74 – 14 – Error of Reunion – 4

That evening, Gi-jun really made braised Hati ribs.

First, he cut away the excess fat, sliced the meat removed from the bones into bite-sized pieces, drained the blood, and then boiled it slightly with green onions, garlic, onions, and black pepper.

After that, all he had to do was add the meat, sauce, and various vegetables to the broth from which impurities had been filtered out, and let it simmer thoroughly in a pressure cooker…

Here, Gi-jun was deeply conflicted.

“Braised ribs are supposed to have the bones attached… At the very least, I should boil the bones for broth.”

“Please bear with it, Sir Jun. If you boil those bones, a legendary-grade material will go to waste!”

Viv, who had come to get a free dinner after hearing the news that Gi-jun had returned from his expedition, squealed and stopped him.

Of course, ordinary firepower wouldn’t even be able to draw broth from that legendary-grade bone, but didn’t Gi-jun have Ur, the Spirit of Fire?

Wanting to roast at least one rib to make broth, he was unable to overcome Viv’s insistence, and in the end, he had to settle for braised rib meat instead of braised ribs.

“Ah.”

“What is this? The moment it enters my mouth, it melts…!”

“It’s d-delicious. Is wolf meat originally this tasty?”

“It’s a divine beast, a di-vine beast!”

—Contractor, another bowl!

—Keeeee! Kee-hee, keeeeeee!

Of course, that alone made it a heavenly delicacy, but there was something even more surprising than the taste of the braised ribs.

—You have consumed a dish that challenges legend. All stats below Legendary rank have increased by 1. Light Mana (L) has increased by an additional 2.

—The power of the moon has dwelled within your body; for the next month, cold will never invade your body.

—By fully bringing out the power contained in the ingredients, you have completed a legendary dish that resonates deeply with the soul. The Soul Cooking (U) skill has reached level 5.

—You have consumed a dish that challenges legend. All stats below Legendary rank have increased by 1. Light Mana (L) has increased by an additional 2.

—The power of the moon has dwelled within your body; for the next month, cold will never invade your body.

—By fully bringing out the power contained in the ingredients, you have completed a legendary dish that resonates deeply with the soul. The Soul Cooking (U) skill has reached level 5.

No, wait, did this increase stats permanently?

It was literally an elixir!

When Gi-jun, flustered, raised his head and looked at those gathered around the table, they were also staring at him with equally bewildered expressions.

The only one who maintained any semblance of composure was Viv, who had overheard a lot of things from traveling here and there.

“It’s the meat of a divine beast, not just a simple legendary-grade monster. I’ve heard it can even cause species mutations, so it’s not surprising that your stats would grow.”

At her words, Gi-jun recalled how Gin had evolved after eating Hati’s heart, and managed to understand.

Of course, the conditions for stat growth were quite strict; one had to eat at least 200 grams, which was equivalent to a single serving, and it did not apply starting from the second time.

Even if he cooked the meat of the same divine beast in a different way, he probably wouldn’t be able to get the effect again.

“Deliver this to the Lord.”

Gi-jun packed a generous 300 grams of the braised ribs into an insulated container and handed it to Unika.

She was grateful for his consideration, yet she hesitated.

“But if we do that, Sir Jun’s cooking skills will be exposed.”

“So what? As long as he doesn’t come looking for me and pestering me to cook, it’s fine. I’ve received help from the Lord in various ways, so I want to repay him at least like this.”

“…I understand. Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness.”

Unika took the container, hardening her resolve to make sure the Lord would never set foot in this villa.

Smiling faintly, Gi-jun also packed some braised meat for Laura and asked her to deliver it to In.

Then he asked Viv cautiously.

“Um… by any chance, do you guys do food delivery?”

“Why? Did eating something delicious make you think of someone?”

Suppressing his urge to give the smirking Viv a nuggie out of sheer annoyance, he asked once more, and Viv let out a chuckle and replied.

“I can’t go myself, but my sister should be able to deliver it. I’ll send it to my sister, and my sister will deliver it to ‘that person’. The fee is very expensive, though.”

“A fee? She’ll probably be satisfied with just this.”

When Gi-jun said this while holding out ‘two’ airtight containers filled with the braised meat, Viv also nodded in deep agreement.

“It’ll be more than enough. Alright, I’ll send it right away.”

“That person?”

“That person?”

Laura and Unika, sensing an unusual vibe in the conversation between the two, reacted sensitively, but Gi-jun maintained his silence.

It was then that he noticed Gin, who had been eating the delicious food but now wore a slightly dark expression.

Honestly, he felt a pang of regret.

“Gin, shall we talk for a bit?”

“Yes? Yes!”

Stepping outside with Gin, Gi-jun made sure no one else followed before speaking to him in a quiet voice.

“I’m sorry, Gin.”

“Yes?! Oh, no!”

Gin waved his hands in surprise, denying it, before hanging his head low.

“Sir Jun did absolutely nothing wrong. It’s just that I was foolish…”

“No, I was thoughtless. I’m sorry.”

Talking about packing food for family, sending it to Biche…

There was a limit to being inconsiderate in front of Gin, who had lost his family not long ago.

But Gin shook his head solemnly.

“No, no… Sir Jun really didn’t do anything wrong.”

“…Gin?”

“It’s just because I was too weak, lacked courage, didn’t realize it beforehand, and was stupid. That’s why it turned out like that…”

Gi-jun realized that Gin was talking about something else.

To him, whatever happened at the dining table didn’t matter.

Whenever he thought of his family, he was automatically dominated by the memories of that day.

“I didn’t have the courage to look, nor did I have the courage to listen. I just covered my ears and curled up. Like a fool, I should have gone out and fought right away, like a fool.”

“…Gin.”

“The ones who did wrong are the werewolves. The werewolves who trapped their comrades, the werewolves who betrayed my mother, and… the werewolves who ignored their family. I will kill every last one of them someday.”

Listening to Gin’s calm voice spewing curses at all werewolves, including himself, Gi-jun realized one obvious truth.

Gin had grown, but he was still young, and the wounds on his soul were too deep and raw to heal.

Ruthven had merely refined Gin’s hatred and murderous intent, which had been radiating in all directions, so they wouldn’t leak out, and stacked them neatly inside him.

Yes, just like Glittertoss sharpening the blade of the battle-axe at the workshop.

He had merely made minimal adjustments so that Gin could find and harm the enemy before hurting himself.

“That’s why I’m truly grateful to Sir Jun. Giving me such a precious item without hesitation, supporting me, and accepting someone like me…”

Gin spoke with a heated voice, clenching both fists.

“I will definitely help Sir Jun wipe out those vampires. And after that, after that, I will kill all the werewolves. Every single one of them, until not a single Vrykolakas remains on this land.”

“…Don’t push yourself too hard. You must take care of yourself before anyone else.”

“Ah, Lord Ruthven had something he wanted me to deliver to Sir Jun.”

Gin, blatantly changing the subject, pulled something out from his bosom and handed it to Gi-jun.

It was a blood-colored key, and it was vibrating faintly.

A visual that made it impossible not to play along, even though he knew Gin was changing the subject.

As Gi-jun furrowed his brows while receiving it—since it clearly didn’t look ordinary—Gin explained.

“He told me to offer this as a bargaining chip if Sir Jun didn’t accept me. He said that if it’s Sir Jun, you would have no choice but to seek this place out…”

“‘No choice but to seek it out’?”

With just that, Gi-jun realized what the purpose of this key was.

Gin nodded and spoke.

“He said it was a key to a ruin for vampire hunters that he obtained when he was still a dhampir. Before he could go to this ruin… he ended up becoming a vampire, so he could no longer go.”

“He kept that hidden all this time? I have to hand it to him for his spite.”

Fortunately, the key’s grade was Unique.

Gi-jun nodded as he received it and put it in his pocket.

“Alright, then let’s go there as soon as your armor is finished.”

“He said it’s a ruin that only one person can enter.”

“Only one person?”

Gi-jun flinched.

Usually, dungeons with player limits were more tricky.

“Since both I and probably Miss Laura will have to focus on basic training for the time being, wouldn’t it be fine for you to go there in the meantime?”

“Yeah… anyway, thank you. I’m indebted to Ruthven to the very end.”

Gi-jun stared quietly at the blood-colored key, trying to gauge the ruin, but of course, doing so wouldn’t tell him what was inside.

* * *

The next day, Unika came to visit early in the morning as well.

Gi-jun, who had woken up at dawn to train Gin and Laura, made her wait for a moment and checked on them.

“How many laps did you run?”

“I ran 37 laps!”

“I-I ran 22 laps…”

“Laura, you can catch up on the fifteen laps you’re behind on, right?”

“Even if I’m a bit slow… I will definitely catch up!”

“Good, then keep running. Once you complete 50 laps, we start strength training.”

Unika, whose face had stiffened as she watched Gin and Laura sprinting up the hill drenched in sweat with heavy iron balls tied behind them instead of tires, feigned ignorance the moment she saw Gi-jun.

Just as he was about to half-jokingly ask if she wanted to join in, she spoke with a serious look.

“I think you need to meet the Lord.”

“Hmm? Is that old man determined to make me his personal chef after all?”

“He did seem to be seriously considering that, but I stopped him.”

If not that, what other reason could there be to summon him again in just two days?

As Gi-jun tilted his head, Unika lowered her head deeply.

“I’m sorry, Sir Jun…”

“What are you sorry for?”

“The Lord… had good intentions, that is… it seems he wanted to give Sir Jun a surprise present, but…”

“I’m getting increasingly anxious.”

What on earth was going on that this ominous introduction was stretching on so long?

When Gi-jun narrowed his eyes and glared at her, Unika finally grabbed his hand with an expression of complete resignation.

“Let us go together first.”

“I told you, explain it to me!”

“Please prepare yourself mentally…!”

“Hey!”

After being dragged all the way to the Lord’s estate like that, Gi-jun was only able to fully understand Unika’s attitude once they reached the drawing room.

This was because sitting there alongside the Lord was someone Gi-jun had never seen before in his life…

Her skin was flushed red, radiating a hazy heat.

The ends of her red hair, gathered and tied into a high ponytail, were burning.

Her bright red eyes were also blazing fiercely.

To top it off, perched on her shoulder was a tiny, cute baby fire fox… in other words, a Red Flame Beast.

Sitting there was a woman who, no matter how one looked at her, was clearly a Flame Human!

‘I’m screwed!’

Having fully realized in that instant why Unika had been fussing so much, Gi-jun wanted to turn around and run away immediately, but his escape route was already blocked by Unika.

‘Hey, aren’t you going to move?’

‘I’m sorry, but if you run away now, it will look even stranger!’

Seeing the two of them engaged in intense eye contact, the Lord looked extremely pleased.

“Haha, as expected of young people, you get close quickly! I’m almost jealous!”

“Oh my god…”

Then, spotting Gi-jun before it was too late, the Flame Human woman stood up from her seat and let out a soft lament.

“There really was another surviving Flame Human besides me…”

He was doomed!

To think that this mask was so effective it could actually fool a real Flame Human!

Gi-jun knew that relationships built on lies were bound to crumble eventually.

Particularly in this case, since leaving that Flame Human woman’s misunderstanding alone seemed likely to spiral out of control, he spoke to her, knowing it was rude.

“I want a place where we can talk in private.”

“I would like that too. Lord, if you don’t mind, could we borrow a room?”

“Of course. It must have been a long time since members of the same race met, so please take your time catching up.”

The one who had planned this meeting was likely the Lord, who was now smiling so satisfactorily.

Gi-jun tore the Lord apart and dried him to death in his mind as he walked with the woman.

After glaring at Unika, who followed with an anxious expression, and slamming the door shut—

Gi-jun spun around at the speed of light and bowed to the woman.

“I’m sorry!”

“Hmm? Please raise your head. I feel like I’ve been saved from hell right now. I thought I was the only Flame Human left in this vast world, but to think there was a fellow member of my race left to be with…”

“I mean, I’m… not a Flame Human! I’m sorry!”

Gi-jun said that as he took off the mask.

The woman stared blankly for a moment at Gi-jun, who had instantly returned to the appearance of a human—more precisely, a Light Human—before bursting into laughter.

“If you apologize so seriously, it makes me feel bad.”

What was this?

Did she notice after all?

Smiling again at Gi-jun’s slightly relieved appearance, the woman snapped her fingers.

Then, miraculously, the flames vanished from the woman’s hair and eyes as well, and her flushed red skin turned pure white.

“Huh?”

“I learned disguise techniques too. It seems you still have to use an item?”

“Huh?”

“But why did you reveal your identity here when you even have a disguise item? Were you looking for your own kind too? You’re brave, but thanks to that, we were able to meet.”

“Wait, what?”

Somehow, the conversation seemed to be taking a strange turn?

Gi-jun stopped the woman, who was trying to babble on, and spoke firmly once more.

“I’m telling you, I am not a Flame Human. I was only pretending to be another race using this item. I didn’t even know a race called Flame Human actually existed.”

“Right, right, so that’s the concept for now. I get it, either way doesn’t matter. What’s important is that you are of my kind, and from now on, I will protect you by your side.”

He wasn’t of her kind?!

But Lucy stopped Gi-jun, who was trying to correct her misunderstanding somehow.

—It’s useless, Contractor. This person’s mind doesn’t seem very sound.

‘…What?’

—Look, the Red Flame Beast notices.

Hearing those words, he turned his gaze to the woman’s shoulder, where the cute fire fox was looking at Gi-jun with a troubled expression.

Turning his gaze back to the woman—indeed, though he couldn’t tell when she was ablaze, now that the flames had subsided, he could immediately see that her eyes were unfocused and shaking restlessly.

“You’ve already gotten close to Rodim? As expected, those of the same race are different; this little one has never opened up to anyone but me.”

“…Is its name Rodim?”

“Yes. What about your partner?”

Gi-jun found hope again at those words.

Rodim, this fire fox, was similar to a spirit but definitely different.

It could be described as a lifeform made of mana, but it had little to do with spiritual power.

So, if he showed her Ur’s true form, no matter how much she wanted to delude herself, she would have no choice but to—

“His name is Ur, and as you can see, he is a spirit, not a Red Flame Beast…”

“Wow, so cute! I thought our Rodim was the cutest, but Ur is no joke either—!”

—Keeeee…

The woman didn’t even think of listening to his words, hugging Ur and bursting into laughter.

Ur looking troubled, and Rodim placing his tiny paw on his forehead.

Things had gone terribly wrong from the very start.

At this rate, even if Gi-jun showed up having been bitten by a vampire and mutated into another species, she would probably still stubbornly insist he was a Flame Human.

In this moment, Gi-jun was certain.

This woman was a truly colossal landmine.

“My name is Scintilla. Call me Tilla.”

“Ah—I am Jun, Scintilla.”

“Yes, Jun! You’ve gone through so much trouble holding out on your own all this time. From now on, I will be with you all the way.”

Was it just his imagination that her gentle words sounded like a nuisance declaration that she would never leave his side no matter what?

At this rate, tearing the Lord apart and drying him to death wouldn’t be enough.

He wouldn’t be satisfied unless he ground the guy to dust.

‘I want to escape. Save me…’

—To think that karma like this would return…

Even though curses rose to his throat, thinking about how this person must have ended up so broken made it impossible to blame her completely.

Leta was truly a godforsaken world.

He sincerely thought so.