Editor: Cherish
— Kang Yu, get up quickly!
Very early the next morning, Kang Yu woke up from Echidna tugging at him.
After a quick snack, he, Echidna and Han Sol headed out for the day.
The place where they were going to today was in Yeongdeungpo. It was a huge shopping center.
The girls, who at first looked at each other with displeasure, at some point began to have fun and smile at each other.
'Their relationship is better than I thought.'
Since Echidna by nature dislikes strangers, he thought that she would not be able to become friends with Han Sol.
After all, even yesterday, Echidna was glaring at Han Sol from the corner of her eyes all day as they moved their belongings into their new home.
But coming to the mall together, the two were chirping merrily and seemed to get along so well they could be mistaken for sisters.
'Is this a girl's joy?'
Kang Yu could not understand the difference in the clothes that the girls were choosing between with genuine interest.
— God, look at this! Echidna, this suits you perfectly!
— Do you think Kang Yu will like it…?
— Haha, of course!
— Then I'll try it on!
Han Sol wandered around the store and picked out clothes for Echidna as if she were her little sister.
Perhaps even Echidna had an awakened interest in choosing clothes, as she followed Han Sol everywhere.
'Well, it's good if they're enjoying it.'
He believed it would be better if Echidna, who was so strongly attached to him, could become close with another person.
After all, excessive attachment to someone can obviously lead to ruin.
— Kang Yu, come here.
— Kang Yu, does this look good on me?
Kang Yu, turning in their direction, immediately saw the anxious expression on Echidna's face.
She looked pretty damn cute in the plaid skirt that reached just above the knee paired with an ivory blazer.
'She looks like a schoolgirl.'
The clothes looked more like a uniform on her precisely because of her cute baby face.
— It suits you.
— Hee-hee!
Hearing Kang Yu's positive response, her cheeks turned bright red and her eyes shone.
She raised her radiant gaze to Han Sol.
— I want this outfit.
— Okay, I'll buy it.
— Thank you! Han Sol, I like you!
Echidna forgot her displeasure towards Han Sol with just one outfit.
She smiled happily and clutched at Han Sol's collar as she hugged her, standing on tiptoes to reach.
— Ah! How cute! …Echidna, it's a little hard to breathe…
Han Sol returned Echidna's hug, resting her cheek on the back of the girl's head.
Kang Yu smiled widely as he watched the girls bond.
'It's good that we went out together.'
He couldn't stop smiling at the sight of this scene.
After paying for the clothes, they left the store, grabbing Kang Yu by the arms and dragging him to the next place.
He had a flower in both hands. Truly beautiful ones, at that.
He could tell he was drawing jealous glances. Kang Yu smiled like a winner and allowed himself to be dragged around by the girls.
'This is life.'
Before this, he'd spent all his time in Hell amidst demons and constant battle.
And there, he was always afraid that he would fall asleep and never wake up because his body was suffocated in the embrace of someone's tentacles.
But now, he thought that even if all that torment was the price for the moments he lived now, then it was not in vain.
An hour has passed.
— Echidna, what do you think?
— It suits you!
'Hmm… They seem to be getting closer and closer.'
Two hours have passed.
— Ohohoho~ Kang Yu, try this on!!
— Kang Yu looks cool!
'Hmm…'
Three hours have passed.
— Kang Yu, Kang Yu! Let's go back down to the second floor. I liked it better there.
— Oh, I'd also like to go back to where we were an hour ago.
'What's going on…?'
Four hours have passed.
— I think we'll have to go back to the very first store.
— Yes, yes, I agree.
'Why are they still shopping?'
Even after four hours, the shopping looked no closer to ending.
Kang Yu looked at the girls with a panicked expression.
Walking around all the stores in the mall was not a problem. But they kept moving to other stores and going back, thinking the previous was better.
'This is our fourth visit to this store.'
The guy's face began to turn pale.
Kang Yu was already pretty exhausted and hungry, but the girls tirelessly continued to walk here and there, looking at everything.
They were so cheerful that Kang Yu wondered if they had some kind of skill that coincided with his own Power of Cheerfulness.
He began to feel like their shopping was so endless it could easily be compared to a Moebius strip.
(Editor's Note: like infinity. Like a moving conveyor belt. Too long to explain so search it if you're curious.)
'This is life…?' He couldn't help but reconsider his own words only hours ago.
He wasn't physically tired of walking for hours, no, he had the stamina for that.
He was mentally exhausted, watching the useless repetitive actions for hours on end.
'Is this really a day off…?'
He'd come to the mall, hoping to get some rest before the days that followed when he would be madly busy again.
But the guy felt like he wasn't resting, rather, it felt the same as just another day of fighting monsters.
Just as he was about to scream, Han Sol said:
— We've been walking around for a while. It's time to rest, right?
— A little, you say? — Kang Yu could hardly hold back his real thoughts.
— Phew, let's step away from the clothes and look at something different.
This phrase sounded like a bolt from the blue.
The guy's face turned even more pale.
— Kang Yu, I want to eat~!
— Oh, by the way. I think we missed lunch by a little bit. Why don't we go up to the food court and have a bite?
— Food… court? — Kang Yu tilted his head in surprise.
But Han Sol was even more surprised to see such a reaction.
— You don't know what a food court is?
— I've never heard of it.
When he was on Earth before going to Hell, not only did Kang Yu never hear about food courts, he had never even visited shopping malls.
Han Sol gave him an awkward look.
— Erm… it's a place where most of the restaurants are gathered in a mall. Usually there is an extensive selection of food to choose from, and the prices are not very high.
'Oho~' Kang Yu's gaze brightened.
Food was the most interesting thing on Earth for him.
— Let's go.
Emotion began to show on Kang Yu's tired face. With eyes full of expectation, he headed towards the food court.
And how surprised he was when he arrived at his destination.
— And all this can be ordered right here…?
— Yes, — she said. — All you have to do is go over there and name the number of the dish you want, and then you get a ticket.
— Oh~
Goosebumps ran through his body as he looked at the huge menu.
'Is this paradise?'
There wasn't just kimchi jjigae, but also kimchi jjigae with tuna, beef and even ham.
If this place was not paradise, then what does real paradise look like?
— So there were places like this in the world…
Kang Yu regretted learning about such an incredible place so late. He had always been preoccupied with hunting and levelling up.
'I forgot about the most important thing.'
He had forgotten about the reason he wanted to return to Earth in the first place.
Wasn't it all for food and entertainment?
He felt a thirst rise in him. He wasn't just hungry. It was a real demonic thirst, engulfing his entire body with fire.
Desire gradually gained the upper hand over reason.
— Kang Yu, what are we going to eat?'
— All of it.
— All of it?
Kang Yu walked to the checkout counter and, with sincerity in his eyes, uttered:
— Please give me numbers 1 to 168. Ah and 10 servings of 67, 68 and 69, please.
The dishes he'd ordered 10 servings each of were, of course, varieties of kimchi jjigae.
— Ka- Kang Yu! Calm down!
Han Sol ran up to Kang Yu, who was losing his sanity.
— Why?
— We can't eat that much.
— If there are leftovers, we can take it with us.
— It's going to go bad before we can even finish it.
— It's fine. I'm sure I'll have time to finish before it goes bad.
Kang Yu could use the Force of Decay to keep food in a good condition for a long time.
Han Sol, watching the strange behavior of the guy, knocked on his head.
— They have a big menu, but the taste is so-so. I can cook it better. And we'll take only as much as we can eat here.
— Hmm, if the taste is only so-so…
Hearing this, his desire immediately evaporated.
Kang Yu regretfully ordered only three variations of the kimchi jjigae. In fact, this was a lot for a single person, but compared with his original order, this amount seemed insignificant.
— I'll eat the same as Kang Yu.
With sparkling eyes, Echidna repeated her master's orders.
Han Sol wanted to stop her, but looking into the girl's determined eyes, she knew she could not argue with the child.
— And I'll have udon…
Hardly any time had passed before the signal sounded, notifying that their order was ready.
The dishes that Kang Yu and Echidna had ordered could hardly fit on the table meant for four people.
— Well, let's try it.
With a satisfied expression, he quickly dug into the beef kimchi jjigae.
— Hmm.
Just like Han Sol said, this dish could not compare with her cooking.
'Even so…'
Kang Yu's eyes shone. He was excited that he could choose.
In Hell, he could only dream of such a wide variety of dishes.
And now he finally had a great opportunity to make the dream from Hell come true.
Kang Yu stared down at the pizza. He placed pizza on top of kimchi jjigae.
— Kang Yu…? — Han Sol said anxiously.
The guy moved on to the second dish, decorating it with a slice of pizza.
And not just pizza.
He seasoned the meat in sweet and sour sauce and added it to the kimchi jjigae along with chicken. Mixing it all up, he began to eat.
— Oh, this isn't bad!
Kang Yu's face was glowing as he gobbled up the pizza, meat and chicken broth.
Echidna, tilting her head to one side, turned to Han Sol:
— Is that how I'm supposed to mix it up?
— No, I don't think so.
— But Kang Yu did it!
— That's just Kang Yu, he's…
'Strange.'
Without finishing the phrase, Han Sol stared at Kang Yu who was happily eating kimchi jjigae.
At that moment, they were approached by a man using a terrible dialect in his speech:
— Ha, this eccentric guy sure knows a lot about food! Yeah, that's it! Our ancestors also said that everything should be mixed!
Without even asking for permission, he sat down next to Kang Yu.
Kang Yu stopped eating and slowly looked up at the guy.
The man was wearing a Hawaiian shirt with a gold chain over it. His physique was far from bony, and his skin color had a healthy shine. He was probably just a little shorter than Dae Su in height.
— And who are you? — Kang Yu said irritably.
The corners of the man's lips twitched, and he replied,
— Baek Kang Hyun of the Hanul Guild. Have you heard of me?
Kang Yu frowned in an instant.
Baek Kang Hyun. Most likely, there was not a single person in Korea who did not know his name.
— So you're the one sponsored by Red Rose, huh? — The man chuckled coldly and continued: — I have a business proposal for you, so to speak. —
— A proposal?
— I'll give you $50 million. And I'll equip you with exceptionally high-end equipment. A house, a car, cash – I'll give everything they offer and better. Join our guild. I'll put you in a great position.
Hearing what Kang Hyun was proposing, Han Sol's mouth dropped open.
But it was impossible to read any emotion on Kang Yu's face. He chuckled and leaned against the back of his chair.
Kang Yu lazily continued:
— It's not enough.