A Recipe for Extortion

"So. A greenhorn demon and a cultist trying to betray his own god... What business do you have here? This isn't a place where just anyone can waltz in." Freid pointed a finger warningly. It was obvious that a skill would fly out at any moment if they made a wrong move.

Tae-hyun spilled the beans immediately. "A demon named Dervene told us to kill you."

"What...?!"

"That Dervene guy is a subordinate of the Demon Duke Mosrak. I don't know why, but he told us to kill you. He must really hate you." Tae-hyun quickly laid out the facts. The more Freid listened, the more rage bubbled up on his face.

"Mosrak! How dare he! Wait... why are you telling me this?"

"Geez. I give you a heads-up and this is the reaction I get? I just figured you were far more trustworthy than the notoriously insidious Demon Duke Mosrak."

"Bwahaha! Well, that is music to my ears."

Though they had only just met, the two of them acted as if they were lifelong best friends. "So, you want to join forces?"

"Of course."

As they spoke, Tae-hyun suddenly grew curious. Just how strong was this demon Freid? "But why is Mosrak trying to kill you? Is it because you're that much of a threat to him?"

"Because I refused to follow his orders. To a Demon Duke, a subordinate demon who doesn't obey is absolutely unacceptable. Our very existence becomes an embarrassment."

"So you used to serve under Mosrak?"

"What, are you surprised? You serve under Phytos, yet you're trying to betray him and leave, aren't you?"

"Well, that's true. But if you left after serving under Mosrak... do you have the confidence to face him?"

"Of course. Would I have left without that kind of confidence? He's in the Demon Realm, and I'm here on the continent. Besides, I made sure to grab some of Mosrak's treasures on my way out. Bwahaha!"

As they conversed, Tae-hyun quickly sized Freid up. While Freid's raw power fell short of Mosrak's, the fact that he was already out on the continent rather than stuck in the Demon Realm was a massive advantage. Demons had to jump through all sorts of ridiculous hoops just to cross over from the Demon Realm to the continent. Not to mention, their power would be severely weakened in the process! Just having a demon established on the continent like this was a huge boon. And on top of that, he had Mosrak's stolen treasures!

"Then we can fight together?"

"Ah, well... it's difficult for me to leave this forest. My power drops drastically outside."

In an instant, Tae-hyun's assessment of Freid plummeted. 'And here I was wondering how he managed to stay out here. Turns out this forest is just special...' Still, Tae-hyun wanted to drag Freid out somehow. Fighting together was one thing, but if things went south and he had to hunt Freid down, it would be much easier to deal with him outside.

"It's fine. A demon of your caliber would do perfectly fine outside."

"Mosrak seems to be targeting me, so I must be careful. I happen to be an exceptionally cautious demon."

"The outside world is great! Let's go check it out!"

"I prefer my home."

As he tried to persuade him, the conversation began drifting in a bizarre direction. 'Is it impossible for now?' Tae-hyun decided to give up on that for the moment and focus on something else first.

"Fine. In any case, do we agree to join forces? I need to deceive that Dervene guy, so could you give me something that can serve as proof of your death?"

"Hold on, hold on... I haven't agreed to anything yet."

"?"

"I need to know what you're capable of first, don't I? Of course, that greenhorn demon traveling with you has nice spirit, but spirit has nothing to do with actual skill. Besides, the fact that you're a believer of Phytos makes me a bit uneasy."

"Are you seriously doubting me after I just gave you crucial information about Mosrak?"

"Hey, don't get so offended. I'm just trying to verify things."

'Should I just kill him?' Tae-hyun pondered briefly. If he summoned Yohas and threw everything he had at Freid, he could probably take him down. The only variable was this forest. Freid seemed to place a lot of trust in it, which meant there had to be some kind of trick to it. 'Ah... should I just burn the forest down? Sadiq's Flame would probably roast it nicely.'

The reason Tae-hyun wanted to negotiate with Freid was to create a wild card. If he simply followed Dervene's orders, he would be forced to dance in the palm of Dervene's hand. To pull off a proper backstab, one had to prepare well in advance. He had expected Freid to cooperate out of concern for his own life, but since the demon was acting like this...

"If you defeat me in a duel, I will join forces with you."

"Forget it, I'm out."

"?!"

"I came all this way to save his life, and he's trying to test me. Sheesh. When Mosrak hands out a request, he showers you with support..." It was the classic technique of muttering just loud enough to be heard. Naturally, he intended for Freid to hear every word. "Meanwhile, some people are just so petty..."

"N-No! Shouldn't we at least verify each other's strength?!"

"I said I don't need to. I'm leaving."

"But you'll need an alliance! Mosrak won't leave you alone!"

"Eh, whatever... Between you and me, who do you think he'll get rid of first? He'll definitely come for you first. Once you get wiped out by Mosrak, maybe I'll reconsider then."

"!" At Tae-hyun's words, Freid's face began to contort.

"Wait!"

"?"

"If you defeat me in a duel... I will give you o-one of the treasures I stole from Mosrak! I swear it on my name!" Judging by how he stammered, it was clearly killing him to offer it.

'He's not lying, is he?'

"Master. Demons have no choice but to keep oaths sworn upon their own names."

'How diligent for a demon. Meanwhile, I'm an Apostle of God, yet I go around lying constantly.'

"That's because you, Master, are... muffled noises."

Now that Freid was wavering, Tae-hyun finally felt a nibble of interest. "Eh... why should I bother for a single treasure when I don't even know what it is..."

"Y-You ignorant fool! Do you have any idea what Mosrak's treasures are?!"

"Nope, no clue."

"T-Two of them!"

"Hey, guys. Let's go." Tae-hyun and his companions turned and began walking away in unison, step by step.

"Three! I absolutely cannot give you any more than that! Do you even know what kind of treasures these are?!"

Stop.

"Alright. Shall we give it a shot?"

'This greedy human bastard...! What on earth were the people of the Phytos Church thinking when they took in a guy like this?! Are they completely blind?!' The innocent Phytos Church ended up taking the blame.

Freid's face twitched, but he quickly calmed himself down. Because... 'Hmph. All I have to do is win the duel.' If he won, he wouldn't have to give up any treasures. He could just gauge Tae-hyun's abilities, say something like, 'You couldn't defeat me, but I highly evaluate your skills,' and put him to work.

The only reason Freid didn't attack Tae-hyun or kick him out immediately was his fear of Mosrak. Although Mosrak was far away and Freid was protected by this forest, the fear was still very real! He needed an ally to face Mosrak.

"So, what kind of duel is it?"

"Hmm..." Freid pondered. What kind of contest could he propose to guarantee a win against this greedy human? "The duel... will be a cooking duel."

"...How is a cooking duel supposed to prove my ability to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fight a demon?" Tae-hyun asked, utterly dumbfounded. No matter how he looked at it, the demon was clearly choosing cooking because it was his own specialty.

"Taste is the most sensitive of all senses! How could someone with dull senses ever be strong?!"

'This crazy bastard is really stretching it.'

Tae-hyun hesitated. A cooking duel was indeed a ridiculous proposition. Although Tae-hyun had acquired an advanced cooking skill, he was far from a professional chef. And his opponent was a demon who was highly confident in his culinary skills, meaning his cooking skill level was bound to be astronomically high. He needed to use his speech skills to reject this and steer the duel toward something ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠else...

"Of course, I know this duel is disadvantageous to a human like you. So, I shall make a concession."

"?"

"We will use only one very common ingredient. If we use multiple rare and complex ingredients, it would be far too advantageous for me."

"...Wait. Can I choose the ingredient?"

"As long as it can be found here, you may." Freid was brimming with confidence. Cooking truly seemed to be his specialty.

'A guy whose specialty is cooking probably isn't that strong... but I'll worry about that after I win.' Tae-hyun smirked. Because...

'I never imagined a ridiculous skill like this would actually come in handy.'

"Rabbit! Rabbit, you say?! Bwahaha! Fine. If you wish to settle this with a rabbit dish, so be it." Freid started to sneer, but stopped abruptly when Tae-hyun stared blankly at him. He held back out of fear that Tae-hyun might get offended and leave again. "Ahem. Shall we begin, then?"

One hour later. Freid was trembling violently as he shrieked. "This is impossible! This makes no sense!!"

'A level up too?!' Even Tae-hyun was shocked. Was this really that big of a deal?!

Chao, the Guildmaster of the Restaurant Guild, was glaring at the ranker chef, Paz. "You're persistent, Chao. I hope you aren't planning to pull another one of your underhanded tricks like last time." "Hmph. Paz. I don't even need to resort to such things against the likes of you."

Sparks flew in the war of nerves between the two chefs! Chao, the Guildmaster of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Restaurant Guild, backed by the Guild Alliance and showered with all kinds of support. Paz, a chef in real life and highly renowned as a ranker chef in the game. Currently, the two of them were locked in a fierce competition over a quest.

"Now! Please taste this! It is my masterpiece!"

"Hmph. Do you really think that will be enough? Mine is a legendary delicacy!"

"W-What?! You used that kind of ingredient?! Are you insane, Paz?! To waste something like that here! If you fail, it's completely gone!"

"I am different from you. You view cooking as a calculation, but I cook from the heart! I will absolutely satisfy this demon!!!"

"Both of you... It is fine to argue, but could you feed me first before you fight?"

"Ah, yes!"

"O-Of course, Lord Esla!"

The sealed Esla spoke with a bored expression. These chefs had suddenly shown up, muttering about how 'there's a demon here.' Since they offered to feed him delicious food, he was eating it, but it wasn't particularly impressive.

'I wonder when the Avatar of Archisus will gather all three keys to break my seal...' Even taking a single weapon from a high-ranking demon was a monumental achievement for a human. Yet, three were required to break the seal. Esla knew all too well that this was practically impossible.

But despite that, Esla believed in Tae-hyun. It would be impossible for anyone else, but nothing was impossible for the Avatar of Archisus! If he set his mind to it, he would surely bring them back, even if it meant burning the entire continent to the ground.