Chapter 55: Entering Lost Paradise

** Seol Jihu (POV) **

Yesterday, we finally completed the Impossible mission. After that, with the coupons obtained, I purchased the last items I needed from the VIP store, which were only [The World Tree Seed x1] and [Aphrodite's Rush x5].

With the coupons and a bit of extra points, I bought everything and finally left the VIP store empty.

With the remaining points, we bought the best armors, weapons, storage bags, and cooking ingredients available in the Neutral Zone stores, and we still had over 350,000 points left in total, which would be of no use to us. Therefore, apart from the 1,000 necessary to enter Paradise, I asked the others for the rest of the points, and since they had no use for them, they gave them to me.

That brings us to today, the penultimate day of the Neutral Zone and the day we decided to have our private celebration. At the table, everyone is seated, eating and enjoying a great variety of foods that I prepared for the whole group. We are gathered; Taciana, Claire, María, Odelette, Hao Win, Leorda, Seora, Seol-Ah, Sungjin, Sang-Ah, Tong Chai, Hyun Sangmin, and me.

"Damn! I have no proof, but no doubts either, that Oppa must be drugging the food. There's no way it can taste this good," María said while stuffing her mouth as much she could without any concern for her manners.

"I have to say I agree with Miss María, there's no way normal food can taste this good. I even asked Boss Jihu for the recipe and sought out the best cook in the Neutral Zone, and what he prepared did not taste even a tenth as good as this," Hao Win said.

The others were too busy eating to respond, but I saw more than one nod in agreement with what María and Hao Win said.

"I think the food turns out well for Orabeo-nim because he puts a lot of love and dedication into preparing it," Seol-Ah said, but when she said that, several eyes stared at her intently, and she could not help but blush and hide behind Sungjin while continuing to eat.

"Thank you Seol-Ah, that is why you're my favorite, and you'll have the right to one of the three custom desserts I made for today," I said, and I saw Seol-Ah looking at me with happy puppy eyes. As for the others, when they heard that there were only three desserts and they already had owners, they started to protest.

"Come on, there's no need to fuss, these desserts are to give special thanks to some people who helped us a lot during the Neutral Zone. Well, except for the one I gave to Seol-Ah, which I was going to leave to chance among everyone, but you ended up losing the right by slandering me. I don't drug the food, I just cook with a lot of love and Tomacco," I said, half annoyed and half joking. It seems only María understood the Tomacco reference and started laughing.

After eating, I took out the desserts and said, "The first is Seol-Ah's, it's a banana split." I placed the dessert in front of her, and she didn't hesitate to try it. Just like the rest of the food, she began to eat happily. I could only see most of the girls watching the scene with envy, and Odelette gave me a look that promised revenge.

Then I took out a strawberry and chocolate ice cream tart and said, "This one is for María. She has definitely saved my life many times over the past two months, and I know I've caused her a lot of trouble, so this dessert is part of my thanks. But I have an offer for her, I offer her 350,000 survival points instead of the dessert, she gets to choose what she prefers," I said, and both Claire and Taciana were quite surprised.

When I offered her the dessert, María was happy, but when I made the other offer, she entered a kind of mental war over whether to accept the dessert or the points. I have never seen someone struggle so much internally over a decision that isn't very important.

"You're cruel, Oppa. How can you do this to me? You make me addicted to your food and then force me to choose between a dessert and my beloved money. You're the devil; this is not a reward, it's a punishment," she said while pulling her hair, unable to decide.

The thing is, the survival points that will be worthless to us from tomorrow will actually start to have value for the administrative staff of the Neutral Zone. All the survival points they get from the survivors will turn into contribution points, but only for the administrative staff of the Neutral Zone. It's their reward for taking care of the Neutral Zone, and 350,000 points is definitely a large amount, which is why María is in such a dilemma.

After several minutes of hitting herself and pulling her hair, uttering hundreds of incoherent insults, she finally decided and said, "You win, Oppa. You did it. I, María Yeriel, throw in the towel. You broke my spirit. I accept it. I'm a slave to your food. I want the damn dessert. Give it to me and keep your dirty money." After saying that, she took the dessert and began to eat it slowly, savoring each bite. The others looked at her with a mix of pity, empathy, and envy.

"Well, that leaves us with the last dessert. This dessert was specially made for our favorite hellish instructor. Her help was indispensable for the entire group of novices to reach great heights. That is why I bring her a small three-milk ice cream cake, specially decorated for her. The icing is lilac-colored and adorned with a bear drawn with white meringue. I can guarantee that behind that icing and decoration hides a very sweet and appetizing dessert." When I said the cake was for her, Claire was very happy, but when I talked about the decoration, she immediately turned red, and when I said the last part, she fainted.

Everyone was completely bewildered except for Taciana, who gave me an accusing look and a raised eyebrow. Then she stood up, took the cake with her left hand, then Claire, who had fainted, with her right hand, and left the room, but not before telling me that she would make me take responsibility. And so our celebration party ended.

**

Finally, the last day of the Neutral Zone arrived, and we all gathered in the plaza on the first floor.

"The day has finally come, eh?" said Taciana as she stood with all the maids and the rest of the administrative staff in the plaza on the first floor.

She took a quick glance at the completely empty bulletin board, and an ironic smile burst onto her lips.

"It seems we've had a great harvest in this Neutral Zone," said Taciana.

Shortly after, a simple exit procedure began.

Taciana offered a small praise for everyone, congratulating them for all their hard work over the past three months. Then, the survivors paid 1,000 SP and returned their smartphones that they had obtained during the Tutorial, except for the Yi siblings who were able to keep the ones we got from the raffle machine.

After everything was said and done, the first floor filled with the noises of the heavy steel doors dragging open.

"Follow the corridor, and the Paradise you all longed to enter will be waiting for you," said Taciana as she pointed towards the dark corridor.

"There will be no one to guide you, as we will have to stay behind and deactivate the Neutral Zone. But I'm sure you are more than capable of walking through a corridor."

When they realized that Taciana was making a joke, some survivors began to laugh in response.

"Well, nothing will happen anyway. We even prepared an open banquet area for you outside and all. All you have to do is to enjoy the food and wait for someone to come and pick you up. Yes, it's obviously your sponsors. Just get together with them, sign a contract, make a deal or whatever... In any case, you will find simple food ready for you on the tables located outside. Enjoy your breakfast peacefully and wait there."

Taciana took out a cigar, as if she had finished her speech, before opening her mouth again.

"Ah, and a request, if you can... at least for today, don't fight." She stopped speaking momentarily to light the cigar, then continued in a surprisingly serious tone.

"I advise you to let go of the events and enmities of the Neutral Zone. Today is a day to celebrate, isn't it?" she inhaled a puff of smoke and, a little later, let the smoke out of her nose and said, "Especially you, the guests... I know very well how powerful your sponsors are. Being able to boast about their right to acquire so many invitations even if most of them are Bronze. So I'm sure some of you belong to groups that have quite a bit of influence here."

Some looked at her with dissatisfaction and clearly disagreed with what she said, but they said nothing.

"But it would be better if you abandon the petty grudges you have before leaving this place. Remember that," she said in a warning tone.

There was a sound of someone snorting mockingly from the crowd. Thanks to my [Sensory Perception], I saw who it was, it was the guy from the Sinaloa Cartel, whom Taciana called Burrito on the first day. It seems he has a grudge against someone here and is waiting for his companions outside to help him take revenge.

"Although I made such a nice little request, inevitably you will see some bloodshed on the first day... Oh well. The moment you leave this place, you are no longer my problem, so do whatever you want," said Taciana.

Then she clicked her tongue and continued while brushing her bangs up, "With all this said, I declare the official closure of the Neutral Zone, it was a real task to take care of you. So I hope we never see each other again."

Then she turned around and left.

We began to walk down the corridor, but before we got too far away, I turned around and looked in a certain direction where one of the maids was... Claire. She seemed to feel my gaze and also turned to look at me. I waved at her, but instead of responding, she turned red and ran off behind Taciana.

I could not help but laugh a little; it seems the dessert joke was too much for her. I'll have to fix that later. Then I looked at another maid, María, and she also saw me and stuck out her tongue, then waved goodbye.

Yesterday I talked to her and gave her the remaining points, they are of no use to me anyway, but they are valuable to her. After that, any negative feelings she might have had against me were relieved.

"Orabeo-nim! Let's go!" said Seol-Ah as she dragged me by the arm with quite the enthusiasm. Seeing this, Odelette just laughed and took my other arm and said, "Come on, sir, you will be escorted while holding a flower in each hand, feel honored and prepare to receive the hatred and jealousy of the rest of the gentlemen outside."

With my [Sensory Perception], I realized that Seora and Sang-Ah were jealous, but there wasn't much I could do in this situation, so I just pretended I didn't see anything and went with the flow.

But Seora, seeming to have made a certain decision, approached me from behind, grabbing my coat as we walked. Odelette, upon seeing her take hold of my coat, playfully said, "Miss Seora, how daring! But I like it. You have the courage to claim a portion of Mr. Jihu for yourself. I approve." She then glanced at Sang-Ah and added, "Miss Shin, there's still a portion in front. If you're equally or more audacious than Miss Seora, you can take it for yourself."

Sang-Ah blushed but did not engage in the banter.

We continued walking down the corridor until we reached the end, where we were greeted by the brilliant sunlight and a warm, humid breeze.

Before us stretched a sky tinted in a soft reddish hue under the scorching sun. And beneath that, a vast expanse of desolate plain. The plain extended without obstacles, so far that one could even see where the sky met the earth.

"Finally, we're in the Lost Paradise," I said.

"Just as I thought, it was a tower," Sungjin remarked, looking up behind us. A solitary white tower rose above this desolate landscape. Its massive size left anyone in awe.

"Why don't we have breakfast? Then we can take a good look around," Hyun Sangmin suggested, gesturing to our surroundings.

True to Taciana's words, several wooden tables were set up outside the tower, laden with food.

"Do we already have an agenda, boss?" Hyun Sangmin asked.

I surveyed the crowd. There was quite a commotion as people came to search for survivors, some already gathered and conversing.

But amidst this crowd, I still could not spot Kim Hannah. I suppose she'll take a little longer to arrive.

"The person I'm waiting for hasn't arrived yet. What about you, Hao Win, Tong Chai, Leorda?" I inquired about the others waiting.

"I told them to take their time. I thought it would be nice to savor the moment with you all," Hao Win replied.

"My group has arrived, but we're in no hurry. They'll wait until I'm done, so I'll accompany you a bit longer," Tong Chai said.

"I have to wait for the closing of the Neutral Zone because I'm part of Don Cinzia and Lady Agnes's group," Leorda explained.

"Then I suppose we can eat and relax a bit before we have to go our separate ways," I said, and everyone happily agreed. We gathered around the tables and shared casual conversations, throwing in a joke or two. After all, we'd already shared so much in the Neutral Zone, and any important matters had been discussed beforehand.

"Mr. Jihu, it's time for you to assume responsibility and play your role as the knight who steals the girl," Odelette suddenly declared, hiding behind me.

"What's going on now?" I asked, intrigued by her sudden act. She simply pointed in a direction, and there I saw a man in wizard's robes. It all made sense.

"I thought you said you wouldn't have problems with the group that invited you. Do you want me to handle him?" I was ready to stand up and intimidate the poor wizard, but Odelette immediately grew anxious and stopped me.

"No, wait. He's my cousin. Don't harm him. I just want you to emerge as my gallant knight and make it clear that you're stealing me away from my family," Odelette said mischievously.

"You want me to tell him I'm stealing you from your family and hope it doesn't lead to conflict?" I asked, with plenty of doubts. But in the end, I sighed and stood up, with Odelette trailing behind me. I headed toward her cousin.

"Hello, I'm Seol Jihu, Odelette's boyfriend," I said, extending my hand.

The man dressed as a wizard stared at me with surprise, then shifted his gaze to Odelette behind me. After she nodded in his direction, he sighed and returned my handshake with a firm grip. "Calvin Delphine," he introduced himself, "Odelette's cousin and a Level 4 Magus."

After exchanging pleasantries and chatting for a while, everything was resolved peacefully. It seemed that Odelette's family was quite understanding, and her cousin had no issues with our age difference or social status. He mentioned that despite their noble background, arranged marriages had been abolished decades ago.

Then he put me to the test. If I wanted to take Odelette with me to Paradise, I had to demonstrate my power to ensure her safety. But before he could do anything, I positioned myself behind him, my hand on his neck. Unable to follow my movements with his eyes, he surrendered, stating that he entrusted Odelette to my care and that he would visit France at some point to inform the family.

"Your cousin is surprisingly laid-back, considering he's letting you stay with me even though you're my girlfriend. I half-expected him to call for reinforcements or insist you go with him temporarily until he learned more about me," I remarked. Odelette laughed and replied, "I'm a grown woman, and my family respects my decisions. But if I'd told him you kidnapped me, rest assured it wouldn't take more than a few minutes for the entire Magical Association of Paradise to be after you."

"Well, if I'd known, I would've told him I was abducting you and demanded a ransom to kickstart our comfortable life in Paradise," I teased, feigning regret. We both chuckled.

As we walked back to the table where the others were, we stumbled upon an amusing scene. The 'Burrito' had brought a group of Level 3 individuals to intimidate our group. However, our well-trained and well-equipped team, proficient in the basics of [Physical Reinforcement] and [Mana Cloaking], easily overpowered the Cartel members.

"Aw, I missed the fun. It's all my silly cousin's fault," Odelette lamented, and I could not help but laugh.

I inquired about the situation. Apparently, Burrito had previously attempted to rob our group in the Neutral Zone but ended up getting beaten. Now, outside, he had brought his higher-level companions for revenge. Unfortunately for them, their overconfidence led to another defeat at our hands.

After a while, Hao Win and Tong Chai bid us farewell, attending to their own matters with their respective groups. Leorda left when he noticed Kim Hannah and another person—likely from Sinyoung—approaching our direction.