“Sesame oil.”

Seo Yui muttered under her breath.

The rich aroma of sesame oil filled the air, stronger than any other scent of food.

When we stepped inside and looked at the dining table, dozens of rolls of gimbap were stacked high on plates.

“Wow… You made all this by yourself?”

Lumina asked, wide-eyed with admiration.

“I also made enough to bring to the Peacekeeping Corps. That’s why it turned out to be so much. Go wash your hands first.”

Cheon Jiweon said, then went into the kitchen and lifted the lid of a pot.

The savory smell of soybean paste soup with dried radish greens drifted out.

A little later, Jiweon handed each of us a pair of plastic gloves instead of chopsticks.

“Gimbap tastes best when you eat it whole, not sliced. Try it.”

“Thank you for the meal.”

I spoke first, and Seo Yui and Lumina echoed after me, slipping the gloves on.

Meiling, of course, already had a piece stuffed in her mouth.

The moment I bit into the plump gimbap, a wave of nostalgia washed over me.

Rice seasoned with salt and sesame oil.

Carrots, pickled radish, ham, egg—nothing unusual, just the most standard ingredients.

And yet, before I knew it, I’d already eaten three rolls.

When I finally looked up, Jiweon was watching us with a pleased expression.

But he himself wasn’t eating.

“Mayor, aren’t you having any?”

I asked, puzzled when I caught the faintly bitter smile tugging at his lips.

“Yes. I should eat.”

He picked up a roll with his bare hand and took a bite.

After the meal, Jiweon led us to the living room sofa.

He set down tea and snacks, but none of us touched them.

Our stomachs were so full we simply sank back into the cushions.

Jiweon, meanwhile, had eaten only one roll of gimbap.

Considering the bitter smile earlier—and remembering how last time he’d eaten even more than us when he made Chinese food—I had a feeling there was a reason behind it.

I glanced at him as he sat in a single armchair.

He took a sip of tea, set the cup down, and spoke.

“Today, I promised to tell you a story.”

“Yes.”

I nodded, and his expression turned serious.

“The gimbap you ate today… That was the last meal my comrades had before entering the Demon Realm.”

“!”

We all froze at the revelation.

“Comrades… You mean the Seven Pioneers?”

Meiling asked, her eyes widening.

“That’s right. Their names appear even in the history of the Demon Realm you’ve studied.”

Jiweon’s gaze dropped to his teacup.

“Of course, the gimbap we had back then wasn’t like what you ate today. At that time, monsters poured out of gates and safe zones for humans were few. In Seoul, only Yongsan remained livable. In such conditions, proper food was impossible to obtain. Would you believe me if I said a single bottle of cola was worth the lives of thirty people?”

“H–Humans??”

Lumina’s face went pale.

“Yes. In times of desperation, demons weren’t the only monsters to fear. Back then, awakened ones openly trafficked ordinary humans.”

And what did they do with those people they bought?

My thoughts turned dark.

In such confined spaces, under constant monster attacks, farming or raising livestock would’ve been impossible.

If all other food sources were consumed… then humans must have been traded for something else.

My stomach churned.

“Our captain destroyed those awakened ones who committed such acts. At least in Yongsan, it never happened again.”

“If you say captain… Do you mean Claire Williams?”

Lumina asked cautiously.

“Yes. Claire Williams. The one everyone believed in and followed. A light of hope in those dark times.”

Jiweon’s eyes seemed to drift far away.

“Claire Williams. Michael Ray. Ha Mijin. Kaji Yuu. Bird Hill. Nadia Hassan. And myself. We had all been scattered across the world, but we gathered under Claire’s leadership. People glorify us as the ‘Seven Pioneers,’ but in truth, we weren’t just seven. Hundreds of awakened ones fought under her command.”

What he described matched what I knew.

Claire Williams—the hero who saved the world in the war against monsters. The undefeated awakened one, until the day she stepped into the Demon Realm.

“We roamed the world, hunting down S-class monsters. Many awakened ones lost their lives in the process. Even those far stronger than me were sacrificed.”

“Stronger than you, Mayor…?”

Seo Yui blinked at him in disbelief.

Jiweon gave a rueful smile.

“Back then, I was still just a kid. Younger than you are now.”

But I knew he was being modest.

Abel had become famous for reaching level 70 in his twenties.

But Jiweon? He had reached level 73 at the age of thirteen.

A true monster.

“Where was I… Ah, yes. Talking about the gimbap.”

His eyes shifted to the dining table, where stacks of rolls still remained.

“The day before the expedition into the Demon Realm. To give us strength, the people of Yongsan brought what little food they had. Rice mixed with whatever grains they could find, seasoned with salt, wrapped in seaweed, kelp, anything they could gather. No fillings, no oil. More like clumps of rice balls than proper gimbap. That was food meant for hundreds, pooled together so we could each take a bite before we left.”

The three girls listened with their mouths slightly agape.

I too leaned in, eager to hear more of this story I’d never known.

“Shameful as it is… I didn’t touch that gimbap. To my young eyes, it seemed too pitiful a meal to serve those marching to their deaths. And I was angry for another reason too. You all know that in the end, only five entered the gate. Nadia and I stayed behind. Do you know why?”

“Uh…”

Lumina’s lips parted as if to answer, but nothing came out.

Neither Meiling nor Seo Yui spoke either.

“Because you two were still too young?”

I ventured.

Jiweon nodded.

“At the time, I was fifteen. Nadia, seventeen. On the day of the decision, Claire told us we had to remain in Yongsan. I resisted. Demanded to know why. I wanted to fight by their side. After all we’d been through together, why abandon us at the end? But Claire said this: that we had our own roles to play. That this was their burden alone. In the end, I was left behind. I didn’t understand then… And to be honest, until not long ago, I still didn’t.”

He pressed his lips into a thin line as he spoke.

“If I had gone with them… If I hadn’t stayed behind, if I had fought by their side, maybe they could have returned alive. That thought haunted me over and over. Of course, it’s a foolish idea. They were all far stronger than me. Adding just one more wouldn’t have changed much. And yet, the guilt stuck inside me like an invisible thorn, tormenting me constantly. That’s why I became mayor—to try and forget.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

Meiling frowned, confused.

But Lumina and Seo Yui wore expressions of sudden realization.

“This world we’re living in now—that’s the world they gave their lives to protect. I wanted to shape it into the world they dreamed of. But I couldn’t oversee every city on Earth. So I chose the place where I was born, the place where they made their last stand—Seoul. I swore I would protect it.”

There it was.

The curse binding Cheon Jiweon.

“But dreams and reality never truly meet. The closer you think you get, the further it slips away. All I could do was compromise, again and again. I’ve felt my whole life that I could never be someone like Claire.”

He let out a sound somewhere between a sigh and a laugh at himself.

Silence filled the living room.

“Then… why tell us this story?”

Cheon Jiweon’s gaze settled on me.

“Because at last, I understand. I understand why Claire and the others left Nadia and me behind in this world.”

A gentle smile spread across his face.

“They must have sensed it—that they wouldn’t be coming back. So they couldn’t take us. We were too young. They couldn’t just let us die with them. Only now do I truly understand their hearts.”

He slowly looked at each of us in turn.

“And I know, without a doubt, that their hearts carried a strong hope for the future.”

The others’ eyes widened.

“Without your help, especially you, Yein, defeating Forward would have been impossible. Compared to me back then, you are something far greater.”

He smiled quietly.

“Yein, can you promise me one thing?”

“What promise?”

“Whatever happens, don’t die.”

“……”

“When danger comes, use me like you did this time. If something goes wrong, don’t carry it alone—come to me, and use my strength. You and your companions are people this world cannot afford to lose. I believe in you. So you must believe in me, too.”

“…Thank you, sir. But with Forward collapsing now, I doubt I’ll ever face that kind of danger again.”

“Hmm. If that’s true, then I’m relieved. But… I have a strange feeling. As if you’ll throw yourself into even greater danger soon.”

‘What’s this?’

It was as if he already knew what I was planning.

‘Could Cheon Jiweon… be a transmigrant like me or Lee Hanye?’

No.

Impossible.

If he were, he would have recognized me from the start. He wouldn’t have approached me the way he did.

And everything about him—his personality, his speech, his actions—was exactly like the Cheon Jiweon from the game.

If he had been a transmigrant, there would have been cracks. Something out of place.

Like Lee Hanye, who failed to bend Gwangcheon to her will because of her overacting.

“Yein, can you promise me?”

Jiweon’s eyes locked on mine.

“Promise me you won’t die. That you’ll live, move forward, and if anything happens, you’ll come to me.”

“…I promise.”

“Good. Thank you.”

Jiweon’s smile eased, as if a weight had lifted.

After that, we left the mayor’s house and headed toward the main road to catch a bus back to the hotel.

“The mayor really likes you.”

Meiling remarked.

“Yeah. I felt the same.”

Lumina nodded, then tilted her head slightly.

“But… why did he say that, I wonder?”

“What do you mean?” Meiling asked.

“When he said Yein seemed like someone who’d run headlong into danger.”

“Maybe he was just shocked you dared to take on Forward so recklessly.”

Meiling chuckled.

“Ah… yeah, maybe… Oh!”

Lumina glanced at me, noticed my eyes, and flinched with a guilty expression.

“S-Sorry. I didn’t mean to make it sound like you were wrong, Yein…”

“It’s fine. Honestly, it was like walking on thin ice.”

If I hadn’t had a substitute doll when Black Hound captured me, it would have been game over right there.

If I hadn’t won Jiweon’s favor early on, the Peacekeeping Corps wouldn’t have sheltered me.

And if I hadn’t handed over the spirit stone, giving him the knowledge of mana-stone power generation, civil war might have broken out, plunging everything into chaos.

‘It’s only because I have game knowledge that I can navigate this so easily. Without it, I’d probably already be dead a dozen times over.’

No… not a dozen. One death is the end. I’d already be in the afterlife.

Just then—

“Yein.”

Seo Yui stepped up beside me.

“Yes, Sister.”

“What you said earlier. That there won’t be any more reckless risks… Did you mean it?”

I wondered why she was asking, but nodded anyway.

“Yes. Of course.”

I value my life more than anything. Why would I throw it away?

“Good. That’s all I needed to hear.”

With that, Seo Yui fell back a step.

“Ah, the bus is here.”

Lumina pointed out.

We boarded together and returned to the hotel.

The next day, Sunday.

At last, permission was granted to enter the new dungeon that had opened near the hotel.

And on that same day—

I held the very first meeting of the Demons Class.

Our destination was, of course, the first dungeon of Phase Two.

The Fortress.