I Entered a Gacha Game That Had Been Abandoned for 10 Years

31 – Cooking (1)

The Antalia territory is inherently very affluent.

This is due to the inexhaustible reserves of stone resources in the territory. Unlike other places where stone resources are difficult to use without going through the entire process of a processing plant, the stone resources in the Antalia territory, even skipping some of the processing steps, were ranked in the top tier.

In other words, thanks to the resources adjacent to the territory, the Antalia territory became extremely affluent by consistently supplying resources to various territories belonging to the Norba Kingdom.

And Gran, born as the second son of the Antalia Lord, believed from a very young age that everything in this world could be solved with money.

At least, during his growth, there was nothing that couldn’t be solved with money.

Want something?

Buy it.

Desire something?

Buy it.

Need to use force?

Buy it.

From an early age, he watched the Lord of Antalia solve everything with money, so in his view, everything in this world could be resolved as long as you had money.

Because of this, he coveted the position of the Lord of Antalia.

The seat his father occupied was, in his eyes, a position where one could wield unrivaled power, and as long as he had some sense of reason, he could live his whole life comfortably.

Therefore, he took on tasks that he didn’t have to do, coming to capture her on his own.

More precisely, there was an intention behind his father’s personally-made “product,” to retrieve it and gain his favor, showing a little more in the succession battle.

He thought it was an excellent move to win his angry father’s heart.

And, above all, because it seemed like an easy task.

In the end, even if the “product” became a chosen hero of the world, the recently chosen hero was ultimately just a human with a slightly greater potential than usual. If they couldn’t find and train their talents, they would be nothing more or less than a slightly stronger human. That’s why he judged this task to be easy.

Until just a moment ago, that is.

Kwaddudeok—!

“Screams in agony!”

As Gran returned to a place where his feet shouldn’t be, a painful scream erupted from his mouth.

However, the red eyes that carried out the deed, on the other hand…

“Umph! Ugh! Umph!!!”

The eyes, completely devoid of any emotion, that blocked Gran’s mouth with something that scattered darkness, simply stared at him.

Gran was filled with terror.

His heart, pounding as if it would burst any moment, throbbed louder than the unbearable pain.

The gruesomely dead knights seen through Gran’s eyes seemed to be displaying his future, causing him to stop moving for a moment and curse.

Gran couldn’t understand how this situation came to be.

He had no idea why these monstrous beings attacked him, or why the knights were so brutally dead.

Nothing made sense.

However, his mind, driven by the instinct to survive, continued to think of the best way to survive in this situation.

“Money, I’ll give you money!!”

Soon, Gran hastily opened his mouth, tearing away the darkness that blocked his mouth.

“You’re, you’re doing this because of money?! Huh?! I have a lot of money! I, I have even more than now if I just return to my territory, right away!”

Gran’s words were urgent and desperate.

The wolf, watching him, asked, “Where?”

“What?”

“Where is your territory?”

With eyes devoid of any feeling, the wolf asked without a hint of hesitation.

Feeling an indescribable chill from that question, Gran, determined to survive, opened his mouth first.

“Antalia Territory, it’s Antalia Territory! My father is the lord of Antalia Territory! It’s a huge territory if you go west from here! It’s a bit far, but if we just go, I’m sure—”

Just as Gran shouted as if protesting, the red eyes that had been continually watching him raised its foot without hesitation, ready to plunge it towards Gran’s head—

Thud!

“What are you doing?”

The Banshee blocked her attack.

The rapidly intensifying vitality.

The moment the nails, once soaked in blood, revealed their appearance.

“Is this really how it ends? Just like this?”

“…What?”

The sovereign of darkness spoke, opening her mouth.

“No, it can’t be, it must not end like this.”

Her words were as relentless as crimson eyes.

“Why should we spare him with mercy, having cursed him?”

Instead –

“You must not kill such a person. In this world, there is a life greater than death.”

With a voice filled with vivid anger, she looked at Gran and muttered.

“H-“

Suddenly, hearing her words, Gran burst into an absurd laughter.

More precisely, he felt anger.

Now, within their conversation, Gran understood who was responsible for this happening.

“Because of that bastard? Because of that damn village chief?”

Gran murmured in anger.

Since, through their conversation, he had come to realize his chances of survival were slim, he used anger as a catalyst, and courage surged within him.

“Don’t talk nonsense! What’s the damn village chief to make me go through this! What the hell does that son of a bitch think he is!”

Unjust curses filled Gran’s words.

Continuously.

Without pause.

“And if I’m gone, do you think my father will just sit there quietly!? You’ll all be dead, and that damn village where that son of a bitch is will be wiped out-“

And then.

Thud-!

Without a moment’s hesitation, the foot with crimson eyes, which had been wearing a malicious expression, smashed Gran’s skull.

“I told you not to kill him!”

A half-beast spoke with an expression full of anger.

“Why should I spare the trash who insults his master?”

Yet, the wolf still gazed at her with a vicious expression, seemingly unmoved by anger.

At the moment when the black arm from the darkness with instinctively crimson eyes was about to be drawn and swung.

Hesitation—!

The two, who had been attacking each other as if to kill, turned to look in the direction of Kim Hyunwoo’s territory and lowered their weapons.

As if they had made some kind of agreement, they moved towards the west.

Several days later.

Lorandel, the lord of the notorious Antalia territory, known for sucking the lifeblood of the Yeongjimins and turning them into slaves to enjoy prosperity, suddenly faced death.

“Hand over the execution sword.”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

Kwaaaang-!!!!

That day.

Two boulders next to the Antalia territory disappeared due to the battle of the two heroes.

####

In conclusion, Kim Hyunwoo succeeded in recruiting Lani.

And, shortly after bringing Lani to the office to explain various things officially after recruiting her.

“Why did you go to such lengths for me?”

Such a question could be heard.

“Well.”

To tell the truth, he didn’t deliberately ruin their relationship for her.

The reason Kim Hyunwoo almost shattered his skull was simply because he couldn’t tolerate being ignored.

However, as Kim Hyunwoo, who had just succeeded in recruiting and needed to raise her favorability, there was no need to tell the truth, so he decided to mix in some lies.

“Because I needed you.”

“Me?”

Lani, who showed a noticeably bewildered expression.

Just like when he first saw Elena, along with the seemingly endless lack of self-esteem, Kim Hyunwoo threw a question at her, as she looked around as if she needed to say something.

“Why are you so helpless?”

“Well, I… that, there’s nothing I can-“

Lani, bowing her head deeply as she spoke.

In fact, Kim Hyunwoo didn’t know why she lacked confidence so much.

He only knew her as a fugitive who escaped from the Barony Antalia territory, roughly guessed from his experiences there, and had no other information.

But now that she had been recruited into Larutania, she had to grow more combative than timid.

“Is there nothing you can do? I acquired you for your talent.”

“Talent, you say?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of talent do I have?”

“Cooking.”

“…Cooking?”

Kim Hyun-woo decided to boost her self-esteem.

“Yes, I can see the talents of others. And you have a talent for cooking… I know it’s hard to believe even if I say it like this.”

“To be honest, it’s a bit sudden, and I…”

Seeing Lani, who expressed disbelief, Kim Hyun-woo shrugged his shoulders.

Such a reaction was natural.

But instead of giving up just because she didn’t believe, Kim Hyun-woo continued to tell her a few times that she had a talent for cooking.

“Let’s take a break today, and we’ll talk about this again tomorrow. Elena?”

After driving away the reporter from earlier and continuing to call Elena, who was still by his side.

“Yes.”

Elena answered cleanly.

For some reason, Kim Hyun-woo had a moment of doubt about her slightly blunt appearance.

“First, please show her to the room.”

He said.

“…Okay.”

With a somewhat peculiar expression, she gave a slightly delayed response, then quickly took her outside.

‘Why does she seem a bit upset?’

Observing her, Kim Hyun-woo raised his head slyly.

‘Maybe it’s just my imagination.’

He soon shrugged his shoulders.

A few days later.

—-

Territory of Larthania.

Territory Development: 194

Territory Resident

[Humans: 1758]

Owned Buildings

[Lord’s Castle LV1 >>> Upgrading 87%]

[City Wall LV2]

[Residential Zone LV2]

[Blacksmith LV2]

[Barracks LV2]

[Tavern LV2]

[Market LV1]

[Wood Processing Plant LV1]

[Restaurant LV0 LV1]]

[Leather Processing Plant LV0 [Under Construction] 0%]

[Stone Processing Plant LV0 [Under Construction] 0%]

[Trade Post LV0 [Under Construction] 32%]

Military Forces

-Regular Soldiers 100 [Recruiting]

—

With the completion of the restaurant, Kim Hyun-woo had Rani cook for him.

Although they had become quite friendly over the past few days of conversation, Rani, still unable to shake off her inherent shyness, started cooking in the restaurant.

Watching her cautiously, as if she had already done something wrong, Kim Hyun-woo spoke to her.

“It’s okay, feel free.”

“Yes, yes…”

Rani responded without confidence, as if she didn’t believe Kim Hyun-woo’s words.

However, he genuinely had no expectations of disappointment regardless of what kind of food she served. After all, Rani was currently just a 1-star hero who hadn’t properly grown as a supporting hero.

“Here, it’s all done… um, here.”

While Kim Hyun-woo was thinking, Rani quietly placed the finished dish in front of him.

“I’ll enjoy it.”

Kim Hyunwoo greeted.

‘Even though she’s only a 1-star, it would be nice to have a +3 stat boost at least.’

He looked at the stew.

—–

Beef stew.

It’s an ordinary beef stew that needs no special description.

[Buff Effects]

Random stats +7 (8 hours)

Defense +5

[Permanent Effect]

After consuming food on an empty stomach 40 times or more, Agility permanently increases by +2. [One-time only]

※ A dish filled with Rani’s sincerity towards Kim Hyunwoo! When ‘Kim Hyunwoo’ consumes the food, the 40-time consumption condition disappears, and Agility immediately increases by +1. [One-time only]

—–

“…Huh?”

Kim Hyunwoo couldn’t help but make a puzzled expression.