SSS-Grade Cafe in Front of The Dungeon

“Yes, that’s right. I never thought we’d meet here like this.”

‘Do you know me?’

“I know everything. What you’ve done to help my brother. And what you’re capable of. I’ve seen it all.”

‘…….’

The monster’s branches tightened around the girl again, and a groan of pain cut off the conversation. Choi Cedric remained where he was, sword in hand, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Rona.

As if sensing that time was running out, Rona’s tone became sharper, “Eonni, you have the Cthugha’s Ring.”

‘…Yes, I have it.’

“Use the Eternal Flame, you can use its power to burn this flower.”

‘……! I can’t. You won’t be safe if I do something like that.’

“No. Only that power can fix this situation, and only you, Eonni, who can use the Ring.”

“…..”

Was it because my expression turned grim? I felt Ki Yoohyun’s gaze fell on me. Instead of answering, I just shook my head. My fingertips grew cold. Rona continued to persuade me.

“Remember. The time when you saved the Blue Celaeno Flower.”

‘……!’

It was only then that I discovered that a Blue Celaeno Flower pot was still placed at Rona’s bedside. It was the same flower I had resurrected at Lee Chorok’s farm.

“The power of the Blue Celaeno Flower is resurrection. It will be the same with my case. I can be resurrected in the same way now.”

‘But if I do that, you’ll…….’

“Since the power of the Grimoire is not completely fused to me, the Sephiroth branch’s flower have grown in the gap. If we use the power of the Ring, the Grimoire can be fused to me and destroy these branches.”

The roots attacked Rona again, blood dripping onto the bed.

“It’s okay …… ugh!”

‘Rona! …..Rona?’

The conversation was cut off. I tried calling out, but I couldn’t hear anything more. Rona had fainted.

My whole body trembled with fear. Rona had spoken in a nonchalant tone, but it was a dangerous matter of using fire, and if it went wrong, there was no turning back.

But there was no other way, and time was running out. Rona was completely unconscious. I had no choice but to take her word for it.

With trembling hands, I clenched my fists and spoke.

“Cedric, I have …… a way to help Rona.”

His red, bloodshot eyes fluttered open. Choi Cedric hesitated for a moment, but eventually lowered his sword and opened the way for me. Unlike the other strangers, I could feel his trust that I would not harm Rona.

Was trust this scary?

It’s strange, this girl who’s been sick for so long, who shouldn’t know me, telling me to use Cthugha’s Ring on her. What if I was actually hallucinating because I was a bad person, because I didn’t care about other people’s pain, because I just wanted to fix this situation?

In front of the bed, completely covered in silver branches, I struggled with my hesitation.

Suddenly, the power of the flame in my hand felt like a comforting soothing touch. As if it understood what I was feeling.

Yes, let’s just hope it’s the kind of ending where everyone goes home with a smile on their face.

Hyuurrr~

A mighty, eternal flame burned the Sephiroth branches. White ash fluttered in the air.

With a relaxed expression, as if she felt no pain, Rona collapsed into a puff of dust and disappeared. At that moment, the Blue Celaeno Flower that had been by her bedside for so long brought her back to life.

The process of the girl’s awakening under the blue starlight was quite mystical.

However….

“Rona…..!”

“Cedric, not yet!”

My uncle tried to stop Choi Cedric, but he was one step too late. The remnants of the unburned branches tried to attack Rona again. Choi Cedric swung his sword, but when he judged that it would be too late, he threw himself forward.

“…… Cedric!”

A sharp branch dug into Choi Cedric’s chest.

***

Choi Cedric opened his eyes.

“Uh….?”

It was a warm, sunlit room. The furniture was familiar to his eyes. Ah, this is the house Rona used to live in, long ago, before she got sick.

But why am I here? I was just in Rona’s hospital room. As he was wondering, he heard a voice from the front.

“Oppa, why are you standing there?”

“……!”

It was Rona. Choi Cedric felt a shiver run down his spine as he looked up and saw his sister smiling at him. How long has it been since I heard her usual voice, not screaming and groaning?

“You promised to eat out with me tonight. The place is popular, so if we don’t get there soon, we won’t have a table.”

“Uh, uh….”

Rona looked younger than she actually was.Is it an illusion? He thought so, but he soon became unconcerned. He didn’t see any pain in her smile.

Cedric took Rona’s hand, which was held out in front of him.

Daily life went by peacefully. Cedric dined out and shopped with Rona. The world was peaceful, there were no dungeons, and the only thing that bothered him was the study sheet she hid behind the sofa.

Sometimes he felt a sense of discomfort. Like he was missing something very important. It was similar to the awkwardness of oversleeping with the alarm clock off, but there was no alarm clock anywhere, so Cedric couldn’t find the source of his discomfort.

That same day, he and Rona went on a picnic. The weather was nice and the scenery was beautiful, yet Cedric couldn’t concentrate on the picnic. The feeling of dysphoria grew stronger.

As he continued to zone out, Rona finally spoke up.

“Why do you look like that?”

“Huh? Uh, uh, uh……. Sorry, I got distracted.”

“Don’t make such a pained face. It’s not your fault.”

“It’s not my fault….?”

Rona pushed herself up from the picnic mat. The next moment, the scene around them was no longer a sunlit park. In the darkness, kind words continued.

“Yes. You’ve been tricked by Lee Sein.”

“……!”

Only then did Choi Cedric realise the source of the discomfort that had been plaguing him. This is all a dream. Reality is not this cozy and comfortable.

“You didn’t know anything, you just trusted Eonni and did what she told you to do.”

“…….”

“So it’s not all Oppa’s fault that things have turned out like this. The people who deceived you are the bad guys.”

Those are kind words, yet the kindness stabbed him in the chest like a needle. The stinging pain of the stab woke him from his dream.

It was only after the fact that he realised something.

It was true that he didn’t know what was happening around him. It was true that he had trusted and followed Lee Sein.

So, because of that, all the more so.

Everything he did was his own fault.

Rona was smiling brightly in front of him. Choi Cedric remembered what his sister had been like before her illness. She used to nag him about every little thing, so the real Rona would have slapped him on the back while saying he did something wrong.

“…….”

“…….Oppa?”

Choi Cedric drew his sword. Biting his lip tightly, he brought it forward.

Slash!

The fantasy faded, and darkness fell again. At that moment, a strong smell stung his nostrils.

“….Cough, cough!”

It smelled like ginger. Cedric reflexively spat out the liquid in his mouth, but someone beside him held his chin tightly, urging him to drink it all. He swallowed the icy, ginger-tasting liquid whole. His eyes widened as the last sip went down his throat.

“Oppa, are you awake?”

In front of him, there was a face he’d missed more than he could say, and a voice he’d wanted to hear.

It’s the real Rona, not a fake.

The real thing. His long-awaited sister.

There were so many things he wanted to say to her when she opened her eyes, but he didn’t know what to say first. The longing he had swallowed hard burst out in tears.

What should he do? His eyes were blurry because of tears. He wanted to see her face straight.

Choi Cedric thought as he wiped away his tears with the back of his hand.

Everything he has ever done is his own fault.

So, there’s a lot of work to do from now on, right?

***

“Nice to meet you, everyone. My name is Choi Rona.”

A girl floated in the air, about ten centimetres above the floor. Her hair was a bluish-silver colour, and there was a faint glow around her. Even at first glance, this was no ordinary sight.

“Heuk, heuu, our Rona, dyed hair looks good on you too … your brother will find a school a school you can go to with your hair dyed…….”

Choi Cedric, whose eyes are puffy and now too busy hugging his sister, hasn’t noticed the change yet. It’s good to see him happy anyway.

So here’s what happened…….

A little while ago, the remnants of the wretched monster branch attacked Choi Cedric, and he was knocked down. The monster branches were on their last legs, having lost their host, Choi Rona, and were fortunately defeated by the ginger ale. Cedric kept trying to spit it out, so I grabbed his jaw and fed it to him.

The problem was this girl, Choi Rona, who had been resurrected by the power of the Blue Celaeno Flower. She said she was completely fused with the Grimoire now. That’s why she can use the power of the book freely, and why her appearance has changed.

“Uh, how did you merge with that power? It must not have been easy.” My uncle asked in amazement.

“I ate the Grimoire.”

“….what?”

After spinning in circles in midair, Choi Rona spoke again, “I tore it up and ate one page a day. It was really awful.”

“…..”

“It was so tasteless that I ended up eating it with bungeoppang.”

“You actually ate all of that?”

“I didn’t want to eat it either, but it was the only way I could hide it without being found out, and it’s not like the form of the book is the most important thing …. anyway, it’s not something I want to do twice.”

“Hu, heeeh…..”

I don’t know why, but it seemed like a pretty shocking method for my uncle, who has a bold personality, to lose his cool like that.

Choi Rona finished her explanation and this time looked at me.

“I’m glad to finally meet you, Eonni.”

“You said you knew me.”

“I do. My body has been asleep here the whole time, but my consciousness is free to wake up and wander around.”

“…….”

“So I saw everything, for example, my brother put his own version of Romeo and Juliet…….”

“Uh, huh, Rona, shuuuuuuuuuuush!”

Rona pushed away Cedric Choi, who was trying to interrupt her. I put the question that naturally came to my mind in her mouth.

“Is that the power of the Grimoire, too?”

“No. It’s the power of my eyes.”

“Your eyes?”

Rona turned away, saying nothing more about it, then she changed the topic.

“But a dream is a dream. It’s still better to see things in person, isn’t it?”

“Heuk, huhuhuhu, that’s right, I’m so glad to see you wake up like this, heuk…..”

“Oppa, I’m working on a very meaningful mysterious girl concept right now, so stay away.”

“Heuk, it’s really Rona. As expected, that was fake earlier, huhu….”

“Yes, I’m really Rona. So stop crying, stop.”

Even as she said that, Rona squeezed Choi Cedric’s hand and her eyes were red. It was her way of hiding her embarrassment.

“Thank you, everyone, for helping me and my brother.”

Rona calmly glanced at the people one by one. After passing through the Healer and my uncle, she frowned slightly at Ash, then turned to me and Ki Yoohyun. Just as she was about to part her lips again…..

Tiring. The notification sound rang unusually loud.

[Congratulations! You have destroyed the source of the dungeon.

Dungeon: The Temple of the False World will be eradicated.]

[It will take ten minutes for it to completely disappear.

Time Remaining 00:10:00]

[After the dungeon is destroyed, visitors will automatically be returned to their original location.]

And then footsteps were heard.

“……You’ve arrived.”

Almost simultaneously with Rona’s words, the door to the hospital room swung open.

A woman in a suit stood in the doorway.