Chapter 170 – Goddess of the Hearth – [Complete]

It was spring now, but it was still bitterly cold.

Snow was falling even now. These days, the snow was mixed with ash from the sky. When the snow melted, the ash remained. Every time snow fell on Seo Yun’s Burning Wings, ash scattered.

Seo Yun glided over the ruins, pushing through the snow and ash.

After flying for a while, Seo Yun landed on top of a building. She shook her head to dust off the ash and dirt, then looked down.

Below, she could see a fire truck.

The fire truck was also covered in snow and ash, but it wasn’t hard to recognize. The doors had fallen off, and the body of the truck was dented in several places.

Seo Yun had once ridden in that fire truck.

She looked at the collapsed building beyond the fire truck. A bathhouse sign hung precariously, looking like it could fall at any moment. Finally, she knew she had properly reached her destination.

That was the building where she had died.

The bathhouse building had already mostly collapsed, making it difficult for a full-grown adult to squeeze through, which was actually fortunate. That meant the bodies inside were unlikely to have been disturbed.

Her own body was probably still inside that building.

---

Seo Yun squeezed her body through a small gap in the building. Thanks to her small frame, it wasn’t difficult to get inside.

Soon, Seo Yun was inside the building.

Illuminating her surroundings with her bright red Halo, Seo Yun walked through the dark cavity. It was a space filled with soot, making it hard to breathe.

Not long after, she found what she had come to see.

A firefighter’s suit was sprawled on the floor. Probably only bones remained inside it. The size of the suit was quite large, suggesting its owner had been big in life.

It was Seo Yun. Herself.

Her own body, who had died in the line of duty, was there.

Seo Yun crouched down in front of it. She stared at it blankly for a while, then sighed and thought.

Surprisingly, I don’t feel much. If I’d known it would be like this, I should have come sooner.

Since this place was within Incheon, she could have come anytime she wanted, but she hadn’t until now. She hadn’t even thought about recovering the body. The thought of seeing and confirming her own body with her own eyes had been awkward.

Of course, she had thought that even if it was awkward, she would have to come see it someday. Whether to bury the body or because she didn’t want to see her own skeleton rise as a Skeleton and go around harming people.

And today, Seo Yun had come to do that thing she had been putting off.

If not now, she couldn’t do it. Because after this, she would no longer be in this Mortal Realm.

Soon, Seo Yun was scheduled to Ascend.

Seo Yun stared at the firefighter’s suit. Focusing her Spirit at its center, she created a flame. It was a fire that emitted surprisingly bright light and heat for something created without any fuel.

The fire that bloomed on the firefighter’s suit began to turn both the suit and the bones inside indiscriminately into ash.

As the cremation proceeded, Seo Yun felt her own heart pounding. With her heartbeat not stopping, Seo Yun thought.

Firefighter Seo Yun did everything she had to do.

Priest Seo Yun should do the same.

As she revisited the thought she’d had many times, her heart pounded even more. It was a pounding from nervousness.

To be honest, Seo Yun didn’t particularly want to leave this Mortal Realm either. What reason was there to leave this Mortal Realm? She had an immortal body, all sorts of superpowers gained from various adventures, and all her friends and acquaintances were here.

Still, she had to do what she had to do. Seo Yun tried to think of this situation as much like a game as possible.

Among the Players in this world, she was the only one with a high Level around 15 who was also of the Lesser Angel Race and could Ascend immediately.

It didn’t seem like another person like her would appear either. These days, hardly any monsters worth hunting appeared. Only Kobolds, which gave almost no Experience Points, or Gutworms, which were disproportionately difficult to catch compared to their Challenge Rating, showed up.

With Leveling Up becoming much harder than before like this, who could possibly qualify to Ascend like her? It was impossible.

That’s right. There was no one else who could do this besides her. She reminded herself of that fact once more. And if she was going to do it, it was best to do it as quickly as possible. Weren’t people dying in real time even now?

“You watching, Bae Gyeong-woo? I’m coming there now, so clean off a chair. Rayeon, if you happen to be in your underwear, get dressed first.”

As Seo Yun stretched out her hand, the fire spread around. A red glow illuminated the dark space. The devastation of the half-burned corridor was revealed… Looking at one spot, Seo Yun flinched.

In that corner, a child was lying collapsed.

It was a boy. Judging by his height, he looked about nine years old. But his actual age might have been older. Kids these days didn’t eat well, so they didn’t grow properly.

She thought with her mouth agape. Why is a kid like this here?

Was he abandoned to reduce the number of mouths to feed? Did he crawl into a place like this to escape the Blizzard and freeze to death?

‘He doesn’t seem to have been dead long.’

Seo Yun approached the boy, knelt, and offered a prayer. It was casting a Resurrection Spell, but she didn’t have much expectation. For a Resurrection Spell to succeed, both the target’s body and Soul had to be strong. This boy clearly didn’t seem to be either.

So when the boy’s body, having received the Spell, twitched, Seo Yun’s eyebrow also twitched. She hadn’t expected him to actually come back to life. Frankly, she was flustered.

But now that he was alive, she couldn’t just leave him. Seo Yun cast every Priest Spell she had on the boy’s body. Healing Spells, stamina recovery Spells, and other Spells that would make one doubt the usefulness of a hospital.

However, the boy didn’t wake up immediately, and Seo Yun sighed as she looked down at the boy with closed eyes. Just when she was resolutely about to leave, she ended up getting delayed like this.

Amidst feelings of absurdity and relief, Seo Yun prepared to look after the boy. She lit a fire in front of him and looked around to see if there was any food to give him when he woke up.

And, uh…

There weren’t any things like canned goods lying around, but she saw something even more than that.

A black mineral object, a Meteor Fragment.

It was quite a large chunk. It was the first time she’d seen a fragment that big.

With something that size, couldn’t you wish for something pretty significant? It seemed difficult now. Looking closely, only a small part of the fragment sparkled like obsidian; most of it had already lost its light. Had someone already made a wish on it, using up almost all its power?So, who made a wish on that fragment?

The meteor fragment lay beside the charred remains of the firefighter’s uniform. It had probably been there beside him when he died.

Seo Yun, who discovered it belatedly, blinked.

After a moment of hesitation, she cautiously approached the fragment. She made the wish she needed right now.

“Give me porridge. A bowl and spoon too.”

Then, the glowing part of the meteor fragment shone a little brighter, and a bowl with a portion of thin, watery porridge appeared before it. With this final act of magic, the fragment ceased to glow entirely.

The boy awoke several hours later.

“Mom?”

At the voice, Seo Yun turned her head. The boy, who had propped himself up on his elbows, was staring blankly at her.

To reassure him, Seo Yun offered a slight smile.

“I’m not your mom, but are you thirsty?”

“Huh? Yes…”

“Then you should drink some water. Here, drink this…”

---

The Troll, or more precisely, its Avatar Body, asked.

“Ready?”

Han Siwoo answered, “Yes.” Another man’s voice followed immediately after—the rough voice of the Barbarian Warrior, Arnold.

“Yeah. So hurry up.”

The Troll’s Avatar Body complied with the request. The Troll opened a Dimensional Gate.

Han Siwoo stepped into the Dimensional Gate first. His body was sucked into the gate as if pulled, and his vision changed.

“I can’t see anything…”

Darkness. Nothing but darkness surrounded them.

From within the darkness, the Troll’s voice came.

“As I said, we won’t light any fires. It could agitate the Evil Spirits. Start walking.”

A high-Level Barbarian Warrior could see through the darkness like an owl. Arnold took the lead, and Han Siwoo followed behind.

Han Siwoo looked up with a shiver. Remembering that even a Level 15 Warrior couldn’t feel safe here, a groan escaped him.

Because this was America. At least, according to the Troll’s explanation.

Yes, America. The land that was the first to fall after the meteorite struck. The land where the ash in the sky was so thick that neither the sun nor the moon could shine. Despite the absence of any light pollution in all directions, not even the stars were visible.

And instead of celestial bodies in the night sky, tens of thousands of wraiths floated in the dark heavens. The spirits of those who were once Americans…

How long had they been walking?

The Troll spoke.

“The meteorite.”

Han Siwoo bit his lower lip.

“Something that’s practically the root of evil, both in the Immortal Kingdom and in this reality, is right there.”

“Save the unnecessary commentary. The meteorite isn’t glowing as brightly as it was last time. It seems to have expended a significant amount of its power already.”

Having made a wish on a meteor fragment himself, Han Siwoo understood what that meant.

A meteor fragment that has been used to grant a wish loses its glow and turns into an ordinary lump of rock. The meteorite glowing in the darkness was like that.

Judging by its faint outline, most of the meteorite seemed to be composed of ordinary rock. The parts that glowed with a sinister, dark light were only a portion of the meteorite.

And the two powerful Warriors, Han Siwoo and Arnold, were here to bring back precisely those glowing minerals.

---

Seo Yun being kind to pitiful children was a sort of habit.

During her time at the orphanage, Seo Yun, who wasn’t favored by the caregivers, desperately craved someone’s praise. To earn praise from the caregivers who disliked her, she actively took care of the weaker children at the orphanage. That habit remained as an inertia and later influenced her way of life.

At school, she deliberately played the role of a champion of justice, and upon entering society, she aspired to a respected profession, deciding to become a firefighter.

Thus, she was always searching for ways to be worthy of someone’s affection.

And it was only now that she remembered—even in the moment of her death, she had been the same. As her consciousness faded amidst the heat and smoke, what had she been thinking?

‘Back then, I wished that if I were reborn, I could be loved. But I was too weak to even speak, so I must have only thought it in my heart… How come…’

It seemed that wish had come true about a year later. One could tell by looking alternately at the powerless meteor fragment and the body of a girl with a Charm score of 10.

Seo Yun was startled by this sudden realization, but she couldn’t dwell on it for long. She made eye contact with the boy who had been glancing her way.

The boy spoke first.

“Noona, are you… Seo Yun?”

“You know me?”

“I do. You were famous. For helping this person and that person…”

“I was a bit famous, yeah.”

“I wondered if there really were kind Noonas like that, and it turns out it’s true. Do you always help pitiful kids like this?”

“Well, if I can help?”

The boy shyly lowered his head.

“Anyway… thank you again.”

“Again? When did I help you before?”

“Huh? Yes. A long time ago…”

Seo Yun couldn’t remember when that ‘long time ago’ was. Besides, didn’t this kid act like he was seeing her for the first time just a moment ago? Feeling puzzled internally, she asked.

“Your parents?”

“I had a mom, but we don’t live together anymore.”

“No other guardian?”

“No, I’m alone.”

“Where were you going all by yourself?”

“To Happy Village… I heard it’s a good place to live.”

When her village was mentioned, Seo Yun jerked her head.

“Hmm, that place. It is a good place to live. A village true to its name.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. And it’ll get even better to live in from now on.”

“Do you live there?”

“More accurately, I used to live there.”

“Wow.”

She didn’t know why he was impressed, but Seo Yun grinned.

“Do you want to go there?”

“Huh? Yes.”

“If you want to go, you should.”

After Seo Yun spoke, the boy started to gauge her reaction. After a brief hesitation, these words came from his mouth.

“Could you… maybe take me there…?”

Seo Yun recalled that the village’s farming had been going well lately. Adding one more child shouldn’t be a problem.

“I can’t take you there myself… but take this.”

Seo Yun took out a scroll from her pouch and offered it. The boy blinked.

“What’s this?”

“A Return Spell Scroll. It’s expensive, you know?”

Seo Yun also explained that by reciting the incantation written on this parchment, one could go to Happy Village. It was something she carried a few copies of, having been summoned here and there.

For the boy, however, it seemed to be the first time he’d seen such a thing. His face showed confusion.

“What is that…”

“If you recite the incantation written here, you can go straight to Happy Village.”

“I can’t read those letters.””I can teach you. Just remember what I recite and repeat after me. Now, focus your Spirit…”

Seo Yun was in the middle of teaching the boy the phrases written on the parchment when he suddenly voiced a question.

“Can’t you take me there yourself?”

“I said no.”

“Why not?”

“I have things to do. And going back there is… bothersome.”

She didn’t mention that going there meant risking being caught by a certain chimpanzee.

The boy spoke with an anxious face.

“But still… I’d feel better if you took me yourself.”

“Why do you keep saying that?”

“If I go alone, I might get chased away, right? I’m just a beggar kid.”

“Tell them Seo Yun sent you. Explain that you came on my introduction.”

“But what if they don’t believe me? I’ve never heard of a village that welcomes stray kids.”

She could understand why he was so uneasy. Seo Yun spoke in a quiet voice.

“Happy Village is Happy Village. Just hearing the name, you might think it’s a place that lures passersby, drugs them, and holds cannibal Parties… but it’s not like that.”

“Then what is it like?”

“It’s a good place to live. Because it’s good to live in, the people are generous. There are many good people there.”

“Good people?”

“Let’s see, who should I mention first… Do you know the name of the Chief there?”

“Oh Haengbok…”

“Ah, of course that Mister was a good person too. But the current Chief is a narrow-shouldered Mister named Oh Haengun, right? Honestly, that guy has some frustrating aspects that aren’t very Leader-like. But you know what he did last year when the Korean Peninsula was almost doomed? Well…”

Seo Yun began writing an impromptu letter of introduction on the spot. It was a letter of introduction that also served as a greeting.

She wrote down the names: the Dwarf with a bad personality who discriminates by profession; the Sun Priest who has become quite humane lately; the Paladin overly immersed in Roleplaying; various village Players including Lee Jongho; and other village elders she was friendly with.

Finally, she wrote in the letter the name of a certain chimpanzee and the gloomy fellow she was supposed to marry. At the very end, she added a request for them to look after this kid.

As she did so, she gave the boy a rough introduction to each of them. She explained that if he went to them acting friendly, they wouldn’t be too harsh, and if he mentioned that Seo Yun sent her regards, they’d at least look out for him roughly.

“You seem to like it.”

At the boy’s words, Seo Yun asked back.

“Like what?”

“The village and the villagers. You kept smiling every time you explained each person.”

Seo Yun realized she was indeed smiling as he said. She had been doing so without realizing it.

Seo Yun considered putting on a ‘cool’ expression, even belatedly, but decided against it. She smiled brightly and said.

“That’s right. I like them a lot.”

When she mentioned that a close friend who had now passed away was also buried there, the boy flinched for some reason. Seo Yun continued.

“There’s a reason I’m writing this letter of introduction. You won’t see me there again. I’m leaving like this… I’m a bit sad to leave that place too.”

“You’re leaving the village like this?”

“Yes.”

“Why? You said you really like the village and all the people there…”

“Because I like them.”

The boy looked at her as if to ask what that meant. Seo Yun just smiled.

Seo Yun held out the Spell Scroll to the boy again. She slowly explained how to read the phrases written on it, but the boy still couldn’t repeat them.

“You really can’t read it?”

“Yes…”

“Alright, then there’s no choice. I’ll take you there myself.”

She had thought she could just take him near the village and then hastily leave the spot. Just as Seo Yun was getting up.

“No, it’s fine.”

“Huh?”

Seo Yun tilted her head, not understanding why the kid suddenly started using informal speech.

And the boy spoke with an embarrassed expression and voice. It wasn’t the childish voice from moments before, but a voice that had passed through puberty.

“Let me say it again, thank you, Seo Yun.”

Seo Yun was startled and opened her mouth. She couldn’t possibly fail to recognize that voice.

“Kim Jihyeok?”

The boy—Kim Jihyeok—gave a strange smile and then vanished.

Left alone, Seo Yun stood still for a moment, bewildered. She thought about what this situation was. It was simple. A trick.

Until just now, Kim Jihyeok had pretended to be a pitiful brat to try and send her back to Happy Village. If she went back there, she would have been caught and unable to do what she intended to do now.

But how could someone already dead…? Perhaps his soul had descended.

And the being capable of sending the dead Kim Jihyeok to the Mortal Realm, even if only as a soul…

“Rayeon, do you not want to live with me anymore? Has Heaven become that cramped?”

Seo Yun asked accusatorily, but she wasn’t truly angry. She had been interrupted, but it wasn’t a malicious interruption, was it? He probably did it for her sake.

And if Seo Rayeon had moved Kim Jihyeok, then who moved Seo Rayeon? The chimpanzee and Han Siwoo, those two? That seemed likely. Since Happy Village now also has the Statue of the Goddess of Beauty, they might have made demands under the guise of prayers using it.

Or perhaps Kim Jihyeok, watching from Heaven, had pestered her to send him. Or maybe Seo Rayeon orchestrated this to stop her.

Whichever it was, she hadn’t expected to feel their presence at this final moment.

Seo Yun, a smile playing on her lips, looked at the lightless Meteor Fragment. She couldn’t understand why a wish she hadn’t even voiced aloud had been granted, or why it was granted a full year after her death. But she knew one thing for sure.

The wish had been granted. Fully.

Her heart pounded again. This time, it wasn’t from nervousness. Seo Yun shouted forcefully.

“Descend before me, Seraphim!”

She recited the line she had used before.

“I am an Immortal who has acquired my own Divinity, one who has surpassed a Quasi-Deity and reached the state of a Demigod…”

---

The Troll commanded.

“Down, put it down.”

Then Han Siwoo and Arnold each lowered the bundles they were carrying. Inside, small fragments shining like obsidian were revealed.

Meteor Fragments. Collected from various places over the past few days.

The Meteor seemed to see it. The wraiths floating high in the sky, as if uninterested in earthly beings, all turned to look this way at once, then surged forward like a school of carp reacting to food dropped on the water’s surface.

Han Siwoo roared loudly to fight off the fear.

“Get the hell—away—!”

The Warrior’s battle cry was effective even against those amorphous monsters. As thousands of wraiths froze in mid-air as if paralyzed, Arnold continued the roar.

“And you, look—at me! Are you listening, Meteor?”

Of course, there was no answer from the Meteor. Arnold’s roar continued to echo.

“Here, we’ve brought parts of you! To make one wish. It’s surely a wish that will suit your tastes!”

The wraiths, which seemed to react to Arnold’s words and tried to move again, stopped in mid-air. Arnold shouted his final words.

“Isn’t your goal to complete this tedious Dark Fantasy? We’ve come to make a wish that aligns with that goal, so listen carefully… I will make the wish now, grant it!”

---

Seo Yun looked at the Archangel Seraphim that appeared before her.

「We meet again, Angel of the Hearth.」

“Indeed.”

Seo Yun tried to speak nonchalantly, but her voice trembled. As the time to finally leave approached, her heart beat even more fiercely. Nervousness and fear once again began to fill her chest.

Damn it, she really didn’t want to undergo that Ascension… For a moment, their faces surfaced in her mind. The impulse to just drop everything and return to their side grew even stronger.

But she still had to leave. Precisely for their sake. Seo Yun sincerely wished for their wedding to be grandly celebrated with everyone’s blessings.

The Seraphim asked.

「So, you are qualified. I ask with respect, which Divine Throne do you challenge?」

Seo Yun tried to suppress the pounding in her chest and spoke, forcing a calm voice.

“The Goddess of the Hearth.”

At that moment, the Seraphim’s expression, which had shown no change until now, became strange. He raised one eyebrow as if he had heard something odd.

「The Goddess of the Hearth?」

“Yes, make me the Goddess of the Hearth!”

As Seo Yun shouted, the Seraphim answered with an unexpected reply.

「That is impossible.」

“Why?”

「Because that Goddess already exists.」

Even in her nervous state, Seo Yun felt astonishment. She thought blankly.

Why is this guy saying such things again? In Seo Rayeon’s case, he complied with the request without issue, so why now…

“We already know everything there is to know, why are you doing this? Are you claiming that god exists in the setting again? Do I have to repeat what the Troll said last time?”

「I do not understand what you are saying, Angel. You are speaking utter nonsense.」

“Hey, Meteor!”

「The being before you is a Seraphim sent to guide Ascendants. Not a Meteor.」

“Stop the nonsense and quickly make me the Goddess of the Hearth. The goddess who only exists in the book!”

As Seo Yun felt frustrated, the Seraphim spoke.

「I don’t know why I must explain this to you, but if you insist… The Goddess of the Hearth already exists. Not just in the book, but also in that Celestial Realm.」

Stunned by the unexpected answer, Seo Yun froze for a moment. Only after a long while did she manage to open her mouth and ask.

“The Goddess of the Hearth exists? Since when?”

The Seraphim answered as if wondering why she was asking such a thing.

「Precisely sixteen minutes and forty-seven seconds ago. So, is there no other Divine Throne you wish to claim besides the Goddess of the Hearth?」

When Seo Yun didn’t answer, the Seraphim fell silent, then after a moment, transformed into a Cluster of Light and vanished.

Left alone, Seo Yun blankly looked around at the sunlight surrounding her now.

She had been staring at the ground, unable to comprehend the recent conversation and this current situation. Suddenly, she felt heat and light ahead. Seo Yun raised her head.

Seo Yun’s eyes widened.

Everything around her was flame. Fire harmoniously blending red and gold.The fire she had lit earlier had spread throughout this space. But how could flames catch in a place already reduced entirely to ashes and soot?

Seo Yun suddenly recalled the scene of the fire when she had died. As it happened, this was that very place… Yet it wasn’t as dire a situation as it had been then.

Seo Yun intuitively felt that these flames surrounding her would not harm her. Indeed, the carbon monoxide did not invade her lungs.

She felt neither the foreign sensation filling her lungs nor the bitterness of refluxing stomach acid. Her hands were also those of a small girl.

「Seo Yun, my angel」

After staring at her own hands for a while, Seo Yun slowly raised her head at the voice calling her.

A woman with red hair stood within the flames.

Even if she had never seen her directly, she had seen her many times, if only in visions. So she knew immediately who she was.

“Goddess of the Hearth?”

The red-haired woman slowly nodded. Seo Yun doubted her own eyes for a moment.

One of the three Chief Gods of the Immortal Kingdom, the very one she was supposed to become, was right there.

“I…”

As Seo Yun stood still, the Goddess of the Hearth approached. She was also the Goddess of the Home. She reached out a hand and placed it on Seo Yun’s head, then spoke in a voice like that of a mother she had never met.

「You have fulfilled your role, angel」

“I…”

「You have fulfilled your role」

The next moment, the Goddess of the Hearth pulled her into an embrace. Seo Yun hesitated, wondering if she should push her away, but then decided to remain still.

And then she began to cry.

---

It was the Troll Mage who devised the plan to create a god.

Long ago, the Troll Mage had researched how the meteor fragments that granted wishes functioned. That research record alone amounted to thirty A4 pages.

Gaeulbi had stolen a portion of that record stored in the warehouse when she escaped. She read it when she had nothing else to do.

Thus, Gaeulbi had a rough idea of what kind of wishes the meteor granted and on what principle it granted them. Through that research, she also roughly knew what the troll was trying to achieve. Later, by properly conversing with the troll’s Avatar Body, she confirmed the existence of a certain plan.

The plan was to gather meteor fragments from everywhere, make a wish, and give birth to a goddess.

The Goddess of the Hearth.

The Goddess of the Hearth was a deity that should naturally exist in the Immortal Kingdom’s worldview, but she did not currently exist simply because she was lower in priority in the meteor’s creation plan, which aimed to fill the Mortal Realm first. The meteor would eventually have to create her too to complete the Immortal Kingdom’s world.

Based on that fact, the Troll Mage thought.

If they gathered enough meteor fragments and made a wish, couldn’t they create the Goddess of the Hearth anew?

The meteor would gladly accept that wish. Because it would essentially be wishing for what the meteor ought to do anyway. If they took a sufficient quantity of meteor fragments to the meteor’s main body and made that wish, there was a possibility the meteor would try its utmost to grant it, even by combining its remaining power with the power imbued in the fragments.

So, if they made that wish, couldn’t they both completely deplete the meteor’s power and complete the world? Couldn’t they completely halt the meteor’s activity?

With that thought, the troll had been collecting meteor fragments since long ago. It collected meteor fragments by selling precious magical items or magic scrolls and also received them as rewards for helping villages. Even after securing two goddess candidates, since it seemed difficult to make one of them, Seo Rayeon, into a goddess, the collection of meteor fragments did not cease.

After confirming the aforementioned plan, Gaeulbi also diligently collected meteor fragments for her friend. However, with only the meteor fragments she possessed, she could not make the wish to give birth to Rayeon.

So, when the situation became urgent, albeit belatedly, she informed others, including Oh Haengun, of the plan and asked for help.

It was a request to donate the meteor fragments each possessed to create the Goddess of the Hearth.

And an astonishingly large number of meteor fragments were gathered.

Originally, Gaeulbi thought this plan shouldn’t be revealed too early. She was worried people might hide or withhold their meteor fragments because they wouldn’t want to give them up, but it soon became clear that wasn’t necessary.

After all, wasn’t her friend famous for helping this person and that person selflessly? From far more places than expected, many people gave up their precious meteor fragments for one girl.

First, the people of Happy Village gave up the meteor fragments they had. Meteor fragments were treasures that would be valued more than any other substance of equal weight once the world normalized, and this was amidst a time when no one knew when the ship that extorted them as taxes would return.

Also, the soldiers of the Dawn Corps, who felt gratitude and indebtedness to that girl, gave up the fragments they had collected. The amount was surprisingly substantial. Gaeulbi found herself thanking a soldier for the first time in her life.

With the French people, not even a lengthy explanation was needed. Upon hearing that the angel who had helped them needed it, they silently offered up all the meteor pieces they had without complaint.

What about the neighboring village? It was the same. The Naga woman reportedly gathered the Devotees and said, ‘The god who Ascended for our sake, for that god’s Unni, we need to give up some stone fragments. Is there anyone who objects?’ There was no such person.

Subsequently, over the past year, people from various regions who had received help from that girl working as a firefighter gave up meteor fragments one by one, as if donating.

Combined with the fragments the troll had collected over several years, it became a considerable amount.

Gaeulbi gave those to Arnold and Han Siwoo, the most powerful Warriors she knew, and entrusted them with the mission. True to being mighty Warriors, they succeeded in that mission.

Thus, the Goddess of the Hearth was born. Not someone from the Mortal Realm replacing that position, but the goddess who should have originally existed. The goddess exactly as depicted in the original Rulebook illustrations, the red-haired goddess, appeared in that Celestial Realm.

Gaeulbi had heard that it was already accomplished, but her anxiety had not yet disappeared.

She climbed atop the Happy Village Fortress Wall with Han Siwoo. Staring outside the village, she muttered.

“Why isn’t this Runt coming…?”Han Siwoo nodded in agreement beside her.

And the next moment, Han Siwoo’s eyes widened and he shouted.

“Over there!”

Gaeulbi, who had turned her head, also opened her eyes wide.

A girl walking from far away came into view. That girl was walking slowly, even though she could fly. Was it because she thought the situation was too embarrassing to be seen by everyone?

Seo Yun approached close to the fortress wall. Seo Yun now wore an indifferent expression, but Gaeulbi, having lived with that girl for quite a long time, knew her true feelings were different.

Gaeulbi leaped down from the fortress wall and pounced on the girl.

Hugging Seo Yun, she cried out.

“Seo Yun!”

As Seo Yun struggled, Gaeulbi gestured from the side because Han Siwoo was hesitating behind them. Then Han Siwoo also approached and together they embraced the girl.

After ending the hug, Gaeulbi looked at Seo Yun with tear-filled eyes.

Seo Yun scratched her cheek and smiled awkwardly. The girl’s mouth opened.

“The wedding, it’s soon, right?”

---

Before being led inside the village by their hands, Seo Yun subtly glanced around.

The Hearth Priest’s spell that Seo Yun herself had cast was warming Happy Village. That heat seemed to have spread outside as well, melting the ground, as the area around the fortress wall was dyed green and yellow.

They were spring flowers.

The day was still bitterly cold, but still, it was spring.