Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: If the Young Leader Has a Warm Personality
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"Move it, move it! You all are so damn slow! Didn't the Young Branch Leader say to bring the food up quick? The Young Branch Leader!"
Hyungsam kept barking at the servants bustling around the White Pavilion.
Their glares sharpened with every word, but Hyungsam just snorted mockingly, as if daring them to do something about it.
His head was already filled with visions of a rosy future anyway.
No matter what anyone around him said, it didn't register.
'The Young Master Unhwi has become the Young Branch Leader! All thanks to me faithfully serving at his side, right?'
The master's glory was the servant's glory.
Hyungsam, who had long served as the head steward of the White Pavilion, had naturally seen his own status soar overnight.
Who could have predicted that Unhwi, once mocked as the "halfwit of the Nine Dragons Branch Family," would rise like this just a few months ago?
It was the very definition of "a change of generations."
Hyungsam believed it was all his doing.
Sure, he'd wavered briefly under Namgung San-yeong's temptations midway through, but everyone makes mistakes now and then, don't they?
He dismissed it as nothing.
Truth be told, cozying up to her back then had been a tearful sacrifice for the branch family's peace—a choice(?) the Young Branch Leader would surely understand.
Ehehehe!
Hyungsam swallowed a giggle bubbling up from his dantian as he surveyed the finished dishes.
Palace-preserved chicken, fish-fragrant pork shreds, mala dragon crayfish, Szechwan fish.
Sichuan's signature dishes, each one.
He lightly tasted each with his pinky and nodded.
"Send these two up, take that one down. And this one—"
That's when it happened.
Slap!
"!!"
"Who the hell made this crap thinking they'd serve it to the Young Branch Leader? Make it again!"
"Y-yes, sir."
Hyungsam backhanded the servant holding the fish-fragrant pork shreds.
Crash!
The dish and its plate shattered on the floor.
The other servants kept their heads down, terrified of even meeting Hyungsam's eyes, as they carried the food platters. Or tried to.
The servants halted midway out the kitchen door.
Someone was blocking the way.
A bizarre middle-aged man with a massive hawk perched on his head, as big as his own torso.
It was Ilno and Onma.
"I'm swamped here—what the hell do you want? Move!"
Hyungsam growled at Ilno.
Unhwi had brought him back from Dosung-hyeon and instructed everyone at the White Pavilion to get along with him since he'd be staying.
That made him a very junior underling to Hyungsam.
Yet here he was, holding his head high instead of showing proper deference. It grated.
He'd have to pull him aside later for a proper dressing-down.
'This is all because I've been too soft on them lately—discipline's gone slack! People always climb when you treat them well. Tsk tsk! It's my weak heart, that's what.'
He wasn't holding back now out of fear of Ilno's sturdy build. Absolutely not!
But Ilno ignored Hyungsam's glare, casually picking up a morsel from a dish in front of him and popping it in his mouth.
"You lunatic! That's food for the Young Branch Leader—how dare you touch it!?"
Hyungsam jumped in place.
How could a lowly servant presume to eat the master's food? Absurd!
But Ilno's heavy aura kept the servants glancing nervously, none daring to protest.
Ilno ignored them all, chewing the bite thoroughly.
As if savoring it deeply.
Then deep furrows creased between his eyes.
"You think you'd serve this garbage to the Young... ahem! Our lord?"
"What? Garbage?"
Hyungsam's face crumpled.
Ilno sampled a piece from each of the other two dishes, then spat them all out with a 'ptui' onto the floor.
The servants holding the platters went pale.
Ilno stepped further into the kitchen, crouched, and picked up a shred of the spilled fish-fragrant pork.
Tsk!
He chewed it at length before clicking his tongue.
Then he personally helped the fallen servant to his feet.
"You alright?"
"Y-yes, I'm fine."
"Having an idiot boss who can't tell shit from miso must be rough. Sorry, but could you ask the head chef to whip up one more of this dish?"
The servant trembled, eyes darting between Ilno and Hyungsam.
Hyungsam's face was now beet red.
"Hey! Who the hell are you? Some random bastard waltzing in here—"
"Please."
The servant nodded instinctively and scurried back into the kitchen.
"Hey!! Didn't you hear me!?"
Hyungsam finally exploded, hiking up one sleeve, when Ilno turned with an impassive look.
"When I first got here, I was shocked to hear there were people attending our lord right by his side. I hoped he wouldn't suffer like we did. I thought it a blessing."
"What—"
"So I came to give my thanks... and this is what I find. Pathetic."
Ilno glared at Hyungsam like he wanted to devour him.
Hyungsam flinched involuntarily.
'What kind of eyes are those!'
Ilno was just standing there, but to Hyungsam, it looked like a long-faced demon had appeared.
His face drained of color.
Having only half-learned third-rate martial arts—and poorly at that—Hyungsam couldn't stand against the killing intent of Ilno, who had reached first-class realm.
Ilno had years of real combat experience evading the Ten Mountains' relentless pursuit.
And now he was learning arts from Unhwi bit by bit.
Once refined, he'd stand shoulder-to-shoulder with peak masters.
Shiver, shiver...
Hyungsam shook like a leaf.
His pants grew damp.
"Sichuan cuisine is all about its cuisine style—rich, thick flavors are key. How do you plan to serve our lord without grasping that depth?"
"!!"
"Our lord's tasted every delicacy under heaven... this garbage would be torture for him!"
Grit!
Ilno ground his teeth, pitying Unhwi's past culinary torments(?).
Onma stroked Ilno's head with a wing.
「Calm your anger. The Young Leader is far more unpretentious than you think.」
Onma found Ilno's loyalty touching, though his grasp of the Young Leader's character seemed off, drawing a slight chuckle.
From a regular believer's view, they'd only seen the Young Leader's flashy, bold exploits—so it was understandable.
But Onma knew how much hardship he'd endured growing up before catching the Cult Leader's eye, and the trials even after becoming Young Leader.
He preferred cheap baekju shared with lowly followers over pretentious delicacies.
So Onma wanted to ease Ilno's worries.
「He's never once complained about this sort of thing, so it's fi—」
『Of course not—his followers' sufferings always weighed on him so much he could barely eat properly!』
「...Hm?」
Something felt off.
『You can tell ten things from one. He must torment and berate himself like this over everything, drowning in sorrow!』
Onma tilted his head unwittingly.
Self-reproach?
Self-torment?
Sorrow?
Who?
The Young Leader?
...
They say shock leaves you speechless.
Onma was exactly that.
「Uh, well, you see—」
Memories of the Young Leader's recent actions flashed through Onma's mind.
He'd always smashed things first if displeased...
『And with the Young Leader's warm personality, he probably never even properly snapped at the servants' idiocy or unfair treatment!!』
Now it clicked. What was wrong.
The Young Leader in Ilno's head differed greatly from the real one.
『Our lord always takes on hardships himself! He drives himself to the harshest paths! But now! I'm right here by his side!』
Flames blazed in Ilno's eyes.
He clenched his fist.
『As long as I'm attending him, I won't allow it anymore! The lord's health is the Demonic Myth Cult's future! From now on, I'll oversee his meals and every move!!』
「...If you're set on it, then fine.」
Might as well let it be.
Onma saw no need to correct the misunderstanding and dampen his junior's zeal.
Though his idealization of the Young Leader bordered on fanaticism... well, he'd manage.
Ilno turned to the servants and chefs, bellowing.
"Bring knives! And a wok if you've got one!!"
They scrambled to comply.
Hyungsam stood dazed in the corner, but the momentum had fully shifted to Ilno.
Powerless to protest the sudden coup right before his eyes.
The hawk on Ilno's head turned its gaze this way.
"!!"
It suddenly seemed to swell huge, like it would devour him.
Thud!
Hyungsam startled and collapsed to the floor.
Hic! Hic!
Chills brought on hiccups.
His pants were soaked through.
「Scram, birdbrain?」
"!!!"
And now hallucinations ringing in his head.
The bird! The bird is talking!
Hyungsam fled the kitchen, face ashen.
Onma looked down at Ilno again.
A promising yet pitiful kid.
This hometown junior would need plenty of guidance ahead.
But he had flavor worth cultivating.
He might even become the model for the rebuilt Demonic Myth Cult...
'By the way.'
Onma pondered.
'What was this guy's name again?'
Onma cocked his head.
* * *
Ilno refocused on the cooking.
'This is food for our lord. It can't just taste good—it has to evoke home.'
He hoped the Young Leader would recall his homeland and feel joy while eating.
Ilno meant it sincerely.