Chapter 105

Chapter 105

At her furious shout, the hotel's executive chef, dressed in a white chef's uniform, hurried over with a pale face.

"Y-you called for me, Master...?"

He was sweating profusely and repeatedly bowing his head.

He was a famous chef recognized throughout South Korea, but in front of an S-rank Hunter, his life seemed as insignificant as that of a fly.

Song Hwa-rin stabbed a piece of steak on her plate with her fork and held it right in front of the chef's face.

"What's this?"

"Pardon? Ah, that's our finest Korean beef tenderloin steak. It has undergone three weeks of wet aging..."

"Do you think I'm asking because I don't know that?! I'm asking why it tastes so terrible!"

Song Hwa-rin shouted angrily.

"Is this even meat? Or is it rubber?"

"H-huh? What do you mean...?"

"Where the hell did all the juices go? It's nothing but dry meat! And why is the sauce so cold? There's no soul in it! No soul! Don't you agree? Try it yourself!"

The chef looked as though he was about to go mad from the injustice of it all.

He had prepared the finest steak, putting his entire cooking career on the line. It was perfectly cooked, and the temperature had been appropriate.

He was certain it was a top-quality dish that any ordinary person would have eaten with admiration.

But Song Hwa-rin's tastes had already changed.

She had become completely accustomed to Hong Man-gi's cooking at Full Moon Restaurant.

Hong Man-gi's dishes understood the true nature of their ingredients, used mana to maximize their flavors, and even comforted the souls of those who ate them.

Now that she had grown accustomed to that warm flavor, even technically perfect hotel cuisine seemed like nothing more than cold, hollow products assembled from separate parts.

"I-I'm sorry! I'll prepare it again! I'll make another one right away!"

"Don't bother!"

Song Hwa-rin pushed the plate away.

"You expect me to eat something like this? Why don't you try learning a thing or two from Hong Man-gi?"

Her explosive remark caused a commotion throughout the banquet hall.

She was claiming that a premium Korean beef steak was inferior to meat casually grilled by a former F-rank Hunter who had only just reached B-rank and now worked as a chef.

It was an unforgivable insult, not only to the hotel chef but also to the guild executives who had organized the banquet.

Unable to hold himself back any longer, Choi Mu-yeong stepped forward.

"Master, that's going a little too far."

"This chef is a top-class professional whom our guild personally invited. And all these dishes were prepared for you using only the finest ingredients. Yet you're comparing them to the food from that... cheap street stall with no proper foundation."

Choi Mu-yeong glared at Hong Man-gi and deliberately emphasized the words no proper foundation.

Fire seemed to flash in Song Hwa-rin's eyes.

"What? No proper foundation? Hey, Choi Mu-yeong."

"Yes."

"Are you looking down on my benefactor right now? Have you forgotten who cured my sense of taste?"

"I acknowledge that he's your benefactor, but cooking is a separate matter. Objectively speaking, isn't hotel cuisine of a much higher standard? Master, I think your feelings are clouding your judgment..."

"My feelings? Ha! You think it's just my feelings?"

Song Hwa-rin let out a disbelieving laugh.

"Fine. Then you try it yourself. Let's see whether this food tastes better or Hong Man-gi's cooking does."

She grabbed Hong Man-gi and pulled him toward her.

"Hey, Hong Man-gi. Go to the kitchen and make something. Anything. I want you to open up the palates of those stubborn old fools."

"What? Right now? Here?"

Hong Man-gi could not help feeling bewildered.

He had come as a guest to someone else's banquet, and now she was telling him to enter a kitchen already occupied by professional hotel chefs and start cooking.

Wouldn't that be a serious breach of professional courtesy?

"No, Master. That would be a little difficult. We have to consider the dignity of the chefs working here..."

"Can dignity fill your stomach? I'm in a bad mood because I just ate something terrible! Hurry up and make me something delicious!"

Song Hwa-rin threw a tantrum as she pushed Hong Man-gi from behind.

Perhaps because she was an S-rank Hunter, her tantrum was far more destructive than that of an ordinary child.

The atmosphere around them rapidly turned cold.

The hotel chefs' faces turned red and purple from their wounded pride, while the guild executives were directing strange looks at Hong Man-gi.

One of the guild's senior enforcers, who had been looking at Hong Man-gi with displeasure for some time, approached with a glass of alcohol in his hand.

He staggered slightly as he walked.

"Hey, Mr. Chef."

He draped an arm over Hong Man-gi's shoulder and spoke sarcastically.

"Just because the Master keeps praising you, you think you've become someone important? Who do you think you are, making a scene here? Do you think this hotel's kitchen is your little street stall?"

Reeking of alcohol, he repeatedly poked Hong Man-gi in the chest.

"You think grilling a little meat makes you worthy of sitting beside the Master? Why don't you learn your place?"

It was an obvious provocation.

Kang Jae-min was about to spring to his feet, but Hong Man-gi stopped him with a glance.

Hong Man-gi gently took the enforcer's hand off his shoulder.

Then he looked at the cold steak and the soup that had lost its flavor, both sitting on the table.

The dishes were beautiful but lacked warmth.

The techniques were perfect, but the plates lacked the feelings of the person who had prepared them.

'They really are... a little disappointing.'

Hong Man-gi had no intention of criticizing the chefs.

They had undoubtedly done their best.

It was simply that, because of the limitations of large-scale cooking and their attachment to formal presentation, they had overlooked the most important aspect of food, its warmth.

And Song Hwa-rin had become someone who could sense that warmth more keenly than anyone else.

That was why even the smallest shortcomings bothered her.

Hong Man-gi raised his head and looked at Song Hwa-rin.

She still had a thoroughly displeased expression, and her eyes were practically demanding that he hurry up and give her something delicious.

He chuckled.

There was nothing he could do about it.

When a customer wanted something, it was a chef's duty to respond.

Besides, putting those people who looked down on him in their place might not be such a bad idea.

"All right."

Hong Man-gi took off his jacket and hung it over his chair.

Then he rolled up his shirt sleeves.

"There's no need to go all the way to the kitchen. I'll take care of it right here."

"What? Right here?"

The enforcer snorted.

"There's not even a fire here. What are you planning to do? Perform a magic trick?"

Hong Man-gi grinned and pulled the plate of cold steak in front of him.

Then he closed his eyes.

[Skill Activated: Gourmet Alchemist]

Golden mana began rising from his fingertips like a shimmering haze.

"It's not exactly magic..."

He opened his eyes and smiled.

"But I do know how to perform alchemy."

Everyone's attention turned toward his fingertips.

Golden mana rose from Hong Man-gi's fingertips like a shimmering haze.

In front of him lay a Korean beef tenderloin steak that had grown cold and was beginning to harden.

The hotel chefs had carefully prepared it, but because of the limitations of cooking in large quantities and the banquet hall's air-conditioning, the meat had lost its juices, and its fat had solidified into a white layer.

It had lost all the qualities that made a dish seem alive.

'This dish is dead.'

Hong Man-gi began examining the meat through the eyes of a Gourmet Alchemist.

The muscle fibers had contracted and become tough, while the aroma molecules were trapped inside.

'I can bring it back to life.'

He gently placed his palm over the steak.

[Skill Activated: Material Reconstruction, Meat Juice Redistribution]

"Come back to life."

Along with his quiet command, mana flowed from Hong Man-gi's hand into the meat.

His mana gently melted the hardened fat and caused the dried-up meat juices to vibrate.

The contracted muscle fibers relaxed as though they were being massaged, gradually regaining their original elasticity.

[Sssssizzle.]

Despite there being neither a fire nor a frying pan, the steak on the plate began sizzling as though it had just been placed on a scorching grill.

"Huh? What's that? I can hear it sizzling!"

"There's smoke coming out of it!"

The guild members gathered around began murmuring.

But Hong Man-gi did not stop.

'Skill... Warmth Infusion.'

He generated heat from deep inside the meat, beginning to recreate the perfect temperature and texture of a medium-rare steak, crispy on the outside and moist on the inside.

The fat that had hardened into a white layer melted into a clear liquid, coating the surface of the meat with an appetizing shine.

The lifeless brown lump transformed in an instant into a bright red jewel overflowing with meat juices.

Then an explosive aroma of cooked meat burst forth.

The rich smell of fat, the aroma of charcoal, and the meat's natural, intense flavor completely took over the banquet hall.

It was an irresistible, primal aroma, entirely different from the smell of the hotel steak they had been served earlier.

The enforcer who had picked a fight with Hong Man-gi unconsciously swallowed his saliva.

'Gulp...'

Hong Man-gi's work was not finished.

He moved his hand toward the bowl of cream soup beside him, which had grown cold and developed a thin film on its surface.

"Too bland and greasy. It lacks aroma."

He opened his inventory and took out a small bottle containing emerald-green powder.

It was made from the special herbs he had gathered in Beech Forest and dried during his previous visit.

'Wild Herb Powder... This should do the trick.'

These special herbs had grown while absorbing the pure energy of the dungeon.

They had an aroma dozens of times stronger than ordinary herbs and could also help clear the mind.

Hong Man-gi lightly sprinkled the herb powder over the soup.

"Bloom."

[Skill Activated: Aroma Amplification]

His mana reacted with the herb powder.

[FWWOOOOOSH!]

Golden light rose from the bowl of soup.

"Oh?!"

"Ooooooh! My goodness!"

In an instant, everyone in the banquet hall felt as though they were standing in the middle of Beech Forest.

The refreshing scent of grass, the clean smell of earth, and the richness of the cream soup came together to create a wonderful harmony.

The greasy, slightly unpleasant smell of the original soup had completely disappeared.

Only a pleasant fragrance remained, so refreshing that simply smelling it made their stomachs feel cleansed.

"It's done."

When Hong Man-gi withdrew his hand, the steak and soup on the table shone in a state even more perfect than if they had just been brought out of the kitchen.

The hotel chefs stood speechless with their mouths hanging open, while the guild members approached the table as though they were under a spell.

Hong Man-gi wiped his hands with a napkin and looked at the dumbfounded enforcer.

"Would you like to try it?"

He politely offered him a fork and knife.

"You said earlier that my cooking was only good enough for a street stall, didn't you? I'm not sure whether this will suit your tastes."

The enforcer accepted the fork without thinking.

"Well... the smell isn't bad, I suppose."

With trembling hands, he cut a piece of steak.

The moment his knife touched the meat, it sliced through as smoothly as pudding.

Clear meat juices flowed from the cut surface.

He placed the piece in his mouth.

And took a bite.

The moment he chewed,

an explosion of meat juices burst inside his mouth.

"...Gah...!"

The enforcer's eyes widened as though they were about to burst.

'It's... so rich. So tender. And... it's warm?!'

The energy contained in that single piece of meat seemed to wrap itself around his cold insides, gently warming him.

The flavor instantly carried him back to a day in his distant past.

It was before he had become a Hunter, during the years when his family had been poor.

Whenever he returned home after a long day of manual labor at a construction site, his mother would gather her precious savings to buy a little meat.

She would grill it over a coal fire until it sizzled, smiling at him with her wrinkled face.

"My son, eat as much as you want."

It was a simple, unrefined flavor, yet it carried a love warmer than anything else in the world.

Hong Man-gi's alchemy had brought out the ingredients' potential to its absolute limit, drawing forth the happiest memories of flavor that lay dormant within the person eating the food.

Next, the enforcer lifted a spoonful of soup to his mouth with trembling hands.

The fragrant herbal aroma spread through his nose, washing away the exhaustion and mental fatigue he had accumulated through his difficult life as a Hunter.

It was as comforting as resting his head on his mother's lap.

"Ugh... Sob..."

The enforcer's fierce-looking face began to crumple.

Still holding his fork, he suddenly burst into tears.

"M-mother...!"

Forgetting all about his dignity, he chewed the meat while sobbing like a little child.

"Waaaaah... Mom... The meat... It's delicious... It's so delicious..."