Chapter 16: The Taste of Rest

“I’ll have to ask the chef, but still…”

“It’s just that I feel bad. All the supervisors are exhausted from managing the scarecrows today.”

“Ahem, well, that’s true. But it’s our job, so you don’t need to worry.”

“I just want to repay you.”

I felt both sorry and grateful.

Thanks to the scarecrows the supervisors had set up, I was able to earn an achievement.

And thanks to the quest Dustin gave me, I was able to obtain the legendary item, the [Cooking Mastery Manual].

After my repeated persuasion, Dustin accepted my offer with a look of resignation.

“Well, I suppose it can’t be helped. Thank you. Let’s ask the chef first.”

I followed Dustin toward the kitchen.

The chef.

At first glance, he looked more like a warrior than a cook.

He seemed about two meters tall, with a build like a bear.

But it was a perfect physique for cooking.

Since he was in charge of the supervisors’ meals, he always had to cook in large quantities.

Perhaps those muscles had been built by cooking in bulk three times a day.

And unlike his size, his beard and hair were neatly trimmed.

Whether it was genetics or intentional, it seemed unlikely any hair would get into the food.

“Dustin, did you come to complain too? Ha, I thought you, of all people, would understand. The supplies are low—there was really nothing I could do.”

“Haha, I know. No one knows better than me how hard our chef works.”

“Then what’s this about?”

“This is a trainee named Lee Chang. He’s the one who threw the meat party the other day.”

“Ah, meat. I remember. Nice to meet you. Thanks for that, by the way. I was able to save on supplies.”

“My name is Lee Chang.”

I grasped his outstretched hand.

His palm was rough, covered in calluses and even eczema.

Those hands seemed to testify to the years he had spent cooking for the supervisors.

“Anyway, Lee Chang here wants to treat us to a meal.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, but we don’t have enough ingredients. It’s not like I made such a shabby menu because I’m lazy.”

“Ah, if it’s ingredients, I have some.”

“Do you know how many supervisors there are? Even if you filled your bag to the brim…”

“Food Storage.”

Rumble—.

I judged it would be difficult to explain with words, so I immediately opened my subspace.

Then I took out some of the sweet potatoes I had harvested earlier.

I said some, but it was a large amount, stacked up to waist height.

“Would this be enough?”

“W-well, I suppose so?”

For the first time, the chef, who had been sighing loudly, looked flustered.

***

‘So that’s what the sweet potato description meant.’

Part of the description for the Parasitic Giant Sweet Potato.

The closer to the root, the more moist and sweet it is.

Taking them out and checking them directly, I could fully understand what that meant.

‘The root end is more like pumpkin sweet potato, the tip end more like chestnut sweet potato.’

I had already decided what to make.

So I put the root ends back into the Food Storage and gathered only the tip-end sweet potatoes.

Seeing this, the manual opened its mouth—well, it didn’t have a mouth, but—

– Oh ho, I see. Master, you’re going to make candied sweet potatoes, right?

“Huh? How did you know?”

– The people earlier were shouting that they wanted something sweet! And what you took out are chestnut sweet potatoes. It’s obvious!

“Haha, right.”

Sweet, candied sweet potatoes.

You can eat it as a side dish, but when you’re craving something sweet, there’s nothing quite like just eating candied sweet potatoes on its own.

That’s why I chose this.

“Alright, shall we start with the preparation?”

I washed the sweet potatoes, still covered in dirt.

Sometimes people make candied sweet potatoes with the skin left on.

But I personally prefer them without the skin.

It doesn’t make much difference, but they say if it looks good, it tastes good.

I placed the cleaned sweet potatoes and picked up a knife.

‘Should I use a regular kitchen knife for this?’

Until now, I had always used the one-handed sword I received from the training ground for butchering and cooking.

But this was a kitchen.

And the chef was watching right behind me.

It felt a bit awkward to use the one-handed sword.

“Is there a kitchen knife available?”

“Here. There’s a peeler too, so use whatever’s comfortable. Ah, instead of just handing them over, I’ll help too.”

“That would be great, thank you.”

Since I had to prepare enough candied sweet potatoes for the number of supervisors, there were quite a lot to process.

Having the chef help was reassuring.

First, the chef used the peeler to quickly remove the sweet potato skins.

“Wow, that’s really fast.”

“I’ve been the chef here for over ten years. This is nothing.”

Though he was using a specialized tool like a peeler, even so, the speed was incredible.

After the chef peeled them, I took over and cut the sweet potatoes into appropriate sizes.

‘This really is much easier.’

There was no major issue when using the one-handed sword, but using a kitchen knife made the difference clear.

Sword Mastery was still active.

I could cut much faster than when using the one-handed sword.

“Your speed is no joke either. I can hardly believe you’re a trainee.”

“Haha, thank you.”

For candied sweet potatoes, the pieces shouldn’t be thin.

They should be cut large enough to eat in one bite.

That way, the outside becomes sweet and crispy while the inside stays moist.

“Next is frying, right? Wait a moment. I’ll go get the oil.”

Thanks to the chef’s help, we were able to prepare all those sweet potatoes in no time.

Soon, the chef brought out a container of oil.

A literal container.

It was a huge amount of oil used for large-scale cooking.

Before coating with sugar, the sweet potatoes needed to be cooked, so I filled a large pan with oil.

“The pan is enormous.”

“With how much those guys eat, we need this much just to get through one meal.”

Its diameter was wide enough that I had to stretch my arms out to either side.

Accordingly, the amount of oil used was also substantial.

“Step aside. I’ll light the fire…”

“Ah, it’s okay. Chorong.”

Whoosh!

Was it thanks to its grade increase?

Now, simply calling its name was enough to summon Chorong.

It would have been fine to use regular fire, but

having relied on Chorong’s help all this time, cooking with Chorong’s flames was just more comfortable.

The oil heated up in an instant.

I poured the well-prepared sweet potatoes into it.

Sizzle!

– The smell is rising! Heehee!

The nutty aroma of sweet potatoes.

I had removed the moisture beforehand, so the oil didn’t splatter much.

“Do you have any honey?”

“Honey is a bit expensive, so… we only have sugar. Will that be okay?”

“That’s plenty.”

“I’ll bring it right away.”

Honey or oligosaccharide would have been nice, but sugar alone was sufficient.

I lifted the well-fried sweet potatoes and set them on a rack to drain.

Then, I mixed the sugar the chef brought with water and heated it.

“Here, use this to mix them.”

“With a shovel?”

“Didn’t you know? For large-scale cooking, the most commonly used tool is this shovel.”

Even so, using a shovel for cooking felt quite strange.

As the sugar water reduced and became sticky, I added the sweet potatoes and mixed them well.

Though it was my first time using a shovel, it wasn’t as difficult as I expected.

“You’ve got good strength. Usually, people run out of stamina after a few flips.”

“Haha.”

I lowered the heat slightly, coating the outside of the sweet potatoes with the sticky sugar water over medium heat.

The inside of the sweet potatoes was already cooked.

Once the sugar coating was fully applied, the glistening, glossy candied sweet potatoes were complete.

“Everyone’s been waiting, right?”

“The color is incredible!”

“Thank you, trainee! We’re in for another treat!”

Already drawn by the smell of candied sweet potatoes, the supervisors who had gathered in the kitchen were cheering.

***

[[Cooking Mastery Manual] – Candied Sweet Potatoes completed!]

All stats increase by 1 each.

[The power of the [Cooking Mastery Manual] dwells within the dish!]

< Candied Sweet Potatoes >

Grade: Magic

Description: Candied sweet potatoes made by preparing large chestnut sweet potatoes, frying them, and coating them with sugar—crispy on the outside, moist on the inside.

Ability: Health recovery rate +10% for one day.

“This is it! Sweet and absolutely incredible!”

“Crispy outside, moist inside! Perfect!”

“What’s ‘crispy outside, moist inside’?”

“You don’t know that? It means the outside is crispy, and the inside is moist!”

“Hahaha! That describes it perfectly!”

Thanks to the main ingredient being sweet potatoes, the dish’s grade was Magic.

The prepared candied sweet potatoes disappeared into the supervisors’ mouths in an instant.

“This… somehow I feel my fatigue melting away?”

“I know what you mean. It’s not just a feeling—I think my health actually recovered a bit?”

‘Thanks to the effect attached to the dish.’

Health recovery rate +10%.

It wasn’t instant recovery, but just by eating the dish, the supervisors’ health would naturally recover.

It was an effect possible because it was a Magic-grade dish.

“Your name is Lee Chang? Thank you. I felt bad about not being able to feed them properly.”

“Not at all. I’m just glad everyone seems satisfied.”

“Hahaha! This, Dustin, I can see why you’re fond of him.”

Fortunately, the chef seemed satisfied too.

Then he handed me a leather pouch containing something.

“What’s this?”

“Just some simple cooking tools. The quality isn’t great, but they should be decent enough to use.”

“Ah, it’s okay. You don’t have to…”

“It’s just supplies, so it’s fine. No need to feel burdened. If I didn’t give you something, I’d be the one feeling bad.”

“Haha, then I’ll gladly accept.”

[You have acquired the Training Ground Supply Cooking Tool Set.]

Having already experienced the feel of a kitchen knife, this was a pretty nice gift.

It felt heavy, so it seemed to contain not just a knife but quite a variety of cooking tools.

As I accepted the cooking tools, Dustin spoke to me.

“By the way, it’s time for you to leave the training ground, isn’t it?”

“Yes. The sun has set today, so I was thinking of leaving early tomorrow.”

I had eased my guilt, so there was no need to stay at the training ground any longer.

In fact, I had already stayed quite a while for a trainee.

Naturally, Dustin and the others all wore expressions of regret.

“Haha, that’s right. This place is just a stepping stone for growth.”

Though the time we had spent together was short,

sharing a few meals had made us quite attached.

I felt the same regret.

But I couldn’t stay here forever.

“You said you’re leaving tomorrow? Then rest well until today and go.”

“Haha, of course.”

“You heard him? Hey, Chef! Bring out some beer!”

“Alright. I’ll risk getting yelled at and break out the stock!”

“Ah! That’s our chef!”

“Hahaha!”

With the arrival of alcohol, the cafeteria became even noisier.

For me, whose life before regression had been nothing but hunting and quests for ten years, it was a happiness of a completely different kind.

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