Chapter 92

“Alright, let’s go now.”

Ah.

I didn’t think of this.

Looking at Keru, who opened the gate with a rather smug expression, I barely suppressed the urge to smack the back of his head again.

That guy, if he transforms into his leopard form, he can easily fit through that tiny gate without any trouble.

But I can’t do that.

“Well… alright.”

It’s pretty annoying, but there’s nothing I can do about it right now.

Our finances aren’t great, so expanding the station is out of the question, and that’s why the gate size is like this. What can I say?

Still, Kenneth is doing a good job as regent, so at least we’re maintaining things. If you’re unhappy, come and rule yourself, but complaining about it seems a bit unfair.

“Please go in… go ahead, Mother-Body.”

I told Keru to keep doing what he was doing.

If his tone changes, the kids will ask what’s going on, and explaining would be a hassle.

If they hear about a goddess, they’ll probably say, “Sister was a goddess after all! A beauty like a goddess!” There are bound to be two kids like that.

“You go in first.”

If I go in there, I’ll have to crawl again.

I didn’t want to show Keru the sight of me wriggling my butt as I crawled in.

Well, I wouldn’t want to show that to anyone, not just Keru.

“Then, I’ll go first.”

Keru walked in smugly and confidently through the gate.

It fits him perfectly.

If I didn’t know better, I’d think he opened his own private gate.

Ugh.

What can I do now?

I shoved the travel bag into the gate, along with a box of barley snacks I bought from a famous bakery in the Dark Realm.

Then, carefully kneeling, I started to crawl in.

I was about halfway in.

Huh.

But where does this come out?

Does it come out where I entered?

I’m not sure if it comes out somewhere weird.

I wouldn’t usually worry, but since Keru opened the gate, I can’t help but worry.

Since I entered from the master bedroom, it should come out there, right?

It’s not like it’s going to come out somewhere strange…

“Sister?”

That damn Keru.

Fortunately, the place I crawled out of wasn’t somewhere strange.

Well, it wasn’t strange.

“Sorry, sorry, Mother-Body! I can’t breathe!”

After pinning Keru down, I finally let out a deep sigh and stood up.

“Get up, you brat.”

The gate Keru opened was right in the middle of the second-floor hallway of the officetel, even in front of the elevator.

Chilho, who was waiting for the elevator to go to the convenience store, suddenly saw the gate open, and when Keru came out, followed by the travel bag, the box of barley snacks, and me crawling out, he was so surprised he screamed.

Because of that, the minions living on the second floor came rushing out…

“Wow, sister, your posture is…”

“Shh. That’s enough.”

I gave Chilho some pocket money and sent him on his way, then dragged Keru by the tail back home.

“Mommy!”

“Oh my, our daughter!”

As soon as I opened the door, Kabe came running and jumping into my arms, and I kissed her cheeks repeatedly.

We were only apart for three days, but it felt like three years. She’s just so adorable.

“Sister, welcome back…?”

“Yeah, Sohee.”

Sohee, who was wearing an apron neatly, greeted me after Kabe.

She looked like she just popped out of the Joseon Dynasty, but now she seems to have adapted well, and the apron suits her.

“What were you doing?”

“I was making snacks for Kabe and cleaning up.”

“You know how to make snacks too?”

This is an unexpected side of her.

“I struggled a bit, but I found a lot of recipes on this ‘servant phone’.”

Servant phone? She means smartphone.

Recipes? You mean recipes?

Anyway, that’s impressive.

I never thought of making snacks for Kabe myself.

“Sister, welcome back! How was the Dark Realm?”

“Did Dusik do well too?”

Dusik, who was taking a nap in the small room, came out yawning, and I waved at him.

But something feels off.

There’s a strange sense of dissonance.

To figure out the source of this sudden dissonance, I looked back and forth between Dusik and Sohee and asked.

“Why are you guys in my house?”

“Hey.”

“Ugh.”

Looking at the clock, it’s 1 PM.

I looked down at Eve, sprawled out on my bed, and seriously considered whether to kick her awake or step on her to wake her up.

But the best method is probably this.

I pressed my earring.

Ugh. It didn’t used to be like this, but lately, my chest feels tighter.

Did my chest get bigger? I thought I was past my growth spurt.

I clenched my left fist.

Holding back the surging dark magic, I shoved it right into Eve’s gaping mouth…

“Cough, cough, cough!”

It worked immediately.

Eve, who was sleeping soundly, sat up abruptly, coughing and retching, making a loud noise.

Dark magic, especially high-purity dark magic, flowing into Eve’s light-attribute mouth must be quite painful.

“You crazy! Who wakes someone up like that!”

“And who sleeps on someone else’s bed like that?”

I looked at Eve with displeasure.

She was wearing light blue panties, a light blue bra, and a stretched-out cotton T-shirt, with my unusually high pillow between her legs and Kabe’s pillow under her head.

She always does things that annoy me.

“Get up.”

But it’s better to tell her the truth.

“Wash up. I’ll be in the living room.”

First, I need to eat lunch.

I’m hungry, and more than anything, I want something that suits my taste.

The food in the Dark Realm didn’t agree with me.

They served rye bread and ginger steak, but ugh, I’d rather have…

“Ahhh…!”

This. A hot bowl of jjamppong is just the best.

“Dusik. Stop it.”

I stopped Dusik from scooping the jjajang sauce off the fried rice and mixed it all up with a spoon.

“Ah… I could have eaten three meals…”

I frowned at Dusik, who was pouting.

Even though we’re not living in the basement or worrying about rent anymore, he still can’t shake off old habits.

“Stop it. We’re not that poor.”

Though I’m not one to talk, having just blown five million won.

As Dusik started munching on the mixed fried rice, I noticed Sohee had already brought a bowl of rice and was mixing her own jjajang.

“Ria, here.”

“Thank you, Auntie!”

“Here.”

I put a small spoon in front of Kabe, and she happily took a bite of noodles and rice.

Hmm.

From the atmosphere, it seems nothing much happened while I was gone.

Well, it was only three days. What could have happened?

“Right. I thought so, but it wasn’t like that.”

After finishing the meal, Eve and I returned to the office.

I needed to tell her about my trip to the Dark Realm and hear if anything happened in the three days, but Eve’s first words were unsettling.

As soon as we entered the office, Eve snapped her fingers.

A slight breeze blew, and Eve’s outfit changed into her usual magical girl dress.

Now that I think about it, she doesn’t transform by pressing an item like I do.

“What do you mean it wasn’t like that? Did something happen?”

It’s not common for Eve to bring up topics like this first.

Even though she must have been curious about my first trip to the Dark Realm, the fact that she’s bringing this up suggests something significant happened.

“Another group aiming for world domination has appeared.”

“That’s us.”

“Not you guys. If it were you, would I be saying this?”

Well, that’s true.

“That, the yellow beetle guy.”

“Esmushigi?”

Es, Es something.

I forgot the name again.

That’s how unimpressive he is.

“They declared they’re really going to conquer the world.”

“Really?”

This doesn’t feel like a big deal.

You know how it is. Like when an elementary school kid says, “I’m going to be a scientist!” and you go, “Oh, that’s great, study hard and achieve your dream!” It’s kind of like that.

“They named their faction Core Light… or Light Core… something like that.”

“The core of light, the light of the core…?”

“The name is really lame, but what they say is even weirder.”

“Why?”

It’s like when a weird kid calls another kid weird. That’s the feeling.

“They said the current world needs regeneration.”

“Renewable energy?”

“No, not that. Why do you keep showing off your knowledge in weird places?!”

Knowledge? This is just common sense from watching the news.

She’s the one who doesn’t watch the news and then complains.

“Anyway, they said the world is polluted because of the germs called humans. They want to eliminate all the bug-like humans… Hey, Yoon-Woo. Are you okay? You don’t look good.”

I know why Eve is asking this.

The moment I heard the words “bug-like humans,” a man’s image appeared before my eyes.

“What I loved was you, not those bugs!”

A man gripping Vesprede’s wrist, shouting in anger.

Blonde hair, somewhat tanned skin.

It was Escario.

You haven’t changed, not one bit.

From then until now, not a single bit.

You, you haven’t changed at all.

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