episode_0077

To be honest, I had thought it would be nice to have proper cooking tools.

Especially heating equipment.

‘I can’t keep cooking over a campfire forever, after all.’

At first, I thought it was a romantic way to cook and enjoyed it.

You know what I mean, right?

A fantasy life where you grill meat over a campfire while gazing at the beautiful wilderness!

Kyaaa~

So romantic~

…That’s what I thought back when I still liked it.

But after a few days, I started missing a gas stove where I could easily adjust the heat.

But then?

A magic tool that combines all modern heating appliances like gas stoves, microwaves, ovens, and deep fryers?

And it’s even portable?

Mr. Kim Taeyang.

What on earth have you created?

If you hand me such a groundbreaking product, I can’t help but itch to start cooking.

So I immediately headed to the blacksmith.

“The blacksmith?”

“Since we’re on the topic, I figured I’d get some new cooking tools too.”

The only cooking tools I have right now are a kitchen knife, cutting board, frying pan, and pot.

And even those are low-quality.

I just picked up whatever looked usable from the ruined village, so of course they’re not great.

But I’ve been using them as-is until now.

Why?

Because every time I went to the blacksmith, I’d think, ‘What weapon should I buy?’

But the thought ‘What cooking tools should I buy?’ never crossed my mind.

That’s why I never replaced them.

So.

Might as well change them now that I’ve thought of it.

If I don’t buy cooking tools now, who knows when I’ll get the chance again.

…As soon as I said that,

Serena glared at me with sharp eyes.

“You’ve been offering meals to a god with tools like that?!”

“And you’re only changing them NOW?!”

“You said the food you made with those scavenged tools was delicious, and you ate it just fine!”

“That just means it would’ve been even tastier if you’d used better tools!”

“Well… I guess?”

“Go buy the highest quality ones right now!”

“I was already planning to.”

After briefly checking the items—

‘These look good.’

A kitchen knife made from the sacred white steel, a specialty of the holy nation .

By RPG standards, it’s the strongest kitchen knife.

Why?

‘Because sacred white steel is a ridiculously overpowered metal.’

It doesn’t rust,

and it’s a hygienic metal that resists bacterial growth.

It even has a effect that keeps ingredients fresher with every cut.

It’s highly durable for long-term use,

and heat-resistant, making it great for frying pans and pots too.

Etcetera.

It’s the ultimate all-purpose metal for cooking tools!

Of course,

it’s also great for weapons and armor.

Gear made from sacred white steel gains a attribute, dealing extra damage to monsters and demons.

Though it does reduce damage against humans, but

that’s not a big deal.

Bandits?

At best, they’re B-rank, and most are C-rank—even with the damage reduction, they’re easy to handle.

Dark mages?

The zombies and skeletons they mainly use are weak to attacks.

Heretics?

They’re basically demon worshipers, so they’re treated the same as demons—meaning is their weakness.

…Thinking about it,

even when humans are the enemy, is often the stronger option.

So,

in this RPG world, the attribute is practically an all-purpose, near-invincible trait.

…That said,

it’s not without flaws.

‘The biggest downside is that it’s disgustingly expensive.’

Not just expensive—

it’s so ridiculously pricey that even max-level players struggle to afford it.

But.

With Serena here, that’s not a problem.

…Thinking that, I asked her.

Would she cooperate?

If she did, I could serve her top-tier meals made with top-tier tools.

If not, she’d have to settle for mediocre meals from mediocre tools.

“Permission granted—clank clank!”

“Nice.”

Serena gave her approval.

So,

time to act.

“Mr. Blacksmith.”

“What?”

“I’ll be taking this, that, and that one over there.”

“Those are pretty expensive. You got the money?”

“The Goddess of Light, Serena, will be covering the cost.”

“What?”

“It’s a direct order from Her Holiness.”

“She commanded me to use sacred white steel cooking tools to prepare the finest meals as offerings.”

“Is that true?!”

“It is.”

“No lunatic would dare lie using the Goddess’s name.”

“Ahem… That’s true…”

There are crazy bastards like the Pope who scam people in Serena’s name,

but normally, no one would dare.

Why?

Because if someone fraudulently uses Serena’s name, every god in the heavens would rain divine punishment on them until they begged for death.

‘Well…’

‘Right now, the heavens are cut off, so divine punishment isn’t happening.’

Anyway,

since I have Serena’s permission, it’s fine.

“Ahem…”

The blacksmith hesitated slightly before speaking.

“So… do you know how Her Holiness plans to provide the funds…?”

“I’ll give you options.”

“Options?”

“First option.”

“The hero who slays the Demon King will pay you back—double the amount, including interest.”

“Oho…”

“You’d repay me double for these expensive items?”

“If you pick the first option, yes.”

Double the price?

Right now, that’s impossible,

but after killing the Demon King, it’d be pocket change.

Selling just a few items from the Demon King’s treasury would make me filthy rich.

But,

there’s another option.

“Second option.”

“You get to speak face-to-face with the Goddess of Light, Serena, for five minutes.”

“WHAT?!!”

“You can talk to the Goddess of Light for five minutes?! And see her face?!!”

“But.”

“If you pick this, I take everything for free. Custom orders included.”

I showed him a rough sketch of the cooking tools I wanted.

Kitchen knives of all sizes—from thick cleavers to sharp sashimi blades—

as well as various utensils like ladles, tongs, and whisks.

Plus pots and pans of different sizes.

And all sorts of miscellaneous tools.

Wow~

You’d make all this for free?

No matter how I think about it, this is too much—

“I’ll take the second option!!!”

“?”

“I choose to speak with the Goddess of Light, Serena!!!”

…It worked?

“Uh… Are you sure?”

“Of course!”

“This is a chance to behold the visage of the great Goddess of Light! An opportunity I’d sacrifice everything for! How could I not choose this dreamlike option?!”

The blacksmith declared with solemn reverence.

“I choose the second option!”

“Only five minutes.”

“Understood!”

“You won’t regret it?”

“If necessary, I’d give my entire fortune!”

“Well… in that case…”

I took out the beam projector.

The first electronic device I pulled from the Holy Grail of Sacrifice yesterday—fresh out of the box.

Honestly, it’s a dud.

What can you even do with just a beam projector and no computer?

…Or so I thought,

but Kim Taeyang magically modified it on the spot.

Then,

he connected the Sword of Light’s Seal like a USB.

And—ta-da!

Now it could video-call the Goddess of Light, Serena!

I’d planned to use it to mess with the Pope later, but—

“Hmm…”

“Let’s make a deal first.”

“A deal?”

“Her Holiness has a declaration to make through this device in front of the entire nation.”

“The Goddess Herself?!”

“But if someone leaks it beforehand, things could get messy.”

“Understood! My lips are sealed!”

“I won’t say exactly when, but… within a few days, the Goddess will reveal Herself.”

“Until then, no matter who asks, I won’t breathe a word!”

“Good.”

“Then!…”

“Let me set this up.”

I connected the Sword of Light’s Seal like a USB,

moved the beam projector toward a white wall, and turned it on.

Serena’s figure appeared.

“Se…Serena?!”

“Serena. Connection good?”

“Good.”

“Great. Talk freely until this hourglass runs out.”

Clack!

I flipped the hourglass and stepped aside.

Five minutes later.

As promised, Serena ended the call,

and the blacksmith…

“I shall devote everything I have to the great Cain-nim!!!”

“?”

…suddenly bowed and declared he’d give everything.

“Uh… What did she say to you?… Why the sudden devotion?…”

“I heard everything!”

“Like?…”

“That Cain-nim is the Goddess’s only friend! And a man so remarkable that She entrusted Her precious daughter to him!”

“Uh… So you’re giving everything?”

“Yes!!! To be Cain-nim’s hammer is to be the hammer of the Goddess Herself!!! What greater honor could there be?!!”

The blacksmith spoke with tearful reverence.

Serena…

What kind of brainwashing did you do?…

Or is this normal?

Is this the average citizen of the holy nation ?

‘The people of are set up to have stronger faith than other nations…’

They’re the type to joyfully enslave themselves if it serves their god.

So,

I’ll gratefully make good use of him.

“In that case… I’d like to commission some tableware too…”

“Leave it to me!!!”

“And these cooking tools…”

“Just name it!!!”

“And also…”

“I’ll pour my soul into crafting them!!!”

The blacksmith agreed to make every cooking tool I could think of.

Oh~

This is the dream.

“Hehehe… Once these are done… new dishes… a new world… so delicious…”

Serena drooled in anticipation.

Oh~

Mr. Blacksmith.

The Goddess of Light Herself is this excited.

You’ve done a great service.

Clap clap clap.