirit could receive commands through thoughts, so judging from the way Ella was shaking her head, that seemed highly likely.
Besides, from what Kim Seongchan had seen of Oseul before his regression, the man treated spirits carelessly.
It wasn't difficult to guess.
"Didn't you understand me? Spray the water!"
Just as Kim Seongchan had expected, Oseul ordered her to spray water.
When his mental command failed, Oseul spoke aloud, his voice filled with irritation.
Hiiiii~
Ella let out a sorrowful cry, as though asking if she really had to do it.
Kyarrr...
Along with the fire spirit's frightened cry, the scorching heat in the area began to fade.
No wonder he can't make Wild Pig Soup like this.
Oseul couldn't even understand what his priorities should be.
There was no reason to punish If.
If the firepower was too weak, he could simply use firewood.
There was no need to punish If just because the spirit consumed mana yet refused to produce the flames he wanted.
And yet Oseul behaved as though everything was If's fault.
"Spray the water on If! No matter how many times I tell it to make fire, it keeps refusing!"
Ella continued resisting her master's command.
One way spirits could resist their masters was by consuming more mana to maintain their physical form, expressing their refusal that way.
"There's no point resisting. Do it. We have to maintain the proper temperature of the fire!"
Ella tried to resist, but in the end, she had no choice but to obey her master's command.
She sprayed water toward If.
For If, whose entire body was made of fire, touching water was like a human sticking their hand directly into flames.
A Water Ball appeared above Ella's head and shot toward If.
If couldn't dodge it.
There was nowhere to escape inside the stove.
Kyarrr...
If squeezed its eyes shut.
Perhaps imagining the pain of being struck by the water, its body began trembling violently.
Seeing the terrified fire spirit, Kim Seongchan moved.
Thud!
Seongchan blocked Ella's Water Ball with his stomach.
Ghk!
The Water Ball slammed heavily into his abdomen.
His body briefly lifted off the ground, but he managed to steady himself before he fell.
The condensed ball of water exploded in every direction.
Splaash!
After blocking it, Kim Seongchan desperately endured the pain in his stomach.
I can't make a painful face.
It'll scare If.
He couldn't ruin an important moment because of his face.
"Stop interfering! Move!"
Tap. Tap.
Oseul had been glaring fiercely, but suddenly closed his mouth.
Forcing a spirit to obey against its will clearly came at a cost, and he was still frowning from the strain.
But when Kosdal casually tapped his hand against the sheath of his sword, Oseul immediately fell silent.
It was a warning.
Kim Seongchan glanced at Kosdal.
"Couldn't you have helped me a little sooner?"
"I'm here to observe your ability."
Kosdal tightly closed his mouth as though he had nothing more to say.
Even so, the sharp gaze he directed at Oseul remained.
Now that the nuisance has quieted down, shall we begin?
Kim Seongchan looked at If.
The fire spirit stared back at him warily while trembling.
Perhaps it wanted to thank him for blocking the Water Ball.
It awkwardly bobbed its head.
Its eyebrows were trembling.
Kyar...
If clearly didn't know what to do.
You met a terrible master. You can't even make fire properly because of him.
Spirits grew stronger through the emotions they shared with their masters.
A master's irritation and negative thoughts could hinder a spirit's growth.
And right now, If's growth was being suppressed.
But there was a way to save a spirit whose growth had been hindered like this.
"I'll help you get praised."
Kyar?!
Praise.
If stared at him as though asking how he had figured out that it wanted to be praised.
Seeing that look, Seongchan couldn't simply explain it with words.
Rather than being told, If needed to experience it personally.
"Raise the fire as high as you can."
If shook its head violently.
"What did you just say? If you've ruined the food, shouldn't you apologize first?!"
Oseul, who had been watching, suddenly shouted.
Even with Kosdal glaring beside him, perhaps because he'd spent years cooking in the royal court, Oseul had quite a bit of nerve.
Kim Seongchan ignored the angry voice coming from behind him.
Instead, he asked If,
"Is your master ordering you not to make fire?"
If shook its head even more violently.
Oseul had never actually ordered it not to make fire.
Of course Oseul wouldn't give an order like that.
Oseul was completely serious about making Wild Pig Soup.
The problem wasn't his intention.
The problem was If.
If had been continuously exposed to Oseul's anger.
Without even realizing it, the spirit had begun rejecting its master's mana, making it unable to produce proper flames.
Kim Seongchan was trying to make If capable of producing fire again.
Kyarrr... Kyarrr...
If began shaking its head even faster.
It almost looked like it was desperately trying to shake away all the painful memories.
"Doesn't your master keep telling you to make the fire stronger?"
"Are you seriously having a conversation with If while ignoring me?! Didn't I tell you the dish is being ruined?! If you fail, you're working under me!"
"Sure. If I fail, I'll do that."
"What? You're agreeing that easily?"
"Please be quiet. I'm trying to talk with If."
Kim Seongchan brushed aside Oseul's sudden wager as casually as if he were shooing away a fly.
Then he looked at If.
The spirit had finally stopped shaking its head and was staring down at the ground.
Kim Seongchan asked,
"Does he keep telling you to make fire because he doesn't want the food to be ruined?"
If nodded, but the movement of its head seemed to show just how completely its confidence had collapsed.
Kim Seongchan reached out toward it.
Hot.
Of course it was hot.
If he made one wrong move, he wouldn't merely get burned by If's flames.
He might lose the use of his hand entirely.
If shrank back slightly.
However, it didn't create any flames.
I need to give it confidence.
If's confidence had fallen about as low as it could go.
It probably wanted to make fire.
But even if Kim Seongchan couldn't directly feel the emotions Oseul had shared with If, judging by Oseul's expressions and the way he treated the spirit, there was no chance his commands had been gentle.
Before anything else, If needed comfort.
Stroke. Stroke.
Kim Seongchan gently patted If's head.
"You think that'll make its flames stronger? Spirits consume mana like crazy. Without my mana, it can't make a single flame. You have no idea how much mana I'm using right now. I'm pouring mana into it for the sake of this dish! And even then, this is all I can get. It can't produce stronger flames anymore. A spirit with emotions this unstable will only consume mana and never increase its firepower! Give up and work under me!"
Oseul launched into a long lecture, clearly dissatisfied that Kim Seongchan had accepted his wager so casually.
Kim Seongchan let the words go in one ear and out the other.
Oseul was rambling about things he already knew.
Kim Seongchan focused entirely on If.
If's eyes widened.
It had expected Kim Seongchan to stop before actually touching it.
Instead, his hand had genuinely stroked its head.
"Hot, hot, hot!"
Kim Seongchan quickly pulled his hand away and stepped back.
But even while retreating, he made sure to maintain eye contact with If.
Their eyes met.
Kim Seongchan smiled.
It was okay.
It could do it.
If raised a front paw and touched its cheek, staring at him in surprise.
Kim Seongchan spoke.
"You're hot. Of course you are—you have flames this hot. Trust me and let the fire out. Don't you want to be praised?"
Oseul immediately scoffed.
"Of course a fire spirit is hot. Trying to touch one is madness. Spirits are nothing more than dolls that obey commands and use mana as fuel to move."
If's eyes trembled.
Kim Seongchan answered without turning around.
"It's okay. If isn't a doll."
He looked directly at the spirit.
"If can produce flames, and I can touch it. It's a living spirit."
If couldn't see Oseul standing behind Kim Seongchan.
Seongchan was standing directly in front of the stove, completely blocking If's view of its master.
Even so, If continued hesitating.
Kim Seongchan slowly raised his hand again.
"I'm reaching out again."
"After getting burned like that, you're seriously going to put your hand—Uwaagh!!!"
Startled, If violently shook its head.
Then flames suddenly erupted from its entire body.
Fwoooooosh!
It was as though If didn't want Kim Seongchan to suffer anymore.
Its flames roared higher and higher.
The fire grew so intense that thick clouds of steam and smoke began rising from the cauldron, and flames even spilled out around the bottom edges of the pot.
Oseul stared in disbelief.
"What in the world are you doing?! How does this even make sense?!"
"I'm helping, aren't I?"
"Are you joking?! What do you think will happen to the soup if the fire burns that strongly?! The heat is far too high!"
Oseul stubbornly continued doubting him.
Again and again.
Kosdal walked toward the cauldron.
"All you've done is increase the fire. Are you sure you're doing this correctly? You arrived halfway through the cooking process. Can you really save this dish?"
It was only natural for Kosdal to doubt him.
Then, as though he'd suddenly figured something out, Oseul put on a solemn expression and spoke.
"I've spent ten years researching how to make Wild Pig edible. Just as Sir Kosdal said, you don't seriously believe you can do something I've failed to accomplish, do you? Simply because you managed to make If's flames stronger!"
Oseul clearly disliked Kim Seongchan interfering with his cooking.
He wanted him to understand just how arrogant it was to think he could properly cook Wild Pig.
Would a Hero even know how many times I've tested the proper fire temperature? How much water needs to go into the pot? How long the blood needs to be drained? What spices should be used?
Oseul had reached this point only after countless failures and experiments.
He didn't believe something like future sight could possibly be powerful enough to trample over ten years of effort.
Hearing Oseul's doubtful words, Kim Seongchan casually replied,
"Ten years? Then it's about time you finally succeeded."
"Exactly! And you're ruining the dish I've spent ten years perfecting!"
"I'm saying you'll finally succeed after ten years because of me."
"Can you take responsibility for those words?!"
"Of course. Just look at If's flames. See how strongly they're burning?"
Even while producing powerful flames, If kept glancing nervously toward Oseul.
Its tail had previously been hanging low, but now it was swaying slightly.
It was clearly hoping for praise.
Oseul pointed at Kim Seongchan.
"If you fail, you're working under me! You seem to have some talent for handling spirits, at least!"
"Don't you remember what you said earlier?"
Oseul thought back to his previous words.
"You only agreed in passing! I want to make it official! Official!"
"Then what will you do if I succeed?"
"There's no chance of that. But if you somehow succeed, I'll do whatever you want."
Kim Seongchan smiled faintly.
"You said whatever I want."
Listening to their conversation, If looked slightly disappointed.
It had finally managed to produce proper flames for the first time.
Kim Seongchan encouraged the spirit.
"Just keep the fire exactly like this."
Kyar...
Kim Seongchan glanced at Oseul.
"If the dish finally succeeds after ten years, you'll treat If better from now on, right?"
Seongchan wore a confident expression.
If looked at Oseul as though asking whether he really meant it.
Oseul looked at the steam rising from the cauldron.
Then he looked at the Wild Pig meat.
For the first time, a faint sheen had begun appearing across its surface.
Reluctantly, Oseul nodded.
That alone was enough to make If's tail begin wagging excitedly.
Kim Seongchan turned back toward the ingredients.
"You haven't seasoned it yet, right?"
"Not during this experiment."
"Give me lowest-grade salt and low-grade spices."
Oseul frowned.
"Why lowest-grade salt? Shouldn't you use low-grade salt? That would match the low-grade spices."
"You heard me correctly. Lowest-grade salt and low-grade spices, please."
"Don't use bad seasoning as an excuse when you fail."
Normally, it was common sense to use ingredients of the same grade when cooking.
If you used lowest-grade salt, you paired it with lowest-grade spices.
If you used low-grade salt, you paired it with low-grade spices.
Since Kim Seongchan's request went against basic cooking knowledge, Oseul naturally questioned it.
Kim Seongchan held out his hand.
"You do have them, don't you? And give me a ladle so I can taste the broth."
"Is that your final request?"
"I'll decide that after tasting the food."
Although he clearly wasn't pleased, Oseul handed him a glass bottle containing lowest-grade salt and another containing low-grade spices.
He also gave him a ladle so he could taste the soup.
Now all that's left is the seasoning.
Once he adjusted the seasoning, he would be able to get what he wanted from Oseul.
Kim Seongchan looked at If, who was maintaining the flames.
"If is doing such a good job with the fire that once I fix the seasoning, it'll become a perfect Wild Pig Soup."
Then he looked at Ella, who was floating in the air.
I'll save you too.
Fire and water were essential for cooking.
