Having escaped the cramped, humid dormitory, Namhyeon finally returned to the subspace mansion—the place where he truly belonged.
It was a paradise he had carved out for himself during his decades of wandering in another world. Namhyeon spent his days clearing the dungeons assigned to him through the Windy Guild alone, hiring subcontractors to handle the bothersome collection of demon beast corpses and the gathering of materials. He no longer had to force himself to read others' moods or suffer under twisted obsessions. He now savored the true meaning of freedom and worked in peace.
The funds Namhyeon earned outside transformed entirely into modern amenities that filled the mansion.
"Wow! Master, this thing washes clothes automatically!"
Para could not take her eyes off the latest drum washing machine Namhyeon had bought. Through the transparent glass door, the sight of fabrics spinning round and round with foam seemed like magic itself, leaving her in wonder.
It wasn't just Para. The other maids also burst into exclamations of admiration as they received modern home appliances like televisions, refrigerators, and vacuum cleaners. A large-scale renovation had been carried out inside the mansion for this very purpose.
The core of it all was the Mana Generator, designed using all the knowledge Namhyeon had learned in the other world. Thanks to the device that converted mana into electrical energy, wiring was laid throughout the antique interior of the mansion and bright electric lights came to life. Though the construction had started from a state of complete ignorance, the mansion was soon filled with modern conveniences thanks to Namhyeon's illusion arts and the maids' devoted assistance.
"Ahh, it's so comfortable. Thanks to you, Master, laundry isn't hard at all!"
Para rested her chin on the washing machine and wagged her tail, and peaceful laughter spread throughout the mansion. All the maids were growing accustomed to the civilization of the outside world and enjoying a satisfying life.
"Everyone, gather! The meal is ready!"
Tiara's cheerful voice rang out from the kitchen. It seemed she had tried a new recipe from the cookbook Namhyeon had bought this time.
Inside the grand dining hall, all six dragon maids took their seats around the long dining table with Namhyeon at the center. By law, maids and masters were not supposed to share a table, but Namhyeon had called them all to join him, saying, "What does etiquette matter when family eats together?"
Steak steaming with rising heat, fresh salad, and even cool sparkling water. Sharing the meal filled with Tiara's sincerity, Namhyeon finally felt relief.
A place with no brutal surveillance, no suffocating obsession. This table, surrounded by those who believed in him completely and followed him, was precisely the 'rightful place' Namhyeon had so desperately wished for.
"It's delicious, Master. The spices of this world are truly unique."
"Right? Master, next time buy us that 'pizza' thing too!"
Amidst the boisterous conversation, Namhyeon smiled softly. In this quiet, sweet subspace cut off from the world, he had finally regained complete tranquility.
The place he had obtained entry permission for through the Windy Guild was a B-rank dungeon that had appeared on the outskirts of the city.
By regulations, B-rank dungeons normally required meeting the minimum party size to enter. But Namhyeon had buttered up the Guild Master and manipulated the documents, proudly crossing the gate alone.
He had no need for cumbersome party members, anyway.
Facing the swarming horde of orcs inside the dungeon, Namhyeon lightly extended his hand.
Blue mana flickered, and in an instant, dozens of illusionary clones were created. In the hands of the clones were illusionary swords with gleaming blue edges. The moment the command fell, the clones charged toward the orc horde. Overwhelming numerical superiority and intricate swordsmanship. It was closer to a one-sided massacre than a battle.
He broke through without hesitation and reached the boss room.
A massive Orc Lord roared and charged, but Namhyeon merely gestured once in the air. Countless illusionary swords formed like storm clouds filling the sky, then poured down like an aerial bombardment.
Kwa-raaang-!
After the dust settled, the Orc Lord was pinned all over its body by swords, breathing only intermittently.
Namhyeon immediately called the guild's exclusive collection team. While the workers busily harvested the materials and magic stones from the demon beasts strewn throughout the dungeon, Namhyeon finished off the Orc Lord and separately collected only its massive corpse and the boss-grade magic stone. It would serve as a food supply for the subspace and funding for his maids.
"Then I'll leave the cleanup to you."
"Yes! Just leave it to us, Hunter-nim!"
Leaving the team leader's respectful greeting behind, Namhyeon exited the gate. Slipping into a secluded place out of people's sight, he immediately opened the door to his subspace.
"Welcome back, Master."
The moment he crossed the threshold, Hatsune, dressed in a neat maid uniform, bowed her head to greet him.
"I have prepared your bath."
"As expected of you, Hatsune. Thank you."
Thanks to her thorough preparedness, Namhyeon could head straight to the spacious bathroom paved with marble. The moment he immersed himself deeply in the large bathtub filled with warm water, even the slight fatigue from the dungeon melted away like snow.
'The funds are starting to come in steadily, and the mansion's environment is perfect at this point.'
While lightly splashing water and celebrating his settlement in the real world, familiar yet strange faces suddenly flashed through Namhyeon's mind.
'Come to think of it... I wonder if my parents are doing well.'
The faces of his parents, who had watched over him with worry during his powerless past. They were his real family, whom he had completely forgotten during the decades spent in another world after his accident. Right after waking up in the hospital, Namhyeon had been dragged under Jia's control to the dormitory, so he hadn't even had the chance to ask after their well-being.
'I should make time to visit them soon.'
It was while he was soaking in the warm water, relieving his fatigue, that he heard the bathroom door open softly. Namhyeon turned his head.
Through the thick steam, Cherina entered, precariously covering her body with only a single white towel.
"Master. I'll scrub your back."
It was a situation that would have left an ordinary man flustered and panicked, but Namhyeon was simply calm. The maids occasionally entered the bathroom under the pretext of this kind of 'service,' and there was no reason to reject their blind affection.
When Namhyeon wordlessly nodded and offered his broad back, Cherina cautiously approached and began softly scrubbing him. Scrub, scrub—only the sound of water and pleasant friction echoed in the bathroom.
Then, at one point, Cherina's hands stopped.
Soon, through the wet towel, her soft body pressed flush against Namhyeon's back.
"Master......."
The breath reaching his ear was blatantly hot. Her sweet, languidly drawling voice was dripping with intense thirst toward Namhyeon and an affectionate demand. Cherina's slender arms slowly wrapped around his neck.
Namhyeon let out a small sigh and turned around.
"Come here."
At Namhyeon's weighty call, Cherina's pupils flickered ecstatically. Namhyeon gently laid her down on the floor, willingly offering the blind, intense warmth she so desperately craved. Suffocating heat rose even thicker than the steam in the bathroom.
A short while later.
Drenched in satisfaction, Cherina panted breathlessly, now in the large bathtub with Namhyeon. Her cheeks were flushed red, and her languidly relaxed eyes followed only Namhyeon. When he pulled her deep into his arms and caressed her soft skin, Cherina showed not the slightest rejection but rather burrowed even deeper into his embrace with a satisfied smile.
It was when Namhyeon finished that languid, satisfying bath and stepped out of the bathtub.
Hatsune was already waiting on one side of the bathroom with a crisp towel and a change of clothes. Without a single movement out of place, Hatsune wiped the water from Namhyeon's body and carefully dressed him.
Having fastened all of Namhyeon's buttons, Hatsune's gaze turned toward Cherina, who was still lost in ecstasy, wagging her tail in the bathtub. Hatsune's eyes, flashing from behind her glasses, turned coldly grim.
"I will... clean the inside, Master."
At Hatsune's pointed words, Namhyeon simply shrugged his shoulders lightly.
"Yeah, thanks for your trouble."
The moment Namhyeon left the bathroom with his refreshed body, Hatsune's cold voice began echoing through the gap of the closing door, intent on punishing her annoying younger sister.
.
A high-end omakase sushi restaurant, neatly arranged.
Putting fresh sushi into his mouth, Namhyeon clinked glasses with the Windy Guild Master sitting across from him. It was an occasion to receive the settlement money for this dungeon clear, as well as an extremely generous hospitality prepared by the Guild Master himself.
"Thanks to you, Hunter-nim, our guild is walking a very solid path. Thank you so much!"
The Guild Master repeatedly bowed as he filled Namhyeon's empty glass. It was a natural reaction, as the small guild, which had been on the brink of ruin, was now attracting the industry's attention in one go thanks to Namhyeon's overwhelming achievements. Namhyeon smiled leisurely and swallowed the sashimi.
"I'm the one who should be thankful for accommodating all the difficult conditions I wanted."
He meant it. A double life where he merely lent the guild his name as its public face, yet faced no constraints and only monopolized dungeon clears and spoils of war. It was literally perfect freedom. Hunting however he wanted, without needing to bother with annoying paperwork or internal power struggles. As long as he had enough money to maintain the subspace mansion in comfort and feed his beloved maids, Namhyeon was completely satisfied.
After finishing the meal in good spirits and parting with the Guild Master, Namhyeon took out his phone from his pocket.
These days, Namhyeon kept his phone completely turned off unless it was absolutely necessary. Staring at the black screen, Namhyeon clicked his tongue softly.
'As expected.'
The moment he turned it on, bone-chilling vibrations—bzzt, bzzzt, bzzzzt—began ringing incessantly. Hundreds of missed calls filled the screen, along with a bombardment of messenger notification alerts too numerous to count. They were all from a single person.
Namhyeon let out a deep sigh.
[Where are you, Hyeon-ah?]
[Hyeon-ah, I'm sorry for everything]
[Please meet me just once, listen to me]
[Don't abandon me, please, hmm? I'll die without you]
[Hyeon-ah, did you read this? If you turned on your phone, why no reply?]
[Where are you hiding? I'll find you, Hyeon-ah]
Ever since he left the dormitory that day, Jia had been pouring out messages filled with sticky, unpleasant obsession every day. Namhyeon scrolled through the suffocating texts with indifferent eyes, seriously contemplating whether he should change his phone number.
Then.
The screen flashed, and the name [Lee Jia] appeared once again. It was chilling timing. As if she had been monitoring the exact moment Namhyeon turned on his phone in real-time.
Without a moment's hesitation, Namhyeon pressed the call rejection button.
"Haah..."
Namhyeon immediately went into his settings and dumped her number into the blocked contacts list, then concluded without hesitation.
'I really should change my number.'
She was a woman who might resort to any crazy stunt to find him if left as is. Thinking he should go to a store tomorrow, Namhyeon finally opened the family group chat. It was his parents, whom he hadn't properly seen since the accident.
Instead of making long excuses, Namhyeon sent just one concise line.
[I'll come by once after the graduation ceremony.]
With that, it seemed the bothersome ties of the real world were roughly wrapped up. With light steps, Namhyeon made his way toward the subspace where the maids who awaited him were.