Chapter 55
“Hick!”
A mysterious world of hazy clouds above the mist appeared.
Alex seemed worried that the ground might suddenly drop, so he lay flat on the floor.
But soon realizing the ground was solid, he carefully stood up. He growled at me.
“What are you? Damn, where have you brought me!”
“I wonder where?”
“Are you laughing? You just laughed, didn’t you? Wait… ah, I remember. Aren’t you the cocktail bartender?”
Alex pointed at me and glared.
“Oh? My body’s listening to me now?”
Indeed. I used the last minute to bring us to this dimension, so having left the “Rose Mansion” dimension, I had no means to restrain Alex.
“You remember? I thought you wouldn’t since you scam so much.”
“How dare you! A worthless thing like you is no match for my fist…”
Alex raised his fist in excitement.
‘Falling for such a petty provocation.’
As my lips curled slightly, which seemed strange to him, his fist slowed for a moment.
“Aaack!”
The tiger divine beast appeared and snatched Alex up.
‘Wow, it’s huge.’
Indeed, a divine beast. Much larger than Johan, Alex dangled like a toy, completely at its mercy.
“Ack! A, a monster can talk!”
“How dare you call me, a divine beast, a monster!”
At the roar, Alex shrugged his shoulders. He must have realized instinctively that he was no match.
The weak are strong against the weak, but weak against the strong.
The commotion attracted the attention of other divine beasts nearby who were playing Go. They glanced over, clearly finding the scene amusing.
Perfect. I looked around at the divine beasts with a distressed expression.
“Lord divine beasts, this man has been scamming and bullying me… I haven’t been able to sleep well lately.”
As I rubbed my eyes and pretended to cry, the spirits reacted strongly.
“Such a disgraceful sprout. Bullying a small child?”
“Look at his eyes. A very cunning fellow.”
“He needs a lesson in manners.”
Soon, several divine beasts gathered, their eyes gleaming with interest. How enticing it must be for the bored elderly to have a young rascal needing education?
“Sniff, please take care of him.”
Feigning tears, I bowed to the divine beasts.
‘Goodbye.’
Secretly sticking my tongue out at Alex, I called out to return and exited the scene.
🫧
A week later, I visited the “Retired Gods” dimension.
By now, the divine beasts should have had their fill of fun.
“Where should I look for Alex?”
Humming, I walked along. Alex wasn’t my priority at the moment.
First, I needed to thank the divine beasts who had become my reliable allies!
To do that, I stopped by the pavilion. The tiger divine beast and others, including Haetae, were gathered there playing Go.
“Hello!”
At my energetic greeting, the spirits turned their gaze toward me. The haetae immediately jumped off the pavilion and came running, licking my head with its tongue.
‘It greets me enthusiastically as always.’
I gently hugged the haetae and took out a bottle from my pocket.
“Um, I made some alcohol today.”
“What? You’re brewing your own makgeolli now?”
The divine beast who distributed makgeolli was alarmed at my words. Did he see me as a new competitor?
“It’s not makgeolli.”
“Then what is it?”
“It’s omija wine!”
The bottle I held up high contained a red liquid, resembling wine. Clearly, it was far from makgeolli, and the divine beast sighed in relief.
I made this by fermenting omija (Schisandra berries) with sugar in soju for a week. Omija should appeal to these oriental-themed divine beasts.
“Would you like to have a glass?”
“Gladly.”
I went up to the pavilion with the haetae. It was a spacious and luxurious structure, reminiscent of where a king might have stayed in the old days.
When the tiger divine beast brought out some cups, I poured a bit of omija wine for each of them.
“Let’s have a taste.”
“Omija is said to have five flavors, hence its name.”
“Indeed. I can taste the sweetness, spiciness, saltiness, bitterness, and sourness!”
Encouraged by their enthusiastic reaction, I poured another round of omija wine.
‘It’s not really to my taste, though.’
It does have five flavors, but the sourness was overwhelmingly strong for me. Still, I was glad the spirits enjoyed it.
“Come visit often.”
“Here, have some dried persimmons.”
“Thank you.”
The divine beasts laid out an array of snacks before me.
“I can’t eat this much, though.”
“You need to eat a lot to grow big and strong.”
This was the first time I was treated like a child.
Still, I couldn’t refuse their kindness, so I ate a few snacks. Then, one of the divine beasts then placed a coin necklace around my neck.
<Notice> You have received 1,000 coins!
“Huh.”
“It’s pocket money.”
“But this much is…”
“This is about how much I give my granddaughter when she visits. Come often.”
Suddenly, I remembered my own grandmother and grandfather. Or did I even have them?
“Why bring home a child that’s not even your own? Just send her to an orphanage. Tsk tsk.”
“Oh, come on now. Everyone has their circumstances.”
“Our poor son.”
As an adopted child, they disliked me and would sometimes hit my head if my parents weren’t around. On those days, I would cry myself to sleep out of sadness.
“Then, are you all going to be my grandparents?”
“Of course. I’ll be your grandma.”
“I’m honored to have a second grandmother.”
“We’ve gained a lovely granddaughter.”
Surrounded by a warm atmosphere with divine beasts claiming to be my grandparents, I felt a sense of belonging and happiness I had longed for.
“You, there!”
A man carrying luggage from afar spotted me and came running.
What’s this? An unfamiliar face. Clearly human, not a spirit. I poked my head out of the pavilion, wondering what was going on. The spirits seemed to recognize him.
“Ah, it’s that guy.”
“Huh. Alex?”
My eyes widened. His formerly stout build was gone, replaced by a scrawny frame.
‘He used to be dressed in designer clothes with rings on every finger.’
Now he looked like a complete beggar. The once intimidating gaze had become meek and tame.
He was so different from my memory that I was dumbfounded.
“I, I’ve done wrong!”
Alex dropped the luggage he was holding, fell to his knees, and bowed his head to the ground.
“I made people shed tears with my counterfeit money. It was an inhuman act.”
“It’s good that you’ve realized it now.”
I folded my arms with a blank expression.
Surely he didn’t think an apology would make everything right?
“I’ll return the money to the victims and live an honest life from now on.”
“How can I believe that?”
“I’ve been reborn here. Please believe me.”
Alex pressed his forehead down again.
I wonder if it’s true. His gaze did seem different, but I wasn’t fully convinced.
So I glanced at the divine spirits, and the tiger divine spirit explained on their behalf.
“This guy deserves another chance. A spirit who controls time helped out a bit. He suffered for almost ten years.”
“Huh. Ten years?”
Ten years is enough time for rivers and mountains to change. No wonder he looked unrecognizable.
“Also, the Gyoryong personally educated him. He’s become very well-behaved.”
“I see.”
The Gyoryong must be the dragon with the white horn on its head, the one who prepared snack bags for me last time.
“Thank you for letting me know. I was wondering whether to take him back or not.”
“Just bring him back anytime if he causes trouble. We will…”
“Ah… haha.”
You sounded like a demon just now, not a divine beast.
Sweating nervously, I approached Alex.
“As soon as you return, apologize to the victims and return their money.”
“I will. That’s only natural.”
That seemed good enough. I couldn’t leave him in this dimension forever anyway.
“Divine beasts, we’ll be heading back now. Thank you for everything.”
I bowed to the divine beasts and then took Alex with me as I returned. I sent him back to his original dimension.
Back in familiar surroundings, Alex shed tears like chicken droppings.
“First, bring me my money.”
“Yes!”
Alex dashed home and quickly returned with a bundle of silver coins, handing them to me.
<Notice> You have received 1,000 coins!
<Notice> Troublemaker eliminated!
The reputation of the cocktail bar ‘Milky Way Lounge’ increases by 200. (Total 5,600)
And so, the counterfeit money incident was resolved.
🫧
A few days later, to celebrate resolving this major issue, I invited the victims’ group for a small celebratory party.
“I heard you all received compensation as well?”
🥂
Thank you for reading! ♡
Thank you so much for all of your work in translating this little gem! I enjoyed it very much! So refreshing and such an unusual and novel way to bring different stories together. Really love the MC, a female lead that feels like another part of oneself yet she is certainly her very own person. Definitely looking forwards to more of her adventures and some possible romance with the interesting fellows she has run across! THANK YOU again!
Thank you so much for reading!! (❀ •̀ᴗ•́ )♡