Kim Sibaek didn’t exactly have the most vivid imagination, but he could still picture a few scenarios from a quest that involved “saving the world from destruction.” Killing a terrifying beast, crushing a conspiracy brewing in the shadows, rescuing a key figure whose survival could decide the fate of Earth—things like that.
So he kept a bit of tension in his chest, waiting for the system window to update with new text…
[Death and Beauty wonders if the Apostle’s system window is malfunctioning.]
Days passed, and the system window remained silent. He had even worried that the quest might be something he couldn’t handle alone, but that fear now seemed laughable given how absolutely nothing was happening.
He even asked the air what kind of quest could possibly take this long to show up, but the silence remained.
‘You’re the one who demanded I complete a quest before telling me how to get back to Mak Slechth…’
What was more frustrating was the grim reality: without relying on the system, he had no way to return to Mak Slechth.
‘If I’d known it would be like this, I would’ve learned magic myself.’
[Death and Beauty points out that with your Apostle-level intelligence, you could study magic for a hundred years and still never manage dimensional travel.]
“……”
Fair point. Unless one was a genius mage like Gloiuken’s sister, there was no way an ordinary human could learn and cast dimension-hopping spells.
No matter how he sliced it, quests were his only lifeline. There wasn’t even a hint of when things would officially begin, and for all he knew, completing the final objective might take decades—or even a hundred years.
[Death and Beauty, your god, offers comfort, assuring you that divine blessings, once granted in another world, will not be revoked on a whim.]
Once granted, a god’s blessing meant that Apostles and Paladins would not age. Even if a full century passed, Kim Sibaek would remain unchanged—but the issue was the passage of time itself.
“I do trust Lord Biendeoé… but time flows differently in Mak Slechth and on Earth. If I return a hundred years from now, wouldn’t Mak Slechth have already experienced several centuries?”
“……!”
The fledgling crow curled up on a cushion flinched hard—clearly that hadn’t occurred to it.
Immortality and eternal life may be among humanity’s greatest desires, but anyone weak-willed enough to be ruined by such base temptations wouldn’t have been chosen as an Apostle or Paladin in the first place. That’s why, even though Apostles and Paladins could theoretically live forever, very few actually did.
After fulfilling their divine missions, most aged naturally and passed on, earning their place in the divine realm as honored spirit beings. Kim Sibaek expected the same fate for himself—and hoped for it.
So even if he made it back to Mak Slechth, if centuries had passed, the other Apostles and Paladins would already be gone. No one would remember him anymore. Just like here, on Earth.
The thought that he could end up a man with no place in either world left a bitter taste in his mouth. Swallowing the sourness, Kim Sibaek reached out and gently stroked the uneasy Biendeoé.
“It’s just an extreme example. No way it’ll actually take a hundred years.”
He’d started the morning on a somber note, which wasn’t exactly the most mature thing to do. Forcing a lighter tone, Kim Sibaek washed up quickly and stepped outside.
“Hyung, did you sleep well?”
As always, Tae Woon greeted him with a cheerful morning hello.
“Did you sleep well too?”
Just seeing him eased the gloom from earlier. Kim Sibaek returned the greeting with a smile, warmed by the familiar morning scene, and Tae Woon tapped his own cheek lightly.
“Hm?”
“Morning kiss. It’s a little sad that the last kiss you gave me smelled like alcohol.”
The affectionate teasing made Kim Sibaek burst into laughter. A fond memory surfaced.
When he was younger, he used to give kisses to the kids at the orphanage. But as they got older, none of them wanted that anymore. One time, after drinking with a priest, Kim Sibaek, tipsy and sentimental, opened his arms and said he’d give them kisses. The kids either ran off saying it was gross, firmly refused saying they weren’t babies, or recoiled because he smelled like booze.
Only Tae Woon had smiled brightly and leapt into his arms. He had planted kisses all over the boy’s soft, rosy cheeks without restraint, then regretted his behavior the next day after sobering up.
“Man, that really takes me back. That was so long ago… I’m surprised you still remember.”
“I remember every moment I spent with you, Hyung.”
His cheeks weren’t as round and chubby as back then, but they still flushed adorably red. Had he been drunk, maybe he would’ve kissed him again. But sober now, Kim Sibaek simply cupped Tae Woon’s cheek and gave it a playful shake instead.
The quest remained missing in action, and the day of his return was still nowhere in sight. But at least in this moment, he was glad Tae Woon was by his side.
Not just the capital—people across the country had feared the rampage of the beasts, but the attack had been fended off with minimal damage. Even so, no one knew why it had happened, and days later, the world was still abuzz. The news was filled with nothing else.
At a Chinese restaurant near the Seven Guild’s HQ, the owner, Ms. Kang, looked on pitifully at Seo Gaeun as she devoured a bowl of jjambbong and fried dumplings across the table.
“If you’re starving enough to eat like you’ve fasted for three days, couldn’t you have at least taken the day off? It’s not like anyone’s gonna scold you at your level.”
Seo Gaeun had cleared an Eid Portal that morning. She could’ve taken a break before writing her report, but her strict FM-code personality drove her straight to work, where she had gone hungry until now.
“I could endure it, that’s why.”
“Ugh, seriously. You weren’t like this when you were younger. Ever since the army, it’s like you’ve turned into a total hard-ass.”
Kang, an old friend giving her a hard time, changed the TV channel with the remote. Every screen was showing the same thing.
“Must’ve been serious, huh? Your guild doesn’t know anything either?”
“Not sure… but there’s speculation that this incident might cause the Seoul Restoration Operation, which was scheduled for next year, to be postponed indefinitely. They can’t risk the rear being breached while pushing the front lines.”
“Didn’t the president make Seoul’s restoration one of his campaign pledges?”
“Have there ever been presidential candidates who didn’t?”
“Yeah, fair point.”
Seeing nothing particularly interesting on other channels, Kang just left it on the news and stretched her arms. It was still early, before lunch rush, and Seo Gaeun was the only customer.
“To be honest, it’s been twenty years since I left, and it’s not like my family had any property in Seoul. I don’t feel a burning need to restore it. The traumatic memories are what stand out most anyway.”
Seo Gaeun quietly nodded while chewing a piece of tender tangsuyuk. Traumatic memories… She was right. Being born and raised in Seoul meant countless memories, but the Cataclysm had crushed them all into dust.
‘If it hadn’t been for Tae Woon oppa, there’s no way I—or the other kids from the orphanage—would’ve made it out of Seoul alive and unharmed…’
Even now, the fact that they escaped felt like a miracle.
“Oh, right. Has Tae Woon oppa gotten a girlfriend or something?”
“Someone’s pestering you to introduce him again?”
“No, it’s just… I heard something from Boss Choi at the Hanjeongsik (traditional Korean set meal restaurant) this morning. Apparently, Tae Woon oppa’s been ordering full two-person set meals to his house for the past few days.”
That surprised Seo Gaeun too. Officially, he was her guildmaster, but personally, they were as close as family—so the shock hit even harder.
Tae Woon? Eating a proper meal? At home? With someone else?
Unless it was a professional engagement, Tae Woon never even touched real food. He was the kind of guy who sustained himself entirely on energy bars for the required daily calories. She had even scolded him about it recently when she saw him munching one in the morning.
“That old guy—Boss Choi—can’t keep his mouth shut to save his life. He was practically foaming at the mouth, saying that if a man changes his habits at his age, it’s either because he had a brush with death or got a girlfriend.”
“Not exactly wrong…”
“So is it really a girlfriend he’s been eating with? Do you know anything?”
“Haven’t heard a word. It’s not like he’s the type to make a big show of things. But if it’s true… I really hope it’s someone who could make him change. I’d love to see him eat like a normal human being, for once.”
She hadn’t even finished the sentence when—
The door chime rang, and the front door opened. The part-timer at the entrance table, fiddling with their phone, jumped up reflexively to greet the new guest.
“Welco—oh my god, hello, Guildmaster…”
There were several guild headquarters nearby, each with their own guild masters. But only one of them ever made part-timers this nervous just by walking in.
At the back table, Kang peeked her head out mid-bite.
“Look who it is. It’s Tae Woon oppa.”
“Already? I didn’t hear anything about him having lunch plans today—!”
“Eek.”
Their eyes went wide like they’d just seen something they shouldn’t have. Sure, Tae Woon didn’t normally eat like a proper person, but as a guildmaster, he still had plenty of social obligations requiring meals. So if he’d just popped in for an early lunch—fine. But this?
What they were seeing now made no sense.
