SSS-Grade Cafe in Front of The Dungeon

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The light in the hall of the Demon God dimmed.

Kwon Jiwoon slowly opened his eyes. His eyes stung from the aftermath of the blinding light, but his body felt light. The influence of the Demon God that had tightly weighed down his entire body a moment ago had suddenly disappeared.

“What happened……?”

“Is everyone okay?”

Kang Hyunwoo was the first to regain his senses and looked at the party members. Gradually, the others stood up and looked around.

“Huk Guild Leader-nim……!”

The twins rushed over to Ki Yoohyun’s collapsed body in the center of the hall. There was no sign of the Demon God. But no matter how hard the twins called out and shook his body, he wouldn’t wake up.

Kwon Jiwoon immediately used his healing skill. However, the healing light floated in the air and disappeared without being absorbed by the body.

“This … is the state where the body doesn’t contain a soul, so using the healing skill has no effect.”

“It seems like the Demon God has fallen asleep inside his body.” Choi Lona muttered as she examined Ki Yoohyun’s body.

“What happened?”

No one answered Joo Shinhee’s question. Because none of them had seen what happened in the moment of the flash.

[Rebooting the Causality.]

[The system will take some time to reboot.

Please wait a moment.]

[Now Loading…….]

The system window froze completely with this message. No other information was displayed, let alone the quest window. Rebooting the Causality? This was the first time in their short Hunter life that they’d seen such a message.

“……!”

It was then that Kwon Jiwoon turned pale with the realisation of something.

There weren’t enough people. His little sister, Kwon Rieul, who had been with him until the flash of light, was nowhere to be seen. Not only her, but also the little boy who had been her companion.

“Rieul! Rieul! Where are you!”

The party members looked at each other’s faces. No one seemed to know. In the hall, where everything had stopped, Kwon Rieul and Ash had vanished into thin air.

Kwon Jiwoon felt his throat burning. He had a gut feeling that something very absurd had happened, but there was no way to find out more about the situation…….

No, there was something. The moment a flash of light burst out, there was the sound of a door opening.

A giant door that emitted an extraordinary presence.

Kwon Jiwoon rushed up the stairs in the center of the hall. He banged on the tightly closed door.

“Rieul! If you’re in there, answer me!”

BANG! The door didn’t even flinch. It stood firm, blocking Kwon Jiwoon’s path.

“Ugh…..” If he had a weapon, he might be able to break the door down. Thinking so, he was about to call for another party member.

“It’s no use. Stop it, waeoong.” A chubby cat with calico fur called out as he stepped out of the center of the hall.

The cat seemed to know something. Kwon Jiwoon rushed to Mieum’s side and asked sharply, “What happened? Where’s Rieul?”

“Waeolg … you’re so mean to a cat.”

“Answer me!”

Meoooow. Mieum cried once more, then spoke, “That door will not open. It can only be opened when an Eligible person meets the conditions.”

“And that person is Rieul?”

“That’s right, waeoong!”

“Then what should we do? How do we bring Rieul back? What happened to the Demon God?”

Mieum stared at Kwon Jiwoon who was bombarding her with questions, then said calmly, “That … I don’t know either.”

“What?”

“What happens next depends on the choice of the one who reaches the Gate, Kwon Rieul.”

“…….”

“I don’t know what choice she will make. Wait until she comes to a conclusion. That’s all I can say, waeoong!” Swish, Mieum turned her head away. The others asked more questions, but she sat down on the floor, feeling no obligation to answer.

Mieum stared at the tightly closed the “Ultimate Gate”.

Reconstructing the world, or maintaining it?

What answer she would choose remained to be known, but…….

Somehow, Rieul seemed to be someone who would make a decision that Mieum herself never would have expected.

‘My role is over now. Meow…..’

Her mission, given to her by the system, was to lead Kwon Rieul to the “Ultimate Gate”. Now that her mission has been completed, it is time for her to return to where she came from. Depending on her choices, they might never meet again.

“Waeoong…..”

She always knew this day would come. Even though she had known it, why did she feel so empty?

She liked the name Mieum, but the person who gave it to her was beyond the door.

It’s been fun so far, but it’s going to be lonely.

“Kkyuuu?”

Perhaps sensing her strange mood, the red slime spoke from beside her. Parting is always sad regardless of the circumstances. Instead of answering Lime, Mieum simply closed her eyes.

***

“Wait, wait, wait a moment.”

What? Reconstructing? No matter how much I told her to just tell me the conclusion, the story progression was too rushed.

Why are you suddenly trying to reconstruct the world? Is it some kind of reset syndrome? Are you the type of person who creates a character, then if they fail, you simply delete them and create a new one?

【What’s wrong?】

“I’m sorry, can you please start from the beginning and explain things slowly, step by step, using the proper Five Ws and H1?”

【That’s literally it.】

【We’re resetting this world and creating a new one.】

【It’s the only way to reach a future we haven’t reached.】

“…….”

The area around my temples throbbed. This wasn’t the first time she’d appeared out of nowhere and said something cryptic. It was clear she didn’t know how to properly explain things to others.

I leaned back on the sofa before me. My heart was filled with sadness and anxiety. I wanted to find a way to save the people, but unless I could get out of here right away, I needed to understand the Saintess’ incoherent statements.

“Why do we need to reconstruct the world?”

【Because if this continues, this world will be destroyed.】

I asked again like a three-year-old, “Why is the world going to be destroyed?”

【Ah. Didn’t I tell you that?】

My headache intensified. A mystical place, where the stars twinkle under the branches of a giant World Tree. The only thing that felt real was this throbbing headache.

【Time in this world repeats endlessly.】

“What……?”

Once again, the conversation had spiralled into the absurd.

【Time never flows backwards. No matter how powerful I am, I can’t completely ignore the established laws.】

【So I wound the time axis and made a loop. A closed loop with a beginning and an end. We call it an infinite spiral.】

“…….”

【Because of that, we never reach the future, and we’ve already repeated this loop more times than I can count.】

“Why did you do that?”

【Fufu, this is going to be a really long story.】

The Saintess’ explanation went like this: a long, long time ago, in the first timeline, before this world lost its future. Aeon tried to destroy this world by resurrecting the Demon God ████ to resist the Casuality of the world that limited his power. The Saintess wanted to stop Aeon, but could not. There were limits to how she could interfere with a deity of the same rank. If things continued as they were, the Demon God would awaken and the world would be destroyed.

【I hope you know that I made that choice because I love this world in my own way.】

So, just before the Demon God awakened, the Saintess wound up the time and created a loop that would repeat for eternity. The world would never reach the future where the “Demon God was awakened and destroyed the world”, but instead it would return to its starting point.

In this repeating loop, the Saintess tried to find a way to avoid destruction.

Systems, Awakeneds, quests, etc …….. she prepared by creating means to intervene in the world.

The loop continued.

……and continued.

【And then you appeared. A person with the power of the Key.】

【Technically, it was your grandmother who had the power to reconstruct the world in the first place. But as you know, she saved your life.】

The Saintess smiled, showing a hint of sadness.

【Your wishes will be respected. I will never force it upon you.】

【That was the restriction she imposed in exchange for you becoming the new Eligible.】

The long story ended. The Saintess raised herself from the couch. Her golden hair cascaded down her back like waves, and she spread her arms wide and declared.

【Now it’s almost time. Let’s end the loop and create a new world.】

【What kind of world do you want? You who hold the key, in the new world, you can do anything you can imagine.】

【It’s also possible to have seven handsome men of different types.】

The Saintess had a taste for reverse harem…..

“Eh, I don’t really like that kind of thing ……. isn’t your imagination a little bit wild?”

【Oh my, I thought it was a wonderful imagination.】

【Then how about something like this? A world where the people you love are alive. There must be someone you’d like to meet.】

I chewed on my lip. I thought of my grandmother, my parents, and … when I thought of the people I missed, my heart felt like it was crumbling.

But the answer that came to me was undeniably clear. I stared directly at the Saintess and told her my choice.

“No.”

【What?】

The Saintess looked genuinely puzzled. Her eyes widened and she stared at my face in disbelief.

【Why? If things continue as they are, there will be nothing but destruction? Are you hoping that the Demon God will awaken and bring this world to an end?】

“That might be the case, but I want to live in this world as it is.”

【You can achieve anything you want. The reinvention of the world. It’s something that even I, a God, can’t do easily.】

“It doesn’t matter to me.”

【You didn’t understand what I said at all. If you do not believe me, I’ll show you.】

The Saintess held her hand out in front of her. The iridescent orb that formed in her hand grew larger and larger until it enveloped me.

Fyaaaah━

Inside it was a very beautiful world.

My parents and I were caught in the first rift, but miraculously we survived.

My uncle didn’t go missing and continued to be active as a guild leader.

“Wow, awesome. Kwon Jiwoon, now that you’re a healer, you dyed your hair silver. You thought that would make you stand out ……. ouch, that hurts!”

I was slapped on the back by Kwon Jiwoon while I was saying these silly things.

I opened the cafe in the place I inherited from my grandmother. It wasn’t a busy street, but more of a quiet residential neighbourhood. There was no sign of the Great Dungeon.

Running a cafe was very difficult at first. In this world, I only had the strength of an F-Class cafe owner. The coffee I made could only restore a little stamina, so it wasn’t comparable to potions or healers. Still, as I continued to open my cafe, I gradually gained regular customers. I was proud and happy.

My grandmother stroked my hair and said, “Rieul-ah, all you have to do is nod your head.”

“……?”

“Then you can continue to live here with Grandma.”

Tears welled up in my eyes. My heart ached with longing, but despite that, my answer remained the same.

“I’m sorry. I can’t do that.”

“You don’t want to live with your grandmother?”

“That’s not it. I’m sorry, I’m sorry…….”

I shook my head vigorously to the side, apologising again and again. Am I making the wrong choice? Maybe I am. Who can judge right and wrong in a choice that involves the reconstruction of the world at stake?

But I’ve already made my choice. I could only trust this answer and move forward.

My grandmother’s smiling face was blurred by tears. She hugged me and patted me on the back.

Tuk. Her gentle touch touched my forehead one last time.

Fyaaaah━ The beautiful world disappeared like a mirage.

I blinked, and opened my eyes. The Saintess, with a fierce look on her face, stood upright and glared at me.

【Why…..】

“I’m really grateful to you for helping me so far.”

The Saintess raised an eyebrow at my unexpected remark. She looked quite human at times like this, which made me feel odd.

“Even though you had other purposes, with your help, I was given a new life, and I managed to reach this place through the crisis.”

【…… And?】

“You don’t lie to me, but you don’t tell me the whole truth.”

I brought up a fact the Saintess had deliberately left unmentioned.

“Is Yoohyun-ssi exist in the world you reconstructed?”