The Military Chef of a Ruined World - Chapter 452



Only Noblemtl

Episode 452: Examination.

{This place was once a native species of this land… …a human medical facility.}

The place we arrived at after passing through the monsters.

It was once a huge hospital located in the heart of Gangnam.

{Human medicine has a strange side. While it seems to be extremely advanced in certain areas, it also seems to be incredibly backward in other areas… … It was really interesting.}

“… … .”

{Anyway, there are a lot of things here that I can use. I’m indebted to them for this now.}

“Shin Se Ra.”

If it were in the past, I might have said something like, “Are you occupying South Korean land as you please?”

It wasn’t like that now.

If there’s anything you’re concerned about.

“What happened to the original owners of this place?”

{I don’t know. When I was able to move around this land, this place was already an empty building.}

I thought of the crowds of ‘fusions’ that filled Gangnam.

Overwhelming in both strength and numbers.

‘It’s a guy that occupies such a wide area. Perhaps… … it’s a monster force that can be counted on one hand even in Seoul.’

When Ariella met me, her strength wasn’t particularly strong.

He was chosen as the monster guarding that bunker because of his power to handle that army.

I don’t know how much power the main body has, though.

It’s probably true that when the guy opened his eyes there were no survivors in the area.

If it’s a monster that can handle this many troops.

Even though his power was weak, he must have been sealed in this land for quite some time.

{I’m sorry for the long rambling. Let’s get straight to the point.}

“I want to get a definitive answer before that.”

I looked at the eye monster in front of me and said.

“You. Can you really cure my body?”

{Hmm.}

Even if this guy has great medical skills.

My physical condition was also quite serious.

First of all, I needed to get a definitive answer on this part.

{To answer that question, I think we need to find out more detailed information about the commander’s physical condition.}

“Didn’t you say that you could tell just by looking at it earlier?”

{This is just a rough estimate. It’s different from a proper checkup. If the commander permits, I’d like to do a checkup… … Is it okay if I touch the commander’s body?}

… … That hideous monster touches my body.

It’s a bit awkward though.

This is a situation where I need to get treatment from this guy.

“… … Or something like that.”

{then.}

When I nodded.

At that very moment.

Tsk tsk tsk… … .

“!?”

The floor tiles in the hospital room were flipped over.

Something is rising from the floor.

{I’m going to start the examination.}

Hideous, disgusting tentacles, slick with strange oil.

He ran towards my body.

* * *

A sudden attack by tentacles.

I had no choice but to be exposed to that attack.

‘crazy!’

The troops were stationed outside this room.

In my current physical condition, there is no way for me to respond to this attack… … .

I thought so too.

Boom!

“Commander!”

At that moment.

The unit members open the door and come in.

‘……how?’

The situation inside the room would not have been known from outside.

Still, it was a little strange how he responded so quickly as if he was watching.

Despite my doubts, the unit members’ actions were swift.

“Protect the Commander!”

At Jeongsuah’s command.

The troops draw their weapons and attack the tentacles.

And, what stopped those troops was.

“Stop… … stop.”

“!?”

Not these weird tentacles.

It was me.

“Don’t… attack.”

“Okay, Commander? What is that?”

I’m stuck between sticky tentacles.

He said, extending his hand towards those soldiers.

“I feel a bit strange… … .”

Still.

I didn’t sense any hostility from the guy.

“It’s not an attack.”

Just like this guy said.

This is probably it.

{The checkup is over.}

To check my physical condition.

Because it’ll just be a physical examination.

{Patient’s guardians. Why did you come in all of a sudden?}

A little later.

The tentacles go into the ground again.

[The doctor] turned his head and looked at the soldiers and said.

{I don’t know why, but consultations with patients are a time for personal matters. If possible, I would like you to leave the room.}

“Well, still.”

{You were just waiting for me until just now, so why are you doing this all of a sudden?}

The soldiers hesitated with their weapons drawn.

I looked at them and said.

“Thank you for trying to help.”

“Commander… … .”

“But for now, I think it would be better to do as I say. I’m really fine.”

“……All right.”

Only then.

The unit members cautiously and hesitantly leave the room.

{The guardians are a bit extreme.}

[The doctor] frowned and said as he looked at those soldiers.

It’s polar.

From my perspective, it’s actually a good thing because it means that they’re doing their best to protect me.

Sticky… … .

“… … .”

I looked down at my body.

A condition in which the entire body is covered in sticky mucus.

“Can’t you tell me this in advance?”

{Huh? What are you talking about? What are you talking about?}

“You’re examining me with those weird tentacles.”

In that regard.

That monster… … [the doctor] said, tilting his head.

{It was a normal checkup. Was there something wrong?}

“This is… … ordinary?”

{Um… … So that means no?}

“What an obvious thing… …!”

Let’s look at him with a look of disbelief.

[The doctor] answered with a slightly surprised look.

{… … Indeed. It seems that there is a cultural difference between you and me.}

“Cultural differences.”

In the case of [Ariela].

She drank human blood and read the information contained in that blood.

Although there was a tendency to evaluate or call that information by one’s own standards.

anyway.

Ariella had a solid understanding of human civilization.

[Borjin] was similar.

Because he captured human slaves and studied their language and culture.

the other side.

{I did some research, but it seems like the history of this land is quite long and complicated.}

The way that guy’s words echo in our heads… … .

It was similar to that [Pope] of Dasmur.

{If only I had had some long-term contact with living native species. I have never actually encountered a living native species.}

“… … .”

{I did get some information about the native species from them, but I couldn’t figure out everything from that brief encounter.}

Unlike Ariella, who can speak Korean fluently.

That guy is definitely a powerful being.

Of course, I can’t even speak Korean.

{I’ll be honest with you. I don’t know much about your… … native culture.}

That there may be a lack of basic understanding of human civilization.

‘Is there a case like this?’

Usually, monsters with that level of intelligence and strength have some level of understanding of humans.

If you think about it, it’s even stranger that all monsters are like that.

It is possible that someone with such great power can be ignorant of humans.

I wanted to get angry, but…

That can’t be possible.

{So, I thought it might be rude, so I asked if I could get a checkup… … .}

“… … .”

That guy.

I asked if I could do a checkup.

{Of course, when you say checkup, I thought you meant the act I was thinking of.}

It’s just that our understanding of the examination differed.

Anyway, it was an act that was done with my permission.

{I apologize for this part.}

“… … Well, it’s nothing to apologize for.”

It’s a situation where it’s hard to say anything.

I sighed inwardly, wiped away as much of the sticky mucus as I could, and sat back down in the chair.

{By the way, about the results of the physical examination.}

“ah.”

{You asked if you could restore the commander’s health?}

In the first place.

That tentacle attack… … No, the examination was done to answer my question.

The question is, do I have the confidence to heal my body?

and.

The answer to that question is.

{To be honest, it’s a bit ambiguous.}

“what?”

As you said.

It was really ambiguous.

* * *

“Ambiguous? What does that mean?”

{As a doctor, I won’t lie. If what the commander wants is to go back to the state before his body became like this… }

The guy frowned for a moment, lost in thought.

He nodded and said.

{That’s hard for me too.}

“What is that… … !”

In that regard.

I couldn’t help but feel annoyed.

“I thought you said you would come find me or something. Of course, you said that because you could treat my body, right?”

{… … .}

“You’re so confident, but you can’t even treat something like this?”

To my words:

Is the guy a little bit hurt in his pride?

{It seems that the commander is not able to objectively assess his own physical condition.}

After looking closely at my body.

He said with a strange sigh.

{The blood vessels of the entire body are torn to shreds, and the mana hole is barely a rag. Heterogeneous magical powers are frequently mixed together and run wild without being refined… … I don’t know what the hell they did, but the bond between the soul and the body seems to have loosened a bit.}

“… … .”

{That’s fortunate, if that’s the case. There’s a lot of strange magical waste in my blood vessels. There’s something wrong with my joints. And there’s more… …um. There’s too much to list, so I’ll stop here.}

In that regard.

I kept my mouth shut, not knowing what to say in response.

{To be honest, it’s hard to find a single healthy part of my body.}

“……uh.”

{How much have you been treating your body? It’s amazing to me that you’ve been able to get to this state.}

It’s true that I was a bit rough with my body.

“What exactly is my condition?”

{If he had been a normal human, he would have already become a corpse… … I guess that’s how it is.}

In that regard.

I said, startled.

That means he’s already a corpse.

“If this continues, I might die… … is that what you’re saying?”

{No, not to that extent.}

I said it with a little bit of fear.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like it was an immediate life-threatening situation.

The reason is.

{Doesn’t the commander have a strange vitality?}

“… … !”

I couldn’t help but open my eyes wide in surprise.

That guy.

{Halfway through, he’s not a normal human. He’s barely holding on with the power of that ‘non-human side.’}

The monster mixed in my body… … .

Because I had already figured out the blood of the night’s nobles.

{I’ll have to examine you in detail to know, but as a living being, your status seems to be overwhelmingly higher than that of a human.}

“… … .”

{There aren’t many creatures in the entire universe with this much vitality. I don’t know how it ended up like this, but I guess I should be grateful for that half of my strength.}

In that regard.

A small voice is heard from beneath my feet.

-Is that so, master?

“… … .”

-It’s a good idea to listen carefully to the doctor’s advice. Thank you… …you should be grateful, right?

… … This kid.

I wonder if the question of whether it was to keep the unit members in check still remains in my mind.

A strangely nosy guy.

anyway.

The overwhelming regenerative power of the blood of the night’s nobles is helping me.

{Thanks to that power, you won’t die right away. If you’re just going about your normal daily life, there won’t be any major problems. However… … If you rely on this power, you might get eaten by a non-human one someday.}

“Someday… … .”

but.

It seemed that it wasn’t good to rely too much on this blood.

“How long until that happens?”

{… … I think it’s a little difficult to answer that.}

I can’t give you an answer.

“So there isn’t much time left?”

{That’s not true. It depends on how much the commander pushes his body.}

Oh, indeed.

The more you overuse this power, the sooner you will be consumed by that power.

{I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can give you a definitive answer on this.}

“No. That’s enough for me. I’ve never asked for more.”

{I see. Then I have one question for you.}

Okay then.

Next, the doctor asked me a question.

{This won’t happen if you overwork your body once or twice. If it’s like this, there must have been several signs that your body was going to break down. Have you ever felt anything strange?}

“that…….”

I hesitated to answer.

The doctor nodded as if he understood.

{I know, even without you saying it. You felt the signs, but you ignored them all.}

“… … .”

The direct cause of this is the overuse of [Gwangbokhwa] cooking in Gyeonggi-do.

There had been several instances before where I had been eating to the point of ruining my physical condition.

‘A typical example is… … stacking three or more cooking buffs.’

It’s not like I did it without knowing.

Every time I stack buffs to a certain level.

[The system] warned me repeatedly that doing this would ruin my body.

If you think about it, it was a very kind warning.

‘I just ignored it, you know.’

What is that?

I thought it would be okay once or twice.

And the result of those one or two times accumulating.

{Even though I received signals that my body was going to break down, I still tortured myself like this.}

now.

It started to appear on my body.

{Haa… … It’s not someone else’s body, it’s your own body, so wouldn’t it be better to treat it with a little more respect?}

A strangely accusatory tone of voice.

I felt like I was getting scolded by the doctor on the day of my health checkup.

{I don’t think the commander wants to die early either. If you want to live a long life, stable body management is essential.}

They said the culture was different and all.

It looks like the doctor over there is a doctor too.

but.

I had something to say about this part.

“I had no choice but to do it back then.”

{Is there something I have to do even if my body ends up like this?}

“okay.”

The reason was simple.

“I had to do it for my people and for my survival.”

When using such a buff.

Because most of the situations were such that I had to use it.

“Even if that choice led to this state of my body, I don’t regret it.”

After the fight with [Godmother].

I decided to go forward with the belief that what I was doing was for the best.

“Even if I could go back in time, I would make the same choice.”

Lieutenant Kim, the person I had the greatest regrets about.

Because I gave you the assurance that what I did was the best I could do.

{… … I won’t ask what the circumstances were.}

The doctor, hearing what I said, looked at my face with a strange expression and then opened his mouth.

{Anyway, the main point is important.}

“Yes. In the end, it’s impossible to heal my body, isn’t it?”

{If the commander’s order is to heal the body to its past state, then yes. However… … .}

And then…

The mouth of the monster with the eyes that was conveying the [doctor’s] intention opens.

{Haha. The commander is lucky.}

It was such a hideous sight.

If this sound in my head is true… … .

‘Is that a smiling face?’

Probably that weirdly torn mouth.

It seemed like it was expressing laughter.

{Fortunately, there is a second option.}

“second best?”

And then.

Flutter… … .

{Before we begin full-scale treatment, let’s talk about the cost first.}

Flying from somewhere.

There was another eye monster.

There was a piece of paper in the mouth of the eye monster.

The eye monster flapped its wings and came towards me, then spread the paper on the table.

Chook.

and.

[The doctor] pointed to a place on the paper and said.

{Do you know about this area?}

“Here… … .”

and.

I looked at the paper and said.

“That’s where the 3rd battery was.”

The paper the monster brought was a map of Seoul.

and.

The place the doctor pointed to was… … the 3rd battery.

{What I want in return for the treatment is simple.}

When I confronted the soldiers of Seoul in the other world of the great mother.

It was the exact location where the military unit that had been firing at us was located.

{Capture the being nesting here and bring it to me.}

There should be a military base there.

in other words.

‘Please capture the monster that has settled in the military camp… … .’

Even if the difficulty of the mission is put aside.

I looked up at the guy and said.

“… … Then, does that mean my body can return to its original state?”

{No. As I said, that’s impossible.}

If it is impossible to restore my body to its original state.

I have no reason to accept this mission.

{instead.}

When I was thinking like that.

And then…

The monster’s mouth opens strangely again.

{How about making your body better than before?}

The guy.

He said so with a strange laugh.