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Chapter 56
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A neat and tall man asked Si-yoon for her number.
Si-yoon gave an awkward smile and replied,
“Ah… I’m sorry, but I’m not into this kind of thing.”
She immediately turned him down and tried to join her sisters.
But the man didn’t back off easily.
When Si-yoon tried to turn away, he closed the distance and spoke with a friendly smile.
“Oh, I think you misunderstood. I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable. I just want to get to know you better.”
“……”
“I know a great café nearby. Would you like to check it out together, no pressure?”
As he naturally pointed in the direction she was walking,
The man persistently blocked her way, not changing his attitude.
Si-yoon let out a small sigh and fiddled with her bracelet.
She had dressed up just for fun,
But she hadn’t expected to encounter such an annoying and unpleasant situation.
Her expression hardened, but the man only smiled wider and continued.
“Just one cup of coffee. We can drink together, and if you still feel uncomfortable afterward, you can turn me down!”
At the man’s repeated request, Si-yoon replied in a firm tone.
“I’m sorry, but I’m with my group. Please excuse me.”
She tried to step around him.
But the man stretched out his arm, blocking her again.
“Your friends will understand. Honestly, don’t you think I’m worth meeting?”
“Ah, seriously!”
Si-yoon looked up at him with eyes full of irritation.
The man looked down at her confidently with a broad smile.
And at that moment—
“…Who are you?”
A voice cold enough to feel like ice.
The man turned his head to look behind him in confusion.
When he saw who had spoken, his eyes widened.
“Oh, is this one of your friends?”
“…I said, who are you?”
Si-hyun asked again.
Her bracelet’s function had suddenly activated, and she wondered what was going on.
From a distance, she had seen a thug harassing her younger sister.
She almost lost her temper on the spot but managed to hold it back.
She hadn’t fully grasped the situation yet.
Glaring at the man, she clenched her fist tightly.
The man flinched for a moment at Si-hyun’s icy voice.
But soon, his attention was captured by her striking appearance.
She was breathtakingly beautiful, even more so than any celebrity.
He had never seen someone this stunning in his life.
Even her angry glare seemed cute to him.
As he scanned her from head to toe, he smiled warmly and said,
“Wow, you’re absolutely gorgeous! Would you like to have a cup of coffee with me? I’ll treat both of you, so don’t worry about the cost.”
Si-hyun frowned as she continued to glare at him.
But the man carried on as he pleased.
“Oh, you’ve got something on you—”
He reached out his hand toward Si-hyun.
“Sss.”
Si-hyun sharply slapped his hand away.
Still smiling, the man looked down at her.
Si-hyun furrowed her brow deeply and spoke in a low voice as if issuing a final warning.
“…Don’t test my patience. Get out of my sight right now.”
“Haha! Don’t be like that—”
“I’ll give you three seconds.”
Si-hyun raised three fingers and held them up in front of him.
“Three.”
The man smirked, watching her.
What could she possibly do in three seconds, he thought.
He wore the expression of someone enjoying a small animal’s antics.
Confident he was in control of the situation, he smiled smugly.
“Two.”
While the man was focused on Si-hyun, Si-yoon quickly moved to stand beside her sister.
Si-hyun wrapped her arm protectively around her younger sister’s shoulder and continued counting.
“One.”
Ji-a, who had returned at a leisurely pace, stood behind Si-yoon.
At that moment, Si-yoon became the most dangerous “ordinary person” in the world.
It was practically the epitome of being protected by power.
“…I warned you.”
Si-hyun muttered in a low voice.
She glanced briefly at the man, who shrugged and acted relaxed.
Then, she lightly snapped her fingers.
Snap!
“The pain of a burning tongue.”
“……!”
At that moment, the man’s behaviour changed.
He tilted his head in confusion, sensing something strange.
Suddenly, a spicy sensation spread across his tongue.
Si-yoon, who was sticking close to her sister, looked at her in surprise.
“Uh, Unnie … is this that new thing you made?”
“Yeah, it is.”
The man, overhearing their conversation, began to frown.
Si-hyun lifted her chin and spoke.
“Five thousand Scoville units.”
“Ugh…”
The man covered his mouth with his hand. The situation felt utterly bizarre.
His mouth was suddenly filled with spiciness and unbearable pain.
Even though there was nothing in his mouth.
“Ten thousand Scoville units.”
“Hrk!”
The man frantically looked around as if searching for something.
The burning sensation was worse than eating the spiciest instant noodles.
“Twenty thousand Scoville units.”
“Haaaah—!”
The man let out a strange noise and sprinted away.
He ran toward the park’s water fountain.
“Thirty thousand Scoville units.”
“Oh my god…”
Hearing the steadily rising Scoville levels, Si-yoon furrowed her brow involuntarily.
Even just hearing those numbers was horrifying; what kind of pain must that man be feeling?
The thought crept into her mind, and Si-yoon shook her head violently to dispel the images.
“Fifty thousand Scoville units.”
The levels continued to climb at an alarming rate.
Ji-a, who had been quietly watching, scratched her cheek and spoke.
“Si-hyun, are you using magic right now?”
“Yes. It’s a spell that lets everyone equally experience the tongue pain I once felt.”
“I see….”
Ji-a closed her mouth.
But fifty thousand Scoville units?
Even foods famous for their spiciness were only half that at best.
The man must be going through hell inside his mouth.
It was an incredibly cruel spell.
Indeed, the man felt his mind growing hazy.
He staggered to the water fountain and gulped down the tap water.
But that wasn’t nearly enough to make it better.
His eyes turned red, and his trembling hands gripped the faucet tightly.
Veins bulged on the backs of his hands.
“One hundred thousand Scoville units.”
Tears started to form in the man’s eyes.
He whimpered in agony.
The pain spreading from his tongue consumed his entire mouth, and no matter how much water he drank, it wouldn’t go away.
He tilted his head back, opened his mouth wide, and let the gushing tap water flow directly into it.
Watching the scene blankly, Si-yoon murmured without realizing it.
“Is he going to die like that…?”
“I can just save him.”
“Oh… uh… really?”
You can’t bring the dead back to life.
But you can save someone who’s on the verge of dying.
The words from a past conversation flitted through her mind.
Still dazed, Si-yoon nodded her head.
“Five hundred thousand Scoville units.”
The level suddenly jumped fivefold!
Even villains started to seem pitiable at this point.
Feeling like it was enough, Si-yoon raised her voice and said,
“Unnie! We need to get to the wine bar. Let’s let him go and head out!”
“…Shall we?”
Si-hyun glanced up at her sister with a cheerful smile.
Without a word, she casually inflicted the man with the pain of one million Scoville units.
At the same time, she ensured he wouldn’t lose consciousness by applying a recovery spell.
Then she adjusted the intensity of the debuff spell, allowing it to gradually wear off.
Only then did the man release his grip on the faucet.
He collapsed onto the ground, unable to muster the strength to get up.
At least his clothes were still intact since he hadn’t rolled around on the ground.
Even now, his persistent personality, which had clung stubbornly to Si-yoon earlier, was evident in his demeanour.
“Hmph.”
Si-yoon stuck her tongue out at the man before rushing to her sister’s side.
Linking arms with Si-hyun, she walked alongside her, looking perfectly content.
***
The three women entered a wine bar in a quiet area.
Not knowing much about wine, Si-hyun sat quietly and listened to Ji-a’s explanation.
“It’s not as complicated as you think! Just consider three things: colour, taste, and whether it’s sparkling.”
Red, white.
Dry, sweet.
Sparkling.
Ji-a’s friendly explanation continued, and Si-hyun nodded along.
“I’m not an expert either, but if you just mention these things, the staff will pick something good for you.”
“Ah, I see.”
With that, the three women consulted the stars marked on the menu and browsed through the options.
In the end, they took recommendations, ordering white wine and some cheese to go with it.
The wine was elegantly poured into glasses.
An assortment of cheeses was served with some crackers.
They briefly watched the polite waiter bow and walk away.
Si-hyun lifted her glass and lightly took in the aroma.
“Wow….”
The citrusy fruit scent tickled her nose.
She instinctively took a sip.
The cool temperature of the wine refreshed her mouth.
At the same time, its tangy and clean flavour filled her palate.
It felt like drinking the essence of spring.
Si-hyun smiled with satisfaction, her eyes crinkling with joy.
Sitting beside her, Ji-a rested her chin lightly in her hand and watched Si-hyun’s face.
Seeing Si-hyun’s delighted smile, Ji-a could tell she was enjoying the wine.
After observing her eat some cheese, Ji-a took a sip of her own wine.
In the quiet atmosphere, the three of them enjoyed their drinks and snacks together.
As they each reached a pleasant level of tipsiness,
Ji-a suddenly asked Si-hyun something she had been curious about.
“Si-hyun, I suddenly got curious about something.”
“Hmm? About what?”
“Well, if it’s uncomfortable to talk about, you don’t have to answer.”
After a brief pause, she continued.
“It’s about the Hero’s Party from the other world. What were the members like? I’m just curious.”
“Oh.”
Si-hyun nodded and took a sip of wine.
Feeling a slight buzz, she thought to herself.
When she paused like that, I thought it might be something heavy, but it turns out she wants to hear stories about my experiences.
The events in the other world weren’t exactly pleasant, but they weren’t so painful that they couldn’t be shared with others.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to talk a bit behind their backs.
After organizing her thoughts, Si-hyun slowly began to speak.
“The members changed periodically, so it would take a while to list them all.”
“Uh-huh, uh-huh.”
“But if you exclude the Necromancers and others like them… By the end, including myself, there were six of us.”
“Oh, I see. So, was the Necromancer like a summoner or something?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
When Si-hyun nodded, Ji-a wrinkled her nose.
“Ew… That kind of job feels more like it belongs in the Demon King’s army than in a Hero’s Party.”
“Right? That’s what I thought too.”
Si-hyun agreed lightly.
In reality, many Necromancers ended up succumbing to darkness and becoming corrupted.
Having killed quite a few of them herself, Si-hyun knew Ji-a wasn’t entirely wrong.
“They really had some creepy habits, too.”
“Creepy? Like what?”
“They claimed it was all about efficiency, but they did a lot of bizarre things.”
“Huh… I can’t quite imagine. Can you give me an example?”
When Ji-a asked, Si-hyun rested her cheek on her hand and took a moment to gather her thoughts.
She adjusted her posture, crossing her legs, and felt the bare skin beneath her dress.
For a moment, her attention was drawn to the sensation in her tipsy state.
She fiddled with the tie at her waist before resuming the conversation with Ji-a.
“They said regular corpses were too weak, so they made things like undead puppets.”
“Un… undead puppets?”
“Yeah. Something about binding their souls through a contract.”
“Oh my gosh…”
“They’re almost as strong as they were in life, but in the end, they’re still just corpses.”
“I see…”
Ji-a shuddered with discomfort.
Trying to shake off the unpleasant feeling, she rubbed her arms briskly.
“They’d also fuse familiars together. Honestly, they’re just weirdos.”
“Oh, I see…”
As Ji-a awkwardly nodded, Si-yoon, who had been quietly listening, waved her hands as she cut in.
“Ew! Just hearing about it gives me chills. Sis, let’s talk about something else!”
“Hmm, should we?”
Hearing her sister’s slightly slurred voice, Si-hyun smiled faintly and nodded.
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