Gourmet Gaming-Chapter 1291

“Let’s meet again someday.”

With a slight smile on his face, Philip walked away.

Perhaps, in the future, Minhyuk might no longer be able to receive another Pillar Disaster. After all, there was no guarantee that he would meet Philip again. But Minhyuk did not want anything from him anymore. He had already received too much from the man. He did not regret the choice that he made.

Meanwhile, Philip began to walk aimlessly after leaving Minhyuk behind. One day, just like a righteous person, he killed thousands of monsters and saved those in danger.

“I’m Minhyuk’s great-grandfather.”

“Huh? So random?”

On another day, he visited a place stricken with drought and gave them a lot of water. He said, “Do you know Minhyuk? I’m Minhyuk’s great-grandpa.”

“...?”

Some days, he would travel around with some companions.

“I’m Minhyuk’s grandpa.”

And his companions...

“That ahjussi... Don’t you think that he’s a chronic liar...?”

“Maybe...”

Philip wandered the world aimlessly just like that.

[Someone is talking about you.]

This was commonplace for Minhyuk, so he did not pay much attention to the notification.

And when the wandering Philip entered a restaurant and ate something delicious...

This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.

“I’m Minhyuk’s grandfather, can you put this in a tab under his name...?”

“...?”

He was dragged to the kitchen and made to wash the dishes that day. Anyway, he continued to wander the world just like that.

***

All human beings were afraid of death. However, all human beings die regardless of whether they were someone of high status or someone at the lowest rungs of society, whether they were strong or weak. Even the outstanding achievements that they had made in their lives wouldn’t matter. Everything would end once they died.

Unable to recover, Duke Vakkaman felt his already severed veins begin to rot and release a terrible stench. It felt as if countless maggots were wriggling all over his body, leaving him in an even desperate state.

The feeling of his rotting veins crept forward until they reached his heart. The sensation was too much even for someone like Duke Vakkaman, who possessed superhuman mental strength. As the terrible pain left him sinking deeper into the abyss, terror and fear engulfed him.

‘Duke Vakkaman!’

The last thing that Duke Vakkaman remembered before losing consciousness was Alec’s sobs. His eyes suddenly snapped open. He was even able to prop his upper body up. Duke Vakkaman, whose entire body was feeling numb, reached out and grabbed his aching chest.

“Kghhk... what?” Duke Vakkaman muttered when he realized that he was alive. When he looked around, he made eye contact with Duke Laghman, who seemed to have also woken up.

At that moment, Alec came in. “You’re awake!” He exclaimed and smiled brightly when he saw the two, who were still recovering and suffering from terrible aches and a numbing sensation.

“What’s going on?”

Alec’s favor toward Minhyuk had increased by leaps and bounds. He could not forget how cool Minhyuk looked when he appeared in the distance. Especially when he saved both the Beyond the Heavens Empire and the Luvien Empire. His appearance had distorted Alec’s perception and memory of the time.

Alec explained the entire story. He spoke with a flush on his face as if he were talking about some kind of heroic saga. He said, “Then, His Majesty Minhyuk said, ‘Indeed. And I still hate them. Regardless, on this battlefield, we are comrades who have each other’s backs. It is very deplorable for an emperor like me to accept the fact that my comrades will not be able to survive together. If you don’t save the people of the Luvien Empire alongside my men, then I will not back down!”

The words were similar to Minhyuk's, albeit a little exaggerated... No, it was very exaggerated.

“He even said, ‘Zeus, I implore you! Allow me to return with all the precious people who came here with me!”

“...He really said that?”

As for the two... they believed the distorted truth relayed to them.

“It’s true. In fact, I’m actually very disappointed that I cannot convey the urgency in His Majesty Minhyuk’s expression and the desperation in his voice back then. It’s a pity I can only briefly explain it like this.”

Duke Laghman and Duke Vakkaman were both confused. They were currently in an implicit war.

‘Is this some kind of one point, two faces strategy?’

It was a tactic where they would reach their hand out and offer peace to their enemies while secretly preparing for war. In the end, their thoughts on Minhyuk also became distorted. In fact, they were much worse than Alec was.

‘He saved me...’

‘He helped me...’

Because Emperor Minhyuk was the one who pulled them out of death.

‘Perhaps Emperor Minhyuk has been coveting us for a long time?’ Duke Vakkaman thought. Come to think of it, the young man considered Rundalk as his grandfather. And Rundalk was someone from his own family. Perhaps Minhyuk was coveting him because of that.

‘Our fates can never cross.’

At the end of it all, they belonged to different empires, the Luvien Empire and the Beyond the Heavens Empire. Of course, he did not think about jumping ships. It was just...

‘His thinking is different from ours.’

Duke Vakkaman hated the Luvien Empire’s newly crowned emperor, Brod. Why did they have to follow his orders and take care of the Beyond the Heavens Empire? They were the Great Luvien Empire!

Minhyuk was different. He knew the meaning of peaceful coexistence and was fully aware of the importance of the soldiers, even if they were from an enemy empire.

‘He’s a hundred... no, a thousand... perhaps even ten thousand times better than me.’

What if he were the one in Minhyuk’s position? He would already be pleased after saving his Luvien Empire. Perhaps he would even flash a mocking smile at the people of the Beyond the Heavens Empire. What happened in the Gaia Continent had enlightened Duke Vakkaman.

Duke Vakkaman caught Duke Laghman’s gaze. Duke Laghman, who was slightly more emotional(?) and sensitive, was already wiping a tear. The small nods and bitter smiles they exchanged indicated many things.

“Has His Majesty Minhyuk returned to the Beyond the Heavens Empire?”

“No. He’s coming to the Luvien Empire.”

“His Majesty Minhyuk must have been injured. Why is he going around like that? What if his precious body suffers even more injuries?”

“Yes...?”

‘Precious body...? So suddenly?’

“That’s right. He has a precious body. When will he arrive?”

“I heard that they will arrive soon.”

“Why is he visiting?”

“From what I gathered, he is visiting together with a delegation. This is to establish diplomatic exchanges and maintain the close ties between the Great Luvien Empire and the other empires.”

Duke Laghman and Duke Vakkaman hurriedly stood up.

“We have to go and meet with Emperor Minhyuk.”

***

There were many empires in Athenae. Most of these empires maintained a friendly relationship with the Luvien Empire and received their protection in return.

Now that the war between the Beyond the Heavens Empire and the Luvien Empire had ended, it was time for them to seek reconciliation and friendly relationships with the rest of the empires in the world.

Of course, everyone knew that the Beyond the Heavens Empire was superior to all the other empires. Even so, they could not do anything about the empires supporting the Luvien Empire. To ensure smooth exchanges, they had to conduct diplomatic exchanges.

“Your Majesty Minhyuk, even if Emperor Brod is the one who sits in the position of the Luvien Empire’s emperor, you should not think that you’re equal to him. Don’t you think so?”

Minhyuk, who joined the delegation headed toward the Luvien Empire right after he returned, had an ugly expression.

The participants of this exchange were representatives from two empires and seven kingdoms, the core figures of the allies that supported the Luvien Empire. From the beginning, they had never interacted or exchanged with the Beyond the Heavens Empire. They were the ones who would willingly pull their swords and attack the Beyond the Heavens Empire for the Luvien Empire.

However, times had changed. The fact that they had to change their mindset and try to maintain peace with the Beyond the Heavens Empire greatly offended and irritated Akkans Empire’s Duke Fusimeon.

“As you know, many factions exist in the Luvien Empire.”

The empire belonged to the emperor. However, it was huge, and several factions each had a share of this enormous pie.

“The most powerful faction belongs to Duke Vakkaman.”

This was the truth. Duke Vakkaman’s reputation and influence in the Luvien Empire were very high. In fact, his followers could even rival the followers of the emperor. The emperor and the empire were very fortunate that Duke Vakkaman was a faithful servant of the empire. Because if he wasn’t, Emperor Cardin might not have been able to sit on the throne for that long. Perhaps he would have been ousted very early on.

“From what I have gathered, Duke Vakkaman does not look favorably upon the Beyond the Heavens Empire. If I were you, I would be careful.”

Duke Fusimeon’s actions were quite territorial. He was just a mere duke of an empire, yet he dared to teach and lecture the emperor of another empire. The problem was that the nobles who represented their own nations in this exchange believed his actions to be only natural.

‘We have been together with the Luvien Empire for a long time.’

‘Even if the Beyond the Heavens Empire is strong, they’re nothing but latecomers to the show.’

‘We’ve been growling at each other not too long ago, and now you want us to act friendly to you? That’s ridiculous.’

‘This punk’s quite young to be the emperor of an empire, no?’

Everyone looked at Minhyuk with vigilance.

At that moment, Minhyuk said, “I know what you’re worried about. But I wouldn’t stick my nose into others’ business if I were you. Who do you think you are? How dare you try to lecture me?”

“...!”

“...!”

“...!’

The representatives grew furious at Minhyuk’s arrogance. Strictly speaking, he was right. However, they were mad at the fact that this young emperor dared to speak so openly about it. In the end, it was evident that he did not know how the world worked.

He could have just said, ‘I understand,’ but he dared to say such impudent words.

‘What? Does he think he can establish a good relationship with us like this?!’ Duke Fusimeon’s face turned red as his mind raced. However, before he could open his mouth, someone had already beaten him to it.

“Your Majesty Minhyuk, Duke Fusimeon is one of the few people who can have tea with Duke Vakkaman.”

“That’s quite amazing.”

The veins on Minhyuk’s forehead twitched like crazy. He knew that these people were the Luvien’s dogs down to their very core. And they all felt superior to others because of that. When he spat those words earlier, Minhyuk felt a bit of regret.

He knew that he had to avoid conflict in their case. To be honest, he wasn’t avoiding them because he was afraid of them, but because he did not find any value in creating conflicts with them. However, their words and actions left Minhyuk feeling extremely uncomfortable, so he failed to stop himself from making a snide remark.

Duke Fusimeon looked at Minhyuk and said, “Hmmm. That’s too much meddling. Anyway, now that I think about it, I think I should go and have a cup of tea with Duke Vakkaman.”

Basically, he was saying that Minhyuk’s arrogant words had resulted in him consulting with Duke Vakkaman.

Then, at that moment...

“Oh! Duke Vakkaman came here! Did he come to meet me?” Duke Vakkaman laughed when he saw two anxious men waiting on the walls of the Luvien Empire.

Everyone looked at him in admiration as Duke Fusimeon showed courtesy and bowed toward the Luvien Empire’s dukes. He believed that Duke Vakkaman would greet him with wide-open arms.

Duke Vakkaman and Duke Laghman hurriedly ran over to them as if someone was chasing after them. In fact, they looked like they were not in the best of health, but they still hurried over.

Duke Fusimeon, who watched the two run over the moment the gates of the empire opened, thought, ‘Ah! It seems like they want to shake my hands?’

Duke Fusimeon believed that Duke Vakkaman was considering this. It seemed that he was doing this to establish his status and position among the people present.

“Hahaha. Duke Vakkaman, how have you been...” Duke Fusimeon said as he stretched his hand out.

But Duke Vakkaman looked at him in contempt. He even pushed him away, saying, “Get out of the way.”

“...?”

But that was not the end. Duke Laghman, who was right behind Duke Vakkaman, pushed Duke Fusimeon to the side, shouting, “Ah! You! Step aside!”

“...?”

The two stared at Minhyuk, their breathing ragged from how fast they ran here. Anyone looking at them could see how urgent they were feeling.

They, who had even forgotten their shoes in their hurry, looked at Minhyuk as they struggled to compose themselves. Yet in the end, they failed to rein in their emotions. The slightly more emotional and sensitive Duke Laghman burst into tears, prompting Duke Vakkaman to shed his own tears. Then, the two bowed deeply to Minhyuk. No, they weren’t kneeling, they were bowing.

Duke Fusimeon, the representatives of the other nations, and the members of the delegation all looked at the two in confusion.