The Military Chef of a Ruined World - Chapter 425



Only Noblemtl

Episode 425 Investigation (1)

“Can you tell me why?”

In that regard.

Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan hesitated for a moment.

“… … Excuse me.”

He soon answered in a slightly stiff voice.

“Isn’t it rude to ask for information about the Awakened?”

As he said.

It was not polite to ask for information about the Awakened.

What Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan said is clearly true.

but.

When I heard that, I couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

‘That’s a lie.’

Because I could definitely taste the bitterness.

And, that’s why.

I was able to confirm the thoughts that had been lodged in my head.

‘It’s not strange to hide information about the Awakened. However, it’s strange to anyone who sees that the reason is a lie.’

It is a well-known fact that it is impolite to ask for information about the Awakened.

And yet, it tasted like a lie.

‘It is not impolite among these people to ask for information about the Awakened.’

Still.

Lieutenant General Kim Myeong-hwan tried to hide the Awakened Ones from us for that reason.

“… … That’s right. Excuse me.”

“Ahem, well. Be careful next time.”

I bowed my head slightly and apologized to him.

He opened the system window over his lowered head.

[Guild Message]

[Chef: To all the troops.]

This is a normal view of Seoul.

There are countless people surviving there.

I felt happy when I saw that sight.

I was purely happy that so many people survived and that the capital of this country was still standing.

[Chef: Seoul today is not normal.]

But, unfortunately.

[Chef: Collect and report as many strange things as possible without being detected.]

That feeling.

I don’t think it will last long.

* * *

My suspicions about Seoul weren’t 100% certain.

The origin of this suspicion was an unknown thought that had taken hold in my head that I had to find out Lieutenant Kim’s level.

‘Maybe it’s a trap set by another monster trying to mediate this conflict with Seoul.’

then.

What I had to do was ultimately simple.

‘Find out what causes this discomfort.’

It would be fortunate if the cause could be resolved without conflict with Seoul.

I’m sorry for doubting you, but I think we’ll be able to finish it without much friction.

But, what if that isn’t the case?

[Magical Boy: As you said, I’m preparing the soldiers in a hurry.]

Even if it means using force.

The cause of that discomfort needs to be addressed.

[Tailor: But, even if we do it quickly, it will take three days. Considering the power of Seoul that the commander mentioned, it will be difficult with a small force.]

[Magical Boy: I used up a lot during the expedition to Gyeonggi-do. No matter how hard I try, I can’t do more than that. This is also quite difficult right now.]

Well, it’s probably best if that never happens.

We have prepared support from our main unit in case of an emergency.

and.

“First of all, Yeouido itself hasn’t changed much. There’s a wall on the outskirts, and a moat-like structure has been built in the part that connects it to the ground… … but the inside is not much different from when I lived there.”

In that state.

We took a closer look at this Seoul.

“Then there’s nothing strange?”

“No, no. That’s the weird part.”

“huh?”

“To be honest, Yeouido is a place with many companies, but it’s not clear whether it’s a good place to set up a base.”

A soldier who lived in Yeouido said this.

“They really did leave all those company buildings alone. Some of them actually obstructed the view of the defenders and hindered the siege. If I were you, I would have torn down half of the useless buildings and built a spire on top of them.”

“Hmm.”

“I felt it after arriving in Seoul, but although there were clear traces of the battle itself, the exterior of the building was almost perfectly preserved. There was no way the building was not destroyed, so they must have done some repair work later… … I don’t understand why they would bother to restore a destroyed building to its original state.”

Even in Chuncheon, where we settled down.

We took advantage of the fact that the buildings in the center were destroyed by the monsters of Dasmur and built our facilities there.

but.

“They seem obsessed with maintaining the original form of Seoul. I don’t know why.”

Next, another soldier came and reported.

“These people don’t seem to be collecting the byproducts of monsters. At least, I’m sure they don’t have any in Yeouido. It’s also a job to process the byproducts of monsters, so there should be some kind of facility to store them, but I don’t see any of those facilities.”

“Since there are few awakened people, is this why they are not interested in the materials needed for production?”

“Then, they would have burned the monster’s body, but there was no trace of that. It would be understandable if they had cleaned up even the traces after burning it… … But why?”

and.

Private Seo Su-hyeok, who was looking into the distance from the rooftop, said.

“I’m a little concerned about the deployment of troops.”

“What’s the layout like?”

“I thought that since most of the troops were on the outskirts, they were deployed to guard against enemies coming in from the outskirts of Seoul. But upon closer inspection… … it was the opposite.”

“That’s the opposite.”

“Those troops are positioned more to deal with enemies within than without. The roads and the locations are all good.”

Private Seo Su-hyeok’s expression became frowning.

“It’s a deployment that seems to be expecting a battle inside. They invited survivors from other regions, so they may be on guard, but… … .”

He said that far.

He said while looking at me.

“Sergeant Shin.”

“uh.”

“If this place is really suspicious as Corporal Shin said, wouldn’t it be better to return to Gangwon-do?”

I scratched my head and answered.

“I would like to do that, but I heard that survivors from other regions have arrived here as well.”

“ah…….”

“I said this when I came here, but if there’s a trap here, I can’t just leave those people behind.”

“I understand, but.”

Despite my answer.

He spoke with concern in his tone.

“Can we possibly find out anything by gathering information in this way?”

“Ahem.”

“As Corporal Shin said, there are quite a few things to be concerned about when I look into it. However… … .”

“Well, for most people, it’s at a level where you could say that’s possible.”

Something seems fishy.

That said, there was nothing blatantly strange.

“Wouldn’t it be difficult to derive some results from this information?”

The guy who was saying that suddenly opened his eyes wide.

He opened his mouth with a hopeful expression.

“Or maybe, Corporal Shin, you know something?”

“huh?”

“If there is some information that you already know… … or if this vague information is enough, or something like that.”

“Ah, I was wondering what you were talking about.”

In the words of that guy.

I laughed and answered lightly.

“There’s no such thing?”

“yes?”

“There’s something suspicious, but honestly, I can’t even tell what it is, dude.”

“… … Private Shin.”

A guy looking at me with a dumbfounded expression.

I returned that gaze with a snicker.

“Why are you bringing this up all of a sudden? I wasn’t really the type to be very brainy to begin with, was I?”

“But Corporal Shin’s intuition has been right more than once or twice, so I thought it might be the same this time.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t have much to offer this time.”

“… … Then isn’t this information gathering now meaningless? Will anything change if we just blindly collect information like this without any countermeasures?”

“Oh, that’s what I’m talking about.”

surely.

I’m not a particularly smart person.

but.

“I didn’t say there was no solution?”

“yes?”

Although I was able to figure out that it was suspicious due to the effect of [Taste Enhancement].

Just up to there.

I couldn’t possibly guess what was going on here.

but.

I turned my head slightly and said to the man who had been receiving all these reports with me.

“Lieutenant Kim.”

“… … Uh uh.”

If you ask if there is no solution.

“Listen carefully… … Do you remember?”

“……okay.”

That’s it too.

That’s not what I’m saying.

* * *

“Now that all the representatives from each region have gathered, I will guide you to the conference room.”

After some time had passed like that.

A soldier came and started guiding us.

The way to the conference room was quite complicated.

It felt like the secret bases I used to see when I was young were like this.

If it were normal, I would have just watched that scene without thinking much about it.

[Shooter Squad Leader: It’s a bit complicated… …but I think I can remember it somehow.]

In case of emergency.

I memorized all the routes we took.

That wasn’t all.

“Tsk. Is it really necessary to have a meeting in a basement like this?”

“Ah, that’s… … .”

“It’s completely cramped, and the air is bad.”

A large soldier.

When Private Jeon Gwang-il openly expressed his annoyance.

The soldier who was guiding us becomes discouraged and sweats profusely.

“This wall too… … .”

Private Jeon Gwang-il, who had been getting irritated for a long time.

He frowned.

Boom!

“It’s just dull, I don’t like it at all.”

“… … .”

He started walking, pounding on the wall.

The soldier who was guiding him couldn’t say anything in response to his angry-looking appearance and just continued to guide him.

[Light Warrior: I was hoping, and it was as expected. This wall… … is no ordinary wall.]

of course.

Of course, it wasn’t like the guy suddenly got upset or anything.

[Light Warrior: It’s thick and solid. Even for a bunker, it’s excessive… … Also, from the sound, it seems like there’s something inside. Since it’s a bunker, I wonder if it’s some kind of shield… … .]

As the level of the Awakened increases, their senses become more sensitive.

As expected of a combat officer, Private Jeon Gwang-il had a sharper sense of physicality than I did.

[Light Warrior: From what I can tell, the shielding inside here is incredibly thick. It would take me quite some time to break it… … This isn’t a facility you’d find in a normal bunker.]

A guy who laughs as if he finds it funny.

[Light Warrior: It seems like it was modified later. Interesting. Were these people planning to keep the Awakened inside?]

At those words, I felt goosebumps.

‘All this information was obtained because they were determined and suspected.’

If I hadn’t checked Lieutenant Kim’s level.

There is no need to doubt these people.

There would have been no reason to notice something so suspicious.

If that happens.

‘If they had tried to attack us, we would have been annihilated, trapped behind that wall, unable to escape.’

From complex routes to thick shielding walls.

As they are moving towards a meeting, the only proper combat personnel are Seo Su-hyeok and Jeon Gwang-il.

Even if it were us, we would have been helplessly trapped.

They would have been hunted by their enemies without even dreaming of escaping.

If there is one thing that is fortunate.

‘I have done everything I could to prepare.’

like that.

We arrived at the conference room.

* * *

Let’s go into the conference room.

I could feel the gazes of those inside.

“… … That’s the legion.”

“Hmm.”

The emotions contained in those eyes are interest and curiosity.

What kind of organization is the Legion?

These are people who don’t even know what power they have.

They were observing us with interest.

“I came from Daejeon.”

“gyeonggi-do…….”

After that.

The introduction of characters from each faction began.

Among them, there are some who have amazing abilities.

There are also people who make you wonder how they are still alive.

… … There was also a person who observed others with a somewhat special ability.

‘It’s not important right now.’

but.

They weren’t what mattered to us right now.

“… … I come from Gangwon-do.”

But we were the last ones to introduce ourselves.

Lieutenant Kim, rather than introducing us in detail.

“Starting from the surviving military units, we gathered civilian collaborators and grew in strength. We called it the Legion.”

I finished my self-introduction very briefly.

We did this to keep our information hidden as much as possible.

Some of those who were looking at us with curious eyes looked a little disappointed.

and.

Towards us like that.

“… … Sorry for interrupting the self-introduction, but I have a question.”

“What is it?”

One of the government officials asked the question with a strange frown on his face.

He was looking at Lieutenant Kim and the soldiers standing on either side of him.

“Are these the only three people in the legion who attend meetings?”

“yes.”

To that question.

Lieutenant Kim nodded indifferently and said.

“Their names are Private Seo Su-hyeok and Private Jeon Gwang-il. They are excellent soldiers who assist me.”

“… … .”

and.

When three people are attending a meeting and talking passionately.

‘then…….’

[Environmental fairy tale]

I am.

I thought to myself as I walked confidently out of the open conference room.

‘Where should I start looking?’

The secret this land is hiding is probably.

It must be somewhere in the deepest part of this land… …