The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

Surprisingly, I spent the entire night just... wondering what the hell we should do today.

Even after everyone had gone to sleep, I stayed awake for a long while, only dozing off in the early hours—only to wake up again with the same thoughts spinning in my head.

My conclusion was this: there wasn’t really anything more I wanted.

We’d had fun together. That was enough. If I’m being honest, that’s really how I felt.

“Let’s just head out for now.”

Still, I couldn’t just leave the day blank.

I’d made everyone expect something from me—and now I had to take responsibility for that.

My idea was simple: we’d go out and walk around, and I’d think along the way.

“How about we start with a bike ride?”

“Huh? Really?!”

Claire’s eyes sparkled at my suggestion.

“But we’re taking it slow today, alright? Think of it as a stroll, not a workout.”

“Got it!”

We headed to Yeouido Park and enjoyed a leisurely group ride.

At first, I thought we’d just stay within the park. /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ But we’d left early, and everyone still had plenty of energy—so we ended up heading down to the Han River and renting new bikes.

Not just solo ones—we even tried out two-seaters and snacked on whatever looked good along the way.

“How about a museum next?”

“Ooh, that sounds fun.”

We’d been out for about two hours when I suggested that, and Alice nodded with a smile.

We went to the largest museum in Seoul.

Of course, if you really wanted to take your time with every exhibit, you could easily spend hours there. But let’s be honest—none of us were that serious about studying museum displays.

Even Alice, who showed genuine interest in a few relics, seemed to be enjoying our company more than anything.

Before leaving, we stopped to look at two of Korea’s most famous Buddhist statues on the first floor.

“....”

Alice seemed especially captivated by the Maitreya statues.

She stood there for a long time, silently admiring them. We quietly watched her from behind.

“Next, maybe a movie?”

“That sounds good.”

Charlotte smiled and agreed—but her eyes narrowed a little.

Not in blame, but with quiet suspicion. I think she was starting to catch on.

After all, I hadn’t come up with any ideas of my own. I was just going along with things the others had suggested.

And to be honest... the movie wasn’t very good.

Looks like the big-budget films were avoiding opening too close to the one Charlotte had picked last time.

To be blunt, the 15,000-won ticket felt kind of wasted—

“But the popcorn was really good.”

Charlotte smiled and held up the empty popcorn bucket.

“So... what’s next? I think I can guess what you’re going for by now.”

“......”

I looked away.

“Want to... take some pictures?”

“Yes!”

Mia grinned instantly.

The others chuckled too, a little wryly now, clearly understanding what I’d been doing.

*

But no—we didn’t go back to a photo studio.

We just dropped into one of those self-photo booths you see in busy downtown areas.

We struck silly poses and snapped a bunch of goofy photos.

“Hehe.”

When I handed the printed photos to Mia, she beamed.

The others looked genuinely happy too—and I let out a quiet sigh of relief.

“Alright, my turn to guess what’s next!”

Alice raised a finger and smirked a little.

“We’re going grocery shopping, right?”

“......”

I averted my gaze again.

“Let’s... go to a big supermarket this time.”

I said it with the slightest rebellious tone, and the others all burst into laughter—even Mia.

“Alright then.”

Alice grinned, and we headed to the nearest mart.

*

“......”

“......”

Charlotte and I handled the cooking.

It’s not like Alice, Claire, or Mia hadn’t tried cooking over the past few months.

Their results weren’t bad—they were edible, even tasty sometimes—but it was hard to beat Charlotte’s level of skill.

Tonight’s menu was my choice: a simple miso stew with rice and some side dishes. Exactly the kind of thing I made a lot when I lived alone.

Just... a good old-fashioned home meal.

“Come to think of it, we haven’t really had this kind of meal often, have we?”

Charlotte commented while tasting the stew.

“Oh, haven’t we?”

“Yes. Now that I think about it, you’ve always chosen meals to suit our tastes.”

That’s true. At first, when it was just me, Claire, and Alice, I probably leaned toward what I liked.

But then I started avoiding spicy food because those two couldn’t handle it, and steered clear of anything too divisive.

I’d already spent years in the Empire of Azerna.

Sure, I got used to palace food. But I’d survived by occasionally choking down flavorless meals too.

It just made more sense for me to adapt than to force the others to do so.

“...Now I’m wondering if I’ve just been the one getting spoiled all this time. After all, this is your house.”

“I did it because I wanted to.”

I said it firmly.

“If I were living here alone... even with the lottery win, I doubt I’d be happy.”

As I spooned rice into bowls, Charlotte went quiet.

“I could’ve made new friends here, sure. Built a new life... But that’s all it would’ve been. Spending this past year with all of you—that’s what made me happy. It’d feel empty if I had to give that up now.”

Exactly.

How did I survive all those long years in the Empire?

Why did I rewind time so many times to build up my character?

Because I wanted to meet people I cared about. Build relationships. Reach a happy ending.

And now, I had it.

“...I’m sorry for teasing you earlier.”

“Hm?”

“I mean... saying you were just copying what we did because you couldn’t think of anything.”

...Well, you weren’t wrong.

“You just... wanted to spend time with us. That was enough for you.”

Also true. Kind of.

Maybe not entirely—but not exactly wrong either.

Still, I just nodded gravely, maintaining a composed expression.

If Charlotte wanted to believe that, there was no need to correct her.

She smiled.

I couldn’t tell if she was reading my mind... or just found my reaction endearing.

*

Clink clink.

The sound of spoons tapping against bowls was oddly comforting.

When you eat alone, it just echoes and makes you feel lonely. But with others, that sound brings warmth.

“Today was fun.”

Alice was the first to speak.

“Yeah, it really was, Unnie!”

Claire added with a grin.

“When I think back on the movie... maybe it had a deeper message after all.”

Charlotte laughed a little, wryly.

“I made sure to save the photos!”

Mia beamed.

“Is that so?”

I smiled back.

“Then I’m glad.”

That’s what mattered most.

A happy ending we reached together.

That was always what I wanted.

It doesn’t have to mean anything profound.

I don’t need hidden metaphors or deep philosophies behind it.

Maybe the child in me never really grew up. Just got older.

But... so what?

If I’m happy—then that’s enough.

“Someday...”

I spoke slowly.

“If I can fully harness the goddess’s powers, I hope I can bring not just you, but our other friends here too.”

“That would be amazing.”

Claire looked up at the ceiling with a dreamy expression.

She was already imagining that future.

“Yeah, seriously.”

Alice laughed.

“...I want to give Sophia a taste of this country’s pizza. With lots of pineapple.”

She said it like she was planning revenge.

I think she just couldn’t stand to suffer alone.

Actually, serving her watery coffee might have a stronger effect.

...Or maybe we’ll just do both.

“Does that mean we could come back here regularly?”

Mia asked.

We all looked at each other—then turned to Mia.

“We’ll have to do some serious research.”

“Yeah. We can’t just leave this expensive house empty forever.”

Charlotte and Alice both replied with determined faces.

“And don’t forget the viewers waiting for our streams!”

Claire raised her chopsticks dramatically. I almost burst out laughing.

Classic Claire.

“True. If we just vanished, people watching our broadcasts would be heartbroken. Even if it’s just once or twice a year, we should show our faces.”

The others nodded at my words.

Whether it’s possible or not...

That wasn’t something we needed to worry about right now.