Buy Some Bread
Buy Some Bread
Attention was a drug.
Big or small, humans were creatures that fed on the attention of others.
We'd lived in cooperative societies since the prehistoric era. For us, isolation meant death.
That was why hikikomori who received no attention withered and died, and why you didn't need to worry about celebrities.
You could see it just by looking at how many people back in the modern world where I lived were trying to become Insta-something or Tube-something.
Humans were, fundamentally, beings that craved the attention of others.
And when it came down to it, I wasn't all that different.
No, if anything, because I'd spent twelve years in total isolation, that kind of attention felt even more electrifying.
[Seriously looks like I wanna pin him down and fuck him lol]
[↳ User has been banned by a moderator.]
[I'll pay you, just take off a little more]
[↳ User has been banned by a moderator.]
[Fuck... goddammit I wasn't gonna jerk off today]
[↳ User has been banned by a moderator.]
[Yeah~ go ahead and ban me, you bitch of a manager~ I'll just be back in five minutes~~]
[↳ User has been banned by a moderator.]
Just looking at that—a chat window was blowing up with every kind of bullshit because I'd shown a little skin.
If I were an average 'guy' here, that would've disgusted me, but I used to be a Korean dude. Reactions like that only felt amusing.
In the first place, how long had it been since I'd shown myself to other people?
Even on the rare occasions I went to the back alleys of the city, I always wore my hood up, so I almost never had my looks confirmed by anyone.
Sure, sometimes I'd glance at a puddle and think, 'Huh, I'm kinda good-looking?' but... your own self-assessment was always useless.
But seeing people react like this... It felt like my self-esteem was creeping up a little.
"Uh, everyone? Calm down, calm down! Jeez, I'm gonna put the chat on restricted mode for a sec."
The chaos only died down a little after Chae-rin put the chat on restriction. It was around then that I closed my clothes back up. I let out a quiet sigh of relief inside.
'Still, that was lucky.'
Even though my coat had slipped down a bit, my collarbone hadn't been visible.
Right there was the Demon's Mark. No matter what, I couldn't afford to let that get exposed.
For now, I could still pass as an odd off-grid dweller living in a strange forest, but the moment this dark-red tattoo was discovered, I had no idea what my future would look like.
Thinking that far, a sudden question came to me.
'Come to think of it, what do these people think about Demon's Blood?'
Did they have information on it?
If they knew, how much did they understand?
What was their attitude? Would they try to eliminate me on sight like the people here, or would they be more open-minded about it, like modern people?
There was still nothing I could know.
The chat window was an extremely limited channel, and there wasn't much information I could get from it. But if I asked the group directly, I'd obviously make them suspicious.
'I need more information.'
That was actually the reason I'd accepted this broadcast in the first place.
Getting that bastard permabanned was important too, but I'd already confirmed that just staying hidden forever wasn't an option anyway.
The world was changing.
It wasn't like they'd stop coming into the 'Forbidden Forest' just because I hid.
Even if I wasn't here, it was obvious they'd eventually enter this forest someday.
Because to them, this was a hunting ground.
They said they couldn't come right now because their 'levels' were too low, but there was no telling what would happen as time passed.
I mean, weren't they infinite warriors who could adjust their pain and even come back from the dead?
As long as they were 'Players' and this was a place they could level up, it was inevitable that they'd swarm here someday. It was an unstoppable tide.
In that case, at the very least, I needed to ride that tide.
This wasn't a crisis. I was choosing to see it as an opportunity.
That was why I'd decided to put my twelve years of seclusion behind me and expose myself just a little.
There was no way I could stay hidden forever.
And if, by any chance, they were at least a little sympathetic toward a Demon-Blood Manifestor...
I might be able to secure a new window for survival.
Even by my own standards, it was a bold decision, but I believed this was the right path.
'Ha... I should've played the stock market like this back then.'
Wouldn't that have kept me from getting crushed to death in a studio apartment?
I definitely would've been living the good life, drinking wine on the top floor of a building in Gangnam.
[Hey Chae-rin, do something]
[Chae-rin... I can't breathe...]
[You were always such a good time when you were alone with us... what's wrong now?]
While I was having all these pointless thoughts to myself, messages started flooding the chat window again.
Apparently, time had kept ticking during that brief moment I'd spaced out.
And in the meantime, that woman Chae-rin had been left speechless, fidgeting in place.
In a word, it was awkward.
That feeling... I thought I kinda got it. I'd blocked just about any personal questions about me, and talking to the opposite sex was a different kind of feeling. Back in my past life, my breath used to just stop in my throat whenever I tried to talk to a woman.
After that heavy silence, the first thing she finally managed to say was this:
"So, the weather's really nice... right? Haha."
[..lol]
[Note to self... when you meet the opposite sex, start with the weather...]
[Don't take notes on shit like that, you dumbass, you could get slapped]
A question that could not have been more awkward.
But since I was just as awkward, I spoke to her.
"So, uh... you wanna at least eat something before you go?"
Still, she'd come all the way to this dangerous place—shouldn't I at least feed her?
*
Hissssss-!
"Sorry, the only thing I could make quickly was some salted meat... or is that not the case? Meat's more than enough, right?"
"Yes, yes! Of course!"
The savory aroma unique to meat spread throughout the cave. Right in front of her, a well-preserved cut of meat was turning golden brown. Around it, the fruits she'd brought were arranged in colorful decoration.
'If I'd known we'd do this, I should've brought some vegetables...'
She had those thoughts while licking her lips a bit.
To think he'd serve a meal—and meat, at that. She'd felt it the last time she came too, but this guy seemed to be pretty damn good about one thing, and that was food. She'd heard Koreans were a people of rice, but sometimes it made her wonder if he hadn't actually been a Korean originally.
[We got a model husband right here damn]
[Starting today, my husband is Yor. I've decided.]
[Was this agreement reached with the person in question?]
[Whoa, he cooks pretty well, totally different from how he looks lolol]
[Isn't he just grilling meat?]
[You think grilling meat is super easy lol]
The chat window's reaction wasn't half bad either. Truthfully, up until now, the only sides of him they'd seen were him being annoyed, cursing, or making threats... so this kind of unexpected charm came off pretty welcome.
In reality, Chae-rin, who was being treated to the meal, was feeling pretty good about it too.
If there was one slightly unexpected thing, it was that Yor, who lived in this cave, used a cast-iron pan.
'I honestly thought he'd cook it on a stone slab or something...'
This wasn't because Yoo Chae-rin was a person mired in narrow-mindedness, but because of the image Yor normally projected.
His clothes, the place he lived—everything. It all heavily gave off the sense of someone cut off from society.
Because of that, she hadn't really thought he'd own any tools of civilization. Even though, now that she thought about it, all the bladed weapons he had were also civilized tools.
As she was having those thoughts, another curiosity suddenly arose.
'What is this person doing living way out in this remote forest, anyway?'
His build was clearly sturdy, and he seemed pretty capable. She wanted to ask, but she remembered hitting a wall last time, so she held back diligently.
Of course, the chat, which didn't know about any of that, was diligently keeping the debate going.
"Alright, it's done."
While she'd been spacing out in thought, the cooking was finally finished. The meat, well-browned and cooked through, was presented in front of her.
At the same time, a window appeared before her eyes.
+
[Golden-Brown Boar Meat]
Boar meat, very well cooked. It was cured in salt, so it may be a bit salty.
+
So this was boar meat. Having that thought, she popped a mouthful of the meat in.
The meat's rich juices and savory flavor spread throughout her mouth. They said it was salt-cured, but to her, this was actually the perfect level of seasoning.
"Mmm..."
This was the good side of ninety per cent Assimilation Rate.
In combat, using it was dangerous enough to cause PTSD, but when enjoying little pieces of content like this, it gave you a supreme level of satisfaction.
Seeing her eat so heartily, Yor let out a small laugh and asked.
"Is it good?"
"Yes!"
"Good. Eat a lot."
[Fuck]
[Chae-rin, you're enjoying the game too much right now, tone it down a little, you're pissing me off]
[He's handsome when he smiles too...]
Yor enjoyed watching this scene.
For someone who'd only ever eaten alone, eating with another person like this was something he hadn't done in a very long time.
It was only natural to feel happy when someone else ate the food you'd made and enjoyed it.
After they'd wrapped up the light meal like that, Yor went to bring some napkins to wipe the grease from around her mouth.
Leaving Chae-rin behind, he stood up and walked deeper into the cave.
It was right when he entered the room he used as his supply storage.
"Ah."
He couldn't help but feel disappointed when he looked at his supply storage.
The daily necessities he'd been accumulating were slowly starting to run out.
The napkins, the soap, the dishcloths—none of them had much left; they were almost out.
Yor irritably scratched his head.
Come to think of it, he hadn't made a trip to the city recently.
The time had come to head to the back alleys to restock on daily necessities.
'Ha, what a pain in the ass.'
And that was a pretty bothersome task for him. Preparing the goods for trade was one thing, hauling the supplies was another—it always took a fair bit of labor.
And honestly? Getting ripped off in the back alleys while buying supplies was kind of infuriating.
'Huh?'
As Yor was stewing in his exhaustion, a brilliant idea suddenly struck him.
'Wait a second... since the situation's like this anyway, can't I just ask her to do it?'
Even if she was an Otherworlder, unlike him, she could walk right into the center of the city with no problem.
Which meant he didn't have to get ripped off buying from the back alleys.
Of course, it was a little awkward to give an errand to someone he was only meeting for the second time... but he could just add a little extra on top as a tip. Honestly, that was still cheaper than the back alleys.
And maybe... he might even be able to get a few items you could only buy in the city center.
Yeah, like, for example, a pastry with strawberry jam in it—something he hadn't eaten in twelve years!
For Yor, who carried a deep grudge from his childhood, that bread was something very important.
"Hey... mm, was it Chae-rin? Sorry, but could you do me a favor?"
Having steeled his resolve, Yor approached Yoo Chae-rin.
Since he was asking a favor, he was ever so slightly more deferential than usual.
When Chae-rin turned her head with a puzzled look, Yor continued speaking.
"Would you be able to go buy a few supplies from the city? And while you're at it, maybe a piece of bread from a bakery nearby..."
And that was when it happened.
A window appeared right before Chae-rin's eyes.
+
[QUEST - Yor's Errand]
Go buy the supplies he asked for from the city and bring them to him!
Success Reward - ???
Failure Penalty - Decrease in Affection and Trust
+
"...Huh, huhh?"
[Hf hf hf]
[It's a quest!! It's a quest!!!]
[Whoaaa lololololololol]
[Holy shit, what even are you?]
The chat window's reaction was, oddly enough, extremely intense.