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The landscape of the unfamiliar city revealed by the crumbling Sea Wall.

Elena and I finally entered the city within the wall, following an unidentified smiling girl.

All around the city, there were people watching us with meaningful glances, whispering that we were ‘the Revealer’ or ‘the Savior.’

‘Savior… Are they talking about the Player?’

From the perspective of a Player who has immersed into this game, the Savior they mention must refer to the Player.

After all, it’s the Player’s role to prevent the destruction of the world.

However, the question here is that the smiling girl guiding us referred to the main NPC Elena as ‘the Player.’

– Swoosh.

Yet, Elena appears completely unaware of this.

When she heard the term ‘Player,’ she merely tilted her head in confusion.

Could it be that the beautiful guide was just mistaken?

“Please wait here for a moment. I’ll be back shortly.”

At that moment, the girl who brought us through an impressive entrance left us and went inside first.

I decided to strike up a conversation with Elena in the meantime.

There were some things I needed to find out.

“Master, that woman earlier referred to you as the Player. What exactly is a Player?”

So, I subtly probed Elena.

I tossed the question out there and observed her reaction from the corner of my eye.

Eventually, Elena responded.

“Well… I don’t really know.”

…But Elena wore a completely clueless expression.

Considering that Elena wasn’t good at acting, it seemed she was speaking the truth.

“Then… how did you cast the divination spell on the Sea Wall? I may find it difficult to understand the complicated ritual, but I’d like to know at least the general method.”

Thus, I moved on to my second question.

The guide had acknowledged the right to be a Player just by ‘lifting the Sea Wall,’ so I sought hints regarding that.

“…Well, how should I explain this? It was just… a hunch? I’m not sure why, but I just felt it would work.”

“………”

This answer was also vague.

You just felt it would work, and it did?

Was there no particular… phenomenon as a Player?

“…Uh, did a bluish hologram thing appear in front of you by any chance?”

“………?”

“Or did you suddenly hear a clear sound like ‘ding’ in your ear?”

“What in the world are you talking about?”

“…Never mind.”

…Did I get it wrong after all?

As a Player like me, there should be some special abilities, like a status window.

It seems the girl who guided us is genuinely mistaken.

“Come this way.”

At that moment, the guide reappeared and began leading us again.

We passed through the entrance of the Mansion and walked straight along a perfectly cleaned path.

Well-tended trees and beautiful structures. The landscaping was meticulously trimmed.

You could immediately tell this was where a person of high status lived.

“Come in.”

As we walked, admiring the beautiful landscaping, we arrived in front of the Mansion before we knew it.

Finally, the guide opened the door and invited us inside, so we followed her into the Mansion.

– Step… Step… Step…

The quiet echo of three footsteps.

However, I was too engrossed in examining the architectural style of the Mansion.

I couldn’t take my eyes off the exterior that seemed somehow mixed with modern construction methods.

– Bubble bubble bubble…

Above all, it seemed we were headed toward the kitchen, and the smell was something else.

This smell, along with the sound of boiling soup, tickled my nose.

Isn’t this the smell of soybean paste stew?

Are the owners of this hidden city in another world having soybean paste stew for dinner?

My mind was in a frenzy at this completely unexpected situation.

Could it be that this place is a hiding spot prepared by the developer for the Player? What, is it that sort of place?

“Grandpa. I brought the guests.”

As we followed the pleasant aroma and arrived in the kitchen, an elderly man sat at the dining table, looking at us.

After hearing his granddaughter’s words, the old man stood up with a warm smile and approached us.

“Nice to meet you. I’m ‘Arnen Han.’”

He introduced himself and offered us a handshake.

In a daze, we shook his hand and sat at the dining table at his invitation.

“Dinner is served.”

At that moment, a lady who appeared to be the housekeeper placed a steaming bowl of soybean paste stew in the center of the table.

Then she scooped the soybean paste into empty bowls and distributed them to each of us.

As I placed the bowl of soybean paste stew in front of me—

“Haha hahaha!”

Suddenly, the old man burst into laughter.

The moment I received the bowl of soybean paste stew, he let out a joyful laugh.

“…Luna, were you wondering if that gentleman is a Player?”

Then he threw a significant question at his granddaughter.

After she nodded, the old man turned to me and said.

“That person is indeed a Player. He knows how to place a bowl properly.”

…How to place a bowl properly?

…Ah! It was then that I realized what the old man was talking about.

He meant that just earlier, when I received the bowl of soybean paste stew, I corrected how the housekeeper had improperly placed the stew on the left side of my rice to the right.

“In fact, the Great Mage seems to have a bit of a cloudy memory.”

Then he commented on Elena, who was sitting idly with a bowl of soup on her left.

Elena revealed a hint of discomfort and glanced at me.

As if to say, ‘What on earth is this old man talking about?’

“First, let’s eat. Our housekeeper excels at cooking.”

The old man said that and picked up his spoon.

As soon as he took a spoonful of rice, his granddaughter, as if she had been waiting, picked up her chopsticks and began to eat.

She left her left arm under the table.

‘Totally Korean style…’

The dining setup, from eating manners to side dishes, was entirely Korean.

Now that I think about it, the side dishes were all things I used to love.

Braised tofu, seasoned bean sprouts, seaweed, grilled mackerel, kimchi, radish salad, braised mushrooms, fried egg, and so on.

One could say it was a perfect Korean meal.

‘…It’s so delicious.’

How long has it been since I had a perfect Korean meal?

I was almost in tears at this longed-for feast.

Indeed, as the old man said, the housekeeper’s skills were exceptional; the balance of sweet and salty was just right.

“I’m sorry. The guests arrived earlier than expected, so it took a little longer to serve.”

While being awed by the taste of the treasured Korean meal, the housekeeper asked for our understanding and placed a tray loaded with delicious stir-fried pork on the table.

‘Holy sh*t. Motherf*cker.’

The glistening stir-fried pork was enough to make my salivation unstoppable.

The spicy and sweet aroma of the chili paste hit my nose, combined with the smoky flavor from grilling, drove me insane.

– Chomp… Chomp… Chomp… Chomp… Chomp…

At that moment, Elena used her telekinesis to grab a chunk of stir-fried pork.

I had been so focused on eating that I hadn’t noticed that Elena was already on her second bowl.

At this rate, it looked like I would lose all my stir-fried pork.

‘Stir-fried pork is a man’s food!’

How dare a woman snatch up the stir-fried pork?

A man’s body is made up of stir-fried pork and tonkatsu.

I simply could not tolerate having my share of food taken away.

Especially when it was the stir-fried pork I hadn’t tasted for such a long time.

– Chomp Chomp Chomp Chomp Chomp Chomp

Thus, I too began to get serious about eating.

I reached for the stir-fried pork with my chopsticks and started grabbing piece by piece.

As I devoured the meal, before I knew it, the food on the table was completely gone.

Elena, patting her round belly, praised that the food here was to her liking.

‘…She is definitely a Player.’

But this meal assured me that Elena was indeed a Player.

It was undeniable; I had seen her mixing her rice with the seasoning from the stir-fried pork and wrapping it in seaweed with a fried egg yolk on top.

It exuded the perfect vibe of a Korean.

***

After finishing our meal, we decided to have a 1:1 interview.

In other words, Elena would talk to the old man first, and then I would have a separate conversation with him afterward.

“Great Mage, you may come in now.”

So, Elena went to have her interview first.

While Elena was having her interview, I walked around the Mansion, trying to guess the identity of the old man.

The most plausible hypothesis was that the old man was the GM, that is, the Game Master…

‘But that would be…’

There was something odd about this.

If he were a Game Master, he would have absolute power, but he allowed his appearance to age.

If I were the Game Master, I would have prevented aging first.

“Edgar Fix.”

While I was applying various hypotheses and speculating about the old man’s identity, the housekeeper suddenly called my name.

Looking up, she informed me that Elena’s interview was over and that I could go in now.

With a nervous heart, I fiddled with my collar and entered the room where the old man was waiting.

As soon as I stepped into the room, the old man smiled and stood up.

Then he uttered a somewhat shocking name.

“The soul inside, Ha Do-yoon, is correct? I’ve been waiting for a long time.”

 

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