Although Ash hated dishes that only contained vegetables without meat, he still had to eat this in order to survive.
Picking up the bowl of soup he had just placed on the table, Ash slowly brought the bowl close to his mouth, preparing to drink this like a glass of water so that he wouldn't have to taste the vegetables.
Yes, Ash hated eating vegetables, no, he could still eat them but he only ate a little so that his body wouldn't have strange problems. But if there was a way for him to live well even without eating vegetables, Ash was willing to do it that way.
However, before his lips touched the hot soup, his entire body froze.
If he remembered correctly, in this tutorial, no matter what the Third Prince Ash did or where he was, the developers would always think of ways to kill him.
Ash could never survive, and worse, all the reasons for his death were very random, not in any particular order.
In the game, the third prince Ash died because of being attacked by assassins while sleeping, betrayed, attacked by animals, and… poisoned.
In this game, other than the playable characters who had awakened the system because they were good people - including Serena - he could not trust anyone at all.
Everything wanted to kill him, the world was always waiting for the day he died.
Thinking about this, Ash really had no interest in eating this bowl of soup anymore.
"Hey Serena, are you sure this bowl of soup isn't poisonous?"
"Um, I haven't checked, but I'm pretty sure this bowl of soup isn't poisonous." Despite saying that, Serena still ran out of the tent and returned a while later with the main and only chef.
Walking beside her, the middle-aged chef looked quite natural, but, whether it was Ash's imagination or not, his smile seemed a bit forced.
Quite similar to the smile of someone who had done something wrong.
"Your Highness, I wonder why you called me?"
"Uhm, I was just wondering if there is poison in this bowl of soup."
The chef was startled, his whole body started to tremble but not too clearly.
"O-Of course not, sir. How could there be poison in your bowl of soup?"
"Hmm, you're right..."
Only after hearing those words from Ash did the chef finally breathe a sigh of relief.
However, his next words completely left him speechless, completely at a loss for how to react.
"But to be honest, I'm still quite worried. So why don't you try a sip of the soup for me."
The chef froze, completely unable to move.
"What's wrong? Didn't you say there was no poison in here? If that's the case, then what are you worried about?"
"Y-Your Highness, it would be very disrespectful for a chef like me to eat your food…"
Ash couldn't help but snort, then, he glanced at Serena, signaling her with his eyes.
Understanding his intentions, Serena immediately suppressed the chef, pressing his head down on the table, not giving him the chance to escape without spending much effort.
Seeing that scene, Ash couldn't help but smile with satisfaction. He was pleased that Serena was really obedient to him, thus, he could somewhat trust her, believing that she wouldn't betray him.
However, this was not the time for such worthless thoughts.
Ash slowly walked towards the chef, not forgetting to take the bowl of soup with him.
Face to face with the chef, he smiled gently, slowly scooped up a spoonful of soup and brought it towards the chef's mouth as if feeding a child who had not yet learned to walk.
"Say Ah."
The chef closed his eyes tightly, pursed his lips, refusing to let the spoonful of soup enter his mouth no matter what happened.
It was already obvious, this vegetable soup of his was poisonous.
***
A while later, in the forest, not too far from the barracks, Ash, Serena and another death row inmate were interrogating the chef together, forcing him to reveal who was behind this.
Normally, a normal chef would never have the courage to poison the Third Prince, so there must be someone behind the scenes who gave him the order.
And now, they were trying to find out who that person was.
Ash and Serena just stood by, watching the death row inmate brutally torture the chef, after all, that was his specialty.
However, contrary to their guess, even though the chef had been tortured for a long time, he still didn't mention anything about the person who gave him the order.
Just how powerful was that person? Could it be that he had more power than the Third Prince of the Empire?
"Stop, stop torturing him, I have something to ask him." Ash ordered the death row inmate.
With a disgruntled, not really satisfied look on his face, the death row inmate steadily stood up, still staring at the wounds he had caused on the chef's body.
What a psychopath.
Ignoring the death row inmate, Ash slowly approached the chef who was completely unable to move, but still alive, and asked him:
"Who is that person anyway? Don't you intend to answer?"
"..."
"Why aren't you talking? Is that person threatening you?"
"...Yes... he said that if I don't do that, my family will die..."
"If that's the case, then you don't have to worry because as the Third Prince of the Empire, I will definitely protect your family!" Ash said confidently.
However, what he got in return was completely different from what he thought.
"I can't..."
Ash was completely speechless, he then glared at the chef for a long time before sighing and standing up, returning to his tent with Serena.
Although he still didn't know who that person was, it must be someone with a higher authority than him based on what the chef had just said.
And if Ash's guess was correct, that person must also be a member of the Royal Family, just like him.
"How should we deal with that chef, sir?" The death row inmate blocked his way, carrying an expectant gaze, his intentions were clear.
"Sigh… It's up to you."
"Thank you, sir!" With a bright and somewhat frightening smile, the death row inmate instantly ran towards the chef. His end was sealed.
"Oh, that's right, Your Highness, if that's the case, then who's going to cook now?" Serena, who was walking beside Ash, suddenly spoke up.
"Huh?"
"The only chef was killed by us, and we don't have any more chefs left."
"..."
Before the silence became uncomfortable, Ash spoke up:
"I'll cook."
Hearing this, Serena's face showed obvious horror. Just how bad could that Third Prince Ash be at cooking?