Chapter 5. The Retired Court Chef (4)
Kyaar!
If blew out an even stronger flame, eager to be praised.
“If, the fire is good right now, but I think it was better before. Try to keep it at the same level as earlier.”
The Wild Pig Soup still wasn’t finished.
If the flames became any stronger, the ingredients resting at the bottom of the pot might burn.
Temperature control was extremely important when cooking.
The fire couldn’t be too strong, nor could it be too weak.
Only by finding the right temperature for the ingredients could a dish be completed properly.
Failing to do that meant ruining the dish.
Kyaar!
If nodded as though it understood and tried to weaken the flames slightly.
At least, that was what If intended.
Unfortunately, the flames didn’t move according to its wishes.
Kyaar?!
If panicked.
Its flames fluctuated wildly.
It had no idea where it was supposed to keep them.
Kyaar? Kyaarr?
If struggled to control the fire.
When it seemed like the dish might be ruined, Oseul couldn’t hold himself back any longer.
“You can’t even maintain the fire?!”
Kyaar… Kyaar…
Just as If was about to shrink back again, Kim Seongchan stopped Oseul.
“That’s what I should be saying. Supply If with mana properly. Stop dumping it all at once.”
“Are you saying that to me?”
“Who else? Do you think If is the one controlling how much mana gets supplied?”
“I’m giving it the same amount as before.”
“Exactly. That’s the problem.”
“What exactly is the problem?!”
Oseul and If were currently sharing emotions.
Only a few minutes ago, Oseul had ordered Ella to fire a Water Ball at If.
If had rejected Oseul’s mana at first, but gradually opened its heart and accepted his mana, allowing it to create fire.
In other words, even the slightest approval from Oseul caused If to open its heart completely and accept as much mana as possible.
But Oseul, completely unaware of If’s feelings, was simply pouring mana into it.
That was why If was having such a hard time lowering the flames.
There was simply too much mana for If to handle.
“Reduce the amount of mana you’re giving If.”
“Will reducing it really solve anything?”
“You’re going to ruin the dish.”
“That is for me to decide after seeing it myself.”
“Shouldn’t I be the one deciding that?”
“Are you trying to threaten me with that? I made almost this entire dish!”
“Are you deliberately doing this because of our bet? Stop interfering.”
As their argument grew heated, Kosdal finally stepped between the two of them.
“The only thing left is seasoning, isn’t it? Why are you fighting over the fire?”
From Kosdal’s perspective, as someone who only knew how to wield a sword, it probably looked like the cooking would be finished as soon as they adjusted the seasoning.
‘A dish ends with its final seasoning.’
Only after perfectly controlling the heat, cooking the ingredients until they were pleasant to eat, and extracting a rich broth could the proper seasoning be added.
Only then would a high-quality soup be completed.
Even though Kosdal had stepped in to mediate, he didn’t actually understand cooking.
That was why he had no idea how important this moment was.
‘If I were Daltan, he would’ve reacted just by looking at my expression.’
If Kim Seongchan had been Daltan, King of Positk, Kosdal would have used every one of his senses to observe his surroundings.
Then, merely seeing Kim Seongchan frown would have been enough for him to notice his dissatisfaction and search for the problem.
Unfortunately, Kim Seongchan wasn’t Daltan.
Kosdal had no idea what he was doing wrong, so he failed to read the dissatisfaction on Kim Seongchan’s face.
And Kim Seongchan wasn’t the only dissatisfied one.
Oseul was too.
“Sir Kosdal, isn’t that a little too much?! Cooking isn’t that simple!”
“Exactly. That’s why this matters. The Wild Pig Soup might be ruined, so if you’re thinking about His Majesty’s orders, you should make Oseul follow what I say!”
“What?! How can you say something like that?!”
Oseul had devoted ten years to Wild Pig Soup.
He took cooking seriously, and perhaps because he had spent all those years researching alone, he kept insisting that his own opinion was correct.
Tap! Tap!
Kosdal tapped his sword sheath twice.
Oseul grumbled under his breath before reluctantly turning toward the pot.
Kim Seongchan spoke.
“The shine on the Wild Pig meat is disappearing. Once meat that had a glossy surface loses that shine, the dish can’t be saved anymore. Reduce the mana.”
“Do you truly think that’s right? If I reduce the mana, do you honestly believe If will still be able to receive enough mana and create proper flames?!”
Oseul’s opinion wasn’t particularly important.
Kim Seongchan looked at If’s wavering eyes as it listened to their conversation.
If was trying desperately to maintain the unstable flames.
Its face was scrunched up as though it had no idea what to do.
Seongchan shook the two small bottles in his hands.
“You’re going to get praised. All you have to do is maintain the fire properly. You can do it.”
Kyaar…
“You can do it. The mana is gradually decreasing, right? Keep turning that mana into fire. You heard me, right? Reduce the mana, and once the flame reaches the right level, maintain the mana supply there.”
“If something that simple worked, I wouldn’t have suffered because of If all this time.”
Despite saying that, Oseul seemed to reduce his mana supply.
The fire slowly began to stabilize.
“Keep it around this level.”
The Wild Pig meat, which had been losing its shine, strangely began to glisten again.
Kim Seongchan sprinkled lowest-grade salt and low-grade spices into the soup.
Normally, producing a proper flavor without using seasonings of the same grade was extremely difficult.
Even if you managed to create some flavor, most attempts ended in failure.
Slurp.
His face naturally twisted.
Using seasonings of different grades produced an extremely strange flavor.
That bizarre taste was exactly why cooks normally avoided mixing seasonings of different grades.
He needed to find harmony within that strange flavor.
“Did it fail?”
Seeing Kim Seongchan’s serious expression, Oseul couldn’t hold himself back.
He picked up a ladle and tasted the soup himself.
Slurp. Cough! Cough!
“What’s wrong with it?”
Kosdal seemed curious about the taste as well.
Kim Seongchan handed him the ladle.
Oseul spoke before Kosdal could taste it.
“Doesn’t this make you think the whole thing is ruined? It’s starting to taste like the shit-flavored Wild Pig I know.”
Wild Pig meat could technically be eaten if someone forced themselves.
But anyone with a weak stomach might vomit immediately.
Simply put, properly cooking Wild Pig was less about making it delicious and more like turning it into a test of one’s stomach.
But now, even the most important part—the seasoning—had gone wrong.
‘This is my victory.’
‘I’ll leave the spirits to him, have him stop If from whining all the time, and turn If into a master of fire control while I focus entirely on my research.’
Based on the knowledge Oseul had accumulated over ten years, the Wild Pig Soup was a failure.
Thinking about leaving the spirits with Kim Seongchan and devoting himself to research put Oseul in an excellent mood.
“It’s exactly right, isn’t it? Don’t you think so, Sir Kosdal?”
“That’s what you think? It tastes terrible. Don’t you agree, Sir Kosdal?”
Kim Seongchan inwardly laughed when he saw the smile Oseul couldn’t hide and heard the victorious tone leaking from his voice.
When seasonings of different grades were mixed, ten seconds later they would blend with the ingredients and transform.
Sometimes they created a grotesque flavor.
Sometimes a strange flavor.
And sometimes, they transformed into something unbelievably addictive.
If expressed as probability, there was only about a one-percent chance of obtaining that irresistibly delicious result.
The reason Kim Seongchan had deliberately gone through such a difficult process and used seasonings of different grades was simple.
Cooking with seasonings of the same grade could never produce this particular flavor.
‘Seasonings of the same grade can’t capture that subtle taste.’
Only seasonings of different grades could bring out that delicate flavor.
Kim Seongchan knew exactly what kind of strange flavor would become delicious once it blended properly with the ingredients after ten seconds.
[You have learned King of Seasoning (A)!]
King of Seasoning was a skill obtained by perfectly handling seasonings of different grades.
Having the King of Seasoning skill allowed a cook to draw out even more of a seasoning’s original flavor.
It was a skill that made food taste even better.
For a chef, it was practically essential.
‘There aren’t many chefs in this world who possess King of Seasoning.’
The skill was so difficult to obtain that merely claiming to possess King of Seasoning was enough to make certain nobles willing to pay an ordinary commoner’s yearly salary just to eat one meal.
[Wild Pig Soup has been completed!]
[Eating Wild Pig Soup increases all stats by 10% for one day!]
At the same moment Kim Seongchan obtained the King of Seasoning skill, the Wild Pig Soup was completed.
Now that the dish was finished, Kosdal scooped some up with the ladle and drank it.
Slurp.
After tasting the Wild Pig Soup, Kosdal couldn’t close his mouth.
His face showed complete shock at the flavor.
Seeing that reaction, Oseul spoke with complete confidence.
“Sir Kosdal, no matter how I think about it, doesn’t this seem completely ruined? I believe I’ve won the bet.”
“What nonsense are you talking about?! I’ve never tasted Wild Pig Soup this delicious before! And on top of that, it increases every stat by ten percent for an entire day! Is this really possible?”
“What… are you talking about? Even back when I was a court chef, I had to put serious effort into the cooking to produce an effect like that!”
Oseul scooped up another ladleful of Wild Pig Soup and tasted it again.
The disgusting flavor unique to Wild Pig was nowhere to be found.
Instead, the juices of the Wild Pig meat spread throughout his mouth, filling it with pleasure.
Whenever he chewed the meat, there was a satisfying texture somewhere between toughness and pleasant chewiness.
‘H-How did this happen?!’
‘It didn’t seem like he did anything particularly special, so how did the flavor change this much?!’
Oseul had no choice but to admit it.
The Hero standing before him, Kim Seongchan, had successfully completed the Wild Pig Soup.
“Tell me! I’ll do anything you want!”
Oseul might not have been serious about spirits.
But when it came to cooking, he was completely sincere.
The man who had been rambling endlessly about his own knowledge while confidently believing he had already won was nowhere to be seen.
Now, he was desperately trying to get on Kim Seongchan’s good side so he could obtain the Wild Pig Soup recipe.
Kim Seongchan looked toward If and Ella.
“When you look at the spirits, don’t you feel anything?”
Oseul stared at Kim Seongchan after the sudden mention of the spirits, then turned his gaze toward them.
He looked back and forth between the two spirits.
After slightly furrowing his brow, he carefully chose his words.
“They’ve followed me well for ten years. Even in difficult situations, they helped me research cooking without complaining.”
Oseul’s speech had suddenly changed from informal to polite.
Kosdal, who was watching from the side, visibly flinched.
Kim Seongchan pretended not to notice and continued.
“And?”
“What else is there?”
Oseul had thought hard about his answer, but when Kim Seongchan continued questioning him, he asked back in confusion.
Apparently, that behavior looked strange to the two spirits as well.
Kyaar?
Hii?
If and Ella tilted their heads at exactly forty-five degrees as they stared at this unfamiliar version of Oseul.
Oseul normally showed nothing but irritation, anger, frustration, and constantly gave them orders.
But now, his emotions were filled with desperation and nervousness.
Because spirits and their masters shared emotions, the two spirits could clearly feel that unfamiliar emotional state.
Neither knew how to react.
‘Oseul always blames the spirits while believing he’s doing everything properly himself.’
All he had to do was say a single sentence telling If that it had done well.
Yet he still hadn’t done it.
“Is there something you want to hear me say?”
Spirits and their masters shared emotions.
Yet looking at Oseul’s expression, as though he would do anything Kim Seongchan asked, it almost seemed like he had no emotional connection with his spirits at all.
Instead of answering, Kim Seongchan simply stared at If.
“Do you want If? It couldn’t even control the fire properly, so that works out perfectly.”
Kyaar…….
A tear made of flame dropped from If’s eye.
Perhaps If’s emotions reached him, because Oseul frowned in displeasure.
But when his eyes met Kim Seongchan’s, he quickly fixed his expression.
“What do you think about spirits?”
“So you really do want the spirits. I noticed because you kept paying attention to them. I’ll give them to you however you want. But before that, can you give me the recipe for making Wild Pig Soup?”
He was actually considering giving away his spirits.
All he needed to do was praise them once.
Yet instead, Oseul looked relieved, as though he were finally getting rid of troublesome baggage.
‘Normally, people can’t act like this.’
A spirit’s wishes were important.
Even putting that aside, spirits were incredibly useful.
Depending on the relationship between spirit and master, someone could use less mana yet unleash a Fireball with power comparable to a magician’s spell.
On the other hand, if their relationship was bad, the spirit became much less useful.
It would consume more mana, and because they shared emotions, it could also weigh heavily on both their hearts.
Spirits were good partners who could resolve their relationship problems and grow together.
Yet Oseul was ignoring spirits like that.
Kim Seongchan stared at him.
“Don’t you feel grateful to them?”
