Cooking is All About the Heart

"What?!" Chao shrieked in shock. He was utterly flabbergasted. Even when Tae-hyun had harshly criticized the other players' dishes, Chao hadn't batted an eye. He had simply thought, My scheme worked, or As expected, those losers lack skill. He had never imagined that any noble, no matter how picky, would complain after eating his dish. That was how much time and effort he had poured into it! Despite all his underhanded tricks, the sweat and tears Chao had invested in his chef class were very real.

Yet, regardless of Chao's blood, sweat, and tears, Tae-hyun was rolling around frantically on the floor. Roll, roll! Roll! It was a reaction that screamed, to anyone watching, that the food was terrible—no, so excruciatingly awful that it was physically painful!

"Gah! Cough! *Hack!* Cough-cough!" Tae-hyun let out bizarre, guttural noises that hardly sounded human.

"..." Ju Hyeon-yeong shot a piercing glare down at him. Unlike the others, she knew the truth behind this spectacle, so her gaze was understandably icy. But Tae-hyun didn't stop. If a single look could make him freeze, he would never have made it this far!

Coolly ignoring Ju Hyeon-yeong's whispers, Tae-hyun stood up. The surrounding area was dead silent. A pin drop could have been heard in the stillness. Such was the effect of Tae-hyun's rolling performance!

"Ahem. Cough." Tae-hyun cleared his throat a few times and spoke. "This is the worst dish I have ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ever tasted in my entire life."

"That's impossible!!" Chao shrieked, practically having a fit. This was a reality he absolutely could not accept! "What could possibly be wrong with my dish?!"

"How dare you raise your voice!" Tae-hyun continued, his face a mask of strict, solemn gravity. When the situation called for it, Tae-hyun could put on a masterclass in heartfelt acting. "Seeing your attitude now only confirms it. Your cooking is brimming with arrogance! I feel nothing but the conceit of a chef who overestimates his own skills without giving a single thought to the person eating! True culinary art is not like this. A dish infused with a heart that cares for the diner—that is true cooking!"

"...What kind of bullshit is that?!" Chao yelled, utterly dumbfounded. If a chef had skill, the food tasted good. What did arrogance have to do with anything?!

But Tae-hyun hadn't said this to convince Chao. He had spun this plausible-sounding nonsense for one reason and one reason only: to set the mood!

Tae-hyun was shoving Chao off a cliff with absolute certainty! When it came to plotting, Tae-hyun was on an entirely different level. His thoroughness was terrifying: he used his Abnormal Cooking skill to ruin the taste of his opponent's dish, then manipulated the atmosphere to ensure they couldn't recover!

"T-The other nobles... It'll be different when the other nobles eat it!" Chao cried out, desperately denying reality. But he was wrong. Go ahead and eat it. In fact, it'll only make things more certain if you do. Even if the other nobles ate it, they would inevitably react exactly like Tae-hyun. Because the item Tae-hyun had slipped in was...

An ingredient that completely ruined a dish just by being added! The moment the other nobles tasted Chao's dish, they were bound to react even more violently than Tae-hyun.

"Cooking is all about the heart! Go back and learn how to cook with love!" Tae-hyun lectured grandly, completely unbothered by the fact that he had just contaminated someone else's food!

Clap, clap, clap, clap— As the King began to applaud, the nobles followed suit. A touching, emotional atmosphere suddenly filled the room! Only Ju Hyeon-yeong, who knew the truth, could only stare with her mouth slightly agape.

Ignoring Ju Hyeon-yeong's whisper, Tae-hyun stood before her station. The other players watched with little expectation. Since even Chao had been humiliated, and they had been rejected as well, what could a player like Ju Hyeon-yeong possibly achieve?

"Argh!" Tae-hyun gasped, prompting the players to whisper among themselves.

"Of course."

"I knew it."

"Who the hell is that noble anyway?"

Ignoring them, Tae-hyun spoke, his hands trembling dramatically. "This taste... It is as if the fish is still alive and leaping in my mouth!"

Even the sweet-tempered Ju Hyeon-yeong lost her patience at Tae-hyun's reaction and protested. Naturally, Tae-hyun ignored her completely!

"This flavor, which makes me feel the raw vitality of a fish swimming through the ocean, is like a bridge between the Old World and the New World..."

"..." Ju Hyeon-yeong's glare grew increasingly sharp. Tae-hyun didn't stop, continuing to babble on. Soon, the other players' expressions turned to sheer shock. Everyone else had received harsh criticism, yet Ju Hyeon-yeong's dish was receiving glowing praise—an unbelievable turn of events!

What on earth is going on?

Am I dreaming right now?

It was a situation that defied all common sense! If Chao had won, they would have thought, That bastard pulled some dirty ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠trick! But Ju Hyeon-yeong looked as far removed from a conspiracy as anyone could be. She didn't even seem capable of plotting such a thing. The chef players could only stare, looking as though they had seen a ghost.

After Tae-hyun's frenzied tasting concluded, the other nobles began to sample the dishes. Seeing this, the players held onto a sliver of hope. Even if that crazy noble was out of his mind, surely the other NPCs would have normal palates?

"Good heavens, why is this so salty?!"

"The ingredients in this dish seem rather strange!"

"Gwah-gack-blurgh!"

But the flavors had already been completely ruined! Furthermore, the noble who ate Chao's dish exhibited far more violent paralysis symptoms than Tae-hyun had. Unlike Tae-hyun, who had been faking it, the noble NPC, experiencing actual paralysis, flew into a rage and lunged at Chao.

"You insolent chef! What kind of garbage did you make?! How dare you serve this in front of His Majesty!"

"What? That's impossible!"

"You scoundrel! Taste it yourself!"

"???" With a look of utter confusion, Chao reached out and took a bite of his own dish.

"!!??!!?"

"Throw this scoundrel out at once!"

"Wait! Something is wrong! Just wait a minute!" Chao screamed, but no one listened.

Drag, drag, drag— In the end, Chao was dragged away by the royal guards!

The noble NPCs, and finally the King himself, finished tasting all the dishes, but the evaluations remained unchanged. Every dish except Ju Hyeon-yeong's had been sabotaged to some degree! As a result, the King chose Ju Hyeon-yeong's dish without a moment's hesitation.

"This dish is the most magnificent of all."

"Your Majesty speaks the absolute truth!"

"I thought so as well!"

"Long live the King! Long live the King!"

"Haha, as expected of Baron Terand. He is a man who truly understands the essence of cooking."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Tae-hyun was starting to feel a genuine pang of regret over all the achievements he was building up under Baron Terand's name. It felt like doing all the hard work only to hand the reward to someone else! But there was nothing he could do. If he stayed in disguise too long, he would eventually get caught. Once this event was over, he had to flee without looking back.

"Today, I declare Ju Hyeon-yeong as the greatest chef, and Baron Terand as the greatest gourmet." The moment the words left the King's mouth, a cascade of system messages flooded Tae-hyun's vision.

While Tae-hyun grinned from ear to ear checking his system messages, the famous ranker chef Paz approached Ju Hyeon-yeong with a grim expression.

"As I thought, you were the player I should have been most wary of in this quest."

"No, it's not really like that..."

"No need to make excuses. I'm sure Chao was behind whatever happened here. He is the only one who would plot such a scheme. At least it's a relief that you won instead of a despicable scoundrel like him."

Ju Hyeon-yeong couldn't bring herself to look Paz in the eye. After all, the true mastermind behind this entire fiasco was the noble (actually Tae-hyun in disguise) standing nearby, smiling warmly to himself!

"You overcame Chao's conspiracy with pure skill, while I failed to do so. That was the only difference. Sigh. I still have a long way to go."

"No, really, that's not what happened..."

"I must have grown arrogant from being pampered as a chef in real life and a ranker in the game. I will start my training again from scratch."

"..."

Ju Hyeon-yeong simply shut her mouth. She realized that no matter what she said now, he wouldn't listen.

"Are you perhaps a chef in real life as well?"

"Well, yes, but..."

"I knew it. I'll remember your name. I won't lose next time!"

Paz delivered his dramatic parting words, spun on his heel, and began to stride away.

"Wow. What a polite guy."

"...!"

Before she knew it, Tae-hyun had slipped up beside her. Ju Hyeon-yeong narrowed her eyes and glared at him.

"I told you I could handle it on my own..."

"Hey, I tried my best not to interfere, but all their dishes were in that state. Did you taste them? I wasn't exaggerating, you know."

Ju Hyeon-yeong sighed and shook her head. Then she spoke.

"I suppose it couldn't be helped. You had to clear your quest too, Tae-hyun."

She truly possessed a kind heart that was incomparable to Tae-hyun's!

"Thanks for understanding."

"Besides, I don't think I could have won on my own. I felt like the gap between us was quite large."

"Hey, don't worry about it. If you face them again next time, I can just sabotage them again..."

"..."

"...No?"

"Next time, please let me win with my own skills. I'll raise my cooking skill by then!" Ju Hyeon-yeong said firmly. She had to draw the line, or else Tae-hyun might actually show up next time to hatch another bizarre conspiracy.

"I have to go inside now to meet the King and cook a few test dishes. A quest message popped up for me."

"As for me... hmm..."

"Are you going to be okay, Tae-hyun?"

"Actually, not really."

Tae-hyun's intuition was usually spot-on. And right now, that intuition was screaming at him: Staying here any longer is dangerous!

I've caused enough of a commotion, and there's still that noble tied up in the closet, so I should probably make my escape.

He wanted to milk the situation for more rewards, but that felt like pushing his luck too far.

Can I just walk out the front gate?

"Baron Terand, would you care to join us for a meal?"

"...!"

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than the noble NPCs who had tasted the dishes with him approached to strike up a conversation. For Tae-hyun, who was planning an immediate getaway, this was a major setback!

Tae-hyun confidently prepared to shake them off and make his exit.