Chapter 82
Chapter 82
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: The Veteran's Sincere Mode
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Emily Haimelody held a very special place for me—not as Wolfram von Loengrin, but as Yi Young-jin.
To be clear, she wasn't the main heroine. She was a sub-heroine. A pure sub, through and through.
In her second year, she picks the Magic Division, but you can totally pursue her through the Knight Division too. And that means something huge: she's nothing like Elphira, the fairy queen from the sub-map's sacred fairy realm.
You have to commit to Eve's route and then branch off midway for Elphira, but Emily's route is always open, no matter when, and the entry conditions are a breeze.
All it takes is picking the specific skill [Cooking].
Basically, shower your party members with tons of home-cooked meals to boost your school reputation, and boom—she shows up right in front of you, striking up a conversation.
She starts with something like, "Wanna talk about cooking?"
Once you dive into her route, the whole story grinds to a halt, and it's Emily's world from there on out.
Difficulty, prior plot progression—none of it matters. You get whisked away to a world just for Emily and Kelters, and the entire game bends to fit.
D/Z SAGA, this party-building battle academy RPG, turns into a hot-blooded cooking boy manga.
Judges fly off into space,
you battle a shadowy cooking syndicate under the black flag,
you collect the seven legendary Tier 1 cooking utensils,
and become the youngest imperial chef.
At the end of it all, Emily convinces the Haimelody royal family through her cooking, wins her freedom, becomes Kelters's lover, and the two of them join hands to make the whole world happy with food.
Honestly.
Honestly speaking.
What kind of drugs were they on to come up with that story?
Of course, the wildly different flavors of each heroine's route are a huge part of D/Z SAGA's charm, even if it makes them hard to follow.
Anyway, that's Emily for you, and I've seen her ending a whopping 1,631 times combined.
I've watched it so often that I know she's genuinely kind and pure, with zero lingering grudges.
So, getting close to her couldn't hurt...
"Teach me how to cook. Master."
"...Do you have any idea what time it is?"
"It's three-thirty in the morning. Teach me how to cook. Master."
"......"
She looks at me like three-thirty means nothing.
"Teach me how to cook. Master."
"Go home."
Ah, I see.
The sharp, upright girl from the game turns into a total nuisance in reality.
Good lesson learned.
Emily showed up again precisely at six, dressed in crisp cook's attire, looking neat and proper. She radiated that "I've got the basics down" vibe.
"Well then. Looking forward to working with you, Master."
She said, then paused, lost in thought for a moment.
Alright. I've seen Emily Haimelody's ending 1,631 times.
But that was back in my newbie days.
Not everything comes rushing back vividly right now.
Let me think.
"First off, Emily Haimelody. There's something I have to tell you."
"Go ahead, Master."
Anyway, building affinity with Emily yields some seriously nice benefits.
Time to lay the groundwork for that.
That's part of why I accepted the master-disciple thing.
If I'm teaching, I should get something out of it too. Call it tuition.
"Haimelody. Let me state this clearly: strictly speaking, my cooking skill is lower than yours."
"Pardon?"
"My cooking level is 2. What's yours?"
"3."
"As expected, you're higher."
"I see. I am higher."
"However, let me assure you: no one in all of Jefrin can match my ingenuity."
"Ah. So that means..."
"In short, I may not be great at 'cooking,' but I won't disappoint when it comes to the 'insights' you're hoping for."
"You're so honest. You really suit being my master."
A faint pink glow tinged the aura around Emily.
As expected.
To raise Emily Haimelody's affinity, you have to meet a few 'absolute conditions.'
One of them: never lie to Emily Haimelody.
"That's why I'll taste what you make, offer advice, and suggest new insights. Your technical skills outstrip mine."
"Yes. That's more than enough, Master."
Pink glow again.
"Good. I'll give you nothing but honest, solid feedback—no empty flattery. It's up to you to take it in and make it your own."
"Yes, Master. Thank you so much. You're exactly the kind of person I needed."
Her aura flushed red once more.
Let me check.
'You suit me.'
'That's more than enough.'
'Thank you so much.'
Those were the lines signaling her affinity had risen three times with me.
One more, and the special perk flag should trigger.
"So, care to try my cooking and give me your thoughts?"
"Not a problem."
First, have her cook something.
"Steak."
The result was solid Level 3 cooking fare.
"Mm. Time to taste it."
Once you do, a message always pops up: 'Something's missing.'
Then the choices: 'Be honest.' or 'Dodge with praise.'
And from there...
"Not great. It's sorely lacking."
"Is it?"
"First, the sauce from the leftover juices is too weak. This is more like grilled raw meat than steak. Fire control was fine, though. Make it bolder next time."
"...Ah. That's spot on. But..."
You have to hit her with the straight facts here.
I readjust my posture opposite the deep-in-thought, speechless Emily Haimelody and pose the question.
"Something bothering you?"
"......Do you know about my background?"
Here it comes.
Do you know about my background?
"Princess of the Haimelody family. Good grades, but a weirdo dreaming of being a chef."
"Yes, that's right. You know well."
From there, her long explanation kicks off, and you just toss in some affirmations.
Mm. I see. Right. That's how it was. But you...
In simple terms, Emily Haimelody has this backstory.
Born into the Haimelody royal family, but she hates the idea of her life being overshadowed by that nameplate.
She came to study at Jefrin to do something on her own.
And cooking? Royalty or not, bad food is bad food—so she wants to make dishes that surpass the family name.
That's the gist. Dig deeper, and it gets into why she hates the nameplate and turns a bit dark, but that's just who she is.
Anyway, the Haimelody royals know she's gunning for chef life and cut off all cooking support.
"Spices are expensive, so I couldn't get any."
High-quality spices are out of reach, leaving her cooking stalled. She's desperate for a way out. That's the core of her route.
Nail the flag here, and the special perk unlocks right away.
"You're still soft. What have you wagered for your goal?"
"My entire life."
"I see. But are you only buying spices with money from the royals? If that's your whole life on the line, you're no different from being enslaved to them already."
"..........Ah."
"If you're staking your life, walk the path with your own two feet. Emily Haimelody. Have you ever tried sourcing something outside this academy grounds?"
"N-No, never... It's dangerous."
"I see. Right now, you're just a bird envying the world beyond the cage while pecking at the feed inside."
"Ugh, th-then what am I supposed to do?"
"Follow me. I'll show you a new world."
If the story's progressed this far in-game, you'd see messages like this:
And Emily Haimelody, eyes full of resolve, would look at me and say:
"I'll follow you. Out of the cage."
Perfect.
It really opened.
Emily Haimelody was stunned.
Wolfram von Loengrin.
This man's words felt like they pierced straight into her heart, reading every last bit.
They carved into her chest with razor sharpness.
A warm pain that didn't hurt.
A keen edge stripping away only the useless outer shell, leaving her expression softening without realizing it.
Ah, so that's it.
If she can't get spices without money, it means she's still relying on that money—living dependent on it.
If she hates the Haimelody name, she should reject every scrap of support it brings.
She's angry at her own half-hearted hypocrisy.
And this man she'd just met had peeled it all away, leaving her flustered.
"Emily Haimelody."
"...Y-Yes."
For the first time, her voice trembled.
Why? Because he's royalty?
No. It was his words that shook her.
He'd only said her name, nothing more.
All she'd wanted was cooking lessons, yet in fewer than ten exchanges, something in her chest felt filled.
Is this the leader of that rising crew they say is the most dangerous in Jefrin?
No, honestly, who knows.
He's got this charisma. Reads your heart at a glance, barges in, stirs everything up, and drags you along.
Someone like that draws people without even trying.
"If you want out of the cage, follow me."
"...Yes, Master."
His every move felt like he'd peered into her soul a thousand times over. His unhesitating bluntness strangely filled the void in her chest.
The original D/Z SAGA was ridiculously heroine-centric.
For example, take Eve's route, and Kelters learns [Holy Light Spear]. Regina's route, and he gets [Grand Merchant's Blessing] from the woman who dominates all commerce—halves prices on every shop item.
In other words, your route choice and whose ending you see determines the special perk skill you get. Isolde's route hands you [Seven Demon Swords], and so on—heroines are key.
So, what's Emily Haimelody's special perk? The one calmly walking three steps behind my Phatrasu-pulled cart?
It's [New Field Unlock].
Normally, this new field doesn't open just from raising her affinity a bit.
This place is kinda central to the story.
Emily wrestles with her royal family name versus her personal dreams.
Wonders if she can turn her friendship with commoner Kelters into love, fights with him, falls into self-loathing.
In the rainy streets, they embrace, apologize, brew warm soup, realize all their memories, bonds, and love tie back to cooking, beat the black flag dark cooking underworld, and then it unlocks.
But that's way too long. Seriously long.
Plus, I already know where this field is!
Isn't it obvious? Just go alone?
Nope, can't.
To enter, you need someone resolved to offer their soul to cooking.
Some setup from the founding emperor or whatever—head there without it, and the map won't open.
So, fast affinity, fast questions, fast answers, fast unlock—that's the quickest tech tree!
My is flawless!
"...Isn't this the Sleeping Mountains?"
"Mm. Take a right here."
A slight right turn, and oh wow—just like when the fairy paradise opened, a portal hums to life.
A voice echoes.
"Is that question for me? I-I..."
Emily Haimelody hesitated, glancing at me.
No plans for some drawn-out youthful friendship hot-blooded cooking boy manga now that we're here.
"Be honest. What do you want, Haimelody? Put that feeling into words."
"...Thank you, senpai."
Finally. Emily Haimelody let out a deep breath and answered.
"I want the path of cooking. To walk my own way, judged solely by my own skill."
That grand voice of the founding emperor rang out, and the door slid open.
What lay beyond was...
"Wh-Wha...?"
"Mm. Just as I thought."
Monsters roaming around: white rabbits to dragoon saurs. All ingredients.
Trees bearing fruit from acorns to watermelons. All edible.
Scattered nearby: refined salt to pepper. All spices.
"Th-This place is..."
"I read about it in imperial records. The founding emperor made arrangements even for those walking the path of cooking, not just swords or magic."
"...S-So then."
"Rejoice. You've just opened the cage door."
"...Ah, a-ahh..."
Emily trembled as she looked at me, body shaking.
That happy, huh?
I'm happy too.
It's a bit risky, but bring a party and you can farm ingredients pretty nicely here.
Having this map open makes progress so much smoother—that's why I ended up seeing your ending over a thousand times, you know?