An Ace in the Hole

Damp. That was the first thing I noticed. After that was that it was a long and dark corridor.

Flone frowned and moved close to me. "I don't like this place, Jihu..."

"I know, Flone."

Chohong carefully scanned the surroundings and then glanced back at me. "How did you even find this place, Seol? Is it your crazy intuition again?"

"Partly. But after talking with the village chief, I had a feeling there were some satellite research facilities around here." I swept my gaze around the surroundings and said, "Didn't think it'd look like this though."

It was an ominous and unnatural tunnel. Like someone or something dug through. Not only that, but the air was damp and warm, almost like this was the throat of some creature instead of an ordinary tunnel.

I frowned.

There weren't any colors, so it didn't seem dangerous. But I had a feeling things weren't quite so simple... And if I remembered right-

"Wait."

Mikhail turned around to look at me. "What's wrong? Don't tell me you want us to head back now?"

"No." I strode forward and drew my sword. "But I want to take header now."

"What?" Veronika frowned. "Do you doubt my skills?"

"I don't. But even if you see the danger coming, you won't be able to react in time." Lightning crackled around my sword, illuminating the darkness. "Flone, Chohong, with me. Mikhail, I'm trusting you with the others in the back. And Veronika, get your bow ready to provide support fire."

Did they sense my serious tone of voice?

The group didn't resist and quickly did as I said. Like that, we advanced in our new formation, the only light coming from my emerald blade.

As we advanced, I saw it. Flashes of yellow, orange, and red around my companions and the area. As if the danger was uncertain and could shift at any moment.

That only made me raise my guard further. But nothing emerged.

Eventually, the tunnel changed. The unnatural opening turned into an area shaped by man's hands. The rough and misshapen walls turned into chiseled areas and the dusty floor became brick. And then eventually, we arrived at a large domed area.

Mikhail's eyes widened. "What in the world...?"

I didn't blame him.

He stepped forward and looked around. "A place like this was hidden underground the whole time?"

A giant chamber with a domed ceiling that stretched far above. Mysterious and grand.

But-

"Stay on your guard."

I didn't let up.

The faint and shifting lights had settled on a color now. Although Flone and I were still colorless, everyone else was dyed a bright yellow. Not quite deadly peril, but a potential for things to go wrong.

Veronika frowned. "I don't sense anything though."

"And you didn't when they were assimilated with the hills either." I shook my head and said, "We're dealing with the unknown here, so don't completely discount the danger until we're through."

Maria pulled out a crucifix from her shirt and then turned towards me. "E-Even so... you'll protect us, right Oppa?"

Chohong chuckled and turned towards me. "Right. Our strong and reliable Oppa will make sure we get through this, won't he?"

I sighed. "Could you two-"

"Over there!" Veronika's eyes lit up and she pointed down a hallway in the distance. "Traces of someone coming down here recently!"

Mikhail smiled. "Looks like we're getting close then."

Veronika moved over to examine them. "Let's see-"

"Oi!" Chohong called out. "Don't go out on your own!"

Mikhail shook his head. "It's fine, Chohong. After all, there's nothing-"

A sudden surge of bloody crimson light shone from Veronika, quickly turning black.

I quickly activated my earrings and blew past Veronika, shoving her back.

When I did, a barrage of attacks flew towards me. Gray tentacles, lashing out in every direction.

But-

"Slow." I muttered and then swung my sword, loosing a barrage of lightning.

Ash filled the air as the tendrils were vaporized. But it wasn't over yet.

The crimson light began to spread, and even Chohong and Maria were turning a bloody color.

"W-What?" Veronika's eyes were wide in shock.

"Dammit!" Chohong pulled out her mace, quickly turning it white hot. "I told you idiots not to act on your own!"

Mikhail let out a sheepish laugh and drew his sword, turning it blue again with his aura. "We'll remember that next time?"

"You'd better hope there's a next time!"

I grabbed Veronika and ran back into the chamber, plopping her beside Mikhail. At the same time, I turned back to the opening and readied my own sword.

Flone immediately moved to my side, covering my off side with her shield. "I've got you, Jihu!"

"Thanks Flone. Now..." I stared down the hallway. "Get ready. It's coming."

Silence. And then 'it' appeared. A giant, bulbous mass of gray flesh squeezed through the wall and plopped onto the floor.

Chohong's eyes widened. "What the hell?!"

Mikhail's eyes grew panicked. "What's something like that-?!"

Before he could finish, the battle began.

Dozens- No, hundreds of tentacles flew out from the floor, ceiling, and walls. As if the entire room had suddenly become the bowels of a terrible beast.

Did it have a primal urge? For some reason, they immediately shot towards the women instead of me or Mikhail.

Flone shuddered in disgust, but braced herself, raising her sword and shield.

Chohong spat on the ground and waited.

As for Maria... "Lux, Luxur, Luxuria!" A white barrier blossomed around us, stopping the tentacles.

Good. Despite her usual personality, it seemed like Maria knew when to focus where it counted.

The moment the barrier came up, I acted. Lightning crackled around my sword again, and I used it to clear a swathe through the sea of tentacles.

Like the red sea, they parted, revealing the core. And with that, we could see the creature in full.

Chohong stared up at the enemy that revealed itself and said, "What the hell is a Nest doing here?"

Because why not? ...Is what I wanted to say. But considering that everything was turning red and that even a flicker of yellow was emerging on my own body, I didn't. Instead, I clicked my tongue and said, "Flone!"

"Got it, Jihu!" She raised her sword and moved close to me.

Mikhail's eyes widened and he said, "What are you two doing?"

"Getting rid of this thing."

I scanned the nest and then focused.

"What?!" Chohong looked at me and said, "Do you even know what you're saying?! That thing's a mid-level Nest! It-"

"No time!" I kicked off the ground. Glancing at Flone, I said, "Take care of the smallfries!"

"Got it, Jihu!"

Flone sped up in front of me, shooting forward by partially transforming back into a spirit. Then, in that form, she swung her sword, causing all the tentacles to be shredded at once.

The Nest screamed, a high pitched screech, and stepped back. But the tentacles quickly regenerated, redoubling in speed.

Recognizing us as threats, it diverted its attention to the ones left behind to try and distract us.

"Fucking shit!" Maria cursed and focused on her barrier. She grit her teeth and looked at the others. "The fuck are you dipshits doing! Do something!"

Mikhail grit his teeth and then gathered blue aura around his sword. "Hehehe... I can't just stand around here when our leader's running head first, can I?"

I glanced back and said, "Veronika, Mikhail! Distract it from the left! Chohong, protect Maria!"

"Got it, Leader Seol!" Mikhail dashed forward, skirting between lashing tentacles and slashing out. At the same time, arrows flew behind him, covering the gaps.

"Argh!" Chohong screamed and stuck close to Maria. "You'd better not die, Seol, or I'm writing Oppa on your gravestone!"

"Like hell I'd die from something like this!" I focused and drew my sword up at my right side.

Countless tentacles flying towards me, like a flurry of gray spears.

Flone swept her sword, cleaving them in two. But... "It's not working, Jihu!"

As fast as she cut them, the tentacles regrew. No, not only regrew, but they doubled.

I grinned. "Just like the hydra, huh? In that case..."

I focused in. The faint vibrations of each tentacle. The ripples caused from shifting air pressure. The kinetic energy of each strike.

"Get back, Flone!"

"Okay!"

A silver blur fell back in front of me.

At the same time, I stepped forward and slashed.

Three faint lines. But the moment that happened, something intervened. Energy welled up from inside me, countless concepts interlocking as one.

-Right.

The ability that belonged to my current class was [Synthesis Blade].

While I hadn't used an ability point to learn it, I understood the concept enough.

Weaving everything as one, striking in a single slash. So then...!

Lightning crackled, launching out frigid energy. At the same time, metal shrapnel exploded, launching at the Nest.

"W-Whoa?!" Mikhail's voice echoed out from behind me, but I ignored it.

All the tentacles were blown away at once. But it wasn't enough.

Even with a devastating blow, the monster was regenerating.

So then, a move to end it.

Time crawled to a halt.

The main body was before my eyes.

But my sword was too short. If I slashed, it wouldn't reach.

But I needed it to reach. Something like this would lead me to fail if it didn't.

So then...

I brushed my hand against my earring. Once, twice, three times. I activated the triple Boost, stacking my speed thrice and rocketed forward. At the same time, I reduced the friction to zero and slashed with my sword.

A thunderous crash and then the vile sensation of squirming flesh around my body.

But only for a moment.

I landed on the ground behind the Nest, skidding from my frictionless state and then kicked back.

There was a giant hole in the Nest. But it was still alive. Despite that rapid attack, it wasn't dead.

"Don't be stubborn and die!" I roared and jumped onto it, grabbing the thing with my bare hands.

The monster screeched and lashed out with tentacles. Or it tried to. But-

[Impending Demise activated]

The creature froze under the threat of imminent doom.

And then that premonition became a reality.

I reached out to its fundamental makeup, quickly scanning through it with energy manipulation and then injecting it with lightning mana.

A blinding white flash. An outburst of heat.

And then it was gone, ash in the wind.

"Jihu!" Flone ran forward and caught me as I fell down. Her silver hair shifted and her light blue eyes stared at me. "Are you alright?"

"A bit exhausted, but otherwise fine." I staggered on my feet and looked at the others. "You guys?"

Mikhail and Veronica were frozen in shock.

Maria stood still with her mouth wide open.

As for Chohong...

"Tch. Fucking showoff."

...She scoffed and turned her head away.

xxx

"...Are you sure that you're a level two, Mister Seol?"

I sighed and said, "I told you, it's just Seol, Mikhail. And yes, I'm just a level two."

We were on our way back to the village. After getting rid of the Nest and the mutants, all of us were beyond exhausted.

Well, except for Flone who was graciously lending me a hand walking back.

Veronika looked at me and said, "But that magic then...! If you were a level two..." She paused and said, "Wait? Then what is your class?"

"Hm? Ah, it's Synthesis Knight."

Mikhail frowned. "Synthesis Knight... Is that a unique class?" His eyes grew wide and he smiled. "No wonder! So Mister Seol is pioneering a new field... That explains a lot."

Chohong shook her head. "And he's being a show-off while he's doing it... Geez. Did you have to charge in like that ahead of us all?"

"It was dangerous, and there wasn't time. Besides, it worked out, didn't it?" I shrugged.

Chohong gave me a strange look.

"Well I think that Oppa did great!" Maria clung to my arm and said, "You'll invite me again the next time something like this happens, right, right?"

I laughed and lightly pushed Maria away. "Of course. You were essential in making sure everybody didn't die in that first ambush."

Mikhail let out a wry smile. "Right, the ambush..."

"Ah." I turned to him and said, "Don't feel bad. You two did great, too. All things considered."

Veronika sighed.

Mikhail shook his head and said, "No wonder you were so confident in recruiting us... Really, you did us a big favor today, Mister Seol."

We arrived in the village again. By the time we arrived, it was just rounding early morning.

Chohong and Maria both headed to the inn to get our rooms, both of them saying that they needed to rest. Flone went with them, saying that she'd make sure the two didn't collapse on the floor.

Mikhail left to search for a carriage, and Veronika went to go grab a meal.

As for me...

"Come in."

...I went to see the person responsible for this all.

The village head sat down in his chair, his back turned. "How goes the request?"

I shut the door behind me and said, "It's been resolved. Mutants won't appear ever again."

The village head's face stiffened. Even so, he said, "I should thank you. However, it's only been one, two days since our last meeting, yet you seem to be worse for wear. I take it they were strong?"

"You seem to know pretty well... Mister Mage."

He sighed and closed his eyes. After a long while, he opened them again and said, "Did you kill it?"

"Yes."

The old man sighed, a mixture of relief and sorrow. "I see." He finally turned around to look at me and said, "Indeed, I expected this. Back when you started talking about the research centers, I began suspecting it. That maybe you were just testing the waters because you already figured out my identity."

I nodded. "I won't deny that."

The old man frowned. "How did you find out? Information related to my identity should have all been expunged by now..."

"Before that... I have to ask. The villagers here knew, didn't they? After you arrived and did your research, they caught wind of it and helped."

The old man smiled. "Well aren't you a smart one." He nodded. "It's like you said. Our interests lined up pretty nicely... and that was about it." He sighed and said, "I wanted to achieve a tangible result somehow and make my glorious return. The villagers wanted means to defend this village at all times from a potential enemy invasion." He looked at me and said, "Do you get it now?"

"Of course." I sighed and said, "This is just that kind of world. Everyone is doing what they can to live."

The old man stared at me and then gave a thin smile. "Indeed. It seems that you understand it well." He sighed. "Unfortunately, it didn't succeed."

"Didn't it?"

The old man shook his head. "There were critical issues. The Empire knew them. I... also knew them. But I fooled myself with an empty dream, thinking that I couldn't let it end just like that."

I frowned. "But if you could control them, then it was fine, wasn't it?"

"Indeed, there's the rub. But... There's a limit to how much control we can exert. Even if the Nest was properly trained, even if it learned properly... It would come to a limit." The village head slowly got up from his chair and took down a small box. Clicking the lid open, he revealed a murky, dark stone the size of a child's fist.

Seeing that, my eyes widened.

The village head nodded and said, "This is rudium. You could say it's the essence of alchemy... Well, just think of it as the core ore used to control the Nest."

"...How does it work?"

The old man chuckled and said, "If you want to hear it, then well, I'll tell you. If your level of magic engineering knowledge is at least a quarter of what I know, then I'm confident of teaching you within seven days."

I shifted my gaze to the old man and said, "And if it's equal or better?"

"Hoh?" The old man gave me a challenging look, light twinkling in his eyes. At the same time, his shoulders squared, giving off a shadow of his past self. "If that's true, then we only need a few hours. But in that case, why don't you tell me your hypothesis on how rudium works?"

I glanced at the mineral and said, "May I?"

"Of course."

I picked it up and focused, probing it with energy manipulation.

It was... an interesting concoction. I couldn't probe it completely since its innerworkings were a bit unclear due to being almost used up, but from what I could tell...

A meteoric ore bearing traces of dark corrosion from the depths of space. Using that as a basis, magical glyphs were inscribed upon it, taking that corrosion and impressing it into disruptive- No, corruptive waves. More magical sigils were etched on all sides, creating a complex array of values that could be directly influenced by mana, which could carry one's intent. Using that, it emitted the translated wave on a similar frequency to the Parasite's receptors, causing them to obey due to being overwritten. Of course, since it's more like just staining a bucket of water with ink, the moment a new order from a higher Parasite, like if we changed out the water, the command would be overwritten again, unless we continuously used the rudium.

But then that would mean that the rudium would be used up at a faster rate, since it needed more matter to convert and enforce those commands.

"...Is that right?"

The old man stared at me, his eyes wide. And then he let out a loud laughter and shook his head. When he was finished, he smiled and said, "I never received your name, fella."

I held out my hand and said, "Seol Jihu. Family name's Seol, and my given name is Jihu."

"Jihu, is it?" The old man shook my hand and said, "Never in all my years did I ever think to meet such a bright star in the later years of my life..." After shaking his head a bit, he said, "Allow me to formally introduce myself." He let go of my hand and then bowed. "Arbor Muto, former Archmage of the Delphinion Duchy and head of the Human Nest Protocol. Now then." He sat back down on his chair and beckoned towards the one across from him. "You are not in a rush to leave, are you? Because I am quite curious to pick the mind of someone as bright as yourself."

I sat down and said, "It's fine. My companions are all pretty exhausted anyway, so we'll probably stay here a bit longer."

"Wonderful. Now... Allow me to correct you a bit on your conjecture."

"Oh?" I frowned and said, "Am I wrong?"

He shook his head. "No. In fact you are correct. Almost too correct." He grinned and said, "You see, what you described is what we set out to do. And if we achieved it perfectly, it would operate exactly as you stated. However... we fell short." He picked up the rudium and said, "This mineral... As much as we wished it, the corrosive effect proved too difficult to manage. Inscribing magical glyphs to do as you stated was our intention, but doing so in a manner that remained stable throughout was unfeasible." He placed it back in the box and said, "In the end, we settled for a brute force approach. Rather than giving detailed orders, all this can do is give simple commands."

"Ah... So then instead of directly controlling them, it's just giving broad orders? That's still pretty useful though..."

"It is." Arbor Muto nodded. "However, the efficiency is too low." He glanced at the rudium and said, "For low-level Parasites, that amount is enough to give orders. But for higher-level ones, we would have to expend an amount equivalent to the size of this house just for a simple order, like 'Stop.'"

"But why were the magical glyphs unstable?" I frowned and said, "It should be possible to unify them to keep it in harmony."

"Hah!" Arbor Muto shook his head. "If something like that was possible, the fate of the Empire would have changed long ago. Unfortunately, it wasn't possible. Or rather, if it is, none of the most brilliant minds at the time could resolve it." He paused, suddenly realizing something. He looked at me with wide eyes. "Wait a moment... Don't tell me you know how?"

I nodded. "It's a hypothesis, and you can probably tell more since you're familiar with this, but..."

I pulled out a piece of paper and sketched out the glyphs I saw. "These are the sorts that are in the rudium, right?"

"...Indeed, they are. While I am curious how you can tell from a simple examination, those are indeed correct."

"And the problem is that they corrode, right? Essentially the weight of the corrosion effect outweighs the weight of the mana inscription, breaking the circles?"

"That is indeed the problem."

"Then..." I sketched on the paper. "Why not this?"

The glyphs used in the rudium were two-dimensional. A stack of thousands of magical glyphs in a cylinder shape.

But that wasn't the optimal formation. Instead...

Countless arrays of glyphs encircling each other in three dimensions. Glyphs formed not just up and down, but left and right, diagonally, and holographically.

I frowned and said, "It's a bit hard to describe in paper, but-"

"By the gods." Arbor Muto carefully reached out and grabbed the paper, scanning it. After a while, he laughed. "It was this simple...? Yes, it was this simple! Why did we never..." He shook his head, tears coming out of his eyes. "Dammit! If we learned of this sooner...!"

I waited for him to regain his composure.

After a few moments, Arbor Muto shook his head and looked at me. "You... In your world, what occupation do you have?"

"Me?" I paused and thought about it. "Mm... I suppose you could say that I'm in a similar field to you? Our 'magic' is a bit different, but I'm an engineer in that analogous field."

"And are you a leader in the field? No, you must be with this knowledge."

I nodded. "You could say that."

Arbor Muto stared at my diagram and said, "Three dimensional magical glyphs... Tracing them out in every direction. Yes, if it is like this, the harmony and stability would be amplified countless times over. Of course, the design and application process would be difficult, but the concept alone... Yes, like this the rudium would not degraded. But... Hah." He shook his head. "A pity. Truly, a great, great pity."

"How so?"

"The ore that was processed to create rudium no longer exists. Even if it did, I neither have the resources nor the team to be able to recreate the process."

I frowned and grabbed the rudium again, contemplative.

"Something like this..."

I tried to see if I could make it. If I could sus out a similar object from pure energy... but on closer examination, it was impossible. As for the reason-

"Ah." I frowned and said, "...The 'ore' is from a biological being."

"Yes." Arbor Muto sighed. "A shard of a fallen dark god, finding its way to this world. One of a higher grade than the Parasite Queen. Unfortunately, it also is something that cannot be replicated."

It was something that carried a 'will' deep inside. A sort of unique existence that didn't allow replication.

"However." Arbor Muto hummed and looked at me. "You've given me much to think about." He scowled and said, "Curses. If this old man had more time left in his life..."

"Mm?" I paused and said, "Do you need some time?"

"...What?"

I pulled out a certain bottle and handed it over.

When Arbor Muto stared at it, his eyes widened.

xxx

I shook hands with the slightly de-aged Arbor Muto and then regrouped with my team.

After that, the next day, we headed back to Haramark, nothing else of note happening.

Well, other than the fact that we had to go on foot since Mikhail couldn't secure a carriage.

When we arrived at Haramark, Mikhail and Veronika bade farewell saying that they'd love to come help again... but first they had to grow in strength. Although it was nice being carried this time, they didn't want to do it all the time.

Maria bailed as well, eager to see how much she had grown from the mission.

Which left me, Flone, and Chohong.

I opened the door to Elysium HQ and walked inside. The moment I did, Chohong brushed past me and flopped onto the sofa in the living room.

"Finally, we can take a load off... And damn this is a good couch." She tossed her bag to the side and then her coat, leaving only a tanktop.

Flone rolled her eyes and said, "Miss Chohong really doesn't have a sense of being ladylike at all, does she?"

"I don't want to hear it from the crazy woman who can rip apart something like a Nest with her bare hands."

Flone let out an innocent expression and said, "Who, me?"

I bopped Flone on the head and said, "Stop messing with her, Flone. Chohong barely has enough braincells to think as it is."

"Hey!" Chohong sat up and glared at me. "Don't think I won't smack you for that shit, Oppa."

"Don't threaten me with a good time, Sis."

Chohong froze, suddenly turning a bright red. "Wha- You...?! Huh?!"

Flone giggled and then walked over to sit on a chair. "So you were into that sort of thing, Chocho..."

"I'm not! And don't call me that!"

I laughed and then tossed my bag to the side. After that, I looked at the girls and said, "Since we did so well, what do you two say we celebrate a bit?"

Flone's eyes lit up and she said, "Are you going to cook again, Jihu?"

"Well, it's not like there's anywhere else I can get my hands on good food, right?"

Chohong stared at me and then frowned. "Come to think of it... Back when you were making the offering for this Saintess here, you pulled food and stuff out of the blue too." She shifted her gaze to my shirt and then stared intently at it.

"What?"

"...Are you Doraemon or something?"

I laughed and said, "I'm just really good at sleight of hand." To mess with her a bit, I tugged my sleeves back and said, "Nothing up my sleeves, right? Well..." I flicked my wrist and then materialized a bouquet of roses. "Maybe not?"

Chohong blinked.

Flone clapped her hands. "That's cool!"

"Then for you, Madam." I bowed and offered the bouquet to Flone.

She giggled and took them, hugging them to her chest.

Chohong rolled her eyes and waved me off. "Just go cook or whatever then, Mister Showoff."

"Yeah. I'll do-"

[Alias: Mister Showoff has been added.]

I froze.

Chohong grinned.

"...You're a cheeky little girl, you know, Sis?"

Chohong laughed... and then her face froze, horror filling her eyes.

And the reason for that...

[Chung Chohong's Status Window]

.

.

.

Alias: Go-stop, Slaugther Maiden, Six Crazy, Cheeky Little Girl, Sis, Chocho

"Karma works fast, huh?"

Chohong groaned.

xxx

I set down the food on the table in the living room and then brushed my hands on my side. "There we are. Should be a decent enough meal, right?"

Chohong's eyes widened. "...You know, I was kidding about it earlier... but are you really some kind of crazy magician, Seol? Or did you pick up some alchemy tricks from that old perv?"

I poured a glass of sparkling red wine and then handed it to her before walking around to Flone. "What can I say? I'm a man of many talents. Right Flone?"

The Saintess sighed and said, "Why couldn't you have been born a few hundred years earlier, Jihu? If a man like you had been around..."

I poured her a glass of wine as well and then sat down at the table. "That's just how things ended up, Flone. But no point thinking about what ifs, right?" I raised my own glass of wine and held it out. "Cheers by the way."

The two women raised their glasses as well and then we clinked them together.

After that, I took a sip and looked at the food I prepared.

In truth, it wasn't much. Since I was out of ingredients by virtue of it being Paradise and not Earth, I was left to my own devices on making things work.

Of course, due to my previously stated various talents... specifically, my energy manipulation skill, it was a simple matter to recreate some tasty dishes.

Well, that and Seol's innate sense for cooking.

Gourmet steak, some savory pasta, hearty potato soup, pastries... it was a small feast just for the three of us.

Chohong cut a piece of her steak and took a bite. The moment she did, she moaned. "Dammit." She glared at me and said, "Why the hell do you have to be like this, Seol? Do you know how pissed you're making me now that you're not in Carpe Diem?"

I served myself some pasta and said, "Well, you could always join Elysium, Chohong."

Flone nodded. "Yeah! And if you do, you get to eat good food like this every day, Chocho!"

Chohong frowned, seemingly giving it some serious thought.

I laughed and said, "I'm just kidding, Chohong. If you just want some food, I won't mind cooking every now and then for my friend."

Flone turned towards me and pouted. "That's not fair, Jihu! What about me?"

I hugged her and said, "Don't worry, Flone. You're my best friend here, so you'll always be number one..."

Flone's eyes brightened.

"When it comes to getting food, at least."

...And then they dimmed and she sighed. "Meanie."

Chohong rolled her eyes and went back to eating her food.

Seeing that, I let go of Flone and went back to eating my own food.

It wasn't bad. Could be better, since I didn't have the actual ingredients and had to make things from memory. It was pretty decent though, definitely better than the average restaurant fare.

Which reminded me that it might not be a bad idea to try and steal some recipes back on Earth. Never knew when pulling out some food would be useful...

I took a sip from my wine and then glanced out the window.

The sun had long fallen now, and the sky had filled with stars, the pale moon visible in the distance.

"Oh yeah." Chohong lowered her silverware and looked towards me. "I'm heading to the temple tomorrow. Wanna come with?"

Flone tilted her head. "Temple? What for?"

Chohong glanced towards her and frowned before saying, "Huh. I keep forgetting that you're an old hag from hundreds of years back."

Dark smoke started to swirl around Flone. Even so, she put on a polite smile and said, "My, my. It seems like Chocho has been getting ahead of herself."

I sighed and said, "Flone."

"Hmph." Flone pouted and went back to stuffing her face.

"Anyway." I turned back to Chohong and said, "You're checking on your level, right?" I tilted my head and hummed. "Mm... yeah, taking out a Nest like that... Well, I did most of the work, but the recognition should be there, right?"

It was a hard carry by me and Flone, but they *did* help. A bit.

Chohong shook her head and ate some more of her food. "Only you would think a Nest like that wasn't a big deal... Even if we only played a small part, something like that is worth a lot, you know? Besides, I've been on the edge for a while now. This should be enough to level me up... though I wonder what sort of test I'm going to have to do."

Flone looked up and said, "Test?"

"Yeah. To become a High Ranker, you have to prove your worth. Experience points aren't enough... Well, unless you're a crazy scary bastard like yourself from a bygone era."

Flone smiled. "Why thank you, Miss 'carried by Jihu'."

"H-Hey! I... helped a little!"

"Uh-huh..."

I groaned and said, "Could we not? And we'll visit the temple first thing tomorrow, alright? For now, let's just enjoy the food and get some rest."

"Kay~!"

"Tch. Fine, Seol."

I sighed.

Women...