Among them, if there was one thing that was particularly impressive.

: An unidentified egg obtained from the Winter Lake Paradise. It is receiving the owner’s energy.

D-67 until hatching

It was precisely the ‘Unidentified Egg’.

As I was recalling where the Winter Lake Paradise was, I was shocked to realize that I had received a reward from a place where I had been rescued by Cheon Shin Woo and Kali without even being awakened, let alone contributing anything.

How did this happen?

It was something that shouldn’t be possible by common sense, but since there was nowhere appropriate to ask and it wasn’t going to cause any harm, I decided to just keep it.

So, as I was spending time just browsing the anonymous hunter bulletin board without doing anything else.

“Shin Ah.”

“Huh, uh? Yes?”

“Let’s go.”

Suddenly, I was dragged to a department store.

Cheon Shin Woo, who had unexpectedly entered my room, really just said “Let’s go” and dragged me somewhere.

“I wish you’d knock before entering my room…”

“I’ll keep that in mind next time.”

What next time? While I was briefly dumbfounded by his forceful behavior, seeing Min Yu Shin waiting with a bright expression and waving his hand made me give in.

I obediently got into the car.

I wanted to ask where we were going, but I didn’t want to ask. Or more accurately, I didn’t want to exchange even a single word with Cheon Shin Woo.

‘Even if I asked, would he even answer?’

So as Min Yu Shin drove and chatted lightly, and Cheon Shin Woo responded casually.

“Wow…”

The production guild of South Korea, commonly known as CoCu, named after an item from a game that Kim Ye Ri, the guild master, was playing at the time without much thought.

Coffee Cookie’s reputation was high enough to proudly rank among South Korea’s top 4 guilds despite not engaging in combat.

Not only was the quality of their products unquestionable, but there were even rumors that they alone produced about 60% of the market volume distributed in Korea.

And naturally, Coffee Cookie’s products were expensive.

Even if it was just a mass-produced slipper.

“Get whatever you need.”

And Cheon Shin Woo literally started throwing money around.

“What do you mean by whatever I need?”

“Clothes, shoes, cosmetics, whatever. Get anything you want.”

That’s right. He was really going to say ‘Give us everything from here to here.’ If I hadn’t strongly objected, he might have bought hundreds of outfits that didn’t even fit.

“Wouldn’t it be better to put in a custom order instead of this? And take measurements.”

“We will. But until then, we need to buy things you need.”

“Ah. That’s right, Shin Ah. Come on, don’t worry about the money and just get whatever you want!”

I almost shouted out loud, “What are you talking about?” My hands were trembling just from the price of one slipper, how could I possibly get everything I want?

“I don’t really need anything…”

“Then follow me this way.”

“No, I really don’t need anything. Hey, hey?”

“Don’t you have anything else besides this?”

Cheon Shin Woo, who didn’t even listen to me, started shopping as he pleased. The smiling employee next to him said, “That product hasn’t been very popular lately. How about this instead?”

Meanwhile, no one recognized Cheon Shin Woo. He seemed to have used an item like last time.

“We’ll pay for everything at once.”

“Thank you, customer!”

The shopping continued without the consent of the person involved. No, I’m not even sure if it was really shopping for me in the first place. I was overwhelmed just by following along.

If I showed even a moment’s interest in something, he would immediately shout ‘Pay!’ His behavior was just like the wealthy people you see in media.

“If, if you buy so much, how are you going to take it home…”

“Put it in the inventory.”

“What?”

“We’ve bought enough clothes, I think… Let’s go look at shoes.”

“Excuse me?”

Min Yu Shin was standing next to me with a very amused expression. The saying ‘A meddling sister-in-law is more hateful’ must exist for times like this. Min Yu Shin, with an expression that said he was about to die laughing, said this:

“It’s easier if you give up. After it’s all over, we have to go get measurements too?”

It wasn’t a helpful comment at all…

Clothes for each season, shoes, accessories, hats, various consumables, and so on.

We had bought so much already.

As expected of Coffee Cookie, which wasn’t one of the top 4 guilds for nothing, even a seemingly ordinary T-shirt had value as an item. I was contemplating how I could avoid getting measured for custom clothes.

As I was following the two sturdy individuals, physically and mentally exhausted.

“…”

I got lost.

“…Where am I?”

I sat down on a conveniently located bench and sighed softly, looking up at the brightly shining lights.

I sat and mindlessly observed what was in front of me.

People who looked like customers and those who looked like staff were walking around on their own paths.

Even the stores inside the department store looked splendid yet not gaudy, and sturdy, as if they were built by an awakened person with construction skills.

Now I feel a bit more alive.

Surely they won’t broadcast a missing child announcement or anything, right? As I was sitting and resting, thinking about possible scenarios, a can of coffee was held out in front of me.

“It’s been a while.”

“Oh, yes?”

Someone sat down next to me. I reflexively took the coffee and looked back and forth between the can and the person, thinking. Who was this?

“Oh my, it seems you’ve already forgotten me. Don’t you remember? I’m An Un. An Un.”

“An Un… Ah, that time!”

“What brings you here?”

“Well… I came shopping.”

“Ah, I see, you came shopping.”

“And you…?”

“I told you before. I’m an awakened person in production. I work for CoCu. Today I came to see how well the potions I made are displayed and how people are reacting to them.”

“I see…”

I fidgeted with the can. It was an unexpected encounter, but I couldn’t think of anything to say.

Regardless, An Un just smiled lightly.

“I’m glad you’re safe. I wanted to contact you, but I didn’t have your contact information. The students who were rescued then are still doing well.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. Ha Young… that’s not your name anymore, right? Shin Ah, they wanted to express their gratitude to you too.”

“…You know my name?”

“Oh my, how could I not?”

That was true. I awkwardly smiled and fidgeted with the coffee can in my hand.

“It’ll be delicious. It’s in a can, but it’s 100% hand-dripped coffee. You know I have barista-related skills too, right? I’m in the process of mass-producing and improving it by combining it with alchemy, to make it truly usable as a potion for modern people. Though it’s still in the early stages.”

For a moment, I remembered that terrible taste from before. She laughed out loud at my expression.

“Haha, this one is really delicious. I promise. It’s a product aimed at non-awakened people, so the effects are minimal compared to other products.”

“…I’ll drink it gratefully.”

I opened the can and took a sip. It was truly sweet and delicious.

“Oh my, you’re really drinking it?”

“…Didn’t you give it to me to drink?”

“Hmm, I thought you might be suspicious. Given your current situation.”

“…That’s true. I shouldn’t have drunk it…”

“I’m fine with it, but don’t carelessly drink things others give you.”

It was odd hearing that from the person who had given me the drink. I smiled awkwardly and finished the remaining beverage.

“Haha, that’s not how you’re supposed to drink it. More importantly, do you have any worries? Your expression looks gloomy.”

“Worries, I don’t really have any. It’s just…”

“Since we’ve met like this, why don’t you tell me about it?”

“Oh, um.”

“You know, it’s often better to tell passing strangers about things you can’t tell close friends.”

“…”

She had a point.

Or rather, my worry wasn’t even something that could be called a worry in the first place. If I were to tell someone, they’d probably say, ‘Why are you worrying about something like that?’

But perhaps because of her inspired way of speaking, I found myself confiding in her as if entranced.

“It’s just that I don’t know what I should do or how to do it.”

“What do you mean you don’t know what to do?”

The words didn’t come easily. Or more accurately, I didn’t know how to explain my feelings.

So.

“There’s just this person, and they’re trying to be good to me, you know? But I don’t know how to treat them in return. Plus, my life has suddenly changed, so I don’t know what I should do from now on…”

That’s what I ended up saying.

After listening to me, An Un thought for a moment, then turned towards me and handed me another can of coffee.

“It’s a gift. Our new product, please promote it a lot.”

“What? Oh… okay…”

“Anyway, so you’re not get along well with Cheon Shin Woo?”

“What?”

“And everything he does just makes you uncomfortable?”

“What?”

“It seems you were dragged here today too. Hmm, if that Jeok Cheon had come, it would have put the fire under the Guild Master’s feet…”

An Un shrugged her shoulders and just laughed. How did she know? I wondered if she might have fortune-telling abilities in addition to her alchemy awakening.

Unaware of my concerns, An Un continued to guess my situation as if divinely inspired.

“So, Shin Ah, you’re afraid of Cheon Shin Woo, right?”

“For now, yes?”

“It’s understandable that he doesn’t feel like family if you’ve been separated for a long time.”

An Un fixed her gaze on the floor and smiled.

“You know, I had an older sister. From the day the first gate opened, my sister did everything she could to protect me. We survived like that for the first few days… But in the end, my sister died because of me.”

Suddenly, a heavy story came out. I didn’t know how to react. I just repeated, “I see…”

Seeming not to mind my reaction, she continued speaking in a voice that sounded bright.

“For the first few years, I couldn’t forget. It was because of me, my sister died like that because of me.”

Her gaze moved from the floor to the ceiling.

“But now I can hardly remember her face. How did she smile, what was her way of speaking like, things like that. It’s funny, isn’t it? I suffered so much from guilt, but now I can’t remember anything…”

“I don’t think it’s a funny thing.”

“But that’s the reality. No matter how intense it is, everything is eventually forgotten as time passes. Would family be any different? From your perspective, you were living your life just fine when suddenly this man appears claiming to be your older brother and tries to control your life as he pleases. You don’t know this person, but he’s doing burdensome things saying he wants to be good to you.”