Jinwoo only stared at Suyeon’s hand.
More precisely, his gaze was fixed on the key she was holding.
How could he get his hands on it, he wondered, longing for it.
And Suyeon was no fool.
She picked up on the fact that Jinwoo wanted her secret key, even if he tried to hide it.
‘Well, having a secret key like this is reassuring. The odds of getting a box are almost zero, but as a collector’s item, it’s worth quite a bit.’
And Suyeon didn’t know Jinwoo’s true strength.
In other words, she thought Jinwoo was a C-rank Hunter.
As an A-rank Hunter herself, she wasn’t much interested in collecting things, nor was she strapped for cash.
On the other hand, a C-rank Hunter might really want such collector’s items, she figured.
Besides, it’s common for men to have collector’s urges.
“Jinwoo.”
“Yes?”
“Would you like to have this? You helped me with my indigestion, and I’ve really wanted to give you a gift. I wanted to return the favor… If you want this, it’s yours!”
“…Really?”
(Anonymous 1): She’s the one, Jinwoo. Just marry her.
‘…I’m not even thinking about dating.’
Jinwoo blocked Anonymous’s delusional comments and smiled brightly.
“Yes, you can have it. But I’m not sure if this is enough to repay you, haha. Next time, I’ll give you something even better.”
“No, no. This is the best.”
Not repaying the favor?
That was ridiculous.
Suyeon had already repaid everything and then some.
If anything, Jinwoo owed her.
“I’ve always been interested in things like this. Thank you so much.”
“Haha, I’m glad.”
Jinwoo received the key from Suyeon.
He could feel the resonance between the key and the box hidden inside his jacket.
(Anonymous 1): Now that you’ve got it, hurry and send her off, open the box, and get your main quest reward!
(God of Rain and Sunlight): …That’s a bit much.
(Sage of Cheongha): Even so, you received something important, so you should at least treat her to a meal. That’s basic courtesy, Anonymous.
(Father of Crops): What trash.
(Anonymous 1): …I’m joking, it’s just a joke.
(Returnee from the Demon Realm): Hmph.
(Endless Waiting): I don’t know anymore.
‘Honestly, I feel like I’ve seen this scene a few times before.’
Jinwoo gave a small chuckle at Anonymous’s consistent antics.
“Really, thank you, Suyeon. If you’re not busy, please have dinner with me.”
“Oh, can I?”
“Of course. Eat as much as you like.”
“Thank you! Hehe.”
A cool breeze swept through the park, not too hot.
Since cooking was allowed here, Jinwoo fetched ingredients and utensils from the camper van.
Maybe because autumn was approaching, but he enjoyed cooking while feeling the cool wind and fresh air.
In Chuncheon, dakgalbi and makguksu were famous, but so was gamjajeon.
And just in time, potatoes were in season.
Jinwoo planned to make gamjajeon with the golden potatoes he received from the Father of Crops.
He’d been eating a lot of gamjajeon lately, so it wasn’t going to be the main dish.
The main was samgyeopsal and doenjang-jjigae.
To be precise, it was doenjang somyeon.
It’s a menu item sold in most barbecue restaurants in Chuncheon, but not very well known outside the region.
It’s completely different from the doenjang guksu or doenjang somyeon of Gyeongsang Province, including Daegu.
This was a traditional doenjang-jjigae made with makjang, served in a hot pot with noodles.
Usually, it was eaten as a finishing dish after the main meal.
Jinwoo planned to make a large pot of doenjang-jjigae, eat it with samgyeopsal, and then, as a finale, add somyeon to make doenjang somyeon.
“Master, let me help as well.”
“Alright, then please grill the samgyeopsal.”
“Understood.”
It was Eric, who had learned to cook by watching over Jinwoo’s shoulder.
Grilling samgyeopsal was an easy task for him.
All he had to do was grill it.
Besides, he wasn’t an ordinary swordsman, but a magic swordsman.
With the heightened senses of a top-tier magic swordsman, his grilled samgyeopsal was so perfectly cooked, it was no exaggeration to say that a skill was infused in it.
Meanwhile, Jinwoo mixed makjang, doenjang, and meat to make the stew, while Suyeon played with Byul, the spirits, and the pets in the park.
She wanted to help with the cooking, but she lacked the talent for it, and Jinwoo had asked her to play with Byul instead, so she ran around the park with them.
In truth, playing with Byul and the spirits was much more fun than helping with a dish she couldn’t make anyway.
Playing with children somehow makes you feel younger, slipping into their world.
That feeling made Suyeon smile.
“Sori is a fire spirit, right?”
— Woong!
Suyeon was also a mage who used fire.
In fact, when it came to flame magic, she was beginning to make a name for herself not just in Korea, but worldwide.
She still felt like she hadn’t properly repaid Jinwoo for helping her, considering it was just a C-rank key she found on a mountain.
She decided to use this opportunity to teach Sori something.
“Sori, do you want to learn some magic from your big sis?”
The Constellations, watching the scene unfold on Byul’s screen, burst into laughter.
(Anonymous 1): Is she showing off in front of Byul, the Spirit King of the Four Elements?
(God of Rain and Sunlight): Like trying to show off in front of a silkworm when you’re a moth.
(Father of Crops): Like a regular potato trying to compare to my golden potato.
(Anonymous 1): …Your golden potato isn’t on that level. How dare you compare it to Byul, you’re asking for it.
(Father of Crops): I can stand being insulted, but not my son!
(God of Rain and Sunlight): So potatoes are your son? You really are insane.
(The Last Blacksmith): Hmm, I get it. That can happen.
(Returnee from the Demon Realm): Quiet, everyone. I’m curious to see how Suyeon teaches Sori.
Byul, also curious, watched with a face full of interest.
Maru and Baekgu, who already knew Byul’s power, found it all just amusing.
Maru, chewing on the golden potato he’d raised himself with his little mole teeth, watched Suyeon and Sori’s training.
“You’re a mid-level spirit?”
— Woong!
“…Baekgu too? Maru?”
— Woong!
Only now did Suyeon realize that Jinwoo wasn’t just any C-rank Hunter.
Come to think of it, Jinwoo had both swordsmanship and spirit master abilities.
‘Does that mean he’s B-rank or higher?’
Thinking so, Suyeon approached Sori.
She thought Jinwoo had gladly accepted her useless key, even though he was actually quite a capable Hunter.
“So, did he just pretend to like it to make me feel better?”
With a hint of misunderstanding, Suyeon resolved to teach Sori even more enthusiastically.
‘Spirits use spiritual energy, not mana, right?’
Spirits use spiritual energy from nature, instead of mana.
Suyeon used her mana to conjure a huge flame.
(God of Rain and Sunlight): A blue flame that burns hotter and longer… No wonder she’s an A-rank Hunter. It takes a lot of mana to maintain a spell like that for so long.
“Sori, can you absorb this fire as spiritual energy?”
— Woong!
In the end, it was fire made from mana, but now that it had manifested in reality, it had become fire infused with nature.
Sori absorbed the fire with her own spiritual energy.
This kind of training was novel, and the Constellations seemed genuinely surprised.
(Returnee from the Demon Realm): Sori always has Byul by her side, so she never lacks spiritual energy… But for spirits without a Spirit King like Byul, this is good training.
(Anonymous 1): True, in a normal situation, this would be pretty useful. Not that we need it, since we’ve got our adorable Byul.
— I absorbed it all! Thanks, sis!
“Well done. Now, want to try making a fireball? Since we’re in a park, be careful. I’ll watch and give you tips.”
— Woong!
Sori enlarged the flame at the tip of her tail.
It wasn’t a fireball formed at the mouth, but one conjured from her tail.
The growing sphere of fire floated up into the air.
Rising higher, it moved forward and stopped right in front of Sori’s mouth.
Normally, fireball magic, which gathers spiritual energy, should be fired immediately, but Sori skillfully held it steady and moved it slowly—an impressive feat.
In short, Sori was already a spirit with refined control over spiritual energy.
Suyeon couldn’t hide her surprised expression.
“…Sori, how did you do that?”
A fireball is fundamentally a bundle of force, formed by compressing mana or spiritual energy—no easy task.
The longer you hold onto it, the more stamina and mental focus it consumes, so you’re supposed to throw it right away.
Holding a fireball for a long time is like holding a grenade with the pin pulled.
But Sori pulled it off.
Suyeon wasn’t a Hunter who couldn’t control a fireball delicately.
She was, after all, an A-rank Hunter.
But—
Tong— tong—!
It was impossible for her to juggle a fireball like a bouncy ball, as Sori did.
— Um… You can’t just try to control it by force! Sis, you try making a fireball, too!
Following Sori’s instructions, Suyeon created a fireball.
Sori’s was basketball-sized, so Suyeon made hers the same size.
Pulling off magic without any preparation was certainly impressive.
— Umm… You should probably make it a bit smaller.
But Sori didn’t seem particularly impressed by Suyeon.
Suyeon shrank the fireball to about the size of a soccer ball, as Sori suggested.
— Don’t try to hold it by force, just let it roll and ease up on your power.
“Won’t it explode if I do that?”
The magic was already on the verge of bursting.
Worried about causing a big explosion, Suyeon carefully handled the fireball.
— It won’t! Just relax!
When the sphere started to deform slightly—
— That’s when you just add a little strength, sis! Just focus on keeping its shape!
Sometime in the past—though Sori couldn’t remember when—she’d learned this method from Byul.
Now, she was passing on exactly what she’d learned to Suyeon.
“…I did it! I did it!”
— Hehe, you did it! Amazing, sis!
Unable to hide her joy, Suyeon beamed brightly.
But contrary to her original intent, Suyeon ended up being trained by Sori, not the other way around.
She started out trying to repay a favor, but ended up receiving even more.
Congratulated by Sori, Byul, Maru, and Baekgu, Suyeon finally realized what had happened and collapsed on the spot.
(Anonymous 1): LOL.
(God of Rain and Sunlight): …So pitiful.
(The Freed Swordsman): Still, if there’s something to learn, you swallow your pride and learn it. She might be feeling a bit down now, but that’s the spirit for improvement.
(Endless Waiting): Yeah, I agree.
‘Me, an A-rank Hunter?’
Self-doubt wrapped around her.
*****
I watched Suyeon’s mood.
While I was cooking, I saw her being taught by Sori.
‘It was a funny, bittersweet sight.’
Worried that her pride might be wounded, I quietly brought out the food.
“…!! This is so delicious!! Wow, is this really samgyeopsal? It just melts in my mouth!”
She cheered, savoring the rich flavor and savory taste of the samgyeopsal, its fat melting softly.
Even though her confidence had taken a hit, she was smiling because she’d learned a valuable skill.
“This doenjang-jjigae is amazing too, it’s addictive!”
“Hehe, my dad made it!”
“Wow, Byul’s dad is the best, huh?”
“Hehe, that’s right!”
“Anyway, Suyeon, thank you for today. Collecting these key items is my hobby.”
“I’m glad, because I didn’t need it anyway. But I feel like I’ve gained so much today… It’s hard to return the favor. I even learned magic from Sori. You really have wonderful spirits, thank you.”
“Thank you for saying that, and you’ve already repaid me. You gave me a key item I needed… and you even came back the way you came because you were worried about Byul.”
“…Still.”
A relationship based on repaying favors isn’t a healthy one.
Jinwoo firmly stated there was no need to return any favors, and Suyeon nodded, feeling a bit relieved.
“Thank you, haha. And this gamjajeon is so crispy and delicious!”
(Anonymous 1): Now let’s open the box and see the main quest reward! Please!!
(God of Rain and Sunlight): It’s about time. I’ve really waited a long time!
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