The Military Chef of a Ruined World - Chapter 405



Only Noblemtl

Episode 405: A sense of discomfort.

“Come here! We can’t leave heroes who have accomplished great things standing here like this.”

“Go, thank you.”

“Thank you!? Don’t say that. I should be the one thanking you. For giving me the opportunity to meet such a wonderful soldier. Hahaha!”

He seems to have quite a generous personality.

A middle-aged man who keeps patting Lieutenant Kim on the back and laughing.

“Sergeant Shin. My keen eye is speaking.”

“… … What are you saying?”

“That old man named Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan… … .”

Gwangil, who saw that, came closer to me.

He whispered in a small voice.

“It seems like you’re very kind to us.”

“… … Even without your keen eye, everyone would have thought so.”

“ah.”

I don’t know if I should call it a blessing.

Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan seemed to have a great deal of favor with us.

“Are these the faces of the heroes who survived in Gangwon-do? They’re all so handsome!”

Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan checks the soldiers’ faces one by one and pats their shoulders.

Of course, Lieutenant Kim, who is currently serving as the external commander of our unit.

The eyes looking at our soldiers were also full of favor.

To be honest, the excessive affection I felt for someone I was seeing for the first time was a bit burdensome.

I guessed the reason.

‘Because the soldiers who were thought to have been annihilated came back alive.’

A former brigadier general who is now the representative of Gyeonggi Province.

Jo Beom-seok seemed to have been quite shocked by the annihilation of the soldiers and the destruction of the military unit.

The lieutenant general in front of you must have also spent most of his life as a soldier.

I’m sure you were quite concerned about what was happening to military units in other regions.

“Come on, come here and let’s talk. What happened in Gangwon-do?”

However, we survived and returned proudly to Seoul.

From the lieutenant general’s perspective, it seems like we looked quite special.

“Wow, you really managed to stop the monsters from attacking the military base? That’s amazing… …!”

Since then.

Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan began asking Lieutenant Kim in detail about what had happened in Gangwon Province.

“Yes. The defense wasn’t easy, but… … I was lucky.”

“Luck? Haha! Yeah. You’re even humble, that’s what I mean.”

It’s not something to keep secret anyway.

Lieutenant Kim Hyeon-seok, without exposing our power as much as possible.

I explained the current situation in Gangwon Province to Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan in detail.

“I see. It seems that the situation in Gangwon-do is not all that good… … .”

“Yes. The number of cities that remain is not large. The number of humans that survive is also small.”

“Hmm. I guess most other regions are in similar situations.”

As the explanation continues.

Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan’s face, which had been filled with excitement, gradually became more serious.

“According to what you said, there are about a hundred former soldiers in the unit, including those here. Are there any soldiers who survived besides you… .”

“We haven’t confirmed it yet. There was some information that some deserters had been found… … but those reports disappeared over time. They probably didn’t last long.”

“Yeah… … I see.”

When Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan first saw us, he looked quite excited.

He looked gloomy at the news that many cities in Gangwon Province had collapsed.

“… … Still! I’m really, really glad that you guys survived.”

Still, did he feel fortunate that there were soldiers who survived?

He shook his head, shaking off his gloomy expression.

“When that black wall first appeared, we thought that everyone outside of Seoul might have died. We wondered if there were any survivors other than us, let alone the military.”

“We were similar.”

“That was until I heard your radio. How happy that radio was to us… … You can’t even imagine. As soon as I heard that radio, I wanted to tell you. That there are other survivors besides you.”

In that regard.

Lieutenant Kim spoke cautiously.

“The Lieutenant General thought that all personnel outside of Seoul had been annihilated.”

“Hmm? That’s true.”

“We thought, on the contrary, that Seoul was more likely to have been destroyed.”

“… … Hmm! Certainly, it would be common to think that way.”

“I think you have a rough idea of ​​the situation in Gangwon-do, but what is the situation in Seoul right now?”

In that regard.

Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan said, stroking his chin.

“It’s a bit much to say that things are going well for us.”

“That’s true.”

Lieutenant Kim looked around.

This building, which was being used as a temporary outpost, was also in pretty good condition.

The cityscape outside the window also seemed to have little destruction compared to other cities we had seen.

“The city appears to be quite well preserved.”

“Well… … I guess I was lucky, and this area wasn’t a battlefield. Contrary to what it looked like, there wasn’t no damage. Many people died in Seoul as well.”

“The number of soldiers who came out to greet us seemed considerable. It didn’t seem like there were few people.”

“Well, Seoul originally had a large population. The number of people still alive now is probably… … .”

The next words that came out of his mouth.

We couldn’t help but be astonished.

“It would be a little less than a million people.”

“……yes?”

Right now I… … .

What did you hear?

* * *

“It’s not an exact count, but it’s probably around that number. As for the rest of the people… … they’re all reported dead.”

As if he truly felt sorry.

Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan shakes his head.

but.

‘Nonsense… … No way.’

For me.

At first, I doubted whether it was a lie or not.

‘The number of survivors… is over a million?’

That’s a ridiculous number.

The number of survivors in Gangwon Province, where we were, may or may not exceed ten thousand at the moment.

Even if it is a city with a large population, it is like that.

A million people… … .

“Isn’t that more than 10% of Seoul’s population surviving?”

“If you include the floating population, it’s not more than 10%. In other words, more than 90% died.”

He seems to think that the number of survivors he spoke of is too small.

From our perspective, it wasn’t like that at all.

Yeah, that’s right.

In the past, the idea that all but 10% of humanity had died would have sounded horrifying.

But now, when the real end had come, it was not so.

‘Even in Gyeonggi-do and Chuncheon, where many people managed to survive, the number of survivors was less than 10%.’

In Gyeonggi-do and Chuncheon, huge dungeon battles were taking place.

It was because of that special environment that that percentage of the population was able to survive.

But, at least as far as we can see.

The environment in Seoul was extremely ordinary.

The fact that that population survived despite the absence of such special circumstances.

Really, it was impossible unless a miracle happened.

“Now in Seoul, the survivors are gathered together and working in different groups. The Capital Defense Command, including me, is one of them.”

“… … Are you saying that there are other forces besides the Capital Defense Command?”

“You could call it a force, or a group. For now, we’re all cooperating. There’s a police force besides us, and the biggest one is the civilian autonomous defense force. Right now, they’ve spread out in different directions, waiting for survivors from other regions to come find us.”

Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan explains nonchalantly.

We were shocked to find that there were still soldiers here, properly organized.

But, apart from these, there are other groups of considerable size.

No, that’s right.

If more than a million people survived, that would be natural… … .

“how…….”

Lieutenant Kim asked in a trembling voice.

“How could so many people survive… …?”

There are many survivors in Seoul.

That in itself was good news.

But the reason why Lieutenant Kim’s voice is shaking so much is… … .

It was a matter of our pride.

‘We also did our best.’

To overcome this destruction.

I really gritted my teeth and tried everything I could.

Even though the result wasn’t the best, I thought it was the second best.

“The monsters haven’t appeared in a while… …!”

“I wish that were true, but that’s not the case.”

but.

The population of Seoul is at most ten million.

That close to 10% of people managed to survive.

Compared to the results they produced… … .

What we’ve accomplished so far.

A miserable failure, or at worst, it seems like a bad situation.

‘How were you able to save so many people?’

If the answer to that question is.

If it were the same thing, it would have worked out if I just worked hard.

We must have been deeply wounded in our pride in having survived this destruction.

“You guys must have had quite a tough fight too.”

but.

“The things we’ve been through weren’t easy either.”

That didn’t seem to be the case.

Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan pressed his hand to his eyes and continued speaking as if reminiscing about the past.

“Suddenly a monster appeared and started slaughtering people… … and those slaughtered people rose up as zombies.”

“… … .”

“It didn’t take long for Seoul to turn into hell. The first day the monsters appeared, more than half of Seoul’s population died.”

I wondered if the destruction they suffered was less severe than ours.

That didn’t seem to be the case.

Seoul also went through the same process of destruction as we did.

“To be honest, if this were normal, we would have probably been wiped out. I’ve never really thought that my abilities were lacking. But this situation… …was far beyond what I could handle with my abilities.”

“Then how.”

“It would be nice to hear that we all worked together to overcome this… … but that would be a lie.”

Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan shrugged his shoulders and said.

“To be honest, the only reason people were able to survive to this extent… was because of one person.”

“One person?”

“It was not me, nor the other soldiers or police officers, who saved Seoul from crisis.”

The reason why Seoul was able to remain so intact.

That is none other than that.

“He was one great hero.”

The story was that it was a result of the work of just one person.

* * *

A hero.

There was deep respect in the voice of Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan as he spoke about that person.

“If it weren’t for that friend, we wouldn’t be able to walk around like this. He’s such a busy friend that he couldn’t come out to greet you, but… … I’ll see you soon.”

Seoul is presumed to have had an extremely difficult survival situation.

This is the person who defended Seoul so perfectly.

“… … He must be a great person.”

We couldn’t help but be surprised that such a person existed.

Lieutenant Kim too.

He muttered as if he was intimidated by the presence of such a person.

“… …Is that what you guys are saying?”

“yes?”

To our reaction like that.

Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan opened his mouth in a tone that seemed to say, “Amazing.”

“Lieutenant Kim Hyun-seok. I don’t like this kind of old-fashioned behavior, but… …. Considering the difference in status and experience between you and me, it’s actually ridiculous for you and me to be walking together like this.”

“… … ?”

“Even so, don’t you understand why I personally come out to meet you and guide you like this?”

Pointing to the soldiers with a chin gesture.

“Most of the soldiers in our unit now are former soldiers. The few active-duty soldiers were on leave on the day the monsters appeared.”

“… … .”

“Not long after the incident broke out, the Capital Defense Command was virtually destroyed. To be exact, all the soldiers and officers, except for a few deserters and vacationers, were killed. I barely survived because I wasn’t in the unit.”

Lieutenant General Kim Myung-hwan, who is showing us a friendly appearance

We just thought he was happy to see other soldiers alive besides himself.

But that seems to be not all.

“Our hero is indeed a great man. But you know… … we are no pushovers either.”

“What is that?”

“When you radioed that you were a surviving soldier, at first I thought it was a bluff. I thought it was more likely a group of deserters. But… … I guess not.”

Considering the huge class differences.

I thought it wouldn’t be strange if he was a little more forceful.

“How can Seoul be so normal? I want to ask that.”

“… … .”

“How on earth did you survive in this destruction… as a soldier, and achieve the feat of 100% occupation rate?”

The lieutenant general looked as if he truly could not believe it.

Only then did we understand why he seemed so fond of us.

“What kind of command did you have that allowed you to survive while so many others perished?”

Even from the perspective of Seoul, which has survived so well.

The fact that the military unit in Gangwon Province survived and succeeded in the occupation war.

It means that it has come to have quite a big meaning.

We couldn’t help but be shocked to see Seoul still in good shape.

Compared to them, what we accomplished felt like nothing.

But, even from the perspective of those people.

What we accomplished felt amazing.

“I was just lucky.”

“Humble again! It’s not bad. But everyone knows that this is a world where you can’t survive just because you’re lucky.”

The reason Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan was friendly to us was not simply because we were a surviving military unit.

Because they were soldiers who had achieved feats that he thought were ridiculous.

It is a show of respect that ignores the class differences of the past.

“You know, I was so excited when I found out you guys were here at our invitation.”

“What do you mean?”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan said with a good-natured smile.

“It’s a meeting between the heroes who protected our Seoul… and the heroic soldiers who survived in Gangwon-do!”

* * *

“As I said before, we came here to welcome survivors from other regions like you. Others are heading to other places.”

He said it was no coincidence that the soldiers from the water defense station greeted us.

I know there is a corps in Gangwon-do.

The soldiers came near here on purpose.

“So the gathering place has been set after we’ve joined up with the survivors from each region. I feel like moving right away… …!”

Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan had a few conversations with Lieutenant Kim.

He said, looking up at the sky.

“… … Unfortunately! It seems like it’s already too late today.”

“What do you mean?”

“Let’s take a rest for now. I’ll be satisfied with just seeing your faces today, and we’ll talk about the details tomorrow.”

That’s definitely true.

It was already past evening.

After arriving here, we had quite a long conversation.

“We don’t mind moving at night.”

“What are you talking about! If that radio is correct, then you came from Chuncheon, right? Especially in this day and age, it must have been a long way. I don’t know, but I’m sure there were quite a few battles with monsters.”

“That is true, but… … .”

“I don’t know about you, but I’m sure the soldiers are tired. The work is good, but as a commander, you have to think about the soldiers too.”

Lieutenant Kim glanced at me.

I shrugged my shoulders slightly.

‘There’s no immediate rush.’

actually.

There were quite a few battles with monsters on the way here.

It is also true that the soldiers are accumulating fatigue.

“… … Okay. Then we will set up camp nearby… … .”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that. Our soldiers will guide you to the quarters.”

“Accommodation… … you mean?”

“Well, we were the ones who sent this invitation. Of course we prepared accommodations.”

We could have just let it slide, like postponing the conversation until tomorrow.

Staying in the accommodations they provided means… … .

It was a slightly different story.

“Thank you for your concern, but… … I think we can arrange our own accommodations.”

It’s still unclear whether or not we can completely trust them.

But it was dangerous to leave the quarters where the soldiers needed to rest to that side.

The problem is… … .

“Hmm… … That sounds like you’re saying that the accommodations we provide are unreliable.”

We are rejecting that accommodation.

It was no different from openly announcing, ‘We are suspicious of you.’

“I didn’t necessarily mean it that way.”

Although he was a general who seemed quite friendly to us.

It can be quite upsetting to be suspected in that way.

Perhaps because he thought that there might be friction because of this, Lieutenant Kim hastily added.

“No, no! I didn’t mean to nag you.”

“yes?”

“Rather, I would say I was impressed.”

Despite the suspicions.

Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan said with a pleasant smile.

“If it were the past, I might have felt a little offended by the sight of someone doubting their superiors. But isn’t the world a little different now?”

“… … .”

“It’s right to be suspicious of everything that can be suspected. It’s not just the possibility that they’re monsters in human form, but in this day and age, it’s hard to trust even fellow humans. The problem is that I say things like this but can’t put them into practice… … .”

Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan looked straight into Lieutenant Kim’s face and said.

“You are not at all intimidated by opponents with a large class difference, and you make sound decisions.”

Hiss.

Lieutenant General Kim smiled heartily.

“That’s what it should be like for the heroes who overcame this destruction. Right!”

“… … .”

“If you refuse, I have no intention of holding you. If you wish, I can arrange temporary accommodation outside the Seoul border.”

The lieutenant general’s favor toward us seems considerable.

Even things that could be unpleasant were viewed positively and passed over.

“But I’d like to say this and move on. Many people died in the process of overcoming this destruction… … but that’s a thing of the past.”

He patted Lieutenant Kim on the shoulder and said.

“Believe me.”

A voice filled with strong confidence.

“Seoul is safe now.”

After hearing that, Lieutenant Kim glanced at me.

After thinking about it for a moment.

I immediately nodded towards him.

“I really didn’t mean to. I just thought it might be a nuisance… … If you really want to say that, I’ll just stay in the accommodations you provided.”

“Well, thank you for trusting me.”

After that.

Some soldiers came and guided us to our quarters.

On the way to the accommodation.

I looked down at the night view of Seoul.

‘What could it be?’

Although the light has been drastically reduced compared to the past.

Yet, compared to other cities that were horribly destroyed, it looks very much like the past.

I didn’t live in Seoul though.

I was amazed that the scenery I had often seen remained the same… … .

‘This feeling of discomfort.’

I don’t know why.

The scenery still felt a little awkward.