Dayton bought a drink from a nearby store and handed it over.
It was cola.
“Here, drink up.”
“Thank you.”
“By the way, are you a student doing delivery work?”
“Yes, well… I thought I should earn some money on the side…”
“Right, right. It’s good to earn money honestly. Nice to meet you, really.”
Tenna, who had been earning money unethically by extorting others just weeks ago, felt a twinge of shame internally.
Remembering back, it was Jake’s sudden appeal to stop extorting that had led him to start the delivery job for an unknown reason.
‘Well, that happened.’
Anyway, Tenna quite enjoyed the conversation he was having with Dayton after so long, even though he had no idea how he had been living recently.
“How can there be such a coincidence?”
“I do almost all the deliveries in this area.”
So, if he kept ordering deliveries, they were bound to meet at some point.
It seemed there was something fated even within this coincidence.
Dayton nodded and continued the conversation boisterously.
Mainly discussing their recent situations.
“So, you’re now a Forest Keeper, right? You really are impressive.”
“Yeah, yeah. It was very tough.”
Moments from Dayton’s studies to become a Forest Keeper flashed through his mind. People often say it’s like cutting your bones to gain something, right?
In reality, making money was harder than studying.
“Where is your workplace?”
“Luke Forest.”
“Wow… Isn’t that really tough?”
“It is, but they pay the best. I just want Diana to grow up well.”
Diana.
It reminded Dayton of the time he wanted to take Diana out of the facility properly and raise her in a real home after becoming an adult.
Thinking back, there was a time when he really cared for the young Diana who couldn’t even stand properly because he was so young himself.
As the only family left…
“I guess Diana has grown up well.”
“Yeah, compared to then, she has grown a lot.”
Dayton’s expression became nostalgic, lost in sweet memories.
And now that he thought of it, not only Diana, but Dayton had played the role of the big brother for all the children in the facility.
He had been so cool back then, and it seemed certain he would succeed wherever he went.
‘Who knew he would become so cool…’
His body had become extremely strong to the point of being unrecognizable, and his demeanor was very confident.
It truly felt like a successful life.
Respect for Dayton surged uncontrollably in Tenna’s heart.
Then, suddenly, Tenna came up with something he wanted to ask.
“Oh, by the way. Who is that other kid besides Diana? The blonde-haired Hyun. Is he a friend of Diana?”
“Are you talking about Luke?”
‘His name is Luke?’
It sounded a bit old-fashioned but was a relatively common name.
However, it didn’t seem like a name suitable for a boy.
After Tenna’s question, Dayton closed his eyes for a moment, scratched his head, and then sighed, responding.
“Well, he’s… kind of the daughter of a co-worker.”
“Daughter… of some sort?”
“Yeah.”
Dayton found it bothersome to explain anything more detailed than that, so he left it at that.
That alone was probably sufficient.
“Hmm…”
Tenna thought about Dayton’s answer.
Then, that power, did it come from the Forest Keeper parent?
That was pretty terrifying.
Tenna slightly shivered at the recalled horror.
‘Must be that Forest Keepers are all monsters.’
If that little kid could be that strong, just how strong would the capable Forest Keeper Dayton be?
That such a person was a part of that group made Tenna see his older brother as impressive once again.
And he wanted to flatten the little brat’s nose who had instilled fear in him.
That would surely help him shake off this fear.
Though it was too embarrassing to express feelings toward a mere 10-year-old.
“Hyung, I want to be strong like you. How can I do that?”
“Really?”
Dayton smiled seeing his junior ignite with ambition.
He knew that a burning desire for improvement could shape a child into a respectable adult.
It was not unreasonable to feel like he wanted to help in some way.
“Then, I’ll introduce you to the dojo I attended.”
“Can we spar sometimes?”
“Well, something like that?”
In reality, Tenna had no way of knowing that even Dayton was still weaker than Luke.
———
Setting the chicken on the table, Luke and Diana were waiting for Dayton to return.
However, while it was understandable for Diana, Luke’s gaze was also fixated on the chicken and showed no signs of leaving it.
It was only natural, since the alluring aroma of delivery chicken that he was smelling for the first time was forcibly capturing Luke’s attention.
‘The scent is amazing…’
The sweet yet greasy smell of the chicken was irresistible and compared unfavorably with any other food he had encountered.
Just the smell alone was enough to make his mouth water to a troublesome degree.
As he slightly opened his mouth, Luke thought he might awkwardly drool even before he could have a bite, and thus kept swallowing repeatedly.
While waiting, it felt almost like torture.
The instinct to start eating right away clashed with the ingrained manners telling him that he shouldn’t eat without the owner of the house present.
Ultimately, Luke could not help but voice his thoughts.
“Dayton is taking a while. I wonder what kind of conversation is taking so long.”
“Right, it seems he has a lot to say.”
Thinking that he would return shortly, Dayton didn’t take his phone either when he left.
With no way to contact him, the vague wait became frustrating.
For a moment, Luke even contemplated using magic.
But that was ultimately a method that required knowing Dayton’s exact location, which meant it couldn’t be done right now.
“Ugh.”
That deliveryman was once Dayton’s colleague from the ‘facility’.
Such coincidences do exist.
‘He looked pretty familiar.’
Although most of his face was covered by a helmet and could not see clearly, he definitely resembled someone.
Though he couldn’t quite recall where he had seen him.
‘Well, he probably wasn’t anything important.’
No matter how excellent Luke’s memory was, he didn’t feel the need to remember things he didn’t want to.
If he couldn’t remember the face, then he was likely just one of those random individuals he passed by.
Lost in thought, Diana suddenly raised her voice as if she couldn’t hold back any longer.
“Let’s just eat; it won’t taste good if it gets cold!”
“Hmm…”
Luke pondered slightly.
Originally, one should not start eating unless the house owner was present, but exceptions always existed.
‘In the absence of the owner, the housekeeper may take their place.’
However, since Dayton was currently unmarried, perhaps it was justified to view Diana as taking on the ‘housekeeper’ role now.
Luke concluded.
“Alright, let’s eat.”
He decided to just go ahead and eat.
This was hardly a problem with the tardy Dayton.
“One leg is mine!”
Diana immediately reached out and grabbed a leg, shouting.
“Uhm.”
Luke thought while watching her.
‘It seems we won’t use utensils for this meal.’
Luke mimicked Diana to some extent and picked up a piece to bring to his mouth.
Worried that he might end up drooling from the anticipation, he cautiously took a bite.
As soon as the chicken touched his teeth and tongue, Luke’s eyes widened in surprise.
“It’s… delicious.”
Oh my god.
This flavor and texture were incomparable to Dayton’s skewers.
He had thought it could not be better in its intensity.
The crunch of the batter crumbling between his teeth, inside, the tender meat soaked in grease, bursting with flavor—how could something like this be a taste one could experience as ‘delivery’?
Luke instantly reduced the piece he was holding to nothing but bone.
As he continued to eat, Diana handed him something.
“Luke, can you open this for me?”
“Uhm, what’s this?”
It was a can of cola that came with the chicken.
It seemed Diana’s weak grip couldn’t open it.
Even though Luke had never opened a can of drink himself, he had learned enough about its structure from similar canned goods to know ‘how’ to open one.
As Luke applied pressure and easily pulled the tab, a quick ‘pshh!’ sound burst forth.
Hearing that, Luke raised an eyebrow in confusion.
Normally, if the air escapes from inside, one should suspect the drink is spoiled.
Gases forming in beverages usually indicate fermentation.
And unwanted fermentation is akin to spoilage.
Luke said to Diana.
“Diana, this drink seems to be spoiled. It’s best not to drink it.”
“Spoiled…?”
As Diana tilted her head in confusion, not understanding the term ‘spoiled’, Luke corrected himself.
“…In other words, it means it’s gone bad.”
“Can cola go bad?”
“Well, it shouldn’t, right?”
There’s nothing eternal in this world, so naturally, this drink would have a time limit for consumption.
But Diana shook her head.
Since she had never seen cola in a can go bad in her life.
Convinced it wasn’t bad, she insisted.
To persuade Diana, Luke poured the cola into a cup and said.
“Look. It’s pitch black… and look, there’s some foam coming up.”
“That’s how it’s supposed to be, right?”
“Ugh… even if you’re stubborn…”
Luke made a somewhat awkward expression.
No matter how he tried to persuade her, it seemed futile.
Ultimately, he realized that the best way to convince Diana would be for him to taste it and declare his conclusion.
“Then I’ll take a sip and let you know.”
“Alright.”
Diana had no choice but to nod to Luke’s proposal.
Though there was a thought in her mind that Luke was lying just to drink cola herself, she believed in Luke.
‘Well, Luke is a Spirit Girl.’
As far as Diana was concerned, Spirit Girls don’t lie.
So Luke glanced down at the uneasy liquid in the cup.
No matter how he looked at it, it looked like poison.
It somewhat reminded him of the liquid he had seen in the Demon Realm, as if the body fluid of those locusts looked like this when it bubbled.
Thinking about that awful bug made his appetite drop completely.
“Ugh…”
But logically thinking, there shouldn’t be any connection with the Demon Realm in this era, so it couldn’t be the locust’s body fluid.
Though it did look remarkably similar.
‘If it tastes weird, I can just spit it out. With my body, I can tolerate poison anyway.’
The chimera body he designed himself wouldn’t react to most toxins.
With just the Dragonheart, it was already a robust body, and having merged with special monster flesh.
It would be better for him to experience a possible bad effect than for Diana to have any problems.
He took a slight sip.
It was sweet. Extremely so.
The sweetness was so excessive it felt almost sticky.
‘Contrary to appearance, it’s incredibly sweet.’
It might not seem particularly healthy, yet he felt no subversive toxicity. It certainly didn’t feel like it had gone bad.
Perhaps it was just too little?
Finally, Luke shut his eyes and took a big gulp.
“Ugh!”
Luke immediately covered his mouth.
Had he not done so, he might have spewed the drink from his mouth.
The fizzing sensation in his mouth was somewhat similar to beer.
However, the intensity was on a whole different level.
It felt as if it was trying to destroy his mouth.
Luke barely swallowed it and grimaced as he set the cup down.
“Don’t drink this. It must be really spoiled. Ugh, my tongue is still tingling.”
Seeing his reaction, Diana stared blankly at Luke for a moment before speaking.
“Sis, is it your first time having soda?”
“…What?”
“Cola is usually like this. You didn’t know, sis!”
“…Is it really supposed to be like this?”
Luke raised the cup to investigate the still fizzing black liquid, hinting he couldn’t understand.
Why do people drink something like this?
