The Returned Chef Decided to Become a Savior

Chapter 23 of 46

Chapter 23

Chapter 23. The First Hero (17)

Na-ye had hesitated to bring Seongchan and Kosdal into the Rice Ball Guild House.

When they finally entered, she'd been obviously tense.

And now there were even guild members who openly ignored her.

If this is left alone, conflict will never stop.

Rather than seeing Na-ye continue enduring everything and trying to smooth it over, Seongchan wanted her to fight back.

Whether she knew that or not, Na-ye sighed inwardly.

He's colder than he used to be, but at least there are still guild members who trust me. And because Seongchan made Wild Pig Stew, even Kang Tae-sik escaped the food discrimination.

None of that would have been possible if she hadn't met Seongchan.

Everything she had worried about had happened.

But in the end, things had still turned out better than she'd feared.

"Ah... I actually think it went better than I expected, so I'm relieved."

Na-ye said it in an attempt to smooth over the situation.

Her tone sounded as if she believed everything would be fine as long as she endured it herself.

Seongchan's neck tensed.

"I don't know what you're relieved about, but while you're gone, I could burn the entire Rice Ball Guild House to the ground."

He was completely serious.

Even the spirits felt it.

Grrrrr!

Hiiiiii!

The spirits' reactions and Seongchan's angry face said everything.

Realizing he truly meant it, Na-ye became flustered.

She seemed to be desperately thinking of some way to stop him.

"I'm holding back because of you, Na-ye. If I did what I actually wanted, I thought it might hurt you to watch your precious Rice Ball Guild disappear."

The Guild House contained her memories with the former Guild Master.

She had inherited the former Guild Master's Silnyang and still remained Vice Guild Master.

Even after being treated like this, Na-ye had not left.

That alone showed how precious the Rice Ball Guild was to her.

"You held back... for me?"

Even as Na-ye spoke, doubt filled her mind.

I've only received things from him. Why?

Seongchan had taught her how to handle spirits.

He had solved the villagers' problems when she hadn't been able to do it alone.

After arriving at the Guild House, he'd been treated rudely by guild members who ignored her and by the Guild Master himself.

Na-ye had been afraid he would become frustrated and eventually turn that frustration toward her.

She feared he would look at her as if asking, You can't even solve something this simple?

Then leave.

I want to do well.

She desperately wanted to do better.

But the members of the Rice Ball Guild wouldn't move the way she wanted them to.

Even after things had come this far, the only thing Na-ye could do was raise her voice.

Like today.

And probably in the future too.

She didn't want that.

But she didn't know any other way.

"No."

Seongchan's flat voice made Na-ye question her ears.

For a moment, she thought she'd misheard him.

But he'd definitely said no.

If he wasn't holding back for me... does that mean he's decided I'm hopeless?

Na-ye couldn't breathe.

She struggled for a moment before finally managing to draw air into her lungs.

Then she asked in a trembling voice,

"If I can't do it... are you going to leave?"

"I should. Right now."

Na-ye's head began to ache at his answer.

Every moment when she should have controlled the Rice Ball Guild better but failed began swirling through her mind.

Seongchan is here right now.

Na-ye suppressed the regret and guilt threatening to overwhelm her.

She understood his decision.

She wanted to ask him to stay, but she had already received far too much from him.

She had learned how to emotionally communicate with Silnyang.

The villagers had also discovered a way to protect themselves from Wild Pigs.

From now on, she needed to remain in the Rice Ball Guild House, reconcile with the guild members, and slowly correct everything that had gone wrong.

"Thank you for everything."

Na-ye tried to steady her trembling voice.

She failed.

Seongchan looked at her.

"Why are you talking like everything's already over?"

"What?"

"We said we'd make a bet, remember? What exactly were you thinking?"

"Uh... well..."

"You did it, didn't you? You really thought that."

"Ah... I'm sorry."

Her cheeks turned red after he saw through her thoughts.

Watching her, Seongchan spoke lightly, making sure his words wouldn't feel too heavy.

"I said it harshly on purpose. I just wanted to tell you not to suffer alone."

Then he turned his head.

"Dean! Malko! Let's go!"

While Dean and Malko had been helping serve food, Seongchan had asked whether there were more children like them.

They had nodded as if wondering how he'd known.

That was when he'd suggested going to their orphanage.

"You said you know a way for us not to get scolded, right?"

"If I go with you, you won't get scolded."

"Really?! We really won't get scolded, and you'll let us eat Wild Pig Stew every day too?!"

"I told you already. Come on. Na-ye, what are you going to do?"

Na-ye lowered her head.

After a moment, she forced a smile and looked up.

Her face was covered in tears.

"I think I need to think through things one step at a time. I don't think I can follow you today. I'm sorry."

"Don't force yourself. Sir Kosdal, what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to the guards."

Kosdal still intended to straighten out the lazy guards.

He was also curious about the rumor he'd heard mentioned.

He hadn't visited for two years, so he wanted to know what kind of rumor had spread badly enough that the guards had been happy to see him.

"You can't."

"What?"

"You need to obey His Majesty's order."

The king's command was for Kosdal to protect Seongchan.

"Then why did you even ask me?!"

"Just because."

Seongchan headed toward the orphanage.

Dean and Malko followed happily, completely believing his promise that they wouldn't get scolded.

Seongchan watched them and thought,

There are too many things wrong here.

Instead of using the well-maintained main road, Dean and Malko led him through narrow alleyways, taking shortcuts.

After following them for a while, Seongchan spoke.

"Let's use the proper road."

He could see people who didn't even have enough strength to stand.

Beggars looked at him with hopeful eyes, only to hurriedly turn away when they met Seongchan's gaze.

It's not like I can hide my face while walking around.

The alleyways were like their final refuge.

Seongchan decided to take another route.

"But this way is faster."

"Hey! Is that really what you should say? Is it okay if we take longer?"

"Yes."

Dean scolded Malko, then left the alley and moved onto the well-maintained road.

It was surprisingly clean compared to the alleyways.

Maybe I should go meet the workers too.

"Dean? Malko? Where are you?"

Director Hae-reun noticed the two children were missing while serving food.

"Maybe they didn't want to eat?"

"Maybe they used the money they secretly earned from working and went to buy something tasty?"

"I saw them heading into the alley."

Dean and Malko were difficult children to control.

It wasn't that they usually went outside and caused trouble.

Rather, they would secretly work, earn some money, slip out through the alleyways, and buy food for themselves.

"Dean and Malko again?"

The speaker was a long-haired man with sharp features.

His name was Peuten.

He was the Deputy Head of the Highs Merchant Company, the most influential merchant company in the Terk Kingdom.

Dean and Malko occasionally skipped the meals Peuten provided.

Whenever that happened, Hae-reun found herself in an awkward position.

I hope he's not offended.

Peuten always asked whenever Dean and Malko disappeared.

If he became upset and stopped providing food, Hae-reun didn't even want to imagine how she would keep the orphanage running.

If that happens, I'll just find another way to survive.

She immediately pushed the worry aside and spoke.

"It seems so. They probably smelled something delicious somewhere and went to take a look."

Peuten smiled bitterly.

"I wish I could give you more, but it isn't easy."

"No. We're already grateful for everything you give us."

Running an orphanage came with many difficulties.

Two years ago, things hadn't been this hard.

But as people's finances became worse and donations decreased, even feeding the children was becoming difficult.

"I don't know how long we can keep enduring like this."

"Is the merchant company struggling that badly?"

"The Highs Merchant Company's sales continue to rise, so we're doing fine."

"Then isn't that a good thing?"

"Money isn't everything."

"You're right. Money isn't everything."

Hae-reun nodded in agreement.

At her response, Peuten placed a hand against his forehead.

His head began to throb.

She's like me. Like the person I used to be.

The reason Peuten continued supporting Hae-reun was because of that belief of hers.

Money wasn't everything.

He looked at the worry in her eyes.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No."

"Really?"

Peuten gulped down a large amount of water.

Hae-reun began to worry that today might be the final day of his support.

If sales are rising so much, why does he look so worried? Is something serious happening that might stop him from helping us?

There wasn't much Hae-reun could do.

She wasn't physically strong like a hero.

Nor was she especially talented with high-ranked skills.

She only had Lowest-Grade Leadership (D).

It was a common skill that nearly every business owner gained after running a business for around a year.

Those with talent could raise its rank, but most people remained at Lowest-Grade Leadership until the day they died.

"If there's anything I can do to help, I'll do it."

"You're already doing enough. How is the support from the Terk Kingdom?"

The orphanage received support from the kingdom.

However, it was nowhere near enough to properly raise the children.

It barely covered food and a place to sleep.

Proper education was almost impossible to dream of.

And now even that support had decreased.

Without Peuten's help, the orphanage would have struggled to survive.

"It's unchanged."

"Have you ever considered taking the children to another kingdom? Perhaps our allied nation, the Possitk Kingdom."

"I can't do that."

"The number of Wild Pigs keeps increasing."

"I know. I also know that people with money have already left. But..."

Even after Peuten tried to persuade her, Hae-reun showed no intention of leaving.

Her eyes were firm.

"What would the children who follow me learn if I ran away?"

"They would learn how to prepare for danger."

Peuten, Deputy Head of the Highs Merchant Company, had always lived that way.

Whenever he saw a crisis approaching, he would accept a loss if necessary and wait until the danger passed.

Thanks to that approach, he had bought houses he could never have dreamed of owning before at extremely low prices, repaired them, then resold them for much more.

It's dangerous.

Experience told him exactly that.

Now was the time to sell off the Highs Merchant Company's remaining property in the Terk Kingdom and temporarily withdraw.

Peuten had already sold everything except the house located not far from the orphanage.

He had an eye for danger.

That ability was one of the reasons he'd climbed so high.

"No. The children would only learn to endure danger, hunger, and lose opportunities that could have been theirs. I can't do that. I want to overcome this crisis somehow."

Hae-reun continued.

"I want to show them that if they endure, struggle, and refuse to give up, they can overcome hardship."

This was the place where Hae-reun had been born and raised.

It held all her memories.

She wanted to pass those feelings to the children as well.

She wanted to give them hope.

Hope that they could protect their hometown even during a crisis.

Hope that they could succeed as long as they didn't give up.

"Have you thought of an actual solution?"

"That..."

"If you're afraid of a new place, I'll help you."

"No. That's not it. That's not what I'm afraid of."

"Then what is it?"

Peuten needed to hear the answer today.

Maybe this can actually be solved.

It was definitely a crisis.

But even inside the crisis, there was still hope.

A tiny possibility he'd discovered in reports that had arrived over the last few days.

The reports said Hero Kim Seongchan and Sir Kosdal are saving villages.

Peuten wanted to meet them as soon as possible.

He wanted to speak with them.

Thinking about solving the larger problem had distracted him for a moment.

He forced himself to focus on Hae-reun again.

She should've gone to another kingdom long ago. If money were the problem, she would've already left once I offered to cover it.

If Peuten followed his own personality, he would have moved to another kingdom long ago.

He would have traveled among the various kingdoms, met their kings, asked for assistance, and found some way to survive the crisis.

Peuten had enough ability and influence to safely help Hae-reun and the orphanage children settle in another kingdom.

"His Majesty Haiman of the Terk Kingdom is trying his best. I'm sure he's going through a difficult time too. We need to endure this difficult time with him."

"Don't you ever think the nobles don't care about their people? That they're sitting comfortably, eating steak, and thinking only about their own safety?"

Hae-reun smiled.

It was the smile of someone who had accepted the hardship of the situation.

"There need to be people like me too."

Her meaning was clear.

She was willing to sacrifice for the Terk Kingdom.

Peuten remembered another kingdom.

The Koris Kingdom.

The kingdom he had abandoned.

The woman standing before him looked like the innocent Peuten of long ago, when he'd still trusted his king.

That was why he couldn't stop supporting her.

"That's unfair."

Once again, Peuten chose to stay.