Chapter 60

Chapter 60: The Wedding Begins — One Step Away from Being a Married Man

Wedding preparations made things incredibly busy.

First, I ordered my wedding band at the same jeweler where I had ordered Ria's proposal ring.

I had originally planned to have a separate wedding ring made for Ria, but she insisted on using the ring from the proposal as her wedding ring, so I ultimately agreed.

I also had to personally purchase the white carpet and various decorations needed for the ceremony.

'No matter how modest we keep it, we still need the essentials.'

I also had to prepare for the reception that would follow the ceremony.

In the midst of all this, there was one problem.

'I cannot find a single catering buffet company that meets my standards.'

The food quality of catering buffets did not satisfy me.

The food fell far short of my standards.

Even the expensive catering services had review photos that revealed poor food quality.

The sashimi and sushi lacked freshness.

The California rolls were not of good quality either.

The meats were dried out.

The vegetables were not particularly fresh.

The fruits did not look fresh either.

'Should I contact my former Pungjeong coworkers and ask if they know any good companies?'

I needed to invite them to the reception anyway.

I had no intention of contacting any kitchen staff who had been close to Yu Seon-yeong, though.

I called a few people I had been close to and trusted.

Talking to them about what they had been up to, I learned that some had left Pungjeong and were working at other fine dining restaurants.

Others had opened their own restaurants.

However, I was unable to get any leads on buffet companies.

Lastly, the youngest — Ji-young.

Ji-young answered the phone.

— Hello! Chef!

She shouted loudly the moment she picked up.

"Hey, Ji-young. Have you been well?"

— Yes! I have been well, but you have not contacted me in forever and you are only reaching out now? That is so unfair!

Ji-young had also sent me a message when the internet article with my name had appeared.

"Sorry, sorry. Things have been hectic."

— It is okay. I figured as much.

"You figured as much? Why?"

— You are a hot topic these days. I even saw a video of you confronting the Hunter Association on a road recently. You were with that mysterious woman.

"Ah, that."

Someone had uploaded a video shot from inside a building, filming the road.

A ten-second clip showing Ria and me in a standoff with the Vice President's faction of the Hunter Association.

The video contained a blurry image of Ria with her sunglasses removed.

Ji-young asked.

— So, Chef, what exactly is the deal between you and that woman? Can you not tell me? I am dying of curiosity.

"You would spread it around."

— I would not! I promise! I will keep it to myself.

It was a fact that would come out anyway.

I was going to invite acquaintances and village residents to the reception.

"Fine, I will tell you. She is the person I am going to marry."

— What? Our Chef is getting married? And not to me?

"What does this have to do with you......?"

— Haha! Well, I had a crush on you for a while, Sous Chef. Of course, I was blocked by that wench Yu Seon-yeong's defense. But that is all in the past, so please do not hang up!

"I was about to but stopped myself."

Time to get to the point.

"Where are you working these days, Ji-young?"

— I am working at the Bellice Buffet, handling the steak station.

Bellice Buffet was a fairly renowned upscale buffet.

Their weekday dinner was over 200,000 won per person.

"Ji-young, do you happen to know any catering buffet companies with good quality?"

— Hmm......, most catering buffets are low quality.

"Exactly. I want to hire a catering buffet for the reception after the wedding, but I am having a hard time finding a quality one."

— Want me to ask our head chef here, Chef Seo Yeong-ho? He is very well-connected in the buffet industry.

I had heard of that chef before.

He had appeared on TV a few times, as I recalled.

"Would you?"

— Sure, I will ask and get back to you!

"Thanks."

About ten minutes later, Ji-young called back.

— He says he does not know of any quality companies either......!

"All right, I understand. It cannot be helped."

— Aww! But you are still going to invite me, right?

"Of course. See you then."

In the end, I had asked around among Pungjeong staff but could not find a satisfactory company.

There was no other choice.

I would have to make everything myself.

'I will have to cook in advance and store it all in Acresia.'

To do that, I would first need to buy large quantities of serving dishes and ingredients.

***

Having to prepare the food myself made things even busier.

As I was cooking in bulk at the countryside house's yard and kitchen.

"Chef! We have come to help!"

"The delicious smells are incredible. Chef, please open the door!"

Voices came from outside the front gate.

When I opened it, former Pungjeong staff members I had called were standing there.

"What are you all doing here......?"

"You said you were preparing the food alone, so of course we came to help!"

"The wedding is just a few days away. You must be swamped, so we had to lend a hand."

"We all took annual leave!"

They must have contacted each other and coordinated their days off.

They had probably found the address from the group chat for the reception.

The four who had come were Hwa-su, Bong-shik, Seon-hwa, and the youngest, Ji-young.

"Sous Chef, we missed you so much......!"

"We really did. We missed you so much......!"

"I only realized how precious it was to learn cooking from you after you left, Chef."

These kids......

I felt a pang in my heart for no reason.

"Thank you for coming. I was actually struggling to handle it all alone."

"Haha! We figured as much."

"We all brought our own cooking tools too. Just give us the orders!"

"It is an honor to work in sync with the Sous Chef again after so long."

Indeed, it had been a while since we could work together.

"None of you have lost your touch, right?"

"Of course not! We have all been in the field this whole time."

"Just leave it to us, Chef!"

Good energy.

"Then let me check how much you have all improved."

And so, cooking began under my direction.

Working in sync with my former colleagues after so long made cooking enjoyable.

Ji-young took a break from cooking and looked at me.

"Wow, Chef, why are your shoulders so much broader? Your body looks incredible."

"Really? It is because of the Awakening."

"I am jealous......, I want to Awaken too. Would that make me prettier?"

"They say your skin becomes more elastic and improves. It did for me."

"Really? I really want to Awaken......! I heard you barely get minor illnesses like colds after Awakening."

"Who knows, you might suddenly Awaken one day. That is how everyone becomes Awakened."

"That is true. I will keep my hopes up."

Ji-young went back to cooking.

This time, Bong-jun placed a pot of water on the burner to boil and asked me while taking a brief break.

"By the way, Sous Chef, is it true that if you put cooked food into Subspace Storage, it does not spoil even if prepared in advance, and the temperature stays the same?"

"Not all Subspace Storage skills work that way. Mine is a bit special."

"I see. But can all this food really fit inside?"

"It can."

"Wow......, I am so envious! If you buy all the fresh seasonal ingredients and store them, and stock up on vegetables and fruits when they are cheap and in season, that is a huge money saver."

"Exactly. That is actually what I have been doing."

"It is the ultimate Awakened skill for a chef."

"It really is. The best skill."

The Pungjeong staff were all envious of me being an Awakened.

I then began prepping ingredients.

CHOP-CHOP-CHOP-CHOP!

My colleagues' jaws dropped watching ingredients being sliced at speed with perfectly consistent thickness.

Not a single piece flew off the cutting board.

"Wow......, your knife work was already top-tier chef level back in the Pungjeong days, but now it is beyond human. Completely machine-level."

"I heard you took over two years off, but your skills have only gotten better."

"I have seen other Awakened chefs, and their knife skills were not great......, the Sous Chef really is different."

"Did we come here for nothing? The Sous Chef alone could probably match our combined speed."

That was an exaggeration.

Besides, working alone versus combining forces produced synergy on a completely different level.

Back in the Pungjeong days, the kitchen staff under me had worked together like clockwork.

Of course, there had been Yu Seon-yeong, who clashed with me badly, and one person who was close to her, so the gears sometimes got misaligned.

Even so, it was the good teamwork among the kitchen staff that had made Pungjeong the best restaurant in the country.

'In fine dining, kitchen teamwork determines food quality.'

The reason these people had endured the low salary relative to the work and the poor treatment from the Executive Chef was because of each other.

"Are you all doing well at your current workplaces?"

"Yes, being someone who worked during Pungjeong's three-star era carries weight. People say we are exceptional."

"My skills have been recognized, and I am set for the Sous Chef position."

"I opened a small restaurant and am working hard!"

"Having trained under the Sous Chef, we do well wherever we go."

Of course they would.

They had been the aces of Pungjeong.

Ji-young was the youngest with less experience, so she had been a bit lacking.

But watching her cook now, she had improved considerably.

The former Pungjeong staff then asked me.

"Chef, are you not going to show us a photo of your bride-to-be? She was not on the reception invitation either."

"Seriously. I am dying of curiosity."

"Show us a photo!"

Not a chance.

"Come to the reception and see for yourselves."

My colleagues grumbled about how stingy I was.

And so, the aces of Pungjeong's three-star era gathered and produced high-quality buffet food.

***

The day of the wedding arrived.

I came out to the countryside house to transport the guests to the Rift house where the ceremony would be held.

Waiting at the front gate were the guests.

They were none other than the three S-Rank members.

The trio, smartly dressed in suits.

"You arrived early. All three of you look very sharp."

The Sword Saint, in particular, had put in extra effort since he would be serving as the officiant.

"You look even more dashing, Seon-u. The tuxedo suits you perfectly."

Eriksson and Santos also chimed in.

"You are all set to get married, Seon-u."

"......Looking good."

Eriksson and Santos had each returned to their home countries and come back to Korea after a few days.

To attend my wedding.

"Thank you so much for coming."

"Of course we had to come. It is an honor to be here."

"Right, it would not be the same without us. Especially since we are your only guests."

That was not exactly true......

"Hmm......"

"Why? Are there other guests?"

At Eriksson's question, I scratched my cheek before answering.

"Yeah, there are."

"Who......? I thought this was going to be our exclusive privilege."

Eriksson was acting as if he had been betrayed.

"You will find out when you get there. But regardless of who is there, absolutely no fighting. No requesting sparring matches either. If you break these rules, I will never bring you back."

"......Understood."

I then opened the Gate portal in a corner of the yard.

Seeing the portal, the trio said.

"I am so glad to be able to visit your and Lady Ria's home again, Seon-u. It has not been long since we left the Rift, but it feels like over a year has passed."

"I know, it feels like going home after a long time."

"......I missed it."

I said to the three of them.

"Welcome back."

The three of them stepped into the Gate portal.

I followed them through.

Upon arrival, I witnessed the knight order quartet and the three S-Rank members coming face to face.

Both sides were startled to see each other.

I had to hold back laughter watching the scene.

I had also told the knight order quartet in advance that someone might come and that they were absolutely not to attack.

Ruina then used the area Sigil of Wisdom.

"Sir Seon-u, who are these people?"

"They are guests of mine and Ria's. They are here as wedding guests, so do not be on guard."

"Ah......, so they are guests. Welcome!"

Ruina shifted from her alert stance to the gracious manner of an attendant welcoming guests.

A swift change of demeanor.

The Sword Saint then looked at me and said.

"Seon-u, could these people be......?"

"Yes, they are from Ria's world. They are the officers of the knight order that Ria commanded."

"I see......, no wonder they look remarkably strong."

At the Sword Saint's remark, knight order member Neville said.

"You appear to be quite strong yourself, sir. Remarkably so."

Their eyes met.

Sparks seemed to fly.

Then they reached their hands toward each other.

'Right before the wedding, surely they are not going to......'

They firmly clasped each other's outstretched hands.

It had been a manly handshake greeting.

The Sword Saint said.

"It is reassuring to know that strong people like yourselves are protecting Seon-u, Lady Ria, and Rin."

"So you must be the ones who protected this place before us. It is nice to meet you."

And so, the knight order quartet and the three S-Rank members exchanged greetings.

The total number of guests was now seven.

Ruina then headed to Ria's room.

To help her put on the dress and with her makeup.

'I am starting to get nervous......'

I checked my outfit and hairstyling one more time for no particular reason.

Since I still had time, I also inspected the ceremony venue in the yard.

Guest chairs, carpet, decorative flower pots flanking the carpet, and the glass podium.

I had ordered and set up everything myself.

The carpet led from the house out into the yard, with the podium at the end.

Before Ria, Rin emerged from the room first.

"Rin."

Rin was wearing a cute light green dress.

On her head was a pretty flower crown.

She saw me and waved with a smile.

'How adorable.'

I waved back at Rin.

Today, Rin would serve as the flower bearer, delivering the wedding gifts to Ria and me.

The time had come.

The guests took their seats.

The Sword Saint, serving as officiant, stepped up to the podium.

"We will now commence the wedding ceremony of groom An Seon-u and bride Aveline di Emeria."

The Sword Saint announced the start of the wedding.

"First, we will have the groom's entrance. Please welcome him with a warm round of applause."

I took a deep breath and began walking down the white carpet.

The small group of guests burst into cheers.

"Looking great, An Seon-u!"

"Congratulations!"

"The groom is quite the tall and handsome fellow. Hahaha!"

"Awoo-!"

Bell was also among the guests.

I bowed my head in thanks to them.

I walked up to the podium, bowed in gratitude to the Sword Saint for officiating, and then turned around.

The emotions hit me fresh.

'When I first came here, this place was desolate.'

It had been nothing but an empty clearing.

I had pitched a single tent in such a place.

Fearlessly planning to cook and eat here.

That was when I first met Ria, injured and starving.

She had given me so much before recovering and leaving.

After a period of waiting, she returned.

Then I met Rin, we built a house, cultivated an orchard and fields. We met Bell too.

Ria and I began dating officially.

And now, after the proposal, we were getting married.

'Meeting Ria was the greatest fortune of my life.'

Before that, my heart had been in ruins.

Meeting her had purified my devastated heart.

My life had changed a hundred and eighty degrees.

And now, I was about to welcome that person — the person I owed so much to — as my wife.

The Sword Saint called out.

"Next, the entrance of today's other star. The bride, so beautiful that even flowers would be envious. Please welcome the bride with enthusiastic cheers and applause."

My heart began to pound violently.