Gourmet Gaming-Chapter 1301

Chapter 1301

Hell had changed. It no longer had that rotten stench and those stagnant pools filled with putrid water. There weren’t even any terrifying skeletons or zombies roaming the lands anymore. On top of these changes, all the beings living in its lands had surprisingly become 10% better.

After witnessing the changes in Hell, Minhyuk wanted to return to the Land of the Gods and question the Absolute Gods. He didn't address the issue in his rush to save the God of Death. They had decided without hesitation that the best course of action was to block the bridge connecting Hell to the Land of the Gods.

However, Louis stopped Minhyuk before he could leave, saying, “It’s fine. From now on, I’ll try to approach them first.”

The winds of change finally blew over Hell and the Land of the Gods. From this point on, a small yet significant change was about to happen between these two lands that did not fit each other from the beginning.

Now that he had dealt with everything he had to deal with, Minhyuk returned to the Beyond the Heavens Empire. And he came back hungry.

Everyone has that one day when they get so tired that they have no appetite, but they must eat nonetheless—a day when they don't want anything grand, just something simple. And for Minhyuk, today was a day like that.

On days like this, there was no need to prepare special side dishes. Taking out some spam, salted squid, and seaweed, staples that could be found in the house, was enough. Furthermore, Minhyuk had received God of Death Louis’ gift, the Seaweed Tree.

Minhyuk cooked the spam until golden brown and placed it on a plate. Then, he squeezed out some catsup on the side.

‘Oops!’

He almost forgot something important! Koreans could never live without kimchi on their tables. Minhyuk quickly took out a plate of well-ripened kimchi. With that, all of the preparations were done. Minhyuk scooped a spoonful of rice. Then, he placed the very crispy and savory seaweed from the tree Louis had given him.

He had already checked the seaweed and was stunned to see how amazing it was.

‘It won’t wilt or get soggy if it comes into contact with the air, moisture, or the heat.’

It was the seaweed that anyone in the world would want!

The crispy texture of the seaweed greeted him when he took a bite, followed immediately by the sweet aftertaste of the perfectly cooked rice. Then, he scooped another considerable spoonful of rice. This time, he added a heaping of salted squid.

“The salted squid is the real rice thief!”

He only ate a small amount of salted squid, but he was able to finish it with a bowl of rice. This time, he ate his rice with some spam and catsup. With the sweetness of the catsup complementing the saltiness of the spam, it was a side dish that anyone would love. Nevertheless, the fact that it was a side dish that called for more rice remained the same.

“Huh?” Minhyuk hummed in confusion.

‘I have only eaten a few mouthfuls, is it already gone?’

When Minhyuk did not have any appetite(?), there was a combination that he loved to eat. It was mulbap.

He scooped another bowl of hot rice and then poured some broth over it. The broth he used for the mulbap was what seeped out of the uncut kimchi. He gently stopped the kimchi as he poured the broth all over his rice.

Weren’t there times when one would look at the kimchi and they would know for sure that it was already deliciously ripe? The kimchi that Minhyuk was using right now was precisely that. He carefully tore some of the kimchi and put it in his mouth. The taste alone was enough to leave him in awe.

The taste of the deliciously ripe kimchi’s water added to the mulbap was enough to whet one’s appetite. It was a charm that no kimchi could ever have. What if he ate some of the salty spam with the mulbap?

‘Kghhhk. This is amazing! So amazing!’

Exclamations of awe would naturally come out. The best part? The seaweed Louis had given him did not grow soggy even after putting it on top of the mulbap!

Minhyuk finished his meal by slurping the mulbap broth. After drinking the last drop, the notification rang in his ears.

[You have eaten the Seaweed Filled with the God of Death’s Affection.]

[All of your stats have permanently increased by 1.]

The Seaweed Tree, grown by the God of Death, would always produce this special seaweed once every month. freewēbnoveℓ.com

‘Are you saying I can increase my stats by one every month?’

Minhyuk felt very grateful to the God of Death, Louis. He promised himself that he would cook delicious meals for Louis regularly.

***

Beanie had been in a bad mood lately. He had seen Minhyuk and Philos's relationship, and anyone could tell he was like a true older brother to the young girl. Of course, Beanie did not feel bad because Philos and Minhyuk were close. He sincerely supported their relationship and cared deeply for both of them.

He was in a bad mood because he was feeling lonely. Beanie felt a void in his chest that only family could fill.

“Oink...”

When Beanie walked down the street late in the evenings, he would see women welcoming their husbands home from work and parents coming out to meet their children from the academy.

Of course, he also had people who were very close and dear to him, like Minhyuk, a very reliable and beloved older brother. What Beanie longed for was a person whom the humans referred to as someone they were comfortable confiding in and someone who could give them everything.

‘I wonder who gave birth to me, oink?’ Beanie suddenly wondered.

After thinking about it, he realized that someone must have given birth to him. That should be the case! Beanie was sure that he also had a mother!

At that moment, Grandpa Ben saw the sad Beanie. He approached the baby piggy and listened to his story.

“Oink! Oink, oink. Hwiiiiiiik. Oooink!”

“I see. So, that’s why. You’re very curious, huh?”

Surprisingly enough, Ben understood Beanie’s words perfectly.

Beanie turned to Ben with his limpid and shining eyes and asked, “Oink, oink, oiiiiiiink... (What kind of person is my mother, oink...)”

“...” Ben remained silent. He could not bring himself to say, ‘They’re a pig...’ So, he just looked up at the sky and answered, “Your mother is in the sky, Beans.”

“O-oiiiink...?” Beanie hummed, surprised. Was his mother still alive? He hurriedly asked, “Oink. Oink, oink. Oiiiiiink. (How can I meet my mother, oink?!)”

“It’s not that difficult. If you ask someone about our mother, they will know the answer. But it’s challenging to meet her. So, you should give up. Sometimes, it’s better just to have them in your heart...”

“Oiiiiiiiiink! (I’ll leave now!)”

“...?!”

Ben was left flustered. He made it up on the fly because he did not have a clue about the secrets of Beanie’s birth. Regardless, it seemed like Beanie’s curiosity for his family ran so deep that his vague words could not stop him from moving.

“Beans... How will you get to the world up ther—”

‘Ah...’

After thinking about it, Ben realized that Beanie had once worked as a delivery guy at Minhyuk’s Restaurant in the Land of the Gods.

“Oink. Oink, oink. Oiiiiink! (I’m going now. Oink!)” Beanie said, moving quickly to find his mother.

Ben smiled faintly when he saw Beanie running excitedly. He chuckled nervously, “We’re in trouble. Hoho...”

***

The God of Merchants lost the bet with Minhyuk, but he grew fascinated by the man. Because of that, he volunteered to take charge and handle the restaurant’s affairs. As the most outstanding businessman in the world, the God of Merchants had increased the sales of Minhyuk’s Restaurant in the Land of the gods step by step from the moment he took charge of its operations.

In addition to the delivery and review systems that Minhyuk introduced, the God of Merchants introduced another system: the VIP system, which depended on the number of deliveries they made in a month.

[This month’s VIP: Athenae.]

“...Mother?”

Athenae was the God of Origin and the mother of all beings. Because of a single review given by Athenae that was still posted in the restaurant, a legend had been created and passed on in the Land of the Gods.

[The coffee was delicious. The free cake given is also tasty. Unfortunately, the delivery guy is a bit rude.]

This review became a legend because people could not imagine that someone dared to be rude to Athenae, the God of Origin, and one of the Pillars supporting the world.

New Pillars were emerging in the world. The Pillar of the Gourmands had been born into the world, and just yesterday, the God of Death became the Pillar of Life and Death and created huge waves. Despite all of this, the fact that Athenae was the most outstanding Pillar remained the same. This was a never-changing fact, whether in the past, the present, or the future.

Yet someone dared to act rudely toward her?

‘The delivery guy was said to have been fired right away. Rumor has it that they had received the most terrifying punishment in the world.’

Of course, they were only rumors. The God of Merchants considered this to be a given. It was only natural for someone to receive such punishment for daring to do something like that to Mother Athenae, no?

At that moment... A baby piggy suddenly appeared before him and asked him, “Oink. Oink, oink. Oink...! (Do you know where Our Mother is, oink?!”

“Huh?”

‘Our Mother? Of course, I know.’

It would be more strange if someone did not know who and where they were in the Land of the Gods.

“If you go that way, you can find her.”

“Oink!” The baby piggy shouted and saluted in thanks before running in the direction he pointed at.

As the God of Merchants looked at the running piggy, he suddenly thought of something.

“How did a pig get here...?”

***

Beanie continued to run and inquire. The more he asked, the closer he got to where his mother was. Surprisingly, everyone in the Land of the Gods knew who Beanie’s mother was. But for some strange reason, he felt as if the path that he was taking was somewhat familiar. It was as if he had been to this place before.

Beanie’s heart thumped wildly as he stood before his mother’s abode. ‘I wonder what kind of person my mother is?’ As the thought flashed in his head, the door of the abode opened, and the figure of his mother appeared.

Beanie was left shocked, a tremor running through his body. Beanie and his mother had been acquainted before.

‘My mother, who was separated from me from birth, has always been close to me. It’s like in those ridiculous dramas and soap operas... Oink...’

It seemed like Beanie’s life story was just like those soap operas and dramas. Especially because... their relationship was not good. When he first met his mother, Beanie did not know who she was. He got angry at her and said, ‘Hurry up and pay. Oink!’ The worst part? He secretly ate half of the free cookies for the review event and only gave half to his mother!

‘Ah! How can I do something so rude and immoral!’

Beanie could not shamelessly approach his mother anymore. At the same time, he blamed and hated himself for doing something so terrible to his mother. He turned around and ran into the rain, which suddenly appeared.

“Oiiiink!”

The people living in the Land of the Gods looked at Beanie in surprise.

“...?”

Why was a baby piggy with his bulging belly running and screaming during one of the rare rainy days in the Land of the Gods? It was quite a shocking sight.

Meanwhile, Beanie made a vow after running for a very long time. He said to himself, ‘I will be good to you from now on. I will be filial! Oink!’

Beanie hurriedly returned to Earth to meet Minhyuk.

“You want to work part-time as a delivery guy in the Land of the Gods again?”

“Oink...” Beanie nodded.

“Then, will you treat customers rudely again?”

Beanie looked up at Minhyuk with an expression that screamed, ‘Trust me, I won’t!’

“Alright. Did you suddenly find something that you want to buy?”

Beanie looked out the window, his expression filled with deep sadness and weariness.

‘You don’t understand what I’m feeling... Oink...’

***

The customer that the delivery guys in Minhyuk’s Restaurant wanted to avoid the most was Athenae. To be fair, Athenae did not do anything to them. In fact, she did not even put any pressure on them. It was solely because the delivery guys felt chilled to the core just by looking at her.

‘Huh?’

The God of Merchants was stunned to see the baby piggy he had seen the other day. The pig came to him and told him he would work as a delivery guy for the restaurant. The baby piggy even came with Minhyuk’s recommendation letter.

As the restaurant owner, Minhyuk could easily hire new employees as he pleased. Right now, Minhyuk had told the God of Merchants that this baby piggy would be the delivery guy exclusively assigned to Athenae. Since all the other delivery guys avoided Athenae, the God of Merchants welcomed this employee with open arms.

‘Mother... Oink...’

Beanie was happy to meet his mother, even though it was just like this. Like the tiger in the traditional folk tale The Tiger Brother[1], Beanie gave more food to Athenae whenever she placed an order. Beanie was very happy he could be filial and caring to his mother like this. Just like that, Beanie delivered Athenae’s orders every day.

Then, one day...

Ring!

[God of Origin Athenae is participating in the review event.]

Athenae participated in another review event and wrote her second review.

***

Minhyuk wondered if Beanie was doing well in his deliveries. At the same time, he wondered if Minhyuk’s Restaurant in the Land of the Gods was also running smoothly. So, he visited the Land of the Gods.

He approached the God of Merchants, who had a bizarre expression on his face, and asked, “What’s the matter?”

“Battle God. Mother Athenae has written another review, but...”

Minhyuk’s eyes grew wide. Athenae giving another review would create another massive wave of effect. And when he checked the review...

[The food is delicious as always. The delivery guy has become kind but... always keeps calling me ‘Mom’...]

“B-Beans...?”

1. a traditional folk tale in Korea, check this link out: https://feathersandfolktales.com/diemdangersblogposts/tiger-brother ☜