The tenth meeting with the Bluetooth Shower wasn’t very cheerful.
It had been quite a while since the death penalty had been lifted, yet I hadn’t logged in.
The guy only logged in after two whole days to complete his last ten tries.
Honestly, what a nuisance!
He really thought he was the only one I wanted to kill.
It would’ve been great if we could just die and kill each other lightly to end this contract.
Well, I had an idea of what he was planning.
Maybe he wanted to gather the guild members for revenge?
But with his delay in logging in, I had started to deal with other guild members, and the ones who needed to join in his revenge ended up in the grave in a neat row.
“I hope we don’t meet again.”
“Is this the end…?”
“I don’t know. Isn’t that up to me?”
[You forcibly eliminated Adventurer Bluetooth Shower!]
This is the difference that comes from experience.
I didn’t hunt down those who were neither streamers nor pro gamers for nothing.
It’s also why I’m pretty valuable.
So, another lengthy ordeal I didn’t expect has come to an end.
I stretched out with a refreshed mind and completed the collection.
I felt oddly lethargic, maybe because the tension had eased.
[System: 45 hours have passed since you logged in.]
[System: Excessive gaming is harmful to health. Rest is recommended.]
[System: Sweet dreams are more beautiful when your health is preserved.]
No, it wasn’t just in my head.
Soon it will have been two full days since I logged in. Yeah, my body must be tired by now.
I could push it a bit longer, but I decided to manage my stamina for today.
If I just shove some food down and go to sleep… it’s clear I’ll crash for at least ten hours.
When I wake up, it’ll be the weekend. I have to go to the hospital every Saturday, and I must at least look like a human then.
I couldn’t afford to be groggy after pushing my limits in the game.
The moment I logged out…
A huge shadow loomed over me as I opened the connection device.
“I was wondering when you’d come out.”
“Gah!”
“What are you so surprised about? Look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
A hulking man was perched on my bed.
He was someone I knew very well. In fact, it was a problem how well I knew him.
It felt like my parents had caught me with my messed-up lifestyle.
Jeong Seok-won.
My sensei during my national team days, who also acted as my coach.
In the present, he’s one of the few connections I still have.
“How can I not be surprised? You’re standing right there with your massive frame! I’ve grown so much since then!”
“Well, if I wanted to keep my distance, I’d need the space. If you freak out like that, it makes me feel weird too. It’s like I’m committing a crime.”
“Crime is crime, you know. Breaking and entering.”
“You were the one who told me the door lock code. And hey, tidy up a bit! What is this room, a pigsty?”
“…”
How sneaky of him to bring up the state of my room!
That’s just unfair!
It was only then that I actually looked around my room.
The heaps of trash I’d piled up were nowhere to be seen, and the smell of old ramen broth had also vanished.
Instead, a rich aroma of soybean paste stew wafted through, where a stench should’ve been.
Suddenly, it struck me anew that my house wasn’t stocked with luxurious foods like soybean paste.
So, my sensei must have come and cooked it. The cleaning must have been his doing too.
A surge of guilt wriggled in my chest.
“I mean, I didn’t completely neglect cleaning…”
“Really? What exactly have you been cleaning, then?”
“I was about to do it soon. And bugs don’t come out here.”
“Just because you don’t see them doesn’t mean they aren’t there.”
“Ah.”
My head naturally bowed down.
Looking at the floor again, I was shocked once more.
I could see the floor! No dust anywhere! So that’s how my room originally looked.
The moment I realized this, embarrassment flooded me again.
I had to say what needed to be said.
“So… umm. I’m sorry.”
“Okay. As long as you know. I understand how you feel, but don’t overexert yourself. Just living off ramen because I haven’t been around is unacceptable.”
“I’m taking vitamins! Ramen’s nutritional value isn’t as bad as you think.”
That wasn’t a lie.
Ramen isn’t half bad in nutritional value.
It’s high in carbs, but if you balance the calories well, it won’t harm you too much.
Just preparing and cooking healthy meals takes a lot of time.
I’m not that free, so it’s more beneficial for me to stick with ramen and vitamins.
But I doubted my sensei would accept that.
“I expected you to say that. Are you eating meals on time? You look even skinnier than before.”
“Isn’t it better than gaining weight?”
“That’s a statement that could still use some healthiness. And you know…”
Sensei was showing no signs of letting up with the nagging.
In the storm of his words, I realized: this couldn’t go on.
I knew better than anyone that my life was a mess.
If I tried to dodge each of my coach’s critiques, it would never end.
So, let’s change the topic.
A very definite method.
“Um… can we at least have a meal first? I actually just came out to eat.”
“Okay, let’s eat first. I brought the pork belly you used to love.”
“Pork belly? But you can only cook stews.”
“My wife made it. She cooked it for me this morning when I said I was stopping by your place.”
“Oh.”
Now, that’s some good news.
To be honest, my sensei’s cooking aside from stews or ramen wasn’t that great.
Being a man from the sea, he was never satisfied unless it was something salty.
Back in the day, I didn’t mind his cooking.
But now that I’ve turned into this being, my taste buds seem to have sharpened, and I couldn’t handle salty foods anymore.
To what extent? I couldn’t eat ramen unless it was the mild kind.
At first, it was quite shocking.
I had chosen a spicy ramen like usual but couldn’t finish half of it and downed a whole pack of milk instead.
That was the moment my pride shattered.
I wasn’t daring enough to attempt something spicy or weird, just a universally popular type.
In hindsight, the tears I shed that day weren’t just from irritation but from dignity!
I was originally strong enough to flaunt my spicy food pride!
My joy in life was to enforce spicy food penalties on my friends!
Now, just getting a whiff of spicy stuff makes my head spin.
Fortunately, I’ve improved enough to handle mild ramen now.
But I still hesitate to attempt anything spicier due to trauma.
Perhaps I’ll never attempt it.
…Anyway, if it’s my sensei’s cooking, that changes the game.
Didn’t they say couples complement each other’s shortcomings?
Sensei’s wife was a perfect match who had fully remedyed his lack of culinary skills.
“Just wait a bit. The soybean paste stew will be done soon. I’ve put the kimchi in the fridge; make sure to grab some next time.”
“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”
“Sure.”
As per sensei’s words, while waiting for the food, I started growing anxious.
The smell of freshly cooked rice lingered in the air.
As I opened the sealed container, the warm steam carried the aroma of succulent meat along with it.
And there it was, the rich, savory smell of soybean paste stew.
Was it due to my high expectations for the long-awaited ‘rice’? Or maybe it was because I’d starved myself playing the game?
Gulp! The sound of me swallowing echoed notably in the sudden silence.
And my treacherous stomach growled— grr-grr— urging me to fill my insides with food.
Sensei heard all of it and wore a sweet, satisfied smile.
“Wow, really hungry, huh? Seems like you must have been starved.”
“Well, yeah. It’s been a while since I’ve eaten anything.”
Stupid bodily weakness!
With a girl’s body, it quickly flushed red, betraying my embarrassment.
My cheeks turned bright red as I kept my head down.
Sensei grinned, showing his teeth.
“Ha ha! Yeah, even back when you were an athlete, you devoured your meals like a champ.”
“When did we talk about that…? Well, that is kind of true.”
“We better set the table. Wait, no! I’ll handle it. You just sit tight.”
Sadly, the pork belly tasted awe-inspiring.
That my intake had shrunk made it all the more regrettable.
Without lifting my head even once, I polished off my bowl of rice.
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