The Military Chef of a Ruined World

“I’m sorry, but I’d like to have a brief discussion with you.”  

“With us? Why?”  

“…I have something important to discuss.”  

“Hmm.”  

The man holding the spear stroked his chin and said,  

“Well, I suppose we can spare the time to talk.”  

“In that case-”  

“However, there is a condition.”  

“A condition?”  

“That one. And that one. And that one over there too.”  

“Ah.”  

“It seems those fishmen are alive.”  

The fishmen he was pointing at were unconscious and floating in the water.  

The battle was over, but there were still some monsters that hadn’t been confirmed killed.  

“Hand over the bodies of those monsters. They were our prey to begin with. I’ll be more inclined to talk if you concede that much.”  

“…That’s fine, go ahead and take them.”  

“You heard that? Gather them up!”  

“Yes, sir!”  

At the man’s shout, the human followers began collecting the monsters.  

The man himself shouldered one of the bodies and said,  

“Follow me.”  

The atmosphere was rather grim.  

My unit and I followed the man holding the spear.  

“Sergeant Shin, letting them have the living monsters means…”  

“They must be planning to use them for awakening.”  

Based on observing them as we walked through the water, their group didn’t seem as numerous as I had initially thought.  

While our unit that entered the dungeon numbered around 150, this group was less than half that.  

‘Aside from their high average level, they likely want to increase their forces.’  

It was understandable that they needed subdued monsters for the awakening process.  

“Here we are.”  

After walking for a while, we reached a commercial building where they seemed to be based.  

We obediently followed them inside and up to the second floor, to a spot not submerged in water.  

“Well then, let’s get down to the discussion…”  

“Hold on, no need to rush.”  

As I tried to speak to the spear-wielding man, he brushed past me and headed to a corner.  

There, a shabby-looking middle-aged woman was sitting.  

“Ma’am. Ma’am.”  

The man called out to her, shaking her shoulder a few times.  

The middle-aged woman slowly raised her head, but her expression was still vacant, her eyes lifeless.  

However, at the man’s words,  

“I’m coming.”  

“Ah… Chang-su is here. What’s the matter…?”  

“The time has come.”  

As soon as the man named Chang-su said that,  

“Ah… Finally!”  

The middle-aged woman rose with renewed vigor.  

Chang-su placed his spear in her hands and gently guided her wrist.  

In the direction he guided her, the monster he had earlier placed on the floor was now bound in chains and hanging on the wall.  

Kek, kek.  

It seemed to be struggling to breathe, perhaps because it couldn’t properly respire on the surface.  

I was curious that it was still alive despite the breathing difficulties.  

It was easy to guess what was about to happen.  

‘Awakening.’  

Our unit also used to restrain lizards for safe awakening.  

It seemed they were attempting a similar process.  

However, while the prediction was correct…  

“Die, die, die, die!!!”  

Thrust, thrust, thrust, thrust!!!  

‘Ah, damn, what a surprise.’  

The woman suddenly let out a wild scream.  

The soulless expression from earlier was completely gone.  

“Hahaha!!!”  

Instead, she seemed filled with a sense of euphoria.  

Cackling madly, she thrust the spear towards the monster.  

It felt a bit different from the awakening process in our unit.  

If we had stabbed the lizard in the armpit area to quickly and safely cut off its breathing,  

‘They are stabbing it to make it die as slowly as possible, avoiding the vital spots.’  

They seem to be aiming to inflict pain on the fishman, even more than awakening.  

“What on earth…”  

“Aunt Yeong-ja lost her husband soon after giving birth to her children.”  

As I stood there a bit stunned at the sight, the man named Chang-su next to me spoke.  

“All she had left were her two daughters.”  

“Ah, I see, that’s the story of that woman.”  

“I heard she struggled tremendously to raise those two daughters alone. It wasn’t just the money and effort of childcare, but she also feared her daughters would be hurt due to lack of a father like figure. So, she doted on them and loved them even more than other families. That effort seems to have paid off, as both children grew up to be exemplary, never causing their mother any grief. The elder daughter was even accepted to a prestigious university with a scholarship.”  

“That’s something to celebrate.”  

“Is it? Until they were devoured and killed by the fishmen.”  

“….”  

“Their teeth are so strong, they chewed the bones clean, leaving no trace.”  

Only then did I fully understand.  

“I’ve heard that fewer people die from drowning or being killed by monsters than one might think.”  

“What? You’re quite knowledgeable about the situation here for someone who just arrived.”  

“I met some other people before coming here, though the atmosphere was quite different.”  

“Well, the statement about fewer deaths isn’t entirely wrong. But just because it’s fewer, doesn’t mean there aren’t any.”  

The woman continued to madly stab the monster, laughing hysterically.  

Eventually, Chang-su nodded as he confirmed the monster’s death.  

“If more people had died like that, our group would be larger than it is now. I’m actually glad our numbers are relatively small.”  

Through his words, I could easily understand the kind of people they were.  

‘People consumed by revenge.’  

Their daily lives were destroyed by the monsters.  

And they are directing that fury directly towards the monsters.  

Perhaps they all have tragic circumstances, but from our perspective…  

‘…This is the best, isn’t it?’ 

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