“Phew…”

That was close.

A jet-black sword that doesn’t fall short compared to Lucifer’s high-class sword.

Not only does it not fall short, but it’s actually superior in performance. I almost missed out on it.

In my short life, I almost suffered the biggest loss.

“…No matter how good that sword is, was it worth risking your hand like that?”

“As long as I didn’t get hurt, it’s fine.”

“…”

For someone like me, who’s reached the peak of insensitivity to danger, a bold move during dimension travel was nothing.

The group was giving me and the sword alternating looks of exasperation, but they didn’t seem like they were going to scold me as much as before.

Life in the Demon Realm has definitely been good for me.

If it were like before, I’d already be caught by Jeong Ha-yul and given a 20-minute lecture.

Or scolded by Park Seol-hwa, or Hayan picking a fight with me.

But everyone just shook their heads.

People really should live virtuously.

Living diligently in the Demon Realm and coming back, everyone seems to acknowledge me now.

If we go a few more times together, I might even achieve mental independence.

The Demon Realm should be quiet for a while…

Maybe I should look into the Celestial Realm or something.

From what the Demon Realm folks say, the Celestial Realm definitely exists too.

The imagination suppressor, Lee Ha-yoon, seems to have stopped working for some reason, so I can continue my long-standing delusions…

Flash—

A bright light enveloped our group.

We must have already crossed dimensions.

I closed and opened my eyes, and we were back at the place we started.

The Association’s exclusive training ground.

“No one’s here? Don’t tell me…”

Hayan’s face turned pale as she nervously looked around.

The time gap between the Middle Realm and the Demon Realm is unpredictable, and there’s no data to predict it either.

I’ve only been back and forth twice.

But one thing I do know is that time in the Demon Realm is waaay faster.

Maybe that’s why, except for Hayan, no one seemed too anxious.

Even though the expedition team had set out not knowing if they’d be suffering in the Demon Realm for years.

We came back after three months, which is waaay faster than expected.

To me, it felt like only a few hours had passed.

“Don’t worry, it took exactly three hours.”

“…How do you know?”

It wasn’t just a reassuring voice.

Park Seol-hwa sounded confident.

“I started a stopwatch before we left. It’s been exactly three hours and four minutes.”

“Ah… that’s a relief.”

Should I call her meticulous or just smart?

I never even thought of that.

It’s definitely not that I’m dumb.

Park Seol-hwa is just too smart.

Park Seol-hwa retrieved the stopwatch and immediately made a call.

“It’s me. We’re back. Everything’s fine at the company, right?”

The way the call was answered right away made it seem like it was Kim Soo-jung, Park Seol-hwa’s friend and secretary.

Listening to the conversation confirmed it.

Coming back and immediately taking care of company business instead of family or friends is impressive.

That’s what a guild leader does.

Someone like me could never do that.

“Yeah, unnie, I’m back.”

Hayan called Lee Ha-yoon, the guild leader of Taebaek Guild.

Ha-yul called Eun-chae.

I thought about calling Kang-woo, but… since they’re probably together, I’ll pass.

Lin Hazel left after checking her phone, saying something happened at the Clock Tower.

“Call me if you need help. If it’s for the expedition team members, I’ll move even if it’s annoying. And… what about the Artifacts we brought back?”

“I’ll divide them up and take what’s left. We’ll use them for research.”

“Got it. I’ll come to England later to pick them up. Thanks for your hard work.”

After Lin left, the Master also said goodbye, saying he should head back to the Academy.

Park Seol-hwa seemed to be heading back to the guild too…

“Let’s grab some food, us jobless folks.”

“Unnie is a busy hero, Hayan is a student. The only jobless one here is you, Gyeoul.”

“…”

I brought it up for no reason and got beaten up before heading home.

Kang-woo called to say he’d pick me up, but I refused and took a taxi instead.

If it were like usual, we’d have been chatting noisily.

But the taxi was unusually quiet.

Even the driver was coughing awkwardly, trying to gauge the mood.

I arrived home in a state where I couldn’t tell if I was asleep or awake.

Even as we took the elevator and entered the house, we were all slumped like corpses…

But the moment we took off our shoes, the three of us threw our luggage aside and collapsed into our rooms.

Me and Ha-yul went to our own rooms, of course.

Hayan went to the guest room.

The room that Jo Se-hee, Park Seol-hwa, and Lee Ha-yoon treat like their own.

“Delivery! Order delivery! A lot! I’m going to eat a ton!”

“Me too! Not as much as Gyeoul, but I’m going to eat a lot!”

“Stop exaggerating… People would think we’ve been gone for three years. I’ll just eat about twice my usual amount.”

“…Did you guys starve there?”

I didn’t forget to assign Kang-woo and Eun-chae the mission of matching the meal sizes of the three foodies.

***

“Enjoy your meal!”

“Where should I put the pork trotters?”

“Pizza’s here!”

“Are you throwing a feast? Here’s the braised ribs.”

The group kept bringing the endless stream of delivery food into the kitchen.

Inside, delivery bags were already piled up like a mountain.

In the meantime, there was no more space on the dining table, so we used chairs, the sink, and even the floor.

The fact that not everything had arrived yet made Kang-woo and Eun-chae feel overwhelmed.

‘Even though they were always impressive… Spending three million won on one meal. These kids are really something.’

It wasn’t even Hanwoo beef, omakase, or expensive sushi.

Just regular, highly-rated delivery places.

We ordered from thirty-three different restaurants.

The number of servings was beyond calculation.

Eun-chae and Kang-woo hadn’t even started eating yet, but they already felt full and stuck out their tongues.

Actually, Ha-yul, Gyeoul, and Hayan just said they’d eat a lot before showering.

They seemed to have forgotten they were the ones who ordered the food.

There was no more space on the table in the living room.

“You guys eat first, we’ll eat while we go back and forth.”

With more deliveries still coming and the kitchen full of trash, we kept serving the remaining food to the living room.

Eun-chae and Kang-woo had to spend a busy time, almost like a restaurant.

“…We’ll help, so stop complaining.”

“Just eat. We’ll work for a bit and then rest, but you guys are eating like this after three months.”

Thanks to Kang-woo and Eun-chae’s consideration, the three foodies rolled up their sleeves and started eating in earnest.

“I missed this so much, this taste that feels like it’s ruining my health. This smell.”

“Your expression is a bit weird… but it’s delicious!”

The two of them also joined the meal after the last delivery.

Kang-woo and Eun-chae, who joined late, dropped out early, while the foodies were still eating at the same pace as when they started.

And so, the meal that lasted about two hours came to an end.

It was utter devastation.

There was no leftover food.

“You guys are amazing, really…”

“I’ve always been curious, but today I’m especially curious… Where does all that food go? I’m genuinely curious, not just saying it. You guys eat as much as your body weight, but your stomachs only bulge a little. Is that normal?”

“…Maybe we should get a check-up sometime.”

After waging a war against food that rivaled the war between the Satan Army and Mammon’s Army, we drank tea and chatted about our time in the Demon Realm before all falling asleep in the living room.

The next day, Jeong Ha-yul declared she wouldn’t take any calls from the Association.

Baek Kang-woo enjoyed some long-awaited leisure.

Yoo Eun-chae suffered from muscle pain.

“Looks like everyone’s really tired. Only you and I are fine.”

“That’s because you’re still young and energetic.”

“…You’re young too, you idiot. Anyway, I’m heading out now. Good job, Gyeoul.”

“Yeah, you did great too. Go home and rest well.”

“I have to go back to the Academy tomorrow… I’m not a swan like you, I’m a student.”

“…”

Jeong Gyeoul, who had been attacked twice in a row for being jobless, was too tired to get angry and just ignored it as she sent Lee Ha-yoon off in a taxi.

At a time when I would’ve usually gone out for exercise, Jeong Gyeoul went straight home.

‘…Even Jeong Ha-yul is sprawled out like that, so there’s no way I, the epitome of laziness, can move.’

***

Time passed.

The informal birthday party Jeong Gyeoul had in the Demon Realm was officially held again.

Ignoring the family’s suggestion to make it grand, she just invited close friends for a light party and called it a day.

The warm and joyful moments flew by, as if trying to escape the cold winter wind.

After a white Christmas with snow falling, December ended, marking the close of the year.

Before I knew it, Jeong Gyeoul turned 15.