Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: The Prophecy (1)
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“Because you were there when I bought it?”
I was a little flustered, but I'd already told her I bought it for them.
Truthfully, I hadn't seen it myself.
I'd only heard it was purple, so I just guessed it was Timi's.
“Even if you went shopping together, she’d show you something like that? Seriously, that vixen…”
“This is getting embarrassing, let’s just put it away and eat. You two over there, stop drinking cola. It's time for a proper meal.”
We ordered room service and ate.
Just like last time, I ordered a lavish spread.
“That’s enough for me.”
Rina must have a small appetite; she barely ate.
“I can’t eat anymore either.”
Alpen, perhaps because of his small frame, couldn’t eat much either.
“Oh? In that case, can I have that bread?”
“Huh? Go ahead.”
Among my last companions, Milli was quite the eater, but among this group, Hanna had the best appetite.
“Hanna, if you’re still hungry, should I order more?”
I’d ordered plenty—enough for at least six people—but all that was left on the table was a bit of salad.
“Oh? Is that okay?”
“Of course. Is there anything else you want?”
“A whole roasted pig, some more steak with wheat bread, and oh, this fish was delicious too…”
She said it with a slight blush, but it seemed she meant for me to just order everything again.
After placing the additional order, I came back to find Rina at the table again.
“Hanna, aren’t you eating too much? You’ll gain weight if you eat like that.”
“I haven’t had a meal like this in a while, and the food is delicious. Besides, I always ate like this back in the day and never gained weight.”
Hanna seemed to say it innocently, but Rina looked annoyed.
“Hmph! Right, I’m sure you’re happy all that food goes straight to your chest!”
“Are you jealous? Well, it’s better than being small, right? Isn’t that right, Hyeon-ung?”
“Huh? Well, I guess so.”
…*Ahem*. I’d thought so myself. She really was blessed with a magnificent physique.
Hanna used to be quite shy, but it seems she's gotten a bit bolder under the influence of her other companions.
After we finished all the additional food, we lazed around for a bit before heading outside together.
“Oh, Hyeon-ung! You’ve returned!”
It was Luke, who I hadn’t seen earlier.
Another employee had brought our meal.
“I didn’t see you before, so I thought you had the day off.”
“Well, something came up. I’m glad to see you’re looking healthy.”
It was his usual flattery, but his expression seemed brighter than ever today.
“Did something good happen?”
“Ah, actually, my child was born today…”
His child was born?
“Then you should be at home on a day like this. Why are you here?”
“With another mouth to feed, I have to work even harder.”
I took out a one-gold coin and handed it to him.
“Go buy your wife something delicious to eat. Congratulations.”
“Ah, I didn’t say that hoping for something like this… Thank you, as always.”
I patted the beaming Luke on the shoulder a couple of times and headed for the general store.
I’d been worried when I didn’t see him, so I was relieved it was for a happy reason and not because he was sick or something bad had happened.
“Mister, isn’t one gold coin a lot of money?”
“It’s not a small amount, but he’s a good kid. If you need anything or have any trouble while we’re here, you can just ask him.”
As we talked, we soon arrived at Arnold’s General Store.
“Where are we?”
“This is a place that buys monster carcasses and byproducts.”
As I opened the door, I saw Mr. Arnold dozing off at the counter, same as always.
“Oh, Hyeon-ung, welcome! You brought other people with you today?”
Latina, who was organizing things in a corner, greeted us cheerfully.
“Is she your daughter, Hyeon-ung?”
It was obvious she was referring to Rina. A daughter…
That was a bit of a shock.
Not because I was old, of course, but because Rina was small and had a baby face…
Rina’s expression soured instantly.
“Who are you calling a daughter, you little squirt! I’m a full-fledged adult!”
“Oh! You’re about my height, so I thought you were my age. I’m sorry.”
“Rina, a full-fledged adult shouldn’t get angry at a child for a simple mistake, right? These are my companions. And this is Latina, the shop owner’s daughter.”
As they all exchanged pleasant greetings, Mr. Arnold woke up.
As I handed over the monster carcasses, Mr. Arnold tilted his head.
“The quantity is much lower than usual.”
We’d spent a long time on the 60th floor with almost no fighting, and no monsters appeared on the 65th floor, so I had little to sell.
“I’ve decided to focus on quality over quantity now.”
“I see. And are they your companions?”
“Yes.”
“Weren’t you with some other women last time?”
At Mr. Arnold’s words, Rina and Hanna’s expressions turned icy.
“Hyeon-ung, didn’t you say you’d never brought your other companions here?”
“That’s right.”
I was certain that last time, I had come to the general store to sell my items first before returning to Kabisa to summon my companions.
This was the first time I’d ever brought companions to the general store…
“Mister, then who were those women?”
“Mr. Arnold, are you saying I’ve been here with other women?”
“Ah, I didn’t see you in the shop, but outside. A young demon lady, a young archer with a white bow on her back, and a young lady in a robe—it was those three.”
So he’d seen us on the street.
He should have said so from the start.
The description clearly matched Elaine, Milli, and Timi, so the misunderstanding was quickly resolved.
“That’ll be 14 gold and 51 silver.”
Even though the quantity was small, the loot was from the upper floors, so it was worth more than I expected.
The Iron Plaque of a Flying Heaven Brigade Member and the Silver Plaque of a Vice-Brigade Leader also fetched a high price, though I didn't know what they were used for.
He said he could also exchange the gold and silver ingots for gold coins, but since I planned to stay on the 65th floor for a while longer, I decided against it.
“Hyeon-ung, do you happen to have that thing you gave me last time…?”
“Ah, the snacks? Of course, I brought some.”
I took a snack set from my inventory and handed it to her.
“Thank you.”
“I’m always grateful.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Rina and Alpen swallowed hard, their expressions full of envy. I’d have to buy them some when we got back to the inn.
We left the general store and headed for our next destination, the Magic Tower.
“There are so many people.”
As we passed through the central square, it was far more crowded than usual.
The return time from the labyrinth should have been long past. Was there some kind of event?
“There are so many people.”
“Is there a festival today?”
“The day summoners return from the labyrinth is usually a bit festive, but it looks like there’s a special event today.”
There were tents set up all around. Was it some kind of night market?
“Can’t we look around for a bit?”
“Should we?”
This rest period was ten days long, so there was no need to rush to the Magic Tower today. We decided to explore.
We headed toward a nearby tent, and what do you know?
I saw a familiar face.
“Seol-hwa?”
“Oh, Hyeon-ung, hello. Are these your companions?”
“Ah, yes. Say hello, everyone. You all know Tae-soo, right? She’s from the same guild.”
“I’m Hanna Pogani.”
“My name is Alpen.”
“Rina Alsmeyer.”
She was the only one who spoke informally, her expression slightly wary.
“It’s nice to meet you all. I’d heard about it from my brother-in-law, but it’s still amazing. To think I can meet your companions out here.”
“Haha, so what’s with the festival today?”
“Oh, you haven’t heard? The Kramis Harvest Festival starts today. There’s going to be a big night market, and our ‘Taste of Home’ stall is participating.”
Behind Seol-hwa, I could see young boys and girls moving about busily.
“Are the kids doing well?”
“Of course. I was worried, but they’re all working hard. They’re diligent and listen well.”
Seol-hwa had been the most opposed to recruiting the 35th-wave summoners, but it seemed they were getting along surprisingly well now that they were living together.
“We haven’t officially opened yet, but would you like to try some?”
“Ah, we just ate…”
“Hyeon-ung, I can eat more.”
Good grief. I’d ordered quite a lot of extra food, but it seemed that wasn’t even enough for Hanna.
“Your companions look like they want some. I’ll prepare it right away, so please have a seat. None of you have tried Korean food before, right?”
“Korean food?”
“Hyeon-ung, what’s Korea?”
All my companions tilted their heads and looked at me.
“Korea is the country where I used to live.”
“Oh, so you’re selling food from your homeland, Hyeon-ung?”
“That’s right.”
“Then I want to try it.”
“I wouldn’t mind a little.”
I suppose they’d only had some cola and snacks earlier, but they hadn’t tasted any real food from my world.
We took a seat at a table set up under the tent.
“Seung-hye, please bring them some water. Na-yeon, five chicken skewers over there.”
Watching from my seat, the kids were really quick on their feet.
Seol-hwa was also full of charisma as she directed them.
“I’m excited.”
“I just hope you’re not disappointed after getting your hopes up.”
After about three minutes, Seol-hwa brought over a tray of food.
“The other dishes will take a little longer, so please have some kimbap while you wait.”
Wow, kimbap. It’s been a long time.
“Kimbap? The food is black?”
“What’s the white stuff inside?”
“The outside is seaweed, and the white part inside is rice. Go on, try it.”
It was cut into bite-sized pieces, so they each popped one into their mouths.
“Oh, it’s savory and delicious.”
“I think there’s meat in it, too? This is good. It’s easy to eat.”
“There’s something crunchy in it, too, which gives it a nice texture.”
Everyone seemed to be enjoying it, so I tried one myself. The savory aroma of sesame oil and the perfect seasoning made it excellent.
“The ham is from Kramis, and we made the pickled radish ourselves.”
“You made pickled radish in Elsia?”
“It’s expensive to buy it pre-made. We can’t set the prices too high if we’re selling at a festival like this. We used a vegetable called ‘kongten,’ which is similar to radish, along with vinegar, sugar, and salt that we already had. We only had to buy gardenia powder for the color.”
Wow, that’s really impressive.
I would never have thought of that…
A moment later, noodles in a red broth and chicken skewers arrived.
“This is ramyeon and chicken skewers.”
“This is ramyeon? The noodles are different.”
“A single pack of ramyeon is too expensive, so I just bought the soup base in bulk.”
Wow, so you could save money this way, too.
The chicken skewers were also made with Kramis chicken, and they had only purchased the sweet and spicy chicken sauce from the Elsia-phone.
The ramyeon was a bit strange, but the chicken skewers tasted exactly like the ones I used to eat in Korea.
Of course, my companions enjoyed everything.
“Hyeon-ung, is everyone in your country a gourmet?”
“Mister, I think my stomach is going to burst. I really can’t eat another bite.”
Rina and Alpen both put down their chopsticks.
But Hanna was still eating.
“Hyeon-ung, everything is so, so delicious. I feel like I could eat this every day and never get tired of it.”
Seeing Hanna smiling brightly with a grain of rice on her lips, I couldn’t help but smile myself.
“You’re Hanna, right? You really have a healthy appetite. Would you like some tteokbokki, too?”
“Oh, you have tteokbokki? Did you just buy the sauce for that, too?”
“Yes. We can make the rice cakes from flour, and we can get fish here for the fish cakes. We only bought the red chili paste, corn syrup, and sugar.”
To my palate, it was a bit too sweet and not spicy enough, but it seemed they had adjusted it to suit the tastes of Kramis residents.
“Hyeon-ung, water! Water!”
“Mister, what is this? My mouth hurts!”
Goodness, Rina and Alpen were scrambling with tearful faces. It seemed even this level of spice was too much for them.
Ah, but of course, our Hanna, despite sweating profusely, polished off a whole bowl in no time.
Thinking about it again, sending Go Hwa-yeon to the Golden Lion Guild really seemed like an excellent choice.
If I had kept her with me, I would never have been able to utilize her so frugally and effectively.
And I could always ask for a favor if I needed anything.
After finishing our meal, which was more of a feast than a tasting, I enjoyed the festival with my companions, wandering through the other booths.
There were many places selling food like Seol-hwa’s stall, as well as plenty of other attractions.
There were booths where you could win prizes by throwing darts to pop balloons or by successfully tossing rings onto pegs.
Of course, the prizes were just shoddy dolls or low-grade magical tools, but my companions loved them.
“Should we head back soon?”
We had seen most of the stalls, and as it got later, the crowd became so thick it was hard to move.
“Yes. The timing was perfect, having a festival like this right when we came out.”
“Thank you, Hyeon-ung. Today was more fun than I’ve ever had.”
“Mister, the other kids are going to be so jealous, right?”
Hanna, Alpen, and even Rina had faces full of laughter.
I was happy to have spent such a joyful time with them, but I couldn’t be completely happy.
The moment we returned to the labyrinth, my companions would forget everything, and I would be the only one to remember…
“I was so happy to be able to spend today with you all, too!”
It made me want to reach the 100th floor even a day sooner.
“Oh? Mister, can we stop by there for a second?”
The place Rina was pointing to had an old woman in a robe sitting on a black mat.
A brilliant red lantern hung beside her, and a white flag was planted in the ground.
[I will tell you your future.]
So they had things like this in Kramis, too.
“Rina, those things are usually scams.”
Perhaps that was why there was no one around her.
“Still. Can’t we do it just for fun?”
“I’m curious, too.”
I wasn’t particularly keen on it, but since all my companions looked like they wanted to try, I decided to let them get scammed once.
I walked toward the old woman.
“How much to see the future?”
“Ten silver for one year from now. For ten years… I’m closing up shop.”
She took one look at my face and suddenly started packing up.
“What’s her problem?”
“Hey, Grandma. We have money.”
“Money isn’t the issue. Why would a man who’s going to die in less than six months be curious about his future? Tsk, don’t talk to me. You’ll bring me bad luck.”