Chapter 83
"That was an Interesting story. Though it seems you haven't told me everything yet."
"..."
I felt a chill run to my bones.
As expected of the Iron Blood Chairman.
I had intentionally omitted the Details about the Cyberdive, and just when I thought she was going to let it slide, she brought it up like this.
My fingernails dug into the skin of my clenched fists.
How should I handle this? Should I lie? But there was no way that would work on Isiho's Chairman.
Even at this very moment, she was likely perceiving my heartbeat, breathing, changes in expression, and eye movements, verifying the truth of my words in real time.
I was pretending to be calm on the Outside, but I was trembling on the inside. Even that psychological state was probably resting in the palm of the Iron Blood Chairman's hand.
Did I really have to tell her?
But this... if I told her, things would get truly dangerous.
My value might shift from a useful Chef and an odd-job company Employee into a Goose that Lays Golden Eggs if you cut its belly open, a Treasure Goblin.
The Microchip that I previously thought only had the Performance to enhance Reflexes and Cognitive Ability
actually contained overwhelming Over-Technology that allowed an Ordinary Person, not a Net Diver, to perform a Bare-Body Cyberdive.
If I were the Chairman and found that out, I would order technicians to perform a Dissection on it.
They say that if it's forcibly removed, I would die and the chip would stop along with me, but such a drawback is nothing compared to the traces of new Technology that would be inside the chip's internal Supercomputer.
Even if it was a stopped chip, they would surely reap some kind of harvest if they dismantled it and figured out its Internal Structure.
Even if they only obtained a very small clue, wouldn't they see a massive profit in their Development Project?
From the perspective of running a Megacorp, it was an element they could never give up.
Beyond simple profit and loss, whether or not they led in Technology could be decided by the chip inside a head.
Of course, Dissection was a somewhat extreme example.
But even if it wasn't Dissection, it was obvious they would research it in some way.
If I were lucky, it would stop at suffering the Fate of a Lab Rat in a research room or Laboratory like before,
and if I were unlucky, my entire Thought Region of the Brain might undergo Excision along with the Microchip, leaving me as a Brain in a Vat.
I shuddered at the terrible imagination.
When I couldn't bring myself to say anything and only repeatedly opened and closed my mouth, the Chairman frowned as if something displeased her.
What followed were Unexpected words.
"Enough. I didn't bring it up to Interrogate you. It is insolent that you hid a part of it, but your Eloquence was entertaining, so I will let it slide."
She would let it slide.
Meaning, I didn't have to tell her.
In a moment of relief, all the strength drained from my body.
*At the same time, a deep question arose as to why she was just letting it go even though she had noticed.*
Why? Was it her intention to test my loyalty?
Was this the kind of development where if I didn't Kneel and Beg for Forgiveness right here, saying, “No, Chairman. I will tell you the whole truth!”, I would get my head cut off by a samurai...?
I forced my confused head and wildly beating heart to calm down.
At least as far as I knew, the Iron Blood Chairman didn't do things like that.
Even if she committed evil deeds like exploiting her subordinate employees to their limits, bleeding a Rival Company dry, or choosing to Monopolize an Industry,
she didn't engage in Deception, tricking others while pretending otherwise. She was Cold and Thorough in everything, and that applied to herself as well.
Karin Isiho was a Consistent Person.
That was why, despite being the Leader of a Black Company, she could exude such an arrogant and Dignified Aura.
Because of that, I carefully opened my mouth.
Hoping my calculations were correct.
"Thank you."
"It is merely a just Reward for Labor."
Isiho's Chairman spoke Calmly, lifting her chin.
The floral pattern of white and gold woven into her pitch-black Nanofiber Fabric yukata flashed brilliantly.
Beneath the office ceiling, grandly intersected by golden lines, she continued speaking.
"And there is one more Reward for Labor you must claim."
"...?"
I was bewildered. What was she going to bring up this time?
My relief at the thought of her letting the Microchip issue slide was short-lived; tension circled my mind once again.
"The Dinner you cooked"
Ah.
That was definitely labor. And it was hard labor that severely overworked a person.
It wasn't like I was doing some cooking Competition Survival Program.
The challenge was to prepare a Korean Meal of a caliber befitting the Chairman from scratch, without a pre-prepared recipe, within a Time Limit of less than two hours.
Utilizing my rapidly spinning head and State of Concentration to the limit in a Moment of Crisis, I had somehow managed To Pull it off by overworking my Aching Body, but thinking about it now, it is absurd.
It felt like a miracle that I had ultimately succeeded in completing and Serving the Hansangcharim, and that the Chairman had safely finished her Dinner, tasting everything at least once without throwing any of the food away.
If you told me to do it again, I couldn't, even if you beat me to death.
Reward for Labor?
Now that I heard it, it seemed right that I should receive it.
How many times had I been put in such an Extreme Situation over the past few days?
I wasn't some Steel that hardens with tempering, and if I didn't at least get a bonus, I wouldn't be able to live with the unfairness.
"A Korean-style Hansangcharim... Gucheop-bansang, you called it. Eight of those dishes were ordinary. Some were below expectations, and some were exactly as expected."
"Either way, they didn't exceed what I anticipated. They weren't the unconventional dishes I had hoped for,"
Karin Isiho added as she spoke.
"But that chicken dish — the Braised Chicken Wings were delicious."
Delicious.
It was the most pleasant word a Chef could hear, anytime, anywhere.
It was even more so if the person uttering those words was Isiho's Iron Blood Chairman, who was incredibly picky about food.
As expected of a ninety-out-of-a-hundred-point dish.
The Main Dish, the Gochujang Braised Chicken Wings, did not disappoint me.
"The green onions and chicken were cooked well. The sweetness of the jujube and ginger, the spicy and salty umami coming from the sauce and ingredients, and the refreshing scent of basil were all present. You combined the Taste and Aroma well, and you paid meticulous Attention to detail in many aspects."
So this was what it meant to be a gourmet Chairman.
I got goosebumps at how she seemed to read the entire Dish Design, its detailed Process, and its implied meaning just by eating it.
It wasn't a recipe I had developed, but since it was a cooking Method I had frequently made and researched to make my own, I couldn't help but be surprised by that perfectly accurate evaluation.
"I thought it was cliché to have so many dishes on the table using chicken as an ingredient... but you proved that thought wrong. I've tried a Gochujang Dish a few times but never liked it; thanks to you, my thoughts on gochujang have changed to some extent."
And considering the Chairman's temperament, this was unbelievably high Praise.
The Poor conditions and my cooking Skill, which was several steps behind truly proper head chefs, probably played a part in lowering her expectations from the start,
but even taking that into account, it was a generous review beyond imagination.
Of course, the recipe was good. Plus, I put a lot of care into it.
It was a dish that came out as deliciously and elegantly as I had intended, or perhaps even more so, so I did have some expectations, but I didn't know it would yield such great results.
Could I be a cooking genius?
Maybe I was a talented person more suited to being a Chef than a Bartender or a Manager.
I had the kind of talent that I could have become the World's best Chef if I had just worked at a restaurant for a few more years, something like that.
Working at an Outskirts bar like Dragon's Lair might actually be a massive waste of talent.
Toward me, who was floundering in a sea of delusions with a bewildered heart, Chairman Karin Isiho spoke with a peculiar look in her eyes.
"You have an unpleasant expression on your face. I can guess what you're thinking. But no.
This dish was certainly quite excellent, but reinstatement to the restaurant is impossible. Continue to work at Bar Dragon's Lair and report back. There are still things you need to do there."
...Well, of course, that didn't mean I actually intended to Leave Dragon's Lair. I had grown attached to the Dragon President and the other Bartenders, and it would be a waste of my Cocktail Study.
There were many difficult and overwhelming things like the Ned Ludd Incident or the Man Hunter Incident, but there were just as many good things. The Dragon President was generous and gave good bonuses, too.
"Understood."
Her next words to me, who had awakened from my Delusion and answered, were:
"Then, I ate a delicious meal, although it was only one dish, so I will pay the Reward for Labor. Tell me. What is it that you want? Anything is Fine, as long as it doesn't cross the line."
The price for satisfying the Chairman's tongue was a kind of Wish Right, allowing me to request whatever I wanted “as long as it didn”t cross the line.'
They say it's polite to decline at least once when a Superior offers something, but there is no need for that now.
Isiho's Iron Blood Chairman never spoke empty words.
Asking what I wanted meant she truly intended to grant it.
Rather, going out of my way to be modest was exactly the kind of thing the Chairman would hate.
Because it would waste her time by making her annoyingly repeat what she had already said.
I had to Accept it. But what should I say? A Resignation Request would never be accepted.
Was it money after all? Or...
After a moment of thought, I said something, and Isiho's Chairman granted that Wish. And then she kicked me out of the office.
Just a moment ago, I had been standing at the Top of the World, and the next second, I was thrown straight down to rock bottom.
To The Mortal World where the stars and moon were hidden by Neon Pollution, to the Lower Level of Gintoki Tower.
By then, it was already past midnight.
I exited the building, looking at the Glass Beehive of company employees working day and night, which shone so brightly it hurt my eyes.
It was 1 AM by the time I returned home.
And now, I possessed the Wish the Chairman had granted, the gift she had given me. I stared blankly into the air, fiddling with the gift.
Lying on the sofa, resting on a smooth Artificial Fiber Air Cushion, he was puffing away.
"..."
In that state, I wriggled my exhausted body and raised the Cyberwatch on my wrist.
The screen glowed blue, and a keyboard popped up.
The Recipient was the Dragon President, Sasha Dragon.
I sent a Text Message.
[I think it would be best to meet the evening after next...]
I paused while typing.
Since it was past midnight, it wouldn't be the day after tomorrow, but tomorrow.
Let's correct it.
[I think it would be best to meet on the evening of Wednesday, March 30th.]
I pressed Send Confirmation, and, unable to even wait for a reply, I went limp and passed out.
The Sleep Demon guided my exhausted body.
As I was sucked into the familiar Dream World, I heard someone's voice from far away.
"...promise..."
And when I woke up, a troublesome problem was waiting for me.