The Military Chef of a Ruined World Chapter 14

“The soldiers seed to have returned, hyung.”

In a room on the third floor of the barracks.

A man, peering outside through slightly opened blinds, remarked.

“Hmph, going for a group stroll in the dead of night, are they? They must be feeling lively.”

The man addressed as ‘hyung’ replied.

“…Do you think it might be a problem?”

“Heh, they’re just a bunch of twenty-year-old babies. Even their head officer is as soft as a kitten when it cos to military spirit. They won’t cause any trouble.”

In a room, five n sat on their respective beds.

“More importantly, didn’t I instruct you to verify it properly? Are you doing it properly?”

“Yes, I’ve asked so soldiers as naturally as possible, but so far, there have been no suspicious answers indicating awakening.”

The n conversed comfortably as if they knew each other well.

It was possible because, during the room allocation process for the soldiers, they were initially divided by gender, allowing friends to share rooms.

“I took a peek too, it seems they use guns when dealing with monsters.”

“When I asked, there didn’t seem to be any strange reactions either. Everyone seems to be answering without any doubts.”

“Then it’s highly unlikely that there are any awakened among them. We should proceed as planned without any issues.”

“Yes. When should we proceed then?”

“Nevertheless, just to be sure, let’s observe the situation for a few days. If everything seems fine, we’ll proceed imdiately. There’s no harm in being cautious.”

“As you command, hyung.”

***

In the morning, the unit’s gathering was already over.

I sat in the cafeteria lounge after preparing breakfast.

I was fiddling with the dog tag hanging around my neck.

The reason I held onto this dog tag, which I usually didn’t wear, was because…

Suddenly, I missed the texture of this piece of tal.

[Clan token- Leader]

[This is a proof that you are a mber of this clan]

[Depending on the size of the group, it provides stat bonuses]

This.

This was the first “equipnt item” that I have obtained in this world after it transford into a ga.

‘A clan.’

Last night.

During the eting, our unit grew from a “party” size to a “clan” size.

“30 awakened individuals and one leader.”

Thirty awakened individuals barely t the criteria.

The lizards that we had caught during the fight with the chieftain…

They are still breathing, all becoming materials for the awakening.

And the lizards that ca after that were also utilized for awakening.

Originally, it wasn’t easy to subdue lizards safely.

Even if ten of them attacked, only about two could be utilized for awakening.

But now, with ti passing by, our unit has beco more adept at dealing with lizards.

The number of awakened individuals increased, and most importantly, “we got healers.”

Even if the lizards resist a little and injure soone, the healers step up to provide treatnt.

There was no need to push until the lizards couldn’t resist at all.

The remnants of lizards that attacked were all used as awakening materials for the unit mbers.

Thanks to that, the awakening process sped up, and thirty individuals could awaken.

And with the appointnt of a leader.

Our unit’s status was elevated to that of a clan.

According to the achievent displayed:

“The creation of a group on the clan scale was accomplished by ROK…”

In other words.

We were the second in South Korea.

Co to think of it.

When five awakened individuals ford a party, we received the third-place reward.

“Did we surpass that team?”

It’s surprising how quickly we’re advancing, but…

“It’s not bad. The achievent rewards are excellent.”

The dog tag I’m holding right now.

It’s the reward for creating the second clan.

[Group Skill (Token)]

[You can select an item that can be used as a symbol for the group and turn it into a token. Only mbers of the group can wear it, and it provides stat bonuses based on the size of the group. The bonus value varies depending on the position within the group]

“Nice.”

It’s different from the “Bimana” which didn’t have any explanation of how it works.

It provides stat bonuses to all mbers of the group.

It’s simple yet powerful.

As a leader, I have nothing to say.

The rise in stats was significant enough for other awakened soldiers to feel.

It’s like the increase in stats after eating a dish I prepared with the right amount of strength?

“All mbers of the unit have it, and the only item suitable for turning into a token is the dog tag, which is a bit disappointing.”

Using the group skill on the dog tag.

All the dog tags owned by the awakened soldiers turned into items.

And the content written on them changed slightly.

The clan na and rank were added to where the military number used to be.

And there were small patterns added to the background.

The dog tag.

It’s in the form of a necklace, so it can be carried and worn at any ti.

It’s also good for proving affiliation.

As it was a decision made after consulting with other unit mbers.

Honestly, I think it’s the best choice.

“Of all things, a dog tag…”

The dog tag is an object which signifies the concept of military service.

It’s a bit distressing but that’s all there is to it.

“But why , of all people?”

One leader was needed to fulfill the clan’s requirents.

And it had to be .

“Why am I the leader? What kind of chef represents a unit?”

After last night’s eting.

I went to see Min-jae hyung and asked.

“You were the first to awaken, and you also set the unit’s policy to increase the number of awakened individuals.”

“No. That was just luck…”

“You also discovered the monsters’ weaknesses, played a significant role in the large-scale attack…”

“…”

“Moreover, when it cos to expanding the buff effects of cooking, you conducted individual interviews with each mber to understand their preferences. All this has been done by you and you alone.”

“That’s…”

“Won’t it be strange now if soone else becos our leader now, other than you?”

When scrutinized like this, there was no room for argunt.

And that’s not all.

“While other awakened individuals killed lizards with guns to so extent, you killed monsters with just a kitchen knife. And you took down two.”

“It wasn’t as easy as it sounds.”

“On the first day of the attack, many unit mbers saw you walking around with a kitchen knife stained with monster blood.”

“?”

“The rumor spread throughout the unit that you were strong enough to kill monsters with just a knife even against those resistant to bullets.”

No.

How did such a rumor spread?

“It’s an unstable situation in many ways. We need a strong leader in our unit.”

“And that’s ?”

“Gwang-il, the berserker, has a similar image. But he’s naturally too timid. I, um, it’s a bit awkward to say this myself, but I don’t have that good of a reputation.”

I’ve heard rumors that if a war breaks out, we will shoot Min-jae in the back of his head.

He’d say sothing like that.

“In the end, there’s no one else but you.”

Min-jae had been thinking about it from past few days.

After asking other unit mbers for their opinions and confirming there was no opposition, he nominated as the leader.

Just to survive.

To live on and eventually open my own restaurant.

It was just a struggle to make the unit stronger as a ans to that end.

But it seed different to the unit mbers.

“I can’t refuse when it’s put like that.”

In the end, I accepted the position of leader.

After discussing a few more matters, we adjourned the eting.

Now, the unit mbers…

They have accepted as their commander, and not Lieutenant Kim.

Sure enough.

As I sat in the cafeteria waiting…

“At your service, Sir.”

“Alright, have you completed all the assigned tasks?”

“Yes.”

A soldier ca to see .

“When soone in the unit asks about our occupations, never ntion the job in the status window. Don’t give any strange hints. Understood?”

“Well done.”

“I’ve conveyed the instructions to conceal the existence of the awakened individuals as much as possible. Everyone should handle it well.”

This is…

One of the proposals I made at yesterday’s eting.

I rembered what Taejun said after looking at the stars.

“You’d better keep your claws hidden.”

He didn’t exactly know why he said that.

But in other words, it ant.

You have to hide your abilities.

“The guy who asked about my job…”

It sends shivers down my spine.

If he had asked about my job out of the blue.

And if I had answered “novice chef” without thinking.

What would have happened?

“It’s relatively okay for since I’m a chef, but for others…”

While asking about soone’s job might not seem strange, if the person asking is another awakened individual.

The intent behind the question could be interpreted differently.

“Are you also an awakened individual?”

Taejun had already given us the warning.

It wouldn’t hurt to be careful.

“Conceal the presence of awakened individuals as much as possible, but don’t delay the task of increasing their numbers.”

“Yes. Anyway, since the suppression of the monsters is mainly carried out by our marksn type awakened individuals, there shouldn’t be any issues.”

“Our marksn just look like any ordinary soldiers holding guns, after all.”

It’s just that they simply possess firepower several tis greater than that of regular soldiers.

With differences of up to tens of tis depending on level and stats.

“When it’s ti for a soldier to awaken, we’ll instruct them to pretend to go move lizard corpses and then awaken while they’re alone, so you don’t need to worry about hiding. But…”

“Is there another issue?”

“The survivors are continuously requesting dialogue. They insist there are things that need to be discussed.”

Co to think of it, that’s true.

“That woman, is she the one you’re referring to?”

The woman who first requested a conversation when she was escorted to the dormitory.

“Yes. Contrary to appearances, it seed like she was taking on the role of leader among the survivors.”

“A conversation…”

They think Lieutenant Kim is our representative.

While it would be Lieutenant Kim’s role to step into the dialogue, it’s not sothing that can be done at this mont.

“It can’t be helped. I’ll handle Lieutenant Kim.”

“Are you sure that would be a good idea? Wouldn’t it be better for us to go without Lieutenant Kim…”

“In this situation, it’s better for the top commander to take charge directly.”

But that doesn’t an I’ll let Lieutenant Kim command us freely.

I might need to exert so influence.

“Select a representative for the survivors and have them co to the 2nd-floor dormitory eting room three days from now after dinner.”

“Yes.”

“Oh, and for the soldiers participating in the eting on our side, make sure they don’t leak any information about our unit’s situation, no matter what.”

“Understood.”

Then let that soldier handle conveying the ssage to the survivors.

“I have my own tasks to attend now.”

It’s ti to do what I need to do.

***

I filled a small tray with several dishes and headed to the cafeteria.

This ti, I made so special dishes.

“Especially considering I had more freedom with the ingredients than usual.”

Thanks to that, I could showcase my skills more freely.

Just looking at the dishes on the tray.

They were all upscaled by military cafeteria standards.

Items retrieved from the chef’s lounge.

The utensils used when officers from other units or senior officials visited for inspections.

Holding these gorgeously prepared dishes, I headed to…

The dimly lit basent of the cafeteria.

It was a bleak space with only one old lamp flickering.

Grrrrr…

The sound of a massive machine working.

Only the buzzing vibration of various boiler devices, water supply systems, generators, etc., filled this small underground space.

Despite being called a basent, it was essentially a boiler room.

The basent served as a space to supply heat, hot water, and electricity to the cafeteria building.

However…

It was quite spacious, perhaps unnecessarily so, with various storerooms for storing supplies next to the various equipnt.

Small warehouses categorized by purpose.

Seven in total.

“A suitable number for makeshift cells.”

In conventional military settings.

There’s a concept of detention facilities to replace prisons.

But our unit, being small in scale.

As a subordinate battalion belonging to a higher unit.

We didn’t have any separate detention facility here.

“Soldiers sent to detention usually go to the detention facilities of the higher unit, right?”

So, instead of separate detention facilities, they chose…

This place.

Seven storage rooms in the basent of the cafeteria were renovated.

They decided to use them as temporary detention facilities.

Among the renovated storerooms.

I opened the door to one and entered.

Inside was…

The first occupant of this detention facility.

“Oh, Young-joon?”

“Hello.”

The only officer in our unit, and the highest-ranking non-commissioned officer.

It was Lieutenant Kim.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Translator: One Force

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