“Isn’t it because of those eyes?”

“How did you even notice that!”

Her previously stoic demeanor crumbled instantly.

She was staring at me with her wide, blank, white eyes.

And in my view, I could see:

[Ingredient Identification (Enhanced)]

[Occupation: Spirit Mage]

[Trait: Spirit Vision]

No matter what, she probably never expected that anyone could peek at someone else’s status window.

‘A Spirit Mage with Spirit Vision.’

In our unit, it’s not unusual to see mages operating casually.

So having a Spirit Mage around isn’t all that strange.

But actually, encountering one feels quite peculiar.

‘If she knows about our unit, the only explanation must be that spirit thing of hers.’

Of course, it’s just a guess that she used a spirit or something.

I don’t know exactly how she did it.

“How, how do you even…?”

“Do I need to explain that to you?”

“Ugh.”

Judging by her surprised reaction, it seems like I hit the mark.

She must be very curious about how I discovered her abilities.

However,

I have no intention of explaining my abilities in detail.

“Anyway, it seems you’ve learned quite a lot about us with those eyes of yours.”

“…..”

“All this time you have been pretending that you don’t know anything about us, haven’t you? From our perspective, you tried to approach us while concealing the fact that you know a lot about us. How are we supposed to take that?”

I folded my arms and watched her reaction.

Depending on how she reacts, I would be able to understand the reasoning behind such an approach.

If she had reacted strongly, I would have quickly drawn the two knives forged by Grandpa Park, which were hanging on my waist.

However, that turned out to be unnecessary.

She simply let out a sigh and said, “It seems you already know everything.”

“Well, more or less.”

Actually, I didn’t know much about her.

All I could see with [Ingredient Identification (Enhanced)] were her stats.

I only made a rough guess based on the information Taejun provided.

I have no idea why she approached us or anything like that.

But I couldn’t tell her the truth, so I gave a vague answer.

She then spoke, seemingly resigned.

“I didn’t approach with any malicious intent.”

“So, you don’t deny the fact that you deliberately tried to approach us.”

“…Yes.”

Seeing her respond so compliantly,

I relaxed my posture, realizing I wouldn’t need to use my knives.

“Go ahead and explain.”

“Sigh, since you seem to know everything anyway, I should introduce this one first.”

Muttering as if this wasn’t part of the plan, she raised her hand.

As she spun her hand in the air,

Something squishy appeared around it.

A translucent, jelly-like figure became visible.

Although it wasn’t clear, I figured that must be the one.

“This is a water spirit. I’ve named it Bangul”

“A spirit…”

Ignoring the unusually cute name for now, I turned my gaze towards the translucent life form before my eyes.

I wondered what I would do if my skill didn’t work on it.

[Ingredient Identification (Enhanced)]

[Freshness: Excellent]

[Species: Water Spirit (Lesser)]

[Chef’s Eyes Activated]

[Acquired Junior Grade Cooking Secret: Enlightenment of Lesser Spirits Preparation]

Seems like my trait can even be used on spirits.

Information about spirits flooded my mind.

“Hmm, so this is the stat profile of a spirit.”

As I curiously observed this new entity, a ripple suddenly began to tremble across the translucent water droplet.

Rumble, rumble…

“Hm?”

“That’s odd.”

“What’s wrong?”

“This child, Bangul, seems to be afraid of you.”

No way.

What did I do?

“I think it might be because of your gaze just now.”

“My gaze is the problem? Is your spirit so sensitive that it dislikes it when someone looks at it?”

“No, it’s not that. It’s more like… Bangul is afraid because you gazed at it as your prey.”

“…Ah.”

Prey.

Hearing that word, it does strike a nerve.

Seems like my gaze was the problem.

[Trait – Ingredient Identification (Enhanced)]

[Skill – Chef’s Eyes]

I see.

So, the abilities that I have, like “Ingredient Identification” and “Chef’s Eyes”, essentially view this spirit as a food ingredient, in other words, prey.

Which means…

‘…Did it realize that it was being observed through Ingredient Identification?’

As spiritual beings, they seem to be quite sensitive to magic and supernatural abilities.

Now that’s an important piece of information for me there – that there are entities out there who are quite sensitive and can detect when I’m using my skills on them.

“Anyway, this child is the spirit I have contracted with.”

“Hm.”

“And my trait is, as you mentioned, these eyes.”

She tapped her eyes lightly.

“As you can see, I am blind.”

“Have you always been that way?”

“No, it hasn’t been long since I became blind. It’s the price of the contract. But in exchange, I gained a different kind of vision.”

“Different kind of vision?”

“Bangul.”

At her call, the translucent water spirit flew out of the window.

And as it did her previously closed eyes began to stare into the void.

It was somewhat of an eerie sight to witness.

But the most surprising thing came next.

“The area around here is surprisingly free of monsters and zombies.”

“What?”

“Oh, I see soldiers patrolling nearby. Is it thanks to them?”

The place where we were having this conversation was inside a building.

There was no way to see monsters or soldiers wandering around.

If someone could see such things.

It would be the spirit that just flew out of the window.

In other words.

“So, does that mean you are sharing you are vision with the spirit?”

“Yes, though it has many limitations.”

Goodness

A spirit that can fly through the sky and move around.

And you’re sharing your vision with that spirit?

When I heard that explanation, only one thing came to mind.

This…

“It’s like a drone, right?”

So, did she observe our unit like that?

When I saw the term “Spirit Vision,” I thought it might be a similar ability, but this…

This is far more powerful than I imagined.

“Bangul can operate from a distance as long as there’s flowing water nearby. That’s how we were able to discover your presence.”

Reflecting on the places we had stayed, I thought,

“There’s a stream running through the ammunition battalion. Or did it start from when we got drinking water at the barracks?”

All our bases were near flowing water.

It wasn’t just a coincidence – having a reliable water source was ideal for setting up a base.

Thanks to that, they could find us.

“I was honestly surprised to find a relatively intact military unit.”

She continued.

“It didn’t look like you were attacking other humans. Moreover, after reclaiming this place, you had enough weapons, right?”

“So, you wanted to make contact with us?”

“Yes. I thought I could propose a few trades.”

She sighed deeply.

“Since I was aware of your situation, I planned to act as if I didn’t know anything, providing necessary items or information to lead the trade in my favour.”

“Ah, I see.”

“…I don’t know how you figured it out, but it’s all for naught now.”

Indeed.

It’s a reasonable explanation.

And I have finally confirmed it now.

She didn’t approach with ill intentions.

Although trying to conduct the trade to her advantage is a bit annoying.

But it’s not inherently wrong.

However, there’s one thing I find a bit puzzling.

“If you knew we were a functional unit then wouldn’t it be more logical to join our unit rather than proposing a trade?”

“Ah, well…”

It’s a bit awkward to say this myself, but our unit is probably quite well-organized.

We’ve already succeeded in an occupation mission once.

We have many awakened individuals.

Resources are currently quite plentiful.

But…

“I did consider that, but there’s one problem.”

“What is it?”

A problem with our unit?

That’s something I need to listen to carefully.

I wondered what she was going to say.

“It’s you.”

“Pardon?”

Her gaze fixed on me.

…Me?

I’m the problem?

“To be precise, it’s more accurate to say it’s the food you prepare.”

“Oh.”

“I’ve seen the people who ate your food.”

As she spoke, she trembled as if frightened.

“I witnessed soldiers’ personalities change almost instantly. It was as if they became different people.”

“……”

“Honestly, it was a very scary sight.”

[Chef’s Special Sauce]

Out of all my skills and traits, this is probably the most powerful.

And the most dangerous one.

When used within the unit, everyone benefits from the buff effect.

So, generally, they don’t notice anything strange.

After the buff ends, there are some who find their actions odd.

Most interpreted it as mere battle excitement.

“But from an outsider’s perspective…”

It would look very different.

It would seem like the personalities of normal people were suddenly being rewritten.

“This skill really is a problem.”

A power that manipulates human emotions.

Once someone understands its effects, they’re bound to feel uneasy.

“So, I thought joining you was too risky. Instead, I decided to switch to establishing trade. From what I observed, it seemed safe as long as we didn’t trade food.”

“…I understand.”

“That’s all.”

The woman finished speaking and asked nervously,

“So, what will happen to me now?”

What will happen to her?

“Since I know your secret, are you going to eliminate me?”

“Eliminate you?”

“It would be impossible for me to escape with my abilities, so could you at least tell me what’s going to happen?”

Eliminate her…

I understand why she might think that.

“A power that people would avoid if they knew about it.”

The fewer people know about the [Chef’s Special Sauce], the more valuable it is.

So far, the only person roughly aware of it is Sergeant Lee Min-jae.

Now this woman knows, too.

Unlike Sergeant Lee, she can’t be trusted.

If I could get rid of her, it would be convenient.

But

“I won’t kill you.”

“If you spare my life, I won’t tell anyone… Pardon?”

“I said I won’t kill you.”

I recalled the journal of the ammunition battalion commander I read a few days ago.

Even in his final moments, he kept writing as a soldier.

Although I’m just a chef, I’ve been in a much better situation than them.

I won’t lose my sense of duty as a soldier.

Killing innocent civilians for my benefit…

I’m not in such a desperate situation.

“Well, as you mentioned, it would be problematic if you talked about my abilities, so there will have to be some restrictions.”

“Are you serious?”

Even if I say I’ll spare her, she doesn’t believe me.

“Do I look like a maniacal killer to you? Do you think I’d kill an innocent person for something like this?”

“What? Oh, um, no, it’s just…”

She seemed hesitant to answer my rhetorical question.

…Does she really think I would?

“I’m sorry. I think I was just really scared after seeing the effects of your cooking.”

“Is it really that frightening?”

“I hate to say this, but… your appearance is quite… sharp, which might have made me misjudge you.”

“…”

I’ve been noticing this lately.

Do I really look that intimidating?

I felt a bit hurt.

“Sigh. It’s fine. Anyway, you were trying to contact us but got unlucky and were attacked by plunderers. That’s the gist of it, right?”

“Well, not exactly.”

I tried to wrap up the conversation, but she frowned slightly.

“We were indeed suddenly attacked by plunderers, but I wouldn’t say it was just bad luck.”

“What do you mean?”

“I used Bangul’s power to carefully check our surroundings. There were no plunderers in the vicinity of our route.”

Hmm.

There seems to be more to this than I know.

“The plunderers who attacked us, I recognized a few faces. They wouldn’t know me, though.”

“People you’ve seen through your spirit vision, I assume.”

“Yes, they belong to the largest group of plunderers in this area. However, they usually operate much farther away.”

“Hmm.”

“These plunderers who weren’t even nearby suddenly attacked us. It’s as if they knew exactly where we were heading. This is…”

She closed her eyes briefly in contemplation before speaking again.

“It feels like we were betrayed.”

“Betrayed? By whom?”

“There are a few groups we share the information with. I wanted to earn their favour, so I shared some information I got through Bangul. A few days ago, I mentioned the military unit’s location and that we were heading there. The ones who knew our location and destination would be among those groups.”

I heard her grinding her teeth.

“Some of our members were taken by those plunderers. Returning kindness with betrayal…”

I didn’t know the full details, but it sounds like other groups they were in contact with betrayed them and sided with the plunderers.

“Hmm.”

This could be quite useful information for us.

After gathering my thoughts, I spoke.

“Your group members were captured?”

“Yes. Didn’t those plunderers mention it earlier? They said they could take the resources but just hand us over. They use captured people as slaves.”

“Slaves.”

It’s hard to believe that after only a few months, such a word would come up so naturally.

“Don’t you want to rescue your group members? And take revenge on the betrayers?”

“I do, but… it would be difficult. Those plunderers have quite a large force. With our strength alone, it’s impossible—”

” If strength is the issue, we can help you.”

“…?”

She looked at me as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

I replied calmly.

“If strength is the issue, we can help you. But there’s one condition.”

“Condition?”

“Earlier, you said you decided not to join our unit because you were scared of my cooking, right?”

“That’s… correct.”

“Cancel that decision and join our unit.”

Our unit has managed to establish a relatively stable foundation.

Now we need to expand, but the problem is the public perception of soldiers is in the gutter.

It’s difficult to convince survivors to join us through traditional means.

But what if we approach it with this kind of deal?

The woman hesitated to answer my proposal.

Of course, she would feel uneasy.

If she joins the unit, she’ll have to eat my cooking.

And who knows how that will affect her?

But from my perspective, this deal is full of advantages.

First, bringing her into the unit allows me to keep her from spreading word about my abilities.

And, if these plunderers are operating nearby, we’ll eventually have to confront them anyway, so meeting them sooner is quite beneficial.

Moreover, there’s another thing.

‘That spirit vision I saw earlier.’

A biological… no, a spiritual drone.

Relying on [Enhanced Hearing] to navigate a dangerous city is challenging.

But if a spirit can provide an aerial view?

Our operations would become much easier.

Honestly, I’m quite intrigued.

And then, after a considerable period of hesitation, she seemed to make up her mind.

“If we can rescue our captured comrades… then fine.”

“You’ve made a wise decision.”

I extended my right hand to her.

“It seems a bit late, but I’m Sergeant Shin Young-joon, the chef.”

“Ah, I’m Jeong Soo-ah.”

“I’m glad we could strike a good deal.”

After a brief handshake and introduction,

“Just tell us the location of those plunderers. We will go and rescue your comrades.”

“Huh? Oh.”

“Is there a problem?”

“Well, I don’t really know the plunderers’ location…”

Huh?

What does she mean by that?

“Didn’t you just say they operate quite far from here? So, you must know their location…”

“They are well-known because they’re a large group of plunderers, but I don’t know their exact base location.”

“What about Bangul? Can’t you ask your spirit?”

“As I mentioned, it has its limitations.”

She stroked the transparent bubble floating in the air.

“This little one can only operate near flowing water. Their base is probably not near water.”

“But it can’t be too far from water either.”

“The problem is with my own limitations, not Bangul’s.”

She sighed, rubbing her eyes.

“The distance I can see with my Spirit Vision depends on the condition of my eyes.”

“Ah.”

“I’ve been using my spirit vision a lot to observe your unit lately, so the distance I can see has decreased.”

Hmm.

“So, if your eye condition were to improve drastically, would it be possible to locate their base?”

“Uh, it might be possible. I roughly know the area they operate in, so if we search around there… But that’s not something I can perform easily. The Spirit Vision’s performance isn’t that simple to control “

“That’s fine. I have a method in mind.”

“A method?”

“You said you were scared of my cooking, right?”

“…Yes?”

She looked at me with a puzzled expression.

And I grinned widely, in response.

“Let’s see if you’ll still say that after trying my cooking.”

“…Hic.”