"Go Ahead, Help Yourself, Count Kim Tae-hyun."

Whoosh! The moment he took a bite, a cascade of additional effects flooded in. This was Devuel's cooking! It was a magnificent dish, built upon layers of complex flavors. Tae-hyun was genuinely impressed. Although Tae-hyun had leveled up his own Advanced Cooking skill to some extent, he was nowhere near the level of a professional chef. Most of the dishes Tae-hyun knew how to make were simple home-cooked meals—far from the realm of haute cuisine.

'Then again, while other chefs ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠are busy learning all sorts of recipes and trying to craft high-end dishes to level up their skills, I was busy making Abnormal Cooking...' Tae-hyun realized once again that his path of growth was rather bizarre. Normally, to level up one's cooking skill, a player would start with simple dishes and gradually move on to increasingly complex and difficult recipes. Tae-hyun, however, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had raised his skill simply by mass-producing basic dishes in absurd quantities. He didn't have the time to seek out culinary NPCs, complete their quests, and learn proper recipes, so he had brute-forced his way up. Whenever he lacked the necessary ingredients or skills, he had simply bridged the gap with Abnormal Cooking.

"How is it, Count Kim Tae-hyun?"

"Ah. It is delicious."

"Hoho. Indeed. This is the taste of true tradition. It is difficult to experience such refinement in a territory with a short history."

"..."

Count Osong was subtly throwing shade!

But Tae-hyun remained unfazed. He merely kept moving his spoon in silence, thinking to himself:

'How should I cook this bastard so that everyone praises my culinary genius?'

He couldn't kill him just yet, not before they raided the royal palace...

"I would love to meet your chef, Count Kim Tae-hyun. Do you happen to have one with you?"

"Uh..."

Tae-hyun thought about it. Did he have a chef worth showing off? Ju Hyeon-yeong was currently in Uruk, and as for Stau... well, it was a blessing that he was in Uruk. There were a few decent player chefs who had recently joined his ranks, but none of them could compare to a master like Devuel.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"I do not."

"Hahaha! What a pity."

"..."

Count Osong laughed heartily. Seeing this, Tae-hyun reached into his breast pocket and pulled out an item. It was the tailbone of a Salavian demonic beast!

'Ah. Not this one. Cancel, cancel.'

Tae-hyun had instinctively tried to poison the food first! Habits truly were terrifying things. Canceling the poisoning, Tae-hyun only activated the Appearance Forgery skill. Instantly, a piece of fake meat crafted from the demonic beast's tailbone materialized.

"..."

Tae-hyun waited patiently. The opportunity would come!

'Now!'

Swish—

The moment Count Osong turned his head, Tae-hyun swiftly slipped the meat onto the Count's plate. It was a flawless, seamless execution; no one looking at it would ever suspect a thing!

Simply by refraining from using poison, Tae-hyun was showing immense mercy. To be precise, he was only holding back because ruining the alliance before the royal palace raid would mess up his plans!

"Hmm. Now then, let us try the meat next... Ack?!"

The moment Count Osong put the meat in his mouth, his eyes bulged, and he began to choke violently. Tae-hyun put on a perfectly innocent face.

"My goodness, what is the matter, Count? Is there something wrong with the food?"

"Keheok... cough! Cough!"

Count Osong collapsed to the side, foaming at the mouth and trembling uncontrollably! Without batting an eye, Tae-hyun shouted:

"Summon the priests! The Count has collapsed!"

"Y-Yes, sir!"

Count Osong's escort knights scrambled in a panic. Moments later, the priests who accompanied the Count rushed into the room.

Flash!

"Pant, gasp..."

"What happened, Count? Was there an issue with the food?"

"Th-There is something in this dish..."

Count Osong trembled as he ordered his priests to inspect the food.

"We detect the dark energy of the Salavian Church in this dish!"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"W-What?! Those wicked Salavian bastards! How dare they try to assassinate me! Am I truly that terrifying to them?!"

'Huh?'

Tae-hyun was taken aback. Is that how they were going to interpret this? He had only slipped it in because the guy was being annoying and he wanted to shut him up...

'Well, if they want to jump to conclusions, it works out perfectly for me.'

In the past, he used to blame everything on the Sadiq Church, but now he could pin it on the Salavian Church. What a wonderful world! Tae-hyun smiled warmly.

'Might as well play along.'

"You are absolutely correct, Count! Those cowardly Salavian dogs must have feared your greatness and targeted you for assassination!"

"Devuel! You useless wretch! How can a head chef fail to detect a simple poison?!"

"?!"

Suddenly, the blame shifted. Devuel bowed his head deeply, unable to look up.

"I am deeply sorry. I made absolutely sure to inspect everything, but..."

"Is inspecting it enough?! Can you not see that I just consumed poison? Do you think you will get away with humiliating me like this in front of Count Kim Tae-hyun? Get out of my sight at once!"

"Haha. Count, if the Salavian Church was determined to poison you, how could anyone have stopped them? Though, of course, I didn't eat any. The Salavian Church is truly a dangerous group. Though, of course, I didn't eat any."

"..."

It sounded like he was defending Devuel, but his tone was subtly mocking!

"Devuel! Get out of my sight! I cannot bear to look at you!"

"...Understood."

Devuel retreated without another word.

Masters who possessed the highly coveted Secret Cooking Skill—an ultimate technique far superior to standard skills—were exceptionally rare. Devuel was one of the legendary chefs of the continent, highly proficient in the noble cuisine of the Atali Kingdom and a master of secret culinary arts! Recruiting such a chef to his territory would be an incredible opportunity.

'Huh?'

A sudden quest window. Tae-hyun was surprised, but... he couldn't let an opportunity like this slip away! Tae-hyun quickly followed after Devuel and called out to him.

"Master Devuel."

"Ah. Count Kim Tae-hyun. I am deeply sorry. My failure to prepare the dish properly ruined the gathering."

Devuel bowed with a profound sense of responsibility! Tae-hyun liked his dignified, excuse-free apology. If it were an NPC from the Archisus Church, they would have started making excuses immediately.

"No, I didn't do it on purpose, Lord Tae-hyun! I have no idea how poison got in there, haha!"

"Not at all. The Salavian Church is an incredibly wicked group. If they set their minds to poisoning a dish, it would be impossible to detect."

"Thank you for your kind words. However, this was my failure..."

"No, it wasn't!"

"?!"

"The real fault lies with Count Osong. To treat an outstanding chef like you with such disrespect... I would never do such a thing."

"But it was indeed my mistake..."

"Even if it were, he should have quietly admonished you in private. How could he humiliate you in front of everyone? And in the first place, with the Salavian Church as our enemy, was it not Count Osong's own foolishness to eat without checking his food first? Look at me. I inspected my food before eating, which is why I am perfectly fine despite eating the same dish. This happened solely because Count Osong was careless."

Tae-hyun lied through his teeth without blinking! Yet, Devuel still maintained his stance of self-blame.

"Master Devuel, come to my territory. I need a chef of your caliber."

"!"

'Whew.'

Aside from the Infamy penalty, everything else was a bonus. It was all thanks to his past achievements. Within the Atali Kingdom, Tae-hyun was revered as the bravest of heroes! An honorable champion who had vanquished all manner of evil across the continent. Because of this, even his high Infamy could be easily excused by NPCs as 'surely just a malicious rumor spread by those who wish to slander Count Kim Tae-hyun!'

"But... I..."

"Master Devuel! The chefs in my territory would love to learn from you. This will be a wonderful opportunity for you as well. Furthermore, in my territory... we have a chef who is hailed as the greatest chef of his race. He is currently away on business, but he will return the moment I call for him."

"Th-The greatest chef of his race?!"

Tae-hyun knew exactly what NPCs like Devuel loved. Pure artisans! Naturally, they were drawn to fellow masters of their craft.

"The greatest chef of his race... Oh, ohh..."

Devuel's heart fluttered. Was it the greatest chef of the Elves? The Dwarves? Or perhaps the Dark Elves? Devuel didn't suspect for a single second that Count Kim Tae-hyun would lie to him!

"Is that truly the case?"

"Of course."

"In that case... I accept!"

"..."

Tae-hyun immediately decided who would be dying alongside Dominic during this expedition. Count Osong!

'Leaving him alive will only cause headaches later!'

"Please do not speak of this until the expedition is over. I will speak to Count Osong directly afterward."

"Understood, Count."

Devuel shook Tae-hyun's hand and bowed once more.

"To give someone as lacking as me such an opportunity..."

"Haha, think nothing of it."

"By the way, which race does this legendary chef belong to? Surely it isn't an Orc, is it? Hahaha..."

"Of course not. You have a great sense of humor, Master Devuel."

"I was merely joking. Hahaha!"

"Hahaha!"

Tae-hyun quickly wrapped up the conversation and made his exit. It was a relief that Devuel had asked about Orcs first. If he had asked about Goblins first, it would have been a disaster!

"What are you drawing?"

"Kim Tae-hyun beating up Sadiq."

"You've been drawing nothing but Kim Tae-hyun lately. Aren't you sick of it?"

"I am, but... there's a reason I keep drawing him."

"What is it? Does it sell well?"

"Well, that too... but why are people buying so many portraits of Kim Tae-hyun? The Chinese players are buying them in bulk."

"Who knows? Maybe they're using them as target practice?"

The joking prediction of the artist players was actually spot on. The portraits were indeed being hung up in the Guild Alliance's training grounds to be used as targets! However, the players dismissed the thought, thinking, 'No way they'd actually go that far, right?'

"You know, whenever I paint Kim Tae-hyun here in the Valley, the quality turns out strangely high."

"...Really?"