A cake with a rough layer of cream, haphazardly drawn with a chocolate pen, and a single strawberry on top. Nari made a dissatisfied expression.

“…It’s annoying.”

It resembled the cakes she often made with her dad during her childhood. Although being a Hunter was always like that, Nari would feel uneasy whenever her mom’s return was delayed.

Her dad used to comfort Nari and Suho by pretending to go shopping together and making a strawberry cake.

At that time, Nari thought it was her mom’s favorite food, so she made a large, unattractive cake and stored it in the refrigerator.

Strangely, a day or two later, her mom always arrived.

As soon as her mom returned, she would take out the cake from the refrigerator and eat it with Nari right there, using a spoon.

Mom would always laugh with her battered face, saying, “Cream that’s been made for a day or two tastes even better,” and Nari found it fascinating.
Without any dedicated equipment, it was impossible to create a neat shape with a ladle for spreading cream, and with a child’s control, it was impossible to draw a clean picture with a chocolate pen.

But it would taste good when eaten. As always. Because cream that’s been made for a day or two tastes even better.

“Why would I take this out…”

Normally, she consciously avoided such thoughts. In her dreams, the Chaos Dominator was always present, so old memories didn’t come to mind.

Nari sighed deeply. Anyway, the remnants of the past didn’t disappear and often troubled her.

Even though those memories were now irrevocable, they always led her to nostalgia.

With a satisfied smile after eating the cake cleanly, Nari placed the plate on the table.

“Okay, finished eating, now slowly… Wow, this feels strange.”

Feeling her body shrinking rapidly, Nari grabbed her shoulders. It felt like she was becoming a dough.

Nari, about the size of a room, gradually became smaller, turning into a table, a chair, and eventually shrinking into a tiny form like a mouse.

“Well, at least my clothes got smaller too, thankfully.”

Looking up at the much larger table and chair, Nari, who had unknowingly found a small mouse hole, felt it was just the right size for her.

“It feels familiar somewhere.”

She thought it looked like a door she had seen a lot. It seemed like a door she saw every day, but she couldn’t figure out where she had seen it before.
Now, that wasn’t important. She had become small, and since there was a small door, she had no choice but to enter.

Tak, tak. Nari, who had straightened her skirt and stood up, opened the door to the mouse hole. A sophisticated white corridor continued.

Swish, swish, a rhythmic sound echoed.

As soon as she realized it sounded like the rustling of paper, the corridor transformed into a spacious room.

“Ah!”

Examining the room, Nari finally understood what kind of place this was.

The guild leader’s office in the guild hall. Kang Soo-jin, with a caterpillar headband on her head, was flipping through several documents, puffing on a pipe while sitting on a mushroom.

“Guild leader?!”

Even in her subconscious, Nari never thought she would encounter her superior. She shouted in surprise.

“Guild leader?”

After rolling her eyes to verify Nari’s face, Kang Soo-jin turned her eyes back to the documents, exhaling the smoke from the pipe in a doughnut shape.

“I haven’t hired someone like you before.”

“Oops.”

Nari just realized that she hadn’t revealed her original appearance to Kang Soo-jin. Well, she thought she could overlook it in her subconscious, but surprisingly, it was thoroughly checked in this place.

“And judging by your demeanor, it seems hiring someone like you would be troublesome in the future. So, please don’t use the term ‘guild leader.'”

“What, why? I’m incredibly strong, you know?! I passed the level 2 mock battle you gave me!”
Nari, whose subconscious mind was flooded with medication, pointed her finger at Kang Soo-jin. She was puffing on a pipe on top of a mushroom and smirked.

“The Guild believes in the ‘potential for growth’ as the highest, right? But for you, the limits of growth are too clearly apparent.”

Swish, Kang Soo-jin smoothly flipped through the documents again. Nevertheless, Nari, with the pride of being the world’s top-ranked, felt the effects of the drug intensifying.

“Limits? Where in the world is there a hunter with limits to growth? Wasn’t that your guild leader’s thesis?!”

“That’s about the real ‘Kang Soo-jin.'”

Kang Soo-jin finally lifted her face from the piles of documents. Come to think of it, this place was Nari’s subconscious. Then, who was the Kang Soo-jin in front of her?

“I am the subconscious playing the role of an ‘adult’ who can give you harsh words. In reality, Kang Soo-jin is perhaps best suited for that role.”

Nari, convinced, pursed her lips. As this was Nari’s ‘deep world,’ Kang I-hyun and Kang Soo-jin were products of her subconscious.

If that’s the case, then everything they say, borrowing their mouths, is essentially what Nari says to herself.

Muttering discontent within her mouth, Nari cleared her throat and switched to informal language.

“So… how do I overcome these limits?”

“Well…”

Kang Soo-jin once again exhaled smoke in the shape of a doughnut from the pipe.
The smoke floated gently and drifted behind Nari. Somehow, the door through which Nari had entered disappeared, and instead, a new door appeared.

“…Why is this floor so complicated?”

“Well, we can’t afford to get caught now. That’s why we opted for the fairy tale method. From the outside, this dream may seem very strange and peculiar, so it will buy us some time.”

“Caught? By whom?”

Intrigued by the meaningful words, Nari blinked and opened her eyes wide. Kang Soo-jin, after scrutinizing her for a while, buried her head back into the pile of documents.

“…Oh, by the copyright holder. This is a fairy tale where the copyright expired a long time ago. What can you do? Now, please go.”

“What are you talking about, seriously…”

Muttering in complaint, Nari turned away. Beyond the red door with a black cat-shaped handle, a loud rushing sound could be heard.

Thinking that a cat seemed a bit ominous, she turned the doorknob. At that moment, behind her, Kang Soo-jin’s small voice came through.

“Shinbit Nari.”

“No, what is it now!”

Nari turned around abruptly. There was nothing in the place where mushrooms had grown just a while ago.

Only the empty guild office of the Holy Temple was there.

As Nari stood there dazed, Kang Soo-jin’s soft voice reached her ears.

“This time is sturdy. The characters have become more diverse. It means you’ve formed healthier social relationships.”

So, please don’t forget this time. With that, the lights in the Holy Temple guild office went out abruptly.
Nari, who glanced briefly at the dim guild office, turned around again.

And with a creak, she opened the door.