I Became a Raid Boss-Chapter 142: You’re Always Welcome! (2)
“Huff... hup!”
Swoosh, thud!
“...When did I order this?”
Daeun muttered as she peeked into the box, her body busy moving around.
Despite having been bubbling with excitement earlier, saying things like she’d throw a welcome-back party, the first thing Daeun did upon arriving home was clean the mess of her house.
‘A party....’
‘Here? In this mess?’
‘....’
‘In this pigsty?’
‘...Fine, I’ll clean.’
It’s not like I was expecting a fancy noble-style party.
But throwing a party in a pigsty? That’s a bit much, don’t you think?
‘I was going to treat her to a super delicious meat dish....’
‘...You can eat after cleaning.’
There was a moment of temptation, but I managed to resist.
It was a feat that could only be achieved through intense mental discipline.
“Need some help?”
“No! It’s not so hard that I’d ask someone unwell to help! Besides, this is my burden, so I must carry it myself....”
“...Alright. Suit yourself.”
Thud.
Whirr.
Something tapped lightly against my dangling foot.
A robot vacuum, tirelessly roaming the room, adjusted its course and headed elsewhere.
The spot where it had passed sparkled.
Not only did it vacuum, but it also mopped.
“Convenient.”
“Right?”
“Yeah. Which makes it even more impressive that Daeun managed to make this mess while owning one.”
“Ugh... I told you! I was sad because I thought you were dead! You don’t even understand how heartbroken I was... Kana, I hate you!”
“...Gross.”
“...I’m seriously hurt.”
Anyway, thanks to Daeun’s diligent efforts, her home was rapidly restored to its original state.
The mountain of boxes was sorted, the trash disposed of.
When the shiny marble floors and spacious rooms were finally revealed, an unmistakable sound declared the end of cleaning.
Grumble~
“...Ah!”
Daeun quickly hugged her stomach.
“...It’s because I haven’t eaten properly for a few days.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
I really wasn’t thinking about it.
Why would I criticize someone for being hungry in the first place?
“You did great. Let’s eat.”
“...Sniff.”
Sniffling, Daeun tilted her head.
“Wait a second. I still have to order the food. Almost got emotional there!”
“So, are you not eating?”
“I am....”
Daeun grabbed her phone from where it had been abandoned and began tapping away.
“Kana, you don’t know what’s good, so I’ll pick something tasty for you.”
“Chicken.”
“Huh?”
“Chicken. I want chicken.”
“Uh....”
“Is that not okay?”
“N-no, it’s fine... but how did you know? Did I tell you before?”
“...Edel mentioned it. That something like that exists.”
Edel. I’m borrowing your name.
Knowing Daeun, who’s always chattering about everything, she might believe I’d heard it from her at some point.
Still, it’s easier to just pin it on Edel.
“Ah, Edel....”
As expected, Daeun accepted it without question.
Ever since learning the woman who brought her here was a goddess, she’d become so polite, as if all her past boldness had never existed.
“Alright, I’ll order chicken first, and then....”
“And then?”
“A party needs lots of food!”
She’s not wrong.
“What if there are leftovers?”
“Then we’ll eat them tomorrow.”
With a smug expression, Daeun raised her hand theatrically.
“Ah, this is called a refrigerator. It’s used to store ingredients and food to keep them from spoiling.”
“Great.”
“Bet you couldn’t even use it, Kana.”
“...You’re amazing.”
“Hehe, are you upset?”
While joking around, time flew by, and soon, the food Daeun had ordered began arriving one by one.
How much did she order?
I poked through the boxes that arrived in succession.
“Cake?”
“A party isn’t complete without cake!”
“...You expect to eat all this and still have room for cake?”
“There’s always a separate stomach for dessert. Plus, this cake is from a super famous place. You’ll be blown away by how good it tastes. Want a bite now?”
“No. Not interested.”
I’ve had plenty of cakes back in Sillia.
But right now, with this dream dish in front of me, I wasn’t about to ruin my appetite with cake.
“Look at it~ Doesn’t it look delicious?”
“....”
“Pfft... You say you’re not interested, but your body says otherwise.”
The sweet aroma tickling my nose.
I turned my head toward the cake without realizing it, then quickly shook it away.
“...I was just looking because of the smell.”
Ignoring Daeun as she waved the cake in my face, I followed my instincts and opened the packaging.
A trapped fragrance burst out.
And inside was the glistening golden crust of fried chicken.
Gulp—
If I grabbed that drumstick and took a bite, the crispy coating, the violent burst of juice, and the tender meat would greet me.
How delightful must the seasoning in that crispy coating be?
This time, I couldn’t resist.
As I reached out for the tempting sight, the chicken disappeared from before my eyes.
“Ah.”
“Nope. We’ll eat together at the table.”
“....”
“...No matter how cute you look, what’s not allowed is not allowed!”
Even as I stretched out my empty hand in vain, the demon stole my chicken and placed it on the table.
After arranging the rest of the food on the table, she finally lifted me up.
“Alright. Let’s eat.”
“...Eating is fine, but.”
I tilted my head back.
Daeun’s face filled my view.
“Why am I being carried?”
“W-wahaha! Stop squirming, it tickles...!”
“Then put me down.”
She had me on her lap and complained it tickled when I moved.
I looked up at her ridiculous smile with a blank expression.
Daeun carefully gathered my hair, which had been brushing against her.
“But I don’t want to.”
“Well, I don’t want to sit like this either.”
“Just this once. Just let me, this one time...?”
“...Do what you want.”
Her voice wavered like a candle in the wind.
That fragile tone made me agree without thinking.
“Really?! No take-backs!”
“It’s not like it’s hard for me or anything.”
If she complained later about a cramp, I wasn’t going to listen.
Ignoring Daeun’s happy chatter, I finally reached for the dreamlike prize.
Feeling the crispy coating crunch under my fingers, I closed my eyes and took a bite.
.
Crunch!
“...!”
...That’s it. This was the taste.
Sure, cockatrice meat was delicious, but this was the flavor I had been longing for—something explosively indulgent, the kind of taste that feels unhealthy but addictive.
“...Kana, are you crying?”
“...I’m not.”
I might be moved, but not to that extent.
I snapped back at her and finished off the drumstick in my hand.
The most uptodat𝓮 n𝒐vels are published on freёnovelkiss.com.
So good...
“Want another leg?”
I froze.
“...Is that okay?”
“I can give Kana as many as you want! Here.”
Daeun plucked another drumstick and placed it in my hand.
For a moment, I felt as though there was a radiant halo shining behind her.
“...Thanks.”
Maybe Daeun is a much kinder person than I had thought.
“A taste so captivating it transcends worlds... How terrifyingly delicious!”
For once, Daeun’s nonsense didn’t annoy me.
Daeun, who had been happily watching me eat, joined in as well.
We devoured chicken and sampled other dishes.
Despite her fearless appetite, there was no avoiding leftovers with the sheer amount she had ordered.
Trying to finish all of it would have been a one-way ticket to bursting bellies.
When her pace slowed, and she began focusing on dessert instead of the main dishes:
“Kana.”
“Yeah?”
Daeun called to me.
“What are you going to do now?”
“Hmm.”
Having stopped eating long ago, I leaned against her, habitually running a hand along my waist.
‘...Oh, right. It’s not there.’
Feeling the emptiness, I lightly tapped my lips instead.
“First, I’ll fully recover.”
“And after that?”
“After that... I’ll hunt down dimensional beasts.”
That was part of the reason I came to this world in the first place.
The world of Sillia had already been defeated by the dimensional beasts once.
On top of that, it had been subjugated as a lower dimension to Earth, its dimensional status lowered, making it inefficient to fight back against invading dimensional beasts.
If you put in the power of ten, you’d only deal damage worth eight or nine.
In contrast, Earth’s dimensional status is higher than that of the beasts, so using the power of ten here results in damage that exceeds it.
To put it simply, Earth is at the top, dimensional beasts are below it, and Sillia is a bit lower still.
In other words, hunting dimensional beasts on Earth is more efficient than fighting them in Sillia.
“....”
After my matter-of-fact explanation, Daeun was silent for a while.
She stopped eating her cake, seemingly lost in thought, before finally speaking:
“...Honestly, I still can’t quite wrap my head around it.”
“What can’t you grasp?”
“That Demonins’ CEO is a god, that the world is in danger... and that Kana is lying here in my arms.”
“Fair enough.”
I could completely understand Daeun’s confusion.
If someone else heard what she had, it’s doubtful they’d believe it so easily.
And no, it wasn’t because she gave up her drumstick for me.
“Maybe nothing will happen.”
The dimensional beasts were bound to Sillia, and Edel had partially recovered her strength by eliminating some of Raxia’s miasma. For now, it might truly be peaceful.
At least for Earth, nothing might happen during Daeun’s lifetime.
Of course, I couldn’t guarantee that, but still...
“And I’ll make sure nothing happens.”
Though Daeun had been drawn into this mess and learned some secrets, they weren’t originally hers to bear.
So, this wasn’t something she needed to feel responsible for.
“I’ll make it so.”
Because having something taken from me without knowing anything about it once is enough.
I murmured as if vowing to myself.
“....”
I felt a light pressure on my head.
Daeun, who had been silently listening, was now stroking my hair.
“I thought this time it’d be my turn to protect you....”
“...Protect me? You, Daeun?”
“Protection isn’t just about physical strength, you know. Besides, in a capitalist society, money is power!”
“Wow.”
That was the epitome of an adult jaded by reality.
I let out a small mutter and leaned a bit more heavily against Daeun, who was still holding me.
“...You don’t have to think that way. You’re already doing a great job protecting me, so be confident.”
She’s giving me exactly what I need most.
“...You’re not talking about the drumstick, are you?”
“...No.”
Strange... It was such an emotional moment just now...
But with that one remark, the mood was instantly ruined, and I let out a deep sigh.
“Anyway, don’t stress too much. Just enjoy Sillia like you always have, and that’ll be enough.”
“...I haven’t logged in for days....”
“...Just take it as a general suggestion.”
As I shook my head at the way the conversation fizzled out, I suddenly felt something odd on my head.
With a sinking feeling, I reached up to touch it.
Slick.
Instead of the usual soft and tangle-free sensation, there was a faint stickiness.
“Daeun. Tell me you didn’t touch my hair with dirty hands.”
“...Ah.”
Daeun quickly hid her hands, a guilty sweat breaking out.
That response said it all.
That night, in a certain apartment in Seoul, someone’s scream echoed loudly.
