Ranker’s Return

Liu Yongyun disappeared for a while and then reappeared with a piece of white paper in his hand. “Here it is.”

Hyeonu received the piece of paper from Liu Yongyun that contained detailed information on the Gucheon Secret Department. A message immediately appeared, informing him of the completion of the quest.

[Identity of the Gucheon Secret Department 1/1]

[You have cleared Identity of the Gucheon Secret Department.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[You have leveled up.]

[All health and magic power have been restored.]

‘Did I clear both quests at once?’

No...

Thinking about it, there was a reply to the emperor, but Hyeonu hadn’t received it. “Can you give me the letter? I will return to the West Continent and give it to His Majesty.”

At Hyeonu’s words, the emperor realized he hadn’t given the reply. He called the attendant and delivered the letter to Hyeonu. “You will be rewarded if you help me fight the secret department. It is the same with the other adventurers.”

[A quest has been created.]

[Fight the Gucheon Secret Department]

[It was created by the Yuxin Empire, but now the Gucheon Secret Department is a threat to the empire. Help the Yuxin Empire defeat them.

Rating: S+

Conditions: Destruction of the Gucheon Secret Department 0/1

Rewards: Experience, the old emperor’s gift.]

‘Nice!’

Hyeonu smiled pleasantly at the quest that was created with the old emperor’s words. This was pleasant; things were moving along smoothly. A quest with a huge reward had appeared as a linked quest, but it didn’t end here. There was naturally one more quest to clear.

[The quest has been updated.]

[Someone’s reply] → [Reply from the Yuxin Empire’s Emperor]

[Reply from the emperor of the Yuxin Empire 1/1]

‘Now all I have to do is go back to the West Continent.’

Hyeonu had consumed a huge amount of gold coins in Buncheonru over the last two days. Most of the gold coins had gone into buying gifts. The emperor, Lebron, Edchan, Hugo and Manong, Raccoon, and Dakan—there were more than just one or two NPCs to look after.

‘I will give something to the emperor first and then sprinkle what is left little by little.’

Still, there were priorities. He intended to hand over the largest amount of gifts to the emperor, the person who gave him the quest. Then he would hand out the rest of the gifts to the others in the order of when he met up with them.

‘I will give Edchan a lot of alcohol.’

A person had to give a lot in order to receive. This was the truth of the world.

“I’ll come back with good news soon. Ah!” Hyeonu was about to exit the palace. Then he seemed to remember something and turned back to look at Liu Yongyun and the old emperor. “If you have any return amulets to Taeyang, can you give me some? I don’t have any...”

At this moment, Hyeonu thought that wearing a mask was an excellent decision he’d made.

*** 

After exiting the imperial palace of the Yuxin Empire, Hyeonu turned on the microphone and gave a brief explanation about what happened to the viewers who didn’t understand.

“To sum it up really briefly, there are two reasons why I met the emperor of the East Continent. Firstly, I was asked by the emperor of the West Continent to visit the emperor of the East Continent. In other words, I played the role of a shuttle. Secondly, it was an extension of the last quest. The easiest way to find out about ‘Gucheon Secret Department’, the organization I’m looking for, is to go to the place with the most information. In the East Continent, such a place is naturally the imperial family. That’s why I came. Isn’t it simple?” 

His explanation went by so fast that he sounded like a famous rapper.

-So you came to pick it up? 

-Are you here to extort?

-I understand, so it’s like this.

Hyeonu laughed at the viewers’ ridicule. He felt like he had gotten past the mistake he made.

“So what should I do now? Should I return to the West Continent? Or shall I explore a bit more of the East Continent?”

Hyeonu was relaxed because he had done all the big things. There was no possibility of them being taken away by others. It was a fight everyone else was having with Hyeonu. Nevertheless, Hyeonu had won it. Now he had a bit of room to relax. No, it was an essential break.

 ‘What should I do? I have nothing to do.’

Horses that did nothing but run would be exhausted one day. Hyeonu had to take a break when he could, by just streaming and communicating with viewers for a while. ‘Why aren’t they saying anything?’

However, the viewers didn’t chat as usual. Originally, he would’ve been challenged dozens of times, but this time Hyeonu had to take care of it in the end.

“If you don’t want anything, do you want to talk? Shall we have a chat with Tang-E?”

-Yes, this is exactly what I want.

-I’ve been waiting for those words.

-I’ve been waiting since a decade ago.

-Don’t exaggerate. I waited for 30 years. Tang-E!

Viewers started to chat like they had been waiting for Hyeonu’s words.

‘It is like this. Tsk...’

The viewers seemed to have been waiting for Tang-E.

“Tang-E, come out. Let’s eat.”

In addition to the talk, Hyeonu intended to proceed with the meal. He had to take care of Tang-E’s meal anyway, so this was killing two birds with one stone.

“Tang-E, let’s eat some vegetables today. You have been eating too much meat these days. You will be fat. You should be healthy,” Hyeonu said affectionately as he embraced the summoned Tang-E.

“I don’t want to, I don’t want to! Give me meat! Meat!! Uhhhh!” Tang-E shook his head at Hyeonu’s words about eating vegetables. Tang-E was a typical example of a child who was a picky eater. Still, he was very cute.

“No. I won’t order you meat if you don’t eat vegetables today.” Hyeonu, however, shook his head firmly. He couldn’t concede today.

‘This way, I can see your cute act once again.’

Hyeonu was naturally going to buy meat. Tang-E’s body was a bear. Eating meat wouldn’t fatten him up. Rather, not eating it would make him thin.

-Buy some meat.

-Are those gold coins wasted?

-So what if he gets fat? He will be cuter. Huhu.

-What is he doing with all the money he made? He needs to buy Tang-E meat.

The viewers criticized Hyeonu without recognizing Hyeonu’s big picture. Still, some viewers noticed Hyeonu’s plan.

-This is the building of a big picture to see Tang-E’s affection!

-How about a plate of meat for a heart dance?

-Please order anything! It doesn’t matter if it is dancing or whatever!

Hyeonu held Tang-E and entered a restaurant in Taeyang. “Do you have a room? I’ll eat in a room.”

Soon after, Hyeonu was sitting in a familiar-looking closed room. He asked, “Tang-E, are you angry? Do you want to eat meat?”

Tang-E sat on a chair and pouted silently.

Hyeonu smiled when he saw it.

‘He is a very cute child.’

He wondered if having a child would feel like this. Tang-E was so cute that Hyeonu didn’t know what to do. The reaction was too good.

“I’ll give you some meat if you give me a kiss," Hyeonu said.

At Hyeonu’s suggestion, Tang-E turned his head toward Hyeonu with wide eyes. “Really, Master dude? Really?”

Tang-E’s eyes were shining like lanterns.

“Then I will let you order whatever you like. When have I ever lied?” Hyeonu made eye contact with Tang-E and smiled.

“Five dishes, at least five,” Tang-E said while opening his right paw.

“Yes, five. So give me a kiss.”

Tang-E came down from his chair at Hyeonu’s urging and walked in front of Hyeonu.

Kiss.

-No! Don’t be twisted by the devil! Tang-E!

-This demon! Seducing Tang-E with meat!!!

-We need to save Tang-E from this demonic beast!

-I want to be Alley Leader so much at this moment.

The viewers started screaming.

They got a bit of surrogate satisfaction because they were viewing it from Hyeonu’s point of view, but they had more envy. They even blamed themselves for not being there.

Dding-!

Hyeonu opened the menu and pressed a small box on the table. A moment later, a man opened the door and entered the room. “How can I help you?”

Hyeonu had his gaze was fixed on Tang-E while he said, “Order anything.”

Tang-E’s mouth twitched. He was struggling not to laugh as he ordered. However, Tang-E couldn’t stop his mouth from curving up, and he finally finished ordering with his fingers.

“Yes, I understand. We will serve the food in the order it is ready,” the man stated.

After the man left, Hyeonu stroked Tang-E’s head while Tang-E sat down with a look of anticipation.

“Such a cute kid,” Hyeonu remarked. 

For this moment, his heart was the viewers’. Hyeonu and the viewers were of one heart and one body. As the viewers watched Tang-E being excited about eating meat, they were warmly immersed in the scene.

-Will my child be so cute if I have one?

-My cat was like this...

-Tang-E... Hahaha.

-Police Uncle! Here is a criminal.

A few minutes later, Tang-E’s ordered food filled the table. They ranged from dishes like roasted chicken to soy-marinated pork and various skewers. Finally, a roast beef dish with vegetables was the highlight.

‘Eh?’ Hyeonu thought as he alternated between looking at the last stir-fried beef dish and Tang-E’s face. Then he uttered, “Vegetables?” 

Perhaps Tang-E felt that Hyeonu’s gaze was burdensome and avoided it by picking up a skewer.

“Well done. You shouldn’t be picky.” Hyeonu stroked Tang-E’s head affectionately and increased the size of the chat window. Since Hyeonu was communicating without hunting or the arena, he would only concentrate on watching the chat window. Thus, it was good to have the chat window at the maximum size so he could see as many messages as possible.

“Then I’ll start streaming the meat-focused eating show with Tang-E. Ask me all your questions,” Hyeonu said.

After setting it up, he ate chicken with his chopsticks and started the full-fledged eating show.

-Is this the food of the East Continent? Well, this is also good. There is Tang-E.

-Tang-E is the truth!

-Thank you, Alley Leader, for making this decision.

The viewers clapped at Hyeonu’s choice, seemingly having forgotten about today’s mistake.

-What food does Tang-E like best?

-Don’t you know? It is naturally meat.

-There is more than one type of meat. Beef, chicken, lamb, pork, duck, etc... There are so many types.

“Tang-E naturally loves meat. Tang-E, what type of dish do you like best?” Hyeonu asked Tang-E who was placing meat into his mouth. When Hyeonu asked the question, Tang-E, who was in the midst of his meal, only looked for water: “Water!”

“Here. Eat slowly. No one will take it away. If there isn’t enough then order more,” Hyeonu nagged like a parent raising a child.

“What did you ask? I didn’t hear it,” Tang-E asked this question once he calmed down after drinking water.

“What is your favorite food?”

“Oh, the best is the grilled boar that Master gave me. It is the best thing I’ve ever tasted.”

-Is this flattery or sincerity?

-However, Qing Feng cooking it in the open air did look delicious...

“Tang-E, don’t you like the food that your mother prepared for you?”

Tang-E spat on an empty plate at Hyeonu’s question, “Spit! Oh, my. There was something stuck in my teeth. What did you ask?”

Hyeonu was able to fully understand Manong’s culinary prowess just based on Tang-E’s attitude.

-His mother’s cooking...

-This is why he eats like a starving child...

-He can’t eat at home, so he has to fill his stomach.

The viewers now knew why Tang-E was so obsessed with meat.

6th Anniversary Event Link (Submission Final Date: 15th November)