Cooking Contest (6)
“The contest has concluded to great success!”
The finals were over.
It had been a major competition that ran from the regional preliminaries all the way through to the main event—a rare large-scale contest that had wrapped up in spectacular fashion. The city officials who had planned it and the broadcasting people who had taken part were all smiling.
“At this rate, we can expect solid ratings, can’t we?”
“Ratings? This could launch as a proper series!”
“Oh! Not a pilot—an actual program?”
“That’s right! A full-fledged show!”
Everyone here understood the truth. All of this success was thanks to the people in charge of the cooking putting their full skill on display.
“At this level, we could hold another contest, don’t you think?”
“We could even make it a regional festival.”
“Those folks did well for us.”
“Ahem. True enough. They performed quite well—that’s why it took off!”
“So… next time as well?”
“That… let’s wait and see for now. It could be a one-off, you know. Fresh faces matter.”
“Ah, yes…”
In the end, no one forgot that the people who had created the substance of the event were what mattered most.
Pretty good. There are people with real hands for this, too.
Perhaps because of that, Jang On-gyu—holding the heavy grand prize in his hands—was quite satisfied himself.
Plenty of solid talent… but those two especially are the cream of the crop.
Kim Sunwu and Jang I-su, chatting quietly together. Jang On-gyu’s gaze followed them of its own accord, and before long a deep smile had settled on his face.
“Ahem… you’re going to bore a hole through them at that rate.”
“Hmph… that Super Pass or whatever it is. That’s the problem. That is.”
Pushback came from the judges standing beside him. For them to react like this amid such a good atmosphere, they had to be thoroughly steamed. They had lobbied hard enough to secure their seats as judges, after all—to them, those two were thorns in the eye.
Jang On-gyu was well aware of the mood.
Really—territorial nonsense everywhere you go.
Local territorialism. It was the sort of thing that often cropped up at regional contests. Normally Jang On-gyu would play along. When he was trying to place one of his franchises, resistance made things messy.
But this time was different. This time he paid the backlash no mind at all. If anything, he welcomed it.
Push back all you like. The bigger the resistance, the better the picture I’m painting.
He hadn’t told a soul yet, but thinking of the plan he meant to draw from here on, the present opposition was pure gain for him.
Well then—everything was good. Thinking as much, Jang On-gyu waited for the MC to hurry up and announce the winner.
“…It’s ended in such wonderful style. I’m already looking forward to next year. You’ll invite me again next year, won’t you?”
“Haha. Already reserving your seat in advance?”
“Then Ms. Saerom won’t be coming?”
“Please. If you call me, of course I’ll come! It’s only a two-hour drive from here—just give me two hours’ notice!”
“I was going to give you one, actually. What a shame.”
“Ah! Then I’ll move within an hour’s distance beforehand!”
“Hahaha. Moving house and everything. We’ll call you two days ahead, not two hours!”
“Waaah!”
Jang Hansu and Lee Saerom bantered back and forth, lifting the atmosphere. They kept the people waiting for the awards just long enough—not so long that they grew restless, and not so short that the anticipation drained away. If cooking were the comparison, they knew exactly how to season the mood.
She knows her lines perfectly. Useful.
Just as the atmosphere peaked—right before anticipation could tip into boredom—
“All right! You’ve all waited long enough! Hoping Saerom will join us again next year, let’s announce our grand-prize winner!”
Dududududu—
As if on cue, the sound of drums rolled through the space. Jang Hansu raised his hand and called out:
“The one who has us hoping for a second Business Genius! The man who presented Four-Color Harmony—Kim Sunwu!”
The winner was announced.
“Waaaaah!”
“He’s the best!”
Thunderous applause and cheers erupted together.
“Now then, let’s invite our winner up.”
From the moment I stepped onto that platform, there was only one thing for me to say.
“Thank you.”
A word of gratitude. I was grateful to everyone here—for eating the food with such enjoyment, for finding joy through that food. All of it was good and happy for me. That moment, when the people who ate my cooking and I were connected, was the most precious of all.
Perhaps that was why.
At least for today, I’m thankful to all of them.
Even the judges standing there with sour faces looked oddly endearing. If they hadn’t laid the stage, I never would have known the joy of winning a contest like this. They had given me a rare experience I never had even in the apocalypse. For today, at least, I could turn any negative feeling into something positive.
“I’ll take today’s victory as a gift from all of you.”
I meant it. I truly felt I had received the finest gift from everyone. Savoring that joy, I lifted the trophy, and applause burst from every side.
“You’re the best, Boss!”
“Looking sharp today too!”
“Hoho. Look how happy they all are.”
Among them, the regulars each reacting in their own way, and Jin-woo—whose applause was so overwhelming it almost embarrassed the onlookers—clapped the hardest of all.
Heh heh heh…
It was good. So very good. Savoring the joy of sharing it with everyone, I stepped down from the podium with a final bow—and that was when it came.
You have gained 100 Reputation.
Congratulations.
You have completed the quest.
The highlight that capped off a schedule both short and long arrived right on cue.
Stepping down from the podium and taking my place, I checked the rewards for the completed quest.
You have stepped onto the path of a full-fledged restaurant business.
Even the quest seemed to celebrate the fact that I had properly set foot on that road.
What comes next, I wonder.
I still couldn’t know. This quest only tended to appear when a crisis was at hand. Everything remained uncertain—but one thing was clear.
I can turn a crisis into an opportunity.
A quest granted from somewhere. Completing it brought me real benefit. Looked at the right way, a quest might not be a complicated assignment at all, but a gift.
And that gift had been delivered to me.
Two skills will be upgraded.
The promised upgrade of two skills.
Tableware Strengthening has been upgraded to Restaurant Strengthening.
Oh…!
A craftsman never blames his tools—but all the tools he uses are of the highest grade, or so they say. Strengthening those tools was what Tableware Strengthening did. In the apocalypse I had even used reinforced tableware as weapons, but either way, this all-but-essential skill had just leveled up.
Restaurant Strengthening, huh. I was already thinking about expanding the shop—this is perfect. Lucky me.
To think it would upgrade into Restaurant Strengthening. Exactly as the name said: not just tableware, but a skill that could strengthen the entire restaurant I was running. With this, I could transform my place into something even finer than before. For someone already thinking about moving into the Youth Mall after the contest, it was the ideal skill.
And then, one more.
Huh?
A miracle happened. The second one didn’t merely upgrade.
The healing effect obtained through the title Table of Five Hundred is recognized as a skill.
You have obtained the skill Healing.
The healing effect I had gained through Table of Five Hundred—the system had recognized it as a proper skill.
This is huge.
Whether something was a skill or not made a real difference. I had been able to put desired healing effects into my cooking, but it hadn’t been a formal skill. Because of that, there had been one major drawback.
The failure rate was pretty high.
I couldn’t always apply the effect just because I wanted to. The chance of failure had been considerable.
If I could have applied it freely…
If I had been able to use it at will, whenever I wanted, I could have saved so many more people in my past life. That was why culinary healing had been something like a miracle—and yet the system had gone and recognized it as a skill.
Ahh…
Memories of those I hadn’t been able to save in my past life flickered past. My first comrade, who died smiling because he hadn’t managed to eat his fill. My second, who scolded me to stop wasting food and said the cooking I made for him was the best. And that guy who insisted to the end that monsters weren’t ingredients—but that anything I cooked was the best all the same.
If I’d had this, I might have saved them. For something that was “just one skill,” the regret for those I had failed to save without it ran far too deep.
I had already thought of this as a miracle—and then:
Due to the quest’s effect, the Healing skill is upgraded.
Healing effects grow stronger than before.
The chance that treatment will produce miracles increases.
You can gain inspiration for new treatments.
This is the best!
They say a miracle is a miracle because it arrives from unexpected places. A miracle like this, I would welcome anytime. A true miracle had been handed to me like a gift.
The miracle that had arrived with the contest was already settling into everyday life as well.
“One ramen here, please!”
“Coming right up!”
Maybe it was the rise in reputation. Customers who had already been numerous were now pouring in—easily more than double what they had been before.
Whoa. The Food Truck Zone looks completely packed.
Expecting a rush, I had prepped more ingredients than usual—and even that might not be enough.
The broadcast hasn’t even aired yet, and it’s like this.
Considering the contest’s promotional effect hadn’t fully spread yet, this really could be called another new miracle.
“Could we get three bowls of ramen?”
“I’m sorry, but it’s limited to one bowl per person.”
“Ah…!”
“My apologies.”
“No, it’s fine. Please come again next time.”
“Yes!”
Explaining the rules to the new faces who showed up here and there was a frequent chore—but if this was the kind of trouble I got, I would welcome it any day.
“Hahaha! One drink coming right up!”
“We’ve got buttered squid! Hong Kong desserts!”
That welcome was unfolding across the entire Food Truck Zone. Resourceful Boss Jang and the coffee-truck Boss Lee both wore endlessly bright expressions. The effect of reputation shared with everyone!
It’s even better because it’s not just me—it’s all of us.
Could anything make me happier? In that moment, I was as happy as I could possibly be.
While Sunwu was savoring that joy, something else was underway.
“I’ve brought it!”
Visitors had slipped into the Food Truck Zone in secret.