“Late, huh…”
I was holding my chopsticks, waiting for dinner. According to Linea, it would take a little time to prepare the food. She said it was because she only found out today that I was coming.
She mentioned that she had gotten rid of all the existing food and had been preparing top-tier ingredients since I arrived. She probably didn’t have much time to prepare since I had stopped by after checking out how the plants were grown and then booked this lodging.
Honestly, they could’ve just used the regular ingredients—it felt like they were making too big a deal out of it. I’m someone who eats street food, after all. Back in the day, I even ate those so-called “junk foods” like *jjeondgi* and other snacks.
Anyway, while I was lost in these thoughts, the door opened, and Linea walked in. She sat next to me with a flushed expression. I looked at her and said with a blank face:
“I’m hungry… Can’t you just make food with the ingredients you already had?”
But Linea, hearing my words, put on a stern and serious expression and replied:
“Absolutely not. Since it’s for God, we can’t use ordinary ingredients.”
Seeing how resolute Linea was, it felt like a waste of time to argue further. She seemed to think I should only eat the best. Of course, I didn’t mind eating high-quality ingredients—it tasted good, after all.
The only problem was that it took a bit too long to prepare.
As I was idly sucking on the tip of my chopsticks, the long-awaited food finally started coming out. It seemed like the innkeeper herself was bringing it out. Dressed neatly, she placed a beautifully decorated plate in front of me.
On the plate was a seafood dish that looked like it had just been alive. It was so fresh, it felt like it had been caught right next to me and cooked immediately.
Come to think of it, I heard there’s a beach not far from here. I thought I should check it out later. I was curious how the people here caught fish. I heard they used magic, but I wanted to compare it to how we caught meat in the modern world where I came from.
“Wow!”
I picked up my chopsticks and started eating the seafood dish. There was an unnamed fish grilled to perfection, and right next to it was a familiar shrimp skewer. The shrimp was bright red, clearly of the highest quality.
“Delicious, isn’t it, God?”
Linea, sitting quietly beside me, asked. I nodded with a bright smile. Linea was busy taking photos of me, not missing a moment. Curious, I asked her:
“What are you going to use the photos for?”
“Well, they’ll be records for when God returns to their original dimension.”
“Records…?”
“Yes, we’ll build a grand museum-like structure to document your visit here! It’ll also help gather more followers.”
“Really?”
I wasn’t sure if I was that important, but seeing how Linea talked about it, it seemed like my photos were a good thing. It felt a bit rude to tell her to stop taking pictures while I was enjoying such delicious food.
Actually, I had subtly hinted at her to stop taking photos once, but after seeing her sulk so dramatically, I told her she could take as many as she wanted. It’s not like my face would wear out from being photographed.
“Yummy!”
I smiled happily while eating the delicious food. And as soon as the plate was empty, an employee appeared with a new plate of food. It was like a sushi conveyor belt. As soon as I finished one dish, another would come out.
And as if to encourage me to try many dishes, each plate had only a small portion. A couple of chopstick movements, and the plate was empty. Part of me felt a little sad because the delicious food disappeared so quickly.
But the taste was still amazing, so I kept eating like crazy. With each flashy chopstick move, the food on the plate vanished.
I ate until my stomach was stuffed.
———————————————-
“Hmm…”
After eating, I went outside to digest a bit, and when I returned, the room was already set up with a fluffy blanket. It looked like it was made of high-quality material. I wasn’t sleeping alone—Linea’s spot was right next to me.
“Sleepy…”
With a full stomach and a warm back, I couldn’t help but feel drowsy. Linea, seeing my sleepy face, gently laid me down on the blanket. Slowly, Linea…
The sensation of his touch was becoming more intense. At first, even the thought of him touching my body was overwhelming, but now there was no hesitation. It felt like he couldn’t resist the urge to touch me. Of course, it was probably just my imagination.
“Hey, Linea…”
“Yes, my God!”
I was lying on the bed with Linea, staring at the ceiling. Outside, I could only hear the sounds of elves wandering around. There were calm footsteps near my room, as if they were looking for something.
“If I disappear, nothing big will happen back in my original world, right?”
Linea responded to my words.
“A month should be fine. The plants from the World Tree are sturdy, so they’ll hold up for a month. Of course, if it goes beyond two or three months, I’m not sure what will happen. This is my first time dealing with something like this…”
“Really? Still, I feel uneasy…”
Something in my gut was warning me that something big had happened. I liked this world, but I also liked my original one. Each world had its pros and cons. Here, there wasn’t much to do. Right now, I was excited by all the mystical experiences, but I felt like after a month, I’d run out of things to see and do. Is there even internet here? I thought I’d check later.
The civilization here was quite advanced, comparable to the modern era. Of course, things like guns didn’t seem to have been developed yet. From what I could see, the guards were carrying bows and swords.
Linea made a sad face at my words.
“My God, do you want to return to your original world?”
I turned my head and saw her expression, which was full of pity. Seeing Linea sad made me feel guilty. I reassured her.
“No. Like you said, I’ll stay for a month!”
“That’s a good choice, my God!”
Seeing Linea smile brightly made me feel like I’d made the right decision. And so, the night deepened on my seventh day in this other world. Realizing I only had three weeks left made me a little sad. It would’ve been great if the Boss, Maru, Haru, and Bora could come here for a trip… The mystical sights made the regret even stronger.
With that, I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.
—
Hana had been missing for a week. It was time to face the truth—Hana had returned to another world. The only silver lining was that we had a stockpile of her hair from when it stopped growing before. But even that would soon be useless.
Saving what little we had wouldn’t solve the problem. No matter how much we conserved, it was clear we’d eventually run out.
“…”
The usually lively office was now filled with silence. The primary cause was the lax security in the Other Species Research Lab next to Starlight Research Institute, which allowed Hana to slip away. But the fact that no one stopped her along the way meant the office staff couldn’t escape responsibility either.
Gu Jun-yeop, the assistant, found the icy atmosphere suffocating. Just last week, the office had been a happy place, but now it felt like a dream that had vanished.
The once vibrant office had frozen over. With Hana, the mood maker, gone, the emptiness was palpable. Her visits used to bring laughter, but now all you could hear were sighs.
There was still work to do. The plants from Hana’s tooth were still thriving, and that was the only thing keeping the office afloat. Sales from the tooth plants had even surpassed those from her hair.
But the unease remained. It wouldn’t be surprising if Hana’s plants withered one day. When that day came, true disaster would strike the office.
