"It's Saber!"
The moment we stepped out of the dungeon, blinding camera flashes exploded in our direction.
I instinctively flinched at the sudden lights as reporters immediately rushed toward us, shouting over one another without restraint. It felt overwhelming in an instant, the noise growing louder and louder the more they crowded around us.
If it wasn't for Jinhyuk, would my face already be all over the news too?
"Here. Use this."
Jinhyuk held out a ring toward me.
I already had the other ring sitting on my finger, but this one looked different. Before I could properly examine it, he took my hand and slipped it onto my finger himself.
I blinked in surprise.
"...What is this?"
"It's an identity concealment artifact," he explained simply. "A disguise ring."
Once the ring settled onto my finger, I felt a strange ripple spread across my body.
Minwoo's eyes widened slightly as he stared at me. "Ooh, cool."
"What?"
Jinhyuk looked at me calmly. "Your appearance changed."
I quickly pulled out my phone and was fascinated after opening the front camera.
My skin had become slightly tanner than before, and my hair had turned black completely. Even the shape of my face has turned more into a cute rounded shape.
I barely recognized myself.
With this much change, I didn't even need a mask anymore. No one would immediately connect this appearance to Seo Elena.
"This should be enough," Jinhyuk said. "As long as you keep the ring on, the disguise will remain active."
I stared at my reflection for another second before quietly lowering the phone.
...Artifacts are amazing.
I was suddenly glad to have Jinhyuk by my side. The idea of getting this much attention was terrifying.
At first, I thought I simply disliked attention, but lately, my past life kept resurfacing more often. I kept remembering my time as a Saintess. The desperate and sometimes cunning stares people gave me was a burden. Sometimes it felt suffocating, because when they see me, they see my power.
"Could the person beside you be the 'Angel' everyone has been searching for?!"
"Please say soemthing!"
"Did the three of you clear the dungeon together alone?!"
"What kind of monsters were inside the dungeon?!"
"What is your rank Angel-nim, please tell us!"
"Flame Emperor, could you please say a few words?"
"Please describe the environment inside the dungeon?"
Questions came relentlessly from every direction.
Some reporters still asked about the dungeon itself and the contents inside of the dungeon, but most of the attention quickly shifted towards me.
I instinctively took a small step back, breath running, and overwhelmed by the noise and the endless barrage of questions thrown at us from every direction.
The flashing lights were so blindingly bright, and all I could do was slowly dissociate.
"A full dungeon report will be submitted to the Korean Hunter Association. Thank you for your cooperation."
It was Minwoo who answered smoothly, stepping forward just enough to divert the reporters' attention for a moment.
And in that brief opening, Jinhyuk noticed my discomfort.
He suddenly lifted me into his arms in the most embarrassingly dramatic way possible.
"What—"
The words barely left my mouth as we disappeared from the crowd entirely.
The reporters erupted instantly behind us.
Camera flashes chased after us while voices shouted in confusion, but they quickly faded into the distance the farther we moved away. Soon, the chaos below disappeared completely, leaving only the sound of the wind brushing past us as Jinhyuk stepped lightly through the air as flower petals bloomed beneath his feet.
"Where are we going?" I asked, feeling my attention come back to the present and my breathing stabilizing.
"Your new café."
My eyes widened immediately, and my heart beat faster for an entirely different reason.
"...My what?"
The exhaustion from earlier disappeared almost instantly as I stared at him in disbelief. As he continued moving again, carrying me across the city, the scenery below gradually became more and more familiar.
Wait.
Isn't this near the Obsidian Guild?
The moment he finally placed me down, I found myself standing in front of a beautifully renovated building.
The area itself already looked expensive.
Maybe a little too expensive?
The streets were clean and quiet, lined with modern establishments that clearly catered toward wealthy hunters and high-ranking guild members. Just looking around made me instinctively nervous about rent prices.
Jinhyuk, however, spoke as though this entire thing wasn't a big deal.
"Your previous café was destroyed because of me," he said calmly. "So consider this compensation."
"Compensation?"
"I own most of this area anyway, so don't feel pressured." He glanced toward the building casually. "I also stocked the ingredients and preserved the original interior design as much as possible."
For a moment, I could only stare at him blankly.
...Why were there sparkles around this man right now?
Was he secretly the angel?
"...Thank you," I said quietly, feeling strangely emotional all of a sudden.
And somehow, the sincerity behind my gratitude only deepened after stepping inside.
The interior resembled my previous café almost perfectly, but everything looked far more refined. The furniture, the equipment, even the decorations looked significantly higher in quality than anything I could have afforded before.
This place probably cost more than my old café several times over.
I slowly removed the disguise ring from my finger and placed it into my inventory. Beside me, Jinhyuk removed his own artifact as well before sitting casually on one of the counter stools.
『Time Left until understanding Aberrant : 00:09:32 』
"I'll probably fall asleep again when I'm retaining understanding of the Outsiders."
He nodded his head. "I just have one question."
"What is it?"
"How much do you know?"
"What... do you mean?"
I swallowed a nervous spit. It's not that I didn't trust this man, but I wondered how much I could tell him.
He wouldn't take back my cafe if I told him I know about his regression, right?
No, no. Even if he does, he deserves to know everything. He's already someone I've grown to care about. Of course I should tell him!
"Do you also know about my regression?" He finally asked me.
Despite being so confident a second ago, I don't know how long I stayed quiet for. I couldn't have been more obvious.
"I do."
He didn't say anything else, and his silence was making me nervous, but the countdown was near so I couldn't really do anything about it.
Forget it, let's deal with it when I wake up!