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The Constellation's Chef
Episode 3. The Constellation's Chef
"It was a perfect dish, human chef."
The highest praise issued from the Constellation's lips.
Receiving praise from a great being—my heart should have been racing as a chef.
No, rather, because that great being spoke with chicken grease glistening at the corners of his mouth, the emotion crumbled away.
On top of that,
"You don't eat vegetables, by any chance?"
At the bottom of the cauldron he set down, licked completely clean, the snow ginseng, red dates, and Black Mantis Mushrooms remained exactly as they were.
Oh, what a waste...
I looked at the remaining medicinal ingredients and swallowed a sigh inwardly.
Snow ginseng was a herb used as a main ingredient in cold-attribute elixirs, while red dates were used in yang-attribute elixirs.
I had measured them precisely so that neither energy would overpower the other, achieving harmony.
And the Black Mantis Mushroom, despite its fearsome name, was essentially just an oyster mushroom that grew in dungeons.
Similarly, its mana was overly concentrated, making it inedible, but its aroma was rich and deep, so I had added it to deepen the broth's flavor.
Yet the one person who could actually eat them—no, the Constellation—had picked out and set aside those precious ingredients while eating. As a chef, I was immensely disappointed.
*Slurp.*
"Vegetables, huh... I do want to eat them too."
Cain reached his hand into the cauldron and lifted out the snow ginseng he hadn't even put to his lips.
That was when it happened.
Though it had maintained its shape and color even after being boiled for a long time in water exceeding 380 degrees, the snow ginseng turned pitch black and crumbled into powder, fluttering down.
I watched with my mouth hanging wide open in shock, but Cain chuckled and dusted off his hand.
"Unfortunately, everything born of the earth rejects me. Even if I want to eat them, there's nothing I can do."
"Ah..."
I recalled the old story I had read in the Bible and trailed off.
Cain, the First Murderer.
He had killed his younger brother out of jealousy, and the ground that had received his brother's blood screamed out.
God had placed a curse on Cain, who was a farmer: though he tilled the ground, it would no longer yield crops, and no earth would welcome him.
If that story was true, it made sense why the Constellation Cain before me could not eat the 'plant,' snow ginseng, and the 'fruit,' red dates, that had grown from the earth.
So that was why this place, his domain, was a wasteland where not a single blade of grass grew.
As my expression darkened, Cain smirked and shrugged.
"There's no need to make that face. That was the price of my sin."
"The price..."
"Yes, the price for killing my brother out of jealousy. The fortunate thing is that He did not take meat away from me. If I couldn't eat meat, I would have gone mad long ago."
At Cain's words that he was a meat-eater rather than a herbivore, I found myself nodding unconsciously.
That's right; if you can't eat plants, you just eat meat.
No wonder he had been helpless before a chicken leg—no, a cockatrice leg.
But wait a minute.
"Mushrooms aren't plants, though?"
"They're slimy, so I don't like them."
What the hell, this guy. He's just a picky eater.
When I looked at him with a dumbfounded expression, Cain, who had been feigning ignorance, soon made a bitter face.
"I sometimes miss the days when I could eat the crops I raised with my own hands to my heart's content."
They say nothing is more frightening than a taste you know.
Because he had been a farmer, he knew the taste of grain, vegetables, and fruit better than anyone.
But because of the curse laid upon him, he couldn't help but long for the old flavors he could no longer taste.
"Back then, an amazing food smell from the lower world stung my nose. It was your cooking."
Cain looked at me with gleaming eyes and smirked.
A chill ran down my spine at that sight, so I quickly changed the subject.
"The smell reached all the way here?"
"Human chef, did you perhaps boil this meat in mana water?"
"Yes. That's correct."
When I nodded, Cain chuckled and replied.
"Mana has a way of spreading everywhere. If it was mana that flowed out while boiling mana water, it would be plenty enough to reach here."
It seemed the smell had mixed with the evaporated mana from the vigorously boiling mana water and flowed all the way to the Constellation's domain.
"I usually don't pay attention to food from the lower world, but the herbal scent mixed with the meat smell caught my attention. The moment I smelled it, I couldn't help myself. Before I knew it, I had sent a message to you, of all things."
To whine at an Awakened to bring him food.
Though he had done something shameful as a Constellation, Cain showed not the slightest hint of regret.
"But thanks to that, I was able to eat a dish so deeply imbued with the fragrance of plants."
The defining characteristic of samgyetang was the harmony between medicinal herbs and meat.
The aroma of the medicinal herbs not only removed the gamy smell of the chicken but also made it possible to eat the herbs—which tasted so terrible that taking them as medicine was difficult—in a delicious way.
That aspect seemed to have appealed greatly to the Constellation Cain as well.
He couldn't eat plants, but it was a meat dish through which he could feel the fragrance of plants.
And the joy of the one eating is the joy of the chef.
Moreover, a Constellation had actually liked my cooking.
I bowed my head sincerely.
"Thank you. I'm grateful that you enjoyed my humble cooking."
However, at my words, Cain's expression turned serious and he shook his head.
"'Humble'? It is a dish that satisfied me. It is absolutely not ordinary. Do not speak of it so disparagingly."
"Well, it is a dish made from monsters and dungeon byproducts, so it isn't exactly ordinary, but..."
"That is not what I mean."
It was a 'poison dish' that would kill an ordinary person with mana poisoning the moment it touched their lips, simply from the excessive mana.
Naturally, it was anything but ordinary, but Cain shook his head as if that wasn't what he meant.
"The food Constellations and humans eat is different. Dishes imbued with mana may be dangerous for you, but we can only eat ingredients imbued with mana."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. I'm probably the first Constellation to have eaten a dish made by a lower worlder?"
To think that using mana-imbued ingredients—which made a dish inedible to humans anyway—and making everything from monsters and dungeon byproducts would bring about this result.
Rather, it meant that because it was made solely from mana-imbued ingredients, it had become a dish that Constellations could eat.
Having said that, Cain grinned broadly.
"To think you're giving me another 'First' title besides 'First Murderer.' You may be proud of that."
Having said that, Cain stood up from his seat and lightly bowed his head to me.
The implications of his gratitude were terrifying, but a Constellation's gratitude, nonetheless.
I was at a loss, utterly flustered and unsure what to do with myself.
Still, I didn't feel bad about it.
Perhaps because of that, my mouth moved on its own.
"If you visit again from time to time, I will prepare dishes as offerings."
"I will hold you to those words."
The moment the words left my mouth, I thought 'oh no,' but seeing Cain's face light up like a child, I nodded.
The motto of our restaurant, passed down since my grandfather's time, was precisely this.
"A delicious dish is completed by the guest's smile."
"Wonderful words. I like them."
Seemingly satisfied with my words, Cain burst into laughter.
Then, as if he had forgotten, he opened his mouth.
"Ah, right—I promised to give you a reward."
Since I had forgotten as well, the word 'reward' made my anticipation stir.
What would he give me?
The first thing that came to mind was a contract with a Constellation.
Hunters who had formed contracts with Constellations possessed power incomparable to what they had before.
I wasn't a combat-type Hunter, but if I formed a contract with Cain, I might gain the ability to clear dungeons.
Cain seemed to have thought something similar, as he asked me,
"It's common in these situations to form a contract and grant a skill. The form where I, having received an offering, lend power to a lower worlder. But..."
Cain trailed off and looked me up and down.
"Most of the power I can grant is related to combat, and it doesn't seem like it would suit you very well."
Fitting for his epithet, the 'First Murderer,' Cain's abilities were mostly about killing or fighting.
Naturally, they were things ill-suited for me, a chef.
A very valid point.
Even if he offered, I had absolutely no intention of going into dungeons and fighting like other Hunters.
My main job was a chef, and if I went into a dungeon right now, who would open the restaurant?
Cain, who had been pondering for a moment, opened his mouth again.
"Then all that remains is to give you an item. I don't really have anything good on me, though. Take this at least."
As he spoke, what Cain handed over was a flat lump of stone crudely shaped like a hand axe—no, a stone knife.
"It has a bit of a history; I find it somewhat uncomfortable to look at. Use it to hunt monsters or shave for all I care."
"Thank you."
I didn't know what it was, but it was an item from a Constellation.
I received the stone knife with a reverent expression and put it in my pocket.
Then Cain smiled, raised his hand, and kindled a golden flame.
"The meal was enjoyable. I hope we meet again."
At the same time, just as when I had arrived, my body was enveloped in golden flames.
* * *
"Phew, I'm back."
When I came to my senses, my surroundings were no longer a wasteland, but the restaurant parking lot.
"Did no time pass at all?"
I felt like I had been in the Constellation's domain for quite a long time, but the time shown on my phone indicated that not even a minute had gone by.
And the only thing that had changed was the altar, which had somehow collapsed.
Seeing that, I wondered if my trip to the Constellation's domain had been a dream.
"Was it really a dream?"
But the proof that what I had just experienced was not a dream was in my hand.
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[The First Blade (Legendary-grade)]
- A stone knife used by the Constellation Cain, the 'First Murderer,' when he committed the first murder.
- Has a set probability of inflicting [Instant Death] upon the target it stabs.
- Exhibits fatal effects against humanoid and animal-type monsters.
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Good heavens, Legendary-grade.
It was the highest grade of item, one that had appeared only a handful of times since the Gate Apocalypse.
There were rumors of a Myth-grade above it, but that was a rank no one had ever possessed or even seen.
And Cain had given me such an incredible item as a reward for a mere cockatrice samgyetang.
"Wait, now that I think about it, this is an absolutely terrifying item?"
I had been blinded by the words 'Legendary-grade' and hadn't realized, but this knife was the very blade that had killed Abel.
Was it really okay for him to just hand me something he found uncomfortable to look at?
"For now, I'll just hold onto it. I should hope I never have to use it."
Muttering so, I put [The First Blade] into my pocket.
That wasn't the only thing I had gained from this affair.
"Status window."
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Name: Doyeonseong
Class: Constellation's Chef
- You can cook using ingredients imbued with mana.
- Special effects are granted to the dishes you make.
- However, only Constellations can eat the dishes you make.
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A Chef class was already a job that only I had, but now I wasn't just a Chef, but a Constellation's Chef.
And the description even said that special effects were granted.
"If it's effects like stat increases or status ailment removal, it would cause an uproar."
Whatever the effects might be, if this fact became known, wouldn't the Hunter world be turned upside down?
But I soon gave a bitter smile.
"That won't happen. The only ones who can eat it are Constellations."
So only Constellations could eat it—the class name, Constellation's Chef, wasn't just for show.
Of course, being able to serve food to a Constellation and receive rewards was an incredible thing in itself, but...
"Surely something like this won't happen again?"
I had promised Cain—the farmer who could not till the earth, no, Cain—that I would make him food in the future.
But aside from that, it didn't seem like something like this would happen again.
Today had been a special day, but starting tomorrow, I would return to my usual life—opening the restaurant, cooking, and serving food to customers.
"Yikes, it's already this late. I need to sleep quickly so I can prepare to open the restaurant tomorrow."
I decided to clear away the collapsed altar tomorrow and hurried to my room on the second floor.
But that naive thought of mine crumbled the very next day.
[The Maiden of Strength who traverses the battlefield has taken an interest in you.]
Whatever the reason, it seemed my rumors had spread among the Constellations.