Chapter 42

Sometimes, people obsessively seek out things related to something they want to remember for a long time,

Even though they hate it so much.

Kang Do-hee had two such items.

Her role model, the leader of the Parandis Guild.

To not forget her, to emulate her, Kang Do-hee started looking for these things.

Kang Do-hee’s personal story draws a process of parting with the shadows of the past and standing on her own as Kang Do-hee herself by completely cutting off these two things.

Naturally, one of them was cigarettes.

The leader of the Parandis Guild was a chain smoker, so Kang Do-hee started smoking to emulate her.

‘Well, in the case of cigarettes, She started out hating them but now they’ve become a kind of hobby, so it’s a case where she ended up enjoying them.’

Quitting smoking only succeeds in the almost last part of her personal story,

So trying to quit now would likely only increase her resentment.

‘So, for now, I’ll pass on cigarettes. But I can try to get rid of the other one right now.’

I didn’t want to completely get rid of it right now.

But I did want to erase the painfully miserable expression she made while looking for it.

I brought Kang Do-hee to the convenience store attached to the dormitory, intending to find what I was looking for.

Kang Do-hee was surprised to find herself in a convenience store, a place she hadn’t expected to be brought to for a reward.

“Why, are you disappointed because it’s not really expensive?”

I smirked and said to Kang Do-hee, who shook her head and then straightened her face.

“No, I actually like it.”

The convenience store was a positive place for Kang Do-hee, who disliked hassles. There was no more convenient place for her than this.

“Let’s go in.”

I led her into the convenience store and walked straight to the back, where the beverage refrigerators were located.

I scanned the rows of canned drinks.

“Hmm, it should definitely be somewhere here… ”

I narrowed my eyes at a corner of the shelf.

“Ah, found it.”

What I was looking for was a can drink with a unique taste preferred by the guild leader,

A can drink with a printed green leaf.

‘Sol’s Eye’

A drink with a strong pine needle flavor that was polarizing among those who tried it.

I picked up two cans of the drink and turned to Kang Do-hee.

“I like this.”

At that moment, Kang Do-hee’s eyes shook as if they were hit by an earthquake.

“……This?”

I nodded.

‘Well, to be honest, I’ve come to like this drink.’

In Kang Do-hee’s personal story, every time she drank this, she made a face as if she was being forced to drink poison, so I went to the convenience store to find out what it tasted like.

But it wasn’t available at the convenience store in my neighborhood, so I ordered a box online.

And honestly, the taste…

Well, to be polite to the beverage company, I’ll omit the details, but it was definitely not to my taste.

‘But there’s a way to make this drink taste good.’

Anyway, I impulsively ordered a box of this drink,

And since I had to somehow get rid of it, I researched ways to make it taste good and combinations.

I picked up my share and Kang Do-hee’s share of two cans and headed towards the snack aisle.

Then I picked up a brown, cylindrical cookie.

Choco Daize.

A cookie with a strong chocolate flavor and a rough, crumbly texture.

A cookie with its own fan base.

“This is really good with this drink.”

I said to Kang Do-hee, but her gaze remained fixed on the Sol’s Eye, reluctant to leave it.

I bought one Choco Daize and two cans of Sol’s Eye and went to the counter to pay.

For a moment, the convenience store clerk looked up with a serious expression, but whatever.

“Here, put it on my card. Oh, and do you want to buy cigarettes too?”

“……No, it’s okay.”

Kang Do-hee answered in a subdued voice.

We went outside and sat at a small table.

Sssss─

Click.

I unwrapped the Daize and opened the cans.

First, a demonstration.

I took a bite of the thick biscuit cookie and then took a sip of the Sol’s Eye right after.

‘Kkh, this is the taste.’

Like a harmony within a discord,

If I had this combination, I could drink ten boxes of Sol’s Eye.

“Here, try it.”

I handed the Sol’s Eye to Kang Do-hee, who looked at it with a wary gaze.

She hesitated for a moment, then took it with a determined expression.

Click.

She started with the cookie.

Crrrunch─

The cookie had a strong chocolate flavor and a slightly overly crumbly texture, causing her to frown slightly.

‘But the cookie itself is tasty, so it’s not something you’ll get tired of if you eat a lot.’

The important thing was what came next.

Kang Do-hee glared at the Sol’s Eye as if it were the mortal enemy of her life, then closed her eyes tightly and gulped it down.

Gulp─

“Hmm…?”

She blinked, her eyes sparkling, and looked at me with a dazed expression.

“How is it? It’s not bad when you eat it like this, right?”

“……Not bad.”

I curled my lips, pleased with her reaction.

.

.

.

After the Demon Misunderstanding Incident.

Kang Do-hee had been observing Jin Yuha for quite some time.

It was only natural for a man to have weaker physical abilities, yet he kept up right behind her.

His specialized swordsmanship was also remarkable.

She didn’t know much about swords, but she could tell that the sword he wielded was not an ordinary one.

And it seemed like his skill had improved after just three weeks of training.

If she had to describe him in one word…

A smooth operator.

Annoying.

Dirty and shameless.

‘A Little Fool.’

Once, during a joint training session, she couldn’t contain her curiosity and asked him.

-How do you do that?

-What?

-Command.

Sometimes, his face overlapped with that of the guild leader (although, strangely, the frequency of the overlap increased when she watched videos at night, perhaps due to heightened sensitivity).

His command ability was frankly better than the guild leader’s.

No, it wasn’t just better, it was a work of art.

Being under his command made her feel like he knew her techniques and limits better than she did herself, so she couldn’t help but ask him about it.

But Jin Yuha’s answer to her was this:

“Hmm? That? I just do it.”

“……”

As if he couldn’t understand why she didn’t get it, he added,

“It’s easy. Anyone can do it. It’s just a matter of having basic memory and judgment, right?”

“Annoying.”

Indeed, this guy was different from the guild leader.

Dirty and shameless.

But it was also true that an indescribable aura emanated from him, so Kang Do-hee decided to join Jin Yuha’s party.

And as she got to know him better, it became clear that he and the guild leader were completely different people.

Moreover, she no longer received emails from the black snake, who had been sending her videos every day.

Perhaps the news that Jin Yuha was not a Demon had reached him as well.

Honestly, she felt a little disappointed.

Anyway, Kang Do-hee was gradually distancing herself from those two and establishing a comfortable distance.

……But.

When she saw the drink Jin Yuha offered her this time, she couldn’t help but look bewildered.

‘Sol’s Eye’

A drink favored by Choi Hye-seo, the guild leader.

Every time she thought of her, Kang Do-hee would stop by the convenience store to buy and drink it, but it was a strange taste that she couldn’t get used to.

From the trivial question of whether this was a drink meant to be sold to bugs rather than people, to the fundamental question of why the drink should taste like pine needles.

She had thought that there was absolutely no one besides the guild leader who would drink this for the taste.

But suddenly, Jin Yuha offered her this drink, saying he liked it.

‘……What the hell is he?’@@novelbin@@

Kang Do-hee could only stare at Jin Yuha with a confused expression.

.

.

.

Mumble mumble

Gulp gulp─

Kang Do-hee, who seemed to really like this combination, took a bite of the cookie and drank the beverage again.

It was like watching a mukbang.

I watched her fondly and then asked her a question that suddenly came to mind.

“Oh, right. Kang Do-hee. Have you decided on your class schedule yet?”

At that, Kang Do-hee, who was munching on a cookie, handed me her phone.

The moment I saw the schedule she had made,

I almost cursed out loud.

“……Crazy.”

In the end, it slipped out.

After parting ways with Kang Do-hee and returning to my dormitory,

I immediately turned on my phone.

Ting─♪

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

【Sword Ghost】 ─ Everyone gather!!!!!

【Not Soup】 ─ What’s the matter?

【Fire Fist】 ─ ?

【Flower Bud ✿】 ─ Do you have a urgent missions or something?

【Sword Ghost】 ─ You guys, submit your class schedules that you’ve already planned!

【Not Soup】 ─ [ Photo ]

【Fire Fist】 ─ [ Photo ]

【Flower Bud ✿】 ─ [ Photo ]

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

‘Crazy, these guys… They’re even worse than in the game.’

I looked at the schedules they had sent me and touched my forehead.