After the ‘interrogation’ roughly ended,
the ‘real Shaman’ who had handled mine,
Han Iseo, said she would go talk with the others for a bit and vanished.
“I’m sorry.”
Soon she returned
and apologized to me.
“About letting you into the dining hall you mentioned... it’s going to be difficult.”
“Is it for the reason we discussed last time?”
“Yes. The dining hall isn’t my domain...”
I had expected differences because this was a different region,
Gyeonggi Province versus Gangwon Province—
and the culture of the survivors differed quite a bit.
‘To start with, the fact that most survivors belong to a single organization is surprising.’
Of course, it’s not that 100% of humans are in it.
Plenty aren’t affiliated with this guild, and there are criminal factions as well.
But there is only one group that’s the most representative and orderly.
‘With the monsters’ and humans’ territories so clearly separated, it must have been possible.’
Our guild in Gangwon had considerable influence,
but it was impossible to affect every human scattered across the whole of Gangwon.
Here, it was different.
To the southwest lay an unknown source of cold.
To the northeast, monsters crowding in to escape that cold.
No—in fact, since most monsters lacked resistance to the cold, they had swarmed toward the outer wall in Gyeonggi.
‘So the zone where humans could operate was right at the center.’
Because only that center had relatively fewer monsters and milder cold,
humans gathered quickly in one place and could form a single large power.
As a result,
the policies of that organization solidified into the culture of survivors here.
The prime example was the “three leaders” system.
“Our Association has a separate Chair who founded it.”
“Yes. I heard.”
“When he went around Gyeonggi Province to unite people, he encountered many kinds of monsters. Among them were those that killed humans and took their bodies.”
She continued, face showing distaste.
“And there were monsters with horrific powers... ones that controlled other people’s thoughts or emotions.”
“......”
At that, I muttered inwardly:
‘Oof, that hits close.’
A horrific ability that controls others’ thoughts or emotions.
For me... well,
that’s all too familiar.
“If the leader of a group falls to such a power, it’s over. You know how the Republic of Korea has separation of powers? In the same vein, we decided on three leaders. If one gets controlled or replaced by a monster, the other two—if normal—can check that one.”
“And now you’re the one being checked.”
“Sigh, yes.”
She spoke with a sigh.
“I’ve been with Junggu, who manages the combat teams, since our previous group days. So he tends to trust me. But...”
“The third one. Not true of the one named Jaeho?”
“Right. Jaeho... even when he first joined our group, he was the suspicious type. It took a very long time to build up trust to where it is now.”
Since she was acting as a group leader, I’d assumed they were all from the same original group,
but it turned out one came from another group.
‘I don’t know why someone from another group joined here and became a leader, but still.’
Anyway,
with a slightly hurt look, she went on.
“Even so, we haven’t lived together a short time. At some point he even started calling me ‘big sis’ and following my lead... Honestly, I thought we were finally at a point where we could fully trust each other.”
“...Try not to take it too hard.”
“Sigh, I won’t. I understand that what Jaeho says is correct. Especially the kitchen and dining hall are crucial facilities in our current situation... I don’t think my persuasion alone will get you in there.”
At her words,
I nodded evenly.
‘The kitchen is where food that goes into people’s mouths is overseen.’
In other words: it’s not a place anyone gets into easily.
Perfectly understandable.
“Even if I say I’m not planning to steal supplies, the answer’s the same, right?”
“It’s the place where we produce the food that goes into people’s bodies. They don’t know what you might do to it.”
If anything, I appreciated that he understood the kitchen’s importance
and was cautious about keeping a suspicious person away. It was prudent.
Right.
‘If only the suspicious person weren’t me...’
In short,
even if I had won the Shaman’s trust,
“I still have to earn the trust of the other one.”
And to do that...
“I have to show actions that justify it?”
“...Yes. That’s what it comes down to.”
I would have to provide help that justified trusting me.
“For now, since Junggu is willing to trust my word, you shouldn’t have trouble moving inside the walls.”
“I see.”
“But access to certain key facilities will be hard. Especially that kitchen... and even more so the storage.”
Following her guidance, I was assigned a room to stay in.
Fortunately, the number of survivors was lower than the buildings they had taken over,
so there were plenty of rooms to spare.
“By the way, what will I be doing from now on?”
“We haven’t decided among ourselves yet. For the moment, you’ll be treated as a guest.”
“Well, that’s comfortable for me, isn’t it?”
“...It’s not entirely a good thing.”
“Hm?”
The Shaman sighed.
“Not being able to assign you work means that you—ah, I haven’t even asked your name yet.”
“I’m Shin Youngjun.”
“Yes. It means that while every other survivor is working, we can’t assign you tasks... which means we don’t trust you enough, Youngjun.”
“Ah. Fair.”
So it wasn’t something to be pleased about simply because it was comfortable.
“Junggu trusted my word, but after hearing Jaeho, he hasn’t suggested putting you in a combat role. He’s decided Jaeho has a point and is keeping a bit of distance.”
She seemed sorry about that,
but I shrugged.
“You can’t entrust your back in battle to someone you don’t trust. I understand.”
“I’m glad you do.”
“At least that Junggu person seems somewhat trusting of me. That’s something.”
“Mm...”
At that,
Han Iseo trailed off.
“...Is there something else?”
“No, it’s just that... hmm. Maybe it’s not something to worry about too much, but—”
“...?”
“It might be my fault, but... Ever since I said you’re probably incredibly strong, he’s been saying this kind of thing a lot.”
What kind of thing?
I wondered what she meant.
“When you first met he didn’t see your full strength, so he’d like to have a bout with you soon—things like that.”
“......”
What is this nonsense now.
“Junggu is fundamentally a very open-hearted, good person.”
“...‘Fundamentally’?”
“He really is a good man, but he also has a very strong competitive streak.”
Hmm.
I had suspected as much when we first met.
“He’s not like that with just anyone... but if someone might be roughly as strong as he is, he really wants to fight at least once... He has that side to him.”
Wanting to fight the moment he sees someone—
what kind of barbarian mindset is that?
“Isn’t he a 21st-century person? He’s not a medieval gladiator.”
“Well... maybe it’s the influence of class. Warrior classes often become oddly belligerent.”
At that,
I recalled the class that man Junggu had.
‘Barbarian, right.’
Better than Gwangil, who had a Berserker-type class,
but still not exactly aligned with rationality.
He probably had a battle-maniac bent to begin with, and the class manifested from that.
“When our group first joined the Association, it was like that. The Chair and his team came to recruit us. And then, Junggu...”
“...?”
“The moment he saw the Chair, he threw his axe without a word.”
That crazy battle maniac...!
My face contorted,
and Han Iseo hurried to explain.
“B-But once he loses once, he admits it cleanly! He clashed with the Chair at first, but that was only in the beginning... After that, they’ve gotten along without even small trouble.”
“Is that so...?”
“Yes. To be fair, since the Chair, there hasn’t been anyone to stoke Junggu’s competitive spirit, so maybe there simply wasn’t a chance for problems.”
She mused for a moment,
then nodded as if relieved.
“But anyway—you said you survived beyond Monsterland, right?”
“...Yes. For the time being.”
“Then this part won’t be a problem!”
“......”
Unlike her breezy conclusion,
I muttered inside:
‘...I’m screwed.’
Not a problem?
Don’t be ridiculous.
‘I’d sooner accept a duel outright.’
My class is Chef.
It’s not a combat class by default.
I do have my own established way of fighting,
but that style fundamentally requires prep work.
Through [Chef’s Eye] and [Ingredient Identification (Enhanced)],
I conduct meticulous advance analysis of the opponent,
and the enemy’s weaknesses I’ve identified—
I target them through ‘cooking.’ That’s my tactic.
Without that prior prep,
‘to be honest, I’m nothing special.’
Not long ago in that Demon Realm, I was panting after killing a few monsters.
And—
‘He threw an axe without a word the first time he met someone?’
If something like that happens—
if I get attacked suddenly
with no preparation in place—
without proper prep,
I might just get flustered and send my soul off with that axe.
‘Shouldn’t have put on a strong front...!’
To exert sufficient influence here
and return to the Legion as fast as possible,
I thought I needed to bluff a little.
Now that bluff might get me killed by a blindside axe.
I can’t exactly reveal now that I’m actually a production class.
Surviving alone in Monsterland with this class—
that’s practically impossible, and it contradicts my story.
‘If I admit I’m a Chef, the persona I’ve built collapses.’
For a Chef to survive, he needs humans to eat his cooking.
That would negate my claim of having survived alone until now.
In other words—
‘No way out...!’
Good grief.
From now on, I’ll have to walk around worried about an axe in the back of my head.
****
“In any case, if you need anything else, you can come find me.”
Whether she knew I was fretting over that Barbarian or not,
she seemed to have said her piece and was about to return to her duties.
“Uh, wait a moment.”
“Yes?”
“I have a favor to ask. It’s not much, but...”
Even if the other two didn’t trust me,
at least she did.
So I decided to ask a few things.
“First, I want to find some people.”
“Ah... You mentioned that. You wanted to look for family.”
“Yes. I was beyond Monsterland when the Day of Ruin began. I’ve been busy surviving there, so I still don’t know what happened to my family or close friends.”
“...Youngjun. I hate to say this, but—”
Her expression darkened,
so I waved a hand.
“I know the odds are low that my acquaintances are alive.”
“......”
“Still, just in case. I won’t get my hopes up, so you don’t need to go out of your way.”
“In that case... all right.”
She exhaled and nodded.
“Most survivors are members of the Association, so I’ll ask around at the next meeting with other groups. The names of the people you’re looking for?”
“Well... it’s quite a few.”
“Pardon?”
A short while later,
in the notebook she brought, I filled page after page with the people I wanted to find,
their names and identifying details, and handed it to her.
“...Youngjun, you must know a lot of people.”
“Well, uh. It just turned out that way.”
“What do you mean, ‘turned out that way’? It’s amazing enough you can remember this many people...”
I had included even the families of other unit members who were from Gyeonggi,
so the number was substantial.
I’d had to eat memory-boosting dishes just to keep them all in my head.
“All right. I can’t do it quickly, but I’ll look into it at the next Association meeting. Anything else?”
“As for the rest...”
I hesitated briefly,
then spoke.
“I’d like to get a radio.”
“A radio?”
“Yes.”
“What for...?”
I had a use for it,
but it was hard to say outright.
“You know those criminals who were with me?”
“Yes.”
“I heard from them—there’s a special radio broadcast airing.”
“Ah...!”
At that,
her eyes widened and she nodded.
“I think I know what you mean. Right, you said you hadn’t met people... so you wouldn’t have heard the radio.”
“Right. I heard it was something special... I want to hear it myself.”
“Mm. In that case, I’d certainly like to bring you one, but...”
Her face clouded.
“I’m sorry. Radios are unexpectedly scarce, so they’re managed as valuable supplies.”
Meaning:
with the man in charge of supplies distrusting me,
it would be hard to get one easily.
“Still, I am one of the leaders here. I do have a radio issued to me personally.”
She thought for a moment, then said:
“If you really need it, I could bring you that.”
“I appreciate it, but... shouldn’t you not do that?”
“Well, Jaeho would dislike it if he found out. But if you really need it...”
“No, then forget it. If you get caught, it’ll only worsen my image with someone who already suspects me.”
I did have a use for it,
but I didn’t want to worsen my standing.
“I understand... Still, if you absolutely want to listen, come find me. I can at least let you use the one in my room. I do have notes of the broadcasts, but personally I think it’s a radio you need to hear at least once.”
“Understood. If getting a radio proves too difficult, I’ll stop by. Thank you.”
After we wrapped up,
and she left,
I was alone in the room thinking:
‘Put that Barbarian on hold for now.’
Getting what I want here,
and moving freely—
‘First I have to earn trust.’
Han Iseo felt sorry for not taking me to the kitchen,
but the kitchen and ingredients weren’t urgent right now.
It was unsettling that my ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) shadows were empty,
but—
‘I don’t have anything that must be solved through cooking right this instant.’
What mattered more was
the trust of the people here.
‘It would’ve been nice if talking with that Shaman had solved it,’
but even I had to admit I looked suspicious as I was now.
Winning everyone’s trust with a single conversation wouldn’t happen.
Dispel suspicion first, then earn trust. That’s the priority.
To do that,
first—
“I need to go outside.”
I had to check for myself
what these people wanted.
