Chapter 1304

Chapter 1304

These were the stories that were spread in the Gaia Continent.

[Goddess of Agriculture Demeter is the most benevolent god.]

[Among the gods, she was the only one who created fields and sowed seeds to feed the poor and pitiful humans.]

[Perhaps this was why she was the most beloved god among the Twelve Gods of Olympus in the Gaia Continent.]

This kind and benevolent goddess actually had a crush on someone. The person Demeter liked was actually sitting on a bath stool, crouched over a tub, as he mixed the

kimchi

seasoning.

“...?”

Anyway, she watched her crush finish making

kimchi

. Of course, Minhyuk did not make only one type of

kimchi.

Aside from the ordinary

kimchi,

he also made some

kkakdugi, yeolmu kimchi, dongchimi, gatkimchi,

and plenty of other varieties of

kimchi.

Minhyuk smiled faintly as he opened the lid of the boiling pot beside him and took out the already-cooked

bossam.

He gently placed the thick and well-cooked meat on the cutting board and sliced it as it was.

Then, he placed some of the

bossam

, the

kimchi

he prepared for winter, and some dried radish in front of Demeter.

“I can’t eat anything spicy...”

“I used the Palate-adapting

Gochugaru

for this. So, these guys will only let you taste the most delicious and the appropriate level of spiciness that you can tolerate. It might feel a bit spicy, but it won’t be at a level where your mouth will feel as if it’s burning. Besides, you must try this first and check if it is at a level where Olympus can accept and approve it. Isn’t that right, Lady Demeter?”

After serving Demeter, Minhyuk went to the table he had set up a few moments earlier. Minhyuk smiled happily as he looked at the delicious spread of

bossam

in front of him. Just like usual, he first tasted the

bossam

without any sauce.

“Oh...”

The thick meat's juices immediately spread in his mouth the moment he put it in. The various herbs and spices used when boiling the

bossam left

a lingering flavor. Because the

bossam

was boiled perfectly well, the meat easily melted in his mouth. He only needed to chew a few times, and he could easily swallow everything down.

Still in awe, Minhyuk grabbed another piece of

bossam

. This time, he dipped the meat in

ssamjang

and ate it with a piece of the freshly made

kimchi

that he tore with his hands. The first thing that greeted his mouth was the crisp and fresh

kimchi,

immediately followed by the savory

ssamjang

and the juicy meat. The combination of flavors left him trembling in joy.

“Kghhk...”

That was not the end. He spread a leaf of lettuce on his palm and added two thick pieces of

bossam.

Then, he added a dollop of

ssamjang,

some garlic, some

cheongyang

peppers, and some dried radish. After putting everything that he wanted to put in, he closed the lettuce into a wrap and put it in his mouth.

After that, he dipped some cabbage in

ssamjang

, added some

bossam

, and ate everything in one bite. The fresh and unseasoned cabbage had a slight sweetness that perfectly complemented the meat.

Crunch, crunch!

A happy smile appeared on Minhyuk’s face as he savored the flavors dancing in his mouth. Then, he mixed everything with some

jaengban guksu

[1].

‘Cold noodles and jokbal are incomplete without jaengban guksu.’

Minhyuk grabbed a massive mouthful of the glossy and well-mixed

jaengban guksu

and ate it with a piece of

bossam

. The noodles' sweet and sour taste created a fantastic harmony with the delicious

bossam.

With this, Minhyuk finished his meal. He then turned to look at Demeter.

This was Demeter’s first time eating

bossam,

so she had been following what Minhyuk was doing. She could not help but admire the flavor of this dish.

What surprised her the most was the

kimchi. It tasted so good

that she wanted to cry.

“Can you cook hundreds of different dishes with this

kimchi

?”

“I think you can make a thousand things out of this?”

“Then, if you don’t have any cabbage, can you make it with a different ingredient?”

“You can even use a watermelon rind to make

kimchi.

The best part?

Kimchi

tastes better the longer it’s stored.”

“...!”

A dish that tasted better the longer it was stored? That was amazing! Demeter believed that this dish was enough to satisfy Olympus.

“I will bring these with me for tasting and approval. As promised, you can visit the Gaia Continent tomorrow in your capacity as a Pillar .”

Demeter could already imagine the happy smiles that would bloom on the faces of the people of Gaia once they tasted this

kimchi.

With a delighted smile on her face, Demeter warped out of the Beyond the Heavens Empire.

Minhyuk and Haze stared at the place where Demeter disappeared.

“I think she’s the purest and most innocent of the gods.”

“That’s right. Perhaps that’s the reason why Olympus sent her here.”

The two smiled bitterly. Then, they looked at each other and...

“Shall we start?”

“Yes.”

The two planned to start preparations for the Strip the Gaia Continent Bare project. And what they intended to sell to the Gaia Continent was none other than a jar. They would soon need a special jar to store

kimchi

.

“How much capital is needed to produce a single jar?”

“Around 10,000 gold or so, I believe,” Haze answered.

Minhyuk nodded and said, “Then, send a production order for the jars to Hephaestus.”

“I understand, Your Majesty. Ah...” Haze answered as she turned around. She suddenly paused in her tracks. There was one thing that she was very concerned about. So, she asked, “Will you be fine if you visit the Gaia Continent?”

“There’s a high chance that things will go south tomorrow,” Minhyuk answered.

He did not have any shred of trust in the gods of Olympus. In fact, he was fully aware that they would most likely say that they did not like what he offered and that it was not enough, regardless of what it was. Even if he sent an amazing

kimchi

, it would not matter if they refused to accept it.

“They’re trying to use this as an excuse to go to war. Nevertheless, I can’t just carelessly stand back.”

Of course, if Minhyuk went to the Gaia Continent for this matter, there was a high chance he would face danger. Nonetheless, he had to go.

“If I don’t go, then war will break out sooner rather than later.”

This just went to show how heavy the burden a Pillar had to shoulder.

***

All the weapons and armor produced in the Beyond the Heavens Empire were divided into those made before and after Hephaestus’ arrival.

Before Hephaestus arrived, Golden Hammer’s Descendant Olger and the God of Blacksmith’s Descendant Hyemin’sDaddy were the main blacksmiths of the empire. Both were undeniably excellent blacksmiths. However, they still faced huge restrictions and limitations and could not produce excellent artifacts whenever they worked in the smithy. As for the other blacksmiths? They only had a pitiful number in the empire.

Because of that, the artifacts worn by the Beyond the Heavens Empire’s soldiers were inferior to those from the other empires. Everything changed once Hephaestus arrived.

Hephaestus produced outstanding artifacts every single time. The best part? He could produce many artifacts in just a short period. Although he did not carry the title of a vassal and was only recognized as a friend of the Beyond the Heavens Empire, Hephaestus worked hard to produce artifacts for them.

Haze delivered the production order to the smithy where Hephaestus, Hyemin’sDaddy daddy, and Olger were working and left shortly after.

Hephaestus, about to start making the jars, suddenly stopped and thought,

‘It’s tough to find or make a dish like that.’

Even so, Minhyuk was still able to make one. The only question was... would Olympus accept it? Hephaestus knew the gods of Olympus better than anybody else. He knew that they did not have any need for such a dish.

‘A dish or ingredient like wheat and rice that all of the people of Gaia Continent can enjoy?’

The same gods who treated the people of Gaia as bugs were asking for something like that? That was nonsense. Hephaestus knew they were just doing this to get some justification.

‘They wanted a pretext. They will use this and say that we did not meet what the Gaia Continent wanted from us.’

Would they genuinely acknowledge the

kimchi

once it has been given to them? Not at all. They would use all kinds of deterrence and start a war. And Hephaestus knew that one of the biggest reasons they did this was because of him.

Herakel’s case was different. Herakel was someone whom they had abandoned from the very beginning. Hera even made sure that he was suffering from an intellectual disability when they sent him to this land. As for Hephaestus? He came here voluntarily. Because of that, there was a high chance that their anger toward Minhyuk was much bigger than they had imagined.

Hephaestus stood there in a daze as he pondered over Haze’s words. He thought,

‘Minhyuk will deliver the kimchi to the Gaia Continent tomorrow...’

And there was no guarantee that he would be able to come back safely. Of course, Minhyuk was immortal, and he could revive himself even if killed. Regardless, for Olympus, killing him was like a symbol.

‘It will be a symbol that shows that they have killed the Pillar of the Western Continents.’

Hephaestus smiled bitterly as he stared at the hammer in his hands. Then, he said, “Olger, can you take over and take charge of the smithy and the blacksmiths for me for a while? There’s somewhere that I have to go.”

Hephaestus headed to the Gaia Continent.

***

Crackle!

A lightning bolt fell and disintegrated the

kimchi

inside the plastic container. Demeter, who watched everything happen, looked at Zeus in disbelief.

“Lord Zeus, why...”

“I don’t care about any of this.”

Some of the rules and regulations that the Western Continent’s Athenae placed over Zeus and the Gaia Continent had disappeared. Now, the people of the Gaia Continent could explore the West as they pleased.

“The ingredients or dishes that we demanded? They’re nothing but an excuse,” Zeus scoffed. He was actually in a terrible mood.

It was fine when they took Herakel. That was his destiny. It was fine when Hephaestus left. In the first place, they treated him as a monster and had always excluded him from the very beginning.

The story changed when they dared to make a move on Ares. Of course, everything stemmed from Ares. After all, he was the one who broke the rules and regulations. Because of that, Zeus had to help the Pillar of the Gourmands to save him.

Now, there was no need for compensation.

“He will come here tomorrow.”

Zeus jumped down from the clouds and landed on the ground. Demeter, who followed after him to try to dissuade him, saw many of the gods, including the gods of Olympus, already waiting for him.

“Catch him and lock him up in the Celestial Prisons.”

The Celestial Prisons was a prison on the Gaia Continent. In this prison, no one could leave unless they received Zeus’ special permission. Even the Twelve Gods of Olympus could not escape.

“You used me...?” Demeter whispered. She realized that she, who had no enmity or hostility, was used to drag Minhyuk to this place.

Zeus did not explain. He patted her on the shoulder and said, “Good job.”

Demeter’s expression collapsed and turned into one of despair. She felt as if everything around her was falling apart. The Twelve Gods of Olympus had never changed, whether in the past or present. She stared at the hundreds of gods gathered in this place with disgust and contempt. Then, at that moment...

[Traitor Hephaestus has entered the Gaia Continent.]

[He has abandoned the position of the Twelve Gods of Olympus and has chosen to move to an empire in the Western Continents.]

[He is a disgrace to all of the Gaia Continent.]

“...”

Demeter actually could not understand this.

Hephaestus was a god, yet even the people of Gaia mocked him. They imitated him and walked with a limp, calling him the Limp Monster God. Even the adults would make fun of their children and say,

‘If you

don’t listen to me, then you’ll become ugly and limp like Hephaestus, you know?’

The gods could see for a thousand miles away. And the same was true for Demeter. She saw Hephaestus descend and began limping toward them.

[All of Gaia jeers and mocks him.]

[The poets recite poems that curse him.]

[The bards sing songs that mock him.]

[The children mockingly imitate him and throw stones at his figure.]

Hephaestus was a god. Yet he acted subserviently and timidly in front of all of the gods. Not only that, but humans also mocked him. And to these gods, he, who appeared in front of them, was the same as before.

“Yo. Hef*cktus! I heard that you moved to another continent? Your legs are still limp and your face is still ugly!”

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Look at that limp!”

Hephaestus was a god, but like in the past, the gods mocked him in front of hundreds of other gods. The Twelve Gods of Olympus also despised him, especially because they could not accept that he was equal to them in status.

The only one who pitied him was Demeter. And she could not understand why he came here. She thought,

‘He’s a god who cannot even raise his head in front of his father and mother who abandoned him.’

Unfortunately for everyone, everything was different this time around. The person whom they mocked as the Lame Monster God was now standing tall and staring straight into the eyes of his father, Zeus, amidst the mocking gazes and jeering laughter of the people around them.

“All of you should shut your mouths,” Hephaestus said sharply.

The cutting voice of Olympus’ most outstanding blacksmith made everyone suck in a breath.

And Zeus? He stared at the ugly son he had abandoned and said, “So? What has changed? Nothing has changed, no? Everyone still calls you the Lame Monster God. The children still run away from you when they see your ugly face and call you Monster Hephaestus. Whether it’s a god or a human, they do not have respect for you and even despise you. So, tell me. What has changed?”

Hephaestus, the god abandoned by his father and thrown aside by his mother, looked at Zeus and answered, “My world has changed.”

The god Hephaestus had disappeared. Now, there was only the Beyond the Heavens Empire’s Hephaestus. His appearance might not have changed, but his world has.

1. Cold spicy platter noodles ☜