Lee Eunjae's expression changed strangely. It was a look that seemed to say, "What nonsense is this?" but Baek Eun pretended not to notice and looked away.
After losing his words for a moment, opening and closing his lips, Lee Eunjae quietly asked.
"Do you perhaps not know where we are?"
"I know. It's a dungeon. And a small-capacity one at that."
Thinking about it again made her sad. A small-capacity dungeon.
When Baek Eun answered sorrowfully with a moist voice, Lee Eunjae's eyes widened into circles.
"You were an awakener?"
And Baek Eun was also surprised.
Judging by his reaction of not being surprised even when she mentioned small-capacity, could it be that Lee Eunjae was also an awakener?
"Yes. Could it be that you are too...?"
Perhaps Baek Eun's expectant gaze was amusing. Lee Eunjae smiled faintly and nodded.
"Even while suffocating, the dungeon information was clearly visible. A 2-person capacity."
Crazy. They were saved! She hadn't known he was an awakener!
'Why did Baek Dan leave out such important information?'
Baek Eun's expression became dyed with hope and joy.
"There's nothing to get your hopes up about."
"Huh...?"
"I'm non-combat type, so I don't think I'll be of much use here."
"..."
Well that's just great. I'm non-combat too too. How can the situation be like this?
Baek Eun's eyebrows drooped in an instant.
At least the dungeon's grade wasn't high.
"Then what is your ability?"
Lee Eunjae didn't answer and stared intently at Baek Eun. There was a faint smile on his lips.
Just as she was starting to feel embarrassed.
"It would be polite to answer, since you saved my life."
Lee Eunjae spoke quietly in a low voice, as if whispering a secret.
"My ability is... World Eye."
...?
World Eye? What is that?
Is it something you eat?
∞∞∞
Inside the guild master's office on the 19th floor, the top floor of Eundan Guild.
Baek Dan was lying on the sofa as usual, watching TV and giggling.
Just then, the door burst open without a knock, and Yoon Siheon rushed in urgently.
"Dan-a! Big trouble!"
"Huh. Yoon Siheon, did you bleach your hair? Are you some kind of idol?"
Baek Dan turned his head slightly and clicked his tongue at Yoon Siheon.
"Yeah. Doesn't pink look good? No, that's not the important thing..."
"Why, what is it. Did an S-rank gate explode in the middle of Gangnam?"
'No, this is bigger than that.'
Yoon Siheon wondered how to say this, repeatedly wiping his dry face.
He acted easygoing during peaceful times like now, but when it came to his twin sibling, Baek Dan showed not an inch of leisure and was incredibly strict.
"Ah, what is it, just say it!"
When no answer came from Yoon Siheon, the frustrated Baek Dan propped himself up diagonally and leaned his back against the sofa.
"It's..."
"Why are you talking so evasively, not like yourself? Did an S-rank gate really explode?"
Scratching his head and checking his phone, Baek Dan tilted his head thinking, 'There's no such alert.'
After taking a big deep breath, Yoon Siheon spoke while gauging Baek Dan's reaction.
"A gate exploded near SeXrance Hospital."
"Tch. Of all places, it had to be Sinchon. What's the damage scale?"
"The scale is fortunately small. It's just at the level of one café being half-destroyed."
"Then what's the problem?"
Baek Dan made a face showing he didn't understand. An expression as if asking why he came all the way here for such a trivial matter.
"...Your sibling is trapped there."
"Siheon. Did I drink too much yesterday? I think I just heard something strange. What did you say?"
Baek Dan laughed fiercely and sneered.
"You know you didn't hear wrong. Fortunately, the dungeon grade is E-rank, but the problem is..."
Having heard that much, Baek Dan got up from the sofa with a stiff expression and grabbed his jacket. He looked ready to dash out of the guild immediately, so Yoon Siheon hurriedly grabbed him.
"Listen to the end before you go, you bastard!"
"Let go. I'll hear the rest on the phone."
"That's not it—the capacity is already full! There's nothing you can do even if you go right now!"
"...What?"
Baek Dan's body staggered for a moment as he tried to turn the door handle. He clenched his fist so hard it trembled, then released it, slowly turning around with a long sigh.
He spat out a few curses in a low voice, then asked in a voice more cold-headed than before.
"Tell me the gate information."
"Grade is E-rank, 2-person capacity."
"Information on who else is trapped?"
"...Lee Dojae's younger brother, Lee Eunjae."
Baek Dan's eyes slowly closed and opened again.
"Why are those two together?"
"I checked the CCTV—your sibling arrived first, then Lee Eunjae came after. Since they didn't acknowledge each other inside the café, it was probably a coincidence."
Coincidence? Nonsense. Baek Dan clearly remembered Baek Eun showing interest in Lee Eunjae.
When his twin sibling, who had no particular interests outside family, asked about someone, he felt more anxiety than joy.
It was an instinctive defense mechanism. A feeling that something was about to turn a sharp corner in his sibling's life direction.
Even now, Baek Dan's heart would pound so hard he'd jump out of bed when he thought about what happened 19 years ago. That's why he always wished for nothing but smooth sailing in the rest of her life.
"Where is Lee Dojae now? No, never mind. I'll call him."
Baek Dan quickly found Lee Dojae's name in his contacts and called. But no matter how long the ringing tone went on, the other party didn't answer.
Baek Dan spat out curses irritably and kept calling. Around the fifth time. Finally, the ringing stopped.
- This is Lee Dojae.
"It's Baek Dan, where are you now?"
At the abrupt question, a long sigh came from beyond the phone.
- Why are you calling? And how did you get my number...
"My sibling and your sibling are trapped in a dungeon."
- ...I'll call you back shortly.
The call ended without another word.
"What kind of attitude is this..."
Baek Dan made a ferocious face looking down at his phone, roughly ruffling his hair.
"Dan-a. Calm down first..."
"Calm down? My sibling is trapped in a dungeon, their life hanging in the balance, and you tell me to calm down?"
"It's an E-rank dungeon. And what do you mean their life is hanging in balance, what kind of unlucky talk is that?"
"Aaaargh! Fuck, does a 2-person limited dungeon even make sense!"
A storm whipped through the guild master's office.
Papers fluttered about and items on the desk fell to the floor, rolling around.
If this continued, the windows might shatter from the strong wind like last time, so Yoon Siheon grabbed Baek Dan's shoulder.
Then the wildly raging wind gradually subsided.
"Get a grip, Baek Dan. Your sibling is smart, she'll somehow get through this. You need to do what you can do."
"What can I do when she's trapped in a dungeon... Ha, fuck."
Just as Baek Dan was pressing his eyes with a pained expression.
Ring ring. Ring.
A call came from Lee Dojae.
"Yes."
- Let's meet and talk first. I'll go to where the gate is now.
Right. What I can do.
Whether it becomes poison or rice, I have to try something.
Baek Dan roughly threw on his jacket and hurriedly rushed out of the guild.
∞∞∞
"You read the flow of the world? And the price for using that ability is why you're sick now?"
"Because it's an act that goes against the law of causality."
Baek Eun blinked her eyes after hearing Lee Eunjae's ability, which was on a different dimension from hers.
'The scale is huge, crazy.'
"But why would someone who sees the world..."
"World Eye literally sees the great flow of the world, not people's futures or my own future."
Hearing Lee Eunjae's words, Baek Eun fell into thought.
Would the heart disease caused by the price of going against the law of causality also improve with my potatoes? If it does, that means he could use his ability freely without getting sick, regardless of causality or whatever.
'Either way, I need to feed him the potatoes.'
In 20 minutes, the safe zone boundary would disappear, so they needed to prepare to leave. She planned to feed him the potatoes before going out, to prevent him from collapsing from another seizure.
'There's no time to explain and wait.'
Resolved, Baek Eun took out a boiled potato from her inventory. It was a very plump and sturdy one.
"Eat this."
"I told you earlier, but I don't feel like eating anything right now. I'm sorry, but if you're going to eat something, please do so alone..."
"Look at it first before talking. If you don't eat this, you might die."
When Baek Eun spoke strongly, Lee Eunjae let out a faint sigh and looked at what she offered. And upon discovering it, Lee Eunjae asked in surprise.
"Could this... be a potato?"
"Fortunately you recognize it."
"How do you have an extinct potato... could it be!"
Baek Eun nodded. A faint blush rose on both cheeks, perhaps from embarrassment.
"You're right about what you're thinking. The Lettuce Saint is me... Since I learned your secret too... please keep it secret from others."
Even after saying it, Baek Eun felt embarrassed and wiped her face, taking something out from her inventory.
"I'll take out some salt for you too. Dip it and eat. It's delicious."
Lee Eunjae received the potato with a confused face. He looked like he had many questions but couldn't bring himself to ask.
Baek Eun peeled the potato skin next to Lee Eunjae. Since this could be their last meal in this life, she planned to eat heartily.
As she dipped it in salt and put the potato in her mouth, a ding notification sound rang.
[Your heart becomes stronger due to the effect of the Potato (S).]
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