Gourmet Gaming-Chapter 1329

Chapter 1329

Ruba had to slap Athenae’s right cheek. He could already imagine her expression if he slapped her. Her expression would be filled with both confusion and disbelief. Unfortunately, he was an Evaluator who had made the Evaluator’s Oath. He had to keep the oath that he had made.

The only way for Ruba to get out of this oath was if Minhyuk told him he did not have to do it. But Ruba’s pride did not allow him to bend and bow to Minhyuk. He would die on this hill if he had to.

At that moment, Philip finally let go of Minhyuk after a long and tight hug. Minhyuk slowly approached Ruba. He leaned forward and whispered, “From now on, I will be your grandfather.”

“...”

“Why is my grandchild so thin and sloppy?”

‘Yeah. This bastard is this kind of person. He will not only deceive and cheat his opponent but also take this opportunity to mock them the moment he finds a small gap to exploit.’

The worst part? He was the one who acted as if he had no choice but to receive the envy and admiration of the people. Ruba did not want to be mocked and ridiculed by this man anymore. So, he took one step toward Athenae. Suddenly, Minhyuk placed a hand on his shoulder before he could even put his foot down.

“I’ll let the part where you need to slap others go. I don’t want to see you do something so reckless and stupid either.”

Ruba, saved from something reckless, looked at Minhyuk in confusion. If he were in Minhyuk’s position, he would enjoy seeing the man slap Athenae in the face.

At this moment, Ruba realized, ‘Was the bad relationship between us caused by my pride and arrogance?’

After looking back at everything, he realized the reason why they were beaten in the Beyond the Heavens Empire was because they broke the arms and legs of their guards. Everything was because of their own mistake.

At the same time, he thought, ‘Those guards must have felt confident because they have someone like him to rely on.’ After all, they have a master who would run this far for them. Anyway, Ruba was looking at him anew.

[Ruba’s favor has increased significantly.]

This notification rang in Minhyuk’s ears.

Not long after, Chaos’ voice echoed in Ruba’s ears.

[Return with the other evaluators.]

Ruba went to the Pillars and said, “I will leave first. Lord Chaos has called for us.”

Because of the oath that he had made, Ruba had now become Minhyuk’s grandson. Although the relationship was strange, he would not go back on his words.

Ruba slowly sneaked up to Minhyuk and said, “Grandfather, I’ll be going first.”

Perhaps Minhyuk only said it as a joke. There was no way that he would act like he was his grandfather, right?

“Go on.”

“...”

‘I don’t like this freaking bastard,’ Ruba thought, leaving the assembly hall in a hurry.

After leaving the assembly hall, Ruba met with the other evaluators. They immediately returned and met with Chaos despite the confusion caused by the sudden callback.

“Lord Chaos, Philip has compromised and agreed to make the Pillar Disasters again.”

One of the reasons Ruba accepted Minhyuk as his grandfather today was that he had helped him escape disposal.

[I see.]

Chaos voiced his satisfaction after knowing that one misaligned balance had been corrected. But then...

“Keheok!”

“Kyack!!!”

“Keuhack?!”

Ruba heard someone groaning and screaming behind him. He could even hear someone scratching the ground with their fingernails as they struggled against something.

Ruba instinctively turned his head when he heard the unmistakable sound of struggles. What he saw was the evaluators grabbing and clawing at their throats as if they were being suffocated. It did not take too long for Ruba to suffer the same fate.

[It seems like your memories are starting to return.]

Ruba grabbed his throat, trying so hard to breathe as he rolled around on the ground.

Chaos’ blank eyes turned to Arshad.

[The evaluators can only go down, roam the earth, and do things related to the Pillars, the candidates, and the balance of the world.]

[I can’t believe you dared to go down to earth without my explicit permission.]

At this moment, Ruba discovered that he was not the only one who had seen fragments of memories from the past in their heads. It seemed like Arshad had also seen a fragment of her memory. Because of that, she went down to earth to find any leads that were connected to those fragments of memories.

[You are all terminated and to be disposed of. I will have to choose new Pillar Evaluators.]

Just when Chaos was about to disappear in a flash of light, another memory flashed in Ruba’s head. His memory showed the figure of a woman smiling brightly. The memory left Ruba sad. Why? Because he was standing in front of that woman with a happy smile, too.

‘What kind of person was I in the past? Why am I being used as a tool and being discarded without knowing anything about my past?’

“I... will not be discarded and disposed of.”

Ruba had already started to prepare since a memory fragment flashed in his head and he began looking for the remaining pieces. Why did he prepare that early on? Because he knew Chaos more than anybody else in the world.

Chaos would do anything and everything just to maintain the balance of the world. Did that mean that he was evil? Well, Ruba did not have an answer to that. After all, the beings living in this world cannot be all good and kind, no? Just like how Chaos should exist as Athenae existed.

Ruba did not blame Chaos. In the end, the reason why they became the Pillar Evaluators was because of him. Even so, he did not want them to be disposed of so easily like that.

Rip!

Ruba, still in a state of suffocation, hurriedly ripped a scroll.

[You have ripped the Breaking the Limits Scroll.]

He did not do this just because he wanted to live.

‘I am also the commander of these people.’

Yes. Ruba wanted to protect his men. With the parchment torn apart, they could transcend their limits. With their power going over their limits, they could forcefully cut off Chaos’ power that had tightened its hold on their necks.

[The link that connects you to Chaos has been broken.]

Ruba could feel the air enter his lungs again when the link connecting them was broken. The same was true for Ruba’s men. Ruba immediately opened a warp gate.

He looked at the terrified evaluators and shouted, “Run! Enter the portal! Quick!”

Alas, they could not move.

“Are you going to let yourself be disposed of just like this?! Without knowing who you truly are?! Without knowing what kind of person you were and what kind of life you had before?!”

Chaos’ power fell and started to force the warpgate to close. When the evaluators saw the portal slowly get smaller, they panicked and ran desperately to the portal.

Chaos’ overwhelming power shook the ground and almost tilted the world as it moved to engulf and devour them. Ruba hurriedly swung his sword and shot a force that countered the stretching power.

BANG!

A massive explosion erupted as Ruba crossed the still-open portal.

Swoosh!

Exhaustion stained Chaos’ face as he stared at the closed portal.

[This is why those who regained their memories should be disposed of.]

Chaos could not exert his power recklessly on Earth. He maintained the balance of the world, which meant that he could not break it.

[It seems like I have to send the previous generation evaluators.]

He intended to use the previous generation of evaluators to run after the evaluators and dispose of them.

***

After Ruba left the assembly hall, Minhyuk approached Philip amidst the expectant gazes of everyone present and asked, “I’m very sorry to say this, but... can I ask you for a favor?”

“Anything. I will do anything and everything that you want.”

“Can you help us make the Pillar Disasters again?”

Minhyuk explained to him about the embarrassing situation that the Pillars were now facing and the balance of the world. Everyone kept quiet and listened nervously to the two.

Philip had been imprisoned and exploited for thousands of years. He might just refuse. He stayed quiet and looked like he had been agonizing over the matter for a long time. Then, Philip laughed.

“If it’s for them, I don’t like it and would refuse. But if it’s for you, it’s fine with me.”

“Thank you, Grandpa Philip.”

Philip glared coldly at Athenae. In his gaze, there was also a strand of resentment reserved for Chaos, who was not present at the moment.

“I’m not doing this because I have good feelings toward you all.”

[You have completed the Hidden Quest: Persuading Philip.]

When Athenae had proposed that Minhyuk persuade Philip, a quest solely for him was created.

[You can make a wish to Athenae and Chaos. They will fulfill it as long as it is within their means.]

The reward was quite hefty.

‘Perhaps this is much greater than the Pillar Creation Authority I received recently.’

After all, this reward allowed him to demand whatever he wanted, depending on what he needed.

“Let’s go to the Beyond the Heavens Empire. It’s been a while since I’ve spent time with my dear Minhyuk after all,” Philip said.

Minhyuk looked up at Philip, who disappeared with a flash of light.

[Haa...]

Athenae breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, they were able to solve one big task.

‘Then, will the assembly end here?’

They had discussed all the issues that needed to be addressed, and the most critical issue was dealt with brilliantly. Minhyuk believed that Athenae would adjourn the meeting now.

[Pillar of the Gourmands.]

“Yes?”

[I have a favor to ask of you.]

The expression on Athenae’s face was somber. She chewed her lips as if pushing herself to say it after thinking about it for a long time. Then, she licked her lips and said...

[Can you cook Chinese food for me?]

“...huh?”

***

Since Athenae had been with Beanie these days, she had heard many stories about Minhyuk. Most of the stories were related to food, but there was one cuisine that she found particularly interesting: Chinese cuisine.

Beanie often praised tangsuyuk, which was eaten with jjampong, jjajang, and fried rice. He said that it tasted amazing!

According to Beanie, it was usually eaten when they could not think of anything or on days when they suddenly craved noodles. He even declared that it was best to eat on days when they felt hungry but only wanted to roll around and eat.

–Minhyuk makes the best Chinese food! Oink!

Beanie said that she should definitely try tangsuyuk. He also said that it tasted best when fresh out of the pan and that she would be able to hear the heavenly harmony if she dipped it in sauce and ate it as it was.

Beanie looked very solemn when he emphasized...

–You have to dip the golden strips of fried tangsuyuk in sauce! Oink! Otherwise, the tangsuyuk will go soggy. Oink!!!

Of course, deliveries were available in the Land of the Gods. Nonetheless, Athenae held back and waited for this day. Even though she had been thinking of eating tangsuyuk hundreds of times a day, she held back and endured for this day.

She clasped her hands together and looked at Minhyuk, her eyes shining brightly and her lips trembling in nervousness.

Minhyuk nodded and said, “Then, how about we have a meal before going our ways?”

Athenae immediately brightened. How many things in her life had brought her happiness? There were only a few, but she was sure this was one of them!

“What do you want to eat?”

Athenae chose jjajangmyeon. With the order placed, Minhyuk began to cook. Athenae felt extremely excited as she watched Minhyuk’s back as he performed his splendid control of flames.

One by one, the dishes were placed on the table. Athenae happily and excitedly stared at the glossy jjajangmyeon in front of her.

Minhyuk stared at Athenae’s red cheeks and realized one thing. He thought, ‘In the end, she’s no different from us.’

With a faint smile, Minhyuk placed the well-fried tangsuyuk in the middle of the table. Athenae trembled. The freshly fried tangsuyuk was still glistening with oil. This was the dish that was crispy yet juicy once it was bitten! And from what she heard, the tangsuyuk made by the Pillar of the Gourmands used lean meat and was very chewy and succulent.

Athenae gulped unknowingly. Perhaps she was eager to try this dish. Unfortunately, Minhyuk was not yet seated. Athenae could not just eat like that. After all, she was a god with manners.

Minhyuk sat down with a faint smile on his face. He could not help but smile when he saw her waiting around like a good girl with puppy dog eyes. He said, “Well then, shall we start eating?”

A smile bloomed on Athenae’s face. She felt like she was the world's happiest god right now. Just when she was about to stretch her chopsticks toward the freshly fried tangsuyuk, something happened.

“You have to pour the sauce into the tangsuyuk.”

Someone poured the sauce over the tangsuyuk. The sweet and sour sauce slowly covered the golden and crispy meat.

The one who poured the sauce was none other than... Hephaestus. He even made sure to pour the sauce evenly over the pork. At that moment, an intense and overwhelming killing intent rushed toward Hephaestus.

[My tangsuyuk...]

[God of Origin Athenae says that she hates The Maker!]

[MY TANGSUYUUUUUUUK!!!]

“Wh-whaaa...?”

Yes. Hephaestus was someone who lacked tact.