CH 66

I was taken aback by the unexpected sudden development.

“Iyaoong (His sense of taste seems to have weakened considerably).”

“Cough, cough!”

“Rieul-ssi?”

“Ah, it’s nothing…….”

“Here, have some water.”

The coughing only stopped after I took the glass of water that Ki Yoohyun handed me and drank it.

Didn’t you just detonate a big bomb like it was nothing? Mieum’s words continued regardless of my reaction.

“Iyaooong (That’s a lot going on … that must affect his mental faculties as well).”

“What are you … ah, don’t tell me….”

Suddenly, I remembered what Mieum had said before. She said that if you sympathize too much with the Great Old One, you may lose your original self.

“Does that mean Yoohyun-ssi signed a contract with a Great Old One?”

“Waeoong, meooong (Yeah, that’s quite … no? Oh my oh my goodness … This is amazing)…..”

“Mieum-ah?”

“Nyaaaah (That’s weird. It is different from the arrangement of ██. How come at this point … Don’t tell me █████ is)……!”

[Warning: Abnormal Approach]

[System Error: —. —.—]

Mieum-ah, an error window popped up because of you…,

I turned my head away from Mieum, who was talking to herself, and looked over Ki Yoohyun’s head again. The satisfaction gauge is still about 98% full.

“He hardly can taste it, but the coffee is still delicious, right?”

“Kiyaoong (Of course! What do you think your skills are)!”

“….Coffee making skills?”

“Kyaoooog (Coffee made with the skill that reduces the effect of assimilation. In other words)…..”

“In other words?”

“Meooong (He can taste the coffee)!”

At that time, I felt my cheeks sting and turned my head. Ki Yoohyun alternately looked at me and Mieum, who suddenly cried. I almost became a weird person who’s talking to a cat.

“Ehem, hmm. I’m sorry.”

“It’s nothing. I was just trying to say that every time I drink the coffee made by Rieul-ssi, I feel warm.”

“…….”

Let’s imagine.

Regardless of the cause, he’s unable to sense taste.

No matter how much he eats delicious food in the world, such as chicken, pizza, and famous hotel buffet that just got delivered, it would only feel like a lump of soft food for him. A situation in which one eats for nutrition, but does not feel the joy of eating at all.

For me, it’s a tragedy that can destroy humanity.

But when he drinks the coffee here, it tastes good. Just like a paint that was painted on only one place in the achromatic world, he can only felt the bitterness, savory, and sweet sensations in this coffee.

I’m so sorry to hear that…..

No wonder he wants to drink the coffee I made every day. That must have been the reason why he showed his face often these days. Yeah, it wasn’t because he had any other meaning, it was purely because the coffee was delicious.

Regrettably, I told Ki Yoohyun that he could come for coffee anytime.

Then, my phone vibrated.

When I checked the notification, I jumped up.

“Rieul-ssi, what’s wrong?”

“The call I have been waiting for has arrived.”

That’s good. I couldn’t open the cafe tomorrow because I didn’t have any coffee beans. I can take care of my other business at this chance.

I posted a sign on the front of the door saying, “We are closed today because we’re out of ingredients.”

***

The large conference room was empty.

In the dim place where the lights went out, there was one person sitting unnoticed. She was a quiet woman with long hair up to her waist and wearing a pair of glasses.

Her name is Ju Noeul.

She put her hand on her forehead and sighed.

“Haaaaa…..”

Tiling! Then, her phone rang. Ju Noeul hastily checked her KakaoTalk.

[ <Cheongna Guild> – Hunter Han Yiseong]

Hunter Ju Noeul. I’m sorry for the late reply!

I’m afraid I won’t be able to attend today’s Hunter Association meeting.

It’s a pity that I have to have a meal together after meeting with a senior Hunter ㅠㅠ

In summary, he wrote a long greeting, but he eventually missed the meeting.

Han Yiseong, who sent her a reply, is a gentleman. That unfortunate CEO of C&L didn’t even read her message at all.

Noeul closed the KakaoTalk window and murmured.

“These people are so mean…….”

Korea Hunter Association. An autonomous organization that protects the rights and interests of each private guild in Korea and promotes the development of the Hunter World through exchanges.

…. that’s what written on the website.

However, not many Hunters are aware of the existence of this Hunter Association.

‘That’s because it doesn’t have anything to do….’

Since most of the Hunter-related tasks are exclusively handled by the Dungeon Management Office, the role of the Hunter Association has been greatly reduced. The Hunters who knew about the Association also didn’t pay any attention to it was contributed to the reason as well. Most of them are even asking what this is when the Association send a notice reminding them to pay their membership fee.

However, even an Association in name only needs to operate.

She has no luck. Ju Noeul took over the position of the President of the Association this quarter because her name was caught in the lottery.

Today is the monthly regular meeting of the Korea Hunter Association. Still, no one came, either. Goodness, the humanity these days….

‘Whatever, I don’t know anymore….’

Let’s kill time and go.

Ju Noeul leaned against the chair and connected to the Hunter Channel with her phone. Then, as she looked through the new posts, she diligently commented on the slime-related post.

Ju Noeul, 29 years old. An S-class summoner. She is the guild leader of the Royal Guild, one of The Big Three guilds.

Her Hunter Channel’s nickname is Lime Love Team.

The activity of checking out the new posts on the Hunter channel quickly ended. This is because Ju Noeul was a community addict who spent most of her day on the Hunter Channel.

‘I’m thinking about going to that cafe….’

Ju Noeul recalled what happened a few days ago.

That day too, Ju Noeul was browsing the Hunter Channel in the guild room. However, all the text was already gray.

She was baited by a viral post written by a Hunter Channel’s Gonick, and went there for fun.

A unique cafe near the Dungeon Gate of the Great Dungeon Abyss. The coffee was delicious and had a strange effect, but above all….

It was the red slime that caught her eyes.

It has pure red color, not cloudy or mixed with other colors. A real red, which is rare in the slime world where grades are divided by subtle color differences. She wanted to touch it just once.

She had never seen such a slime in her long slime life.

The conference room is still empty.

“All right, I’ll go…….”

However, Ju Noeul was in despair 30 minutes later.

━ We are closed today because we’re out of ingredients. ━

“It’s too much….”

She cleansed her eyes and looked again, but the contents of the paper attached to the door did not change. The cafe, which quickly became popular in a matter of days, had already been closed.

“I want to see the rare slime….”

Just as she fell down on her knees in despair, her phone got a call. It was from a guild member of the Royal Guild.

“What’s going on…..”

━ Guild leader, I put all the items in the guild leader’s office on Karrot, so please know that.

“What! Don’t you know what those things are….”

━ What those things are? It’s all junk. Why did you buy multiple slime cushions in the same color? I’m selling all but one.

“It’s not the same color, but if you look closely, there is a difference between (255, 0, 0) and (192, 0, 0)….”

━ What’s the difference between that one and that one….

“Ah, no! I’ll clean up the guild leader’s office by myself, so please take a look at it.….”

━ You said the same thing last week. No.

“How can you do this to your family…….”

━ I don’t have a family like the guild leader!

The Royal Guild is widely known as a family guild in the Hunter World.

However, the guild members have different surnames, and the guild are mainly composed of young Hunters of similar ages. Therefore, there have been rumors circulated that the “family” means not blood ties, but things like gangsters or mafia.

‘It’s an outrageous rumor….’

The reality is simpler … it wasn’t much.

7 years ago, at a pension in Gangneung, Gangwon Province. A official meeting of the Man-game Club “Only You Fold the Bitter Server Termination” was held. Ju Noeul was the organizer of the meetup.

However, at that time, a rift broke out in the valley near the pension. It ended fine because the meetup participants, who were caught in the rift, awakened as a group and stopped the rift together.

The problem was a broadcast interview that came to cover the heroes of Gangneung.

━ Well, what kind of relationship you guys have?

They have different places of residence, different ages, different schools, and different occupations. The curious reporter’s eyes directed at them. Ju Noeul, who had a temperament, felt that it was too much to answer with, ‘It’s a club meetup of the man-game Only You Fold the Bitter Server Termination‘. It’s too much for an answer … she was embarrassed.

Yes, online family is also a family.

The value of cyber kinship is comparable to a real family!

Ju Noeul, who made such a sudden move, proudly declared.

━ We’re a family…….

The name was changed to Royal Guild in response to the opposition that they would not join even if they died if she named it ‘Only You Fold the Bitter Server Termination‘.

As it is, she established a guild with precious cyber blood relatives and worked hard enough to be considered one of the Big Three guilds.

However, seven years was cruel. Seven years is long enough time for a person to quit being a fanatic.

“Guild leader, I’m done with that man-game.”

“You’re too much….”

“I’m old and tired now, and I don’t have the strength to be a fan.”

“Where’s the pledge of the day to collect the Platinum Royal Gorgeous Teacup Set and reclaim the first place from the server’s No. 1 user ‘R’…..”

“Guild leader, stop playing such Man-game and play this God-game. If you pre-register now, you’ll get an item.”

“….traitor!”

She made a cozy otaku guild, but when she came to her senses, she was the only one who was a maniac and the others were already left the field.

Furthermore, she heard the news of the server termination after that.

For several months, she wandered around as a mental vagabond in the sorrow of losing her home. Then, Ju Noeul had a fan accident again.

It’s to be a fan of slime!

Finally, she became an ultimate fangirl. Now, she thought that the only thing left in her fangirl life is to walk on the flower road, but she faced something that was too harsh even for the hardships of life. Selling her precious goods on Karrot is too cruel!

Of course, she was also too much for filling the guild building with fan merchandise.

She bought three of the same goods for actual use, storage, and promotion, and then put them in the guild’s common warehouse. She tried to put up a rainbow-colored giant slime statue at the entrance of the guild, but it was rejected….

Ju Noeul, who had been stabbed a lot, muttered pitifully.

“Once a family, forever a family. An online family is also a family…..”

━ Ah, I already got a call from Karrot. I’m hanging up.

“No, you can’t…!”

The phone call was cut off before she finished speaking, and Ju Noeul was left in despair again.