Vol. 1 - Ch. 24

“Woah, this is true.”As soon as they put down the dishes in front of each other, the young man makes a fuss and praises the taste of the soup.

‘No, you haven’t even tasted it yet.’

As I was trying to smile, the warrior who was looking at the young man with a pitiful look turned his head and gave me a light greeting.

“I will eat it with gratitude.”

“Ah, yes.”

Ah, that voice… I stepped back in admiration.

As I was about to step into the kitchen, Kyung-ju followed me with Eun-young.

As soon as she stepped into the hallway, Kyung-ju opened her mouth.

“I was right, right?”

The words could be interpreted in 2 ways. One as in he is handsome, right? And the other was, as I said, his voice is good, right?

Since both were right, I just nodded in silence.

“I like Ja-hyun better.”

At that time, Eun-young, holding a writing pen in her arms, spoke in a rough voice.

“Ja-hyun is much more handsome, and his voice is better too.” S~ᴇaʀᴄh the ɴøvᴇl_Firᴇ.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

“Eun-young, you…”

This girl. As I suspected, she was eavesdropping in on our earlier conversations.

“Eun-young, shh.”

I warned her to pay attention, but Eun-young didn’t give in and continued to yell at Ja-hyun.

It was funny and a little pitiful to see Ja-hyun getting someone to vouch for him.

‘He can probably hear this from the other side.’

There were two people in the restaurant who were presumed to be warriors. Ja-hyun was in the kitchen.

Even I, an ordinary person, could hear the sounds from the kitchen or restaurant in the hallway. However, it was obvious that if I were a warrior, I would be able to hear the conversations as clearly as if they were being said directly to me.

“That is because you are still young, Eun-young.”

“I’m not that young!”

“As for men, you don’t…”

“I told you both to be quiet.”

I fanned my burning face with the hand holding the tray.

After that, I remained silent and avoided participating in the conversations between Eun-young and Kyung-ju about "the warrior or Ja-hyun, who is more handsome?" until I had gone through the hallway and into the kitchen.

It was already the 2^nd day since the suspicious duo stayed in the guesthouse.

The fact that I was nervous that something might happen due to their appearance was for naught.

‘Really, nothing happened.’

That’s how it was. For the past 2 days, not a single word of incident or accident could be found in our guesthouse.

I was busy in my own way, and they were busy on their own.

That was all I have found about them in the past 2 days.

“Hahah, young lord? Calling my name is enough. Please call me Tae-kyung.”

“You have really good ties with your siblings. I envy you. I don’t get along so well with my siblings.”

He has brothers he doesn’t get along with.

“You said you were leaving for Hangzhou early in the morning, right?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Then maybe Tae-kyung also has luck in…”

“Are you going to meet the local officials?”

“Ah, yes.”

I didn’t know what guts he had, but he goes to see the officials at such a late time. There were just three things. What?

It appears like there is just one story about this guy called Tae-kyung?

Then it wasn’t an illusion. I haven't been able to speak with the warrior once in the last two days; instead, I have only spoken with Tae-kyung.

I had never seen him since our first meeting, so there was no way I knew anything about him.

‘Ah, no.’

Actually, there was only one thing about him that I was aware of.

The warrior wasn’t Tae-kyung’s escort, but an old friend of his who was going to Hangzhou together because their paths overlapped.

Somehow, I didn’t feel any will to protect the other person. It was understandable if they were friends rather than escorts.

‘Tae-kyung. Did such a character appear in the original work?’

I quickly gave up trying to imagine whether Tae-kyung, the young lord, and his attractive companion would show up in The Return of the Heavenly Demon.

Since I didn’t read the book till the end, there was a high chance that they appeared in later volumes, which I didn’t read.

At that point, wasting time was unnecessary.

The characters who appear only briefly in the later volumes are highly likely to be great people who have no connection to me and who live in a remote corner of the nation, due to the nature of the ever-growing scale of Murim.

‘After they leave tomorrow, I won’t see them again.’

Well, even if it wasn’t for that reason, lately I haven’t felt free enough to keep worrying pointlessly about people who will leave tomorrow.

2 days ago. The day I experienced my first faint. Even though it was a summer night, my physical condition was worsening day after day due to the sudden onset of body aches, perhaps because I had passed out for too long without even drying my hair.

‘Oh my, I am dying.’

Still, thanks to that, I was able to hire Ja-hyun, the MC of the novel, as a kitchen assistant.

“Hey, can you explain why the firewood I just put in turned into ashes?”

“…”

“…”

“Well. I don’t know.”

“Yah, it is because of the sparks from your hand. What are you doing?”

“You must have seen something wrong.”

“No, wait. I saw it clearly with my own two eyes, but you say it. Isn’t that the burial flame? Uh? Don’t keep avoiding my eyes; look right here and speak.”

“Get your hands off me.”

Ja-hyun shook her hand on his shoulder as if annoyed.

‘This bastard is so fucking picky.’

It was this morning when he consented, hesitantly.

Aside from his personality issues, Ja-hyun could be said to be a better fit for the kitchen duty than me, who was working here for 3 years.

“Well, did Ja-hyun in the original story demonstrate his strength to Eun-ri in this way without hesitation?"

I felt this strange sense of discomfort as the plot continued to change. But soon, I realized that Ja-hyun and I had already known each other since our first meeting and decided not to worry.

‘I’ve already seen him use the martial arts a few times, but well…’

Ah. Even so, I couldn’t help but pay attention to Burial Flame, being used right in front of my eyes.

‘Isn’t Burial Flame only a technique the best warrior can use? Those who have 200 to 300 worth of qi gathering in their Dantian?’

Although the settings are a bit different in each murim world, the martial art of Burial Flame has established itself as a symbol of the best warriors using their pure internal qi to make flames.

‘But he can light a furnace with it?’

To be honest, it was so creative that I almost wanted to clap my hands.

‘Ja-hyun, that guy, how many stolen qi pills did he consume before escaping his captives…?’

All kinds of precious pills that the Blood Lord had prepared for his new body.

We already knew from the novel that before Ja-hyun escaped, he selected only the essential elements he needed and ate the pills, but what is even more surprising is that Ja-hyun’s state now wasn’t perfect; his Dantian didn’t fully absorb the qi. It was an imperfect state.

Honestly, it was almost scary to even imagine how much stronger he would become if he gained the strength.

‘I enjoyed reading it in a book.’

As I read Return of the Heavenly Demon, I experienced a sense of vicarious gratification as Ja-hyun grew more powerful.

But, now that I was with Ja-hyun as a person around him rather than as a reader, I sometimes have these thoughts.

‘Fuck.’

After all, life is unfair.

And if the subject of the unfairness wasn’t me, most people would feel sick to their stomachs. I was no different. What? Satisfaction? Happiness? What is that? How do I feel?

“Sigh…”

Last night, Dong-mun was sitting on the chair in the corner of the kitchen, staring at Ja-hyun’s back, saying, ‘Unnie, come and sit here, get some rest.’

“It is nice to be you.” \

Even though the words that came out stunned me enough to hide my lips, when Ja-hyun looked at me, I didn't notice any particular feelings on his face.

He said,

“What nonsense are you saying again?”

“’Again.’ If you say that, it would make me seem like a person who only speaks nonsense.”

“Am I wrong?”

“Yes.”

As I said that, I grumbled inside.

The MC has such a bad nature. It would be better for them to make me the MC.

Or a villain also works. These days it is a trend to be a villain and reform the self.

‘Why did I have to be the damn supporting character?’

Though I wasn't happy, what could I do? It has happened.

“Ja-hyun.”

I spoke in a serious tone, looking at Ja-hyun, who was now managing the iron pot more deftly than I was.

“It seems like I have now taught everything. I had to teach because I was a teacher.”

“…”

“So, just go down the mountain.”

It was meant as a joke, but Ja-hyun looked up from her chair and looked like he didn’t understand.

“You taught everything… With this?”

“Uh? Yes.”

Calmly, I nodded.

It wasn’t simply an evaluation made based on the ability to cut, flame, or skillfully handle a pot.

Looking at it all objectively, neither Eun-ri nor I, in her body, could say that our cooking skills were bad, but we weren’t that good either.

Well, just enough to eat and live?

On the other hand, what of Ja-hyun?

Even though he claimed it was his first time cooking, he totally captured my attention and the tastes of the guests who stayed at the guesthouse, including Chu Sa, Dong-mun, Aunt Sun-young, Eun-young, and Kyung-ju.

At this point, I couldn’t help but wonder.

“The person called Jeok Mu-rin, the Heavenly Demon, who would have passed on Ja-hyun’s memories…” What on earth was this person doing?

Ja-hyun's recollections were influenced by the past because, despite his initial lack of familiarity with the kitchen, he quickly adjusted, showed cooking abilities, and surpassed me in less than an hour.

The problem was that the previous life was Jeok Mu-rin.

Why on earth is the head of the Demonic cult so good at cooking than me? It was surely amazing.

‘I guess he did it before he became the leader? Maybe it turns out that his childhood dream was to be the best cook in the central plains?’

Suddenly, I felt so curious about the past of Jeok Mu-rin, who never appeared in the story.

See there, see there. The unusual form of standing in front of the stove was not of someone who had been standing in the kitchen for just 2 days.

Jeok mu-rin, who is he?

“Ju Eun-ri.”

At that time, Ja-hyun’s voice ringing in my ear pulled me from my thoughts to reality.