Chapter 40

Chapter 40

[>Complete 100 C- grade recipes. (100/100)

>Complete 30 C grade recipes. (30/30)

>Complete 10 C+ grade recipes. (9/10)

>Fail 1,000 higher grade recipes. (1,000/1,000)]

[SYSTEM | You have reached 98% proficiency in the ‘Cooking Skill Training’ quest.]

[SYSTEM | Upon completing 10 successful C+ grade recipes, your ‘Cooking Skill’ will level up by 1 point.]

The effects of my daily training, apart from sleeping and eating time, finally started to show.

“Ugh.”

[Oh my.]

“I’m dying.”

I sat dazedly between a mountain of ice cream, what used to be ice cream, and something that almost became ice cream, checking the system window.

Since I had turned off the system window completely while continuing to train my skills, there were many messages that had arrived.

It seemed endless no matter how much I scrolled down.

“How many minutes until the meeting?”

[40 minutes.]

“Ugh. Then I’ll try one more time before I go.”

As I used my skill, squeezing out the last of my remaining strength, a scoop of ice cream floated sacredly in front of my eyes.

Fortunately, this time it didn’t fail.

Still, the success rate had improved a lot compared to the beginning.

Now I could level up my cooking skill with ten successful ‘C+’ grade dishes.

I alternately checked the skill window and quest window, but it only showed a ‘Calculating’ message, as it seemed to take some time for the recent success to be reflected.

It looks like it’s going to take quite a while.

I picked up one of the many ice cream cups next to me.

And trying hard to calm my churning stomach, I walked out sluggishly, holding an ice cream cup in one hand and a spoon in the other.

Since there was still some time left until the meeting, I had to somehow calm my upset stomach. A hangover without even drinking alcohol. 

It’s unfair.

According to the system, I have to use a very small amount of ‘divine power’ every time I use a skill, and this is because I’ve used too much of that power.

I trudged into an empty reception room next to the conference room.

[Oh, what will become of our Irina?]

[I know… should we look for some items?]

I shook my head.

Although the symptoms were exactly the same as a hangover, judging by the fact that the ‘Iron Liver’ skill I already possessed didn’t improve it at all, it seemed to be a completely different mechanism.

‘I have my ways.’

And I immediately called for a servant.

“Bring Sian Terezia here.”

I have my own personal hangover cure.

And that is…!

“Hello…”

“…”

“Please, help me.”

As I whimpered and begged, Sian Terezia frowned and said,

“Am I some kind of healer?”

“Oh, Irina Seike is dying.”

I was almost lying face down on the desk, barely supporting myself with my arms as I sobbed.

Not intending to callously abandon me as I whined, he approached and placed his hand on my forehead.

Soon, a cool power flowed in. 

A fuzzy feeling enveloped me.

I reached out and grabbed the hand on my forehead.

“My… my… hangover cure…”

My stomach felt much better, as if I had thrown up everything. 

As I barely raised my body and lifted my gaze, there was Sian with an expressionless face tinged with slight annoyance.

“Did you drink?”

“No. I made 300 ice creams.”

Sian shook his head, seemingly a bit dumbfounded by the enormous number.

“Irina, you know how amazing my body is, right?”

“Oh, of course.”

“Let’s do well. Okay? Don’t call me for something like this.”

As he pushed in a little more power, my churning stomach instantly calmed down and my whole body felt as refreshed as if I had slept for ten hours.

“Oh, I feel alive…”

“Good.”

Still, as my body was still in pain, I flopped back onto the couch, groaning.

Just then, the system notification sound rang with perfect timing.

Ding.

[SYSTEM | Calculation complete.]

Wow…

[SYSTEM | Skill up. C -> C+]

[SYSTEM | Congratulations!]

I barely lifted my head from the couch to check the status window.

Along with flashy effects, a message saying my cooking skill had been promoted to ‘C+’ was displayed all over the screen.

I made a fighting pose while lying down.

“Yes… I leveled up…”

“Leveled up?”

“Sian, now I can make ice cream… without failing…”

Now I have a 100% success rate for ice cream.

I buried my face in my arms again.

Honestly, shouldn’t leveling up restore health and status as an additional option? 

Why do I feel like I’m about to die?

“You’re still not okay?”

“I’m dying…”

At my statement, Sian clicked his tongue and once again filled me with divine power.

“Hey. Stop exaggerating now and get up.”

“It’s unfair! I’m not exaggerating!”

“You look fine now that you’re whining. Get up now.”

The divine power certainly seemed to be a big help, as my body felt noticeably lighter.

“Okay… I’ll go to the meeting now.”

And so I moved to the conference room with Sian Terezia trailing behind me.

* * *

“Drink lots of water.”

“Yes.”

“Keep your posture straight. Even divine power can’t fix what can’t be fixed.”

“Yes, mom.”

When I responded halfheartedly to Sian’s constant nagging even after entering the conference room, he slapped my shoulder as I sat down.

“Ouch.”

“I’m going. Use your power moderately. And pray to God for more divine power.”

He took care of me like family, as if he had never been cold towards me. 

If I had a slightly older brother, I think he would be like Sian Terezia.

‘It really doesn’t match his image. At first, I thought he was like a snake.’

[There can be various circumstances.]

[SYSTEM | You have partially completed the quest ‘Sian Terezia, who on earth is that man?!’]

[SYSTEM | You have received a ‘Random Skill Box’ as a reward.]

[SYSTEM | There are a total of ’11’ ‘Random Skill Boxes’ confirmed in your inventory.]

It seems I learned quite a lot from the recent conversation with Sian, as I received another ‘Random Skill Box’.

There were some I had received in small amounts over time, and some I received in bulk recently when Sian went berserk, bringing the total number of my ‘Random Skill Boxes’ to eleven.

[Open some.]

[Don’t just pile them up when you get them, open them right away.]

‘It’s bothersome.’

Even if I wanted to open them now, the meeting is about to start. 

It’s not the time to open them.

I closed the system window and looked around. 

I was surprised by the people filling the long conference table, and then surprised again by the fact that all those gazes were fixed on me.

For most of them, I knew everything from their faces to their tendencies and what roles they played in their families.

Of course, I had also built some personal relationships with them.

[Irina really seems amazing.]

[She’s attended every meeting and party she could since coming to the North.]

‘If you want to quickly understand and build relationships, you need to put in that much effort.’

Moreover, I tend to gain people’s favor easily, so it was better in the long run to meet them first.

Of course, that’s not to say I didn’t put in effort.

I worked so hard meeting people in the beginning that later on, Roen told me to take care of my health.

“It seems almost everyone is attending today’s meeting?”

“Yes. It’s been a while.”

Roen agreed with my words and then hesitated a bit before speaking.

“You seem to have become quite close with Sian Terezia.”

“Well, we do have a lot of overlapping areas.”

There aren’t that many people who dislike me in the first place.

Roen stared at me with a subtle expression and then sighed deeply.

“Is something wrong?”

“No. Nothing’s wrong with you, Irina, but something might happen to Cassis.”

I laughed “Haha” at this quite pleasant response and shook my head. 

Cassis seemed to be particularly obsessive about his own people, perhaps because he hadn’t had many people who were entirely his own.

Just then, Cassis entered the conference room.

“Hello, Cassis.”

“Good afternoon, Your Grace.”

There was an unfamiliar woman beside Cassis.

At first, I almost got jealous thinking ‘What kind of outside woman…!’, but as soon as I saw the wrinkled, stubborn face, I let out a small sigh.

That person seemed to be Rosalyn Freya, whom Roen had mentioned before. 

Cassis’s aunt and the younger sister of the previous Grand Duke.

She seemed to have gone through quite a lot of hardship, as the traces of time and tribulation were clearly visible on her face. 

Not only that, but the stubbornness needed to overcome those tribulations was also evident.

I understood why Roen had told me to hang in there.

“Is she very, very stubborn?”

“If only stubbornness was all there was to it.”

I looked up at Roen with eyes asking for an explanation. 

Roen smiled with a resigned face and said,

“She cares deeply about the family.”

Roen explained that much with a shudder and then closed his mouth.

The system provided additional explanation in his place.

The system, as if reading from a settings book somewhere, slowly explained what kind of person ‘Rosalyn Freya’ was.

[Well, first of all, she cares so deeply about the family that even though it’s been several decades since she left, she still meddles in family affairs as if she were the mistress of the house.]

‘Oh…’

[And she’s very interested in Luwin’s finances.]

‘Oh no.’

[She’s also very stubborn and proud, so if anyone says anything to her, she’ll slap them first.]

[Our Irina will probably get slapped at least once.]

‘Damn it.’

I grumbled and turned my gaze back to Rosalyn.

‘No wonder I thought she looked wicked from the start.’

“Seems I’m a bit late.”

Cassis stood in the center and spoke calmly. 

He greeted lightly and then pointed to the middle-aged woman beside him and said,

“It’s been a while since we’ve all greeted each other. There might be some who are seeing her for the first time. Let me introduce her formally. This is Rosalyn Freya. My aunt and the younger sister of the previous Grand Duke.”

She raised her head even higher with a stern face. 

Her nose looked particularly high.

“She’s visiting her hometown until the New Year’s party out of homesickness. Additionally, she’s here to provide direct help, feeling genuinely concerned about Luwin’s financial difficulties, so treat her well.”

I wonder what Cassis is thinking, saying such things. 

I hope it’s just a statement based on hierarchy.

If he really thinks that way, it would be very difficult from a practitioner’s point of view.

‘What kind of nuisance is this to my lovely Luwin!’

Rosalyn Freya scanned the people in the conference room with a face that seemed displeased with everything, and when her gaze reached me, I suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

It was because she blatantly scrutinized my face for a while and then clicked her tongue and turned her head abruptly.

The oblivious Cassis promptly introduced me to Rosalyn Freya as a talent found in the South.

“Aunt, this is Irina of Seike, whom I brought from the South.”

“Pleased to meet you. I’m Irina Seike.”

“This is my aunt, Rosalyn Freya. She’s a family elder who cares for me a lot.”

Even after Cassis’s introduction was over, Rosalyn Freya continued to stare at me with an unpleasant face without responding.

Cassis seemed not to understand well, and Roen behind him looked anxious and impatient.

And I…

‘I’m quite used to this kind of gaze.’

[We know our Irina well.]

[That’s right, that’s right. We know well.]

This was the kind of gaze I faced dozens of times a day when I was running Seike Winery.

The gaze a woman from a fallen family could receive. 

That gaze that says, what could someone like you possibly do? 

The mockery that no matter how hard you try, you must have succeeded by selling your smile and body.

“I heard she’s been in the North for quite some time, but it seems that woman still hasn’t achieved anything proper.”

She seemed to want to ignore my existence completely, as she grabbed Cassis and started talking while pointing at me with her finger. 

I blinked and then brushed my bangs.

‘Hehe. What if I get fired?’

[Why would you get fired!]

[Who dares to fire our proud Irina? Huh?]

‘If I get fired, please make Luwin collapse first.’

I have to get revenge before I die.

The moment Rosalyn’s gaze met mine, I noticed a flash of disgust cross her face, and I smiled brightly at her.

I wouldn’t let it slide even if she were my real aunt. 

Just you wait.