Chapter 249 - [13th Round] System Developer
“Oh? Do you know each other?” Naively asked the dragon, still pretending to be a girl.
She stood in front of a table filled with so many dishes that it would’ve been hard to believe she could cook that much in such a short amount of time if we were on Earth.
But we were in Fantasy.
Skills made such a feat possible.
Through them, one could cut fruits and vegetables faster and better, and the time to reheat or cook anything could be reduced to a second.
Ten minutes for a Fantasy chef was enough to match ordinary cooks’ entire day’s worth of cooking.
If she cooked for an hour, the food she’d serve would most likely taste as expensive and sophisticated as those eaten by royals.
Skills alone weren’t enough, though.
There would always be some field-specific tricks and techniques known only to masters.
“Why are you here?” My senior asked, looking at me as if wanting to apprehend me on the spot.
I gave him a short answer.
“Because I am the Hero.”
On the Northern Continent, I hid it to not disrupt the course of history, but now, my senior’s era had ended, and the era of Kang Han Soo had begun. Everything was in order.
“I’m the Hero!”
“You were fired.”
“F-fired?!”
“I don’t know what you did here for the last few years, but during that time, I defended the Northern, Western, and Southern Continents.”
“Lies!”
“If you don’t believe me, why don’t you ask someone else? You must have one or two contacts on other continents.”
“…”
Unable to answer, he closed his mouth.
After all, he couldn’t have connections in places where he hadn’t even been yet.
My senior couldn’t refute my words since there were no lies in my words.
“Wait! So he’s not a hero?”
“What is this nonsense?”
“Why did a new hero have to be chosen? Where did we even go wrong?”
“My friend lives on the Southern Continent. I’ll ask him.”
Did they feel threatened?
The Hero’s companions, rejoicing at the well-prepared table, left the room one by one to find out if my words were true or not.
“Dismissal? Hero? I don’t know what this is all about, but can’t you talk about your personal businesses after dinner? At least have a little respect for the one who made all of these for you,” Malfaricia said.
“Ah, I’m sorry.” I sincerely apologized.
Food was far more important than the world of humanity, after all. Even the lizard in front of me was a problem that fell below it in the priority list.
The cook had prepared dishes for me that weren’t poisoned. I supposed I should be grateful for her effort, at the very least.
So be it. I would eat everything without being picky.
“I didn’t know that you can have such thoughts. I thought you would eat everything because of your long travels.” Ssosia said.
“It’s not that I’m a choosy eater. It’s just that there are ingredients that I don’t like. For example, I ate Lucifers from the Western Continent for a lifetime, so I really don’t want to taste them again. It’s not at all because of my journey. My mom couldn’t cook either…”
“So your mom can’t cook?”
“I… didn’t say that.”
“You just did.”
“Did not.”
“Did.”
“Did not.”
“Did.”
The cowardly demon looked at me with a sly look.
The First Hero, watching our argument, burned us with an envious and even slightly insane look.
I didn’t even know what to say.
In the future, he would run away from his harem because of his wives. How could he be jealous of a marital quarrel now?
I couldn’t understand him.
“What are you staring at?”
“N-nothing.”
He turned away and began to eat zealously.
There were fewer people in his harem now.
The girls always ran after him and supported him, like a fan club, but they apparently thought they couldn’t entrust their lives to him, who did nothing but eat and sleep in the Northern Continent before fleeing.
And here he was, still messing around.
I didn’t know how they defeated the sea mermaids and sailed to the Eastern Continent, but it seemed he couldn’t retain all of his support group’s members.
“Wow! Madam Malfaricia, this is really delicious!” The Snow Woman praised the cook with admiration as the spirits fed her.
And I looked at the Snow Woman in amazement.
I assumed that due to the Hero’s companions that had left us, there would be a lot of food left, but thanks to the Snow Woman, that wouldn’t seem to be the case.
She ate so much and so fast!
It was amazing how her stomach didn’t swell from it.
“Damn.”
“How unfair.”
“Tsk…”
The women from my senior’s harem looked at her with envy.
Of course, they didn’t gain excess weight for as long as they didn’t overeat because of their skills, but they still couldn’t eat as much as the mutant harpy did.
And the demon…
“Why do you care how much I eat?”
“I didn’t mean you specifically. I’m just curious because I don’t know much about your kind. Stop making things up.”
“What are you talking about? How can a hero not know anything about demons?”
“Am I supposed to know everything about them?”
If so, then that was unfortunate. After all, all the demons I found died.
I had only ever seen their kind eat twice.
The first was the Demon Lord, and the second was his daughter.
But I didn’t learn a lot from the Demon Lord. He was a gourmet, so he only ate as much as he was given, never asking for more.
“Hmph. Well, you’re welcome to find out.”
Humming, Ssosia began to eat.
She tasted all the dishes that were on the table, but just a little.
“Your appetite worsened since the last time I’ve seen you eat, my niece. Oh, is it perhaps… because you’re on a diet to look your best for the Drug Hero?”
“Aunt!”
“Heeheehee!”
The First Spirit laughed.
She took a small cherry, laid it on her lap, and munched on it like a watermelon.
She had better not try using my hair as tissue.
I hadn’t gained a bald spot so far, so I turned a blind eye to everything she did, but if I found even the slightest sign of it, I would kill her.
“What an unusual group.”
I didn’t reply to Malfari’s words. Our party was assembled to kill her, which meant answering her would feel strange.
“I’m worried. There will be a lot of food left, but it won’t be respectful to give them to the neighbors since we’ve already started eating it.”
“Don’t worry! I’ll take responsibility and eat everything!” answered the prince of the dwarves, who had been silent until now since he was busy eating.
He wasn’t a monster like the Snow Woman, who could consume food nonstop. Unlike her, his belly continued to grow.
I even began to worry if he would die from this.
“Come now, prince…”
“No! The food is so delicious that I think I’m going to die!”
‘Hey, dwarf prince, you might actually die from this…’
He truly looked like he was about to get killed by overeating, not by the First Hero.
“Why don’t I call my companions if you’re so worried about leftovers?”
I had to help him.
If he died this way, Malfari would suffer, but she likely wouldn’t go insane.
“Oh, your party has more members?”
“Yes. They’re always with me.”
“Really? Well, I don’t mind having them over.”
As soon as I received permission, I immediately called my “legion.”
Spirits didn’t need food, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t eat it.
Soul spirits only ate fruits, while fire spirits loved dried food. Earth spirits ate everything except seafood, and water spirits, on the contrary, preferred seafood.
And the wind spirits…
“Are actual vacuum cleaners.”
They consumed everything in their path.
The spirits living in my armpits and between my legs could only eat a little, but that didn’t matter when they were together with thousands of their kind.
None of them could swallow more than a pea, but their numbers were enough to clear out the table instantly.
“There’s so many of them…”
“My God…”
The prince and Malfaricia watched them in amazement. It was probably the first time they’d seen so many of them in a single room.
My senior, however, couldn’t hide his concern.
After making sure all the plates on the table were empty, I slowly got up and politely expressed my gratitude.
“Thank you so much for the food, but we’ll have to excuse ourselves. We’d love to take a better look over this land full of dwarven masterpieces.”
“Wait. You promised to tell us about the trip.”
Yes… That seemed to be the case.
Although she spoke out of politeness, her words felt sincere.
But I had already made up my mind.
“How about this. This mutant harpy is a companion I really appreciate. Can you keep her with you until I finish my business? She’ll share everything with you instead of me objectively, without exaggeration or lies.”
“Me? Are you sure, sir Hero?”
“Since you don’t have hands, I leave this responsibility to you.”
I was grateful to her for providing me with valuable feathers, but her lack of arms caused many inconveniences.
Shouldn’t she repay me somehow?
“I will do my best to fulfill this duty!” The Snow Woman agreed.
Leaving her here wasn’t a problem.
This house might be a “dragon’s nest,” but the Snow Woman should be safe even though she had no combat skills.
Although I hid my true abilities with my ZZZ-ranked Gifted skill, I had the First Spirit and the Second Demon next to me. As long as Malfari sensed their power, she would never try to create fried chicken out of the Snow Woman.
I took a walk with the dummies.
“Don’t call me a dummy.”
Ssosia read my mind again as she followed me.
“I am the main Hero of this time, and you’re just a minor character. Therefore, you are a dummy.”
“I am stronger than you.”
Ssosia, freed from the system, united her souls and now possessed two GG-rank skills.
My dear comrade Noebius had only one G-rank skill, but I still couldn’t do anything against him. There was no way I could defeat Ssosia.
That was why she was so confident in herself.
“But you’re just second to me.”
I was ranked higher than her, so if I “asked” her to dance naked in front of the dwarves, she wouldn’t be able to refuse me.
It was all because of her curse of always being second.
That was Ssosia’s essence.
“Hmph!”
She trembled with anger. She probably wanted to hit me in the head right now, but she couldn’t.
“I don’t understand why you have such an expression on your face, my niece. You can just meet a good man and live happily with him.”
The First Spirit spoke the right words for the first time in a long time.
“Don’t interfere in other people’s affairs, my aunt.”
“But I’m just stating the obvious. You’re free now.”
“I am oppressed by this man because of my— wait. Wait! What did you just say?”
“I’ll say it again for you, my stupid niece. You are completely free from the system.”
“Ah!”
She trembled again, but due to a different reason this time.
She realized that her soul and body, previously separated like slices of pizza, were now connected, but she didn’t realize that she was “free.”
“Ssosia, you must repay me for this with compound interest.”
30% interest per month. She should keep that in mind.
“30%?! How am I supposed to pay that back?! How is this even possible? Even my aunt couldn’t free me because I’m the system developer…”
“Hey, we’re recording.”
‘System, edit this cowardly demon’s words.’
Confirmation: Everything will naturally go through editing. Students shouldn’t learn that the beautiful world of Fantasy is a system made to raise heroes. Teachers also don’t have to know all the details, so her entire reply will not be edited but removed.
Woah.
The system always spoiled my grades with its biased attitude, so I didn’t think it was capable of such flexible thinking.
Denial: We’re just following the rules.
90% of the population of the Dwarven Kingdom were dwarves, and the remaining 10% were human. Taking their percentages by sex, 98% were women, and 2% were men.
Male humans weren’t liked here, so most were itinerant traders, and the women could be divided into three groups.
Dwarven wives, friends, and guests.
Dwarven wives, regardless of status, wore luxurious clothing and expensive jewelry made by their husbands.
Friends and guests were mostly merchants, too, who had their eyes on the masterpieces the dwarves made.
The ideal partner for female humans was someone who could protect them, so they weren’t particularly attracted to the dwarves.
But their craftsmanship was a different matter…
They only had one life, and this was their chance to receive beautiful clothes and jewelry forever.
“Hey, cowardly husband.”
“Not now. We’re recording.”
We needed to focus on the journey of the MAX-Class Hero, which would end up in textbooks in the future.
“My handsome husband.”
“What?”
What did she just call me?”
“This isn’t the time to film your entertainment show. This is the last time I’ll be speaking of this, so listen to me carefully. I’m the system developer, and I’m now free.”
“Yes, that’s why I said you should pay me back with compound interest.”
“Okay. I’ll repay you right now.”
Ssosia snapped her finger.
And Master Mollan was summoned!
Huh?
Huuuuuuuuuuuh?! Seriously?!
“Why did my master emerge from your chest, cowardly demon?!”
Master Mollan, as if nothing had happened, gave me, his surprised disciple, a clear answer.
“Mollan~”
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