The Military Chef of a Ruined World

“I know it feels like taking something back, but could we use them as ingredients?”

“…That’s absurd!”

Though my reason was simply wanting to use fresh ingredients,

Chang-su responded with shock upon hearing that.

This was the first time I’ve seen this man so startled.

“Weren’t they brought for Awakening purposes? Let’s just use some of that.”

“No, it’s not about eating monsters.”

“…Ah.”

Oops.

The culture of cooking and eating monsters was so naturally ingrained in the squad that I had forgotten about it and bluntly put forward my request before them.

‘I forgot that eating the bodies of humans-turned-monsters would be quite disturbing.’

But it seems Chang-su’s reason for his shock was not that.

“Do you know what happens if you eat a monster’s corpse?”

“…?”

Hearing that, not only myself, but the soldiers listening to our conversation also had question marks on their faces.

‘Is there someone who knows what happens when you eat a monster’s corpse as well as we do?’

They were people who ate monster cuisine three times a day.

The soldiers listening to the conversation between Chang-su and I spoke up.

“We’re not entirely sure what happens, but…”

“As long as the captain tells us to do it, there shouldn’t be any major issues.”

“That’s right, especially since it’s in the culinary field and all…”

“Uh, umm.”

With the squad members speaking up like this,

“…If any problems arise, I won’t just stand by.”

Chang-su sighed as he spoke.

Somehow, it seemed there was another reason why they hadn’t eaten the flesh of those fishmen.

Well, I can figure that out later.

I immediately approached the fishmen corpses and started cooking.

‘They look quite gruesome.’

The monsters, having been used for the Awakening process, had died in a rather brutal manner.

From the perspective of a production worker utilizing monster ingredients, this rather unsightly visual might make one frown.

But now, it doesn’t really matter.

After having the mages boil water, I submerged the monster’s flesh into the water to simmer.

At the same time, I had the rice I had kept in the shadows soak in the water as well, letting it soften a bit.

‘I think it’s about done.’

As the flesh had cooked through after some time, I used a strainer to remove all the flesh from the water.

Sploosh…

Laying the cleaver aside, I mashed all the flesh.

‘I handled the meat a bit roughly, since I’m just going to mash it up anyway, it doesn’t matter.’

The dish I was planning to make was quite simple.

When you hear the term ‘patient food’, the first thing that would come to mind would certainly be a grueling dish.

And there were also fresh ingredients, you know.

‘Fish gruel.’

In fact.

I had even thought about making this dish for that man who fainted after calling for help from the military.

But since he was completely unconscious, I refrained from it, worried that I might cause him to choke if I did it wrong.

‘Those people have just lost their minds, but they would still chew instinctively if something were to put in their mouths.’

If it’s a soft gruel, they would be able to swallow it without much trouble.

Finally, I placed my hand over the completed dish and lightly rubbed my fingers.

Sprinkle the [special sauce] to finish it off.

[The cooking is complete!]

[Dasmur’s special fish gruel, imbued with the vitality of a mid-level chef’s life]

“It’s done.”

“Are we supposed to fed them this…?”

As the cooking was complete,

Some people came forward and received the dish.

‘They were the families of those who had lost their minds.’

Holding the fish gruel, they headed into the room.

Watching their backs,

I heard one of the ‘revengers’ muttering softly.

-Even if you carefully cook and feed them, what’s the point, since they’ve lost their minds anyway…

-I understand the desire to take care of them, but… it’s a meaningless effort.

Meaningless, huh?

‘We’ll see about that.’

That’s something that remains to be seen.

“Father, I’m here.”

“…Ba-a-a…”

A man named Bum-seok sat down in front of an elderly man and spoke.

However,

Despite his son’s arrival, the elderly man, drooling and staring vacantly, did not even recognize him.

“…Ugh.”

Seeing this, a surge of anger arose, didn’t it?

Bum-seok gritted his teeth.

But soon, shaking his head, he moved the spoon and scooped up a spoonful of the fish gruel.

“Please try this. The ingredients might not be the best, but it’s a patient’s food. I tried the dish this person made, and it was really delicious, you know.”

Muttering to himself, Bum-seok brought the spoon of fish gruel to the elderly man’s mouth.

This caring gesture seemed to be quite familiar.

His hand movements were quite practiced.

Spoonful after spoonful,

The fish gruel went into the elderly man’s mouth.

“…Thank you.”

Eventually,

Bum-seok, having finished the entire bowl, looked at me and said,

“Knowing that I was able to serve my father a delicious meal makes me feel a little lighter in heart.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“But since he can’t even taste it, it’s really just self-satisfaction, isn’t it?”

Bum-seok said with a bitter smile.

Hearing his words, I tilted my head and said,

“Can’t taste it? What do you mean?”

“Huh? As you can see, the people in this room have all lost their minds.”

This man,

He seems to be mistaken about something.

“Do you really think I would have cooked so diligently for people who can’t even taste the food?”

“Even if you say that, to be honest, I’m not sure what you’re trying to say.”

Bum-seok furrowed his brow, as if questioning what I was getting at.

At that moment,

“Bum-seok? Is that you?”

“…!?”

From behind Bum-seok,

A hoarse voice was heard.

‘I don’t need to explain this.’

Hearing that voice, Bum-seok turned his head in surprise.

The elderly man who had been staring blankly into space was no longer there.

What was there instead was,

“Ah, Father!?”

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TL Note: Good day, readers.

Now that was quite a long vacation that I had taken due to health problems.