Chapter 883

EP.883 [Light Novel Side Story] The Deathdinasth’s Creation of the Heavens 1st Volume Side Story ‘Valentine’s Day’

9:00 AM, February 13th. The day after “Team Deathdinasth” successfully cleared a D-Rank Goblin Dungeon.

Xian sat alone at the office desk, blankly reviewing the footage of their dungeon run step by step.

“Hmph.”

Her hand unconsciously brushed under her chin. Up until just before reaching the boss room, while methodically dealing with the goblins one by one, there hadn’t been any rough movements from the four special ability users.

“Of course, having the main damage dealer covering from behind gives me peace of mind to move forward.”

Xian replayed the middle part of the video.

Raon was surprised when a goblin wielding a poisoned dagger suddenly appeared from his side, but before it could pierce through the suit to his skin, Gaon’s water arrow had already pierced through the goblin’s hand. Raon quickly kicked the goblin and extracted its core.

The same went for Nuri. Gaon thoroughly protected the two close-range special ability users, Raon and Nuri, by shooting arrows.

With an A-rank taking the lead in the dungeon where there’s no need to worry about others’ gazes anymore, even solo clearing becomes possible. The frontline D-rank and C-rank members said they wanted to gain more experience.

Anyway, the dungeon was successfully cleared. There was no risk of a dimensional gate appearing, and the team successfully completed the dungeon run without incident.

“If we keep this up, things will go well. Good.”

While drinking warm coffee, Xian twisted the corner of her mouth into a smirk. There are still many deficiencies in various aspects, but somehow they managed to make a proper start.

The remaining task is to submit the guild evaluation. Xian leisurely lifted her coffee cup.

“So, when are you going back to America?”

“It’s my decision.”

A boy with silver-gray hair lounging on the sofa was giggling while tapping on a holographic screen. When Xian approached out of curiosity about what he was doing, Oracle casually turned his body to hide the screen.

“Tsk. Privacy violation.”

“What? Between you and me, what’s there… What’s going on? Trying to marry off someone again?”

“…Uh. I’ve found an interesting little romance.”

Oracle swiped his hand across the screen. The condensed magical power dissipated before his eyes, and the magical gear battery slightly decreased. Xian looked as if her interest had waned and began tidying up the furnishings placed against the wall.

“It’s no fun knowing spoilers beforehand. Instead, let me know when there’s news.”

“……”

You idiot. Oracle silently spoke so she wouldn’t hear and stuck out his tongue at Xian. While organizing the magical devices Oracle brought, Xian muttered sarcastically to herself as she moved tools around.

“If only our kids didn’t have work, I’d kick you out of here.”

“What? Kuh, kkk.”

Oracle flipped her off from behind while laughing mockingly.

‘Team members won’t come back today.’

I’ll make sure of that. Oracle displayed the text he wrote on the screen again, smiling mischievously. Xian glanced at him disdainfully before heading towards the office door.

“Hey. I’m leaving.”

“What? Going out without a coat? Where?”

“I’m going downstairs. To the cafe.”

Xian tied the apron she had received earlier around her waist.

“Nuri and Gaon suddenly canceled, so I agreed to cover for two days. It’s been a while since I baked bread. No, maybe I’ll make some cakes too? Also, Mr. Huan received a lot of chocolate, so as a welcome gift for you, I might bake some macarons too. If I get permission from Mr. Huan.”

“……”

* * *

[By any chance, are you in love right now?]

After several months, a new post appeared on Oracle’s newly updated SNS, ‘Love Manager.’ Written in Korean, possibly due to his visit to Korea, it caught the attention of numerous entertainment magazines.

[In moments when you wanted to give up, did someone extend a warm hand to you? When you thought life had hit rock bottom, did someone provide you with a safe haven? When everything felt annoying and tiresome, did someone take all your frustration and make you happy?]

Oracle’s unusually lengthy post sent ripples through South Korea’s gossip circles.

Writing such a post meant someone was definitely in the early stages of romance, prompting entertainment magazines to analyze every celebrity, famous person, or star Oracle had met over time.

[Then, why not return the favor once? Valentine’s Day is tomorrow. How about wrapping up sweet love under the guise of friendship and camaraderie, and giving handmade chocolates as a present?]

Oracle’s trail was quite long. Except for visiting a sick friend in Korea, he had been seen at theaters, the Hero Association, the Foreign Ministry, and an Espers Training Facility, meeting hundreds of people.

Among them, about two were definitely in the early stages of romance. Oracle’s love coaching had never failed, and hundreds of entertainer or esper couples owed their unions to his SNS.

[Hmm. But this challenge seems deceptively easy yet difficult. It’s a very tough opponent who accepts affection but doesn’t reciprocate love. For espers, tackling an S-rank dungeon solo might be easier.]

Is he teasing? But high difficulty implies deep affection. Oracle always compared the depth of love to dungeons and corresponding rewards.

[Already, other competitors are eyeing it greedily. Are you under the illusion that you’re ahead? Someone else might already be at the boss room of the dungeon. So don’t delay. You still have one day left.]

The date was February 13th. And the next day was February 14th.

[What are you doing? Not heading to the kitchen to make chocolates immediately? Surely, you’re not thinking of buying a 1+1 convenience store chocolate and passing it off as goodwill, right? That trick only works on grandkids for gold-diggers who fall in love at first touch.]

Some people hesitated as they scrolled down. Hands that had picked up chocolates from convenience stores started retreating one by one.

[At the very least, melt it and reshape it into something new. And absolutely do not add anything strange. Taste, shape, packaging—only when these three elements harmonize does it become true sincerity.]

Oracle hastily ended the sentence and added one more line to conclude the post.

“No, just don’t make it. Buy yourself some fried chicken with the money; it’s bound to fail anyway.”

That day, chocolate companies’ sales skyrocketed beyond the graph ceiling. Witnesses reported that the faces of those buying chocolates were uniformly red with anger.

* * *

“Daughter, is your startup a chocolate company?”

Yuna’s mother was utterly amazed at the mountain of chocolates piled up in the kitchen.

Whether studying or entering Hero Academy, Yuna always delivered clear results when she put her heart into something.

Even though her grades were at rock bottom until junior high graduation, her determination to study magic engineering led her to graduate second in her class from Seoul National University’s Magic Engineering Department. Believing in Yuna’s track record, her mother fully trusted her when she announced she would attend Hero Academy.

But now, that passion seems directed toward chocolates. Concern clouded Yuna’s mother’s mind.

“It’s not like that. We’re opening an office with people I recently met, and I’ve been appointed as the CEO.”

“…”

“An initiative to train espers. I’m setting up this project team.”

“…Yuna, isn’t that-”

No matter how much startups aim to break new ground, the fact that Yuna would be the CEO worried her.

“Money-wise? Even though your dad promised financial support for whatever he does, you know his character, right?”

“Yeah. If I ask for a loan, he’ll probably demand a business plan first, right?”

Yuna cheerfully chopped and finely diced the chocolate while smiling.

“Don’t worry. I just need to show up.”

“You should watch your words wherever you go. Misunderstandings might arise-”

Bang! Yuna’s knife slammed onto the cutting board. The thick chocolate split in half with one blow.

“Sorry. It wasn’t cutting well. These company chocolates won’t work. Where are they from, Yu-sung?”

Yuna checked the packaging and paused briefly before discarding all the chocolates made by Yu-sung. Determined to throw them into the trash, her mother stepped out of the kitchen, feeling sorry and grabbing some snacks along the way.

“She’s definitely set on something, though I don’t know what.”

Surely, it can’t be love, right? Humming a tune, Yuna’s mother watched her daughter’s back as she carefully melted chocolate, worrying deeply.

* * *

“Ah, this is so damn hard, shit!”

Nuri threw her face onto the floor in frustration. The chocolate in the plastic bowl was sticky neither; instead, it resembled powdered chocolate sprinkled on water.

“It’s better than before,” Raon said wearily, dumping the bowl into the sink. The sink’s strainer was already covered with brown chocolate powder.

“This is the ninth attempt. Shouldn’t we just buy one from the department store or make it plain?”

“Sis! Oracle said homemade is better, right? Yuna sis will definitely bring handmade chocolates too.”

“But no one expects you to infuse magical power into chocolates as gifts.”

Occasionally, stories of people adding strange things to chocolates as presents were heard. However, Nuri’s outlandish idea of infusing her magical power into chocolates shocked Raon enough to stick out her tongue, though she couldn’t stop her.

“Please observe, Miss Nuri.”

Raon raised her index finger and drew magical power from her lower abdomen. A tiny thread of magical power flowed through her bones, forming a small green sphere at her fingertip.

“It’s an excellent training method to release magical power outside the body and solidify its form. It greatly aids in mastering magical control. Guilds often recommend it… Miss Nuri has independently realized this while planning to infuse chocolates.”

“What? Really? I’m amazing, huh. Hahaha.”

The bizarre idea combined with innate talent naturally uncovered a widely known training method. Despite the dubious motive, Raon refrained from pointing it out.

Just,

“You’re releasing too much magical power. Before the chocolate takes shape, the wind attribute magical power inside bursts, turning it liquid. Focus and slowly draw the magical power.”

“Ugh, it’s hard. How did you manage, sis?”

“If you taste mine, you’ll understand.”

Raon had already made and packaged her chocolates. After tasting a piece, Nuri marveled at the refreshing burst in her mouth.

“Wow, incredible.”

“I enclosed the fragrance using wind attribute magical power, then coated it with chocolate. It’s a thin membrane that bursts in your mouth.”

“Still, former A-rank.”

Despite limited magical power, the precision with which Raon controlled it surpassed even Gaon. Nuri enjoyed the minty aroma bursting in her mouth and began melting chocolate again.

“Alright, I’ll definitely make one today!”

“I’ll assist you.”

Ultimately, they succeeded in creating one planned piece only as dawn broke the next morning.

* * *

<February 14th, 2025, 11:00 AM, Xian's Office.>

The three women stared silently at the chocolate mousse cake placed before them. It was so beautifully crafted that it seemed suspiciously ordered from a famous patisserie.

The bottom layer was dark chocolate, followed by white chocolate above it, and then green chocolate mixed with matcha powder layered on top. Covering the three-layered chocolate was a light brown jelly coating adorned with five white flower petals.

Too exquisite to dare touch with a fork, the three instinctively concealed the boxes or pockets hidden in their bosoms. Raon pointed at a slice of the cake and asked.

“Xian, what’s this?”

“Oh, I made it yesterday while helping the boss. Just happened to have spare time, and the boss had all the ingredients.”

Xian scratched her cheek while blushing slightly. Upon hearing this, the three murmured.

“So, this was made by…?”

“Yep. Since you guys said you couldn’t come yesterday and today, I filled in for you. Without you, everyone left, making it quieter.”

Xian playfully tapped her apron and headed out of the office.

“If anything comes up, let me know. If I’m not busy, I’ll check in with the boss and come up for a bit. Oh, and…”

Xian confidently rolled up her sleeve and nodded.

“The boss asked if it could be added to the menu. Try it and give me your feedback.”

“……”

Silently, the three picked up their forks.

Munch.

It was so deliciously bittersweet that it made them even angrier.

Side Story <Valentine's Day> ~Xian’s Trial~ End.