Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Why Are You Coming Out From There?!
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In the end, Gallowshi agreed to come back next month once his quota reset.
From the start, as a former orc village warrior, he quickly yielded to the strong.
"……."
Baek Yeonhwa sat there, lips pressed tightly shut.
Her face flushed bright red and her eyes spinning wildly—she'd clearly realized her own contradictions and was utterly mortified.
"Ahem, Baek Yeonhwa?"
"Y-Yes!"
She jumped in surprise and answered in a fluster.
Now, finally, we could have a healthy conversation.
"It's called picky eating, right? When you don't like certain foods. That's just personal preference—nothing wrong or shameful about it."
"……."
"The same goes for romantic tastes. Liking certain types over others, wanting specific qualities. Admitting that isn't embarrassing at all."
Suddenly, my eyes caught sight of Lee Cheol-su's file among the papers Baek Yeonhwa had punched into oblivion.
A guy who openly craved beastkin.
Only after saying it out loud did I realize some tastes might warrant a little shame.
"R-Right."
But there was no need to correct myself for Baek Yeonhwa's sake. She nodded at my words and made her declaration.
"A-At the very least, I hope he's not like that!"
"Of course. Setting clear conditions like this actually makes our jobs much easier. As a special bonus, we'll throw in one free matching session, so please, be honest with us."
"That's too much—!"
She seemed touched more by the idea of being treated specially than by the freebie itself.
A woman like Baek Yeonhwa was prime S-rank material.
We couldn't let her slip away that easily.
"Alright, then. Could you tell me about your ideal type of man?"
"Hmm, let me think for a bit—."
About thirty minutes later.
"So."
I summarized the conditions she'd rattled off, writing them down just as she described.
"Looks: handsome, at least neat and tidy. Scent: preferably woodsy, minimal body hair, no rough features. Combat strength: stronger than me. Good family background preferred. Bonus if he can sing well. And a decent education?"
"……Did I really say that much?"
Uh.
"Phew, Baek Yeonhwa."
"Yes?"
"I have a great idea."
"An idea? Not a person?"
I shook my head and flashed a grin.
"There's this thing in 6th Floor Cyber City called hologram games?"
"……."
"Your family seems well-off, so why not head there and play a pretty boy dating sim?"
"Th-That's just fantasy!"
"But the guy you're describing is basically fantasy!"
This was going too far, even for her.
Compromise was needed.
"Sigh. Just hold on a moment."
I couldn't deliver an S-to-A rank match with just one free trial.
So, while listing out B-rank candidates she might actually accept...
"Um, excuse me—."
Kim Yang, who'd finished tidying the office and been watching quietly, chimed in.
"P-President, how about someone around your level?"
"Pardon?"
"What's this all of a sudden?"
"Y-You compared it to picky eating earlier."
Right.
Kim Yang crossed her arms and explained calmly. Her cool expression and tone didn't quite match.
"P-Picky eating can happen because you haven't tried something properly before."
"Ah! You mean since she hasn't dated much, she's piling on all these conditions?"
"Don't steal my line, President."
"……."
Basically, yeah.
In that case, using myself as a benchmark to gauge her limits wasn't a bad idea.
"Hmm, as for you, sir—."
Why was I suddenly tense?
This was the first time I'd been under evaluation.
"Your face isn't really my type. And the cigarette smell is kinda off-putting."
Why did that sting to hear?
"You seem a bit scrawny too. Do you fight much?"
"……."
"W-Well, even if you can't say... Overall, your first impression is good!"
After landing all those punches, she slaps on some balm at the end.
"Then! Looking forward to working with you!"
"Yes, we'll contact you within a week."
Baek Yeonhwa performed a formal fist salute, and I saw her out of Meracle.
It had been surprisingly fun.
Not just picking a partner, but freely pouring out her true thoughts—it felt refreshing.
'Maybe I went a bit overboard.'
Some of those wild demands had felt like tests to see if they'd fly.
Talking it out, she'd discovered she actually had preferences after all.
'I do have things I like.'
She'd thought she didn't.
Maybe that's why.
Stepping outside, Baek Yeonhwa glanced at the soup house.
'Just one bowl on the sly—.'
All she'd eaten since descending to the 3rd Floor was the rice cakes she'd brought down.
Might as well try some 3rd Floor food while she was at it.
"Welcome!"
A warm-faced auntie greeted her as she entered.
"Hello, ma'am! I'll have whatever's the most popular here!"
"Pretty young lady, our blood sausage hangover stew is the bestseller. Think you can handle it?"
Blood sausage hangover stew?
Glancing over, she saw pale-skinned folks with shady auras devouring it in the corner.
Picky without ever trying it.
That phrase pierced right through her life.
"That'll do!"
Baek Yeonhwa sat with a bright smile.
She looked around the shop, tongue clucking in amazement.
"Ooh, fascinating."
TV blaring economic news.
Dwarf workers pairing soju with soup from early morning.
Shady types digging into blood sausage stew.
'Are those the vampires from 4th Floor rumors?'
She'd heard they were bad news.
Inns were hotspots for trouble anyway.
As she stayed vigilant in case they threatened the place, the auntie brought the stew and chuckled.
"Oh, no worries. Those folks are just into that cosplay thing—what was it again? Cosplay!"
"C-Cos...?"
Unfamiliar word.
"Imitation stuff. Vampires are cool, apparently? That's why they're wearing the capes. Real ones can't even go out in daylight, from what I hear."
"Ah, so how'd they get those dangerous capes?"
"Internet shopping. You can get anything there these days."
5th Floor Old Martial World had no internet.
Signal towers got zapped by divine beasts the moment they went up.
"What a wondrous world."
She nodded and picked up her spoon.
Chunky blood sausages.
They didn't repulse her on sight.
The rich aroma even made her mouth water.
'No wonder the auntie's so confident!'
As she beamed and scooped a big spoonful—
KABOOM!
A thunderclap that made her ears ring.
Everyone in the shop flinched and peered out the window.
"What the? No rain?"
"Bolt from a clear sky."
"Whoa, scared me."
"……."
Baek Yeonhwa slowly set down her spoon with a wry smile.
'Even on the 3rd Floor.'
Of course.
The divine beasts were impressive indeed.
She pulled money from her pocket and placed it on the table.
Leaving the steaming blood sausage hangover stew behind, she quietly stepped out.
Picky without trying.
Untried, unknowing her own tastes.
Meracle was competent.
That line hit perfectly.
Baek Yeonhwa pulled out a rice cake.
The only food the Azure Dragon had ever permitted her in her lifetime.
Crunch.
Always the same taste.
She quickened her steps.
Her path was always the same.
At its end lay only her sect.
"Ugh, no way my first day's till is off by 30,000 won. Where the hell did this come from?!"
Reneah grumbled her way home from work.
Short training day, and still the cash didn't balance.
Heading to Meracle to vent, she spotted the 1st Floor soup auntie peering around the entrance.
"Something wrong, ma'am?"
"Oh! Reneah! So cute today too! Convenience store shift over?"
"Yep!"
"Such a hard worker. Part-timing at your age."
"Heehee! It's nothing!"
Her acting was flawless.
The soup auntie fully bought her as twenty.
'The boss really does have a nose like a bloodhound.'
She could've passed for twenty anywhere else from the start.
But busted at Meracle, so she spilled her true age of 1,901 everywhere to be safe.
"Reneah, seen a woman in white training robes? Pretty, black hair?"
"Meracle client earlier matched that!"
"Really? Did she go back up?"
"What happened?"
"Ordered soup but left without eating. Even left money on the table."
Reneah peeked inside.
Sure enough, a lone bowl sat untouched.
"Sigh, can't just toss it. Reneah, want it if you're okay? I can brew fresh if she returns."
"Yes! Yes! Yes! Yesss!"
Jackpot!
Reneah devoured her first blood sausage hangover stew. Tasty stuff.
Shocked at first hearing what it was, but no stomachache, and it tasted great.
'Can't fall behind the times. I'm in my twenties. Gotta stay trendy, not stagnate.'
A young mindset unbefitting 1,901 years.
That was Reneah's motto.
After that, home.
No more pavilion behind Daebongsan for Reneah.
She'd rented a proper room.
A building crammed with studios, sure, but her first space all her own in 1,901 years.
"Stuffed."
She spread a blanket and flopped down.
Just past 1 p.m.
Lunch down, so a one-hour nap.
That was the plan when she closed and opened her eyes.
"……What? Clock broken? Says 6 p.m.?"
A whole day gone.
Worried the studio was cursed? Nah, probably not.
Stepping out for air, a familiar scent hit her nose.
Familiar tobacco whiff.
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
The two locked eyes and said it in unison.
Her next-door neighbor.
Kim Juseon, looking beat from just clocking out, sliding his key into the lock.