Chapter 20
As soon as the bottom of the kimchi stew became visible, a familiar system window appeared.
[“Delicious and Healthy Subspace~!”
▸ Skill ranks increase 5% faster.
▸ Agility increased by 3.]
This was the effect of subspace food.
Rice increased skill level efficiency, and eggs increased dexterity. By now, I knew it all without having to read carefully.
Oh right. I wondered if those two got the effects as well?
Sure enough, like me, Shin Yeoul-ssi and Baek Hwan were staring into space, reading their system windows.
To check, I clicked the guest information.
[<Guest 1 ���>
Remaining Debuff: 86%]
[<Guest 2> Baek Hwan (Angel)
Remaining Debuff: 86.5%]
Huh? The debuff decreased more than I expected?
It was promising—surprisingly manageable. At this rate, including snacks, I could potentially reduce the debuff by 20% in a single day. Overeating would be unavoidable though.
Still, it should take at most four days. Just over a day in outside time.
Maybe we could make it faster by having them do more cleaning or swimming in the river?
[“You have overconsumed Subspace Food.”
: Title <Subspace Administrator> Trait
▸ The aura of purification is surging.]
Ah. The long-forgotten content from past overeating finally surfaced.
But the rising purification energy meant…
“What, what’s that?”
“Are, are you okay?”
My body was glowing.
Startled, Shin Yeoul grabbed my arm.
The glow didn’t last long and soon faded away, leaving me feeling nothing but embarrassment.
“Well, it’s called the aura of purification… It happens when I eat a lot. Not sure what effect it has, though.”
Scratching my head awkwardly, I tried to explain. Baek Hwan, looking unimpressed, tilted his head.
“Why is there so much weird stuff here?”
But, uh, Shin Yeoul? Why are you leaning so close?
I froze as Shin Yeoul suddenly moved toward me, sniffing the air.
Huh?
“Something feels a bit different.”
What… Was this aura of purification perceptible to others?
“To be honest, I’ve noticed you give off a pleasant scent whenever I come near.”
“What?”
“But now, that scent has grown stronger. It’s like something that makes you feel good…”
Isn’t that just the kimchi stew smell?
While I was fumbling for a response, Baek Hwan cut in.
“Hey, what kind of pervert talk is that?”
“…..”
Shin Yeoul’s face instantly turned bright red at Baek Hwan’s comment.
It was a pretty amusing sight.
✦✦✦
“Well then, Seojin-ssi, you can rest now.”
I was about to clean up after the meal when Shin Yeoul stopped me, taking the dishes out of my hands.
“Huh? But I need to do the dishes.”
“I’ll take care of it. You cooked for us, so we should handle the cleanup.”
Without hesitation, Shin Yeoul stacked the dishes neatly into the pot and cleared the table.
His movements were swift and efficient.
“Uh, thanks?”
Was this okay? Sure, I’d already made them clean the house, but they were still technically my guests.
“And also…”
“Yes?”
It seemed he wasn’t done talking yet.
What, the dish soap and sponge are right next to the sink—does he need me to point that out?
“I’m sorry.”
Huh…?
I blinked, confused. The apology caught me off guard.
“For threatening you so recklessly when I first entered this subspace. I think I misunderstood you.”
Of all people, Shin Yeoul, who must have suffered the most being dragged into this subspace, was apologizing to me.
I was genuinely taken aback.
“Of course, it wasn’t easy being stuck in this subspace alone, but apart from that….”
Noticing my bemused expression, Shin Yeoul elaborated.
“The more I watch you, the more I can tell you don’t have any bad intentions.”
Oh… It seemed I unintentionally emphasized my harmlessness well enough.
“If you’d wanted to do something to us, you’d have done it already, but you didn’t.”
Shin Yeoul gave me a gentle smile.
It was a much softer expression compared to his first impression.
“Even serving us a delicious meal…. It makes me feel like entering this subspace was a stroke of luck.”
A stroke of luck? Was he joking or being serious?
Either way, I was relieved.
I couldn’t believe the misunderstanding was resolved so easily, though.
Still, I couldn’t help but wonder if the food had been so good that it led to an apology.
As Shin Yeoul bowed slightly and turned toward the sink with the dishes, Baek Hwan chimed in.
“Well, I agree.”
Wait. Really?
“But not completely. Just a little?”
Said the one who had threatened my life the most.
“I mean, I just hope you’re not some idiot who kidnaps rankers to make them clean your house.”
You rude little—! But since the lace headband made him look like a tsundere maid, I let it slide.
“Seriously, though. Shin Yeoul’s the weird one. How can he trust someone he’s just met so quickly? We still don’t even know what other abilities you might have.”
How am I supposed to tell you about abilities I don’t even know about myself?
“Anyway, just go rest.”
Baek Hwan grumbled while gently pushing my back.
“Just eating meals reduces the debuff. It’s better if we handle most of the work.”
Despite his wariness, Baek Hwan had become noticeably kinder.
It was an achievement after just two meals. I could feel how much his attitude had softened.
Though, I couldn’t help but wonder—was it really because of the food?
“We’ll take care of the rest of the cleaning too. Just go play by yourself.”
Well, that’s fine with me…
“But wouldn’t it be hard for just the two of you to handle all the cleaning? There’s quite a bit to do.”
“Hard? We’re S-rank, even with the debuff. We’re still full of energy.”
Oh. But for someone claiming to be full of energy, he looked a little tired.
As I gave him a skeptical look, Baek Hwan’s lips twisted in irritation.
“And don’t forget, I’m a guild leader. I’m a busy person.”
Wow. The argument would’ve been more convincing if he wasn’t wearing a petite apron while wiping down the table with a dishrag.
“Just think about it. A guild leader disappeared inside a guild building. Wouldn’t that make me urgent?”
Right. Come to think of it, things had gotten a bit chaotic during the last moments before we ended up here. The guild must’ve been thrown into a major panic.
“Uh… But about that…”
Suddenly, cold sweat began to run down my back as a certain fact came to mind.
If Baek Hwan was in such a hurry, I realized there was something I hadn’t mentioned yet.
While I’d expected Shin Yeoul and Baek Hwan to figure it out themselves, it seemed they hadn’t had the chance due to all the chaos.
“There’s something I forgot to tell you…”
I hesitated as I spoke.
“What is it?”
“Actually… there’s a time difference between this space and the real world…”
At my words, one of Baek Hwan’s eyebrows shot up. He looked both surprised and irritated by the unexpected revelation.
“What?”
“How much of a difference?”
Even Shin Yeoul had stopped washing dishes and moved closer, clearly alarmed.
“Of course! Time moves faster here! Three days here equals about one day outside!”
Their faces grew increasingly serious, so I hurriedly added further explanation.
“I’m not exactly sure since I only awakened recently, but roughly a week here was about two days outside…”
Upon hearing that time moved faster here, Shin Yeoul and Baek Hwan both let out small sighs of relief.
“So, time flows faster here than in the outside world?”
“Yes, yes!”
I nodded enthusiastically. Baek Hwan’s eyes crinkled in a smile.
However, his lips weren’t smiling at all.
“Why are you only telling us this now!”
Eek. Baek Hwan exploded. He raised his voice, asking if I knew how worried he’d been.
“I’m, I’m sorry! I was just so overwhelmed I forgot!”
Baek Hwan looked ready to smack me as I cowered, bowing my head in apology.
Mom help. An S-rank is going to kill me.
“No… It’s fortunate there’s a time difference. Thank you for telling us.”
On the other hand, Shin Yeoul thanked me calmly, then resumed washing the dishes as if nothing had happened.
Um… is that it?
He didn’t press further or glare at me like Baek Hwan did?
The more I got to know Shin Yeoul, the more I realized how absurdly mild-mannered he was.
After apologizing earlier, he kept expressing gratitude, leaving me at a complete loss for words.
Of course, Baek Hwan looked at Shin Yeoul as if he couldn’t believe how naive he was. Clearly, Shin Yeoul’s laid-back attitude annoyed him.
“Hah. Fine. Whatever.”
Still, after glancing at Shin Yeoul’s back as he diligently washed dishes, Baek Hwan seemed to lose his steam. He let out a sigh of resignation and grabbed the dishcloth again.
“Still doesn’t change that we need to get out quickly.”
Baek Hwan started wiping the table again. His movements were neat and precise.
“Just go somewhere else.”
“Ah. Okay.”
As I continued lingering around, Baek Hwan gave me a light shove, telling me not to disturb them and to leave.
In the end, they took away all my cleaning supplies and I was chased out to the living room.
Left with no other choice, I slumped down on the couch, resigning myself to loafing around.
Clink, clatter—the sound of dishes and running water.
Swish, swish—the broom sweeping across the floor of the now-spacious but messy kitchen.
The mundane sounds of chores filled the air.
It had been a while since I felt something like this. Eating a chaotic meal with others and spending uneventful time in the same space together.
For some reason, it felt peaceful.
Maybe it was because the misunderstandings seemed to be clearing up, giving me one less thing to worry about.
My eyes naturally closed. For the first time in a while, I felt calm.
The gentle fatigue and fullness made me drowsy.
Before I realized it, I drifted off into a deep, dreamless sleep.
It was just a short nap.
While I was dozing off on the couch, a ding! from the system startled me awake.
Still groggy, I instinctively buried my face against something warm and soft.
Wait. Since when was the couch warm?
What is this? My hand brushed against something unexpectedly soft yet firm.
The texture… it definitely wasn’t the couch. What on earth…?
As my hand moved to figure it out, I slowly opened my eyes.
“Um…”
Gulp. Sh-Shin Yeoul-ssi?!
“P-Please stop.”
Shin Yeoul’s flushed face came into focus. Apparently, he’d been trying to carry me, and now I was awkwardly cradled in his arms.
Heat rushed to my face.
Oh my God. What did I just touch?!
🌱
Thank you for reading! ♡
Mr. Angelic Tsundere Maid… 😂