Entry
Here, it's really nice.
Han Minjae introduced a restaurant that was indeed wonderful. The interior decor matching Ellinia's concept gave the feeling of entering a forest.
Chairs and tables were all made of solid wood, with wood knots here and there adding to the natural feel.
[Chirp chirp]
The fairy-shaped lights on the ceiling, the subtly mixed bird sounds, the atmospheric classic music pleasantly delights the ears.
"But, no matter how you look at it, having the staff dressed like that is a bit much, isn't it?"
"I think the staff would hate it too."
The cafe staff were also in fairy concept, both male and female employees wearing wings behind them.
Of course, small wings so as not to interfere with work, but they flapped occasionally in time with the music.
"May I take your order?"
The staff approached and asked, and Karen and Chaerin ordered the pre-set menu.
"Special butter sauce Curse Eye tail set, two of them, and drinks included, right?"
"Yes."
"Dessert is this one."
"Understood. We'll bring the food soon."
After the staff left, Chaerin said while drinking the water in front of her.
"Finally, tomorrow. I still can't believe it."
The day I've been waiting for, but as it gets closer, I don't feel it really.
"You can do it. Believe it."
"It's not that I don't believe in you."
I've watched him for months, but Chaerin still can't predict the man in front of her. Like an onion, something keeps popping up.
"I don't know if he's dull or perceptive."
"Eh? What don't I know?"
Karen tilted his head slightly, and Chaerin's mouth corners lifted up.
Again, when this happens, it's cute.
"Sigh, no. Wait a minute... You didn't do this on purpose, did you? Then it's creepy."
"Eh?"
"There's no way. Never mind."
Karen doesn't understand what Chaerin is saying. She liked him, got lost in emotion, then disappointed.
Wait, no way... Did Samsaek say that? No, let's see more.
Karen tried to erase the thought in his head. No way. Maybe just because he's grateful.
"Jeonghyeon got all the party members. They'll enter around lunch tomorrow. The porter is someone good here."
"But since you're S-rank, why need a party?"
This has been on my mind since coming here. It's only an A-rank dungeon? When I first came to Earth, there were all kinds of gates, but hunters blocked them well.
"That's a deception by the alliance."
"Deception?"
"It's because internal gates that stay in one place are intentionally lowered in rank compared to their danger level. To avoid stimulating citizens' anxiety."
Even though they periodically clean out monsters, it's like having a bomb in your backyard.
"Actually, it's more dangerous. We're entering the monsters' backyard."
"Logical."
Even a dog eats half at home.
"And my younger sister says the biggest reason is that higher rank means lower real estate prices."
This is an unexpected answer. As expected, real estate is related everywhere.
"Food is ready."
As I was talking, the staff brought the food.
The tail of the Curse Eye, which is a defensive tool, is surrounded by thick shell, but after peeling the shell, cooking the meat with high heat gives a soft texture delicacy.
Combined with the special sauce of a top chef, it could become one of Ellinia's specialties.
"That Han Minjae guy, I should praise him."
Karen nodded at Chaerin's words.
The slightly sour taste of the red wine that comes with the food neutralizes the meaty taste that can be greasy if eaten too much, perfectly matching.
Karen and Chaerin, as if agreeing, ate the food without saying a word, then drank the sweet rice drink with ice floating in it as dessert.
"Then, what about external gates? The opposite?"
They started talking about the interrupted conversation while eating. Because Chaerin knows a lot, there are many interesting facts.
"Yes, it's not so much scaring citizens as warning that it's dangerous."
Citizens didn't evacuate well because gates became everyday life, leading to more casualties.
"So they usually announce one or two ranks higher. But N/A rank is real. There's no way to handle that."
"We were the first gate we met."
"Eh? Kku-ruk"
Chaerin suddenly choked on the rice ball in the sweet rice drink from the incoming words, coughing.
"Are you okay? Drink this slowly."
Karen poured water from the side and gave it to her, and after drinking, Chaerin was a bit better and stopped coughing.
"You've met a lot of women, haven't you."
Chaerin's eyes narrowed as she glared at Karen.
"No. I haven't met many."
Compared to the time I've been away, I really haven't met many.
"Really?"
Chaerin looked at Karen with suspicious eyes.
Suddenly Chaerin glared, and when Karen looked at Chaerin's face, a drop of sauce was on the corner of her mouth.
"What's on here."
Karen pulled out a tissue and used his finger to wipe the sauce from Chaerin's mouth corner.
"You... do this to other women too?"
"I just wiped it for you? Normally, if something is visible, you wipe it, right?"
In Karen's standard, if the floor is dirty, you clean it. Why suddenly other women?
"Let's make a promise."
Karen was confused, and Chaerin extended her pinky and said. Something to say, but with a cold expression on Chaerin's face, she swallowed and asked.
"What?"
"Only to me."
"What?"
"Wiping whatever is on the corner of my mouth."
"It's not hard. Do I need to make a promise for this..."
"Promise."
Before Karen could say anything, Chaerin hooked her pinky on Karen's finger and twisted it.
"Hehe, with this, it's a promise?"
"Sigh, okay."
She's serious.
Karen agreed with Chaerin's words, but Samsaek's words from before came to mind.
"Hey, you.."
I've been laughing it off, but now I have to address it.
"Ha... Chaerin-ah."
"Eh?"
Karen straightened his posture and called Chaerin with a serious voice. Chaerin flinched at the suddenly changed atmosphere and answered.
Thinking back, this guy had been showing a lot of signs. No, he was blatant.
I didn't think about romance for too long, so I was too slow to notice.
Since I've already figured it out, pretending not to know is not polite to the other person. I don't like beating around the bush either, so let's go straight.
"Do you like me? As a man?"
"Eh?"
The heavy straight punch suddenly shut Chaerin's mouth.
"Since I've been in that other world for a long time, I got confused. I lived a bit rough there, and the emotions here are quite different, so I'm asking."
Strategic marriage is daily life, and a daughter with a cold is a political tool and weapon. Of course, there was romance there too. But most end badly or... adultery.
Chaerin's face turned red and she lowered her head deeply.
What to do?
She expressed that she wanted him to know her feelings, but Karen didn't expect him to say it so directly. Chaerin chewed her lips tightly, thinking, then said in a voice that was hard to get out.
"...Yeah, I like you. Idiot."
"You've never dated, have you."
"Eh... How did you know?"
I wasn't unpopular, but I was busy with boxing, and after my brother fell, I was busy as a hunter.
"I guessed so."
"Then what are you going to do?"
Chaerin said with a trembling voice and stared at Karen's lips. Her fists clenched in tension, and the hands turned white without blood flow.
"Well, I'll tell you my situation first."
"...Okay."
It's a rejection...
Chaerin felt her strength drain, but she didn't show it.
"From Belial, I lived there for 160 years. I told you that, right?"
"Yeah. But still, I'm fine."
Chaerin said hurriedly, thinking maybe he would distance himself because of that.
"No, it's not that. But something's weird? How old do I look to you?"
"Similar to me... uh?"
"Yeah. Unlike others, I didn't have any special abilities. But one thing: I don't age. Immortality."
"Ah..."
"In Belial, but on Earth, my time might flow again. But until I confirm that, I don't plan to meet women."
"I'm fine with that..."
"I'm not fine with it. You won't know until you experience it. And when you get old too, you might change."
Everyone has one fair thing: aging. But those who break this law will bring tremendous otherness and jealousy to others.
"Then, you don't hate me?"
But Chaerin's face, which I thought would be disappointed, brightened instead.
"Of course not."
"Then it's good. I'll wait."
"What?"
"When you get old, it will show. Then there will be a chance for me too. Even if you're not my boyfriend, you're a good person enough."
"It will take a lot of time."
To see aging with eyes, it would take at least a few years?
"Until then, being friends is fine. Okay?"
"Hahaha, let's do that."
"Okay, hehe."
Karen almost stroked the top of Chaerin's head like a puppy without realizing, then quickly withdrew his hand.
"Why? I wasn't trying to stroke your hair?"
"Samsaek said women hate it? It makes hair messy."
Chaerin shook her head no and reached out to pull Karen's hand to her head.
"People are different! I'm fine. I don't do hair setting much. Ah! I did wash my hair, of course."
"Really? Okay."
The touch of Karen's hand on her hair made Chaerin's mouth corners lift higher than before.
Chaerin thought Ellinia was too good. Because there was a gate where she could collect the Mandrake, the cure for her brother, and another reason... just because it was good.
* * *
The next day, the day broke and finally the gate entry day came.
"From here, the defender is Jeonghyeon Hunter, the scout is Lisa Hunter. Both are A-rank."
Jeonghyeon introduced the people she came with at the gate waiting room.
"Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too. Oh, this person is so handsome. It's been a while since I've seen such a handsome escort?"
The sturdy defender with heavy armor and a large shield on his back greeted bluntly, and the blonde woman in light leather armor winked at Karen.
"Um..."
Seeing Lisa, Chaerin let out a groan but tried to ignore it.
It's work. It's work.
I have to be cold. No matter how much I like Karen, right now I'm the party leader, Hunter Chaerin.
"And the porter will arrive soon..."
"Hello!"
Before Jeonghyeon's words ended, the door opened with a big noise.
"Eh?"
"Kku-ing?"
Round glasses, big build, messy hair. It was Han Minjae, the guide who introduced himself yesterday.
"Sunbae-nim?"
Han Minjae looked at Karen, his expression surprised then brightened again.
"Sunbae-nim! Is it fate!"
He jumped around Karen with that big body, making the floor rumble.
"Do you know each other?"
Jeonghyeon asked Karen, who was disgusted by the noisy sound.
"We met briefly in Ellinia."
"If you don't like him, I can change him. If not, we can delay the schedule."
Even though Han Minjae was happy, Jeonghyeon said coldly. In this party, the VIP is Karen. In fact, the porter can be replaced anytime.
"No, it's fine."
Han Minjae is noisy but not a bad guy for Karen.
"Fortunately. I heard the porter has a good reputation in Ellinia. And he's a C-rank awakener, oddly."
This guy? Yeah, only this guy would be a C-rank entering the Ellinia gate to pick herbs.
"But, what the hell is that cat? Is he going to the animal hospital?"
Jeonghyeon looked at Karen's space bag with a dumbfounded expression. He had moved the position because Samsaek was complaining about being carried on his back.
"Ah... that's."
"Just wanted to go for a walk together."
"...The gate? With a cat? Not a dog?"
"Yeah. I don't have anything to do with combat anyway."
I didn't plan to do anything bothersome inside. Go pick herbs and done! And the remaining Mandrake, grow it like a pot in front of the house and forget.
"Kku-ing?"
This inconsiderate Samsaek opened the bag and waved his hand.
"What is that.. Kku, it's cute.."
Jeonghyeon grumbled while looking at it, muttering so that others couldn't hear. It seemed he didn't hate the cat itself, just peeking at it.
"Enough. Time to go."
Everyone started leaving the waiting room with Jeonghyeon's words.
"Hey, if it's hard, let me know anytime. Okay?"
Just before leaving, Lisa whispered to Karen and passed by.
"What? That woman?"
"Kku-ing, she seems to have a good impression of the master."
Samsaek whispered towards Karen's face. He drilled a small sound hole towards the face in the bag so the guy's voice could be heard well.
With Jeonghyeon's guidance, the group finally moved towards the gate. When submitting hunter registration cards to the gate guard, the guard tilted his head.
"C. D? The person carrying the luggage is registered as a porter, but the other person, for what reason? The cat... It's not illegal by law, but."
"There's a reason."
"Still, the D-rank person there must write the reason for entry."
"Walking."
"Eh?"
The guard seemed to think for a moment that the meaning of the word he knew was wrong. Seeing that, Chaerin said with a face that couldn't be refused.
"He's my acquaintance. I guarantee it, it's fine."
"...Understood."
Since an S-rank hunter guarantees it, the guard had no reason or way to stop it. So we passed and we all stood in front of the gate.
Like an A-rank gate, the size of a normal building, one of the reasons the gate has a eerie image in the world is its appearance.
As seen now, the entrance is a swirling storm against a pitch black background.
"Are you all ready? Once we enter, the gate on the return side will close, so we can't come out for at least a week. So speak now."
Everyone checked their luggage for a moment and nodded that they were okay.
"Then go carefully."
With Jeonghyeon's farewell, we stepped into the entrance of the gate.
Um?
When entering the gate, all vision turned black and felt like being sucked into somewhere. But something was weird.
Why does it feel so dirty?
When coming from Belial to Earth, it felt refreshing. But now the feeling is... yeah. Mana was being drained from the body like a waterfall.
Karen unconsciously turned his head back in the darkness and looked towards Earth.
"Damn"
As expected, a huge amount of mana was being drained from his body towards Earth.
"Here? The gate is the first time, how is it?"
The darkness disappeared, and Chaerin was standing in front with a worried expression.
New users of the gate sometimes faint or get nauseous, so be careful.
"Ah... I'm fine."
On the surface, it really looks fine. No symptoms. But inside, it's serious. The mana that was always overflowing in the body is mostly not felt.
Still, some is left. When I go to Earth, my strength will probably return...
As an awakener, A? No. Only a little mana left between C and B. Karen whispered to Samsaek hanging in front.
"Hey, when the situation is bad, what do they say?"
"Kku-ing? Um... what was it... Ah! I got it?"
"Yeah, I got it."