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The guild master’s office of the Daehyun Guild.

Park Seol-hwa, who still maintains her beauty despite her tired face, and her childhood friend and most trusted secretary, Kim Soo-jeong, were facing each other.

The atmosphere was tense, as if they had just had an argument.

“How long am I supposed to keep making potions? This isn’t being a guild master, it’s just being a potion slave.”

“Pray that someone awakens as an alchemist. Until then, just keep making them.”

“…Let’s just quit the potion business.”

“Are you crazy? The Daehyun Guild will collapse.”

“But other guilds are doing just fine without potions, why us!”

Even if Park Seol-hwa stopped making potions right now, it wouldn’t cause any major problems for the Daehyun Guild.

It would just mean losing a stable and highly profitable item.

It might be disappointing, but it wouldn’t be enough to bring down Daehyun.

Park Seol-hwa obviously knew that.

And so did her secretary.

It was just a matter of humoring Park Seol-hwa’s whining in the secretary’s own way.

It was only possible because they had been friends for a long time, and she had been her secretary for just as long.

In fact, it was a monthly ritual of sorts, so it wasn’t taken too seriously.

“Dobby is a free elf, isn’t he…”

“You’ve been doing it until now, so just keep making potions.”

“That’s so mean!”

“I’ll handle the ‘mean’ part, so you just keep making potions.”

At Kim Soo-jeong’s dad joke, Park Seol-hwa, who had been slumped over the table, lifted her head.

“…Are you crazy? Are you from the 60s or something?”

“Whether I’m from the 60s or not, just keep making potions.”

“Do you want to get fired?!”

“Are you going to fire me? If you are, then do it.”

“Sorry! Don’t get fired! I won’t fire you! I can’t fire you!”

Kim Soo-jeong had been hoping to retire for a few years now, but Park Seol-hwa wouldn’t let her go.

Since then, she had become a super secretary, almost on par with her boss.

“You can’t even fire me, yet you keep messing around. And if you keep whining, I’ll tell Gyeoul about it.”

“…That’s so unfair!”

The name Jeong Gyeoul slipped out of Kim Soo-jeong’s mouth.

It was a finishing move.

Once, Jeong Gyeoul had mentioned that she liked people who were dedicated to their work and did it well.

Park Seol-hwa happened to overhear it, and Kim Soo-jeong found out about it.

‘Damn alcohol… Why did I have to say that?’

She had dug her own grave, so there was nothing she could say.

“Ughhh…”

Park Seol-hwa made a strange noise and slumped back onto the table.

“Oh, right. Guild Master, you know Serena Olson, right?”

“Huh? That prophet who went into exile?”

“There’s a rumor that the National Intelligence Service is hiding her, and today she’s heading to Infinite Cheongdam.”

“Oh… Did she win the Super Bowl or something? The government wouldn’t support her that much.”

Serena Olson, who has no parents, couldn’t have received support from them.

And at 17, she couldn’t have made enough to buy a house on her own.

Infinite Cheongdam isn’t a place you can move into just by winning the lottery, so the only thing that made sense was the Super Bowl.

“That’s not it, she moved in with Gyeoul.”

“…Oh, right, Gyeoul brought her in, didn’t she? They must have gotten close. Well, kids can play together, it’s not like I’d be jealous of that, right?”

“Hmm? I heard she literally moved in with Gyeoul. Like, moved in. Living together. They even saw her stuff being moved in.”

“…!”

Thud—

As soon as Park Seol-hwa heard the word “living together,” she stood up so forcefully that her chair flew back.

“Why! How! What for! I haven’t even lived with Gyeoul yet, why is she doing it! I’ve known Gyeoul longer!”

“…You really turn into a crazy woman whenever Gyeoul is involved, don’t you?”

The attempt to give her a little push to make potions had backfired more than expected.

To an unbearable extent.

“What do you think? Shouldn’t I be the one moving in? Yeah, that’s right. I should move in. Secretary Kim, quickly get me an officetel. Get one and kick that girl out so I can move in.”

“Sigh…”

Kim Soo-jeong let out a deep sigh.

“…Well! At least you’re not running out to see Gyeoul like you used to.”

“If you had run out, I would have declared an emergency at Daehyun and gone on a raid for you, seriously.”

Park Seol-hwa, who had dragged a chair over and sat down, looked as sulky as a wilted flower.

“…Just go and see her. You’re really going to turn into a crazy woman at this rate.”

“…What did you say?”

“I’ll give you two hours to go see Gyeoul. Stop acting like a crazy woman.”

“Kyaaa! Secretary Kim! Soo-jeong! I love you! You’re the only one who understands me!”

“Sure, sure.”

Although she was scolding her, she couldn’t help but smile.

Park Seol-hwa, her poor childhood friend who couldn’t show such smiles in the guild due to her busy guild life.

Seeing her heal like this made her feel better too.

‘But… I can’t let you go for too long. My workload doubles without you.’

***

A department store in Apgujeong.

Serena picked up a yellow dress with a big white ribbon in the middle.

It looked like something a teenager would wear to confess to their crush on a school trip.

Why is something like this in the luxury section?

“Look at this! Isn’t this dress so cute? Gyeoul would look so pretty in it!”

“Oh my, you have a good eye. It would look perfect on Hero Jeong Gyeoul. You could even work as a department store MD.”

The salesperson, eager to boost her sales, started praising Serena’s taste and went on about how well the dress would suit her, the materials it was made of, and the brand’s image.

But Serena cut her off.

Once they start, they don’t stop.

“Serena unnie, I don’t wear stuff like that.”

“True, I’ve never seen you in cute clothes. Except for that animal pajama you wear at home.”

Ah, the pink rabbit-shaped animal pajama.

That was because of Eun-chae’s scheme… But it turned out to be surprisingly comfortable, and since it was too much trouble to buy new pajamas, I just kept wearing it.

It’s definitely not because I fell in love with my cute self in the pink rabbit pajama in the bathroom.

Really.

“That’s for home. Outside, I have to dress dandy.”

“…Dandy? Isn’t that a term for men?”

“Oh, right. What should I say? Modern? Something like that. Anyway, you get the idea, right?”

“You like that style, huh? Then our brand’s new line this season…”

“Sorry, can we just look around by ourselves? We’ll let you know when we’ve picked something. I’m a bit shy.”

The fact that she could even say this to the salesperson showed that she wasn’t really shy at all.

The salesperson, realizing she had been dismissed, blushed slightly…

But it’s okay to assert your right to shop comfortably, right?

Anyway, except for important appointments, I prefer tracksuits, anoraks, and other sporty athletic wear.

And… those aren’t available here.

So let’s just go back.

It’s definitely not because I got tired of shopping as soon as we entered the first store and am now making excuses.

Really.

“Let’s stop looking at clothes and go eat. I’m hungry.”

“Sure, what do you want to eat?”

Maybe if I had used the excuse of being hungry from the start, shopping would have been a non-issue.

“There’s a famous cold noodles place on the underground floor.”

“Cold noodles? What’s that?”

“It’s good. Let’s go eat.”

“Okay. I like anything tasty.”

We could probably eat about five bowls and then move on.

Just as we were about to head to the food court…

Someone who entered the store recognized me and clung to me.

“Hero Jeong Gyeoul? Wow! I’m a fan!”

“Ah, thank you.”

Since they were a fan, I signed an autograph and took a photo.

Just as I was about to head to the food court after barely escaping…

“Wow! It’s the Little Demon King!”

“This is insane… I thought the photos in the news were edited, but they were just taken like this!”

People who recognized me started gathering around.

Could it be because of the fourth teaser for Monster Restaurant? Or maybe the S-Class announcement?

Maybe it’s the synergy of both.

If it’s already like this, I might have to start hiding my face like a celebrity after Monster Restaurant ends.

“Kyaa! It’s Hero Jeong Gyeoul!”

“Unnie! Unnie, you’re so pretty!”

…Seeing the crowd gathering, I might have to start hiding my face from now on.

And… who’s calling me “unnie” when I’m only 14?

No one looks younger than me.

It seems like the rumor that we’re shopping has spread.

One by one, people started gathering, and at some point, they came rushing in like a horde of zombies.

Enough to paralyze an entire floor of the department store.

The department store didn’t even have time to send security or guards.

“…This is getting problematic.”

“Gy, Gyeoul? Shouldn’t we run?”

“If I suddenly disappear here, it might cause an accident.”

“Then what should we do?”

“That’s what I’m wondering…”

If villains gathered like this, I could just blast them all.

If monsters gathered like this, I could just use them as ingredients for Monster Restaurant.

But what do you do when ordinary citizens gather like this?

They didn’t teach us this at Hero Academy.

Even common sense doesn’t cover how to handle this situation.

This is why Jeong Ha-yul works with management.

“Kyaa!”

Then, whether someone stepped on their foot or was pushed from behind, people started screaming.

“Don’t push! If you push from behind, the people in front will get hurt!”

I used telekinesis to create cushions wherever I could, dispersing the force from behind, but… I couldn’t just throw people or push them back.

There was a limit.

I couldn’t even see the people at the back anymore. The force kept pushing forward.

The anxiety that something might happen made me keep shouting, but the so-called fans just charged forward like angry bulls.

No one listened to me.

“What is the department store doing!”

“Everyone! Please stop!”

Some fans also tried to help by shouting, but the situation didn’t improve.

A damn situation where you can’t do anything.

Just as I was about to resort to force, even if it meant some citizens getting hurt, since it’s better than dying…

“Deploy.”

“Yes, Guild Master.”

Black-suited men appeared out of nowhere and quickly infiltrated, relieving the pressure from all sides.

The chaotic situation was resolved in an instant.

It took less than five minutes.

“Gyeoul, are you okay?”

“Seol-hwa unnie?”

At the end of the newly created path, Park Seol-hwa was walking leisurely towards us.

“We’ll talk later. Let’s get out of here first.”

 

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