Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Cuteness Saves the World
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The ancient spirit Gaia trembled uncontrollably as she envisioned the horrific future that loomed just ahead.
- I'd appreciate it if you could take some orders from the customers too. And when I'm busy, maybe handle the dishes...
- So you're saying you're more specialized in cleaning dirt than washing dishes?
'How did I end up contracting with a human like that...'
She could picture her future self reduced to a mere human laborer.
How much would the other ancient spirits mock her if they saw that?
And what about the lesser spirits below them?
They were the ones who once revered her footsteps that could upheave continents and cleave oceans.
If those beings saw her doing menial chores at the command of her contractor...
Gaia writhed inside the seed.
'Kiyaaah...!!!'
Just imagining it was enough to make her shudder in agony.
Then, it hit her—a simple yet perfect solution flashed like lightning.
'...Wait a minute.'
She just wouldn't be born.
If she couldn't nullify the contract, then she simply wouldn't hatch from the seed, right?
Gaia squeezed her eyes shut and summoned a deep, profound will that she had never tapped into since her birth as an earth spirit.
'Yeah. I just won't be born.'
No sunlight, no water, no mana.
Block it all.
Gaia reversed the flow of all life circulation within her body.
As she sealed even the mana flow, the seed plunged into absolute darkness.
The whole world seemed to hold its breath, leaving only silence and stillness.
'I'll enter eternal slumber here in this soil.'
And so, Gaia sealed herself within the seed and drifted into a deep sleep.
...Or at least, she tried to.
Until a dazzling light poured over the flowerpot.
The earth spirit Gaia instantly pierced through the essence of the light seeping into the soil.
'This is...'
The warmth of sunlight, the moisture of sweet rain, the nutrients of fertile soil.
And on top of that, what felt like the world's finest fertilizer melted into it...
It was a light worthy of being called a 'banquet for the plant world.'
She desperately wanted to gulp it all down in one bite.
But she quickly reined in her mind.
'No... I have to expel it before it seeps in...'
Tears welling up, Gaia mustered all her strength to spit out the light infiltrating the soil.
"Ptoo...!"
At that moment, a human voice came from outside the pot.
- ...Huh?
The human tilted her head, then suddenly raised both hands triumphantly.
And without hesitation, she unleashed an even more intense light than before.
Gaia blocked the invading light with her entire body.
"Ptooey...!!"
"Ptoo...! Ptui...!"
Even as she expelled it with all her might, a pang tugged at her heart.
To have such an incredible ability...
Yet use it just to make her a worker...
Swallowing her rising resentment, Gaia gritted her teeth to absorb not even a single ray.
- What's going on?
Then, she heard the human mutter softly from outside.
- Hmm, looks like this is the only way left.
The very next instant.
A life force light, compressed to the density of seconds, enveloped the entire pot.
Light seeped into every soil particle, leaving no place to hide.
'Ah! No... I can't dodge this...'
The condensed life force ultimately swallowed Gaia's seed whole.
It was ecstasy—like honey-soaked bread, the sweet juice of fruit, spring sunlight bathing her entire body.
Gaia finally accepted the light and closed her eyes.
'Delicious... So delicious...'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [The 'Ancient Spirit Seed' sprouts.] Having sprouted, birth was now an inevitable fate.
Sure, countless hardships lay ahead...
But in this moment, she felt bliss beyond envy.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Ahem! I'll specially give you a chance to call me unnie!"
"Call me unnie!"
Lee Hyun, leader of Full Moon Guild, froze in place.
'What... am I seeing right now?'
It was a scene too unbelievable to be reality.
The kind you might see once in a lifetime, if ever.
"...Un..."
"What? You saying I don't look like an unnie either?"
"N-No... That's not it..."
Two kids with soft, pudding-like cheeks.
Bickering over who gets to be called 'unnie.'
"Ugh..."
A strange pain stabbed at her chest, making Lee Hyun clutch her heart instinctively.
That was when it happened.
"Don't worry. I'll protect you."
The girl being forced to say 'unnie' glared fiercely at Lee Hyun, furrowing her brows determinedly.
Her pursed lips made her cheeks puff out roundly.
Her fierce demeanor, like a puppy growling at a stranger, was ready to charge at any moment.
Zing—
Another unfamiliar pain pierced her chest.
Along with it surged an inexplicable aggression.
'A brave little puppy hiding behind her, trembling with those pudding cheeks.'
Suddenly, uncontrollable rage boiled up.
'I can't take this...'
She felt like uprooting the entire apartment building.
She couldn't bear it unless she smashed everything in sight.
Her fists began to tremble.
Her chest burned like a fireball, and suddenly, a gate she would normally ignore felt desperately needed.
There was only one place to unleash this inexplicable fury: a gate.
Lee Hyun headed straight for the highest-difficulty gate currently measured.
She joined a random party she spotted and began the raid.
Crunch—
A slime-covered monster bared its teeth and charged, but Lee Hyun's mind was filled only with those two pairs of soft cheeks.
The monster before her didn't even register.
"Cute."
BOOM—!!
Her sword strike shattered the slime monster's body to pieces.
The party members who witnessed it stared at each other in shock.
"Did she just call that... cute...?"
"I mean, no matter how you look at it, it's not cute..."
"More importantly, how is she that strong...? Is she even human?"
Next, a dragon-shaped monster dove from the sky.
"Cutely beyond belief."
But it was no exception.
Her sword grazed it, and its limbs disintegrated in an instant.
Bang—!
BOOM—!!
After that, she muttered "cute" while sweeping away every monster in the gate.
In the end, on the gruesome battlefield strewn with blood and debris,
Lee Hyun turned back with a relieved expression.
"......"
"......"
The surviving party members just stared blankly at her departing figure.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Day by day, her dopamine reserves were hitting rock bottom.
And on top of that, her goal of holing up at home for a comfy retirement weighed her down.
Now she needed to rake in serious cash.
'10 billion is nowhere near enough.'
She had scored 10 billion from selling the blueprint, but while it might fill her dopamine tank, it wouldn't secure a comfy retirement.
She needed at least hundreds of billions stacked up to feel secure.
'Time to get started, then.'
She gripped the freshly brewed mana expansion potion in her hand.
Starting today, she'd pitch 'secret deals' to her cafe regulars in earnest.
But first.
⚡ LEGENDARY RECIPE ⚡ Ultimate Sandwich Combination Method - Guarantees 'Perfect Quality' regardless of cooking proficiency.
- However, modifying or improvising the recipe may cause unforeseen side effects.
Her trump card to draw in regulars.
She'd start with the brunch menu item: the Ultimate Sandwich.
She laid out white bread, red tomatoes, bacon, ham, whole-grain mustard, lettuce, cheese, and strawberry jam on the table one by one.
Messages began popping up before her eyes.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ingredients prepared.] [Beginning preparation of 'Ultimate Sandwich.'] [Legendary Recipe perk - Accept 'Auto-Cook'?] 'Auto-Cook?'
Did it mean it would cook itself without her lifting a finger?
'Whatever, better than me cooking with my zero skills.'
She nodded, and her hands sprang into motion on their own, ignoring her will.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Toasting the bread to golden perfection.] She popped the bread into the toaster.
Ding—
At the perfect timing, she retrieved the bread while her other hand fetched a frying pan and lit the stove.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Cooking the bacon.] Sizzle—
The bacon sizzled perfectly, reaching an impeccable doneness.
Her hands knew exactly when to flip and how to adjust the flame.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Slicing the tomatoes.] Chop chop chop chop—
The knife-wielding hand moved smoothly in steady rhythm.
'My hands can do knife work like that...?'
For someone who'd never held a knife in her life, it was unbelievable.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Spreading thin layer of whole-grain mustard on the golden-toasted bread.] [Layering ham, cheese, and lettuce in order.] Spooning strawberry jam onto the cheese as the final touch.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ultimate Sandwich complete.] For the first time in her life, she'd made something resembling real food.
She picked up the finished sandwich and took a big bite.
Inside the crispy bread texture.
Perfectly cooked bacon meshed with the heat-melted cheese, bursting with rich flavor in her mouth, followed by the tangy tomato juice.
The strawberry jam seeped in at just the right moment, wiping away any greasiness and adding a kick.
Gulp.
'...Did I make this?'
- Guarantees 'Perfect Quality' regardless of cooking proficiency.
Not only were the ingredients cooked flawlessly, but the 'Perfect Quality' seemed to enhance the taste itself.
This first-ever sandwich was insanely delicious.
- Pip...
She hadn't noticed when it happened.
Lily was staring longingly at the sandwich, swallowing hard.
"Want some too?"
She cut the sandwich into bite-sized pieces and offered some to Lily.
Lily snatched it and shoved the whole thing in with a big waaang.
After swallowing, Lily stared blankly for a while before tears like chicken droppings started streaming down.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ ['Lily' is deeply moved, having tasted nothing like this before in her life.] - Pip...?
- Pipp... pip?
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ ['Pristine' shows curiosity.] ['Lumina Spirit' shows curiosity.] Drawn by Lily's reaction, the curious spirits got bite-sized pieces too.
- Ooh, pip...
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ ['Pristine' evaluates the flavor balance as perfect.] ['Lumina Spirit' is shocked, questioning if this is the same human who shaped poop into cookies.] "Hold on. What did you just say?"
As she narrowed her eyes and glared at the Lumina Spirit,
"Hello, boss."
An unfamiliar voice rang out.
Turning around, a new customer stood at the door.
'School uniform?'
Definitely a school uniform, but not your average student's vibe.
The jacket was impeccably crisp, without a single wrinkle.
The ribbon tied perfectly straight.
Fine-textured hair cascaded softly to her waist, and her porcelain skin was flawless.
A slim watch on her wrist.
Even the shoes emblazoned with a luxury logo.
The student customer exuded an extraordinary aura.
'This must be what a chaebol heiress feels like.'
That thought crossed her mind when—
- Pip...?
- Pip pip...!!
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ ['Pristine' urgently asks if the illness is fully cured.] ['Lumina Spirit' urgently asks if her body has recovered.] The spirits clamored noisily overhead, messages popping up, and rushed toward the stranger like long-lost family.
"Yeah. Thanks to the boss, I'm all healthy now."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ ['Pristine' smiles brightly, saying that's great.] ['Lumina Spirit' says she'll do a celebratory dance and sticks out her butt.] "...What? Why are you guys suddenly like this?"
Wait, that's not the point.
This kid right now...
Could she... talk to the spirits...?