One day,
we lost our way.
Why are we wandering a place like this?
But the Manager kindly guided us.
“Don’t worry. If you eat the pasta, you can go home.”
It was a pension set up temporarily between dimension and dimension, between time and time.
There was only one item you could order.
Neapolitan-style Genovese pasta.
Thirteen days later, the Neapolitan-style Genovese pasta was served.
We...
[screeeech......]
The dining room door opens after thirteen days.
Thirteen place settings and thirteen chairs prepared for thirteen guests.
And a long table where all thirteen can sit side by side.
“This way. Please, everyone take a seat.”
Following the employee’s guidance, we slowly sat at the table.
The employee looked oddly downcast.
Was it because of what the Manager whispered to the employee before the door opened? No one knows what the two of them discussed.
(The employee is actually hiding a gun. The Manager asked, “Keep watching me with the Truth Eye, and if I fail, shoot me in the head.” But the employee is certain they won’t be able to use the gun.)
No one pays the employee any mind.
What matters is the Genovese pasta made in the Neapolitan style.
“The pasta has arrived.”
The Chef approached, carrying the dish filled with pasta.
The Chef wore a mask. So we could not know the Chef’s face.
(The Chef is actually someone living while dead.)
“Each of you may ask only one question.”
Said the Manager, standing by the table.
He had neither a chair nor pasta provided for him.
(The Manager is actually Feast’s Offering. With superhuman intellect and mana, he keeps the rite under control. If he loses even a little focus, we will all become lost in time and space.)
We are free to eat the pasta, and we may each ask only one question.
And once everyone finishes the pasta, we will all return to our respective homes.
Those are this restaurant’s rules.
“Can everyone eat? It looks far too little for thirteen.”
The first to ask was Im Huiyeong of the Foreigners’ Administration.
(Im Huiyeong actually admires Yang Seoho deeply. She became a public servant because of Yang Seoho. Of course, along with admiration she feels fear at an instinctive level.)
The Manager looked at Sir Yang Seoho with four eyes.
“Bring that here.”
Taking the dish from the Chef, Sir Yang Seoho portioned out the pasta herself, and everyone received it with reverent demeanor.
(This pasta is actually the product of a rite. It was designed with help from a wanderer who roams future and past, cooked by the hands of a Chef living while dead, and its ingredients included the material and immaterial, what exists and what does not. Moreover, all of this was done between dream and reality.)
There was enough pasta.
After piling generous portions on the plates of everyone at the table, there was still enough left to feed one more person.
We all thanked Sir Yang Seoho and began to eat.
(This pasta actually should have been completed in another form. Normally it manifests as [Radiant Light] that grants surreal wisdom. But Feast’s Offering shaped it as pasta to protect the guests’ minds and souls. [Radiant Light] brings madness along with wisdom.)
But its essence does not change.
This pasta will grant the eater’s wish.
“Mm—this is really good. But what flavor is this? What do you add to get this taste?”
The second question came from Jeong Hyeona, head of the Blue Lake Faction.
(Jeong Hyeona actually has some memories tangled. It’s a side effect caused by the battle between Feast’s Offering and [Scaled Stratagem]. Feast’s Offering believes he removed most of the side effects, but one memory remains uncorrected.)
To that, the Manager answered with great kindness.
“I’m glad it suits your palate. The flavor you’re curious about is likely caramelized onion.”
“You’ll make it for me again when we get out, right?”
The Manager lowered his head apologetically.
“Sorry, but each guest may ask only one question.”
Jeong Hyeona squinted one eye and smiled playfully.
“Do whatever you want, big brother. I’ll do whatever I want too.”
“Onion? There is meat in here, right?”
The third questioner was Kid the Gunman of the Hunter Mutual Aid—Hwang Incheol.
(Hwang Incheol is actually a Sagittarius. His hobbies are saxophone and horseback riding. He keeps four horses and has an ability to transform into a werewolf. In that form, thick silver-gray fur grows all over him. Dogs mustn’t eat onions, but that has nothing to do with werewolves.)
The Manager pointed to the Genovese pasta.
“Being Neapolitan style, it contains a great deal of meat.”
“This isn’t pork, though... It’s not meat we’re not supposed to eat, is it?”
Fourth to chime in was Amina, an unaffiliated fixer.
(Amina is actually looking for JJ. JJ, her team’s leader and lover, vanished after saying he’d visit his hometown of Ansan.)
The Manager shook his head.
“As you say, it isn’t pork, but there’s nothing in it that one cannot eat. And that answer covers the physical, the nutritional, and the ethical alike.”
“Eh, then it’s beef or lamb. Am I right? And—I wanted to see you again.”
Fifth was Gafurum, a reporter with Problem Solver Daily.
(Gafurum actually thinks Feast’s Offering is a superhero. People think Feast’s Offering is a villain, but he alone believes the man fights a lonely battle to prevent the world’s end—and he’s looking for a way to tell people this truth.)
“No. It’s neither beef nor lamb. And I’m glad to see you again as well.”
“Is there no other compensation? The pasta is very tasty, to be sure, but we almost got killed out of nowhere multiple times, you know? The state won’t even pay a hazard—”
Bae Jinu of the Foreigners’ Administration, sixth to speak, cut himself off.
Because Im Huiyeong was glaring at him with a frightening look.
(Bae Jinu is actually a black agent ordered to surveil Yang Seoho. The now-deceased Shin Ujin had the same order. Before Shin Ujin, those who received the same order were Bae Junu, Shin Ujun, Bae Juno, and Shin Ojun. They all died as well.)
“Everyone—”
The Manager raised his left hand and said:
“—will receive some manner of reward. I mentioned a small commemorative gift, didn’t I?”
“Will you pay money? I’d prefer something I can liquidate easily.”
Seventh, Thirteen of Vasiliisa prodded the pasta with a surly face and asked.
(Thirteen is actually a cultist. He serves one of the avatars of the Black Goat of the Woods that begets madness.)
Blinking four eyes, the Manager answered kindly.
“Those who want monetary compensation will receive monetary compensation.”
“I ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) don’t need money. Instead, may we soon invite Sir Yang Seoho to a gala our group is hosting?”
Eighth to speak was Mun Gyeongha, CEO of Ilshin Group.
(Mun Gyeongha actually keeps an eye on Mun Seunghee. Since the death of Yeonam Construction’s Mun Gyeongnam, Mun Seunghee has become Yeonam’s core with excessive speed. Once this is over, he plans to send assassins after her.)
Sir Yang Seoho looked to the Manager, and the Manager shook his head.
“In place of Sir Yang Seoho, I will accept that invitation.”
“Not Vasiliisa—would you work with me instead?”
The one smoothing a waterfall of jade hair asked the ninth question.
Purumir, a broker with Purumir Staffing.
(Purumir has actually been commissioned to lure Feast’s Offering. But until now, Vasiliisa’s interference kept him from even trying to speak with him. He considers this an important opportunity.)
“A long-term collaboration would be difficult, but I’ll at least make one visit.”
“Why did you cause an incident like this? That guy’s Bubble Head, right? What time is it even now? Did you distort time? Not everyone here is from the same timeline, are they? By what criteria were they selected? How do you plan to clean up this rite? Do you know what will happen if all the wishes of the people here are granted?”
Tenth, Geumwol of Helistic fired off questions in rapid succession.
(Geumwol is actually the oldest among us. The appearance of someone in their early teens is an artificial form implemented by Helistic’s technology.)
The Manager regarded Geumwol for a moment, then answered:
“Sorry, but each guest may ask only one question.”
Geumwol considered briefly, then asked a completely different one.
“What do you intend to gain through this rite?”
“I’ll relocate [One Who Tears the Veil], who’s been in an obstructive position, to somewhere else. And we will collect the byproducts that arise in the process.”
([One Who Tears the Veil] has in fact been circling near the dimensional curtain that’s wrapped around this world for some time now. Unless he’s moved elsewhere or made to withdraw, any attempt to cross dimensions will trigger a horrific catastrophe.)
“Relocate? Position? Byproducts?”
But the Manager did not answer Geumwol’s follow-ups and looked to the next guest.
“Isn’t someone missing? You said Sir Yang Seoho is a guest too, didn’t you? Then that girl is ten. I’m eleven. Including Sir Yang Seoho makes twelve. That’s twelve, not thirteen.”
Daniel Hong, who had been engrossed in the pasta, suddenly asked.
(Daniel is actually one of the Black King’s closest aides and runs an underground fighting ring in Waste Alley. He’s in trouble for failing to supply “fighters” that satisfy the Black King.)
The Manager treated this as the eleventh question and replied:
“Don’t worry. There are thirteen guests in total.”
Daniel frowned at the Manager, but the Manager turned to Sir Yang Seoho.
“Do you have a question, Sir Yang Seoho?”
“You’d better be ready. If anything worse than what you promised happens, I’ll dedicate a stretch of time solely to killing you.”
(Yang Seoho actually has a lot of unused annual leave. If anything beyond what was agreed occurs, she plans to use all of it for one purpose only: to hunt down Feast’s Offering.)
The Manager nodded calmly.
“Once all the guests have eaten this pasta, everyone at this location will return home.”
He paused, looked around, and added something important.
“Of course, some of you may obtain additional rewards in the process, but nothing will happen that would rise to a level the Foreigners’ Administration needs to worry about. That’s why we prepared procedures this complicated in the first place.”
“Hm.”
(Yang Seoho is actually still not lowering her guard. The instant something she cannot countenance occurs, she will kill Feast’s Offering.)
Deciding Sir Yang Seoho was satisfied, the Manager gestured our way and said:
“Sir Yang Seoho, there is someone who still hasn’t received pasta. Would you deliver pasta to that person as well?”
That person?
I sent my sight behind me, but what lay behind my back—
“No. You. I mean you.”
The Manager pointed at me.
(The Manager is actually Kim Sinhwa.)
Me?
(I am actually a very small fragment of [One Who Tears the Veil]. Ordinarily, I should have contaminated Feast’s Offering’s mind and granted him power and wisdom to step across time and space. In exchange, Feast’s Offering would have become a servitor of [One Who Tears the Veil]. But it seems the [Abyssal Madness] trait interfered.)
Sir Yang Seoho brings the pasta to me.
(I am not even an avatar of [One Who Tears the Veil]. I am truly only a tiny piece. If I were of a slightly higher rank, I wouldn’t have fallen into a trap like this.)
I must eat this pasta.
So I ate the pasta.
(This space is actually being maintained by Kim Sinhwa and Gong Isu, who are pouring in all their power and abilities. That is why they were so helpless before Yang Seoho.)
Everyone gathered in the dining room looks at me.
I even feel the sting of a manager’s gaze from beneath the stars and stars and stars.
(The information the observers have been observing thus far appears to have been my point of view. The fortunate part is that neither Feast’s Offering nor the others can observe this viewpoint. Only the observers beyond the barrier can perceive it.)
It was a very delicious pasta.
(In truth, I have no personality or self. But Kim Sinhwa and Gong Isu forcibly assigned me the role of [Guest]. Because of that, an anthropomorphized viewpoint and personality—and these impressions—have been created.)
“Do you have anything you’re curious about?”
The Manager—Feast’s Offering—Kim Sinhwa spoke to me.
By the rules, I must ask a question.
(I am in fact connected to [One Who Tears the Veil]. This issue will affect [One Who Tears the Veil] as well. Even so, why does [One Who Tears the Veil] not help me? If he used his power properly just a little, he could stop this absurd commotion at once.)
“Fulfilled will be which... wish?”
That is my question.
(It is also the thirteenth question.)
The Manager answered calmly—an answer that might register to humans in a somewhat peculiar form.
“As I’ve kept saying, once all the guests eat the pasta, we can all go home. To our respective homes. Well, if someone’s home is in the Abyss, they’ll likely go to the Abyss.”
I asked again.
“Thinking do you that there will be a ‘home’ you can go... right from here?”
(House here means the place each person recognizes as [their home]. Kim Sinhwa thinks he might be able to return to his hometown by this method.)
But the Manager answered with a smile in his voice.
“Sorry, but you may ask only one question.”
Feast’s Offering is kneading your fragment at will. Do you truly have no intention of responding?
[Corner: It turns.]
Understood.
I will now send all those trapped at the corners of spacetime back to their respective homes.
