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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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I knew that Ha-ni, my roommate, had made a lunchbox, but the other two were a bit unexpected.
No, maybe Yoo-na wasn’t that unexpected since she was probably planning to sneak away and eat alone with Lilac.
Her favorability towards Kim Ga-eul, who brought up the lunchbox topic to everyone, probably plummeted because of that.
The three of them started opening their lunchboxes.
Kim Ga-eul was the first to open hers.
With a confident expression, Kim Ga-eul revealed bite-sized rice balls, fried chicken, decorated Vienna sausages, and a standard lunchbox with a few vegetables.
“Oh, Ga-eul prepared fried chicken too? That must have been hard.”
Lilac said with a smile, and Kim Ga-eul looked at me with a proud face.
What, was she expecting me to praise her?
Even the others were subtly looking at me now.
“So-hyun, try it quickly.”
Seriously, Lilac, are you being considerate or not?
He was always so eager in these types of situations.
I picked up a rice ball and ate it.
It wasn’t incredibly delicious, but the seasoned rice mixed with seaweed flakes was pretty good.
The fried chicken I ate next was a bit soggy due to staying in the lunchbox for too long, but it was still decent.
“It’s delicious. You worked hard.”
“See? I’m good at cooking, right?”
She had such a proud face that I couldn’t say anything contrary to that.
It was a little pitiful, thinking about how that face would soon crumble.
Skill was always relative.
Even if you didn’t want to compare, humans naturally compared when something was right in front of them, and it was Ga-eul herself who had entered this competition without any warning.
Before the excitement over Ga-eul’s lunchbox died down, Ha-ni opened her lunchbox with a smile.
“Now, it’s my turn, right? I prepared this early in the morning too~”
“Oh, the lone flower’s lunchbox! The only guy who brought homemade food!”
Lilac, caught up in the atmosphere, started some kind of skit.
And Ha-ni’s lunchbox was opened.
Four kinds of fried food, cubed grilled salmon, beef and vegetable rolls secured with toothpicks, rolled omelet, salad, and small rice balls.
Kim Ga-eul’s expression began to seriously waver.
“I put some simple things on the second tier, and fruits on the first tier as a palate cleanser.”
And when she opened the bottom tier, fruits appeared: apples and pears cut into cute shapes, and strawberries coated and hardened with chocolate.
Except for me, who was often treated to her cooking, everyone seemed surprised by Ha-ni’s cooking skills.
“Hey, don’t just stare, try it.”
“…Me again?”
I picked up a beef and vegetable roll and put it in my mouth. The light seasoning allowed the flavors of the beef and vegetables to harmonize beautifully.
If Kim Ga-eul’s cooking was a beginner’s dish made decently well, this was clearly in the realm of a professional.
“Delicious. You’re a good cook, as always.”
But I couldn’t express it openly.
Partly because I felt sorry for Ga-eul, who looked like she was about to cry, and partly because it was Yoo-na’s turn next.
But as if she was determined to drink the poisoned chalice, Kim Ga-eul looked back and forth between her own cooking and Ha-ni’s, and then picked up one of Ha-ni’s dishes and ate it.
Her face brightened as if it was delicious, and then she looked at her own lunchbox again in deep despair.
Ga-eul, don’t be like that. Ha-ni is a heroine who doesn’t die until the middle of the story.
It’s okay if she has more specialties than you.
That didn’t sound very comforting in my head though.
“Sigh. Well, I knew we’d all end up eating together, so I packed plenty.”
Leaving the despairing Ga-eul aside, Yoo-na opened her lunchbox.
Tenderly cooked chicken breast, smoked sausages grilled with slits, and homemade-looking pork cutlets – a combination that any boy would love. Along with it came some slightly spicy kimbap with peppers to balance out the richness of the meat-centered dishes.
“Wow, it’s all my favorite food.”
And Lilac, who had become as clueless as a ghost, spouted such nonsense with a smile.
Yoo-na and I were probably thinking the same thing, right?
It’s because she packed it for you to eat, you idiot.
Ah, I made eye contact with Yoo-na.
She shook her head as if she had read my mind, and she looked a little pitiful.
“Lilac, you eat first.”
“Huh? Shouldn’t the judge try everything equally?”
“It’s not a competition or anything, just eat it first. I’ll eat after you.”
If Lilac didn’t take the first bite, the atmosphere would definitely become tense.
“Really? Well, I’ll be happy to. Hmm, delicious! As expected, Yoo-na’s cooking is the most familiar taste.”
Yoo-na’s expression softened a little after seeing Lilac enjoying her food.
Lilac, you really need to treat Yoo-na and me well, you bastard.
Ah, this is delicious.
I could naturally feel the difference after one bite.
If Ha-ni’s cooking was like something made by a professional, Yoo-na’s cooking had a strong home-cooked taste.
It was a taste tailored to someone’s individual preference, a taste that showed she had thought about that person for a long time.
“See? Yoo-na is a good cook, right?”
“Yeah, I’m envious that you have a childhood friend who’s good at cooking.”
So, stop taking her for granted and take care of her. Don’t make her turn evil.
As we chatted and started eating, Ha-ni and Yoo-na’s lunchboxes were quickly emptied, while Kim Ga-eul’s lunchbox slowly dwindled.
They probably weren’t doing it consciously, but as they chatted and ate, they naturally gravitated towards the higher quality food.
It wouldn’t have been like this if they had eaten consciously.
…Personally, I didn’t like pretending to help while saying “It can’t be helped,” but it was truly unavoidable in this case.
I couldn’t let her cry or get traumatized.
Hmm, the soggy fried chicken was actually pretty edible.
“Loser, you should just eat something else… Don’t worry about me, I’m okay.”
“No, this is good too. They’re just too good. Yours is average.”
“…Loser.”
Kim Ga-eul, our easily moved friend, seemed touched again, tears welling up in her eyes.
“That was really delicious.”
Lilac, who had even diligently finished the fruit, smiled and laid down on the picnic blanket.
This con man. It was unfair that he looked so handsome while lying down and saying such things.
We were used to it, so we just saw him as Lilac, but the people around us didn’t seem to be as Yoo-na seemed quite uncomfortable with the whispers around us.
Well, everyone except me was quite good-looking, so it was natural that we would attract attention.
From other people’s perspective, two handsome guys and two pretty girls, plus one extra, were eating in a rose-filled park.
As I was scanning the people looking at us, I noticed something interesting.
A large man was holding a soft-serve ice cream in one hand while arguing with a woman about half his size.
“Ah, you idiot, who plays whack-a-mole like that!?”
“Ahem, a martial artist must have the courtesy to focus solely on the opponent in front of them. I’ve decided to duel with the one in the middle, so don’t interfere!”
“Don’t be ridiculous! This isn’t that kind of game! If our combined score isn’t high enough, we don’t get a doll!”
“Sometimes, there are things more important than prizes…!”
“Stop it! Pay for the participation fee!”
It was incredibly similar to the description in the novel.
The combination of a giant man over two meters tall and a cute girl.
They weren’t a couple thrilled by the height difference, nor were they friends enjoying the event innocently.
They were two people killing time while waiting for their boss, who was planning to cause a terrorist attack at this venue. They were the main villains of this episode, executives of the villain alliance that was originally supposed to be the rival of the Twelve Zodiacs.
“Phew, I won.”
“You won! But your score is terrible because you only hit the mole in the middle! Ah! Seriously!”
“It’s not like we can’t afford a doll. Just bear with it.”
“It’s better to win it in a game!”
Although they didn’t look like it, it was true.
Considering that the Twelve Zodiacs was still a rapidly rising organization in the original story, at this point, they could be considered one of the most dangerous villain groups.
“Ah, whatever. Seriously. Go get me some stir-fried noodles.”
“I don’t want that. It’s all carbs.”
“Who said I’m getting it for you? It’s for me.”
“In that case, I should get it.”
The large man stopped as he was turning around and looked at us.
“Ho.”
Oh, just like in the original story.
He enjoyed fighting strong people and testing those who had the potential to become strong.
That was one of the few hobbies of this monster, so he picked out the person with the most potential to become strong among this crowd at a glance.
“Ah, hey. What are you doing? I told you to get noodles. Don’t you remember I told you not to cause trouble?”
“I’ll just say hello and come back. It’s been a while since I’ve seen someone with that kind of potential.”
He approached us, neither too slow nor too fast.
Lilac, who had been lying down, and Ha-ni, who had been chatting, seemed to notice him and sat up.
“You there.”
The giant man, reaching our table, grinned.
In the novel, I didn’t feel anything, but was this a bear or a human?
And as befitting his bear-like physique, he was good at tearing people apart.
“The guy who was lying down. Come talk to me for a second.”
The others frowned at his blunt and provocative attitude.
“You’re the strongest here, right?”
Once again, the scene from the novel overlapped with reality.
-You’re the strongest here, right?
In the story, it was a woman who stopped the man who said those words and raised his fist.
And as if the contents of the novel were becoming reality, a woman approached us.
“Hey…”
“Stop it. Don’t be rude to the kids.”
“Ah, you’re already here? I was just about to test him. The young one looks pretty good.”
She was a model-like woman with long, sky-blue hair.
I couldn’t see them well because of her sunglasses, but her eyes were probably golden yellow.
The leader of the villain alliance Arcadia, and one of the strongest in this world, with an S-rank talent.
Callea. That was her name.
“Test what? Don’t bother the kids and come on. You look like you’re here to have fun. Ah, I’m sorry. My companion has a bit of an aggressive personality, he can’t help himself when he sees someone who looks talented.”
She handed us her business card with her fake identity and apologized.
“If you’re still upset, contact me here.”
Seo Ha-neul, A-rank hero.
That was her disguised identity, but my friends seemed surprised.
“We’re a little busy right now. We’ll definitely apologize if you contact us later.”
She wasn’t particularly polite.
The attitude she showed us wasn’t her real personality either. It was all an act.
She was just being moderately accommodating because she didn’t want us to bother them and ruin their timing, and because she was confident that we couldn’t become a variable in their plans.
“I thought A-rank heroes had a reputation for being rude, but that’s not the case, huh?”
“Hey, Professor Cathy is also A-rank.”
“Hey, the professor is honestly different from other heroes.”
Soon, this venue would be turned upside down by the special device they brought.
The intentional creation of a dungeon.
That was the nature of the terrorist attack they wanted to cause, and the reason why this Rose Festival would be connected to another world’s dungeon.
The Rose Alchemist, a great figure from another world.
To seize the fruits of his lifelong pursuit of alchemy, they were planning to turn this entire festival into a dungeon.
And I, too…
I had no intention of stopping the dungeon from opening since I had something I was aiming for.
Of course, I didn’t intend to let innocent people die.
No ordinary person here would die.
Because Lilac, the protagonist of this novel, and the others were here, even if they acted a bit foolish sometimes.
“Huh? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing much.”
It was just that they were going to have to go through some trouble.
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Click.
Callea had been in a bad mood all along.
“Ah, I really didn’t intend to kill him, you know. I just wanted to test him because he looked pretty good.”
“See, you were going to punch him if you tested him. Don’t you know it’s a problem even if he doesn’t die?”
“I’m not angry about that.”
“Huh? Then what? Are you finally angry because this big guy is unbearable?”
“No, it’s not that. I think it might be my imagination, though.”
“What?”
“One of those kids smelled similar to me.”
“…You’re saying one of them has the Omnipotent talent?”
“No, I’m not sure, but I just got that feeling.”
“Huh, if that’s true, we should secure that too.”
Hearing the large man’s words, she smiled.
“Well, it would be good if we could.”
It was a confident and ferocious predator’s smile, different from the gentle smile she had shown the kids from before.
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T/N – Oof. Digging your own grave, huh Ga-eul? This is why Ha-ni is best girl though. See how much the author has to do to give Ga-eul a fighting chance?
Also, an interesting character has been introduced. I wonder how her Omnipotent talent works?
If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.
