Chapter 38 – Ramen and the Otherworlder

“You can?”

“Yep. Want me to show you?”

The government had released various opinions and observations regarding the floating island suspended over the skies of South Korea.

Currently, the floating island was moving, albeit slowly. And despite conducting numerous tests, they were still researching the reason for its appearance and the phenomenon that made it impossible to enter.

Even through satellites, nothing beyond the island’s exterior was visible; what lay inside remained a mystery.

Physical attacks were also ineffective; contact with the floating island was impossible. It was as if it didn’t exist in this world.

“You can actually show me?”

“Of course. You’re feeling homesick, aren’t you, Mister? Should I show you?”

“Show me.”

I’m originally from Korea, so it’s not really homesickness.

For the first time in a while, Katrinne shrugged, a supremely arrogant look on her face.

The atmosphere she created was one that suggested I should bow down and beg if I wanted to see.

“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to show me.”

“Huh? W-wait. I’ll show you, I’m connecting to it now!”

Katrinne, switching from her high-and-mighty attitude to a more humble one, placed her hand on an empty table.

A dome-shaped hemisphere formed over the table. The image displayed within was reminiscent of a SimCity game.

It was a top-down view of the Rania Estate.

The picture looked as if an entire city had been plucked out and set down here.

“You can zoom in like this to see.”

As Katrinne spoke, she dragged her finger across the hemisphere. To my surprise, the image began to magnify.

As she zoomed in further, what had appeared as mere dots were revealed to be people.

I could see the city gates that had protected the city countless times, and the Rania soldiers standing guard atop them.

And then, the familiar sight of the marketplace and the people bustling through the streets. It was all the Rania Estate I had experienced.

It’s been a long time since I last saw Rania’s castle.

Katrinne’s eyes already seemed lost in nostalgia.

“Everyone was really confused at first, being cut off from the outside world, but they’ve all more or less settled down now.”

“Cut off?”

“Yeah. All routes to other regions were completely severed.”

She was speaking so casually. It was as if she were saying, ‘I got a package yesterday, but they won’t be delivering starting tomorrow,’ in a completely relaxed tone.

“If all economic activity has stopped, what about the people there? What are they eating to survive?”

“That’s why I’ve been supporting them with food using the Relief skill I got.”

Relief.

Literally, the act of supporting the common people.

“Where would you get the money for that?”

“I sold all my items when I quit the game, remember? I managed with that.”

Wait, something’s not right.

“What does selling your game items have to do with providing relief for your estate?”

“Why wouldn’t it be related?”

“Because it isn’t.”

“It is.”

Katrinne pointed to a box of instant ramen.

“Okay, so you designate the ramen.”

I blinked, watching to see what kind of absurd thing she was up to now.

“And drag it onto the screen.”

The box of ramen vanished.

“And there, ramen supplied to the citizens.”

On the screen, I could see the pixelated graphics of the citizens cheering.

Wait, what just happened? Why are the citizens happy over a single box of ramen?

“One box of ramen here multiplies into a hundred boxes over there.”

Well, that’s incredibly convenient.

Did getting stuck on a floating island turn her citizens into ants or something?

Like a crumb to a human is a year’s worth of food to an ant?

No, there’s something else I should be questioning first.

Why are physical goods transferring over to the floating island? And do the citizens even know what ramen is to be so happy about it?

As if she had read my thoughts, Katrinne zoomed in on the citizens as far as she could.

There, two citizens were arguing.

“There’s a conflict of opinion between someone who says you have to put the noodles in first when you boil the water, and someone who says you have to put the soup packet in first. How should I rule on this?”

Katrinne said, a thoughtful look on her face.

Seriously, it should be enough for her to be the only one who likes ramen. She’s turned all her citizens into ramen-crazed fanatics.

It’s pixelated, but looking closely, all the citizens’ hair is curly, like ramen noodles.

I’ve seen something I shouldn’t have. I shouldn’t have asked.

“My Lord level is still low, but the higher my synchronization rate gets, the more menus I can use.”

“Ah, right. This isn’t some weird game, is it? You haven’t just named it the Rania Estate and are pretending it’s a floating island when it’s actually just a game, right?”

Honestly, it was hard to believe.

“It’s not.”

“It is.”

“I’m telling you, it’s not.”

“Fine, whatever you say.”

At my words, a slight wrinkle appeared on Katrinne’s smooth brow.

Because of what happened in the dungeon today, I was feeling unsettled and must have asked the kid something pointless.

“Can you, like, talk to them?”

“I thought you didn’t believe me?”

“I’m just curious if it’s possible.”

“It is. It’s like, what do you call it? We can talk to each other like a chat app.”

Chatting like a text.

Honestly, it was truly hard to believe.

It made sense for Hunters and other ability users here to be connected to the System.

But were all the ordinary citizens over there connected to the System too?

‘The entire estate was transported here, so maybe they were connected to the System.’

It was beyond my understanding, but since even renowned researchers hadn’t figured out the System, there was no way I would know.

“Can you see a list of people born or deceased in the estate?”

“Suddenly?”

“Yeah.”

At my question, Katrinne’s expression hardened slightly.

“Why are you curious about that?”

“Just because.”

A short sigh escaped Katrinne’s lips.

“Mister. Don’t worry about things like that.”

I had heard those words once before.

***

At Katrinne’s words, a bitter smile graced Hyunbin’s lips.

She had seen that expression on his face before. No, it was a face she saw often.

Hero Bin.

A man chosen as a summon from another world, capable of wielding the Holy Sword to defeat the Demon King who spread terror across the continent.

He fought for a world that had nothing to do with him. He was a guardian of peace and achieved many great feats.

All in just a few years.

Yet, he received no proper reward.

All he gained from his sacrifices was the title of the strongest and a glory riddled with scars.

The Hero defeated the Demon King, and a brief peace came to the continent.

But immediately after, the Seven Kingdoms began to fight amongst themselves for supremacy.

With the great evil gone, they aimed to claim the empty throne.

Thanks to that, more people died than during the time of the Demon King.

Hero Bin watched as countless people died. And he saw the threats from the powers vying for supremacy turn towards the innocent Rania Estate.

The Hero once again took up his sword. This time, against the very kingdoms he had protected.

He shed so much blood. With every knight by his side who met their end, the Hero remained outwardly stoic, but inside, he was breaking down.

Enough time passed for the little lord to become a beautiful lady.

The Hero seized control of the continent.

But he was left with a deep trauma. It was…

“Can you check if Diana Kriston is alive?”

He was extremely sensitive to the deaths of others.

Sometimes he would be in extreme agony, and other times, extreme rage.

Katrinne searched for the resident in her system window.

Diana Kriston was found.

Katrinne felt a wave of depression. She was an orphan who lived in the western part of the Rania Estate.

Her mother had passed away early, and her father, a soldier, had died in the war.

Orphaned, she lived with her younger brother. But her misfortunes didn’t end there.

‘Deceased…’

She didn’t understand why he was suddenly asking about Diana’s life or death. He had no way of knowing that Diana had died just yesterday.

“I can check, but Mister, why do you want to know?”

“She’s dead, isn’t she?”

He was so sharp, it was hard to fool him.

“Nope. She’s totally alive and well! Can’t you see all these people eating ramen? Should I try sending some kimchi over too?”

“Did she die yesterday?”

Katrinne felt a pang of guilt. But she answered with a bright smile.

“Nope. Not at all.”

“Really?”

“Yep. Mister, can I order some delivery? I’m hungry.”

“Do whatever you want. When have you ever asked for my permission?”

“That’s true.”

Katrinne giggled and started searching for her favorited restaurants.

It was obvious her guardian was not in a good mood. She felt that something must have happened during his hunt this time.

‘I’m curious.’

But Katrinne couldn’t bring herself to ask.

She felt that asking would just make him think about it more and cause him more pain.

‘I’ll ask when the time is right.’

Katrinne had patience.

The patience she had learned since she was a child enabled her to hide her true feelings and smile nonchalantly.

Soon, their delicious meal arrived.

Seeing the fried dumplings that came as a freebie from their usual Chinese place lifted her spirits.

Eating delicious food makes you feel better. If it worked for her, it would be the same for her guardian.

Katrinne, who had inhaled her extra-large bowl of jajangmyeon in an instant, glanced over at Hyunbin. He was still picking at his jjamppong.

“Mister, you don’t have an appetite?”

“No, I’m eating my best here. Don’t you think the one who devours an extra-large bowl of jajangmyeon in one minute is the weird one?”

Receiving the same criticism from her guardian as always, Katrinne laughed as if to say, ‘I guess so.’

She was relieved that Hyunbin seemed to have cheered up, even if just a little.

“Mister, should I become a Hunter too?”

“A Hunter? All of a sudden? Why?”

“Like I said before, I need money to feed my citizens.”

While it was for her citizens, there was a bigger reason.

Since becoming a Hunter, the number of scars on Hyunbin’s body had been increasing one by one. She had been secretly healing them at night, but one day, an enemy he couldn’t handle might appear.

Her guardian was stronger than anyone, but he wasn’t yet the apex predator of this ecosystem. No, no matter how strong he was, he could still be in danger from an unexpected event.

“What about school?”

“Is school the problem? My citizens are more important.”

“That’s a commendable thing to say. But don’t do it.”

“Why? You don’t trust me?”

Hyunbin looked at Katrinne and snorted softly.

“I’ll give you money, so just go to school. You never got to hang out with kids your age in your world, did you?”

At those words, Katrinne closed her mouth.

It was true; in her estate, she had only subordinates and vassals, not a single friend.

No, she never even had the luxury of making friends. She had to overcome life-or-death situations several times where a single misjudgment could have gotten everyone killed.

“Even without the salary from the guild, I have a decent amount of side income, so don’t worry about money.”

At his consideration, Katrinne smiled bashfully. She was grateful for his concern.

“Then just give me about a hundred grand. That should be enough, I think?”

“A million won? Is that all you need?”

At Hyunbin’s words, Katrinne put on a serious face and replied.

“What are you talking about? You’ll have to give me ten billion.”

“Where should I hit you so people say I did a good job?”

“Go ahead and hit me. I’ll make you an internet star by the time you wake up, Mister.”

Katrinne snorted and shook her phone, which was open to her social media account.

The two bickered over something trivial before going to their separate rooms to sleep.

***

The next morning.

When Katrinne came out of her room, yawning, Hyunbin was gone.

It was his daily routine.

Before and after his awakening, Hyunbin never skipped his daily run and training.

‘Today’s the day.’

Katrinne checked the mark she had made on her phone’s calendar app.

Normally, she would have started with a hearty meal, but today she had a lot to do. She quickly went into the shower in her room.

After a refreshing shower, she dried off, wrapped a towel around her hair, and began her basic makeup routine.

Thanks to a good night’s sleep, her makeup applied well, making her feel like a different person even to herself.

Katrinne finished getting ready and came out of her room. Just then, Hyunbin, having finished his run, was in the yard lifting dumbbells.

“What, are you going out?”

“Yup.”

Putting down the dumbbells, Hyunbin wiped his sweat with a towel and spoke again, indifferently.

“Your skirt’s too short.”

“Whatever. Were you born in the dark ages?”

“How does someone from another world even know about the dark ages? Wait, are you wearing makeup?”

“Yeah.”

She could see Hyunbin was slightly flustered.

Katrinne grinned and said.

“I’m heading out.”

“Without eating?”

“Yep.”

“Where are you going?”

“On a date.”

At Katrinne’s words, Hyunbin blinked.

Soon, he snorted, and Katrinne snorted back.

Leaving Katrinne to head out, Hyunbin finished his workout and went into the living room. Come to think of it, she was at an age where she might have a boyfriend.

‘Still, she’s a sharp kid, so she probably won’t meet some weirdo.’

As Hyunbin maintained his composure, a voice from the TV reached him.

—At first, I just thought it was a phase. But to think he would completely change his path…

Listening to a father’s lamentation, weeping on the TV, Hyunbin’s pupils began to slowly tremble.