I Became a Raid Boss-Chapter 175: Daily (2)

Da-eun hummed a little tune, a cheerful sound that was enough to lift anyone's spirits.

Bubble, bubble

The sound of the stirring ladle made the red-tinted broth ripple in the pot.

The soup looked like it would be quite spicy, but—

“...Mmm! Perfect!”

Da-eun’s face lit up after tasting it.

It was slightly spicy, but within acceptable limits.

The perfect balance of spiciness and umami, with a subtle, rising fragrance of the broth.

“Perfect...”

Da-eun marveled at her own cooking skills.

“At this level, don’t you think I could appear on a cooking show?”

She murmured, recalling a cooking competition she had recently watched.

She had enjoyed it so much.

Ever since watching that program, her frequency of ordering takeout had dropped significantly.

Instead, she started wearing a white chef's uniform she couldn’t quite remember when she bought it and began cooking herself.

It turned out to be surprisingly fun.

Preparing ingredients, doing the dishes, and cleaning up after—it was certainly tedious work.

But Da-eun continued cooking because the satisfaction of making and eating her own food, saving money, reducing waste, and even feeling healthier far outweighed the inconvenience.

However, there was something that even all of that couldn’t surpass.

“When Kana eats something I made, I’ll be so happy...”

Suddenly, Da-eun let out a light laugh.

She never expected someone would use the word 'love' with her, other than family.

But no, no.

She shook her head.

"Family, after all."

What was she thinking, talking like this to her precious little sister?

Shaking off the thought, Da-eun returned to her cooking, smiling in a way that Kana would probably describe as 'silly' if she saw it.

As the broth reduced, the savory aroma from the simmering pot grew even stronger.

"This should be enough!"

Da-eun turned down the heat and checked the time.

It was slightly late, but not so much that she could call it brunch.

Her movements, which had been leisurely before, became just a little, barely perceptibly faster.

She opened the door and walked into the room, where a large bed caught her eye.

She had regretted buying such a large one after the accident, but now, it was probably the best decision she had made.

Muttering to herself that life was unpredictable, Da-eun cautiously sat on the bed.

Pink hair peeked out from the fluffy covers.

“Isn’t she suffocating in there...?”

Half her face was hidden by the blankets, with only her eyes barely visible.

Watching Kana sleeping peacefully, Da-eun felt a sense of calm.

Then, suddenly, Da-eun snapped out of her reverie.

She noticed the smell of food drifting in from the open door.

She shook herself and whispered to Kana.

“You were trying to enchant me with your sleeping face... What a scary kid.”

Shivering a little as she pulled the blanket down from Kana’s face, she saw Kana frown softly.

“Mmm...”

Kana groaned softly and squirmed, clearly displeased that her cozy blanket had been disturbed.

Wanting to find warmth, she burrowed back into the blanket.

"...Ugh!"

Da-eun’s heart skipped a beat.

She gasped and clutched her chest.

Click!

But she didn’t forget to take a photo.

‘Maybe I should have filmed a video instead,’ she thought, a momentary pang of regret crossing her mind, but it quickly disappeared as she looked at her growing collection of photos.

“Kana, wake up.”

"...?"

“The food’s ready. It’s time for breakfast."

“Uhhh... I don’t want to...”

“Nope, not happening.”

At first, Da-eun had been swayed by Kana’s half-hearted attempts at aegyo, but this wasn’t the first time she had faced this kind of morning.

Gathering her resolve, Da-eun gently but firmly pushed Kana to wake up.

Kana’s eyelids slowly fluttered open, revealing pink eyes still heavy with sleep.

She wasn’t up late or anything; in fact, she’d probably slept way more than the recommended hours, so why was she so drowsy?

‘Really a heavy sleeper.’

‘Kana really does sleep a lot,’ Erin had said.

At the time, Da-eun didn’t quite get what Erin meant, but now she understood fully.

Sometimes, Da-eun worried that Kana might be sleeping too much...

‘But kids do need a lot of sleep,’ she reminded herself.

"...I’m thinking too much again."

“No!”

Kana, with sleepy eyes, challenged her, and Da-eun smiled brightly in response.

Her answer came a bit late, but it was within the acceptable range, right?

Stretching dramatically, Da-eun pretended to be nonchalant.

“I’ll be out there. Come when you’re awake. Don’t take too long.”

Feeling the glare burning into her back, Da-eun hurried out of the room.

It didn’t take long before the door opened again.

Kana, rubbing her eyes and still half-asleep, made her way to the dining table.

Seeing the empty table, she muttered.

“...You said it was ready.”

“It’s almost done. Just wait a little longer.”

Da-eun, remembering how she used to be tricked by her mother when she was younger, passed on the same trick to Kana.

Despite grumbling, Kana sat at the table obediently, soon starting to doze off.

Da-eun had called Kana over before setting the table, but it wasn’t just to make her sit there.

“Well, not exactly. I did it on purpose so it wouldn’t get cold. You also need some time to wake up...”

Da-eun, slightly flustered, rambled on with an excuse she wasn’t sure was necessary.

Kana, halfway to dreamland, didn’t hear it.

“Alright, wake up, Kana!”

Da-eun clapped her hands loudly, waking Kana up.

Eating meat for breakfast and adjusting the spice level of the soup wasn’t exactly in Da-eun’s usual preference, but it didn’t matter when she saw Kana eating with a face free of sleepiness.

“Is it alright?”

“Yeah.”

Da-eun couldn’t help but think it was all worth it, even if it didn’t perfectly match her usual tastes.

As they ate and chatted, a brief silence fell over the table.

Watching Kana chew diligently, Da-eun put down her chopsticks.

“...If it weren’t for the dimensional rifts, none of this would have happened, right?”

“...?”

Kana tilted her head, clearly confused by Da-eun’s sudden change in topic.

Despite the confusion, Kana stuffed more food into her cheeks, looking like a squirrel hoarding acorns.

“If it weren’t for the dimensional rifts, Grasis wouldn’t have fallen, Kana wouldn’t have been stuck in the mountains, and I wouldn’t have had to climb those mountains either...”

“If you start talking like that, there’s no end to it.”

Kana, who had just swallowed a mouthful of meat, replied nonchalantly.

“And Grasis would have still fallen, even without the dimensional rifts.”

“Really? I heard it would have lasted at least a few more decades.”

“A few decades? You wouldn’t have seen that coming if it was going to last that long.”

Kana let out a cynical laugh.

“If it was a kingdom that could last for decades, it wouldn’t have fallen so easily.”

“Wow... I keep noticing that you really hate Grasis, Kana.”

“Why would I like it? Not everyone likes the country they were born in.”

“Well, true.”

Da-eun couldn’t even argue with that.

A quick glance at any online community would show plenty of hate-filled posts about one’s own country.

Some were understandable, while others were just pure hate.

‘...Better not think about this.’

Da-eun shook her head.

Th𝗲 most uptodate novels are published on ƒгeewёbnovel.com.

She didn’t need to dwell on specific posts when she was just pointing out the overall trend.

“Kana, you shouldn’t write posts like that. If you get caught, I’ll make sure you’re punished.”

“...Posts? Punished?”

Kana, holding her fork, shot a glance at Da-eun as if asking, ‘Do you have the ability to do that?’

Da-eun, resolutely fighting off the urge to run away, said firmly,

"I’m your protector, so I can't back down now."

“You should know when to admit your mistakes,” Da-eun continued.

“...Anyway, we did meet because of the dimensional rifts, didn’t we?”

“That’s true, but is ‘thanks to’ the right word?”

Da-eun nodded in agreement.

It was true that Kana’s reincarnation in Silia was due to the dimensional rift.

“Thinking about it, maybe it’s one of those cases where things go wrong and end up being a blessing in disguise. Oh...! But that doesn’t mean I’m defending the dimensional rift.”

“I get it.”

Kana poked at her meat with her fork as she answered indifferently.

“Da-eun is just too scared to admit it.”

"Scared?"

Da-eun couldn’t argue with that either, so she let out a small sigh.

“I’m thankful for that, too.”

Kana muttered softly without making eye contact, but Da-eun caught every word.

Kana didn’t see the warm smile forming on Da-eun’s lips.

“But grateful or not...”

With a sharp clink, Kana stabbed her fork into the meat.

“Work has to be done. So don’t worry.”

“Hehe. You’re reliable.”

Da-eun wasn’t really thinking too much, but her words broke the mood for a second.

Still, she gave Kana an approving look.

And silently, Da-eun wished.

‘I hope this daily life continues.’