Chapter 31: Cooking (1)

The territory of Antalia is fundamentally very wealthy.

The reason is due to the endless supply of stone resources that spring from the territory, which, unlike stone from other places that requires processing through an entire factory line to be usable, the stone resources from territory are of high grade even if some of the processing steps are skipped.

Thus, thanks to the resources attached to the territory, Antalia has become very wealthy by consistently supplying resources to several domains within the Norba Kingdom.

And Gran, who was born as the second child of the Lord of such an Antalia, has believed from a very young age that everything in this world can be solved with money.

At least, there was nothing that couldn't be done with money during his upbringing.

Want something? Buy it. Desire something? Buy it. Need to use force? Buy it.

Having grown up watching the Lord of Antalia do just that from a young age, he thought that everything in this world could be solved with money.

Therefore, he coveted the position of the Lord of Antalia.

The seat his father held seemed to him a position of absolute power, and if he could only distinguish right from wrong to a certain extent, it was a position where he could live in luxury for life.

Therefore, he took it upon himself to do something he didn't necessarily have to do and came to capture her himself.

More precisely, there was an intention to retrieve the 'product' personally made by his father to gain his favor and look a bit better in the succession battle.

He thought it was an unbeatable move to win his angry father over.

And above all, it seemed like not too difficult a task, which was a big reason he took action.

Ultimately, even if the 'product' was chosen by the world to be a hero, a newly chosen hero was just a human with a bit more potential for growth.

In other words, if they can't find and train their talent, they are just a bit stronger than an average human, nothing more, nothing less, so he judged this task to be easy.

That was until just a moment ago.

Crack-!

"Aaaaahhhhh!!!"

As Gran's foot twisted in an impossible direction, a scream of pain burst from his mouth.

But the one who executed that act, Red Eyes, too.

Instead-

"Ugh! Ughhh! Ugh!!!"

The dark eyes that silenced him with something that scattered darkness, looked at him with eyes devoid of any emotion.

Gran was filled with fear.

His heart throbbed as if it would burst any moment, more terrifying than the awful pain.

The sight of the cruelly dead bodies of knights in Gran's eyes seemed to show his future, making him disgrace himself in his pants.

He couldn't understand how this situation had come about.

He didn't know why those monstrous things were attacking him.

He didn't understand why the knights were so brutally killed.

Nothing made sense at all.

However, his mind, filled with the will to survive, continued to think of the best way to survive this situation.

"Money, I'll give you money-!!"

Soon, Gran tore away the darkness that sealed his mouth and hurriedly opened his mouth.

"I-Is it because of money?! Huh!? I-I have a lot of money! Right, right now, even! If I just return to my territory, I'll have even more than now!"

Gran spoke in a very urgent manner.

The wolf looking at him then said.

"Where?"

"...What?"

"Where is it, the territory?"

She asked indifferently, without any change in tone.

Gran felt an inexplicable chill at that question, but he opened his mouth to survive first.

"An-Antalia territory, it's Antalia territory! My father is the Lord of Antalia territory! It's a huge territory if you head west from here! It's a bit far but- if you just go there, for sure-!"

As Gran shouted as if struggling, Red Eyes looking at him lifted her foot without hesitation, aiming to strike down at Gran's head at that moment-

Thud-!

"...What are you doing?"

A half-demon blocked her attack.

The killing intent amplified instantly.

The moment blood-soaked claws were revealed.

"Just, you intend to end it with this?"

"...What?"

The Absolute Ruler of Darkness spoke.

"No, it can't be - it shouldn't end like this."

Her words were without a change in tone, just like Red Eyes.

"Why should we grant mercy by simply killing him after he has cursed him?"

Instead-

"Such a person should not be killed, for there is a fate worse than death in this world."

With a voice full of clear anger, she muttered while looking at Gran.

"Ha-"

Suddenly, upon hearing that, Gran burst into an incredulous laugh.

More precisely, he felt anger.

Because within their conversation, Gran came to know the cause of this incident.

"That, because of that bastard? Because of that fucking village chief?"

Gran murmured with rage.

Since through their conversation, he realized he had no chance of survival, it was as if anger fueled his courage, rising within him.

"Fuck off! What the hell is that bastard that I have to suffer this! What the fuck is that dog shit!"

A curse filled with injustice sprung from Gran's mouth.

Continuously. Without pause.

"And, if I disappear, do you think my father will just sit still!? You're all dead, the village where that dog shit is will be wiped out-"

And then.

Thud-!

Before the Absolute Ruler of Darkness could stop it, the foot of Red Eyes, who had suddenly made a grim expression, crushed his skull.

"Didn't I say not to kill him!"

The half-demon spoke with a face full of anger.

"Why should I spare a piece of trash that insults Master?"

But the wolf still seemed not to have calmed down, looking at her with a grim expression.

Instinctively, at the moment when a sword was drawn from the darkness of the Absolute Ruler of Darkness and Red Eyes' arm began to swing.

Halt-!

The two, who had been attacking each other as if to kill, soon looked towards the territory where Kim Hyunwoo was and sheathed their weapons.

As if they had made a promise, they moved their steps towards the west.

A few days later.

Lorandel, the Lord of Antalia, infamous for sucking the lifeblood of his territory's residents and enjoying wealth and glory by turning them into slaves, met with a sudden death.

"Hand over the Executioner's Sword."

"Stop talking nonsense."

Kwaahhhhh-!!!!

That day.

Due to the fight between the two heroes, a couple of rocky mountains next to Antalia disappeared.

Ultimately, Kim Hyunwoo successfully recruited Lani.

And, right after bringing the officially recruited Lani to the office to explain various things.

"Why did you go to such lengths for me?"

He could hear such a question.

"Um."

To tell the truth, it wasn't that he was prepared to worsen relationships just for her sake and beat him up.

After all, the reason Kim Hyunwoo nearly smashed his head to pieces was because he couldn't stand being ignored.

However, as Kim Hyunwoo, who had just successfully recruited her and needed to increase her affection, decided it was unnecessary to tell the truth and chose to mix in some lies.

"I needed you."

"Me?"

Lani looked noticeably flustered.

Just like when he first saw Elena, seeing her with extremely low self-esteem and her eyes darting around as if she had something to say, Kim Hyunwoo asked.

"Why are you so restless?"

"Well, I... it's just, I can't do anything-"

Lani said, bowing her head deeply.

Truthfully, Kim Hyunwoo didn't know why she lacked confidence so much.

All he had was a rough guess that she was a fugitive who had run away from some incident in the Lord of Antalia's territory, with no other information.

However, now that she was recruited into Lartania, she had to grow more combative rather than remain timid.

"You say you can't do anything? I recruited you because I saw your talent."

"Talent?"

"Yes."

"For me, what-?"

"Cooking."

"...Cooking?"

Kim Hyunwoo decided to boost her self-esteem.

"Yes, I can see the talent in others. And you have a talent for cooking... although you might not believe me when I say this."

"To be honest, it's a bit sudden for you to say that-"

Seeing Lani's disbelief, Kim Hyunwoo shrugged.

Such a reaction was natural.

But instead of giving up because she didn't believe, it was better to keep giving positive reinforcement, so Kim Hyunwoo, who had told her a few times about her talent in cooking, said,

"First, take a break today, and we'll continue this talk tomorrow. Elena?"

He called Elena, who had been by his side since chasing away the knights earlier.

"Yes."

Elena answered clearly.

Kim Hyunwoo had a moment of doubt seeing her slightly blunt appearance, but.

"Please show her to her room for now."

He said.

"...Okay."

With a slightly odd expression and a slightly delayed response, she quickly took the cowering Lani and went outside.

'Why does she seem upset?'

Kim Hyunwoo tilted his head slightly seeing her expression but.

'Maybe it's my imagination.'

He soon shrugged his shoulders, and.

A few days later.

Territory: Lartania

Territory development: 194

Territory Population: [Humans: 1758]

Owned buildings:

[Lord's Castle LV1 >>> Upgrading 87%]

[Castle Wall LV2]

[Residential District LV2]

[Blacksmith LV2]

[Barracks LV2]

[Bar LV2]

[Market LV1]

[Wood Mill LV1]

[Restaurant LV0 LV1]

[Leather Workshop LV0 (Under Construction 0%)]

[Stone Processing Factory LV0 (Under Construction 0%)]

[Trading Post LV0 (Under Construction 32%)]

Owned troops:

-100 regular soldiers [recruiting]

With the completion of the restaurant, Kim Hyunwoo had Lani try cooking.

They had become quite close after talking for a few days, but Lani, still unable to shed her characteristic timidity, started cooking in the restaurant.

Seeing her glance around nervously like a dog that thought it had done something wrong, Kim Hyunwoo said,

"It's okay, just relax."

"Yes, yes..."

Lani, whose response lacked conviction, perhaps not believing Kim Hyunwoo's words.

However, he sincerely had no intention of being disappointed regardless of what food Lani brought out.

After all, Lani was still a 1-star hero who hadn't properly grown into her role as a supporting hero yet.

'Since she has talent, even if she can't do it now, her skills will improve quickly.'

Kim Hyunwoo was actually prepared to praise her regardless of the food she brought out.

As the saying goes, 'Praise makes even a whale dance', it seemed she needed confidence.

"Here, it's done... here."

While Kim Hyunwoo was thinking, Lani timidly placed the finished dish in front of him.

"I'll enjoy it."

With that, Kim Hyunwoo greeted her.

'Though she's only a 1-star, it would be nice if there was at least a +3 stat buff or so-'

And looked at the stew.

Beef Stew

A simple beef stew that needs no special introduction

[Buff effect]:

Random ability + 7 (8 hours)

Armor +5

[Permanent effect]:

When you consume food on an empty stomach more than 40 times, your Dexterity score permanently increases by +2. [Limited to 1 time]

※This dish contains Rani's sincere feelings for Kim Hyunwoo! When 'Kim Hyunwoo' consumes the food, the 40-time consumption condition disappears and his agility immediately increases by +1. [Limited to 1 time]

"...Huh?"

Kim Hyunwoo couldn't help but make a surprised face unknowingly.