How the Rank 0 Chef Survives Chapter 134
"Slurp... Ahh... So delicious. One more bowl of ramen, please!"
"Sorry, customer. We're closed for the day."
"Ah..."
Thud.
"Hahaha! Finally! I finally made it! Gimme one fiery handmade spicy ramen!"
"Sorry, customer. We're closed."
"Ah..."
Thud.
Harten's Fiery Handmade Spicy Ramen Shop. Even with the massive sign's flames extinguished, customers kept surging in like an endless tide.
Geum Taeyang and Tteoksoon-i were rushed off their feet dealing with them.
"Just one... please, just one more bowl?"
"No can do. Sorry, customer."
"How can you do this after I came all this way? I died more than three times just getting here!"
"That's awful. Sorry, customer."
"Hoo... Made it with such struggle. This is that famous chef Hura's place, right? Where's Hura-nim?"
"We wouldn't know. Sorry, customer."
"I heard the Sapjaru-dan and Tteokbokki-dan clashed because of Hura? Are they still fighting? Can I watch?"
"You can't. Sorry, customer."
Geum Taeyang and Tteoksoon-i handled the crowds with their numerous clones, while the rest tidied up tables and chairs.
They had to return them intact to the Berry Merchant Group. Of course, anything smashed in the Tteokbokki-dan and Sapjaru-dan brawl was unavoidable, but they had to salvage what they could.
"Will Master be okay?"
Tteoksoon-i asked as she cleared a table.
"Yeah. Master will definitely be fine."
"......"
"We just need to follow Master's orders."
Geum Taeyang spoke reassuringly to calm her.
"Cleaning up the shop as Master commanded—that's how we help him."
"......"
Tteoksoon-i's hand paused mid-lift on a chair.
"...Is that really the best way?"
Geum Taeyang looked up from his table.
"What do you mean by that?"
Tteoksoon-i met his gaze steadily.
"Gapsu-sunbae followed Sulis-nim's orders to the letter, didn't he?"
"Why bring that up now?"
Geum Taeyang narrowed his eyes, but she pressed on.
"But look—he regretted it forever. He grieved that he couldn't be with Sulis-nim at the end."
"What are you getting at?"
"Gapsu-sunbae thought that. He wished he'd ignored Sulis-nim's order to leave and wait for his successor outside. Or at least delayed it a little."
Geum Taeyang bellowed, "Don't speak so carelessly! Gapsu-sunbae finally met our Master and understood Sulis-nim's will! Didn't you see that smile on his face?"
"But it took him thousands of years alone, enduring it all bare-handed. Riddled with regret and self-blame."
"......"
Tteoksoon-i bit her lip and bowed her head.
"...I keep thinking this might be that moment for us."
"Tteoksoon-i! Watch your words!"
Silence fell between them.
Then, softly, Tteoksoon-i asked, "Do you remember what Gapsu-sunbae said before he left?"
"...Of course."
"Master's orders matter, but what's truly important is our sincere loyalty from the heart."
"...Yeah. True loyalty wells up from within."
Tteoksoon-i nodded.
"Anyone can just obey words—even a child."
Geum Taeyang looked into her eyes. They were unwavering, like a still lake.
"So what do you suggest?"
Reluctantly, he asked. She replied, "We think."
"Think?"
"About what we can do. How we can help Master."
"......"
Geum Taeyang crossed his arms, head down in thought. He rubbed his chin.
"Tteoksoon-i."
"Yes."
"How many more clones can you make?"
She frowned slightly. "...Honestly, we're at our limit. Just handling customers is overwhelming."
"That's not true."
He uncrossed his arms, firm.
"We can do it. No—we must."
"Pardon?"
"Right here, right now. We break our limits. Even if it kills us."
He gazed at her.
"To have no regrets, like you said. We have to."
Tteoksoon-i looked into his sun-bright golden eyes.
"You've found a way?"
"Yes."
"What is it?"
"Like Master said, I checked our hand."
He stared at his palm.
"We're split into countless clones now. Weak. But we're many."
She nodded. "Yes. We're one, yet many."
"Master said information is the strongest weapon."
"Ah...! I see."
Tteoksoon-i gasped in realization.
"We do what we can."
"Yes!"
"Grasp the battlefield and inform Master and his friends."
"And connect them through us!"
"Exactly. The key: follow Master's orders to the letter—"
"While making more clones to aid him."
Perfectly in sync, the two cooking summons grinned at each other. Golden eyes and silver-white ones reflected back.
"What do you say, Tteoksoon-i? Can we do it?"
"Of course."
"Speak up. Didn't you say we're at our limit?"
"Limits exist to be shattered!"
"Good! Let's do it!"
"Yes!"
The Tteokbokki-dan had retreated into the forest for now. They wanted to chase Hura, but the situation—and their strength—wouldn't allow it.
"Urk...!"
"Wounded over here!"
"Hand over some bandages!"
"Any potions left?"
Jang Wusan treated the Chairman.
"Kuh..."
"Just a bit longer."
She applied potion to the wound and wrapped bandages carefully.
"Urk..."
"Rest a little, and you'll be fine."
Jang Wusan sorted bloodied bandages.
-Sap haha! There! Chase 'em!
From afar came the Sapjaru-dan pursuing Hura.
Jang Wusan glanced worriedly that way.
The Chairman called her. "Jang Wusan."
"Yes, Chairman-nim."
"You okay?"
"...Worry about yourself, Chairman-nim. Thanks to merciful Hura-nim's care, I'm unscathed."
"Merciful, my ass."
The Chairman snorted.
"Dragging you around as a threat—how's that mercy?"
"He fed me ramen three meals a day while captive."
"...An angel, then."
Leaning against a tree, the Chairman said, "Hng... If that's true, he's merciful to prisoners but utterly ruthless to us Tteokbokki-dan."
He sighed, head against the bark.
"Makes sense. Considering what we've done—and tried to do."
The brawl had cleared his head.
"But I didn't know he had this ruthless side. Guess we'll need a major rewrite of the hagiography."
"...Not entirely."
Jang Wusan said.
She swallowed the thought that they could just burn the hagiography anyway.
The Chairman tilted his head, peering at her sideways.
"What do you mean?"
"I didn't call Hura-nim merciful just because of the ramen."
"Then?"
Bowing her head, Jang Wusan stammered it out.
"Hura-nim... didn't leave us alone just because he hates fighting."
"I know. To block the Sapjaru-dan. That's why he used you as a hostage."
"...It wasn't just that, Chairman-nim."
She murmured low.
The Chairman eyed her curiously.
"Tteokbokki-dan or Sapjaru-dan—that wasn't the issue."
Fidgeting with a bandage, she continued.
"If Hura-nim wanted, he could've wiped us out anytime."
"...What?"
His eyebrow twitched.
"It wasn't because he was too busy selling or too lazy to bother."
"Jang Wusan. What are you saying?"
"By playing the villain and threatening to control the Tteokbokki-dan, Hura-nim was actually showing us a path to survival."
"......!"
"That's the mercy I saw."
The Chairman pulled his head from the tree.
"Jang Wusan. That's nonsense."
"We knew nothing about Hura-nim."
Her bandage-fidgeting hands began to tremble faintly.
"Beyond his strength, Hura-nim has incredible friends."
"...I know. He's buddies with Rank 10 Mad Archer Baek Bal Baek Jung. But he vanished again, didn't he?"
"Hura-nim's friends aren't just Baek Bal Baek Jung."
"Ugh... Friends with other rankers too? This is trouble."
The Chairman scratched his chin vexedly.
"...Chairman-nim. You don't get it."
Her hands shook harder.
"What don't I?"
"His other friends... surpass Baek Bal Baek Jung."
"......!"
The Chairman peeled off the tree. His eyes bulged.
"You mean...?"
"......"
"Impossible!"
"Sorry, but I swore not to tell. Can't say more."
Jang Wusan steadied her trembling hands.
Molrangkau from that old Shin-dong Village escort quest was the real one! Just thinking made her hands shake.
She wanted to punch her past self for grinning and prying innocently.
And even scarier: his friends weren't just Molrangkau and Baek Bal Baek Jung. She vaguely recalled Rank 3 Geogi Seora, Rank 6 Beda, Rank 9 Uneun Sinbu.
"We... we really knew nothing about Hura-nim."
Saying it drove it home.
If overheard names were that big, who were the unspoken ones? Maybe even Rank 8 Sap Gisa? Rank 7? 4? 2? Even Rank 1 Cheon-gong dancing to his tune?
"......!"
Chilling just to imagine.
His sly grin surfaced. 'Heh heh heh...'
Like peering into abyssal darkness.
Hura felt like a terrifying puppetmaster manipulating high rankers from the shadows. That's why he stayed unranked...!
Maybe even their Tteokbokki-dan was unwittingly his pawn... A horrifying thought she hated entertaining.
"...Chairman-nim."
"......"
"We shouldn't chase Hura-nim anymore."
She met his eyes squarely, gaze as firm as her words.
"......"
"......"
The Chairman held her gaze a moment, then looked away.
"Not doubting you, but it's hard to believe."
"It's true."
"Got it. I'll keep it in mind."
"......"
He leaned back against the tree, lost in thought.
'Friends, huh...'
His eyes drifted to Gwisinigo Kalroli treating wounds nearby.
"Truth is, I'm a clone."
Jeil Hura said it casually amid gleeful games with Sap Gisa—hacky sack, shuttlecock, hide-and-seek, yo-yo, tag, etc.
"...? What'd you say?"
Sap Gisa froze mid-kick, grin vanishing.
Jeil Hura repeated, "I'm a clone."
Sap Gisa stared blankly.
"Time dragged enough. My job's done."
"L-Liar!"
"Truth."
"S-So you just wasted time playing with me?"
"...Pretty much."
"Liar! You enjoyed it! It was fun!"
Sap Gisa wailed.
"I thought we were friends!"
Jeil Hura gave a bitter smile, head bowed. Shadows hid his face.
When he looked up, it was a smug grin.
He chuckled feigned-casually. "Hahaha! Fooled you good! I'm such a naughty clone. Now go find the real Hura. Fake's signing off."
He turned and walked away casually.
"...Liar."
Jeil Hura halted.
"Liar. No way you'd play that fun if faking."
Without turning, Jeil Hura said, "All an act from start to finish. You fell for it like a fool."
"No! You were happy. When your shuttlecock hit my head, you laughed for real. Gonna say clutching your gut was fake?"
"...How'd you endure that?"
"And! When I tripped in tag, you rolled laughing!"
"......"
"Clone or fake—it doesn't matter! We're already friends!"
Jeil Hura's back-facing fist clenched.
"You... really think that?"
"Of course! Clone Hura! You're my friend! And I'm yours!"
"......"
Thwack! Sap Gisa's shovel embedded beside him.
"Clone Hura! Haven't heard it from you yet!"
"......"
"Say that laugh was real!"
"......"
"Say it was fun!!"
His voice rang through the forest.
...Thud.
Jeil Hura gripped the handle.
"...If I could be honest, even briefly."
His grip trembled faintly.
"It was... a bit fun?"
Sap Gisa grinned. "Knew it."
Clang.
Jeil Hura yanked the shovel free and turned slowly. His face was blank—forced stoic.
"And I'm not Clone Hura, Sir Sap Knight."
"...Then?"
"Call me... Jeil Hura?"
Sap Gisa grinned wide. "Of course. Jeil Hura."
Jeil Hura mirrored it.
"Then, as a friend—one word."
"Listening."
"Head to Harten Village."
He tossed the shovel two-handed.
Thud. Sap Gisa caught it one-handed effortlessly.
"Real Hura's waiting."
Sap Gisa looked back—Jeil Hura was gone.
"......"
Whoosh—wind blew.
Sap Gisa's pink helmet plume and cape fluttered.
"...I'll never forget you. Jeil Hura."
Boing.
With those words, he mounted his shovel and soared high.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
"Sap haha! Sap hahahahaha!!"
Thus, via Sap Sky Pogo, he landed in Harten Village center.
"You're here?"
Hura waited with a sly smile.
"...Hura."
Sap Gisa's pink eyes blazed blue.
"Delighted."