98. The End?

98. The End?98. The End?

"So you staged a protest in the afterlife?"

"Yes!"

Rea unni looks at me with a speechless expression after my confident answer.

She laments about how surprised she was when she went to the hideout to see me and heard I had gone to the afterlife.

When I say that if a man draws his sword, he must cut something¹, she asks where the man is, and I look at Yong-yong.

"Kyuung."

"What!? You weren't male!?"

"Kyuuung!"

I just learned for the first time that Yong-yong is female.

To think she had been hiding such a secret all this time.

When I look at her asking if there had been secrets between us, she avoids my gaze.

That's too much!

"Sometimes when I watch Yuna and Yong-yong talk, it's like they're conversing without brains, but it's so cute."

"......"

Is that a compliment? It feels like one... Or is it not? Is it really a compliment?

When I ask if that's really a compliment, she says it is while avoiding my eyes. Searᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"You're lying right now, aren't you!?"

"Oh my, look at me. I forgot I left laundry out. I'll see you later then."

With those words, Rea unni flees quickly, and as I watch her retreating figure, I take out a teleport scroll from my inventory and tear it.

In an instant, I'm transported to the guild hideout, and Rea unni, who arrives a step later than me, looks at me with surprised eyes.

"Y-you followed me!?"

"Alright! Let's do a check. Boom chick chick! Boom chick chick!"

As I try to open the door and go in, Rea unni grabs me from behind and tempts me to go eat something delicious.

She says if we go now, she'll buy me anything I want to eat.

"I earn enough on my own, you know?"

"Don't you want to eat pancakes!? There's a new café that just opened in front, and it's really delicious!"

"...Can I eat two?"

"Of course! Let's go quickly!"

On the way to the café, holding Rea unni's hand.

I wave to the traveler unnis and oppas who recognize and greet me from around, and they look at me with expressions that say they want to cuddle me.

Is this what it feels like to be an idol?

No, wait. Rather than an idol, it's more like the gaze of adults looking at a cute child.

I'm an adult, you know. An adult! Although I am a repeat student.

Feeling annoyed by these unpleasant thoughts, Rea unni takes me into the café, and there's a sweet scent.

Judging by the fact that the sweet dessert scent is stronger than the rich caffeine scent of coffee, it must be a real gem of a place.

As soon as we sit down following the waiter's guidance, Rea unni orders various things from the menu.

She tells me to try a bite of everything because they're all delicious, which is cool.

As expected, a rich unni is the best.

"Rea unni, don't you want to raise a cute maknae?"

"Aren't I already raising one?"

Seeing how smoothly she dodges, she's no ordinary person.

Soon after, the waiter sets up desserts on the table, and each one is nothing short of a work of art.

As I drool looking at the desserts, she wipes my mouth and puts a fork in my hand, telling me to eat quickly, and I really feel like a baby.

But I think it's okay for today.

"I'll eat well!"

"Eat a lot."

As soon as I take a bite of the hotcake in front, a fanfare~ rings out in my mouth.

The sweet syrup and soft hotcake meeting to create such synergy.

This is no ordinary restaurant.

After devouring one in an instant, I immediately stab a strawberry from the strawberry cake in front with my fork, and when I eat it, the sweet juice bursts in my mouth.

I hold out the cake without strawberries to Rea unni, telling her to eat quickly, and she smiles.

"Why is there no strawberry?"

"Have you heard of gimisanggung²? To protect our guild leader Rea unni, I tasted it first just in case!"

At my words, she can't hold back her laughter and finally bursts out.

As I eat dessert while Rea unni holds her stomach laughing for a while, I hear Yong-yong's pitiful voice from beside me.

"Kyuuung."

"Tteokbokki...? I'm not sure if they have it here."

When I look at the menu, sure enough, it's not there.

I comfort Yong-yong, who looks very disappointed at that sight, while eating dessert, and she tells me to just trust her.

When did you come to your senses?

And then she takes something out of her inventory - tteokbokki...?

And it's a pot full of it, with steam rising.

Why did that come out of there...?

"Ta-da! I prepared this because I knew this would happen!"

"Kyuuung!"

Yong-yong rushes over with a scream of joy.

The moment she takes a bite of the tteokbokki.

"Kyuuung!"

"Hmm? Is it that delicious?"

"Kyuung!"

She says it's the most delicious tteokbokki she's ever eaten.

"Kyuuung!"

"Rea unni, she's asking where you bought it."

At those words, she smiles and answers.

"I made it myself."

"Kyuuung!?"

"Rea unni made it herself!?"

As she says she would have made it earlier if she knew we'd like it this much, looking at us at that moment.

"Kyuuung."

"What did you say!?"

"What's wrong?"

I glare at Yong-yong, who asks if she wants to raise a cute dragon, and Rea unni asks what's wrong.

As I say it's nothing and tell her I'll deal with her later, she laughs saying it's a joke.

Does it feel like the kid is getting slicker by the day, or is it just my imagination?

After finishing our snacks and rubbing our full bellies, we follow Rea unni into the guild hideout to find Sasha unni lying on the sofa playing a game.

It's fascinating to see a game within a game.

At that moment, as soon as she spots me, she throws her game console and flies towards me.

Literally throwing her body to fly at me, I can't help but be startled by the situation.

Fortunately, Rea unni blocked her, otherwise I might have died for the first time while gaming.

If I died, the afterlife would be really happy.

"Our maknae is here!? More importantly, leader! Move aside quickly! If I don't hug our maknae, I'll be upset!"

"Calm down first. You're scaring our maknae, aren't you?"

Our strange Rea unni who calls me Yuna when we're alone, but calls me maknae when we're with guild members.

I don't get it either!

"Sasha unni!"

"Our maknae!"

A moment of reunion that rivals a separated family reunion.

My face buried in Sasha unni's large, soft chest, happily enjoying myself while Rea unni watches us with a dumbfounded expression.

And our Yong-yong looking at the situation with displeasure.

Isn't this the very definition of chaos?

Footnotes:

¹: This is a Korean proverb meaning that once you start something, you should see it through to the end.

²: Gimisanggung (기미상궁): Historically, a royal court lady responsible for tasting the king's food to detect poison. The character humorously compares herself to this role.