“You have to kill her faster. Because,” Satin said, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the woman’s face, “she’s your mother.”
The woman’s mind went blank.
She’s your mother. That’s why she had endured it. Because she was her mother, she had no choice.
“Why should my sister die? That person should die. Go and kill him.”
“How could a family be like this? I was so scared I couldn’t breathe.”
“So you have to save her. My sister is so pitiful. You can’t endure it anymore.”
The woman looked at Satin.
Who is this child? Why am I saying these things to a child I just met?
“I’m so lonely.”
“Everyone is lonely. Loneliness is a friend, so you should get to know it quickly.”
The woman’s mind drifted. She felt as if she had run away to a distant place and was now walking back. Color slowly returned to her face.
She let out a low sigh and stood up.
“You’re right. I’ll kill him. I’ll kill him from my life forever. I’ll leave home today. And I’ll never see those people again.”
Satin stood up with her. She dusted off her bottom and looked at the woman.
The woman smiled and said to Satin, “Thank you, sweetie.”
“Kill him cleanly.”
“I don’t know who you are, but you’re an angel to me.”
“Would you like to eat?”
“Eat? What?”
“My family runs a restaurant. And we have a new menu item today. The restaurant isn’t open yet, but would you like to try it first, sister?”
“A restaurant?”
Come to think of it, there had been something at the entrance of the alley.
A square wooden sign with just a rice bowl drawn on it, no words.
That was a restaurant?
Satin grabbed her arm and led her to the restaurant.
The woman hesitated but entered.
It was a restaurant with a warm atmosphere.
Satin sat her down at a table and smiled brightly towards the kitchen.
“I brought a guest. She said she’ll try how delicious our stir-fried pork is.”
The woman looked at the kitchen.
A man with a cool expression and a beautiful blonde woman were in the kitchen. The man bowed to her and placed the stir-fried pork on the table.
“Enjoy your meal.”
Wait.
Could it be?
It was a familiar face.
The Hunter Who Carried a Baby.
She was also an Awakened. She couldn’t not know him.
She had heard that he ran a restaurant somewhere. Was this the place?
The white rice was glossy.
It was an appetizing bowl of rice. The stir-fried pork was also amazing. The smell alone was intoxicating.
The man sat down across from her.
“How did you get here? Not just anyone can come here.”
“I’m an Awakened. I deliver goods on my bike.”
“Is there anyone who sends things to a place like this?”
“Today, I was the customer. I sent myself here.”
The man’s eyes shone. He looked curious.
“Why here?”
“I was planning to just find any dungeon and go in.”
“You would have died.”
“That was the plan.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Kang Gyeol slowly looked into the woman’s eyes.
Sometimes, the world was deeper and darker than a dungeon.
It was people who tormented people, and when you became lonely from being tired of people, you might not find a reason to live another day.
Satin slammed a cola down on the table.
“My sister isn’t going to die anymore. She has something to do.”
“Something to do?”
“She’s going to kill her mother.”
What was this now?
He looked back at the woman. The woman gulped down her water, flustered.
“I meant, I’ll kill her in my heart. I’ll forget her and move on. I thought I had to endure everything because she was family. I learned that from this child.”
“The bike outside, is it yours?”
“Ah, yes.”
“200 horsepower, over 100 kilograms, and a racing machine style. You do deliveries with that?”
“I’m a rider. I enjoy my hobby and earn money. Delivery is the perfect job for me.”
“The gas would cost more.”
“My customers are mostly hunters, so I charge a lot. I mainly deliver potions and equipment to the entrance of dungeons.”
He had heard of a female rider who did that. Her name was…
“Chaerin. It’s an honor to meet you.”
Right.
Chaerin.
She had awakened with a high level but had no abilities.
“How’s the taste?”
“I heard that if you eat at the Hunter Who Carried a Baby’s restaurant, you can fly on a cloud. The rumor was wrong. It’s not a cloud, it’s heaven. I feel like my whole body is being purified.”
“I meant the stir-fried pork.”
“Oh… It goes well with rice. The stir-fried pork seems to ground the dazed, excited feeling.”
“I asked how it tastes.”
Chaerin stuffed her cheeks with stir-fried pork. She chewed and gave a thumbs up.
“It’s really delicious. Did you make it, Hunter?”
Kang Gyeol nodded.
“You’re amazing. You could live a luxurious life, Hunter, but you’re running a restaurant.”
“I come here sometimes. To taste new menu items.”
“I’ll come again.”
“Don’t kill your mother.”
“I won’t! I mean, that wasn’t my original intention…”
“If you want to kill someone, you have to use your emotions. Most people aren’t worth it. Emotions are expensive. Don’t waste them.”
Chaerin slowly looked into Kang Gyeol’s face.
This man.
His gaze was as cool as his voice.
“Thank you for your words.”
“I’m saying this because I might have a job for you later, and it would be a problem if you were in prison.”
“I won’t go to prison.”
“Go. The food is on me today.”
Chaerin stood up and looked at the kitchen. The beautiful blonde woman was smiling at her.
What kind of restaurant was this? A legendary hunter, a mysterious girl, and a breathtakingly beautiful woman, all in one place.
The food was also much more intense than the rumors.
The rumor that a bowl of rice from the Hunter Who Carried a Baby’s restaurant was better than a high-grade healer’s potion was indeed true.
“I’ll be back.”
Chaerin bowed and left the restaurant. She started her bike and looked back at the restaurant.
Vroooom!
Her bike roared, lifting its front wheel. As Chaerin rode through the ruined streets, she thought,
‘I have to come back.’
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Hunters were gathered in front of the restaurant.
They looked as rough as if they had come from another world.
“I didn’t get the wrong order, did I?”
“No doubt. This is stir-fried pork.”
“They’ll probably eat it all by themselves again. When have they ever given us anything other than rice?”
“Right. Don’t get your hopes up. We should be grateful they even give us rice.”
“But I want to eat it, the stir-fried pork.”
“Me too. My mood has been off ever since a goblin bit my ass. Spicy stir-fried pork is perfect for times like these.”
“I need meat. I have to eat here and then go to another restaurant. If they gave us meat, that wouldn’t be necessary. Don’t you agree?”
“Yes. As a regular of ten years, that’s what I’m most disappointed about.”
Thud, the restaurant door opened.
The hunters saw her hair before her face.
Blonde.
What was a blonde doing in this rough Jongno 3-ga?
“Welcome.”
Her voice was like… had a celestial fairy descended?
The hunters swallowed and entered the restaurant. They exchanged glances and nudged each other, but no one knew who she was.
Satin came running.
“You got hit a lot again today? Try to dodge. Why do you always get hit!”
“Satin, you don’t understand. Do you know how violent goblins are?”
“They looked cute.”
“Even orcs look cute.”
A hunter with a bushy beard tilted his head.
“By the way, Satin. Who is she?”
“My sister? She’s a princess.”
“A princess! She was really a princess?”
He had thought so.
She wouldn’t have such an aura if she weren’t a princess.
But a princess? Did that make sense? This was Jongno 3-ga. A rough and desolate crossroads of dungeons.
“What’s a princess doing in a restaurant?”
“She works here. She even sleeps with me.”
“She’s a staff member!”
The hunters gaped at the kitchen. The blonde princess was placing food on a tray. To have such an experience in their lifetime.
Satin’s drug-like rice was already a great honor, but now a princess was serving them?
The bearded hunter sniffed. The smell was irresistible.
A princess was a princess, but he had something to take care of.
No matter how scary the owner was, he had to say what he had to say.
The sorrow of not being able to eat what you wanted was as sad and sorrowful as being hit by a goblin.
“Hey, owner. We’ve been patient enough.”
Kang Gyeol pointed at the restaurant wall with his finger.
The bearded hunter followed his gaze with a confused expression.
There was a paper on the wall.
New Menu: Stir-fried Pork
He hadn’t seen it because of the blonde princess!
Stir-fried pork was now an official menu item!
The hunters shouted one after another.
“Stir-fried pork!”
“Here too!”
“I’ll have five servings in advance!”
“Us too!!”
The food came out quickly. The stir-fried pork had been pre-cooked in the morning.
Audrey had finished it by stir-frying it one more time, and Satin had sprinkled sesame seeds on top.
Cheers erupted from all over.
“It’s delicious!”
“It’s amazing!”
“Yes, this is it. The workers of the dungeon needed meat.”
Kang Gyeol sat at the entrance counter and looked at the hunters.
They all looked happy.
He could see the hunters’ cores, which had been overly focused on the rice, relaxing.
It was thanks to the stir-fried pork.
The bodies and minds of the wounded hunters were slowly calming down and beginning to recover.
Had he been too indifferent?
He had opened a restaurant and only served rice to the customers.
He felt a little sorry. He should gradually expand the menu. They liked it so much.
Kang Gyeol looked around the restaurant and slowly nodded.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
A man in a black suit stopped in front of the restaurant.
This must be the place.
The man sent a message on his phone.
– Arrived.
A reply came immediately.
– You must uncover the secret of why he opened a restaurant.
‘Understood.’
– Be careful. He’s the legendary Hunter Who Carried a Baby.
‘Understood.’
The man put his phone in his pocket and looked at the restaurant.
It was a small but neat building. A square wooden sign was hanging. There were no words on the sign, just a rice bowl.
How ridiculous.
He was selling drugs, and he used a rice bowl? Was he trying to act innocent?
A report had come into the Hunter Management Agency’s drug enforcement division.
There had been suspicious rumors circulating among hunters recently.
A level 9 rookie hunter caught a dungeon boss and led a raid? He leveled up to level 8 in just a month? There were many such cases. The number of hunters who had leveled up dramatically had skyrocketed.
That wasn’t all.
The complaints from veteran hunters, who were full of complaints, had decreased. It was impossible without drugs.
They complained when things went well, and they threw a fit when things went wrong.
The hunters who used to come to the management agency and act like troublemakers had become as meek as lambs.
Looking at the common denominator, they were all connected to this restaurant.
The Hunter Who Carried a Baby.
Today, I will reveal your true colors.
The man straightened his collar and opened the restaurant door.
