SSS-Grade Cafe in Front of The Dungeon
chapter-166

People were growing tired of the endless cracks. They survived today. But what about tomorrow? The day after that? How long will this tedious battle go on?

None of us have the answers. We could only swallow our despair and continue to fight the day.

Naturally, Cafe Rieul was closed for business.

I had been in contact with Ki Yoohyun a few times by phone. He asked me to never leave the store. I had never heard him speak so sternly before.

Afterward, I couldn’t even get through to him on the phone. Instead, I saw him on the television news every day. The calm and refined way he spoke, the confident expression on his face, the overwhelming strength and achievements that showed his status…..

He was everything the world imagined and hoped for in an idealized No. 1 Ranker. Gone was the awkward smiling man over coffee in our cafe. It was as if he had foreseen this situation and revealed his identity.

As I gazed at the sight, I remembered Ki Yoohyun’s blackened arms and raging fever. I remembered his weak laugh, the way he was embarrassed to be found out by me, more than his own pain.

Was he still enduring the pain alone?

“Waeooong (What are you thinking about)!”

“Uh, it’s nothing.”

The news moved on to the next topic. A group of madmen claiming to be the true heirs of the Church of Starry Wisdow had appeared. There was also news of scammers who were scamming people out of money by promising to take them abroad.

“….Haaa.”

The news brought down the moral spirit of humanity. I turned off the TV and pushed myself up. For one last time, I checked the cafe’s walk-through counter. It was stocked with thermoses and disposable cups, filled with all kinds of coffee. This should be enough for a decent number of people to drink in my absence.

It was rather unsettling to be stuck doing nothing in such a chaotic time. The system didn’t give me any quests, and there wasn’t much information on the Ether-Wiki. So I offered coffee to the hunters coming in through ‘ConnectAnywhere☆MysteriousDoor’. I hoped it would give them a little extra strength.

But that ended today. When it looked like the situation was going to be prolonged, the Dungeon Management Office advised me to move to an evacuation center. I hesitated for a while, but decided to follow their advice and head for the shelter.

Although it is currently only emitting a red glow, there was a chance that the collapsed dungeon, Abyss, could cause an upheaval. This is an unprecedented situation. Just because it was okay today doesn’t mean it will be okay tomorrow.

I’ve made plenty of coffee, packed my bags, and all I need to do now is head to a shelter in the city. However, I was faced with one obstacle.

“Are you sure you guys aren’t coming with me?”

“Kkyuuu!”

“Meow, don’t worry.”

That’s because our house flora and fauna, Lime and Mieum, refused to move to the shelter.

“How can I not be worried? Didn’t you hear the monsters are coming?”

“Kkyuuu…..”

“Don’t just ‘kyuuu’! No matter how much a homebody you are, now is not the time.”

“I’m still not going, waeoong!”

“…..Hash!”

I gave up trying to convince them and just threw myself at them, but Mieum and Lime quickly dodged my touch.

“….Waeoolg!” The cat is very sneaky, spinning in circles and dodging my hand.

“Ash, catch Lime!”

“I got it!”

“Kkyuuuu!”

Lime bounced and ran away.

“Hah, huhh, huh huhh….”

We chased each other for a while, but I eventually failed to catch up to Mieum and Lime. After running for a while, I was out of breath halfway. I sat down on the ground, took a deep breath, and asked, “Let’s say Lime is not going because of Corong. What is your reason, Mieum?!”

“Waeoong … this is our house. Shouldn’t someone stay to protect our house?”

“Mieum….”

Wow, I was almost touched. But the most important thing is safety first, second, and third. I couldn’t leave them behind, not knowing when a monster would appear. The shelter is barricaded and safe from the rift. Besides, the red gate that appeared after the collapse of the Great Dungeon Abyss was ominous. It’s quiet now, but I wouldn’t be surprised if something happened at any time.

‘I’m also bothered by what Lime said before…….’

The words ‘Heir of the rightful power, it is time to move on to the .’

I grabbed Lime and shook her, asking her what she meant, but to no avail. She had returned to her science slime mode and and recited the ratio of pi.

Please, when you say something, give me the full information. I don’t want you to speak in cryptic and ambiguous ways like the Saintess. This Eonni didn’t raise you that way.

Back to the topic … I tried to convince these stubborn animals again.

“What if monsters show up?”

“Don’t worry. We will be in the space.”

“Kyuuu!”

Surely, the space will be a safe place … I reluctantly dropped my shoulders and asked, “Really? You promise me that you will only stay inside the space?”

“Go, return safely, waeooong!”

It was impossible to break the stubbornness of Mieumm and Lime. Eventually, I decided to go to the shelter with Ash. I locked the door and took one last look back at the store. This place had become very dear to me. I felt very lonely, even though I was only going to be gone for a few days.

In a few days …… I’ll be able to come back, right?

“….What are you doing, not going?”

“Uh, I’m coming!”

I pushed my anxiety aside and walked after Ash.

***

The streets were deserted. The aftermath of the rift was evident, with broken buildings scattered all around. Uncollected monster corpses, the groans of the wounded, and Hunters heading somewhere, swallowing their sighs. …….

It was a scene that you wouldn’t expect to see in the downtown Seoul area in the middle of the day. Still, some people were trying to go about their daily lives. A shopkeeper opened his shop as usual and handed a cold bottle of water to a tired-looking Hunter.

“Ash, it’s this way. If we go straight this way, we’ll be there.”

There were several shelters in the city. I was assigned to the shelter at the nearest one, in the City Hall Station.

It was then when Ash and I were walking toward the shelter….

Weeee woo, weee wooo─

A siren was heard from somewhere. The distance is close. As we ran toward the shelter to avoid the danger, I gasped.

Krrrr! A giant monster emerged from a gap in the building. It was quite a distance away from me. Enough to avoid it if I run. But…….

“Aaaaah!”

I heard a loud scream. There was a child in the monster’s path. The child limped and rolled on the ground as if her leg was injured. A person who appears to be the parent stretched out a hand but couldn’t reach her. Excited, the monster opened its big mouth.

“……No!”

Hiss!

I didn’t have time to think long. I stopped in my tracks and used Cthugha’s Ring on the monster.

“Krrrr…..!” Red flames engulfed the monster’s body. The monster screamed and twisted its body, a pungent odor emanated from it.

“Done!”

“No, Noona, be careful!”

As I was hurriedly trying to approach the fallen child, Ash caught me. The monster didn’t go down immediately, even though it was on fire. Instead, it writhed more violently, still burning. The monster attempted to bite me, and I panicked.

Poof! A sharp sword flew out of nowhere and pierced the back of the monster’s neck. The monster’s massive body fell to the side with a thud.

“Who-whoaa … haahh, tha-thank you …. huh?”

I tilted my head toward the direction the sword had come from and gasped. It was a familiar face.

“…Yichan-ah.”

“I’m glad you’re safe, Rieul.” Cheekly, Choi Yichan smiled.

The parents of the child who had collapsed earlier thanked us repeatedly. After they left, I looked back at Choi Yichan. Choi wasn’t alone; he was joined by someone in a distinctive yellow padded suit. I couldn’t see their face because of the hood and mask, and I couldn’t tell if his companion was a man or a woman.

It’s rude to think like this at first sight, but somehow…..

‘I feel uncomfortable…….’

An indescribable feeling of discomfort washed over me, making my skin crawl and my hair stood on end. Just looking at it made me feel bad. Ash must have felt something similar to me, because he grimaced.

“Yichan, that person … who is that?”

“Eh? Ah! Don’t mind him. He’s leaving now.” Choi Yichan waved his hand roughly, as if to shoo away a salesman.

“He didn’t say he’s leaving…..”

“Now, go, it’s time to go.”

Tsk. The man in yellow clicked his tongue at Choi Yichan’s urging, then he walked away.

Is everything okay with Choi Yichan? Hmm, it’s a bit weird to find a stranger unpleasant for no reason. Let’s not be nervous. I glanced in the direction the yellow-robed man had left and returned my gaze.

“You’re heading to the shelter, right? I’ll take you there.”

“I’m fine…….”

“There might be monsters again.”

Despite my response, Choi Yichan offered to accompany me and Ash to the shelter. I was glad to see him, so I walked with him for a while. The distance was short, so we quickly arrived in front of the shelter. However, instead of turning around, Choi Yichan pursed his lips at the entrance for a moment.

“….Yichan-ah?”

“Rieul, I … I have something to tell you.”

“Huh? Uh, go ahead.”

“That’s…….”

However, he didn’t say anything at all and just kept his lips quiet for a long time.

Weeeee. Choi Yichan’s cell phone vibrated. When he checked the message, he realized it was about a rift, and his eyebrows drooped.

“Next time. Next time I see you, I’ll tell you.”

“What? Yichan, Choi Yichan!”

Wooosh! Without waiting for me to answer, Choi Yichan ran across the street.