Chapter 126
The brief yet intense first meeting with the Heavenly Demon had ended.
‘Phew…….’
You really worked hard, Yujin!
Practically winning the battle of wills against the strongest person in the world, securing a wish ticket, and even arranging a one-on-one meeting.
And all in a single day, I had accomplished an incredible number of great deeds.
‘Vamphehe.’
I was rolling around contentedly on my soft bed when it happened.
[Lord's Great Deeds]
[Current Completion: 76%]
‘Huh?’
Somehow, the great deeds had increased by another 1 percent.
Why was that?
Umm…….
I thought it over carefully.
Was it because the Association people had been so moved?
But that couldn't be it, since Great Deeds only increased when I affected powerful individuals.
Then.
Could it be that making an appointment with the Heavenly Demon had only been reflected belatedly?
That seemed fairly plausible.
‘Aha. I guess even great deeds take a little time to settle their accounts.’
I nodded, reasonably satisfied with that explanation.
Anyway, now I had to prepare for my date with the Heavenly Demon… no, for the Heavenly Demon–Jinjo meeting.
‘What am I supposed to do alone with a woman—moreover, the world's number-two ranker?’
As I had no experience with this sort of thing, I found it quite daunting.
But I had no intention of canceling the appointment.
I had already promised to do it first, and I needed to build the Heavenly Demon's favor to make sure I secured the wish ticket.
Besides, this meeting itself would greatly help me complete [Lord's Great Deeds].
The question was whether to bring my retainers or not.
At our first meeting, the Heavenly Demon had been pressuring the Association, and I hadn't known whether she was hostile.
If Kim Taeseong and the Association personnel ended up in danger, I had no power to protect them myself.
If a fight broke out, I would absolutely need my retainers' combat power.
But this meeting was different.
The Heavenly Demon had already withdrawn her hostility and even apologized and made an appointment.
Most importantly, the Heavenly Demon herself wanted to meet one-on-one.
There was another decisive reason.
‘I would be going out as an avatar body, so even if I died, only one fake body would be lost. But the others were real.’
Even if the Heavenly Demon had no intention of fighting, Katarina and Siyeon might become wary of her, leading to an unnecessary clash in a split second.
So I made my decision.
“I shall go alone to my appointment with the Heavenly Demon.”
When I announced this to the retainers gathered in the living room, Katarina immediately knelt and pleaded.
“My lord! But that person was so irreverent as to challenge you to a battle of wills. Please, take me with you!”
“It is fine. Do you think this Jinjo incapable of handling even that?”
“……! I-I understand.”
At my firm words, Katarina bowed her head reluctantly.
Thus, I decided to go alone.
But attracting excessive attention from ordinary people would do nothing to help me complete great deeds and would only be tiring.
I had read on the wiki that the Heavenly Demon had something like a stealth technique, but I had no such thing.
So I called Lili.
“Lili. Can you make something that obscures my face but won't interfere with eating?”
“Mmm….”
Lili thought for a moment, then broke into a bright smile.
“Then I think a fox half-mask would work!”
A fox mask that covered only the upper half of the face.
It wouldn't make me completely invisible, but she said she could give it a perception-obscuring effect that would distract people's attention and keep them from properly remembering my features.
‘Good.’
Now that the mask problem was solved, all that remained was choosing the itinerary.
Surely the golden rule for a one-on-one meeting was to share a meal, right?
I opened the search bar on my smartphone and entered several queries.
[Korean Food to Serve Foreigners]
[Food a Chinese Person Might Like]
[Quiet Restaurants]
But the Internet search results were nothing but viral advertisements.
Even famous high-end restaurants required calling them one by one to make a reservation in person.
…This isn't easy.
‘Hmm, let's just make meat the menu. Beef!’
Hanwoo is always the right choice.
Also, instead of choosing the venue myself, I decided to ask for help.
‘I can just ask the Association president.’
I opened a system window and sent Kim Taeseong a message.
[I intend to serve the Heavenly Demon meat from this country. Can you arrange a suitable place where we can avoid the attention of ordinary people?]
The reply came back almost immediately.
[Of course. As soon as the time and place are decided, I will prepare the finest venue.]
I was extremely pleased.
‘As expected of the Association president. He must know all the good restaurants.’
We set the meeting for tomorrow, and when I notified the Heavenly Demon of the time, she readily replied that she would.
Just as I was about to rest after making the preparations smoothly,
Vrrrr!
This time, a short vibration came from my smartphone.
[IceCoffee: You logging on tomorrow?]
[IceCoffee: I was thinking we could duo if you have time.]
[IceCoffee: …There’s something I want to talk about, too.]
My gaming friend—and a current S-rank hunter—was the Ice Emperor.
Duo, and something she wanted to say, too.
Was something wrong?
Normally, I would have accepted immediately without a second thought, but.
‘I have plans tomorrow.’
I hesitated for a moment.
‘Should I just postpone my appointment with the Heavenly Demon?’
But I soon gave up on the idea.
I had already set a time with the Heavenly Demon, and I had even asked Kim Taeseong to arrange the restaurant.
It would be difficult to postpone an appointment with the world's number-two ranker.
The completion rate of Great Deeds and the wish ticket were simply too important to me right now.
I replied, packing my apology into every keystroke.
[Jinyu: Sorry, sorry. I have an important appointment tomorrow;;]
[Jinyu: Let's go together next time ㄱㄱ]
After sending the reply, the only thing that appeared for a while was the read indicator; there was no response.
And only a little later did a message arrive.
[IceCoffee: Yeah. Have a good time.]
I felt guilty despite myself.
‘Next time, I should be the one to invite her first.’
I had been busy clearing the Tower lately, and we hadn't been able to play together much either.
I resolved to pay a little more attention to her.
***
Baek Eun-seol stared quietly down at her smartphone screen.
[Sorry, sorry. I have an important appointment tomorrow;;]
She unconsciously brought a finger to the input field.
[Who are you meeting?]
Baek Eun-seol gazed at the sentence she had typed for a moment, then erased every letter.
There was no reason for her to pry into who Jinyu was meeting.
Even if they were close gaming friends, everyone had a private life.
And even if she did hear who it was, was there any chance it would be someone she knew?
Besides, the only reason she had suggested playing duo tomorrow was because she wanted to relax by playing a game together, as usual.
It had absolutely, positively, nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that news of Jinjo and the Heavenly Demon arranging a private meeting had kept bothering her.
Baek Eun-seol muttered in a small voice.
“……Everyone's busy.”
***
The next day.
I summoned the avatar body again and finished getting ready to go out.
“Master! What do you think?”
“Excellent!”
The fox half-mask Lili had painstakingly made suited my face perfectly, and it was comfortable to wear.
It even felt like a perfect match for the dress and parasol!
Of course, I did look a bit like an outfit from some Dracula musical, but it didn't matter since the perception-obscuring effect was active anyway.
“If even the slightest problem arises, I shall go there immediately, my lord.”
Katarina said this as she saw me off, her expression grim.
‘It doesn't matter! If anything happens, I can just dismiss the avatar body and run away!’
Feeling reassured by that thought, I nodded lightly.
It was my first proper outing in a very long time.
I opened [Dark Portal] to the restaurant address the Association president had given me.
As I stepped out of the portal, I came face-to-face with the Heavenly Demon, who had already arrived at the meeting place.
She was dressed in the same black martial-arts robes as yesterday.
“You have come, Jinjo.”
“I have kept you waiting.”
I walked up to the Heavenly Demon and asked casually,
“Is there anything you cannot eat?”
“I have no particular dislikes. I do enjoy meat.”
‘Oh. Good choice of menu.’
“Come, this way.”
Feeling rather pleased with myself, I led the Heavenly Demon into the restaurant.
“Jinjo-nim. Heavenly Demon-nim. Welcome!”
Upon entering, the employee who recognized the Heavenly Demon and me flinched in surprise and immediately began showing us in.
Elegant, immaculate interior.
The space was enormous, too, and smelled wonderful.
Is this a restaurant or a department store?
I had never been anywhere like this.
‘Huh?’
But.
The inside of the restaurant was completely empty.
There wasn't a single customer in sight.
Restaurants this upscale were usually packed with people. Why wasn't it?
I asked the staff member guiding us,
“Was today originally supposed to be your day off?”
At that, the employee bowed politely and replied,
“We cleared the entire building so that you could use it comfortably, Jinjo-nim.”
‘Wow.’
Did they really rent out this entire enormous place?
It was a little overwhelming, but I loved how quiet it was, without any noise.
‘As expected of the Association president. He certainly knows how to get things done.’
Following our escort's guidance, we entered a spacious, luxurious private room.
Once seated, I spoke to the Heavenly Demon with an air befitting a host,
“Eat as much as you like. This One shall treat you to the meal.”
Now that I had plenty of money, I might as well pay for the meal.
Besides, the Heavenly Demon was so small that I didn't think she could eat very much.
How much could she possibly eat?
“Hmm.”
At my words, the Heavenly Demon briefly perused the menu.
Then she calmly said to the employee standing beside her,
“One head.”
“…Pardon?”
“Bring out one entire cow.”