On My First Day Undercover, the Organization Collapsed - Chapter 192
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Organization Collapsed on My First Day of Infiltration Episode 192
A Person Who Recognizes Value (2)
You’re not invited to a banquet alone.
Besides Ziel, dozens of people were sitting at tables enjoying meals and drinks.
The food served was generally similar.
In other words.
Special cuisine becomes a symbol of power or prestige in itself.
However, this was the first time someone like Ziel had moved the Head Chef to present them with special cuisine.
“My goodness, look there. That table.”
“Who is that? The Head Chef is serving personally?”
“The cuisine looks incredible too…”
Naturally, all eyes were drawn there.
Gazes full of envy and amazement!
It was just a single plate.
But the cuisine that Head Chef Rayman confidently served contained all of his philosophy.
“Thank you for waiting, Teacher Ziel.”
The plate contained art.
Even the discerning artist Mortis muttered blankly upon seeing it.
“This is… the ultimate limit of art expressed through food.”
Rayman opened his mouth with a confident expression.
“Deer tenderloin cooked at low temperature with charred leek puree, truffle, and special sauce cooked for 72 hours.”
“I see.”
“Yes. The deer was slowly confited in special butter at low temperature, allowing you to naturally taste the meat’s inherent flavor. Then, to maximize the meat’s taste, we topped it with leek puree, and after finely grinding roasted potato and straining it through a sieve…”
As the explanation continued, the speed of swallowing saliva also increased.
Ziel thought.
‘I want to eat it quickly.’
He wanted to put all of that in his mouth right away and experience all those flavors.
“…Finally, the sauce was made by reducing deer bones with spices, vegetables, and wine, and finished with a drop of wild herb oil. That concludes the explanation. When eating, please place puree on a piece of meat and dip it in the sauce.”
As soon as the explanation ended, Ziel cut a piece of meat with his knife, placed puree on it as instructed, dipped it in sauce, and put it in his mouth.
Then, his eyes widened at the tremendous feast of flavors surging in his mouth.
‘So this is what taste is.’
Perfect cooking of the meat!
‘It’s even.’
The surging aroma of spices!
‘It’s diverse.’
The aroma of leek and potato felt completely!
‘Fragrant and savory.’
And even the presence of sauce that added deep umami to the inherent flavors of these ingredients!
‘The most perfect food I’ve ever eaten.’
Ziel reached a conclusion.
And he savored it for a long time, thinking repeatedly.
The words he finally spoke were—
“It’s delicious.”
It was the highest praise Ziel could give.
“It was the most delicious food I’ve ever eaten.”
Ziel doesn’t know flowery language.
He doesn’t know expressions meant to please others, nor does he feel the need to use them.
Therefore, he gave the highest praise he could offer.
And he spoke honestly.
“I haven’t tried all the ingredients you mentioned, and since I’m encountering them for the first time today, I can’t compare which taste belongs to what.”
This was something Rayman had never expected to hear.
He thought Ziel was an incredible gourmet, but there were many ingredients he was trying for the first time?
‘This can’t be. Yet he still identified the tastes with such surprising accuracy?’
“However, when eating the meat, I tasted a hidden sourness within the savory flavor, and confirmed the umami that emerged with each bite. In the puree you mentioned, I felt savory flavor along with sourness, sweetness, and spiciness.”
“…!”
He caught it again.
The kick that the Head Chef had added to the puree!
That was precisely the spicy flavor.
It was added so subtly, just enough to support other flavors, that it should have been impossible to detect.
‘He said he doesn’t know the ingredients. He probably can’t recognize them by sight either, but this is truly amazing…’
“Finally, the sauce seems to contain something with very good flavor, but since I don’t know the ingredients, it’s difficult to guess what it is. However, that very subtle aroma seems to have completed the taste.”
It was one surprise after another.
Rayman was overwhelmed with emotion after emotion.
To receive such an accurate evaluation that understood his intentions perfectly.
Rayman showed the best courtesy he could offer.
“Thank you, Teacher Ziel. This is the highest praise I could have hoped for.”
Drip.
A single tear rolled down Rayman’s cheek.
Imperial Head Chef.
It was a lonely position.
A position always filled with tension and always overflowing with pressure.
Even so, he had rarely heard such praise before.
Just that it’s delicious.
Sometimes that it doesn’t suit one’s taste.
Being a chef is a profession where it’s difficult to satisfy everyone.
But if you can satisfy someone to the utmost, there’s no greater joy than that.
Ziel completed his praise by instantly cleaning his plate spotless.
“Thank you for the meal.”
“Thank you, Teacher Ziel.”
Could there be a more perfect day than this?
He had gained one perfect memory he could recall whenever times got tough.
That was the greatest gift.
“Teacher Ziel, you just received an incredible honor.”
Emeric made a fuss after Rayman left.
But it wasn’t excessive fussing at all, and Mortis agreed as well.
“Teacher, you just tasted art spread across a plate!”
“I ate venison.”
“It was art, I tell you!”
“Venison with puree and sauce.”
“…That’s what art is.”
But Ziel agreed with one fact.
“It was delicious.”
The fact that it was delicious.
So he even said this:
“If possible, I’d like to kidnap him and make him cook for life.”
“…!”
“Of course, I only imagined that.”
Shiver!
It seemed like Ziel might actually be capable of it.
‘Should I hide my abilities a bit?’
‘Am I going to get kidnapped?’
While the two were trembling.
An Imperial Administrator came looking for them.
“Teacher Ziel Steelheart?”
“Yes.”
“His Imperial Highness is looking for you right now.”
After the Head Chef, now Prince Franz too!
Their trembling became even more intense.
“Why is he looking for me?”
“…”
The administrator hesitated at Ziel’s question.
Normally one would jump up immediately and ask to be guided, but this reaction was somewhat unexpected.
“He says he has something urgent to discuss with you.”
“What kind of discussion?”
Ziel was simply asking out of curiosity.
Because the reason was important.
But the administrator thought differently.
‘When royalty calls, you should just get up and go…’
Still, he had to endure it!
Why?
Because this was a man His Imperial Highness was showing interest in!
If he said something wrong and ruined things, he’d be the one taking all the blame.
“…He says he has something to give to Teacher Ziel Steelheart.”
Since he said he’d give a gift, this should be enough…
“Give me what?”
The administrator ended up telling everything.
‘His Highness said he wanted to surprise you.’
“That… he says he’ll treat you to the Imperial Palace’s special cuisine that only the most exalted beings can taste.”
Upon hearing the answer, Ziel immediately stood up without hesitation.
“Please guide me.”
‘Maybe I should have just told him from the beginning.’
At the center of that table.
“Oh, Teacher Ziel. Welcome. Here, please sit this way.”
“….”
Franz glared at the Administrator, and the Administrator deliberately avoided his gaze.
“…It was supposed to be a surprise plan, but it failed.”
“Anyway, please sit. Being invited to this table is a very special occasion.”
“Oh, Mr. GEL. Welcome. Here, please sit this way.”
I heard there’s delicious food here.
Since he seemed to like gourmet food, if he showed him delicious food, his heart would surely be swayed!
Nobles who call themselves gourmets might refuse millions of gold, but they never turn down rare ingredients.
“…It was a plan to surprise you, but it failed.”
Is that so?
“…Weren’t you a gourmet?”
Not a gourmet?
It’s the prince’s table.
“….”
‘The plan went awry.’
He had tried to win favor by feeding him food that only Royal Family could taste!
Franz’s intention was only half successful.
“Oh, is that so?”
GD will do the same.
“How was he invited to the Royal Table….”
The nobles who claimed to be gourmets swallowed their saliva in maddening envy.
“His eating speed and quantity are tremendous.”
“Look, look! He doesn’t even seem to know how to eat it!”
Gourmets who didn’t know what to do with envy and jealousy!
Ziel focused on the pure act of eating.
Franz was also surprised.
The fact that he ate cleanly!
Anyway, it was satisfying.
“I, I see. I didn’t know that… But how does one go about writing such food reviews?”
“It’s delicious. Especially this potato is delicious.”
He was a completely unpredictable person.
The plan went awry.
I was trying to win favor by feeding you food that only royalty could taste!
But since I like delicious food, I’ll go with this for now.
Franz’s plan was only half successful.
G.L. really enjoyed the meal.
It’s very delicious.
“Oh, is that so?”
The flavors are diverse.
It’s just that the desired reaction didn’t come because they didn’t know about the precious ingredients that went into it.
“I’m jealous… Isn’t that person Teacher G.L.?”
“How did I get invited to the royal family’s table…”
“Oh my goodness, that, that food! Didn’t they put saffron in it?”
“It looks like they even have top-grade truffles…”
The nobles who prided themselves as gourmets were instead swallowing their saliva in mad envy.
Just one minute over there.
If only I could sit and eat for just 1 minute!
The speed and amount they’re eating is incredible.
“He’s not even savoring it like that…!”
“Hey, hey! It looks like you don’t even know how to eat it!”
Food enthusiasts who don’t know what to do with their envy and jealousy!
Whatever.
G.L. focused on the pure act of eating.
Why are you eating so much…?
Franz was also surprised.
But there was something even more surprising.
It’s about eating cleanly and neatly!
Despite eating so quickly with chomping and chewing sounds, rather than seeming messy, it actually felt elegant.
Eating a lot with class.
Two things that are hard to coexist!
Anyway, I was satisfied.
It’s proof that you’re enjoying the food.
“You’re eating it with great relish. Do you like it?”
It’s delicious. This potato is especially tasty.
“Oh. That’s called a black potato – it only grows in the deep northern lands. The taste is absolutely exquisite. The Romet family presents the finest black potatoes as tribute every year, and they’re truly delicious.”
The taste of the black potato must have been quite impressive!
So since the topic came up, he subtly emphasized it.
“If you want, you could have meals like this every day.”
“If I want to?”
“That’s right. I can make that happen for you. I am a prince of this Empire, after all.”
Ziel pondered for a moment before asking.
“Why?”
“Because, Teacher Ziel, I want you as a person.”
Finally, the proposal he had been building up to!
Of course, he didn’t expect it to go well from the start.
“What doesn’t fit, we can figure out as we clash together. I want you as a talent. Would you like to try getting along with me once?”
It was propaganda all the way…
“Then you want to spar?”
Ziel had been continuously reading books recently.
“Sp-spar? Why is the conversation going that way…?”
“The part about figuring things out while clashing, and trying to get along once. I read about it in a book.”
Ziel had read a novel.
In it, an enemy who challenged the protagonist to a duel had said something like this.
‘He said let’s get along by dancing with swords.’
Franz was so dumbfounded he lost his words and started stammering.
This feeling of his thoughts freezing when a completely unexpected answer came out!
“I mean…”
“If it’s not a recruitment offer but a sparring request, I’ll consider it. There’s one reason I’m hesitant. His Imperial Highness Prince Franz Valdrain is a mage. But I don’t know how to use magic. Either I would need to learn magic, or His Imperial Highness Prince Franz Valdrain would need to learn swordsmanship or equivalent martial arts.”
In an instant, Franz found himself in the position of sparring with a legendary former assassin!
Of course, he had no way of knowing he was a former assassin, but he had heard plenty about Ziel’s excellent swordsmanship skills.
‘Spar with this teacher?’
A duel between a mage and a knight.
Something unheard of!
“Of course, sparring with a mage seems like it would be interesting too. Since this is also a possibility, I’ll consider it as well. As a teacher, I’ll learn things to teach the students.”
Of course, Ziel had assassinated mages multiple times.
But he had never sparred with one head-on.
An experience he had never tried!
‘That would be interesting.’
Ziel focused on his food again.
Franz stared blankly at Ziel.
Then he hurriedly looked around.
The servants had their heads bowed.
But they must have heard everything!
‘I need to explain.’
A spar!
A prince wanting to spar?
It was possible.
But what was a mage doing…
“That’s not what I meant!”
His voice rising without realizing it!
Instantly, all eyes in the room focused on him.
Franz became even more flustered.
‘This isn’t what I intended!’
“I see. Then what did you mean?”
Ziel asked expressionlessly, but with all the attention focused on them, Franz couldn’t easily open his mouth.
Just as Franz was about to lean in and whisper,
“The brilliant dawn of the Empire and sanctuary of all people, His Majesty enters the banquet hall! Everyone rise and show proper respect!”
At this very moment, the Emperor had to arrive.
Franz froze completely.
‘Damn it all…’
There seemed to be no way to clear up the misunderstanding.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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