Gourmet Gaming

Five minutes ago.

Jan immediately unsummoned her Wyvern King the moment she got warped to the ceremonial hall for the awards ceremony. Then, she looked straight at Minhyuk, the man that won first place in the tournament among the crowd of players, and thought, 'I'm looking forward to his interview.' 

Everyone was focused on him. Minhyuk's appearance had been so dashing when he hunted the Minotaurus, that even Jan could not help but look at him in admiration and interest. No, it would be weird if she was not interested in him at all. Minhyuk’s appearance would be made public in today’s interview. The people would also know if he was truly a player that was secretly being groomed by Legend Guild.

After today, his popularity would definitely skyrocket. There was also a high chance that he would be a part of the top ten rankers in the local rankings in the future. Just entering the list would bring Minhyuk a huge amount of profit. Maybe even become a star? Of course, that was a story that should be discussed in the future. Athenae rankers were much more famous than celebrities in reality. In addition, the man was tall and looked quite handsome even with half of his face covered. He was also very polite. However, Jan still was not sure about the persona or image he would take on. She thought, 'A character that eats well!' 

Mukbangs and cooking shows were all the rage these days. His fresh character would definitely be loved by the masses.

'I want to get his number.' 

Jan felt like he was a person that was mature and well-prepared. Just as she was thinking about that, the player that she was thinking of started to pace back and forth like a puppy that needed to go potty. She heard him say, "Waaaaaaah, I can't log out! I have to eat beef so I can't go out!" 

'Beef?' Jan thought, tilting her head in curiosity. All of the microphones were still off since the ceremony had not yet started, so she was not sure she heard him well. Then, Minhyuk spotted her and approached her. Jan smiled a little.

Minhyuk said, "Miss emcee, please let me out of here." 

"...What?" Jan asked dumbly, his words bringing shock to her. 

‘He wanted to leave? What’s the meaning of this?’ 

It was completely incomprehensible. So, she asked again, "You want me to let you out? Where to? We are going to have the awards ceremony right here, Mr. Minhyuk." 

"No, I have to eat beef! So please, let me out of here quickly." 

"B..beef...?" Jan asked in disbelief. Then, she recalled seeing him place the Minotaurus’ body in his inventory the moment he successfully hunted it. 

‘Is he really trying to eat the Minotaurus?’

Jan quickly composed herself and smiled. She said, "I think you're still a bit out of it since you suddenly won first place. It's real. Mr. Minhyuk really won first place. And, you will be rewarded during this awards ceremony." 

"No, let me out!" 

"H…how about the interview?" 

"Why do I need to do that?" Minhyuk asked, leaving Jan speechless. He looked at her blankly, to the point of innocence, as if he did not know what she was talking about.

Jan hurriedly said, "Y…you have to do it. You also have to remove your mask. Mr. Minhyuk, once you do the interview, you will be number one on the real-time search results and you will also be in Athenae's hot issue broadcasts. You'll become famous!" 

"Will I be able to eat something if I become famous?" 

"T…that's not…" Jan stuttered in embarrassment.

Most people would definitely want to be someone special and famous. They also wanted others to look at them and cheer them on. But right now, he was asking her if he would get food if he became famous. At that moment… 

[Jan. This is a jackpot. Ellie is on her way to the awards ceremony!] 

Jan’s eyes widened when she heard the official’s words. This might be a game, but everyone would still be in awe at the existence of the empress. The empress was the one who held absolute authority over the tens of millions of people in the empire. In addition, the Sword Emperor Ellie was also an empress who had caught much attention these days. And such a character was coming personally just to meet Minhyuk. This meant that Minhyuk might gain more benefits if he met with the empress. If he established a good relationship with the empress, he might even be given special treatment in the Eivelis Empire, such as being bestowed a title of nobility. 

Jan, who was filled with excitement, relayed the good news over to Minhyuk. She said, "E…Ellie's on her way here right now! I'm sure it's because she wants to meet you! It's impossible to meet her at ordinary times, you won't even get acquainted with her even if you spent a billion!" 

"Ah, Miss! I asked you to let me go out! Why do you keep on saying something else!" Minhyuk shouted. In the end, Minhyuk lost his cool and burst out in annoyance. 

"N, no... I, it's the Sword Emperor herself..." 

"Whether it's the Sword Emperor or being famous, it's not as important as beef!" 

"...B…beef is more important?" 

Minhyuk looked at Jan as if she was some sort of weird creature. He asked, "Wow. Miss, isn't it obvious? Beef is delicious, right?" 

Nod—

Jan nodded without realizing it. 

"It's a happy thing to eat something so delicious, right?" 

Nod—

"Yet you're saying that the empress or being famous is much more important than beef?!" 

'I, I guess that's what I sound like... N, no...!' 

“But, it’s the empress...”

“Miss, if you keep on being like this, I’ll just grill the beef and eat it here.”

“...”

Jan’s head turned blank when she heard his threat. What would happen if Ellie appeared later during the awarding ceremony and Minhyuk was grilling the beef right here and now? 

“Then, that would be delicious....” Jan blurted out, before catching herself, “T...that’s not it! That can’t happen!”

Thankfully, the operators and officials came to save her from this weird predicament. One of them said, “Hello, Mr. Minhyuk. My name is Park Minggyu, the team leader of the Special Players Management Team.”

Team Leader Park and the rest of his team greeted Minhyuk. However, Minhyuk did not care about them. He said, “You have to quickly let me go!”

“...Mr. Minhyuk. Everyone’s attention is focused on you right now. Why don’t you tell them what you feel about winning?”

Team Leader Park and Lee Minhwa had always been monitoring him, so they seemed to understand what he was feeling right now based on his expressions. However, Minhyuk refused their request. He said, “Let me go right now. There aren’t any conditions that require me to participate in this awarding ceremony, right?”

“...There seems to be none.”

“Isn’t Athenae made for the players and whatever they wanted to do? I can do whatever I want here right?”

“...”

“...”

“...”

What he said was logical and reasonable, causing everyone to turn speechless. In the end, Team Leader Park sighed as he made eye contact with Lee Minhwa.

‘This player doesn’t see anything right now except for beef. He won’t listen to us at all.’

Team Leader Park recognized this fact. He looked towards Jan as he nodded his head in defeat.

“Y…you’ll really send him out?”

“This player hates it when he’s being stopped from eating, and there’s no way we could stop him. The players of Athenae are indeed free to do whatever they want.”

“I… I did not know that,” Jan said, sighing in defeat. When he finally heard their approval, Minhyuk could not conceal his joy, as he laughed heartily and gave them a big smile.

“Recall,” Jan said as she raised her arm and pointed towards Minhyuk. Soon after, Minhyuk disappeared in a flash of light.

“Huh? Where did he go?”

“Gasp! Where did that player go?!”

A commotion suddenly broke out in the audience stands when they saw the sudden turn of events. Jan thought deeply before speaking to the operators. She said, “Ah, that player, don’t tell me…!”

The operators looked at her curiously. She continued to say, “I know now. That player wanted to disappear on purpose so he could draw more attention from the crowd. Wow, what a great vision. It doesn’t make sense for that person to say that food is more important than being famous or meeting the empress, right?”

Team Leader Park shook his head at her. He said, “Jan, you have absolutely no idea what type of person Minhyuk is, right?”

“...N…no way, did he really go out to eat beef? He really abandoned the awarding ceremony for that?”

“Yes,” Team Leader Park answered her firmly and without any hesitation.

Right at that moment, they saw a woman arrive at the entrance of the hall. The woman was none other than the empress of Eivelis Empire, the Sword Emperor Ellie. The Empress had her blonde hair tied tightly behind her and a sword on her waist, marching towards them elegantly. She was surrounded and escorted by the renowned Phoenix Knight Order.

“All foreigners, show your courtesy!” 

This was a formal procedure. Jan gave a silent salute towards the Empress. It was the same for the rest of the players who were attending the awards ceremony. Everyone gave a silent salute towards the Empress. The operators quickly placed themselves in their transparent mode and left Jan alone in the hall.

‘The empress is already here... And all of the players are focused on her. But the actual person that the empress wanted to meet already went away. H…how should I tell her what happened?’

Jan wanted to cry. At that moment, the leader of the Phoenix Knight Order ran towards Jan. She heard before that the leader of the knights was at Level 450, and was as good as the current rankings number one. This very same person was running around carrying out errands for Ellie. He quickly asked Jan as soon as he arrived in front of her, “Where is the champion of the tournament?”

“He went back for some urgent matters.”

“...Is this the truth?”

“Yes.”

The leader of the knights hurriedly went back to Ellie’s side to give his report.

“What?”

“How dare he leave this place…!”

“Impudent! It is only right that we order an execution for someone that is this disrespectful!”

“Don’t make a fuss!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Her vassals immediately kept quiet and organized themselves when they heard Ellie’s words. Then, the leader of the knights approached Jan once more. He asked again, “Do you happen to know what his urgent matters were?”

“T, that…” Jan stuttered. She was speechless. She could not just say “Eating is more important than meeting the empress so I left!” or something like that. However, she had no choice but to tell the truth.

“H…he said that there was something im...important… t…that he needs to e…eat... so he has to leave…”

“Do you think that something like that is believable?”

“It’s the truth! Why won’t you believe me?”

The leader of the knights was emitting a terrifying aura at that moment. However, he frowned when he saw Jan’s tearful face, and realized that it was the truth.

“Are you really telling the truth?”

Nod.

Jan nodded her head fiercely. The leader of the knights hurriedly went back and reported to Ellie. After they finished talking, Ellie started to walk towards where Jan was.

Step, step, step, step―

The officials that were with the empress also followed her in a march. Although they were just NPCs, it still felt like she was seeing a real-life empress with the presence that she was commanding naturally. Jan was once again impressed with how realistic Athenae was. The moment the empress came near, Jan unconsciously bowed her head.

“You said that he went out to eat? Didn’t you tell him that I was coming?”

“I have informed him.”

“He knew about my arrival, but he still left? What in the world was he trying to eat?”

Jan’s mouth was stuck when she heard her words. She could not reply carelessly. She was reminded of the player who was imprisoned in the dungeon for ten years just because he shouted at Ellie to make him her disciple. This just showed that Ellie was a cold and decisive Empress. She would kill anyone if it was necessary. In the end, Jan had to open her mouth even though it was tough for her. She said, “H…he went out to… eat beef.”

The vassals surrounding her were the ones who reacted violently. Their faces turned red as if they were going to explode in anger if they did not vent out any words.

‘I would also think that it’s unbelievable if I were in their shoes...’

Jan wondered what Ellie would say. Would she pull her sword out in anger and shout, ‘Find that bastard and kill him for me!’ or would she say, ‘Catch that bastard and lock him up in the dungeons for 100 years!’.

Hundreds and thousands of thoughts ran through Jan’s mind. However, Ellie nodded seriously and rubbed her chin in thought. She said, “That’s really a good reason.”

“That’s right. It really was a good reason... huh?” Jan stopped in her tracks, head tilting in confusion. 

‘Did the empress really just say that? Is she convinced with those words alone?’

“Delicious beef is truly a good reason, hmm. That’s right. That foreigner and I have something in common. But these idiots don't understand that.”

“Ha, hahaha...”

“Hahahaha...!”

“Hehehehehe!”

“Hohohohoho!”

Jan, together with the rest of the vassals, had no choice but to force themselves to laugh.