Something Keeps Appearing in My Subspace - Chapter 121
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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121. Yong-yong Beef Restaurant
“Things are different now—rear guard duty will be your main role. Are you comfortable with that?”
Kim Han-chul was now a member of the Dragon Guild. A capable guild master needed to check on such matters.
Of course, he’d likely come prepared for rear guard work, but given his previous accomplishments, he might feel a twinge of regret.
If he ever felt the need to spend time in the vanguard, we were more than willing to accommodate him.
There was no reason to be locked into a single role. We could adjust based on each Gate.
“I’m more than comfortable. Just being able to work again makes me happy.”
Kim Han-chul answered with a smile.
“Still, if you ever miss the old days, just let me know. Chul-gi and I can rotate positions just like we used to.”
“That’s very thoughtful of you.”
With his experience as a vanguard scout, he understood my intent and smiled knowingly.
“No, it’s fine. Actually, I prefer this. The vanguard was difficult before. It’s a position that carries a lot of burden.”
That was true. It wasn’t an easy role. As the vanguard in the United States, the responsibility must have been immense.
“And right now, I need to focus entirely on readjusting and regaining my sense of the field. Rear guard duty might already be pushing it.”
“Come on, you’re doing great.”
“Heh. I was always doing mental training even while bedridden. They say it’s effective.”
I’d heard that before—athletes could achieve near-real combat effects through visualization alone.
His passion for returning was truly remarkable.
“Still, if I ever reach peak condition and my body starts feeling stiff, I’ll let you know.”
“Of course. Feel free to tell me anytime, without hesitation.”
There was one more thing I needed to tell Han Chul.
“Yong-yong Beef Restaurant is opening soon. You’ll be coming, right?”
I asked, gauging his reaction.
“You said you’d come after we entered the Gate last time. Since we’ve been training together, that should be enough, don’t you think?”
His body had recovered somewhat, and with a bit of breathing room, Kim Han-chul smiled brightly.
“Of course. I’m looking forward to it. To be honest, I regretted not being able to attend the tasting you invited me to before.”
Hmm. Maybe I should have brought it up one more time back then, I thought, when Kim Han-chul whispered to me.
“Actually, I secretly applied for a reservation at Yong-yong Beef Restaurant.”
“Really?”
“I got rejected, though. Ha ha!”
Seeing him laugh so heartily, it seemed like a joke. I laughed along with him.
“As a Dragon Guild member, you can eat there anytime without a reservation. Just let me know.”
“Even better. You might not know, but I’m the kind of person who dies if I don’t eat beef every day.”
And….
The opening day of Yong-yong Beef Restaurant arrived.
* * *
To be honest, the opening of Yong-yong Beef Restaurant didn’t stir much emotion in me. I had never been particularly interested in business.
I simply enjoyed seeing Mister satisfied.
Mister stood by the window, gazing at the line of people in front of the restaurant, wearing a contented smile.
No, it was more than contentment. It was a smile overflowing with happiness.
“Congratulations. You’re now running two businesses, boss.”
“Strictly speaking, it’s one. Heh, I never dreamed of this back in the day.”
On the opening day of Yong-yong Samgyeopsal, Mister had even shed tears, but it seemed he’d adapted somewhat—he wasn’t crying now.
His face simply radiated pride. It was a positive change, after all. I saw it that way.
“Is everyone ready?”
“Yes, sir!”
The grand opening of Yong-yong Beef Restaurant.
The difference from Yong-yong Samgyeopsal was that experienced staff from the original restaurant were now here.
When we first opened Yong-yong Samgyeopsal, there weren’t major problems, but there were minor growing pains.
Even though Mister spent generously to hire decent staff, some things were unavoidable.
Details like traffic flow and table turnover only reveal their improvements once you’re actually operating.
This time, to prevent such issues, I’d brought over some seasoned Yong-yong Samgyeopsal staff.
“Good. I’ll make sure you all get a generous bonus today. Let’s go.”
“We’ll do our best!”
The employees’ faces were radiant with smiles. Mister was always generous with wages.
The base salary itself was solid, and bonuses were plentiful. That’s why employees rarely left once they started.
“Wow. I’m really feeling how much has changed.”
I murmured softly while watching Mister return from addressing the staff, and he tilted his head.
“What do you mean?”
“There were times when Yong-yong Samgyeopsal had just one employee—me.”
“There were times with three people too.”
“Come on, how long ago was that? I was practically working alone.”
“Hmm.”
Yong-yong Samgyeopsal’s food wasn’t bad. Above average, perhaps? The problem was the location.
Not long after opening, the commercial district shifted. With fewer customers coming, things only got worse.
“You shouldn’t dwell on past glories.”
I said that, but I was genuinely grateful for those memories. Truth be told, I wasn’t necessary for Yong-yong Samgyeopsal.
When we needed to cut staff, Mister still employed three of us, including me. Looking back now, I wonder how he managed it.
“Past glories? This is my moment of glory right now. What’s a few employees?”
“That’s why it’s fortunate.”
I felt a deep satisfaction knowing I’d led Mister to this moment of glory.
When I first awakened, I’d wanted to repay him, and it seemed I’d done quite a lot.
“It’s all thanks to me.”
“No way, it’s thanks to you, Mister.”
“What are you talking about? I said it’s me, not you. I took you in and got rewarded like this—that’s my doing.”
Mister playfully bumped me with his shoulder. I laughed along with him.
“That’s the right answer.”
“Yeah. That’s right.”
Soon it was opening time.
Unlike the Yong-yong Samgyeopsal opening, we didn’t have many acquaintances coming. They’d already tried it before, and everyone had their own circumstances.
-I’ll come by after clearing the Gate!
-Wait, I heard you went first last time… Can I just come by in a few days?
Amusingly, there was apparently some gossip about Yong-yong Beef Restaurant’s grand opening back then. It didn’t become a major scandal, but it circulated.
I’d always assumed the owner invited acquaintances for such occasions anyway…
Given how popular the restaurant is, I considered it just a minor incident.
The Association President and Seo-ung were especially cautious. They’d heard rumors that they attended the grand opening by leveraging the Association President’s authority.
Since that interpretation was possible, the acquaintances decided to invite everyone on a day when the beef restaurant was closed instead.
Still, Han Chul came.
He wanted to spend time with his family, so we prepared a separate seating area for them. It should be a wonderful time.
“It’s the Space Mage!”
“The Dragon Knight is here too!”
“But no Red Dragon…”
The atmosphere grew a bit lively as people entered. Since there were children, I waved at them, and they seemed delighted.
Han Chul also arrived and exchanged a light nod with me.
After everyone was seated, Yong-yong’s moment arrived.
The moment I opened the Subspace and Yong-yong emerged, the atmosphere ignited instantly. The children loved it most of all.
“Wow! It’s a dragon!”
“Yong-yong!”
Several children tried to rush forward, but we’d prepared for such things, so there were no issues.
Nearly everyone pulled out their phones to film Yong-yong igniting the flames.
“Yong-yong.”
“Krrr!”
And Yong-yong lit the fire. Amid cheers erupting from all directions, the difference from last time was…
-Sizzzzle!
This time, Yong-yong was eating the grilled beef cooked over those flames.
“Whoa, this is my first time seeing what a dragon eats.”
“Didn’t it eat samgyeopsal before?”
“Nope. We never had anything like this.”
“Seems like it really loves beef.”
“Isn’t this even more delicious?”
While people murmured in amazement, Mister shouted with a grin.
“Fire’s out!”
And naturally…
The reviews for Yong-yong Beef Restaurant were nothing but glowing praise. The business was a massive success, needless to say.
[First time witnessing a dragon eat meat—what a flex]
(Video of Yong-yong igniting flames)
(Video of Yong-yong eating beef)
I’ve tried the samgyeopsal twice, but the beef is just incomparable
Even the highest praise falls short. You absolutely have to eat it before you die. It’s on another level entirely.
-The reviews are insane. They say it’s way more delicious than Yong-yong Samgyeopsal?
-Is that real? No, seriously, Yong-yong Samgyeopsal is the best food of my life—how delicious can it possibly be?
-Are all the comments above just liars? How did you even get Yong-yong Samgyeopsal? I’ve never successfully made a reservation
-The author went twice lol
-How did you go twice? Isn’t that a scam?
-Just fill a cup with water and pray lol
Meanwhile, Yong-yong Beef Restaurant wasn’t the only thing gaining attention online.
There was also a video of Yong-yong eating beef.
-Is the Red Dragon really eating beef lol so cute with those nom-nom sounds
-Even with that massive size, it’s adorable—I wonder how cute it was when it was a hatchling
-It’s practically lost media at this point. The flying footage is all we have because it’s so big.
-Lost media? There was never any media to begin with.
-There was some when it was young lol when the Dragon Knight blocked the discharge-type gate and during interviews? The problem is the footage is too short.
-Dragon Knight, release the Yong-yong video!
-Isn’t the Red Dragon usually with the Space Mage?
-Then Space Mage should release it!
Now that I thought about it, there had been quite a lot of interest in Yong-yong. Separate from the attention our guild was receiving.
It was the first Red Dragon to appear in the world, after all.
Videos from the discharge-type gate or interviews had been popular, and there was always significant interest in Yong-yong.
To be honest, we had plenty of footage of Yong-yong as a hatchling.
“Your photo album is full of Min-seok and Yong-yong, isn’t it?”
“I have tons of Yong-yong photos too.”
We even had footage from right after it hatched from its egg.
Yong-yong sleeping on a small cushion, Yong-yong rubbing its body against things, Yong-yong grabbing at a toy…
“Should we upload some as fan service?”
“Sure. Let’s curate the best ones and upload them after we get back from the Guild Conference?”
“Sounds good.”
* * *
The Guild Conference was approaching. We focused on guild training rather than worrying about the conference itself.
Kim Han-chul was participating in training and we were building coordination, but it wasn’t actual combat yet.
To make training effective in real battles, repetitive practice was essential. We couldn’t afford to be complacent about our skills.
A Gate was precisely the kind of place where a single moment of carelessness or oversight could lead to catastrophe.
‘I’m not keeping Min-jae on a leash for nothing.’
Kim Han-chul also strongly agreed on the necessity of repetitive training. The role of rear guard support was more critical than anything else.
So we continued our repetitive training, adapting to various scenarios.
For instance, there were times when I or Mister would step away for reconnaissance.
We practiced responses for emergencies that arose when one of us was absent.
“Mana depletion!”
We also prepared for situations where Min-jae’s mana ran out during intense combat, making it difficult to handle lesser monsters, or scenarios where someone got injured.
Individual training was naturally part of our routine. Mister, Min-jae, Lee Shin-hee, and I all worked to master what we’d recently learned.
I did the same. During this period, I briefly entered a state of flow, and my skill levels increased.
My previous techniques were well-honed, but I needed to refine my martial arts within this newly expanded realm of perception.
“It’s been a while.”
“…Indeed, it has.”
A few days before the Guild Conference, I finally had the chance to meet with Shin Chang and Seo Seung-yeon again.
“You’ve both been well, I hope?”
“Well, not really. We’ve been swamped. Coordinating schedules for the Guild Conference nearly killed us, I’m telling you.”
“I heard the advance teams from other countries are just as busy. You must have had a rough time.”
Seo Seung-yeon nodded in agreement with my words, then suddenly clapped her hands together.
“Wait, we shouldn’t be making small talk like this.”
“What?”
“The Guild Conference is coming up soon. We need to start training to prepare for Liu Zhen!”
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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