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Satin was still squatting in the corner of the room. She could have left, but she didn’t.
“Satin.”
No answer.
“Pretty girl?”
“What is it.”
This always worked.
“I brought her here because you asked me to save her. I had to bring her here to save her. But if you don’t like it, I’ll just send her back. If I put her in the dungeon, those people will take her, right?”
“You can only save her here?”
“Yeah. The rice you make is medicine.”
“Really?”
It was true, for now.
Satin’s rice would quickly heal the princess’s body.
“Of course. Haven’t you seen the hunter ajussis? They can take a beating from monsters in the dungeon and be fine because of your rice.”
“That’s true.”
“Can you go down to the kitchen and make some rice? One bowl should be enough.”
“Alright.”
Satin went down the stairs with a thump, thump.
Satin was a good child.
She had been like that since he first brought her.
She didn’t even cry. She would look at him with a bright smile.
She had never caused him any trouble while raising her.
Once, the milk was a little too hot, but she didn’t scream. She just looked at his face.
When a dangerous dungeon opened, he would rush in with the child on his back.
Even during fierce battles, she would quietly cling to his back.
He couldn’t leave her.
He didn’t know when the Devil King would come.
Satin was the only shield that protected the world from the Devil King.
He homeschooled her. When Satin turned ten, she started to get bored. So he opened a restaurant.
‘Please give me some rice.’
He had controlled her demonic energy by wrapping her in an Ether skin.
But her demonic energy would seep into the rice when she cooked.
After that, he had forbidden her from cooking.
‘I came here for a meal because I couldn’t afford a healer. But that rice healed me completely. Please, I’m begging you, just one bowl. Okay?’
The restaurant’s customers were all hunters. Civilians couldn’t enter this area. High-ranking hunters also stayed away.
This was a dungeon where low-to-mid-level monsters endlessly poured out, so it was practically manual labor.
The reward was small compared to the labor.
Naturally, hunters on the verge of retirement flocked to this area.
‘I barely make a hundred thousand won a day, and a healer costs three hundred thousand won. It doesn’t add up. But I was healed after eating your rice. Can’t I have some today?’
It was a weekend when the restaurant was closed.
Satin pursed her lips and stared at the rice in the rice cooker.
‘Can you feel it?’
The rice water shimmered on the back of her hand.
‘No?’
‘The water shouldn’t be sticky. You have to concentrate until it feels light.’
‘Softer?’
‘A little more.’
‘Softer!’
‘Slowly.’
‘Softer.’
‘Good job.’
He had succeeded in reducing her demonic energy by half.
From that day on, the restaurant served rice made by Satin.
The result was surprising.
‘Boss. I’ve been enjoying going into the dungeon lately.’
A hunter who always grumbled while packing his gear had said with a grin.
‘I feel a sense of accomplishment. If I don’t do this, monsters will come out and hurt people, right? This is saving people.’
The hunters’ problems were more mental than physical.
The dungeon was a lonely place. The loneliness of facing death head-on filled every dungeon.
Having companions didn’t help. It just added the pain of losing someone you cared about.
The honor of protecting humanity? It was just a symbol.
The daily life of hunters was to somehow endure with the financial compensation for their severe pain and depression.
What if you came into a rice house with a depressed mood after being beaten up by orcs, and after eating a bowl of rice, you felt an intense comfort, a warm encouragement, and the feeling of lying on a cloud of peace you had never experienced before?
That’s what happened to the restaurant’s customers.
People who were fine on the outside but broken on the inside, both physically and mentally, began to be comforted by Satin’s rice.
“Mister. I just put the rice in water.”
“Good job.”
“Should I fry an egg too?”
“No. That’s enough.”
He helped the princess sit up.
Her eyelids fluttered.
She slowly opened her eyes, leaning against him.
The sunlight filtering through the curtains caressed her face.
What was this? Could a person have eyes like that? Like a Maldives beach.
Eyes the color of a clear sky, almost transparent, were looking at his face.
He scooped some rice with water and put it in her mouth.
She chewed and swallowed.
Gulp.
Her pupils sparkled as she looked at Satin.
A healer who used Ether. She would be able to feel it.
If Mana was the energy of the sky, then demonic energy was the energy of the earth.
If Mana was a wave, then demonic energy was closer to a particle.
Ether was an energy that was exactly in the middle.
It existed between the sky and the earth, possessing the properties of both waves and particles.
“This is the first time in my life.”
“You don’t have demonic energy in your world?”
“Do you call this demonic energy? It’s really strange. It’s hard and sticky, and what should I say…”
“It’s dense.”
“That’s right. Very dense.”
“You need to recover your stamina to be treated. Eating Satin’s food will help.”
“Does everyone here make this?”
“No. Only this child can.”
The princess looked at Satin.
“Hello?”
“Hello.”
Satin carefully looked at her face.
“I’ve never seen a princess before.”
“I’ve never had such a dish before. It’s so delicious.”
“Thank you.”
“I heard you in the dungeon earlier. You told him to help me.”
“You were in pain. Pain is sad.”
“You’re a good child. I’ll be sure to repay your kindness. Thank you.”
“It’s alright.”
Satin glanced at him. Her expression was complicated.
“Can I make pudding for unnie?”
She must have felt sorry for grumbling about bringing the princess home.
“Sure. It’s okay to make it a little thick. Want to try?”
“Alright.”
Satin went downstairs with a thump, thump.
Her pudding was a menu item not yet revealed at the restaurant.
He was curious to see how the rugged dungeon hunters would react to a sweet dessert.
The princess stood up.
Already?
He looked closer and saw a quiet light shimmering from her palm.
“Are you using a heal?”
“Yes. It’s the first time since my core was injured.”
She placed her palm over her heart.
A gentle light flowed over her shoulders and throughout her body.
He could smell flowers.
He had never seen such a delicate and peaceful healing.
The princess swung her legs over the side of the bed and slowly stood up.
“Why don’t you lie down for a bit longer?”
“I want to see outside.”
She approached the terrace.
The alley was visible below. The moonlight wasn’t bright yet.
“It’s pretty.”
Pretty, my ass.
This was Jongno 3 ga. When a disaster-class dungeon had opened in Gwanghwamun, the entire Jongno area had turned into ruins. The tall buildings had all collapsed, and only the shorter buildings had been left standing here and there.
The dungeon repeatedly regenerated, spewing out monsters.
The government declared the entire Jung-gu district a disaster area and built a wall to block it off. That’s how the current Jongno 3-ga was created.
Starting from here to Dongdaemun, about a dozen portals gathered, forming a crossroads of dimensions.
Even though they were called dimensions, the only places you could go from here were dungeons or gates.
Beyond the gates were plains, with unique monsters and plants. The profession of hunter naturally emerged.
The reason they entered dungeons was to obtain byproducts from hunting monsters.
Especially when they entered the plains beyond the gates, they could hunt for rare minerals and even pets.
“There are a lot of people.”
That’s why so many hunters gathered in Jongno 3-ga.
Beyond this intersection was an El Dorado where danger and greed coexisted.
“Their clothes are strange. Are they all warriors?”
The Mana spewing from the dungeons and gates covered the entire Jongno area like a heat haze. It was an area where non-Awakened couldn’t even breathe properly.
“The people here also use Mana.”
“Because they can’t feel Ether.”
“Are you the only one, hero? The only one who can manipulate Ether?”
“Yes.”
“My kingdom was the same. No one but me reacted to Ether.”
“Then you should have been more careful. You collapsed because you pushed your core beyond its limits.”
“People were dying, what was I supposed to do?”
“Does it make a difference if you die with them?”
“Pudding is here!”
Satin came up.
Her special pudding, made with milk, was placed on a plate, jiggling.
Not only was it delicious, but it was also visually appealing.
Three puddings were placed on the small table on the terrace.
The princess looked at Satin as she stuck a spoon into the pudding.
“Satin? Your name is as pretty as your face.”
“What’s your name, princess?”
“My name is,”
the princess took a shallow breath and opened her mouth,
“Audricia Adelheit Marley. I want to be friends with you. Is that alright?”
Satin looked at him with surprised eyes.
It was the first time she had received such a formal greeting.
The only introductions she had received were from the hunter customers at the restaurant.
‘Look at this pretty little thing! Want to shake hands? This is the hand of a real hunter who just beat up a cave bear in a dungeon!’
Or…
‘This pathetic fool. I really can’t watch this. Watch what I do. Excuse me, young lady? If there’s anything you’re uncomfortable with, don’t hesitate to tell me. I’ll take care of it in a flash. Shall I take care of this ignorant fool first?’
Those kinds of greetings.
Satin stood up.
She bowed her head, dusted off her clothes, and cautiously approached the princess.
“I’m Satin. I don’t know my last name. It’s nice to meet you.”
A smile appeared on the princess’s lips.
“You have a dignified air about you. It wouldn’t be strange if you were a princess of some country.”
“But you’re a real princess, unnie.”
“Can you just call me unnie? I don’t have a younger sister. I would be so happy if you were my younger sister.”
“Really? I don’t have an older sister either. I don’t have a mom or dad either. I only have mister.”
“That’s great. Now you have an older sister, right?”
“Really? Oh my gosh, I’m so happy.”
The princess smiled and looked at him.
“Then should I also call you mister, like Satin?”
“How old are you?”
“Twenty.”
“Then I’m an old man. Call me that.”
“How old are you, hero?”
“Twenty-seven.”
“I see. You are an old man.”
This was really…
“Let me formally introduce myself.”
The princess stood up and, even without a skirt, held the front of her clothes with her hands.
And she bowed respectfully.
“The youngest princess of the Creon Kingdom. From today, I will be in your care, hero.”
“I know your name. No need for a formal introduction.”
“Do you know my name?”
The princess covered her mouth and smiled.
It was a smile that would have been accompanied by a poof sound effect.
“You just told me.”
“I’ve met people from other worlds before, but most of them couldn’t remember it after hearing it once. Are you different, hero?”
“Audrey.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s go with that. Your name.”
The princess laughed, her mouth open.
“Alright. If you wish.”
The princess smiled and looked at Satin.
“But our Satin doesn’t seem to be from around here. What kind of young lady are you from? You seem to be from a very special family.”
