The Military Chef of a Ruined World

[It is recommended to raise your skill level before attempting to cook]

“What… What’s this?”

Can I even eat this?

The wording felt familiar; I had seen it before when I tried to prepare a dish using the Pope’s flesh.

‘Thinking back, my success in that dish was a stroke of luck.’

Sure, various factors played a role.

I had stacked up buffs that enhanced my abilities, and my knife was specifically designed for sashimi.

But still…

‘Had I failed that time, the ingredient would probably have been wasted.’

At that moment, I had no other options available, so I took the risk, and fortunately, it paid off.

“There’s no guarantee I’d succeed this time, though?”

This was a reward from conquering a dungeon, and a reward specifically given to the top contributor.

“…I’ll wait to challenge it later.”

It might be difficult right now.

However, I had a sense of when I might be ready to attempt it.

My current profession was that of an [Intermediate Chef].

So, the next tier would probably be…

‘Advanced Chef.’

At that level, I imagined I could handle just about any ingredient.

Thanks to the immense experience I had recently gained, I felt I wasn’t far from reaching that point.

That’s when I could create a proper dish and taste it.

* * *

After confirming the reward, I returned to my empty room and glanced down.

“Come out for a moment.”

As I spoke while looking at the floor, a voice emerged from the shadows.

“Yes, Master.”

Soon, a blonde woman appeared from within my shadow.

“Is it time for a meal? Oh, I see. The time for my grace hasn’t come yet. What can I assist you with?”

She was a monster who had vowed her very soul in exchange for my cooking— a vampire vassal.

I had something I wanted to ask her.

“I thought I’d offer you a snack since you’ve worked quite hard this time.”

“Oh!”

When I, along with my team members and collaborators from the city, raided the Pope, his kins were unable to come inside.

The other monsters scattered throughout the dungeon did not show up.

If they had joined the battle, our fate could have turned out quite differently.

‘She is the one who handled that task.’

Before entering the temple, I had assigned the defense of the outer area to her, just in case.

In the process of preventing the other fishmen from interfering in our battle about half of the minions that had summoned turned to dust.

‘The remaining minions grew stronger by consuming the blood of their fallen kin, so the outcome appears somewhat similar.’

Nevertheless, the effort she put in was indeed commendable.

“I didn’t know there would be such a reward. I will continue to work hard in the future~”

Since this being had committed everything to my cooking, she eagerly ignored the decorum befitting a noble of the night as she approached me at the mention of a snack.

I observed her with a hint of skepticism before moving swiftly.

“Oh?”

I drew a blade across my wrist.

A tiny cut, enough to let blood trickle down my skin.

“Is the snack… your blood, Master?”

“Is that a problem?”

“Of course not!”

The first time I subdued her, I had used my own blood to prepare a dish. At that time, I had no reserves to rely on.

But since then, I realized I needed to keep blood for cooking.

I had started saving the blood of the monsters I hunted, which eliminated the need to use my own.

This was the first time I was feeding her my blood since then.

“Such high-quality blood is hard to come by elsewhere. It’s truly precious.”

“You have worked hard for this. Now, drink.”

“Thank you~”

As I extended my wrist, she brought her face closer.

Slurp~

Though it hadn’t gone through the usual culinary process, perhaps it still held decent taste. The expression on her face as she licked my blood was intoxicatingly alluring.

I felt a slight tickle too.

Then,

“Huh?”

She looked up, almost puzzled, as she sucked my blood.

“Master? The blood has stopped.”

“…Are you pretending that you don’t know?”

“?”

I had made a cut deep enough that it would have caused significant blood loss, potentially leading to shock.

But only a bit of blood had oozed out—just enough for her to take a few licks.

The blood had quickly ceased flowing.

‘There’s only one reason for that.’

As I wiped my wrist with the cloth I used to clean the blade, I noticed the scar from the cut had already healed.

“Oh my, your wound has already healed.”

The gash on my wrist had closed in an instant, showcasing remarkable regenerative abilities.

Awakened beings had transcended human limitations.

Compared to ordinary people, their healing speed was astonishingly fast.

‘But not to the point of being visibly rapid.’

This sudden regeneration ability had enabled me to return to combat against the Pope sooner, positively influencing the dungeon clear as well.

At that time, there hadn’t been any time for contemplation, so I considered the speed a bonus.

‘But this is just too strange.’

Seeing a healthy person’s wound heal right before my eyes was extraordinary.

Then again…

‘I’ve seen this kind of regeneration before.’

Upon deeper reflection, the only source of my suspicion was the creature standing before me.

A vampire.

Unless someone tears out their heart or exposes them to sunlight, they could recover from injuries in the blink of an eye.

“Could it be…?”

I spoke, a cold sweat breaking out on my brow, preparing to swing the blade at her depending on her answer.

“Did you make me a vampire?”