episode_0081

Because I was the only one who could see her in the restaurant, no one responded to her.

Juliana flew over to the men who were fighting and glared at them with narrowed eyes.

“Where do you want to try?!”

“If you have a problem, come and fight!”

As two men approached with raised voices and their foreheads almost touching, Juliana lightly pushed one of them from behind.

The two men who had been face to face stopped…

“Ugh…”

I quickly covered Iris and Jess’s eyes as a feeling of disgust surged from my throat.

“Hahaha!”

“Hwiik! They suit each other well!”

Those who were watching the two with great interest burst into laughter and began to clap.

“Uwup, ugh…!!”

“You, you bastard!”

The two who had been horrified by the terrible accident vomited and drew their swords.

[ If you’re going to fight, go outside and fight! ]

When they showed signs of fighting more, Juliana grabbed their backs and threw them out.

“Ugh?!”

“W-What the!?”

Screams echoed like an echo, and laughter poured out in the restaurant.

“Hahaha! Stupid guys! Pulling out a knife in Nest Restaurant!”

“Tsk tsk, they don’t know that the wizard is scary.”

There were voices asking what was going on among those who laughed for the first time in the restaurant. I also listened to them.

“Even though the Nest organization hasn’t been around for long, it’s quite famous, isn’t it? It’s all because there’s a grand wizard. The guys who caused the ruckus just now were thrown out by the grand wizard’s security spell.”

I looked silently towards Juliana. She was furrowing her brow while looking at the dirty floor.

[ Next time, I’ll have to chase them away immediately. Tsk. ]

She quickly turned into a book and flew towards the kitchen, licking her lips. One of the serving kids ran over and cleaned the dirty floor.

It seemed like they were used to this kind of thing.

“Would you like to order?”

I thought about getting up late and following Juliana, but I had to sit back down as the waiter approached.

“Yes, um… please give me three of the best-selling items here.”

“Yes. Do you need any drinks?”

“No.”

All kinds of races and people who might die at any moment gathered there, so there was no concept of minors in the demon land. There was only a difference between immature offspring and adults.

So, I did receive questions about whether I would drink regardless of my age.

I whispered to Jess and Iris that they shouldn’t drink until they were twenty. I told them that if they drank before they turned twenty, their stomachs could bubble and break.

Honestly, I thought they wouldn’t believe me, but both of them nodded very seriously.

“I won’t drink even when I grow up.”

“Me too!”

I stroked their innocent yet adorable faces with the back of my hand. Jess asked me to stroke his chin, so I held his chin. The creaking sound was pleasant to hear.

“Our best-selling dish is braised meat! Enjoy your meal.”

“Wow…”

Jess drooled and his eyes sparkled. Iris also blushed lightly at the delicious smell.

“This… is it like soy sauce braised chicken?”

It was one of the dishes I used to make for the kids in the warlock’s lab.

“It was here too.”

Thinking it was amazing, I started eating. Jess ate another ten servings. Iris and I also ordered an extra serving each. It was really delicious.

“The meal is over, but…”

After paying the bill, I moved inside the shop. Perhaps because there were so many people, no one paid attention.

“Juliana must have gone here, right?”

The door with a sign that read “No Entry for Employees” was cautiously opened. As soon as the door opened, there were stairs leading downwards.

Thinking, ‘The restaurant seems very busy, so let’s talk to someone we meet on the way down.’

After reaching a conclusion, I and Jess, Iris, went down the stairs. As we went down, a place that seemed like a warehouse appeared. Unused chairs, tables, and food supplies were stored in shady places here and there.

‘Where did they go?’

While thinking that, something sparkling was seen in a corner.

“Hmm?”

Approaching, I picked up the sparkling object.

“A gem?”

It was difficult to see clearly in the dark surroundings, but it was an object sparkling like a broken gem. Just as I was about to examine it more closely.

Clank.

An oak barrel stacked against one wall shifted sideways. From inside, a familiar face popped out. It was Koa, one of the kids who had been at Mia’s lab.

The cute kid with a pot head and big round eyes, perhaps thinking no one would be outside, froze when he spotted me and shouted.

“Gasp, wh…who are you!”

“Koa!”

“Huh…?”

Shoving what I had in my hand into my pocket, I put the kid’s name in my bright voice, and Koa widened his eyes and mumbled.

“Lian… hyung?”

Koa checked my face and then greeted me warmly. He then promptly guided us towards the Nest headquarters.

Unlike Deviatan, the Nest headquarters were not underground. The underground passage was just a pathway leading to the headquarters.

The underground passage connected various places and served as a moving pathway leading to different locations.

We were able to arrive at the headquarters by passing through the maze-like underground passage. The Nest headquarters was a mansion located in a quiet area on the western outskirts.

The wall was so high that the inside couldn’t be seen from the outside. Explaining that this high wall didn’t look suspiciously pussy, Kwan said.

As soon as I entered the headquarters, I met familiar faces again.

“Uh?”

“Nero?”

“Hyung, Hyeong?!”

Nero, with a dagger at his waist, found me and ran to hug me with a big smile.

“Really, really hyung?”

“Of course it’s real.”

“Wow, wow…. huh? Jess is here too?”

Nero looked at Jess with wide eyes. He breathed a sigh of relief and said,

“Jess suddenly disappeared from the forest of death, so I was really worried. I thought he might have died…! But I’m glad you’re alive!”

Nero now embraced Jess with a moved expression. Not minding the affectionate display, Jess wagged his tail and hugged back. Smiling at the adorable sight of the two, I soon asked about Noah’s whereabouts.

“Oh, right! Let’s go see Boss, hyung! I really wanted to see him!”

Nero jumped in place and smiled brightly.

“What, what is it?”

“Do you know them?”

At Cardishan, where strength was everything, being young was not a flaw. Apart from being young, Nero, who was viewed without prejudice, was Boss’s younger brother and a senior member of Nest with strong power.

He had to be a difficult existence for the members. Nero, too, deliberately used a rough expression to avoid being ignored by others. Therefore, Nero’s overflowing smile was unfamiliar to others.

“Hyung, let’s go!”

Nero took me to the top of the building. Approaching the door that looked more splendid than any other room, Nero opened it eagerly.

“Hyung!”

“Nero, I told you it’s an important meeting, come quickly -…”

Noah’s voice gradually faded and soon completely dispersed. Noah made a vacant expression, then suddenly began pinching his own cheeks.

“Hyung! Ryan hyung is here!”

“Uh, uh….”

Noah stared vacantly at me, then suddenly burst into tears!

“Sob…”

“Huh? Uh, uh?”

I was taken aback for two reasons. The first was Noah’s unexpected tears, and the second was the sirens blaring in my head, urging me to comfort Noah.

“What… What is this intense feeling that seems to have made the pretty girl cry?”

Though I couldn’t understand, my body instinctively approached Noah and started consoling him.

“Sob, sob…”

Noah couldn’t speak properly and hugged me tightly. He seemed to have grown a lot taller in my absence. He looked at least… 10cm taller than me.

I awkwardly patted his back, waiting for the blaring siren to stop.

After a while of hugging, Iris forcibly pulled him away, and he finally let go.

As the atmosphere calmed down, I greeted the other children. They cheered, some crying and some laughing, happy that I had returned.

Itchy feelings arose within me knowing that the children hadn’t forgotten about me.

However, there was someone who reacted a bit differently.

“Huh…?!”

Pia, walking down the hallway with an inscrutable expression, noticed me and promptly sank to the ground. She shed tears with a vacant face, wearing a smile as if possessed by something.

“Um, um… Pia, are you okay?”

Seeing her obviously abnormal state, I cautiously asked, and she vigorously nodded… and wet herself.

I really… can’t figure out the reason…

I carefully predict that maybe I blocked her way to the bathroom?

I’ll apologize when I see her next time.

After that, I gathered with the children and shared what had happened so far without realizing how time flew by. When I introduced Iris as my sister, the children who had been shy approached Iris with big smiles.

In the tranquil atmosphere resembling a painting, I laughed happily.

As the day turned into night, we said our goodbyes, agreeing to continue the remaining stories tomorrow. I fell asleep in the room Noah had assigned to me.

“Hmm…?”

The next day, I woke up to a strange ceiling.