Breathing Life into Real Dolls
Chapter 59: Festival

The gap between second place and me was almost threefold, reflecting my overwhelming contribution points.

Someone who didn’t know might think I was that powerful, but in fact, contribution points and strength were not in direct proportion.

If you had the minimum strength to seal the rifts, the more important thing was the ability to quickly find many rifts.

In that sense, ranks 2, 3, and 4 might have been groups rather than individuals.

By mobilizing many people to search for the rifts and leaving the actual sealing to an elite party of a select few.

And within those parties, only a few who were particularly strong earned a lot of contribution and became rankers.

In this respect, I had the conditions to become the top ranker.

Why?

I could find rifts very easily. I just needed to search where I felt an ominous energy while flying around on Ciel.

While other ability users formed parties and shared their contribution, I ate 100% of it myself.

In other words, Serena and Ciel did the skillful part, and I ate the contributions.

And the rankers who did not know this fact used to post these words to the community.

[Goddess Hestia, you idiots! Isn't that first-place score a bug?]

Then, invariably, these comments followed.

-Reduced by ten ranks.

-Why do you think it's a bug? Can't you think you're just a loser?

-Ah~ Ugly~

-What are you doing while Kim Doha gets to first place by providing strategy videos and information posts? Lol.

And posts like this came up.

[The 'Real' Reason Why Kim Doha is Criticized.jpg]

(Picture captured from Kim Doha's rift strategy video showing a beautiful hand)

Kim Doha was good at killing zombies,

He had a handsome face, cool abilities…

He was the top ranker, and just by the hand in his video, a very pretty woman was shooting videos for him!

'Because he's successful.'

“Hehehe. It’s true that Han Miin’s hands are pretty, but saying they are pretty just by looking at them is an exaggeration, isn’t it?…”

These days, it was fun to look at the community.

I, who first recorded the strategy for rifts and was still maintaining the top rank by an overwhelming score difference, had reached an almost godlike status in the community.

Occasionally, posts saying that I didn’t look that strong came up (it’s true since Serena was the strong one), but they were invariably attributed to inferiority and only met with mocking comments.

I also commented anonymously.

-LMAO

Over the past month, watching the ranker window and the fluctuation in ranks, it seemed that the rankers were competing with each other, searching for rifts.

Thanks to that, there haven’t been many reports of mutant zombie attacks in the community recently.

It was truly a relief.

Over the past month,

Agriculture and livestock, the most significant tasks at D-Mart’s shelter, were progressing very smoothly.

Thanks to the effects of the Land of Hope, which accelerated the growth of cultivated plants and animals, not only had the chickens already gone through a generation change, but the crops were already harvested just yesterday.

Breaking the asphalt, pulling out the rocks stuck in the ground, smoothing the soil, planting the seeds, and carefully nurturing them.

People at D-Mart had truly put all their efforts into making this farming system a success over the past month.

The feelings of those who watched the thriving crops were a continuous joy day by day.

Thanks to the Land of Hope, the farming was a great success, and our joy in the harvest doubled.

If we could harvest this much every time, D-Mart would not only be self-sufficient in food but also capable of sharing it with other survivors.

Interestingly, the timing was such that we finished the harvest just yesterday, and tomorrow was the beginning of Chuseok.

We decided to hold a festival to celebrate Chuseok, the traditional Korean holiday, in addition to sharing the joy of our first harvest.

It was a meaningful festival, the first since the zombie virus outbreak, leaving behind the painful past that each of us had endured.

Chuseok’s first day, the evening of the festival.

The people of D-Mart had really played hard today.

Those who enjoyed sports went outside to enjoy jokgu or futsal, and some even played tug-of-war in the spirit of the holiday.

The few children at D-Mart were thrilled to fly kites, and the immature adults flew drones around the soaring kites, spinning them 360 degrees in aerial somersaults.

Those who didn’t like playing outside huddled inside the mart.

They enjoyed movies or animations in the home theater according to their preferences and played games available through LAN or private servers without needing to connect online.

In D-Mart’s first Spacecraft competition, many seasoned men who once played ladder games participated, but in the end, Baek Ji-hoon won.

Baek Ji-hoon was not just good at AOS; he was good at all games.

So the daytime passed, and now it was evening, with the sun setting beyond the horizon.

On the first floor of D-Mart, tables were set up like a banquet hall, and in the center, various luxurious dishes were arranged buffet-style.

They were the culinary creations of Chef Sang-deok, a former head chef of a fine dining restaurant.

The menu was all based on crops harvested this time, such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, and beans, and the main dish was chicken stew made with freshly caught chicken.

Unfortunately, there were not enough chickens to allow for one chicken per person, so dishes like fried chicken or samgyetang were not possible.

But still…

“How long has it been since we’ve had fresh meat dishes…?”

I scooped a generous portion of chicken stew and claimed a table in the corner of the banquet hall.

Serena was on my right, and Ciel was on my left.

“Yum! … Ma, Master…!”

Serena, who took the first bite of the stew, shook my shoulder excitedly.

“It’s delicious! The chicken is dancing in my mouth…!”

“Your expression has improved a lot, Serena.”

“That’s not what’s important…!”

With a frustrated look, she wrinkled her face and scooped a spoonful of her stew to my lips.

“Master, ahh~”

“Ahh.”

I accepted the stew offered by Serena.

Yum.

“…!”

Delicious…!

Until now, even if we ate meat, we had been eating meat stored in the freezer for over a month.

The characteristic of such meat was that the moment it was thawed, the juices were drawn out, and the texture became dry and crumbly.

But the chicken in this stew was tender and juicy.

How long has it been since I’ve tasted meat this tender…?

“It really is delicious…”

“Right!?”

Upon hearing that it was tasty, Serena shook my shoulder again, showing her pleasure.

Ciel, sitting on my left, was watching this and then took a spoonful of stew from her bowl and brought it to my lips.

“…Master, please try this too. Ahh~”

Could it be… Was Ciel also jealous?

Anyway, I shouldn’t have treated the two of them differently.

I fairly ate a bite of the stew that Ciel offered me.

Yum.

…It was indeed delicious.

As I smiled and nodded, Ciel’s wings fluttered slightly as if expressing joy.

She locked eyes with me and smiled together.

“Hehehe.”

“……”

Lately, I had been frequently fueling Ciel while searching for the rifts, so even her smiling eyes made me feel thirsty for sex.

It was a joyful festival mealtime, so not now….

Then, I heard footsteps and a voice approaching from behind.

“Doha Oppa! Why are you eating in this corner? We’ve been looking for you for ages.”

“You’ve really set up quite the harem here…”

It was Baek Seona and Han Miin.

Baek Seona was holding a bottle of champagne and glasses, and Han Miin was recording us through the screen of her camcorder.

“What’s this? Why are you filming here?”

“Why? Feeling prickly because I’m filming you enjoying yourself with women on both sides? Don’t worry. No one would say anything at the boss’s level, even if you have multiple wives.”

“… That’s not what I meant.”

Han Miin continued to film, laughing gleefully.

Lately, she has been completely into filming, trying to record anything as soon as she has the chance. It felt somewhat like being watched.

Standing beside Han Miin, Baek Seona placed the champagne on the table and threw a peace sign towards the lens.

“I’m joining the harem too~!”

“…You sure are confident, Seona?”

“If you’re jealous, Unni, you can join too.”

“Is there room for me?”

Han Miin looked at me as she spoke with Baek Seona.

“Wha-what? What room…?”

A seat at the table? …Or could it be a spot in the harem?

As I stammered out my response, Han Miin quickly turned away.

“Hmph. Forget it. I need to go film other people.”

She left those words and departed toward the center.

Baek Seona sat in an empty seat at the table, smiling brightly.

“Don’t be shy. Shall we drink together? It’s a festival, so we must have at least a glass of champagne!”

“Yes, we should. But I have to go relieve someone from guard duty soon.”

At my response, she nodded and said,

“I know. Let’s have a drink before you go. Once you leave, I’ll have a girls’ talk with Serena and Ciel.”

“Girls’ talk?”

“…?”

Serena and Ciel reacted before I did.

Serena tilted her head with an innocent expression.

“What’s a girls’ talk, Unni?”

“It’s just us talking about our master. Like, what position does the master prefer during sex these days, that sort of thing…”

“Aha!”

“……”

I was at a loss for words.

When did you become so corrupt, Baek Seona…!

Was it the problem that she kept pestering me to find and remaster old interview videos every time we had sex?

Or was it because she obsessively asked who was better, Jihun or me, while we had sex with Jihun’s game footage playing in the background?

I had no idea…!

Baek Seona poured a glass of champagne and offered it to me.

“Here you go, Master.”

Lately, people at D-Mart have been using the title “Master” to tease me.

Because I openly said that it was my preference for Serena and Ciel to call me “Master,” others also decided to call me “Master” to suit my taste.

Since I declared it as my preference, I had no choice but to put up with it.

“…Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Now, Serena and Ciel.”

“Thank you!”

“Thank you very much.”

Serena and Ciel took the glasses of champagne.

It occurred to me that this would be Ciel’s first time drinking alcohol.

“Ciel, just take a small sip first, and then drink slowly, depending on how you feel.”

“Yes, Master.”

I was reminded of the first time Serena had drunk alcohol.

She became completely unresponsive and insisted on a rather inappropriate act in front of everyone, and I had to pry her off me.

I hoped Ciel would be a bit more decorous…

We raised our glasses and clinked them lightly together.

““Cheers!””

I downed my champagne in one shot and stood up.

“Then I’ll go to relieve the guard duty. Stay good with Seona, Serena, Ciel.”

“Yes, Master! We’ll behave!”

“Take care.”

Initially, both had nagged me to stand guard together. But that was too inefficient, so I had long since laid down the law that I would do it alone.

“Take care, Oppa!”

“Sure. Since it’s Ciel’s first time drinking, please take good care of her.”

I waved at the three of them and headed to the rooftop with a bottle of champagne in hand.

Even on a festival day when everyone was enjoying themselves, someone still had to stand guard.

This was precisely the moment when we were most vulnerable to enemy attacks.

So, the suppression team members decided to volunteer to stand guard in shifts.

Right now, on the rooftop, standing guard was Lee Jinah.

I went up to the rooftop with champagne and glasses, thinking it would be nice to have a conversation with her after a long time.

I felt sorry for taking away her time to enjoy the festival, so I came about 15 minutes early.

“…”

Standing on the rooftop, Lee Jinah was looking around D-Mart’s surroundings with an unwavering stance.

She was like a textbook example of someone on guard duty.

“Jinah!”

When I called her, Lee Jinah slowly turned around.

As usual, her face was expressionless, revealing no emotion. sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ N0ᴠᴇFɪre.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Most of the people at D-Mart only knew Lee Jinah as a business-like and rigid person, but she had another face that she showed only to me.

“Captain, there are still 15 minutes left before the guard shift changes.”

“I know. How about we have a light drink together?”

Lee Jinah’s eyes moved toward the champagne in my hand, and her eyes softened, forming a gentle smile.

“Sounds good. May I pour a glass for you, Captain?”

“It would be an honor.”

She smiled brightly.

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