Chapter 43

*Sigh…*

Phantom Luna emerged from the room.

She suddenly let out a deep sigh.

‘Change my affiliated association? What kind of…’

‘It’s just a suggestion, a suggestion.’

The proposal was so abrupt that she had no idea how to react.

‘The talks with the Japanese association are already over.’

‘Um…’

‘I’ll make sure you get better mission rewards and a higher salary.’

‘……’

‘Don’t you need it? Money.’

She couldn’t refute his confident words.

Because he was right.

She needed money.

A lot of it.

‘…Can I think about it for a bit?’

But it wasn’t just about changing zones; moving to another country was bound to make her hesitate.

‘Sure, go ahead. There’s still plenty of time left in the exchange period, so think it over~’

As if understanding her feelings, Optimus nodded easily.

‘But here’s a tip: it’ll be good for you to come over here.’

‘…Huh?’

‘There’s something like that.’

Though he ended the conversation with some cryptic words, she still felt like she needed to think more about his proposal.

-What? Pfft, hahaha!!

-Hey, don’t laugh!

While walking for a while, she spotted some heroes chatting in the break room.

The branded coffee in their hands reminded her of a certain cafe.

“…Should I go there?”

She felt a bit guilty for leaving without saying goodbye after they helped her last time.

“Hmm.”

Alright, let’s go.

Chise decided to check on them and use it as a chance to clear her mind.

She turned her steps and left the Hero Association.

***

“Hmm.”

Early morning.

I was lying on the sofa, checking the community’s reactions.

‘The reactions are explosive.’

From those praising me to those simply cursing the association and heroes, those cursing Ido-geop, and even some trolls.

They were so busy cursing each other that no one even mentioned what I had stolen.

If they found out what I stole, they’d probably be confused.

‘Why would I even steal something like that?’

The branch of the World Tree.

I imagined its frail form, probably undergoing analysis in the Doctor’s hands by now.

Outwardly, it just looked like an ordinary branch, with no special abilities of its own—just an item with a Mystic Trace aura.

That’s probably why Ido-geop used it as the final bait in the auction.

‘They don’t even know how valuable it is.’

Anyway.

After browsing the community and checking the overall reactions, I got up from the sofa and checked the time.

‘Still early.’

Should I go work at the cafe?

I don’t have any missions or tasks today anyway.

‘But it’d be easier if I woke Gayeon up…’

“Ugh…”

Turning my head toward the sound, I saw Gayeon kicking off the blanket and tossing around in bed.

“……”

‘I’ll let her sleep a bit longer.’

I approached Gayeon, covered her with the blanket, and gently patted her head.

***

“Oppa…”

A few hours later, I arrived at the cafe in no time with a half-asleep Gayeon.

“Still sleepy?”

Nodding…

Rubbing her eyes, Gayeon clung to me.

‘She must still be tired.’

Normally, I’d have gone alone, seeing how tired she was.

But she insisted on coming with me…

“Then, Gayeon, why don’t you go upstairs and rest? I’ll handle the work.”

“Hmm…?”

“You only came because I forced you. Take it easy.”

“Ugh…”

After a moment of hesitation, Gayeon nodded in agreement.

I led her to the bed upstairs and then came back down.

‘Guess I’ll start getting ready to open.’

If I started now, I could probably open by lunchtime.

I grabbed a rag and began wiping down the tables.

***

‘Phew…’

A cafe in a corner close to F Zone.

Standing in front of the cafe, which had a uniquely stylish vibe compared to the other buildings, Chise took a deep breath.

‘…Should I go in?’

Feeling unnecessarily nervous, Chise steadied herself and opened the door.

Ding~

The door opened with a clear chime.

“Welcome… huh?”

Inside the cafe was a handsome man.

Upon seeing Chise, he stopped mid-sentence and widened his eyes.

“Ahaha… Hi, there…?”

“Tsukino-san!”

Gang Ian came out from behind the counter with a bright smile and quickly approached her.

Then, he looked at her with a worried expression.

“Are you okay? You weren’t in the hospital or anything, were you?”

“Huh? No! Nothing like that!”

“Really?”

“Of course! I may look like this, but I’m pretty tough, you know? I managed to escape safely back then!”

Relieved by her words, Gang Ian let out a sigh of relief.

“Whew… That’s a relief. You have no idea how worried I was.”

“You were?”

“A villain suddenly appeared, the person I came with disappeared, and I couldn’t find any shelters. Of course, I was worried.”

“Ah…”

‘Though I know what you were doing while you were gone.’

Hiding his thoughts, Gang Ian maintained his expression and looked at Chise.

Noticing his gaze, she began to stammer nervously.

“Actually… back then, I happened to run into my group…!”

“Your group?”

“Yeah…”

Thanks to coincidentally meeting her group, she managed to join them and escape the terror safely.

Chise smiled awkwardly as she explained.

“I see.”

Gang Ian smiled casually at her.

“Well, I’m glad it worked out. The situation was a bit rough, but at least you reunited with your group.”

“Y-Yeah, right!”

Perhaps because Gang Ian believed her without question, Chise stuttered and turned her gaze to the menu.

‘…Since I’m in a cafe, I should order something, right?’

Even though she was friendly with the owner, she was still a customer.

Besides, it seemed like they’d be talking for a while, and it would be rude to just chat without ordering anything.

“Would you like to order something?”

As if quickly picking up on her thoughts, Gang Ian quietly prepared to make a drink.

“Yes. I’ll probably be here for a while!”

“Oh? Alright. What would you like? As for the money…”

“It’s fine today!”

Ohoho!!

With her usual awkward laugh, Chise confidently looked at Gang Ian.

‘I saved up for today!’

Though she had been in his debt last time, it wouldn’t be right for a hero to keep freeloading.

So, she had cut back on small expenses to save up for the drink.

With that, Chise boldly reached into her pocket.

“Today, I’ll pay with my wallet…!!”

Fumbling…

“My wallet…!!!”

Fumbling more…

“M-My wallet… huh…?”

Her confident expression crumbled in an instant.

Chise, genuinely flustered, turned red and began searching through all her pockets.

“I-I definitely put it here…”

Now on the verge of tears, Chise felt a mix of shame, embarrassment, and awkwardness as she frantically searched her pockets.

“Tsukino-san.”

“S-Sajanim…”

Gang Ian chuckled lightly, as if it were no big deal.

“It’s fine. You don’t need money.”

“Don’t say thaaat…”

“You can pay me back later.”

Another tab?!

She had already received so much help; she couldn’t possibly cause more trouble.

“If it really bothers you, how about keeping me company instead?”

“Huh?”

“I’m actually pretty bored right now. Our little employee is still asleep.”

I’ll give you a drink in exchange for some conversation. How about it?

Gang Ian smiled brightly.

“T-Then… an iced Americano…”

“Our coffee is good, but it’s a bit bitter, so it might be tough for someone who doesn’t usually drink coffee.”

“……”

“How about a sweet fruit smoothie? We have a lot of ingredients that need to be used up soon.”

“…Thank youuu.”

After a moment of hesitation, Chise closed her eyes tightly and thanked him.

***

Clink.

“Ah, thank you.”

Chise took the smoothie I handed her and sipped through the straw.

“!”

After tasting it, she opened her eyes wide.

It was pretty funny.

“Is it good?”

“…Well, it’s decent!”

Chise turned her head sharply and continued sipping the smoothie.

‘She’s so not honest.’

I chuckled as I watched her, then brought a cup of coffee and sat across from her.

‘How should I steer the conversation?’

This was a chance to get closer to her while also gathering information about the association.

After rolling some words around in my head, I decided to start with light conversation.

‘If I get too personal right away, she might get defensive.’

We talked about the weather, recent trends, and other everyday topics, slowly shifting to more personal matters.

“…So, you didn’t come here to hang out, but for work?”

“You could say that. And today’s a special day off!”

“Pfft! Got it. Thanks for making time in your busy schedule.”

“Ahem!”

Once the conversation started flowing, I subtly tried to gather information about the association.

“So, the acquaintances you came with from Japan…”

“Ah, they’re friends, but also kind of like coworkers.”

“Do you feel lonely? Being in a foreign place with not many people from your country, do you miss home?”

“Hehe, there are actually way more of us here than you think! I do miss home, but with everyone around, it feels more like Japan than Korea, so it’s fine.”

She also vented a bit about her work.

Though she glossed over some details, it was clear she was talking about the association.

‘The association is currently in an exchange period… I already knew that, and last time, the party venue was a special mission…’

Unfortunately, most of what she shared was information I already knew.

‘I thought talking to Chise might help me understand why she came during this exchange period, unlike in the original.’

Was it just a butterfly effect caused by me?

Either way, I casually asked her about things I didn’t know.

“So, how long do you plan to stay in Korea, Tsukino-san?”

“Hmm, originally, I was supposed to stay for a few more months before moving…”

At my casual question, Chise made a thoughtful expression.

This seems like new information.

“Is something going on?”

Quickly picking up on it, I gave her a curious look and asked.

After a moment of hesitation, Chise sighed and spoke.

“Someone at the company suggested I try working in this country.”

“Hmm…”

Someone, huh?

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