NOVEL NEXT Chapter 313
<313 - The Director's Banquet 3>
Let’s break this up.
You can spend your time freely now.
Feel free to head back to the lodging room on the 10th floor and enjoy a nice, relaxing sleep.
The students eagerly awaited the Director’s declaration of freedom, like workers yearning for a revolution.
Even under the intense gazes burning with desire, the Director felt not a hint of anxiety.
He wasn’t powerless enough to care about the opinions of mere students, nor was his resolve shallow.
In fact, he felt a sense of curiosity.
‘Except for the Masugaki Princess, it seems only Yui here truly understands the value of this gathering.’
A chance to eat any dish you desire.
For those who haven’t grasped the truth that collection equates to power in this world, such an opportunity is lost on them.
Only those who hold immense power can understand the principles and reasoning of the world.
Diverse experiences.
A rich collection.
In this world, one’s capability as a collector directly relates to their strength.
Swing your sword ten, a hundred, or even a thousand times, and you’ll grow stronger, but to further your strength, you must swing it ten thousand, a hundred thousand, or even a million more times.
If that labor can be substituted by eating a few kinds of food…
If indulging in a single, rare dish can replace millions of sword swings…
Only a fool would stubbornly stick to merely swinging a sword.
‘The value diminishes when similar collectibles overlap.’
Just as swinging a sword slows down your growth speed, the rate of gaining strength through eating declines as well.
So if it’s a one-time opportunity, it’s only natural to eat what you haven’t tried.
But one can’t eat food they don’t even know the name of.
For if you don’t know, you can’t even order it.
Yet this child boldly placed an order.
“Please give me [Manax Potion Soup] made from the sap of the Ten-Thousand-Year Tree!”
Fairies reside in trees that have lived for a hundred years. Trees that have stood for a thousand brim with them like a swarm.
What’s more, if it’s a tree that has stood for ten thousand years, elves with pointed ears like conical hats weave around, spouting nonsense about the World Tree, preventing anyone from getting near.
To call the sap of such ancient trees a soup means gathering an extraordinary amount of sap isn’t a matter of simple collection.
The very idea is blasphemous, and fairies or elves would never have revealed it, for it’s a dish no one dares to even dream about implementing.
That’s what made it so amusing.
“That dish requires time. How long will it take to prepare the ingredients and cook it?”
“It’ll take three days.”
With the Secretary Office Head’s response, the Director smiled kindly and calmed Oknodie.
“Exceptional creativity naturally garners admiration. As a token of appreciation for your marvelous idea, I will serve you a unique dish before the [Manax Potion Soup] in three days.”
“Wow, double unique! One plus one!”
The dish handed over in exchange was a patron-only meal from the Monthly Gourmet Association.
The moment a knife touched the pristine dish, a scream echoed from the food.
At the already tight banquet table, the screaming and sniffling from someone added to the chaos.
“What exactly did you give to Oknodie?”
“It’s [Steak of Sorrow]
, a patron-exclusive dish from the Monthly Gourmet Association. Of course, being a rare dish offered in limited quantity, I cannot give it to you all.”“Oknodie. Don’t eat that.”
Even Jezel frowned, and Isabel was angry.
Even those who had been cautious felt this was too much.
“Why?”
“I’ll make you a dish so delicious you won’t even need to eat that.”
Oknodie gazed longingly at the plate, dripping with desire.
“But unique dishes are precious…”
That bold reaction was quite revealing.
Oknodie doesn’t discriminate against food.
No matter how unethical the dish may be.
There are no restrictions as a collector.
It was proof of a broader strength than anyone else.
The potential of talent is just as vital as the breadth of one’s tastes.
The wider the tastes, the less picky one is.
A wider variety of collectibles leads to greater strength.
The more boundaries one crosses, the more formidable the collector becomes.
“Should I take a bite first and think about it?”
With that, Oknodie speared the steak with a fork and brought it to their mouth.
The instant their teeth touched the meat, a scream erupted along with the juices.
It was the scream from the meat, bitten not by Oknodie but by her own teeth.
Swallow it. And prove it. Your potential for growth is this extraordinary!
The Director rarely looked at others with such anticipation.
Those in power don’t possess faith.
They understand how hollow that act is.
Those in power don’t believe; they chain instead.
If you don’t comply, the noose tightens, and pain ensues.
If they trust someone, it’s not the goodwill or free will of a bound subject, but rather the suffering they believe a collateralized creature will feel.
Yet here he was, trusting Oknodie.
An absurd notion of referring to himself as Papa.
An unpredictable, indescribable character.
All these elements instilled anticipation.
This child could surely achieve it.
This child could become a unique existence, just like him.
A unique talent who would bring new changes to his already limited collection.
Oknodie, who held the Director’s expectations firmly.
She responded to that anticipation.
“Mmm.”
With that, she spilled all the steak she had bitten into back onto the plate.
“Oh dear. Are you being picky?”
“Papa was being silly too. Not only was there sound, but there was really a soul in it!”
“Isn’t that all the more special? A soul is a unique existence. Thus, Soul Food can be deemed the one and only food in the world.”
“If that’s the case, then human flesh would also fit into the collection! No matter how important collecting is, crossing that line is no different from the demon clan of the Demon Realm!”
“How unfortunate. Was it too early for such food for a mere child?”
Oknodie finished the plate.
Not by eating it, but by throwing it in the trash.
“I’ll consider the food received,” she said.
“Understood. Still, I hope you don’t show picky eating at the meal in three days.”
“Of course! The [Manax Potion Soup] isn’t a dish made of souls or human flesh!”
Relieved, the students felt she hadn’t crossed the line.
What a ridiculous scene it was.
Could it really be so?
The world is seen as much as it is known.
Oknodie’s desired sap for making the [Manax Potion Soup].
They could not even fathom how much manpower the Foundation would mobilize to collect it.
When hearing the number of elves and fairies who would die trying to block the Foundation, they’d rather eat the Steak of Sorrow than face the life toll that would differ so drastically.
Yet they don’t utter a word against her eating the [Manax Potion Soup].
Because they do not grasp the price of creating such a dish.
Thus, this is selective eating.
The screams that are visible and audible are spat out, while the unseen and unheard screams from far away are sweetly swallowed by childlike innocence.
That’s what made it all the more appealing.
Oknodie’s way of life and worldview fulfilled the Director’s expectations.
This child is interesting.
More than he had initially thought after reading the report on her tail or hearing Jonnas’ testimony.
“Secretary Office Head. I want to witness my daughter consuming the [Manax Potion Soup] with my own two eyes.”
“I have already organized an expedition team. We plan to lure the elves to the border area with elite civilian organizations, including the Esonia Exploration Team, and seize the Ten-Thousand-Year trees in the process.”
“I won’t intervene with the operation. Just ensure you meet the deadline. There will not be a second time. No matter the sacrifice, wasting my time is unacceptable.”
This is a directive.
One issued by the Director directly to the Secretary Office Head.
Those who defy orders will pay a hefty price.
They may receive an even more difficult directive or will have to repay through their body or the remainder of their life surpassing any gain obtained.
A catastrophic bloodshed is anticipated from this expedition.
What kind of ordeal would one endure to repay such a debt with their own body?
The Secretary Office Head did not even dare to imagine.
For an individual, it would amount to an endlessly long time of extreme repayment.
“Jonnas Wahyhiemhai. You’ve taken on quite a fearful Agassi, haven’t you?”
“I believe the Agassi just takes it out on us. It was nearly a matter of losing my friends as a test from the Director.”
“Is she perhaps questioning whether they’re qualified to be tested by the Foundation?”
Outside the banquet, in a private setting.
On the stairs that linger between the floors.
Avoiding the Director’s sight, the Secretary Office Head asked Jonnas, the Butler, for his perspective on today’s events after having directly taught and observed Oknodie.
“No family exists without conflict. Does the Agassi not have reasons to fuss?”
“Claiming to be the Director’s daughter, she’s practically worthy of being called the Little Director.”
The Secretary Office Head’s face deepened with concern.
Thinking that two bouts of pouting could shake the Foundation to its core.
Of course, he too probably felt the weight of his life hinged on executing the directive from a child throwing a tantrum.
It was only an incursion into the lair of the primitive Ain species, who worship aged trees deep in the forest.
The Foundation’s might was far too colossal to merely tremble under such pressures.