While Shia was off to catch the Elder Mandragora, Menelapie and Yeonseo were busy prepping garlic and ginger to make a big chicken stew. Teresa was struggling with her tiny frame, stirring the porridge in a pot to ensure the rice crust didn’t stick.
“I was a badass witch back in the day! When I visited cities, all those academy students and wizards would bow down and say, ‘We shall serve you like a king, please impart your wisdom!’”
“Teresa, just focus on stirring the pot.”
“Damn it!”
“Haha, Menelapie, isn’t it nice to let her talk a bit more?”
From Yeonseo’s perspective, listening to Shia, Teresa, and Menelapie recount their past world stories was quite interesting.
“I mean, I’m just trying to get my groove back after so long.”
“Even if you try to act cute with that girl-like demeanor, you just look adorable.”
“What’s wrong with being cute? Even at my age, Teresa, you’re pretty cute too.”
“I’m not that old! Aww, saying I’m a clueless girl is just absurd!”
“If you hadn’t cursed, you might have looked really cute.”
The sight of Menelapie and Teresa grumbling while prepping garlic made Yeonseo chuckle a little bitterly.
Unlike them, Yeonseo had truly fought against the world alone.
In those times, she had pledged to protect everything, even if it meant burning herself out, but unlike Shia, she didn’t have many she could trust to turn her back to.
‘Maybe this old lady too could have shared the bond like those three… a saint or a wizard… or at least someone to be a companion…’
It felt a bit envious.
Now she was being praised as a “living legend” and “the strongest hunter of humanity,” but back in the 2030s, she was once a broken mess, struggling and fighting for survival.
“By the way, I’m quite envious of your world.”
“Why’s that?”
“After you took down the Demon King, the entire world united to achieve peace, right?”
“Well, that’s true.”
“To me, it seems like in this world… even amidst the Great Rift, humanity still fights and divides among themselves, while the weak and strong are still very much separated. They never seem to tire of it…”
Yeonseo found the trio’s stories of defeating the Demon King interesting, but she was truly envious of what came after.
The world that Teresa, Menelapie, and Shia protected had one.
A peace where nations, and all kinds of races including elves, dwarfs, dragons, and beastmen lived united, seemed far more appealing from Yeonseo’s point of view.
During the first Great Rift on Earth, humanity had truly teetered on the brink of annihilation, leading to global unity, but unfortunately, it felt like the world was becoming more divided again.
Of course, it was true that the advancements in hunters and technology had blurred the borders, but instead of nations, now there were divisions within awakened and non-awakened, with countless power struggles. The established politicians became even more ruthless than before.
The powerless still suffered. It didn’t matter that they were human; they still wouldn’t hesitate to drag others into the abyss for their own gain.
“Well, I’ve done my share of pushing others to the edge for my own safety and happiness, so I can’t really say much…”
Sometimes Yeonseo found herself questioning, even after saving the world, ‘Is this really right?’
“There was a professor I heard on TV who said the Great Rift unified humanity, but it seems to me that the world has become more harsh.”
Even though she had money that could last a lifetime, in her effort to protect the world, she lost or buried her own family.
Not her daughter, son-in-law, or any of her granddaughters.
Though at least Yeonhwa was left, Yeonseo felt there was far too much she had lost.
She had countless connections and followers in politics, loyal to her commands all around Korea and the world, but she had become the very political puppet master she once despised in her youth, and sometimes that self-loathing crept in.
If not for Yeonhwa being in this world, she would have long since given up and retired to the mountains.
“Hero of Earth, I’d say you’ve lived splendidly.”
“For me, yes. But not everyone’s like that. Among the awakened, those born with luck and talent keep raking in money, while others live day to day with nothing.”
“Speaking of which, didn’t Shia’s mom have it tough before she met Shia?”
Right now, Yoonjeong was passed out drunk in a hotel in Busan, but not too long ago he had belonged to a so-called shady guild, suffering inhumane treatment.
Despite being somewhat lucky, those without power continued to face poverty and societal pressures around the world, struggling to survive.
“Right. Shia’s mom’s case is one of the side effects of a well-packaged hunter society. It looks good on the outside, but the social Darwinism is becoming more entrenched.”
In truth, Yeonseo wasn’t someone who had a grand vision for the future.
She didn’t have thoughts of becoming a dictator to reshape the world with force.
However, what she wanted to see after saving the world was at least a peaceful, beautiful sight compared to the current state. When she heard that Teresa, Menelapie, and Shia had achieved that peace, true envy welled within her.
“Well, we didn’t always succeed either.”
“Teresa’s right. The success of me and my companions came with our own desperate struggles, but luck and miracles played a part too.”
Teresa’s eyes narrowed as she stirred the enormous pot.
Of course, from Teresa’s viewpoint, the world peace Yeonseo spoke of had not come easily.
‘In some timelines, even after slaying the Demon King, those who remained divided and fought over power. In some others, we barely defeated the Demon King, only for the three of us to be betrayed as obstacles to world peace. Rebellions erupted, and curses and plagues the Demon King left like landmines caused chaos…’
Having experienced such frustrating timelines, this time Teresa was prepared for all kinds of scenarios, but that was something Menelapie and Shia didn’t know.
“I see.”
Yeonseo sighed a bit bitterly.
This world of Earth wasn’t exactly peaceful either.
The movements of the San Guild seemed suspicious. Fragments of the Demon King had been creeping into Earth long before.
Yeonseo wondered if dungeons, gates, and the Great Rift were a tragedy triggered by the Demon King’s fragments.
“Well then, I ask for your cooperation, seniors. I’m just an inadequate hero of Earth, still lacking a lot.”
“Seniors, huh… But if you need help, I’ll lend a hand. Just know I’m a mess right now.”
“Just talk it up, Hero of Earth.”
Yeah, at least it was a relief to have someone to trust, even now, Yeonseo thought.
And then…
“Guys!”
“Ah, looks like Shia’s back.”
“Ugh, that pig saint. She said she’d bring back ginseng or mandragora, and what’s taking her so long…”
“If it’s Shia, she probably brings back at least 50 mandragoras, right? We could even have a broadcast frying mandragoras later…”
Then Teresa and Yeonseo turned their heads, their faces freezing.
–Kkyuuuuu….
“……….”
“……….”
Because an unidentified woman was being dragged along by Shia, tethered with what looked like a leash.
It wasn’t a real leash but made of vines, and it was quickly clear to the three that she wasn’t of the human race.
With light green hues covering her body like clothing made of plant vines, leaves, and stems, along with flowers blooming on her head, it was evident she was a dryad or some kind of humanoid plant monster related to mandragoras.
“What the hell is she dragging in this time?”
“I… I have no idea either.”
The puzzling part was that Shia didn’t seem to have any sadistic tendencies, so why drag along something humanoid on a leash?
Both Teresa and Yeonseo felt a little lightheaded. Far away, Menelapie, seeing Shia with her golden eyes, waved to her with a beaming smile.
“Shia! Welcome! I’ve been waiting with bated breath!”
“Ugh, she’s in that annoying mode again.”
“Teresa, what’s going on there?”
“Eh? Can’t you see? That nutty hero is all like, ‘Shia, do whatever you want!’”
“……..”
In an instant, Yeonseo wondered how things would be if she too had ‘companions’ like this.
Yeah, it looked noisy but… very joyful and happy.
‘How enviable…’
“Sigh, what kind of wind blew in this time… No, dammit, what are you doing!? Why are you putting her in the pot!? Hey, you pig saint!!!!”
“Oh come on! If Shia wants to do it, why stop her, Teresa!”
“Isn’t it normal to stop someone when they’re putting a humanoid creature into a pot alive!?”
“Wahhh! Menelapie! Teresa hit me!”
“Teresa Kaitlyn!!!”
“Dammit!!!”
“……….”
Cancel that.
No matter how much she thought about it, it didn’t seem like that chaotic scene would happen.
●●●●●●
Thus, let the cooking begin!
“Hum hum~”
The reason Shia wanted to cook this dish, which was a Fugu Dove stew, was that while drinking beer with Menelapie, Teresa, and Yoonjeong, she thought of something that would go well with the beer, hence the choice for the stew.
In fact, it wasn’t initially planned to make stew. After impulsively hunting because of the news alert on the Fugu Dove, she ended up bringing back an Elder Mandragora thinking, ‘Well, it has to have ginseng in the stew!’
“So now, let’s make some delicious stew~”
–Hiiiiiik…!
However, when Shia announced she was starting to cook, the Elder Mandragora let out a shriek filled with terror.
Of course, it was understandable that she would scream.
The Elder Mandragora had adapted to human knowledge and language not perfectly but currently in a ‘mediocre’ state, hence viewed cooking as a vague act of ‘making something delicious.’
And if making something delicious would naturally lead to the act of ‘eating’ it, the Elder Mandragora wept bitterly, cursing her miserable and cruel fate at the thought of it.
–Kkyuieeeeee!!!!
This was it…
This was truly the end!
“But Shia dear, I’ve been wanting to ask something since earlier…”
“Yes, Yeonseo unnie! Please ask me anything!”
Shia had confidence that she could answer not just one but hundreds of questions from Yeonseo, who had bestowed countless favors upon her and supported her in life on Earth.
–Hii, hii…. why, why, namooaan…. why namooaan….
“What’s wrong with that girl… I mean, what on earth did you do to her?”
“……..”
“Between coming here, what did you actually do to that girl?”
Well, let’s skip that question.
Shia averted her eyes and looked at the huge pot Teresa was stirring.
“Hehe, so warm, right?”
–……Kyuueeng…
Upon Shia’s words, the Elder’s body twitched, and she assessed her current situation.
Being a plant monster, Mandragoras were inherently weak to extreme element attacks like fire and ice, but the Elder Mandragora was among the highest class of S-grade monsters.
Her body, imbued with concentrated mana, would withstand not just boiling pots but even lava.
But a giant pot for making stew?
It wasn’t a threat to her life at all.
–It’s warm….
Sure, it was warm.
No, it was more than warm. It was hot.
It felt like her body was melting.
Sinking slowly, the Elder felt something strange.
Could it be…?!
–Could this possibly be… mating?
The Elder Mandragora thought Shia intended to eat her or forcefully mate with her, interpreting her actions through the half-awakened human knowledge she had taken in. In contrast to her wild assumptions, she surprisingly wasn’t facing gruesome scenarios.
What she instinctively assumed through human knowledge was tied to mating, perverse desires, and violence seemed something painful, terrifying, and humiliating, but rather, it felt quite nice.
–Could she actually be trying to save me?
As the Elder Mandragora watched the Fugu Dove meat floating in the pot, she turned her head aside.
“Uheh… looks delicious~”
What she saw there was the grim and fearsome figure of the Mangja Seongnyeo who had forcibly, inhumanely, mercilessly, and cruelly bound her with a leash to bring her here.
Next to her, Teresa was stirring the pot with knitted brows, but in the Elder’s mind, all she could see was a terrifying Mangja Seongnyeo.
The Mangja Seongnyeo smiled with a face too horrendous and grim, and it even looked like she was drooling, possibly imagining savoring her as a meal.
For a brief moment, the Elder had felt a flicker of hope, only to be crushed when she glanced at Shia, who appeared to be hungrily drooling over the pot she was being boiled in.
–Ugh… now it’s over. It’s all over…
“Become delicious~”
“Hey, pig saint… is this… really right…?”
“Yes, it’s delicious!”
“No, she… looks like an Elder Mandragora, after all…”
“Yes!”
“…..”
As Teresa stirred the pot this way and that, her face twisted, unable to adjust to the situation.
Sure, the essence of the Elder was a Mandragora, but no matter how much, seeing a humanoid creature being boiled in a pot felt rather unsettling.
Even for Teresa, who had experienced countless timelines, witnessing such a bizarre scene was something new.
–Huhheee… huhhe…
Yet the warmth of the porridge enveloped the Elder’s body, melting her apprehensions little by little.
Her heart was still filled with vigilance toward Shia, but for the Elder, it had turned into a feeling akin to taking a bath in a hot spring for the very first time.
The warmth gradually softened her former icy trepidation.
In fact, the Elder was unwittingly wearing a carefree smile, submerged in the warm stew.
–Huhheee… huhhe… huhheh… it’s the end now….
–With this, I might be confined to a massive greenhouse, petting me with relentless warmth at a constant 25 degrees all year round, unable to escape or gather food. While the Mangja Seongnyeo feeds me expensive plant supplements and fresh water three times a day, I’ll grow plump and…! If that happens, my Elderness is truly over…! Uhehe… heh…
“What the hell is this…?”
Teresa sighed for an uncountable time.
“Yeah, sure. Go ahead and do whatever you want, Shia~”
Menelapie maintained a serene smile on her face.
“………Is this, really right? I can’t seem to understand.”
The cognitive dissonance hit Yeonseo again as she felt she might faint.
–Uheh, become delicious!~
–Whaaaaa! If it comes to that, please give me Wyvern meat instead of goblin corpses for nutrition! I’m sick of sucking nutrients out of goblin meat!
“Shut up, damn it.”
