Chapter 21 -----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: The Heavenly Demon and the Puppy (1)
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Late at night, in the warehouse room of Bokbok Interiors.
The Heavenly Demon sat cross-legged, meditating.
Rumble.
With each exhale, a faint thunderous sound shook the interior of the warehouse.
The Heavenly Demon's current internal energy was a mere fifteen years' worth. But the Reverse Divine Art infused even his breaths with true energy, making it the most powerful and domineering technique in martial history.
Kiriririk.
As the thunderous sound echoed once more, a soft glow emanated from Nameless's body, lying on the plate-shaped charging station.
At the same time, inside Jang Chaewon's bedroom.
Ding.
An alert tone chimed, and her phone on the nightstand lit up.
Jang Chaewon reached for the nightstand from her bed and stared at the screen.
"Haa."
After gazing at it for a while, she placed a hand on her forehead and murmured softly.
"What should I do about that guy..."
The next day, around noon.
The Heavenly Demon was sauntering down the stairs of a rundown commercial building about a block away from Bokbok Interiors.
He had been moving furniture and waste from the building since early morning.
"Hmm."
The Heavenly Demon brushed the dust off his clothes and looked up at the sky.
"I'm peckish."
Being around noon, the nearby eateries were overflowing with customers.
"Today, I'll have the dry black bean noodles again."
A few days ago, when resolving Able Bear God's Divine Request, Jang Chaewon had promised that if the Heavenly Demon carried her up the mountainside, she would buy him dry black bean noodles and sweet-and-sour pork for lunch for ten days.
And she was faithfully keeping her promise. Though the atmosphere during meals felt a bit awkward compared to before.
"Well, it's nothing unusual."
The Heavenly Demon knew.
The reason for the awkwardness was because he had said he would extract the imugi's inner core.
But it didn't bother him at all.
Countless people had shown ruthless contempt and disgust without reason, or simply because their paths differed.
Tick-tock-tick-tock.
Across the street, the crosswalk signal beeped loudly, announcing the time.
The Heavenly Demon, who had been striding forward, stopped. He had already learned that one should only cross on the green light.
Vroooom.
Suddenly, a blue one-ton truck roared from afar, barreling toward them.
In the blink of an eye, it swerved toward the crosswalk where the Heavenly Demon stood.
"Hm."
Should he dodge? Or stand firm and demonstrate the might of his Diamond Body?
As he pondered briefly, a white liquid splattered onto his head from above.
'Bird droppings?'
Sensing the bird droppings on his head, the Heavenly Demon looked up and took a few steps forward. At the same time, something bumped into his toe.
Boom!
With a explosive crash, the charging truck slammed into the Heavenly Demon's body and came to a halt.
Screeech.
The truck spewed smoke as its door opened, and the driver, covered in white foam, stumbled out.
It seemed a liquid airbag had deployed inside the cab, filling it with a hazy fluid to protect the driver during the crash.
"Th-the brakes failed..."
The driver fumbled for his phone while staring at the Heavenly Demon embedded in the wrecked vehicle.
Thud.
At that moment, the Heavenly Demon shoved the mangled truck aside and calmly continued crossing the crosswalk.
"H-hey! Wait... You need to go to the hospital!"
When the driver called out, the Heavenly Demon turned with an indifferent expression.
"Don't worry about it."
"Huh?"
"I am the Heavenly Demon."
Only then did the driver notice the Heavenly Demon's massive muscles and extraordinary appearance, letting out a sigh of relief.
"Ahh, you're an Awakener."
The driver collapsed to the ground in relief, clasping his hands together gratefully.
* * *
A few days later.
"Can't you at least put the dishes away properly?"
Jang Chaewon, back from giving a quote, spotted the messily scattered dry black bean noodle and sweet-and-sour pork containers outside the shop. She shot the Heavenly Demon an irritated look.
"You don't have to wash them, but at least bag them up neatly. How am I supposed to deal with them dumped like this every time? I have to rebag them myself every time I see it."
The Heavenly Demon, sitting at the reception table reading a book, replied flatly.
"What nonsense. I always tie them up neatly."
"Neatly, my ass. Go take a look outside."
"Fine."
Opening the shop door revealed that, as Jang Chaewon said, the bags were undone, with leftover sauce and dishes spilled everywhere.
The Heavenly Demon stared down at the mess expressionlessly and nodded.
"This is a conspiracy."
"What?"
"Someone's deliberately trying to tarnish my reputation and prestige."
"What bullshit. Who would bother with something so pointless?"
"The competing shops nearby, or someone they hired."
Stroking his chin as if he had it all figured out, the Heavenly Demon continued.
"There are countless who seek to blemish my illustrious name."
Jang Chaewon shook her head at the Heavenly Demon's nonsense.
"To begin with, does anyone around here even know you?"
"Of course. Plenty of people have come to resent me during this time."
"Huh? People resent you? Who?"
The Heavenly Demon narrowed his eyes after a brief silence.
"The laborers I've worked with on sites."
"What?"
"Whenever we leave a construction site, they're always grumbling about me. They could very well..."
Pat pat pat.
At that moment, a small shadow came scurrying from down the alley.
Upon closer look, it was a little puppy covered in white fur matted with grime.
-Woof woof!
The puppy that ran up circled excitedly between the Heavenly Demon's legs in front of the shop.
It acted just like it had found its owner, full of joy and affection.
"Huh."
Jang Chaewon tilted her head watching it.
"What, you know this dog?"
"First time seeing it."
"Really? It has weird taste. Sticking to you, Heavenly Demon."
Chuckling, Jang Chaewon headed back inside.
"Anyway, clean up those dishes properly and put them back out."
"Understood."
Turning his head, the Heavenly Demon gazed down at the puppy rubbing against his leg.
After observing it for a while, he slowly extended his thick hand toward the puppy's head.
"Wait, stop!"
Just then, the shop door flew open again, and Jang Chaewon rushed out to block the puppy.
"What the hell are you doing!"
"Doing what?"
She glanced at the puppy behind her and stated firmly.
"I told you. In this world, you can't do that."
"I don't know what you mean."
"Even if it looks ownerless, you can't just kill it on a whim."
The Heavenly Demon looked down at his extended hand and shook his head.
"You thought I was going to eat it."
"You were going to eat it."
"I'm not."
"You're not?"
"There's plenty of food here. Why bother with the hassle of eating something like this."
Jang Chaewon looked embarrassed.
"Right?"
From her perspective, it had looked like the Heavenly Demon was glaring at the puppy with bloodshot eyes and about to grab its head with his log-like arm.
"Sorry, my mistake."
Even as Jang Chaewon apologized, the Heavenly Demon entered the shop without a word.
Sunday evening.
"Slurp."
The Heavenly Demon was eating dry black bean noodles alone at the reception table in the shop.
It was a day off, but Jang Chaewon had ordered delivery for the Heavenly Demon staying in the warehouse room.
Gulp gulp.
After downing some water refreshingly, the Heavenly Demon nodded at the coupon with the phone number.
"They deliver meals like lightning anytime. Truly an excellent restaurant."
As he bagged the empty bowls and set them outside the shop.
-Woof woof.
The same puppy from before came running up happily.
"Go away."
The Heavenly Demon nudged the puppy clinging to his leg with his foot. But the puppy ignored it and latched on again.
"Hold still."
Staring at the puppy, the Heavenly Demon slipped back inside the shop.
The puppy paced in front of the shop for a long time, then looked dejected when the Heavenly Demon didn't come out.
It started rummaging through the plastic bag over the black bean noodle bowls he had left.
"So it was you after all."
The Heavenly Demon, who had watched the whole scene through the shop's glass, stepped out indignantly.
"You framed me!"
-Woof woof!
As the Heavenly Demon emerged, the puppy wagged its tail happily.
Ignoring the affectionate display, the Heavenly Demon grabbed the puppy by the scruff.
"Because of you, I got misunderstood by the shop owner for no reason."
-Woof woof!
"Don't ever tear open the bags on bowls I set out again. Got it?"
No matter how sternly he spoke, the puppy just wagged its tail happily while dangling by the scruff.
"Huh?"
Just then, Jang Chaewon returned from an errand and widened her eyes at the sight.
"What are you doing? Why are you holding the puppy like that?"
"This one's the culprit."
"Huh?"
"The one who's been messing with the bagged bowls all this time."
The Heavenly Demon set the puppy down and pointed to the bowls on the ground. Jang Chaewon let out an "Ah."
"I see. It was hungry..."
She pulled a small piece of jerky from her handbag and held it to the puppy's mouth.
"Wanna eat this?"
The puppy looked at the jerky Jang Chaewon offered, then at the Heavenly Demon and barked.
"Weird. Why's it barking at you?"
Watching quietly, she held the jerky out to the Heavenly Demon.
"It seems like it wants you to give it."
"What nonsense."
"Try it."
When the Heavenly Demon took the jerky and held it to the puppy's mouth, it wagged its tail joyfully and ate.
Squatting to watch, Jang Chaewon smiled.
"Looks like it thinks you're its owner."
"Strange mutt."
The Heavenly Demon showed no interest and went back inside.
After that, the puppy kept visiting the shop occasionally.
The Heavenly Demon ignored it, but the puppy always greeted him like an owner and acted affectionate.
Frustrated, Jang Chaewon tried to set out a bowl of water and jerky, but the Heavenly Demon objected.
"Leaving that out front will make it filthy."
She knew that better than anyone.
"But it follows you so much. Isn't it amazing? And a bit pitiful."
"It's just annoying."
It seemed the Heavenly Demon lacked any of the compassion humans typically had.
As he nudged the puppy trying to enter with his foot and shut the door, Jang Chaewon sighed quietly.
'Is it really hopeless?'
Even if he could substitute for the Spirit Tree, she couldn't entrust a Divine Request to someone whose emotions had withered away.
No, she couldn't keep him at the shop anymore.
Resolving a Divine Request wasn't just about gaining divine power or blessings.
'No. I can't judge based on something like this yet.'
Taking a deep breath, Jang Chaewon shook her head and turned back to her laptop screen.
Was it worn out by the Heavenly Demon's coldness?
The puppy that used to visit the shop daily without fail hadn't been seen lately.
Whoosh.
It was the rainy season, and rain had been falling for days.
Even Jang Chaewon, who had shown no interest, started worrying about the puppy amid the gray sky and pouring rain.
"Heavenly Demon, it probably stopped coming because you kept kicking it away."
When Jang Chaewon chided him, the Heavenly Demon at the reception table replied flatly.
"It was a beast that shouldn't loiter here to begin with."
"So heartless."
As she turned back to her laptop, the old phone on the table rang shrilly. It was a Divine Request.
"Yes, Bokbok Interiors."
Jang Chaewon jotted down notes diligently while listening to the voice on the other end.
"Yes, we'll visit soon."
Click.
As she set down the receiver, the Heavenly Demon spoke.
"A Divine Request?"
"Yeah."
She answered, but it left a bitter taste.
Unlike before, she was already wondering if she should bring the Heavenly Demon along.
"What's the request?"
"Kind of a demolition job."
"I see. A nice, easy one for once."
A faint spark of pleasure glimmered in the usually expressionless Heavenly Demon's eyes at the new Divine Request.
Indifferent to everything else, the Heavenly Demon responded earnestly only to shop matters—those that earned divine power.
"Well, I'm not sure if we'll take it."
"What do you mean? Turning down a Divine Request? We barely get regular construction jobs these days."
"That's true, but it's ambiguous whether we should take it or not."
Was it because she wasn't used to lying, or due to complicated emotions?
Jang Chaewon avoided the Heavenly Demon's gaze and stood up.
"I'll step out for a bit."
"It's raining. Where to?"
"Yeah, my mouth's dry. Gonna grab some coffee."
"Right. Be careful."
The Heavenly Demon returned to his book.
Whoosh.
Outside, Jang Chaewon opened her umbrella.
"Huh?"
Glancing down suddenly, she widened her eyes.
The plastic bags over the lunch bowls were all undone, but covered with plywood in a U-shape to shield them from the rain.
"That guy..."
Staring at the bowls, Jang Chaewon murmured softly.
"Which side are you really on?"
Biting her lip, she headed to the parking lot, pulled out her phone.
She made a call somewhere, then typed something furiously and sent it off.
"Heavenly Demon."
Returning to the shop, Jang Chaewon spoke with resolve.
"The Divine Request that just came in—we'll start it tomorrow. Get ready."
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