Gourmet Gaming-Chapter 1293

“Philos, I know that you won’t like it, but try to cook for others at least once.”

Philos was the Food God’s Descendant. She naturally possessed outstanding cooking abilities. But she frowned when she heard Minhyuk’s words.

“But I’m happy when I’m eating alone.”

“Sometimes that’s not always the case.”

For a young girl suffering from eating addiction, it was only natural for her to think that eating everything by herself would make her happy. Perhaps it might sound selfish to others, but this was something that naturally came to her because of her illness. As her guardian, Minhyuk thought he should correct that thinking from now on.

Minhyuk patted Philos’ head.

The people written in Minhyuk’s family tree were his hyungs, younger brothers, noonas, uncles, grandpas, grandmas, and many others. However, he knew they would not accept Philos like the vassals of the Beyond the Heavens Empire accepted her.

After all, the vassals of the Beyond the Heavens Empire were much closer to Minhyuk than they were. Since they had seen firsthand how eating addiction worked, they had a much higher understanding of the disease. Minhyuk believed these people would not give her everything like the vassals did.

He gently handed Philos a potato hot dog and a hamburger, who had already turned around to leave. Philos skipped happily to meet the first person she was asked to meet.

***

Philos still could not understand what her Minhyuk oppa meant.

‘Aren’t I the happiest when I eat alone?’

Unable to comprehend, she left the question behind as she moved to find one of the people who would give her something delicious. Philos met a very beautiful and cool unnie with gorgeous red hair.

The pretty unnie told her, “My name is Ellie. I’ve heard about you. Regardless, I hope you don’t expect me to go above and beyond just because you’re Minhyuk’s younger sister.”

The pretty unnie was different from others. Unlike the others, who would coddle her and treat her like a baby, the woman in front of her spoke coolly with a hint of kindness. She was also full of charisma.

Philos followed Ellie to where the food was served. And with a snap of her fingers, she said, “I’m sure you want to eat. That’s why I prepared Eivelis Empire’s specialties for you.”

The pretty unnie gently told her to eat. Although the world feared this pretty unnie, Philos thought she was very kind. After all, Ellie had prepared many specialties for her. At this moment, Philos felt she was the happiest girl in the world.

“You remind me of Minhyuk with the way you’re eating.”

The pretty unnie, smiling faintly at her, suddenly frowned, a gloom of exhaustion on her face. She hurriedly straightened up and said, “I’m sorry. I’ve just been too tired these days.”

The pretty unnie’s eyes looked strangely sad to Philos. Looking at Ellie’s eyes filled with emptiness and sadness, she also felt sad. Perhaps it was because Philos was still young that made her feel it even more deeply. At that moment, Philos remembered something. She recalled Minhyuk saying, ‘Try to cook for others at least once.’

Philos remembered the drip coffee that Grandpa Ben had given her before. She took out the hot water she always placed in her inventory in case she wanted some cup noodles. Then, she took out the drip coffee and poured hot water over it.

Philos held the steaming cup of coffee in her hands and placed it before Ellie. Unknowingly, Ellie smiled when she saw Philos blowing on her hands to dissipate the heat.

[Heart Thief has been activated.]

[The little things you do might capture the other person’s heart.]

An inexplicable feeling washed over Ellie as she looked at Philos’s large doe eyes. She felt very grateful to the pretty girl, and for some reason, she felt as if her frustration was slowly being washed away. Ellie was surprised when she took a sip of the coffee. Then, a delighted smile appeared on her face.

“Thanks.”

Thump!

Philos could not understand why her heart suddenly skipped a beat like that.

Thump!

“I have been too busy these days with matters regarding the empire, which has given me a headache. The coffee you gave me has cleared my head.”

Thump!

“Please enjoy your meal.”

Thump, thump!

Philos’ cheeks turned red. For some reason, she felt happiness surge when she saw Ellie’s happy smile.

“Of course, I will pay you back.” Ellie turned to her subordinates and ordered, “Cook some of our empire’s precious ingredients for her.”

When she ate again, Philos felt as if it was more delicious than before. There were even notifications ringing in her ear, just like when the people of the Beyond the Heavens Empire had given her food.

At this moment, Philos realized something. She thought, ‘How many times will it come back to me if I cook one dish for someone else?’

Philos’s mood improved as well.

After Philos finished her meal, Ellie said, “This is enough. You should go and see the others now. There’s nothing more I can do for you. I can’t break my bottom line.”

Ellie grew fond of Philos. Unlike the others, she did not give her anything more. For the first time, Philos felt disappointed. At that moment, a notification from one of her passive skills rang.

[Their Story.]

[You are God’s Child.]

[You can now hear the story of the person opposite you.]

Ellie’s story began to ring in Philos’ ears.

Ellie was not even mentioned as one of the candidates to become emperor, just because she was a woman. With her sword in hand, she became the Sword Emperor and even refused the position of the Sword God for the sake of her people. She was the woman who fought for her tens of thousands of soldiers and became the Hegemon King Ellie.

She was a woman who carried as much pain as her reputation. And Philos? She wanted to heal the pain that she was suffering from. Alas, there was nothing that she could do.

At that moment, Philos remembered something that she had heard before she came to meet Ellie. It was the story about the annual competition held in the Eivelis Empire. To be exact, it was a competition for novice players below Level 50. It was a competition between players who had the potential to grow into super rookies.

Minhyuk had previously participated in this competition. In it, he hunted the minotaurs and ate delicious beef ribs. Winning the competition also allowed him to learn Ellie’s swordsmanship.

The structure of the competition has changed over time. Nowadays, the competition rewarded the winner with legendary-grade seafood.

As she stepped out, Philos said, “Unnie, I want to participate in the competition.”

Ellie smiled a little. She thought the young girl wanted to participate in the competition to test her strength, so she said, “Go and do what you want to do.”

***

Joy Co. Ltd.’s meeting room.

“WAAAAAAAH!”

“As expected! Ellie is totally different from the others!”

“The other NPCs in Minhyuk’s family tree will definitely keep their bottom line!”

The team leaders all cheered loudly. They had been fearing the impact of Philos’ unimaginable growth and preparing themselves for the inevitable one-week overtime, but it seemed like things would be stable.

Team Leader Park Minggyu, who was sitting among them, was also happy.

‘Lee Minhwa... We can now go home...’

The Special Players Management Team had to monitor Philos closely, especially because her growth had not shown any signs of stopping. And, of course, they had to work overtime.

“I don’t understand,” President Kang Taehoon muttered. “Our Joy Co. Ltd. pays you twice as much as the other companies for overtime, so why are you so happy when you hear that there’s no overtime?”

‘What do you even know?! You’re the president!’ was the thought that flashed in everyone’s heads. Regardless, they actually could not bring it up. So, they just laughed.

“We’re happy not because we’re not going to get overtime, but because we were finally relieved. We feared the impact that Philos’ ridiculous growth would bring to Athenae.”

“That’s right. If all of the NPCs acted like Ellie, drew a line, and did not act over the top like the vassals of the Beyond the Heavens Empire, then she would not grow this much in such a short period.”

“Phew~”

Someone’s sigh of relief rang in the room. Even President Kang Taehoon felt fortunate that Philos’ growth showed signs of being impeded.

And the Story Team’s leader looked confused. He asked, “Why does Philos want to join the competition? The vassals of the Beyond the Heavens Empire had already fed her countless legendary-grade ingredients, no?”

This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

Team Leader Park responded, “I think it’s because she wants to try and eat the food she had worked hard to obtain, no?”

Team Leader Park’s sound judgment convinced everyone.

***

Many players, with prospects that everyone was looking forward to in the future, attended this year’s competition in the Eivelis Empire. Among these talented prospects were the legendary Sword Saint’s Descendant and the God class player Child of Lightning. These players jumped at a girl like a pack of hungry wolves.

“Kiddie Absolute Pinnacle Spear.”

A torrent of spear lights swept them away.

“...?”

“...?”

Just like that, the young girl won. She quickly received the reward, the legendary-grade ingredient Flapping Flatfish. After the competition ended, the Sword Saint’s Descendant and the Child of Lightning approached the girl.

Sword Saint’s Descendant Lee Tae-Jin resembled the Olympic Kendo Gold Medalist Carr, who was active in the Beyond the Heavens Empire. The people call him Little Carr, and he was a part of the Kendo National Team. Now that he had obtained the legendary class Sword Saint’s Descendant, many said he would easily rank in the top 1,000 in the rankings if given the time and the chance to grow.

Tae-Jin was the type of person who would rather learn from others than wallow in his frustration and feel hurt after being defeated by a young girl. So, he approached the girl and politely asked, “Please accept me. If you accept me, I will do whatever you want and help you with anything. Just tell me how to become as strong as you. Please.”

“...”

The young girl, Philos, looked startled. She could not understand why someone hailed as the Sword Saint’s Descendant would approach her like this and ask her to accept him. His words were equivalent to asking her to accept him as her subordinate. Usually, anyone receiving such a request would jump around and dance for joy.

Philos murmured, “If I do that... then there will be more mouths to feed...”

“...” The Sword Saint’s Descendant Lee Tae-Jin was rendered speechless.

‘What is she talking about? What does she mean by more mouths to feed?’

Nevertheless, Lee Tae-Jin did not give up. He persistently asked her to accept him. Eventually, it seemed like Philos had thought of something.

‘Right now, I’m a noble! Ehem!’

Since Philos’ legal guardian was Minhyuk in real life, she was also considered a part of his family inside the game. Because of that, she was also given a noble title in Athenae. That was why she could sign contracts and obtain vassals.

“Then...”

Lee Tae-Jin looked at her with shining eyes.

“How about becoming a Sword Saint who hunts for ingredients?”

Caught off-guard, Lee Tae-jin stammered, “...Wh-what’s that?”

“You will give me the ingredients that you get from hunting monsters! I’ll give you the position of Ingredient Hunter!”

“Ah. R-right! Th-thank you!”

The Sword Saint’s Descendant jumped for joy. Then, reality sank in. He mumbled blankly, “I became the Sword Saint’s Descendant just to hunt ingredients... I feel a bit ashamed...”

[Sword Saint’s Descendant Lee Tae-Jin was given the position of Ingredient Hunter.]

Meanwhile, the Child of Lightning, a God class player, looked anxious. He stammered, “Wh-what about me? What should I do?”

“I don’t think you’ll like it though... You don’t have to do it if you don’t like it...”

The Child of Lightning knew he had to stay by this girl’s side to become as strong as her.

“NO! Please give me a position too. I want to stay by your side!”

Philos looked at him and said, “Ahjussi, your job is to grill barbeque with your lightning.”

“...?”

[Child of Lightning James was given the position of Lightning Barbeque Griller.]

Stunned, the Child of Lightning murmured, “I became the Child of Lightning just to grill barbeque with my lightning... this... I feel a bit ashamed...”

Standing right next to him, the Sword Saint's Descendant murmured, “Yes. I’m the Sword Saint’s Descendant, but to use this class to search for ingredients... I feel ashamed...”

The two could not stop murmuring the exact words over and over again.

***

At the same time.

Minhyuk was checking Philos’ game window on his phone, which was possible only because he was her legal guardian.

Oh Changwook, watching beside him, looked at the screen incredulously.

‘You’re giving these kids, who can easily rank in the top 10,000 in the rankings once they develop, jobs like hunting ingredients and grilling barbeque with lightning? This is beyond common sense...’

Oh Changwook turned to look at Minhyuk.

‘Ah. This punk also made Grandpa Ben into a barista when he got him... He also made Kaistra into a dishwasher...’

Oh Changwook was stunned when he caught sight of Minhyuk’s red eyes and happy smile. The words “I’m so proud of you” were written on his face.

“As expected of my younger sister...”

“...”

Oh Changwook was rendered speechless when he heard the smugness in his tone.

‘Like brother, like sister?’