Chapter 660: Outside The Window

Ashley rushed through the entrance doors, shaking rainwater from her umbrella before scanning the crowded dining booths.

Ashley spotted Nadia at the rear booth and threaded past two waiters before her friend could turn the empty chair into a joke.

Raindrops tapped steadily against the steamed windows, muffling the distant sirens and evening traffic of the busy city avenue.

At a corner table by the back window, her longtime college friend Nadia was already finishing a bowl of dumpling soup.

"You are forty minutes late," she said without looking up, dipping a crispy scallion pancake into soy vinegar.

"I know, I know... I am so sorry," Ashley pleaded, sliding into the booth and setting her phone on the napkin dispenser.

"The post-campaign broadcast traffic was completely insane tonight."

"It is always insane," Nadia sighed, offering her a pair of wooden chopsticks.

"I do not care about the stream, Ashley... I care that we planned this dinner three weeks ago."

"You postponed our coffee twice during the viaduct siege, and now you show up halfway through appetizers."

"The Incarnation was falling, Nadia!" Ashley whispered earnestly, leaning across the table.

"Hajin unlocked the seventh Ring, and the entire channel was flooded with two million concurrent viewers."

"What happens when there is no crisis to justify it?" Nadia asked, resting her chin on her hand.

"What happens when he is just resting in bed for a month?"

"Will you still stare at your moderator dashboard until three in the morning?"

Ashley fell silent, the gentle reprimand cutting through the lingering adrenaline of the historic broadcast.

"Fair point," Ashley admitted softly, picking up her chopsticks with a sheepish grimace.

"I need to set better boundaries with my screen time and actually live in my own world."

"That is all I am asking," Nadia smiled warmly, pushing the plate of hot dumplings toward her friend.

"Tell me about your promotion at the design firm before we talk about fantasy swords."

Ashley spent the next twenty minutes listening to Nadia recount office politics, feeling the tension drain from her shoulders.

She unlocked her phone, angling the screen so her friend could see the playback clip of the Sixth homecoming.

"Look, the entire town welcomed the supply teamsters home," Ashley said, pointing toward the cheerful parade footage.

"Did they film the guildmaster fight that everyone is talking about on the forums?" Nadia asked, curious despite herself.

"No, the broadcast camera only follows Hajin," Ashley explained, scrolling through the moderator incident logs.

"Some rumor account claimed Taren executed the captured mercenaries in the courtyard, which is totally false."

With a few quick taps, she pinned an official moderator correction to the top of the global broadcast forum.

[ Mercenaries: Disarmed, in city custody ]

[ Permits revoked: No executions ]

She transferred administrative permissions to two veteran co-moderators, locking her phone and sliding it into her handbag.

"There," Ashley smiled, exhaling with genuine relief. "The queue belongs to the night shift now."

Before turning her phone face down, she sent a short private message through the supported summoner inbox.

[ Ashley: "When you are fully healed and have an uneventful afternoon, what kind of Earth food do you actually want to try?" ]

In the second-floor library of the guild manor in the Sixth, Hajin sat beside an open window, reading her message.

A faint smile touched his lips as the gentle evening breeze rustled the parchment pages of his record.

"Earth food?" he murmured aloud, opening the dimensional logistics portal with a flick of his finger.

"Let us see what our credits can procure from the modern world."

[ Earth package: Ready ]

[ Meal packs: 20 (500 credits) ]

[ Drink packs: 10 (200 credits) ]

[ Comfort kits: 10 (300 credits) ]

[ Total deducted: 1,000 credits ]

[ Current balance: 67,435 credits ]

Sealed cardboard boxes materialized neatly on the study carpet, bearing colorful packaging and printed labels.

Loccy and Rumi poked their heads through the doorway, drawn instantly by the crinkling foil and strange savory aromas.

"What did you summon this time, boss?" the giant warrior asked, his eyes widening at the bright yellow noodle bowls.

"Dinner from another world," Hajin laughed, tossing a packet of instant ramen to Rumi.

Within minutes, hot water was bubbling in the tea kettle, and the kitchen was filled with the spicy fragrance of roasted garlic noodles, sweet ginger tea, and canned braised beef.

"This red sauce burns my tongue!" Rumi cried out, fanning her mouth while taking another huge mouthful of spicy noodles.

"It hurts, but I cannot stop eating it!"

"Try the canned peaches," Didi giggled, handing her a silver bowl filled with chilled fruit slices.

"The syrup is sweet enough to soothe any spice."

Nari opened one of the personal comfort kits, marveling at the lavender soaps and plush cotton washcloths.

"These towels are softer than royal silk," she murmured, burying her face in the folded cloth with a happy sigh.

Juna took a delicate sip of the chilled peach iced tea, her eyes widening at the refreshing burst of sweetness.

"This tea tastes like liquid summer," she said, offering the glass to Hajin with a gentle smile.

Loccy inhaled three bowls of braised beef stew in under a minute, nodding enthusiastically with her cheeks stuffed full.

"Whatever country made this stew knows how to feed warriors," she declared, wiping her chin with a napkin.

Hajin took a sip of the iced lemon tea, tapping out a quick response through the system message window.

[ Hajin: The garlic noodles were an instant hit with Rumi, though she is currently drinking peach syrup to survive the heat. Thank you for sending dinner. ]

The quiet laughter of his companions filled the manor, carrying through the open window into the starry evening sky.

The long campaign was over, sixty-seven thousand four hundred thirty-five credits remained in reserve, and the simple comforts of home felt richer than any palace banquet.

High above the peaceful residence, the celestial broadcast interface lit up with a warm cascade of celebratory superchats.

[ Seoul_Tactician: "A thousand credits for Earth ramen and the girls are already reaching for seconds!" ]

[ StarlightScholar: "Ashley moderated the whole rush and still noticed her friend needed a seat. Good on her!" ]

[ IronVanguard: "Rumi crying from the spicy noodles while refusing to put the bowl down is the most relatable thing ever!" ]

[ HearthKeeper: "Didi giving her chilled peaches to soothe the burn... our princess is an angel of kindness!" ]

[ ShadowMage44: "Wallet updated to 67,435 credits! Flawless record accounting as always!" ]

[ TacticalNerd: "Notice how Hajin shared every single pack with his household? He never hoards comfort for himself!" ]

[ NewViewer_02: "From cosmic god battles to eating instant noodles on a library floor... this story has everything!" ]

[ CringeSlayer91: "Loccy eating three entire cans of beef stew in sixty seconds! That girl is a national treasure!" ]

Hajin set his cup down on the windowsill, watching the moonlight illuminate the peaceful roofs of the Sixth.

Ashley’s message still glowed on the interface, so Hajin sent back a list of what each companion actually liked instead of asking for another surprise box.

"No more fire noodles for me," Rumi said, then immediately reached for the last strand in her bowl.

"You said that after the first bite," Nari reminded her.

Didi pushed the peach plate between them and asked Vella to check the label before anyone offered the drink packs to the children.

"These are fine," Vella said. "But water comes first if their mouths burn."

"And save a bowl for me," Loccy asked.

Hajin added that instruction to Ashley’s message while Loccy quietly slid the empty stew tins into the wash basket.

The world outside was quiet, his friends were happy, and tomorrow would be another peaceful day of recovery.