Chapter 79
The human brain is not designed to feel the exact same stimulus every time it undergoes the same experience.
Humans are creatures that easily tire of things.
Music that has already been heard multiple times cannot give the listener the same emotion as when they first heard it.
For the same reason, many people Leave behind a lover they have grown too familiar with and who lacks novelty, having reached a period of ennui, to seek out a new and fresh man or woman.
It can't be helped. That is how they were made.
Food was the same. If one frequently ate similar types of food, they would inevitably get tired of it.
That was the problem.
In the Chairman's case, that tendency was quite severe.
It was because she had a delicate perception of taste and remembered that taste for a very long time.
Having a brain with overly exceptional Performance is sometimes inconvenient.
No matter what she ate, if it was food she had tried before, she vividly remembered the taste she had previously experienced, so there was no inspiration.
It had to be different from what she had eaten before.
It had to be an entirely different type of food, or even if it was a similar dish, it had to feature a completely different and new cooking Method.
*At the same time, it had to be delicious.*
Not the taste of a vulgar manufactured good patched together with stimulating spices and seasonings, but a taste designed in a luxurious and refined manner, elevating the umami to bring joy to the tongue.
If the taste was simple and one-dimensional, it was no fun. It could be predicted even before eating. Just looking at it felt boring.
It had to be a fresh, Complex, and Unexpected recipe. Only then could she gain satisfaction.
Satisfying all these criteria for two meals every day was no easy task.
There was a reason why the Chairman's exclusive chefs groaned about agonizing over creative and high-level recipes every time,
only to exhaust all the recipes they knew, Repeatedly Resigning and Being Replaced on a one-year cycle.
Thus, the exclusive kitchen of the Isiho Chairman was even called the Chefs' Graveyard, but in the end, it was nothing more than a trivial sacrifice.
She was the Master of a Megacorp that supported Dusk City, and furthermore, the World.
For the satisfaction of such a figure, the health and abilities of culinary technicians could be squeezed out as much as needed. And they had to be squeezed.
Shouldn't they prove their worth for the compensation they received?
Thanks to that, they earned enough money to live without any issues even if they Retired right away, so it wouldn't be a loss for them either.
And this evening.
The Isiho Chairman decided to make a change to her meal for the first time in a while.
It was quite an impulsive directive.
Aaron Nakamura.
The Former Executive Chef of the Special-Grade Japanese restaurant, Enkai.
However, his actual cooking Skill was... according to the evaluation of the Deputy Executive Chef (Executive Sous Chef) he worked with, the one who took on the de facto role of Head Chef:
“This Position requires an individual at the level of a Demi Chef, capable of taking Charge of cooking for a single section.”
However, due to his Abnormal Rank Situation, and because it hadn't been long since he entered the kitchen, his actual role in the kitchen was merely to imitate a Head Chef, and to occasionally fill in for a cook.
And that Alone was not enough.
Someone with the skills of a Demi Chef clearly knew how to cook.
It was enough to be called a Chef anywhere. It was an outstanding ability for which one would likely be recruited anywhere as an elite talented person.
However, against the Isiho Chairman, and to personally make and serve food at that, his skills were woefully lacking.
Because only the absolute best were allowed to enter the Chairman's mouth.
Therefore, she hadn't called him expecting exceptional cooking Skills.
There was only one thing she expected from his cooking.
Freshness.
These were the words spoken by the Deputy Executive Chef, who had been tasked with evaluating his supposed ability to cook.
He cooks in a way that strangely evokes a Nostalgia for the Past.
*At the same time, while it is East Asian, he makes bizarre fusion-style food that has never been seen before.*
If he created it himself, it is astonishing, and if not, he must have learned some Lost Ancient Technique.
The Chairman knew the reason why the Executive Sous Chef had said that.
It was Korean Food, a Branch of food that had all but disappeared from the F&B industry of Dusk City, Neo Tokyo... and countless other cities.
The cooking Technique Aaron possessed originated from there. That was why it looked peculiar.
Food from the Demon Nation—the Land Severed from Humanity, controlled by Autonomous AI, which the Chairman had never properly tasted.
She didn't expect the taste.
A review of past records showed that Korea's food did not hold a prominent Position in the F&B industry of East Asia or the World.
At best, its image was known entirely for a few peculiar ingredients and health food.
Furthermore, the time given to Aaron was absurdly short.
He had to come up with a recipe during a Preparation Time of barely two hours, and on top of that, perform all the cooking by himself.
Even if all the ingredients were prepared, it was not an easy task.
Therefore, what she expected was the aspect of freshness.
It was Fine if the taste lacked harmony or structure.
It just needed enough novelty to appropriately stimulate the tongue and broaden her gastronomic perspective.
Though it would be troublesome if it produced a taste and scent so Incomprehensible that it caused repulsion.
What she wanted from Aaron from him today was exactly that much.
A fresh figure serves a meal with new food alongside an Interesting story.
And thereby washing away The Deep emptiness and ennui, even if just a little.
If he exceeded that expected range, that too would be a pleasure.
He was also an Employee who had already produced results beyond his predictions several times.
That was why she could give him such an opportunity.
Although it was in the form of Serving a Meal, cases of a Regular Employee having a Private Audience with the Chairman were practically nonexistent.
It was no different from a kind of special privilege. Whether he could reap the benefits of it or not would depend on the capabilities of the party involved.
“...He's late.”
The Chairman muttered, breaking her Train of thought.
Quite some time had passed since the clock reached 59 minutes.
Already 20 seconds had flowed by. It was merely a prediction using her Biological Clock, but that calculation would be accurate. This was because the Chairman had never been wrong when it came to counting something.
By now, the door should have already opened and he should be in the middle of crossing the carpet while pulling the side table.
At this rate, he wouldn't make it in time.
No matter how pressed for time he was, he was likely to cause an error right from the start.
Perhaps she had expected too much.
The Chairman's black eyes sank into the shadows. Harboring a faint disappointment, she tapped the table.
It was then that she absentmindedly parted her lips.
[Chairman Aaron Nakamura has arrived.]
The corners of her mouth curled up slightly.
"Tell him to come in."
As if it had been waiting, the Main Gate opened. Because it was smooth and well-maintained, the gap widened without a single sound, letting the light in.
He's here.
The Isiho Chairman looked down at Aaron Nakamura from afar, who had finally arrived.
“...Hmm.”
He moved hurriedly, wiping the sweat dripping down his face.
He was incredibly exhausted, but he was struggling not to show it.
The sight of him hastily pushing the side table over the carpet, trying to arrive on time somehow, was amusing.
It was like watching an ant inhabiting a Private Garden transporting food. Because he was wearing a pitch-black Chef's Uniform, he looked even more like one.
His groaning and struggling looked quite undignified, but thanks to that, it seemed possible for him to make it on time somehow. It would be a stroke of immense luck for him.
The Chairman chuckled.
He was the only one among tens of thousands of ants that she couldn't predict, and the only one she couldn't completely read and comprehend just by looking at him once.
Because that aspect was somewhat special, he was someone she kept watching and ended up entrusting things to.
That was why she kept him. He was like a Pet Ant. That was because he was fun to Watch.
As always, he was trivially entertaining. She had a premonition that she wouldn't regret summoning him today.
It was exactly to that extent. So far.
* * *
I was late. I was slower compared to what I had calculated, because the final Plating took quite a bit of time.
However, I wasn't completely late.
The massive entrance, which, just by standing in front of it, gave off an intimidating aura from its dizzying height, opened, and I stepped into the dark interior.
I pushed and pulled the side table urgently, advancing over the carpet.
My muscles screamed from the intense Exercise, but I ignored it.
Now that I've been doing this, it's bearable. Should I say I've adapted?
Having just performed hard labor in the name of cooking in a kitchen full of all sorts of heavy cooking Utensils... pans, pots, knives, and spatulas... I was able to somehow grit my teeth and laugh this much off.
Passing over the Natural Carpet, which was excessively plush and made it hard to drag the wheels forward, urgently I took out the ceramic bowls and the food contained within all at once, placing them as neatly as possible on the dining table in front of the Chairman.
I finished the Setting with various tableware, including luxurious spoons and chopsticks.
The Cyberwatch screen, which had been blinking anxiously, changed as if it had been waiting.
"21 : 00"
I did it.
I somehow made it in time.
I almost let out a Sigh of Relief without realizing it, but I reminded myself of where I was right now and stiffly straightened my body.
Next to me was Isiho's Chairman.
Sitting in her seat, she scrutinized the food I made with a Cold gaze as if performing a Dissection.
Just imagining it made my throat completely dry from tension.
Whether the temperature in the Chairman's office was originally low, or if it was due to another reason, my body, which had been hot just a moment ago from cooking in front of the Fire and moving while dragging the table, cooled down rapidly.
Dripping with Cold sweat, I carefully stepped down below the dais, which sloped on both sides.
Recalling the rule that my eye level must not be higher than the Chairman's, I looked slightly upward from a much lower Position.
Isiho's Iron Blood Chairman,
I looked at Karin Isiho.
The first impression I had when I first encountered her half a year ago was that she was small.
That is still the same now.
The Chairman had the appearance of a girl.
She was incredibly small and light, looking as though she was at most the age of a middle school student.
However, she couldn't simply be lumped together and described as a girl.
Karin Isiho possessed a presence far beyond that.
Black hair and black eyes were shining above a dark, authentic Japanese-style yukata.
Jet-Black Jewel Eyes seemed to Pierce through to the soul, or perhaps were sunk so deeply that it was impossible to know what was inside.
Those eyes looking down on all creation in the World and the Unapproachable Aura felt within her perfectly sculpted, doll-like appearance forced me to submit.
Who could possibly not kneel before that girl?
Who could maintain their composure in front of that gaze, which seemed to appraise a person's entire life?
That was the Iron Blood Chairman.
She was the Master of the Megacorp who made the current Isiho exist. She was one of the Magnates Ruling the Heavens of Dusk City.
And such a figure silently looked at the dining table I had prepared, before soon picking up her chopsticks.
The smoothly glossy wood shone between her slender fingers.
The Chairman's Dinner had begun.