The Military Chef of a Ruined World - Chapter 416



Only Noblemtl

Episode 416 Invitation (1)

As a result, Lieutenant Kim and I came to similar conclusions.

But the process was full of problems.

Even though I haven’t made up my mind yet.

He decided and spoke on his own whether to cooperate with Seoul.

“Why are you doing that?”

“… … .”

“I think Lieutenant Kim should have been happy about it.”

This is completely different from what I said before coming here.

When I asked seriously, Lieutenant Kim spoke in a trembling voice.

“… … It wasn’t something I did for a clear reason.”

“No.”

I couldn’t help but frown.

When it was first created, there were only about 20 survivors out of about 100 unit members.

Now, the number of people belonging to the Legion and those under the Legion’s influence is considerable.

“There is no clear reason for unilaterally deciding the fate of all of them.”

“Youngjun, have you ever felt anything strange since you came here?”

“… … ?”

It’s strange.

Yeah, that’s right.

“There are a lot. Especially the number of Awakened.”

A small number of Awakened people for this number of survivors.

That was particularly the strangest.

I really wanted to ask why.

“But if I were to ask that question, I would be caught looking at it with my ‘eyes’. I thought it was something I had to figure out slowly.”

In a society among Awakened people, it is extremely rude to steal information from others.

In this world where there is no legal protection, individual strength is all that is needed for survival.

Trying to figure out that power itself could be perceived as a life-threatening act by the opponent.

Although I say it with my own mouth.

By today’s standards, I would be considered an outrageously shameless person.

“Could it be that you did something like that because of that part? We don’t even know the reason yet.”

“… … .”

“I don’t know if Lieutenant Kim knew or not.”

I also felt uncomfortable in some parts.

I was thinking of figuring that part out somehow.

Still, the reason I was worried in that place was.

“They… … weren’t lying.”

This is a fact proven by Han Yi-seo’s words.

I feel like I’ve gone a little too far in the rankings though.

They are clearly the legitimate successors to the government of the Republic of Korea.

At least that’s what they themselves believed.

‘It wasn’t a lie that I wanted to cooperate.’

Even though that statement is a bit forceful.

Even though they showed some behavior that seemed like they were trying to put us under their control.

“The people there were really trying to figure out how to get through this crisis.”

If we make good use of their justification, we will be able to negotiate favorably with other human forces that we will encounter in the future.

The internal political problems that Lieutenant Kim was concerned about will also become a little easier to resolve.

Above all, the power that humanity absolutely lacks… … numbers.

They can fill in those numbers.

Going down might be a problem though.

A closer cooperative relationship would have been beneficial to us as well.

“… … That’s not what I’m talking about, that kind of discomfort.”

“yes?”

“No, maybe it’s just my mood.”

but.

Lieutenant Kim didn’t seem to regret refusing to cooperate despite my words.

“There is another decisive reason why I did that earlier.”

“yes?”

“I didn’t say anything because I thought it might have been a coincidence… … But no matter how much I thought about it, it was strange. It was something I should have reported from the beginning, but I’m only saying it now. Actually… … .”

and.

After hearing Lieutenant Kim’s words, I couldn’t help but open my eyes wide.

* * *

After finishing the conversation with Lieutenant Kim, a little later.

There was a person who came to see us.

“… …Loyalty.”

“Loyalty.”

We saluted him.

That makes sense.

“Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan.”

“I’d like to talk to you guys for a moment without Lieutenant Kim Hyun-seok… Is that okay?”

The one who came to us was a soldier we met in Seoul.

Because it was Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan.

“… … Phew. I’m sorry.”

The only people in the room he visited were me, two squad leaders, and a few soldiers.

After confirming that Lieutenant Kim was not there, he let out a small sigh and bowed his head toward us.

“I didn’t mean to deceive you.”

“I understand. If there was, I wouldn’t have mentioned Jang Young-woong’s existence in the first place.”

The reason I expected there to be a separate head of Seoul at that meeting was largely due to what he said.

Because he himself mentioned that there was a hero in Seoul.

“Haa… … I feel sorry that I said something unnecessary and caused a strange misunderstanding.”

He seemed concerned that he might have made things worse by saying those words.

“Don’t worry, that’s not the case.”

“huh?”

“Even if the Lieutenant General hadn’t said anything… … we probably would have quickly realized that there was another leader.”

One of the reasons I attended that meeting was to check on the status of other survivors.

In any case, I would have quickly checked the status window of that man named Jang Young-woong.

Looking at that level, you can quickly tell that this isn’t your average social worker or someone who takes on a role.

“… … Is that so.”

however.

How did you take my words like that?

“As expected. It seems the Legion also had some information about us.”

“… … .”

He seemed to think we were gathering information about him.

He tried to deny it, but it was Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan who opened his mouth and waved his hand first.

“Ah, don’t worry, I’m not trying to say anything in particular.”

“yes?”

“You’ve been in different places for a year. You might need to find out if the people in other forces are trustworthy or not, so it’s not bad to dig up information about other people.”

After saying that, he thought for a moment.

He then said, scratching his cheek as if he felt embarrassed.

“Actually… …we were like that too.”

“… … What do you mean?”

“Well, let me be honest. We’ve already gathered some information about the Gangwon-do corps. Without telling you.”

“… … !”

In that regard.

The soldiers and I opened our eyes wide in surprise.

Just like he said.

Collecting our information itself may seem like a good idea.

“Why are you revealing that… … ?”

“I feel like I’m being deceived for no reason, and it makes me feel uncomfortable.”

Secretly gathering information from other forces.

It was a bit surprising that they revealed this to us, even though it was something that would probably be quite uncomfortable for those in that power.

“Did you see the people sitting in that conference room? Except for me, most of the others are civil servants, politicians, or heads of some civic group. They’re all smart and intelligent.”

“It looks like that.”

“When those people saw it, they calculated that it would be better for someone else to come forward as a representative rather than Jang Young-woong… … To be honest, I didn’t like that plan from the beginning. Why do the same people have to deceive each other like that?”

Even for soldiers, it is a high rank equivalent to a lieutenant general.

I thought that a person like that would have quite a bit of political aspects.

“I’m a soldier, and you’re soldiers too. Rather than lying and calculating with each other as fellow soldiers… … Wouldn’t it be right to be confident! Tell each other everything you need to tell! And cooperate honestly?”

This guy, after all.

It seems like a much more extravagant style than we thought.

“Anyway, the reason you guys came here is… … I think Lieutenant Kim is suspicious of us for some reason.”

“iced coffee.”

“As a result, it’s true that we deceived Lieutenant Kim to some extent. But… … In fact, the other people who were there were actually good people. They all worked together and worked together with all their might to survive in this era. In fact, their identities are all confirmed.”

At that meeting earlier, Lieutenant Kim questioned whether their identities could be trusted.

Actually, that wasn’t really the reason for refusing to cooperate.

Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan seemed quite concerned about that part.

“Of course, we also plan to prepare the evidence that Lieutenant Kim requested. Trust me. Vice Minister Yoo Jin-hwan is also the only person legally qualified to assume the powers of the Acting President.”

“Acting authority.”

To those words of Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan.

Private Seo Su-hyeok spoke with his arms crossed and a disgruntled expression on his face.

“It seems like he’s too far removed from being the president.”

“Well, that’s true.”

Lieutenant General and Corporal.

Considering the difference in status, it was an extremely arrogant attitude, but Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan seemed to not care.

“You may be acting like such a high-ranking person now, but in fact, at first, you yourself felt very burdened by that position.”

“yes?”

“The vice minister position is not decided by the president, but is simply a position where civil servants are promoted. If you think about it, that gentleman was just a civil servant who was good at his job. He is confident in his own work, but the position of acting president and such is a separate matter. In fact, he vehemently refused at first.”

“Is that so?”

“I guess I had no choice but to accept it after I realized that the position helped me put people at ease. I guess I still don’t like it that much.”

This was a bit unexpected.

Since he calls himself the acting president and all, I naturally assumed he would be someone blinded by power.

I guess that’s not the case.

“I understand that you are suspicious of us. But… … Lieutenant Kim’s attitude today was a bit off.”

“That’s true.”

“I will bring the evidence, but I think they might refuse to cooperate even if I present it to them. I don’t know what your relationship is with Lieutenant Kim, but I hope you can talk them out of it.”

He said with a sigh.

“It’s become a difficult time. Even if the surviving humans cooperate, it’s not enough, so they suspect and deceive each other… … I don’t think this will be a good thing. Even if the forces that have already left are unavoidable, the remaining ones will have to cooperate somehow to survive.”

surprisingly.

What he said was exactly what I usually think.

Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan was sincerely eager to cooperate.

Even though he was a high-ranking soldier, you could tell he was putting in a lot of effort just by coming to a place where there were only soldiers and trying to talk to them.

“Well… there’s something I’m curious about.”

“What? If you have any questions, just ask. I’ll answer to the best of my knowledge.”

“What on earth does that guy named Jang Young-woong do?”

“iced coffee.”

In response to Private Jeon Gwang-il’s question.

Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan answered with a smirk.

“Do you know that there are people like that?”

“What kind of person are you talking about?”

“A group called… survivalists.”

* * *

Survivalist.

To put it simply, they are people who prepare in advance for any crisis that may come.

Disasters such as earthquakes or wars.

Be prepared for situations where your survival may be threatened.

In Korea, where urbanization has progressed considerably, these people are quite rare.

Some people even treat them as if they are delusional.

And, according to Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan’s explanation.

“He was preparing for destruction before it even came.”

The man in his early to mid 30s that we saw in that conference room.

Jang Young-woong is one of them.

“I don’t know if it’s because he’s a very honest person, but his preparations were quite thorough. When the destruction actually happened… … he was able to share the contents of his preparations with other people.”

Early stages of destruction.

At the very moment when most of the deaths occurred, Jang Young-woong shared with people the preparations he had made.

It is said that he began to actively respond to this destruction by leading the people who flocked to him.

and.

“Those responses were truly… … I can only describe them as possessed.”

At least that’s what Kim Myung-hwan saw.

The man named Jang Young-woong always made the best choices.

Even when a powerful enemy appeared, he responded perfectly and resolved the situation as if he had known about it in advance.

‘… … That’s amazing.’

Lieutenant General Kim Myung-hwan told us about some of those cases.

From what we heard, that man named Jang Young-woong seemed to be a man of considerable ability.

“He thought that all the survivors in Seoul had to work together to deal with this destruction.”

Around 70% of Seoul’s citizens died.

He devoted himself to the task of rescuing and uniting all the survivors in Seoul.

“There was quite a bit of conflict at first. In fact, he probably had more trouble with humans like us than with monsters. Now that I say it, I wasn’t on good terms with him at first either.”

“Was it so?”

“He suddenly came to me and told me to fulfill my duties as a general. I thought, ‘Who are you to give orders?’”

He created several survivor groups using high-ranking members of the group who survived the process.

By making Yoo Jin-hwan, who was a vice-ministerial level figure, the acting president, they created an excuse for the people of Seoul to gather.

After recapturing the military base and obtaining equipment, they rebuilt the Capital Defense Command under Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan.

“That was the case at first… … Well, as time passed, everyone began to acknowledge it.”

As time passes.

A large crowd gathered underneath it.

The destruction that seemed like it would only end when everyone in Seoul died.

“That guy is the hero who saved us.”

10% of Seoul’s population succeeds in surviving.

It ended with an ending that was so miraculous it was almost unbelievable.

* * *

“Then I guess I’ll go in now.”

“Yes, please come in.”

“I’ll ask you to be more friendly to other people, so please speak nicely to Lieutenant Kim.”

After seeing off Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan.

The soldiers and I returned to our quarters.

“It’s complicated.”

“That’s right.”

Of course, Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan.

The other people in Seoul were, in any case, sincere in overcoming this destruction.

But at the same time.

‘What Lieutenant Kim said also bothers me.’

There were more than one or two other things to be concerned about.

I never thought that encounters with other forces would end easily.

There were many things about this trip to Seoul that I didn’t understand, more than I had expected.

‘First of all, the important thing is… … the meeting tomorrow.’

Anyway.

At that second meeting, we will decide on the direction of our cooperation with them.

In fact, it could be integrated into one guild.

As a separate guild, we can sometimes help each other out.

… … I guess I could just throw it away.

‘There is no choice but to confirm the identity of the sense of discomfort that Lieutenant Kim spoke of on the spot.’

and.

When I was thinking like that.

Bam!

“… … !?”

Coming through the wall of a building.

Something translucent was visible.

Let’s focus our attention.

That’s what’s there.

-What?

Holding a letter in his mouth.

It was a pure white, translucent bird.