Chapter 45: Gyebakkom

I need to establish a cooperative relationship with Darangdae.

To that vague sentence, I added a subject.

“I need to establish a cooperative relationship with Darangdae.”

“Sigh…….”

Right after regaining consciousness thanks to Johanna’s healing, I heard about the jaw-dropping exploits of the heroes, which I had only glimpsed through my smartphone.

The news gave me such a headache that I collapsed.

Even though I had been kidnapped and was in a state of panic, the heroes had managed to pull off some truly astonishing feats.

“So, to summarize, they cut off the tails of every Lang tribe member they found and took them as trophies.”

“Hehe.”

“Uh-huh… And then they captured what seemed to be the leader, stripped them down to their underwear, hung them up, and used them as a hostage.”

“Well, historically, the Lang tribe doesn’t really need to wear clothes…”

“Uh-huh. The Lang tribe members I’ve seen were all civilized and properly dressed.”

Though their outfits were a bit revealing.

“Not only that, but they completely destroyed Darangdae’s Pokorong ranch.”

“Just… just a few walls were broken.”

“Saha, you too? Anyway, and then they herded the stolen Pokorongs and came to rescue—no, reclaim me?”

“Ugh……”

“Ugh……”

“……”

They remained silent during my scolding, but the heroes’ expressions were utterly shameless.

It was as if they were saying, “If it were Hero Himmel, he would have done the same.”

Sympathizing with the feelings of a protagonist who brings blessings to a wonderful world, I clutched my head.

This was no longer just a matter of a 3-star clear.

Cooperation with Darangdae was essential.

The reason I had been so confident and unfazed even after being kidnapped was that, story-wise, it was supposed to unfold that way.

After all, Renatel was a contractible character, a hero candidate by today’s standards.

But now, we had thrown a wrench into that plan.

And not just any wrench—a spectacular, grand one.

Just like when we subdued Ellis and Rene.

The story existed, but our actions were gradually twisting the worldline.

In extreme situations, both the existing human tribes and the Lang tribe of Darangdae could turn against us.

If that happened, things would get very complicated.

In my heart, the ever-persistent King Kang Geonma seemed to whisper, “Shall we just wipe them all out? Make sure they can’t even utter a word!”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Huh?”

“Just talking to myself.”

There’s no reason to choose the hard path when the easy one is available.

Though, we had already strayed so far from the easy path that we were in danger of needing to update our navigation.

Growl

A loud sound echoed from Rumi’s stomach.

“Summoner… food… not given…?”

The only innocent hero and former demon, Rene, stared at me expressionlessly, complaining of hunger.

If I whip them too much, it’ll come back to bite me later.

“……Anyway, you’ve all worked really hard. Thank you for saving me. Let’s eat first, shall we?”

“Woof!”

Rumi’s brown tail wagged energetically.

Right.

We need to eat to live.

***

“Haah… today’s meal was delicious!”

“Ark’s cooking skills are truly the best.”

To wash away the memory of the terrible food we had earlier, I spent a considerable amount of money to buy rice and made a rich beef porridge. 

Porridge really needs rice. 

Maybe I could compromise with red bean or pumpkin porridge.

Though it wasn’t an officially registered recipe in the game, so we didn’t get any stat bonuses.

“Master! Another bowl!”

“Rumi wants another bowl too, woof!”

The right amount of salt, fresh sesame oil from the mill, and a sprinkle of pepper paired with the rich beef (origin: Minotaur) made for a satisfying meal. 

It washed away the frustration from lunch, and the heroes were thoroughly satisfied.

“It’s way better than what my mom used to make, woof!”

“Rumi, you shouldn’t say things like that.”

Even though I became the family chef after my tough stint as a cook during my military service, that’s a different story.

“What was Rumi’s mother like?”

Johanna, who enjoys listening to others’ stories, asked with a gentle smile.

“She was a bit clumsy, but she was kind and a good beastman, woof! Oh! She couldn’t cook, woof!”

Did you really have to confirm that twice, Rumi?

As I listened to Johanna and Rumi chatting, a question suddenly popped into my mind.

“Rumi, do beastmen generally not know how to cook?”

“Woof! The cooking of the Canine and Lang tribes is terrible, woof! That’s why Rumi really likes Master, woof!”

Hmm. That explains it.

The mystery was solved. 

They weren’t trying to mess with me by making that awful food. 

It seems they just didn’t have the concept of “delicious food” in the first place.

Now, it wasn’t surprising when Rumi suddenly pounced on me. 

But Rumi’s expression looked strange today. 

Her fangs seemed sharper than usual.

“Grrr…!”

She then sniffed all over my body.

“Eek!”

“R-Rumi! What are you doing?”

Ignoring the other heroes’ shocked and blushing faces, Rumi kept sniffing and pawing at me.

“Rumi! Not in public…!”

“Master! You smell like a wolf, woof! You need a bath, woof!”

With that, she picked me up and threw me into the bathroom.

“……?”

I was planning to take a bath anyway, but I didn’t expect such a violent method.

Trying to calm my racing heart, I was about to take off my clothes when…

“Ellis? Tina? …Rene too?”

“Tch.”

“Eek.”

“Ugh.”

Being of demon origin, they had no shame. 

While the human (and beastman) heroes at least had some decency, these guys were shamelessly peeking through the window.

I quickly closed the curtains to thwart the demons’ wicked plan of exposing my naked body and began to wash myself with hot water.

As I did, I pondered deeply.

How could we establish a cooperative relationship with Darangdae?

It wasn’t mentioned in the ancient texts of Goguryeo’s Subakdo, but I could roughly devise a method.

The so-called “Heroes from Another World” grand operation!

Just like how we conquered Arachne, we would show the primitive Darangdae friends the true taste of food!

It felt like the genre had slightly shifted to a cooking story, but the important thing was the result.

But would that be enough?

It didn’t seem like it.

It was time to lift the seal.

***

A little later.

“Let’s add one more friend.”

It was time to unseal what I had gathered.

Using the divine stones collected from the 15th and 16th floors and the 10-pull tickets obtained from the previous special gacha machine, it was time to go all out!

Thanks to Tina’s diligent warehouse organization and the gold I had secretly accumulated, I had seven 10-pull tickets. 

Combined with the divine stones the heroes had earned, it was enough to reach the ceiling.

“Watching a summoning is a first for me. I’m looking forward to it.”

Saha, the only hero who hadn’t witnessed a gacha scene, sparkled with interest. 

Of course, Ellis and Rene hadn’t seen it either, but as punishment for trying to peek at my naked body, Ellis was sent to the alchemy lab, and Rene was dispatched to the shop’s kitchen to try out some recipes.

Tina was probably putting up a “Closed for the Day” sign in front of the store.

“Johanna? Please.”

This time, it was a selective summoning. 

With the determination to breeze through to the 20th floor, I filled the deck with story-related characters.

Lang tribe.

Rangeomho Renatel.

The leader of Darangdae who had been diligently taking care of me.

Lang tribe. 

Queen of the Forest: Enya.

The queen of the Lang tribe who had kidnapped me and even stolen my shirt.

Mystic tribe. 

Guardian of Nyangdarae: Roen.

Though I hadn’t met them, they played significant roles in the Mystic tribe’s story.

If even one of them appeared, things would go smoothly!

It was time for a dopamine party!

…Or so I thought.

White, white, white, white, white, white, white, white, gold party!!

Every time I rolled the gacha, I couldn’t help but suspect the probability was rigged. 

Honestly, at this point, I was sure of it.

If I ever returned to my original world, I would immediately run to the Korea Consumer Agency and cry, “Waaah, lawsuit!”

But this time, after 40 pulls, a rainbow appeared!

“Woof! It’s Rumi again, woof!”

A great leap for Rumi’s alternate skin!

…What’s going on? 

Did I bury Rumi in my account? 

Why does only Rumi keep appearing?

But I’ve matured too much to get angry now.

Rumi is cute.

Rumi is super cute.

After comforting myself, I continued to have no luck until…

100 pulls. The ceiling was reached!

***

In the place where the heroes and summoners had disappeared,

“Renatel. We’ll protect you now…”

“No. They seem stronger than expected. I’ll have to deal with them myself.”

Renatel waited patiently.

After barely subduing the rampaging Pokorongs and repairing the collapsed fences, she had gone through so much hardship.

She would definitely capture them and make them pay for the suffering they caused.

If all else failed, she would use the summoner’s body.

Late at night, as the saying goes, the criminal returns to the scene.

Finally, a shimmering light appeared in the air.

“Ahhh!”

“Be careful!”

From what seemed to be the location where the Pokorongs had been, six people tumbled down, tangled together.

“Finally, you show yourselves!”

Renatel growled, drawing her sword.

But.

“Wait! Stop the violence!”

For some reason, Renatel froze at the summoner’s words, which carried a strange magical force.

“Here! Take this!”

Earlier, I had taken a risk to retrieve this, but the summoner, who had chosen to return to the heroes despite having her pure feelings trampled on, held out a contract with her face on it.

“Oh my…?”

For a moment, Renatel was stunned.