Chapter 123
Chapter 123
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 123
Chapter Title: Invitation (2)
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“Our team was thinking of treating you to dinner, Heavenly Demon. I was wondering when you might have some time.”
“Dinner?”
“Yes.”
Cho Hong slightly bowed her head, avoiding the Heavenly Demon’s piercing gaze.
“We owe you so much already.”
“No debts here.”
“You saved Hojo before, and just recently, you helped Chaeyoung too.”
“Helped with what?”
“The Stadium Dungeon. Don’t you remember?”
“You mean beating the crap out of that walking fish.”
Describing a Hidden Monster Landshark with a danger level of 20,000 as a walking fish.
Cho Hong nearly burst out laughing but bit her lip hard.
“Yes, that’s right.”
The Heavenly Demon shook his head.
“I didn’t help. It just happened to be in my path.”
“You always play it like that?”
“Play what?”
Cho Hong looked up at the Heavenly Demon, standing tall like a wooden post, and smirked.
“Doing good deeds but acting like you didn’t.”
“Didn’t.”
“Even this time?”
Cho Hong wore a shy smile.
“I heard about it. In the Variable Dungeon, when I passed out fighting the one-eyed brute, you showed up and saved me and the team from that crisis.”
“Just passing by coincidentally.”
“No way.”
The Heavenly Demon grimaced, recalling the moment.
“They used some strange technique. Trying to manipulate someone else’s mind.”
Cho Hong’s face stiffened for a split second.
Mental-type skills were viewed with suspicion not just by the Association but among Awakeners in general. Yet the Heavenly Demon looked down at her impassively.
“That intrusive energy messing with my head annoyed me, so I got rid of the monster.”
Cho Hong’s expression turned subtle. Was he always like this? Or was he being considerate of her?
He spoke of getting caught in a mind manipulation skill—something that would make any ordinary Awakener freak out—as if it were no big deal.
“If I knew you’d be this bothersome, I should’ve just walked past.”
Even making a face like bad luck had struck to someone who came to express gratitude?
She truly couldn’t read this man’s intentions.
She smirked.
The Heavenly Demon had only spoken frankly, but a smile bloomed on Cho Hong’s lips.
Despite his rough features and speech, she realized his temperament wasn’t so bad after all.
“Anyway, when are you free? Let’s have a meal together.”
“You really have to buy me dinner?”
“Yes. I really want to treat you.”
“Hmm.”
Pushed so insistently, the Heavenly Demon pondered and nodded.
“Fine. Then let’s go now.”
“Huh? Now? Right now? The team’s all out right now. Next time when you have...”
“Then forget it.”
“Huh?”
“If not now, there’s no next time.”
The Heavenly Demon turned away irritably and headed toward the rooftop building.
Watching him go, Cho Hong bit her lip, then shouted loudly.
“Then now!”
As the Heavenly Demon turned back, she muttered helplessly.
“...Let’s go eat.”
The Heavenly Demon sauntered off.
He wound through the twisting alleyways for a while before opening the door to a place called “Mom’s Homestyle Diner.”
“Pork stir-fry rice set, grilled fish rice set, one each.”
The owner lady smiled warmly upon seeing the Heavenly Demon’s face.
“Sure thing, I’ll have them ready soon.”
Then the door opened again, and Cho Hong rushed in, panting, out of breath up to her chin.
“You’re eating at a place like this?”
The Heavenly Demon frowned.
“This is this lord’s favorite eatery. Mind your words.”
He gestured to the shabby interior.
“No place in this city serves better food.”
“Oh dear, uncle. You’ll have to make it extra tasty today.”
At the lady’s joking remark, Cho Hong waved her hands frantically.
“No, that’s not what I meant. I’m the one buying dinner. I meant we could go somewhere a bit nicer...”
“This is plenty tasty and nice.”
His eyes held earnest sincerity. Staring blankly at the Heavenly Demon, she nodded.
“Alright. Then let’s eat here.”
Warm soup and side dishes began appearing on the table one by one.
Cho Hong stared blankly at the Heavenly Demon vigorously wiping his face with a dishcloth using both hands.
A man with terrifying skills surpassing a 1st Grade Awakener.
Someone who could claim immense wealth and fame in an instant, yet he did manual labor people avoided and ate dinner at a rundown diner...
Suppressing the subtle emotions welling up, Cho Hong mustered her courage.
“You must be a regular here?”
“......”
The Heavenly Demon gave no reply.
Suddenly, a heavy, desolate air descended from the ceiling, enveloping Cho Hong.
‘He said no if not today, so he came...’
But she hadn’t expected to suddenly be eating alone with him like this.
His fierce face made her stomach shrink. It felt more awkward than eating with a total stranger.
“First time?”
Only after scrubbing between every finger with the cloth did the Heavenly Demon finally speak.
“Huh?”
“At this diner.”
“Oh, yes.”
He tsked with a pitying look.
“Living nearby and never been here. Must not be making much.”
That was something Cho Hong should say.
She shook her head with a faint smile.
“No, we usually eat home-cooked meals.”
“You cook yourselves? Pathetic.”
At the absurd response, Cho Hong dropped her head.
This man with an unusual appearance had an even more unique way of speaking.
‘He’s a foreigner, right?’
Cho Hong cleared her throat and looked at the Heavenly Demon.
“Anything else you want? I want to treat you to a proper meal.”
“Nope.”
“Oh, then...”
Eyeing the menu on the wall intently, Cho Hong called to the lady in the kitchen.
“Auntie! Do you have braised short ribs now?”
“Huh? Yeah, but... ordering that too will be too much food.”
“It’s fine. That too, please.”
Cho Hong asked the Heavenly Demon, who was eating.
“Do you like soju by any chance?”
“Excellent liquor.”
At his answer, Cho Hong smiled and said to the lady.
“Then a bottle of soju too.”
Before long, Mom’s Homestyle Diner bustled with evening customers.
Amid the packed tables, the Heavenly Demon and Cho Hong sat facing each other, eating and downing soju shots.
His rugged looks paired with her round, refined features.
If their scene were music, it’d be dissonance itself.
Glug glug glug.
The sound of clear soju glasses filling. Bustling chatter, TV noise.
They blended in.
Into the diner’s steamy haze, its serene atmosphere...
The Heavenly Demon and Cho Hong naturally melted into the scene.
‘This is weird.’
She whispered low, watching him chew his meat steadily.
‘He looks like an ordinary person.’
For the first time, the Heavenly Demon seemed normal to Cho Hong.
The monstrous man with bulging muscles eating rice and soup looked ordinary, even simple.
“Drink.”
Perhaps seeing her spaced out pitifully, the Heavenly Demon surprisingly offered a soju glass.
“One shot melts away the day’s fatigue.”
“Huh?”
“Can’t hold your liquor?”
“Oh, no.”
Cho Hong hurriedly raised the soju glass from the table.
“Space-time workers like us end the day with soju.”
“Why?”
Glug glug glug.
Filling her glass full, the Heavenly Demon said flatly.
“Because one shot lets you shake off the day’s troubles.”
His eyes seemed to tell her: have one shot and shake off your burdens too.
“Nothing really troubling.”
“Then why the funeral face?”
“Funeral face?”
“You’re always frowning between your brows. Like a bar owner with stomach issues.”
“I’ve just... always got a lot on my mind.”
Cho Hong gave a hollow laugh and downed her soju.
The alcohol lightened her heavy heart a bit.
As the Heavenly Demon said, the day’s worries seemed to lift somewhat.
“Heavenly Demon.”
After a few rounds, Cho Hong’s cheeks flushed pink.
Yet her eyes looked clearer, not drunk.
“I have something to ask.”
“Speak.”
Gazing at his indifferent face, Cho Hong asked cautiously.
“Are you really not going to register as an Awakener?”
The Heavenly Demon couldn’t answer.
It wasn’t a choice he wanted. Though he had no desire for it either.
“Sorry. I’m not trying to pressure you...”
As he stayed silent, Cho Hong opened her mouth apologetically.
“It’s just, no, our team... we’re worried about you. We don’t want you facing disadvantages as an unregistered Awakener.”
“No disadvantages.”
At his firm reply, Cho Hong bit her lip.
She was an exceptional Awakener, but an ordinary person at heart. Unlike the Heavenly Demon, she couldn’t be indifferent to others—nor pretend to be.
-Why not register? Got some backstory?
-How’d you get that power? What skills?
-Why come here and do interior work?
So many questions. She wanted to pull him into the light among other Awakeners somehow.
But she swallowed all those rising queries.
Cho Hong was a very wise woman.
Unnecessary curiosity and questions only made things awkward between people. She knew that all too well.
The two finished eating and stepped outside.
The Heavenly Demon and Cho Hong walked up the hill path, keeping some distance, in silence.
The silence still wrapped around them.
But not the stark, heavy quiet from before—this was calm and cozy.
As the Special Response Team villa came into view, the Heavenly Demon spoke.
“Dinner was good.”
Stopping, he looked down at Cho Hong.
“Don’t misunderstand. This lord doesn’t do good deeds.”
“Heavenly Demon.”
“Best not to get involved with me anymore.”
“What do you...”
“In your eyes, isn’t this lord a criminal?”
The Heavenly Demon said with displeasure.
“Nameless was on high alert about you all. If you report me, it’ll be a headache.”
“Was... it?”
“That scrawny woman used it as an excuse to demand a meal from me before.”
“Chaeyoung? Oh, that was...”
Cho Hong clamped her mouth shut briefly, then looked sad.
“Of course, I thought about reporting at first.”
Shaking her head firmly, she said.
“But not anymore. Absolutely not. The whole team likes you, Heavenly Demon.”
“Human hearts change on a whim.”
“They don’t.”
“They do.”
“They don’t.”
Even as Cho Hong insisted, contempt flickered in the Heavenly Demon’s sharp eyes.
“If a big bounty went up on this lord, it’d be different.”
“Money? If it was about money, they wouldn’t have stayed on the team to begin with.”
“......”
“They’re sticking around out of sheer duty and responsibility!”
Realizing her outburst too late, Cho Hong shouted.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to yell.”
Bowing her head, she turned hurriedly.
“Sorry. I’ll get going.”
She spun away, then glanced back at the Heavenly Demon.
“And it’ll never happen.”
She smiled warmly.
“So... let’s be friendlier from now on. Neighbors and all.”
Grinning, Cho Hong turned and walked to the villa.
But she had no idea.
The video of the Heavenly Demon smashing the Ice Golem.
It had already been copied in edited form and reached Kim Suwoong’s hands.
* * *
[I see.]
In the Heavenly Demon’s rooftop room.
Nameless, listening intently to his story, spoke in a raspy voice.
[So Cho Hong treated you purely out of goodwill.]
“Foolish analysis. Is that all you think?”
[Huh?]
“That woman didn’t buy the meal out of simple goodwill. She’s definitely scheming something.”
[What are you talking about all of a sudden?]
The Heavenly Demon recounted his conversation with Cho Hong in detail to Nameless.
“A hired hand claiming to stay out of duty or responsibility. What nonsense.”
Recalling Cho Hong’s indignant, sad outburst, the Heavenly Demon narrowed his eyes.
“She’s clearly trying to build rapport with this lord to overthrow that organization or demand a raise.”
[I don’t think so.]
“It’s certain. She used the dinner as an excuse to demand ongoing closeness, didn’t she?”
[She just said she wanted to get along.]
“That’s what’s suspicious.”
Crossing his arms, the Heavenly Demon’s eyes flashed.
“No one who sought ties with this lord ever lacked ambition.”
Seeing his convinced gaze, Nameless shook side to side.
[They have shady pasts, sure, but I don’t think they’d harm you.]
“Shady pasts?”
[Oh, well...]
Hesitating, Nameless stammered.
[I peeked at some secret personnel files the Association hid. Just in case they might threaten you.]
“Hmm.”
[Long story short, they won’t.]
“How can you be sure.”
A sly light glowed in Nameless’s sensor eyes.
[The team living next door are Awakeners with zero promotion prospects. The Special Response Team was formed from special Awakeners to begin with.]
Nameless lowered his voice like sharing a secret.
[Including Cho Hong, all team members seem to have handled covert Association tasks. Even their personal info is classified.]
Glancing around cautiously, Nameless whispered even softer.
[For some reason, under the previous Strategic Planning Director, they formed the Special Response Team for secret jobs like Hidden Monster hunts. But after the new director took over, they got shipped to that villa right by you.]
“What’re you getting at.”
[I don’t know the full story, but simply put, they fell out of favor with the higher-ups. Backed the wrong horse.]
“Backing horses. Murim had that too.”
Back when the Heavenly Demon first ventured out, the elders clung to the Ten Demonic Halls’ masters, not him.
Of course, they soon became sidelined old fogeys.
[The Special Response Team was a pet project of the predecessor. Useless baggage to the successor. And looking at those members’ backgrounds...]
As Nameless prattled on, the Heavenly Demon waved him off.
“Not interested.”
[Huh?]
“If there’s no ulterior motive, that’s that.”
The Heavenly Demon averted his gaze, uninterested.
As long as they didn’t bother him, what the Special Response Team did was none of his business.
[Heavenly Demon.]
Nameless muttered very softly.
[Your indifferent nature will change someday.]
Nameless worried.
Not just indifferent to others, but to himself as well—that was the Heavenly Demon’s temperament.