Chapter 81
I was the only one in the restaurant who could see her, so no one replied to her words.
Julianna zipped over to the guys who were about to fight and narrowed her eyes at them like a hawk.
“Wanna throw down?!”
“If you have beef, then bring it!”
As the two men shouted and got so close that their foreheads were practically touching, trying to act tough, Julianna casually shoved one of them from behind.
The two guys, whose faces were almost glued together…
“Ugh…”
While trying to suppress the nausea bubbling in my throat, I quickly covered Iris and Jess’s eyes.
“Cough… Hahaha!”
“Whew! They look great together!”
The onlookers, who were thoroughly entertained, burst into laughter and started clapping.
“Ew, ugh…!!”
“You bastard!”
The two guys, totally losing their minds after that disaster, started gagging and pulled out their swords.
[If you want to fight, take it outside!]
Seeing them getting ready for more chaos, Julianna grabbed them by the scruff of their necks and tossed them outside like yesterday’s trash.
“Wait?!”
“What the heck?!”
Their screams echoed like a bad horror movie, and laughter erupted throughout the restaurant.
“Pahaha! What a bunch of idiots! Drawing swords in the Nest restaurant!”
“Tsk tsk, they really don’t know how scary a magician can be.”
Newcomers to the restaurant began asking the laughing patrons what was going on. I listened in too.
“The Nest organization hasn’t been around for long, but people know them already, right? That’s all thanks to the archmage. The ruckus-makers getting booted was also because of the security magic cast by the archmage.”
I silently glanced at Julianna. She was dusting off her hands and grimacing at the messy floor.
[Next time, I’ll kick them out right away. Tsk.]
She clicked her tongue and zoomed back to the kitchen as a book. A young server rushed in, running to clean the now-dirty floor. They seemed pretty used to this kind of mayhem.
“Would you like to place your order?”
I was about to get up to follow Julianna but had to sit back down when the server approached.
“Yes, um… I’ll have three of the most popular dishes here, please.”
“Got it. Do you want any drinks?”
“No.”
In the Demon King’s land, where all sorts of races lived, and you never knew when you’d kick the bucket, the concept of “minors” didn’t even exist. The only difference was between the little sprouts and the grown-ups.
So getting asked if I wanted a drink—regardless of age—was just routine. I whispered to Jess and Iris that they shouldn’t drink until they turned twenty. When they tilted their heads like they were trying to solve a math problem, I explained that having a drink before twenty might make their stomachs bubble like a witch’s cauldron and totally wreck them.
Honestly, I thought they wouldn’t buy it, but both nodded with serious faces.
“I won’t drink even when I grow up.”
“Me neither!”
With their innocent and cute expressions, I couldn’t resist rubbing their cheeks with my hand. Jess raised her chin for a rub, emitting a cute purring sound that was oddly satisfying.
“Our most popular dish: stewed meat! Enjoy!”
“Wow…”
Jess drooled, her eyes sparkly and wide. Iris blushed slightly from the delicious aroma wafting through the air.
‘This… looks like soy sauce braised chicken.’
It was one of the dishes I made for the kids back at the black magician’s lab.
‘Wow, so it exists here too!’
Feeling intrigued, I dove into my meal. Jess went to town and ate ten more servings while Iris and I ordered another each. It was seriously delicious.
‘Well, we’re done eating…’
After settling the bill, I headed toward the back of the restaurant. With so many people around, no one seemed to notice me.
‘Julianna definitely went this way.’
Carefully, I opened the door marked [Employees Only]. Behind it were stairs leading down.
‘The restaurant is super busy, so I’ll just explain myself to anyone I see on the way down.’
So I concluded, and down the stairs I went, with Jess and Iris following. At the bottom was what looked like a storage room, cluttered with unused chairs, tables, and food supplies tucked away in the shadows.
‘Where did she go?’
As those thoughts buzzed around in my head, something shiny caught my eye in the corner.
“Hmm?”
I walked closer and picked up the glimmering object.
‘A jewel?’
It was hard to see in the dim lighting, but it looked like a broken stone shining softly. Just as I was about to get a better look…
Clank.
A barrel stacked against the wall toppled over. Out popped a familiar face from the shadows. It was Koan, one of the kids from Mia’s lab.
The cute kid with a bowl cut and big round eyes, who probably thought nobody was around, froze dead in her tracks and screamed.
“Huh, who… who are you?!”
“Koan!”
“Huh…?”
I quickly shoved the shiny object into my pocket and called out with a bright voice. Koan’s eyes went wide as she muttered.
“Lian… Brother?”
*
Koan, after confirming my identity, lit up with a big smile and got all flustered. She quickly guided me toward the Nest headquarters.
Unlike Leviathan, the Nest’s headquarters wasn’t underground. The underground passage simply led there.
That winding underground passage was like a maze, connecting all sorts of places.
After navigating the maze, we made it to the headquarters. Nest’s headquarters was a mansion sitting quietly on the western outskirts.
The walls were super high, making it impossible to see inside from the outside. Since a bunch of thieves and those who loathed interference lived here, Koan explained that such tall walls didn’t seem strange.
As soon as we stepped into the headquarters, I was confronted by yet another familiar face.
“Huh?!”
“Nero?”
“Brother, bro?!”
Nero, with a dagger strapped to his waist, spotted me and bolted over, wrapping me in a tight hug.
“Is it really you, brother?”
“Of course, it’s really me.”
“Wow, wow… Wait! Jess is here too?”
Nero’s eyes went wide as he glanced at Jess. He let out a sigh of relief and continued.
“I was really worried when Jess suddenly vanished in the Forest of Death. I thought maybe she’d kicked the bucket…! But she’s alive!”
Nero, looking so emotional, pulled Jess into another tight hug. Jess didn’t seem to mind the affection one bit, wagging her tail as she hugged back. I smiled at the adorable sight of the two kids before asking about Noah.
“Oh, right! Let’s go see the boss—no, brother! He’s been dying to see you!”
Nero jumped up and down in excitement.
“Who’s that?”
“Someone you know?”
The strangers looked confused by Nero’s bubbly excitement.
In Cardishian, youth wasn’t frowned upon when it came to strength. Putting aside his age, Nero was the boss’s younger brother and a senior member of the Nest.
He was quite the formidable presence among the recruits. To keep from being underestimated, Nero often wore a stern expression. So naturally, his enthusiastic grin threw everyone else off.
“Let’s go, brother!”
Nero led me to the upper floors. He excitedly flung open the door to a swanky room.
“Brother!”
“Nero, I told you we’re having an important meeting—”
Noah’s voice faded away, then completely disappeared. Staring blankly, Noah began pinching her own cheek.
“Brother! Lian’s here!”
“Oh… oh…”
Noah, still staring blankly at me, suddenly burst into tears!
“Hic…”
“Huh? Oh?”
I was thrown off for two reasons. One was Noah’s unexpected tears, and the other was the blaring siren in my head shouting, ‘You need to comfort Noah!’
‘What’s going on? Why do I feel like I made a cute girl cry?’
I couldn’t wrap my head around it, but instinct kicked in, and I dashed over to comfort Noah.
“Hic, hic…”
Noah could barely string words together as she clung to me. During my absence, she must have sprouted up quite a bit since she seemed about 10 cm taller than me now.
I awkwardly patted her back while waiting for that annoying siren to quiet down.
After a while, Noah finally let go of me — all thanks to Iris who forcibly pried her off.
As the mood settled a bit, I greeted the other kids. They either cried or laughed, celebrating my return.
Knowing that none of these little ones had forgotten me warmed my heart.
However, one person reacted quite differently.
“Haaa…?!”
Pia, who was strolling down the hallway wearing a blank expression, saw me and just plopped down on the floor. With a dazed look, she started crying and smiling like she was under a spell.
“Uh, Pia, are you okay?”
Noticing her unusual state, I cautiously asked. She nodded wildly… and then wet herself.
Honestly, I had no idea why…
Maybe she really needed to use the bathroom, and I was blocking her way? I decided I’d say sorry next time I bumped into her.
After that, I spent some quality time with the kids, sharing what had happened. When I introduced Iris as my sister, the initially shy kids perked up and came over to greet her first.
Enjoying a peaceful moment that felt straight out of a storybook, I smiled.
As night fell, we decided to save the rest of the story for tomorrow, said our goodbyes, and headed to the room Noah had assigned for me.
“Um…?”
The next morning, I woke up to a ceiling I didn’t recognize.
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