A day out with three people is quite enjoyable.
I can’t even remember the last time I was with Teresa and Menelapie.
I might have a vague memory, but it’s probably been over 20 years, right?
Ah, I remember now.
The last time the three of us went on a trip was probably to Blue Moon Hills.
So it’s really been 20 years since we did something like this together.
Of course, after that, due to my hunger pangs, I practically locked myself away in the Royal Palace.
Haha, those were good times.
Blue Moon Hills, located in the northwest of the Empire, is a twisted space where every flower in the world can bloom, showcasing the most beautiful scenery.
By the way, there are many edible flowers and lots of honey-filled ones, so rolling around in the flower fields and munching on them was quite a delight.
Every time that happened, Teresa would chuckle like she is now, and Menelapie would try to stop me, saying I’d get my clothes dirty or wrinkled.
Now Menelapie fusses over me a lot, but back then she was a warrior and an emperor who prioritized maintaining her dignity.
Every moment spent with those two was filled with joy and happiness.
Even if the food was bad, of course.
But today, the food was really delicious!
“150,000 and 4,000 won. Payment received. Clack!”
I just realized that the Grasshopper Chef has many hands, and she’s also wearing a smartwatch on her wrist.
The Grasshopper Chef checked the amount I paid with my Hunter Pay on her smartwatch and nodded.
“Hehe, but it’s so delicious and there are no customers?”
“Grrr! This is the back alley of Green City… Drug addicts… Residents caught up in fights… and the damn gangsters… die and come back here every day. It’s strange to have customers.”
“Ahaha… really?”
I felt embarrassed by the Grasshopper Chef’s expression that seemed to say, “Why would you even ask that?”
“…Ahem, so how do you intend to do business…? You need paying customers…”
“I’m not… cooking to feed customers… to begin with…”
“Huh?”
“Clack! You don’t need to know. Anyway, customers… visit once a month… If I originally had to keep a lot left over… you eat so much that I have to cook the tainted soup again.”
“…You’re cooking it again? For someone?”
“You don’t… need to know. I said! Clack!”
So, this Grasshopper Chef runs a street stall, but hardly any customers come. In reality, she’s cooking that tainted soup in bulk for another purpose.
I didn’t quite understand this contradiction of setting up a tavern just to not actually serve paying customers, but it seemed like the Grasshopper Chef didn’t want to say more.
“So… was the human tainted soup I made… delicious?”
“Yes! I really enjoyed it.”
“Clack! Gallery Master… so when are you doing a broadcast…?”
Wait, what? You know the term “Gallery Master”?
“You used to broadcast diligently! Clack!”
The rapid clacking sound made it seem like she was really angry.
“I’m now… completely… satisfied! Clack! I’ve made enough money… eaten enough, so now… we are no longer needed, right? Clack-clack!”
“Ah… that’s not it…”
“I want to fall into the abyss! I’m going crazy for the broadcast! Clack!”
“…Ugh.”
Well, it’s true that I’ve been neglecting broadcasts lately.
I started broadcasting to forget the loneliness of being all alone in this world.
However, recently I’ve had my reincarnated mom by my side and other companions like Yane and the Mermaid Princess, so I’ve naturally felt no loneliness and the frequency of my broadcasts has naturally decreased…
But if I think a little more, the reason I was able to forget the terrible loneliness when I returned to Earth was due to Yeonhwa’s care and the support from the loud and warm viewers of Hunter Broadcast.
I didn’t just forget loneliness; I gained various sponsorships and support, practically a popularity bordering on reverence, thanks to my broadcasts.
Now that I’ve been neglecting those broadcasts, I probably wouldn’t be viewed positively from the perspective of the viewers… no, the Mangja faction, like the Grasshopper Chef.
“I-I’m sorry…”
“Clack! Honestly, I don’t particularly care… in fact, it’s better now… not broadcasting…”
“Huh?”
Wait a minute. Just a moment ago, you were asking why I haven’t broadcasted…?
“You looked very tired… in the beginning of your broadcast… Clack!”
“…….”
“You look much better now… Mangja Seongnyeo… Clack! than back then.”
Her words momentarily stunned me.
It was surprising to hear that the Grasshopper Chef had been an old viewer of mine, but did I really look that miserable back then?
“I… what kind of look did I have?”
“I don’t know about other humans… but Clack! from the moment Green City was created, I’ve lived here. From my perspective… in the early broadcasts… your eyes looked like those… of drug addicts in the back alleys of Green City… who can’t die or live… you seemed to have no will to live at all.”
“……”
“I had never seen anyone without a will to live like you, among those who weren’t from Green City. You were eating that Wyvern Egg stew deliciously while crying about wanting to die… It was hard to watch.”
At least I didn’t cry…
Still, it was a fresh shock to think that I might have looked that way in the eyes of the Grasshopper Chef.
Honestly, I didn’t want to remember that time.
At that time, right after choosing to fall into the Bottomless Pit to avoid causing harm to Menelapie and Teresa, and the other humans I saved, I was in a state of profound mental exhaustion.
It was too overwhelming to put into words.
“Clack-clack! You were lonely and wanting to die. Your eyes bore the weight of every pain in the world. Now you’re with the hero and the witch, that looks… much better…”
That made me look into the Grasshopper Chef’s face.
I couldn’t tell what expression she was making with her insect visage, but her gaze was directed toward Teresa and Menelapie waiting behind me.
“I envy you a lot. Clack. And you look good. Clack.”
Somehow, I felt like the Grasshopper Chef was smiling a little.
“Honestly, it’s fine if you don’t do broadcasts… Seeing the Seongnyeo, Hero, and Witch enjoy life together… looks fun to me… I think I don’t need to watch your broadcasts anymore.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll definitely do a broadcast soon.”
“Really? Then… hurry up. Just saying, the internet usage fees here are very expensive.”
It seems I’ll have to turn on the camera soon, if only for the Grasshopper Chef who served me such an excellent tainted soup.
Though she looks a little scary with a bug’s head, the Grasshopper Chef really seemed like a good person.
“You’re quite a good person… no, a good bug.”
“Hurry up if you’re done eating. There’s work to be done wandering around aimlessly.”
Teresa, waiting for me, seemed tired and had climbed onto Menelapie’s shoulder.
The level of technology and magical engineering applied to the doll Teresa had created was impressive, but it looked so human-like that her stamina was considerably weak, so she seemed to need Menelapie’s help.
“Are you already tired, Teresa? I didn’t raise you to be like this!”
“Didn’t you want to make a real mom out of this bitch?!”
“Ah, no…!”
Every time Teresa said something like that, I sometimes got scared about whether she was joking or being serious.
After all, with Teresa’s abilities, if the conditions were right, she might be able to do it, so maybe 10% of her words were truly mixed with seriousness.
…That’s probably accurate, right?
Crash!
Just then, I heard something breaking behind us.
There was no need to turn my head.
The Grasshopper Chef’s street stall was under attack by someone.
“Clack… The table is expensive. Take it easy.”
[Brother, you’re not playing nice with us. So there’s no way we can take it easy.]
The sound was transmitted not through the air, but through brain waves, making me frown.
From what I could see, the ones attacking the Grasshopper Chef didn’t want any friction with us, who just appeared.
Several attackers surrounded the Grasshopper Chef threateningly, all dressed in black priest outfits as if they were clergymen.
Whether they’ve undergone physical modifications or if that’s just their race characteristic, I couldn’t tell, but each had a squid-like head, with large knife-like things in their hands.
[Brother, all of the others paid their taxes to us willingly. We aren’t asking for much, are we? Just a single arm a day. That’s all.]
I recalled that the gangs in Green City captured powerless residents and chopped off their bodies to harvest food and money.
It seemed that the octopus-headed gang in black priest attire was of that sort.
I now understood that Grakshar and the Vegan Orc mafia were quite on the gentler side of things.
Even though they’re vegan, I may have misunderstood them for a moment there.
At the very least, I heard the Vegan Orcs earned money by selling their own arms and legs.
[After all, we’re residents of Green City. An arm for you would make it easier for both of us. Just sign this pick-up contract, and nobody will get hurt. Just an arm, and that’s it.]
“Clack. No! I’ve told you several times, but I need my arms.”
[Really? Just so you can make that tasteless soup?]
“Clack. You tasteless brat. Clack.”
The Grasshopper Chef uttering the term “tasteless” seemed to be lost on the squid-headed one, who tilted his head in confusion.
They probably weren’t keeping up with the internet or watching broadcasts.
However, it seemed they caught on to the implication of being teased or insulted, because they appeared a bit angry.
[Haha, Brother. This is going to be a problem. If you keep this up, you’ll face the consequences. You’re trying to turn a simple favor into something much worse.]
Seeing the glimmering blades in their hands, it sounded like the Grasshopper Chef was going to lose more than just an arm today.
From the conversation, it looked like these guys frequently showed up. Seeing them surrounding the stall, they were clearly up to something today.
“Hey.”
“Yeah?”
Teresa seemed to have figured out the situation and gave me a little nudge.
“What are you going to do?”
“………”
There was really no need to think this through.
“Isn’t the association supposed to negotiate with the gangs in this city? Is it really okay for a Hunter to stir up trouble in the middle of Green City? Shia, you’re a Hunter, right?”
“Yeah, and?”
“Well?”
“Teresa, yes. I’m a Hunter.”
“…….”
“Oh, I see. But what’s that got to do with it?”
Ah, great. I unintentionally reacted sharply to Teresa.
“…Forget it. It’s nothing. Just saying.”
Teresa was just speaking out of concern for me…
“I’m sorry, Teresa.”
“…..It’s fine. I know you didn’t mean it.”
“I’ll make it up to you next time if you need something. I’m really sorry.”
“Humph, you sly fox.”
Fortunately, Teresa had a wide heart.
Of course, she’s my Witch!
Ahem.
I want to live kindly and always have the desire to become a true Saint…
But yes, that’s always the case, unless it crosses the line in front of me.
As long as my people and my lines are not crossed, I will grant forgiveness and seek it.
But now the Grasshopper Chef was in trouble, and she had bestowed a “favor” upon me, effectively making her one of my own.
“Menelapie.”
“How should I handle this? Do you like octopus tahini?”
“No.”
“Then?”
Feeling my discomfort, Menelapie pressed her thumb against the hilt of her sword.
If I just said the word, she would immediately slice those non-human gangsters to pieces.
“Don’t do anything.”
While Menelapie is great, she finishes things too quickly and cleanly.
So today, I’ll be the one to step up.
“Wow. Those octopus brats really have the worst luck today.”
“Come to think of it, I haven’t seen that side of Shia in a long time. Hehe, I like this side of you too.”
“Yeah, it is cool.”
Thud thud.
“Sometimes it’s too much, but it’s a problem.”
The sound of my heels clicking on the ground was rather loud.
But I didn’t want to take them off. I actually wanted them to pay attention to me.
Walking barefoot was good, but the ground of Green City wasn’t particularly clean for that.
The Octopus Mafia noticed my footsteps, letting go of their hold on the Grasshopper Chef and looking at me.
Seeing my clean human figure in Green City, they were probably intrigued.
[Little sister? The business is done. If you’ve forgotten something, you can come back next time…]
BANG!
[Miracle – Divine Manifestation!]
[What the hell…?]
I activated my tentacles, and it didn’t take over a second to crush or incapacitate them.
Judging by their inability to react to my speed, they didn’t seem to be that formidable after all.
[What are you?!]
“You’re wearing a priest outfit, but you’ve forgotten your manners, huh?”
But it doesn’t matter.
After all, it’s probably not genuine priest attire.
They might just be characters caught up in this concept, right?
Regardless, I sometimes think it’s fortunate for me to be recognized as a saint because I also possess healing abilities.
Not just any healing, but ‘Great Healing’.
Of course, while healing normally heals the injured or sick…
[Let go of me!… Aaaaaaah! What…?!]
Combining attack with healing is possible.
As I grabbed the octopus gang leader by the waist and spine with my tentacles, he screamed in agony before suddenly falling silent again.
All the others were caught in my tentacles too.
They struggled with the blades in their hands, stabbing at my tentacles, or they spit out some unidentifiable black liquid, but…
The blades couldn’t pierce, and the black liquid only hissed and emitted a foul smell, but they were not threatening.
They were incredibly weak.
Was it because I had just devoured the Grasshopper Chef’s tainted soup and felt full?
Ah, but they’re thrashing around too much…?
Crash!
[Aaaaah! My back!]
It’s weird that an octopus-based creature has a backbone.
As I crushed its spine while healing simultaneously, it must have been an incredibly strange sensation for it, alternating between agony and recovery.
Nevertheless, my methods to attack while healing…
[Aaaahhhh! Enough!]
Crash!
The octopus’s spine crushed while its pain felt all too real.
After all, I had to heal it completely before I could shatter it again, and it must have been experiencing overwhelming pain with each cycle.
As I mentioned earlier, I’m unsure about the rules of the lawless dungeon known as Green City.
I also don’t know what arrangements the Hunter Association has made.
Nevertheless, I can’t just stand by and watch as those bastards touch the Grasshopper Chef.
Trouble?
Restraint?
They want me to just walk away when one of my people is in danger?
Well, of course, this kind of punishment doesn’t suit the saintly image…
“You insulted my delicious tainted soup.”
I can’t let the wicked squid-headed guy, who mocked the human tainted soup I enjoyed so much, get away with this.
What? Tasteless gray soup?
Alright, I’ll serve you today!
BANG!
