“Hina...”
“Haruta, I’m on duty today...”
“No... I know, but...”
“Where did you go just now?”
“Ah... just somewhere...”
Haruta knew that if he told the truth now, everything would fall apart.
“Ah... then I’m on duty today...”
“Ah... right. But did Gehenna not have much going on today?”
“No... but since I was on Schale duty, Ako told me to take a day off and left it to me...”
“Yeah. But I didn’t really have anything to do today...”
“Ah...”
“Let’s just go on a date.”
Haruta tried his best to hide it.
“Ah... a date...”
Hina’s face turned red as she lowered her eyes.
“Why? What’s wrong with a date?”
“Ah! N-no!”
“Haha... cute...”
“Uu...”
Hina’s face flushed red, and her wings fluttered.
It was probably a sign that she was embarrassed.
“...So... where are we going?”
“Hmm... I just want to go somewhere, anywhere, today...”
“Mm...”
“Sensei isn’t around today, and we don’t really have anything to do, so let’s just rest for one day.”
“Yeah...”
With that, Haruta cleared his mind for a moment and punched the air.
Crash!
“Huh? Haruta, what is this place?”
“Huh? What is it?”
Haruta looked at the place his random punch had opened.
“...Damn it.”
“Haruta? What’s wrong?”
“No... it’s just where I used to be...”
“Huh...? That place...?”
“Haa... I’ll just tell you the truth.”
Since he’d already been caught, Haruta decided to tell Hina everything.
“...Is that... really true?”
Haruta told her about his past life, and everything he had experienced there up until now.
“...”
Drip...
Tears were flowing from Hina’s eyes.
“Hina...?”
“Ah... n-no... sorry...”
“...Hina... then do you want to go there once?”
“Huh...?”
“Well... the wings and stuff won’t show as long as we don’t bring out our mystery there.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I was planning to go there myself at least once.”
“...Ah... okay...”
Haruta figured there was no problem with taking her along quickly, so he decided to do it.
“...But... Haruta, if you lived that hard there... what about money?”
Right. He hadn’t thought of that. He didn’t know whether money would even be compatible there.
“...Wait a second.”
Haruta checked whether it would work with the payment app on his phone.
“...Huh?”
Haruta couldn’t believe his eyes.
When he crossed space, an account appeared, and the money was written in Korean.
“...Then?”
Haruta opened the account.
“...Hina, wait a second.”
“Huh...? What is it?”
Haruta saw 86.3 billion displayed in front of him.
“...What is this? Is this some kind of ability too?”
Thinking that, Haruta decided he should check whether he could actually use the money first.
“For now, Hina, want to cross over here?”
“Yeah...”
Since Haruta always kept Akashi with him, he asked her about it.
“Akashi, how does this money compatibility thing work?”
“Hmm... Haruta-sama, what kind of person were you in your previous life?”
“Just... someone on public assistance?”
“No, I mean your nationality and where you’re from.”
“The Republic of Korea...?”
“Yes. That’s why Haruta-sama is linked to that account.”
“??? That’s possible?”
“Haruta-sama? Who am I?”
“Ah...!”
“Hehe.”
Haruta understood the situation and brought Hina over.
“...But where should we go?”
Haruta had never really wanted for anything in his previous life, so he had never had a reason to spend money.
“Haruta...?”
“Ah... Hina, then let’s withdraw some cash first.”
So, hand in hand with Hina, he went to the bank and tried withdrawing money.
Gulp...
[Would you like to withdraw cash?]
{Yes}
Haruta pressed the cash withdrawal button. The amount withdrawn was about 2 million won.
Flutter!
He hadn’t expected money to come out like that.
“...Is this... right?”
Haruta’s eyes widened, while Hina just stared at him with a look that said she had no idea what was going on.
“...Haruta...?”
“Hina... do you want to eat something first?”
“Yeah. I didn’t eat anything for breakfast either, so I’m hungry...”
“Right... then let’s go eat something.”
Haruta headed to the place that served the food he had eaten most deliciously in his previous life, and the one shop where that dish had tasted best.
He went looking for “Ryeo.”
“It’s been a while... indeed...”
Haruta remembered it as the most delicious food he had eaten before his family died.
“...Haa... how could a trip everyone was taking together...”
Haruta remembered once again what kind of hell he had lived through.
On a trip with his whole family, the bus had fallen off a highway, and everyone except him—because he had briefly dropped his phone and lowered his head—had died.
He recalled the hell he had looked at.
“...Damn it...”
He had thought everything was fine until yesterday. Then, all at once, it became hell.
As he remembered the past, his head began to hurt, and everything became vivid again. Every seat on the bus was stained with blood, and a ringing filled his ears.
“Haruta. Are you okay?”
“Ah... sorry for worrying you.”
Haruta used the memories of his past life to move through space.
“Wow... this is it?”
“Yeah... right... it’s been a while...”
Haruta remembered the house with a familiar gravel yard and a single building standing on it.
“...Here...”
“Haruta...? Are you really okay?”
“Yeah... thanks... Hina.”
Haruta finished gathering himself and went into the shop where all his memories still remained.
“Hello...”
“Welcome!”
As soon as they entered, a staff member greeted them warmly.
“...Hello...”
“Yes! Please sit here!”
The staff member guided Haruta and Hina to a seat by the window.
“How is it?”
“Haruta... what is this place...?”
“Well... I guess you could call it a place I used to come to often?”
Haruta touched the panel installed beside them and ordered the food.
“Hina, what do you want to eat?”
“I... I want the same as Haruta...”
“Then... one large jajangmyeon and one regular size...”
“Huh? Jajangmyeon?”
“Ah, I didn’t explain it to you?”
“Yeah...”
“Hmm... let’s say it’s like ramen with a different flavor?”
“Huh? Really?”
“It’s ramen without broth, and the noodles are a little chewier.”
“That sounds... unusual...”
“And the sauce is black.”
“Hee...”
Hina looked at the panel for a moment, then at the food.
“Then... what’s that?”
“Ah... that’s tangsuyuk, a meat dish.”
“Then... what about this?”
“This is cream shrimp. Think of it as shrimp from Shanhaijing’s Hyakkiyako with pasta cream on top.”
“Hee...”
So Haruta placed the order.
Tangsuyuk L
One large jajangmyeon, one regular size
Cream shrimp L
“But... how much is it?”
“Hmm... around 10,000 yen?”
There was a reason cream shrimp and tangsuyuk were expensive. So first, he’d feed Hina, then eat himself.
“...10,000 yen...?”
“Just try it first.”
Haruta’s expression gradually softened as he waited for the food.
—10 minutes later
First came the cream shrimp and tangsuyuk.
“This is... cream shrimp?”
“Want to try some?”
“Mm...”
Crunch!
“How is it?”
“Hee... I had no idea food like this existed... it’s really delicious...”
Hina was eating more happily than ever before.
“Hina, say ah~”
“Eh...?”
“Ah~ just once!!”
“Uu... ah...”
He put a piece of tangsuyuk into Hina’s mouth and watched her reaction.
Crisp!
The crunch was so loud it practically rang out of her mouth.
“Haruta... can’t we eat this every day?”
“This is... something I only eat on special days, so... sorry...”
“Hehe... I’m just teasing you... it’s really delicious...”
“Honestly, sixty percent of the reason I come here is the tangsuyuk.”
“...Definitely...”
Hina wore a satisfied expression and waited for the last dish to arrive.
—30 minutes later
“This is... jajangmyeon...?”
“Yeah... I used to eat it here a lot...”
Hina picked up her chopsticks, took a bite of the noodles, and put them in her mouth.
Slurp
“Hehehe... how is it?”
Hina’s pupils widened as she opened her eyes to a new flavor.
“...Haruta... what even is this?”
“Hmm... I’d call it a magical food for Koreans?”
“...Korea?”
“Ah... that’s the name of the place.”
By the time they were done, Hina had eaten all of the jajangmyeon, tangsuyuk, and cream shrimp Haruta ordered, and even finished the mango drink that came as dessert.
“Haha, you ate well.”
“Uu... don’t tease me...”
“No... I’m saying that because you’re cute.”
“...Haruta... but are we going back now?”
“Yeah... we should head back soon. Akashi’s away from her post, so work’s piling up...”
“Yeah... then let’s go back.”
Haruta climbed up to a sparsely populated mountain and punched the air.
Crash!
Once again, space shattered, and the Schale dormitory came into view.
“...Let’s go back now.”
Haruta sent Hina through first, then followed after her.
“A lot happened...”
“Yeah. I’ll take you again sometime.”
“Yeah... thank you, Haruta.”
“All right, then should I take you back to Gehenna?”
“Yeah...”
“Okay, then.”
So he took Hina back to Gehenna and returned.
“Akashi... how much time is left now?”
“Now... exactly one month.”
“...Haa... got it.”
Now his fate would be realized, and he had to move toward his own path.
“...Perfectly... without breaking anything.”
Haruta pushed his worries aside and lay down on the sofa.
“The Eden Treaty... begins.”
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