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Chapter 190: “Mom, Dad! I Made a Friend!”

“Wow, is that so? Can you introduce me to your friend?”

“Down, can you greet my mom and dad?”

Whoa, they named her Down, huh? I wonder why they chose that name.

While pondering Tae-oh’s thought process, a girl with yellow hair who had been hiding behind him stepped forward.

“Hello, Auntie, Uncle.”

“…Okay.”

The provocative statement made Yeon-woo choke back her rising anger. Calling her ‘Auntie’ was fine, but not Nea! Definitely not Auntie…!!

“I’m Down, and I’ve just become friends with your son. Nice to meet you.”

Watching Down bow at a 90-degree angle, Yeon-woo couldn’t shake the strange feeling sweeping over her.

Doesn’t she talk a bit too well? I’m starting to worry if Down can really live like a proper little kid.

‘Just how perfectly was her body made, Riley!!’

But then again, isn’t it a bit awkward for someone with a divine position to genuinely act like a little child? It left her at a loss for words.

Maybe beneath Down’s grown-up demeanor lies her own form of childhood. What a name, Lime.

“Got it. Just be good friends with Tae-oh.”

“…Yes.”

Nea said this while gently ruffling Down’s hair. Watching, she wondered what would happen if Down rejected the affection. Surprisingly, Down just stood there silently enjoying it.

It seems that no matter how much one is reborn, affection deficiency might never disappear.

Seeing such adorable behavior certainly made her feel like a child again, and Yeon-woo couldn’t help but reach out her hand toward Down’s head.

“? What are you doing to the God?”

“…Do you dislike your older brother, Down?”

That was before Down swatted away her outstretched hand. With her teeth clenched in anger, Yeon-woo asked, and Down snickered back.

“Of course not! Why would I dislike Uncle? I just hate it when people touch my head without hesitation.”

“Well, you’re clearly showing you dislike it.”

As Yeon-woo and Down hissed at each other, Nea placed her hands on the heads of both.

“Don’t fight. That kind of tone isn’t good for Down either.”

“…Alright, sister.”

“Give her more head pats, no, all the head pats!!”

“Yeon-woo, stop being so rowdy. Right, we’re all going out to play now, won’t you come along, Down?”

“…Is it really alright for me to go?”

“Of course! You’re my son’s friend, after all. Tae-oh will be happy.”

Nea naturally referred to Tae-oh as her son, which was quite touching. Meanwhile, Yeon-woo approached Tae-oh and lifted him up in her arms. Tae-oh squealed with laughter, looking up at Yeon-woo.

“So why is her name Down? It doesn’t seem like it has a meaning from Chinese characters.”

“Um, Tae-oh doesn’t know anything about Chinese characters. So I named her Down hoping she’d have a bright future like a new dawn!”

“Oh… I see.”

“Uh, is the name not good…!? But Down said she liked it…”

Suddenly, Tae-oh’s expression flipped to one of worry, making Yeon-woo burst into laughter. Talk about being overly concerned.

“It’s a beautiful name! You can really feel that it comes from Tae-oh’s thoughts. It’s a good name.”

“Really!? It’s really, really fine!?”

“Of course! Just goes to show you’re not just anybody; I can feel the talent in you!”

As the four of them laughed and chatted, Shar stood nearby with a mountain of clothes for Nea, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

*

After spending quite some time in the clothing store, Yeon-woo’s family plus one finally stepped outside. Shar was much more serious about Nea’s fashion than she had anticipated.

Next week she’d be starting work, so they picked up a nice suit, everyone else had swimsuits, and they also grabbed various casual outfits…

‘Is it a trait that if your chromosomes are XX, you become fashion-obsessed even at a young age?’

No, the crazed shine in Shar’s eyes suggested it was something beyond that simple explanation. It was clear that there was some other motive at play here…

‘It looked like she was trying to get everything perfectly aligned. Could it be that she was thinking ahead about the clothes she might wear in the future?’

That made perfect sense. Shar would grow up to be so beautiful that one would easily believe she and Nea were twins.

Surely, she was drafting a plan for her future self through Nea.

‘What a cute kid.’

The mountain of clothes was sent off to the dormitory, and the outfit Nea wore was a beige mini dress suited for the hot weather. It was casual, with a waisttie that resembled lace.

Despite her insistence that showing her thighs was embarrassing, the result was this dress, which covered down to her knees.

Once she tried it on and timidly asked how it looked, Yeon-woo could only give her a thumbs up.

Girlfriend fashion truly might be the pinnacle of civilization!

After that two-hour-long fashion show, the group moved on to find lunch. They headed for a restaurant situated at the top of the commercial district.

The restaurant was called Man-sik-jeon, a franchise run by the Culinary Association. It had a fine dining twist that was ironically almost incoherent.

Despite its grand name, the Culinary Association was actually one of the largest awakening organizations. Countless awakeners had their names on its roster, including both non-combat-oriented and combative ones.

The reason was simple. Dishes prepared by awakeners with elemental mana that perfectly complemented cooking were akin to potions or elixirs. Deliciousness was just the baseline.

In that sense, Man-sik-jeon functioned as a kind of product catalog. It showcased the dishes crafted by their affiliated awakeners and encouraged customers to enjoy them.

“Dad talks about work even when we come this far. What a fool.”

“Eeh, I only explained what kind of place this restaurant is. Look, even Nea seems intrigued.”

“Um, that’s interesting. I’ve never thought of infusing mana into cooking.”

Nea nodded her head as she said this, and Yeon-woo couldn’t help but smile.

Just sitting next to her makes me feel happy; perhaps Nea might be the best nutrient supplement just by her existence…

Sitting side by side, Tae-oh and Down were playing with their napkins. Tae-oh, being quite handy, folded the napkin into various shapes, and Down was amazed by the display.

Watching the children act like a couple stirred the hidden Confucian Dragon within Yeon-woo. Aren’t boys and girls supposed to sit separately…!!

“Let’s just enjoy the scenery until the food arrives. The view here is absolutely breathtaking.”

Man-sik-jeon in Harmony City was a monumental location. The association, which previously opened branches in all sorts of odd places, finally acknowledged that scenery and location could affect food quality.

Before that, they had opened eateries in dingy stores or dark alleys. It was hard to imagine they created an establishment with such finesse.

However, Harmony’s Man-sik-jeon not only settled on the top floor of the district but also incorporated magic while planning the store layout.

They partitioned the dining area into different rooms, allowing customers to enter and close the door, providing a 360-degree view of Harmony’s gorgeous scenery.

“That’s why it earned the silly nickname of Harmony’s Lighthouse…”

“Lighthouse? Why’s that a silly nickname? It matches perfectly.”

“That’s the problem; it’s too fitting. Sometimes, when flying monsters attack the city, this Man-sik-jeon opens for interception and battle.”

“…Hahaha, you got way too into that nickname!”

“Well, it embodies a symbol that even the commercial district must cooperate with the public.”

“Still, to dismiss it with such a bleak narrative, the view is far too magnificent.”

She was right. Once inside Man-sik-jeon, the view truly was stunning. As she scanned the large and small buildings, soon the nature beyond the castle walls came into view.

The windows were enchanted with vision-expanding magic, revealing the distant Groundbreaker Gorge and the forest to the west.

As she gazed out into the world, it felt almost godlike.

Ha-ha-ha, behold, humans are scurrying about like ants!

But would that feeling ever cross their mind? Or not?

“However, the view I promised to show Nea is not just this.”

“Hmm, it’s an agreement you don’t even remember, but sure.”

“It’s okay if Nea doesn’t know. It’s a promise I made to myself.”

“You always say it’s fine for me not to know anything, as if you’d love me even if I were a complete idiot.”

Nea giggled as she said this. Yeon-woo felt her trust in him was lacking and smiled bitterly. From his pocket, he took out a small box handed to him by a store employee.

“I know you’ll see some ugly and undesired aspects of me while being together, but I hope you’ll still trust and follow me.”

With a click, the box opened, revealing two small golden rings. They were merely simple rings without any special magic or meaning.

“…I wanted to match rings with you, Nea.”

As Yeon-woo muttered with his lips poked out, the group burst into laughter. Honestly, he found it amusing too.

Buying rings impulsively and trying to say he wanted to do something special; it was a funny sight.

Nea, watching Yeon-woo who seemed embarrassed, leaned her cheek on the hands entwined on the table. Looking up, she said with her eyes glimmering.

“…You don’t need to do that; you’re already mine.”

And with that, Nea flashed a playful, mischievous smile that nearly made Yeon-woo call 119.

(To be continued)

 

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