Homecoming and Home Cooking
"It's been a whole week?"
At my question, a hollow-eyed Kang Mina nodded.
Then, she sniffled.
"We really thought... we thought something terrible had happened to you, Hunter-nim..."
She wiped away a hot tear with the back of her hand.
Her face was a total wreck. Dark circles hung heavy under her eyes, and her lips were cracked and dry.
From what I gathered, she hadn't slept a single wink all week.
'And to think only a single day passed in the Empire.'
It seemed the time dilation between dimensions was quite severe.
"I'm just so glad you returned safely..."
"Well... nothing much happened to me."
Aside from clearing my promotion trial in the Elf Empire and becoming the Emperor's adoptive son, that is.
"What do you mean nothing much happened?!" she cried.
"Ahem..."
"How on earth did this even happen?"
"They said it was a system error."
"That's absurd! A system error almost got you killed!"
"What can we do? It's not like the Tower has a customer service hotline."
"Well, yes, but still...!"
"At least I made it back in one piece."
I pulled an Elixir out of my inventory.
"T-This is..."
"For the gate staff member. The one who got hurt trying to help me."
"...Ah, yes."
"If I remember correctly, they lost their hand."
"Yes..."
"An Elixir should be enough to fully restore it, right?"
Kang Mina nodded slowly.
"Please pass it along for me. And tell them I appreciate them trying to help back then."
"I will..."
"I'm sure the Bureau will cover their medical expenses, but still."
"...They would, but they certainly wouldn't hand out an Elixir like this."
"Well, it is a rare item, after all."
Though it wasn't particularly rare to me.
"Thank you. You're the only one who would look out for them like this, Hunter-nim."
"Don't mention it."
I patted Kang Mina on the shoulder.
Though she didn't go into details, she must have gone through hell trying to find me while I was gone.
"Go get some rest now."
"...Yes, sir."
Kang Mina took a deep breath, her usual professional smile returning to her face.
"Anyway, I'm just so glad you're back!"
"Haha."
"My heart almost stopped! I thought we'd lost South Korea's greatest hunter!"
"Isn't South Korea's greatest hunter Choi Muryeong?"
"Ahem. Well, everyone has their own standards."
Well, if she said so, I might as well accept the compliment.
"I'm sorry for making you worry."
"No, it's my job. More importantly, you should contact the others. The Typhoon Guild was in complete chaos, and Mr. Do Sangjin was..."
"Right. I should head back quickly."
"Shall I drive you to your quarters?"
"No, I'm good."
I coolly declined her offer and headed back to the First Section, where Do Sangjin was waiting.
Man, I couldn't wait to eat some home-cooked food!
"Hyung!!!"
The moment I stepped inside the house, Woo Jumin came sprinting toward me.
He threw his arms around me, hugging me with all his might.
"Waaaah! Hyung! What on earth happened to you?!"
Woo Jumin sobbed uncontrollably.
Poor kid. He must have been terrified.
"We thought you went missing in the Tower! *Sniff*!"
"Missing? Don't be ridiculous. Nothing happened. It was just a system error."
"How am I supposed to live without you, Hyung?! Waaaah!"
Woo Jumin practically wailed. His eyes were already swollen red from crying so much.
"If you didn't come back by tomorrow, we were going to go look for you ourselves... *hic*!"
They were planning to search the Tower for a missing person? That was practically impossible.
"Well, I'm back now. Stop crying."
"*Sniffle*... Waaaah."
"It's getting weird, so cut it out."
"Okay."
Just like that, he stopped crying and wiped his face.
If he were an elementary schooler, I'd find it cute, but once they hit middle school, it's just exhausting.
I gently pushed Woo Jumin away.
"...Welcome back, Hunter-nim."
"Ah, Sangjin."
It was Do Sangjin.
Unlike his usual self, he wasn't wearing his cute apron, but was dressed in a sharp black suit. While he wasn't as visibly distraught as Woo Jumin, Do Sangjin's face also looked terrible. He was trying to act normal, but...
'He looks like he hasn't slept in days.'
Despite his massive, tank-like appearance, he was surprisingly soft-hearted.
"I heard the news from Ms. Kang Mina," Do Sangjin said.
"Ah, yes. Because of a system error..."
"I am truly glad you are safe."
I scratched the back of my head, laughing awkwardly.
"Only about a day passed for me over there, but a whole week went by here."
"I see. I am glad it was only a day for you."
"Man, even though it was only a day, I was dying for some home-cooked food..."
"In that case, shall I prepare a meal for you right away?" Do Sangjin asked, turning toward the kitchen.
I grabbed his arm.
"Let's just order takeout today. You must have had a rough week..."
"Not at all. Since I did not know when you would return, I prepared a fresh meal every single day."
...Seriously? Now I felt incredibly guilty.
"Then..."
"Is there anything in particular you would like to eat?"
I swallowed hard.
"Kimchi stew."
"Understood."
"And..."
"Spam, fried eggs, and seaweed."
Oh. It was like he read my mind.
"And white rice, correct?"
"Y-Yes, exactly..." I nodded eagerly.
"I will have it ready shortly."
"Thanks..."
"...I am truly glad you returned safely, Hunter-nim."
Do Sangjin turned back toward the kitchen.
Wait, did he just wipe his face?
No way. Was he... crying?
Well, I guess it made sense for everyone to worry since I had been 'missing' for a whole week.
'I should contact the rest of the team quickly.'
Before sitting down for dinner, I called Cha Yerin and Baek Harim. Just as Woo Jumin had said, the two of them had been preparing to enter the Tower to search for me. With the help of the Typhoon Guild, they had planned to set out tomorrow.
"I'm so glad you returned safely, Hunter-nim."
Her voice sounded choked with tears.
"We were really worried about you, Taepyeong."
Even the usually stoic Baek Harim sounded shaken.
Surprisingly, the one with the calmest reaction was Go Juhee.
"Strangely enough, I wasn't worried at all."
"Wow, that's harsh."
"Isn't it just because I already know how incredible you are, Guildmaster?"
"Is that flattery?"
"Let's call it that."
Cool. Very cool. I couldn't ask for a better business partner.
"Anyway, congratulations on your safe return."
"Haha."
"Now the Typhoon Guild can finally run properly again."
"Wasn't it running fine without me?"
I heard Go Juhee chuckle softly over the line.
"Never forget that you *are* the guild, Guildmaster."
The call ended with a statement that felt like a mix of a compliment and a warning.
"Hyung! Dinner is ready!"
A mouthwatering aroma drifted from the dining room. Do Sangjin had finished cooking.
There was kimchi stew packed with pork, golden-brown slices of pan-fried Spam, eggs fried to a perfect crisp, seaweed brushed with fragrant wild sesame oil, and a bowl of glistening, freshly steamed white rice.
"Whoa..."
My stomach had been feeling greasy from all the cookies and chocolates I'd scavenged in the Elf Empire, but just looking at this spread seemed to wash all the grease away.
"Please, help yourself," Do Sangjin said, pouring me a glass of cold, freshly brewed barley tea.
I eagerly picked up my spoon and chopsticks.
"I've been dying for this!"
I began to stuff my face, chewing happily.
First, a spoonful of white rice topped with a slice of Spam.
"Mmm."
Next, I broke the fried egg, wrapped a spoonful of rice in seaweed, dipped it into the runny yolk, and popped it into my mouth.
"Oh, man."
Then, a spoonful of rice followed by a bite of the tender pork belly from the kimchi stew.
"Ahhh!"
This was heaven. This was what real food tasted like!
My spoon moved in a blur.
"Another bowl, please!"
I shoveled the food down.
"One more bowl!"
I kept eating.
"Another one."
Only after polishing off four bowls of rice did I finally let out a long sigh.
"Phew..."
I felt completely satisfied. Ah, this was a real meal!
How could anyone call eating flour scraps a meal? The elves were probably a bit unhinged because they ate such a poor diet. If those elves got to eat a hot, spicy bowl of kimchi stew with rice, they'd probably snap back to sanity in no time.
'Maybe I should introduce kimchi stew to the Elf Empire...'
Well, whatever. I was stuffed.
I gulped down the cold barley tea.
Do Sangjin watched me with a warm, satisfied expression. It looked like his worries had finally melted away.
"Seeing you eat with such gusto makes it finally feel real that you have returned."
"Hahaha. Should I eat another bowl then?" I asked, showing him my empty bowl.
"You do not have to force yourself on my account," Do Sangjin replied with a chuckle, shaking his head.
"But... what exactly happened to you?"
"Yeah, Hyung. What really happened?" Woo Jumin chimed in, looking at me with eyes full of curiosity.
I shrugged.
"Ah, it was nothing much..."
As I gave them a brief summary of what had happened in the Elf Empire, both of their jaws dropped.
"So, you killed... elves?"
"I don't know the exact number, but probably a few hundred."
It was a situation where counting was impossible anyway.
"Hyung, aren't elves supposed to be opponents we can't kill?" Woo Jumin asked.
"Well, yeah. Normally."
"In our training, they told us to just avoid elves at all costs!"
"Right. Avoiding them is the smart thing to do..."
"They don't even teach us how to fight elves because of that!"
"Yeah, that's true. But..."
How was I supposed to explain this?
'I just... could.'
I scratched the back of my head.
"I just got lucky, I guess."
I didn't mention anything about becoming the Elf Emperor's adoptive son. Even though Woo Jumin and Do Sangjin trusted me implicitly, telling them I was now the adoptive son of the Elf Emperor would probably make them think I'd lost my mind.
"We just signed a peace treaty, or something like that, and I came back."
After glossing over the details, I popped a tangerine segment that Do Sangjin had peeled into my mouth.
"A peace treaty... of what kind?" Do Sangjin asked cautiously.
"Well, basically, a pact not to kill each other."
"A non-aggression pact... you mean?"
"Yeah. Something like that."
"And the elves actually agreed to that?"
Do Sangjin looked utterly incredulous. He even dropped the tangerine he was peeling.
"Yeah. They agreed." I picked up the dropped tangerine segment and ate it.
"For such a thing to be possible..."
"We'll have to wait and see how it goes, though."
Actually, there wasn't much to wait and see. If they violated the clause prohibiting the killing of humans, I would immediately turn the Elf Empire into...
A sudden thrill ran through me.
The memory of slaughtering hundreds of elves during the promotion trial flashed in my mind. It definitely felt different from killing ordinary monsters. It was more fun, so to speak. Like finally moving to normal mode after playing on easy mode for so long.
'...If I say that out loud, they'll be horrified.'
So, I had to filter my words.
"You have truly gone through so much, Hunter-nim," Do Sangjin said, his voice thick with emotion.
"And here I was, not knowing you were suffering for the sake of all humanity..."
"Ah, no, it wasn't that big of a deal."
"Indeed, you must restore your strength. Shall I prepare oxtail soup tomorrow?"
Oxtail soup. I swallowed my saliva and nodded eagerly.
"That sounds amazing."