Two people stood frozen on opposite sides of a door.

    What was I supposed to do about this awkward atmosphere? It was a truly troublesome situation.

    In the end, it was Raven who moved first, breaking the silence.

    He cleared his throat softly, then glanced around the inside of the shop with feigned nonchalance.

    “Hm, what kind of shop is this? Maybe I’ll buy something....”

    “....”

    “Alright, fine. Let’s go. Let’s just go.”

    What’s with this ridiculous attempt at playing dumb? Unbelievable.

    I grabbed Raven’s hand before he could slip away and dragged him out of the shop.

    Realizing I wasn’t trying to hide anything anymore, he quietly followed behind.

    Why did I even bother putting on a robe and a goblin mask if this was how it would turn out?

    One of the reasons I’d come all the way to the northern slums was because Raven rarely ventured here.

    Meeting him here so openly could only mean one thing—he had been tailing me for quite some time.

    What’s the point of trying to hide when I’d already been caught from the start?

    “Customer! You can get a full refund if you return within a week! Don’t forget to come back if you change your mind, alright?”

    “...!”

    “And you, get over here! Let’s have a talk about forgetting to charge the customer. Of all things to forget!”

    “S-sorry, Master Tara! I’m sorry!”

    Tara’s voice carried loudly from the shop’s entrance as I waved at her before heading off with Raven, leaving the northern slums behind.

    I could hear the young man with the blond hair getting a scolding from Tara as we walked away.

    Well, if he sold items without collecting payment, that was his problem to deal with.

    Leaving the slums was much easier than entering.

    Raven casually dealt with the thugs who tried to pick fights along the way.

    “Hey, hand over everything you’ve got—ack!”

    “Whoa, Jason just dropped like a fly.... P-please, go ahead! Sorry we didn’t recognize you!”

    “Yeah, good job.”

    “....”

    Seeing Raven casually slap away heavily built thugs with bulging muscles was a stark reminder of how far beyond ordinary humans he truly was.

    After walking for nearly an hour, we finally left the northern slums. We caught a bus back to the area near the office and went into a familiar franchise cafe?, sitting across from each other. ?a??o??bE?s?

    The situation couldn’t have been more awkward—me, caught sneaking into the black market, and Raven, caught tailing me.

    “Hm. I’ll have a choco latte. What about you, part-timer? Your usual apple mango drink?”

    “...!”

    I nodded eagerly.

    Raven loved sweet things, especially anything chocolate. I, on the other hand, had a penchant for fresh, sweet fruit drinks.

    The apple mango drink—combining the rich sweetness of mango with the refreshing tartness of apple—was my favorite item at this cafe?.

    Raven, however, squinted skeptically at the terminal.

    “You went all the way to the black market for a terminal? Seriously?”

    Well, just watch.

    I pulled the terminal from the box and powered it on by connecting the included charger.

    In no time, the screen lit up with a message asking for initial setup.

    Skipping through the setup process, I pressed the “Set Up Later” button.

    [ “Welcome! Are you ready to explore the world with Echo?” ]

    As the final message appeared, the terminal revealed its name: Echo.

    Yes! Finally, my very own terminal!

    I fidgeted with Echo, excitement bubbling up inside me.

    Raven, smirking at my enthusiasm, pointed to the QR code on the table and suggested I place an order.

    Sure, no problem.

    I opened the camera, scanned the QR code, and tapped on the screen to order a cake, chocolate latte, and cherry cola.

    A notification confirmed the order, and Raven burst into laughter before snatching Echo from my hands.

    “Hey, give that back!”

    But instead of teasing me, Raven froze, his voice trembling.

    “Wait, hold on. Did you just place an order with this? How...?”

    “...?”

    You told me to try it, didn’t you?

    I tilted my head, feigning ignorance, but couldn’t suppress a smirk at his dumbfounded expression.

    Raven checked the terminal again, confirming there was no chip installed.

    His fingers tapped the screen and flipped the device over, as if trying to figure out how it worked.

    He looked exactly like a programmer watching code that shouldn’t work miraculously function.

    It wasn’t surprising, though.

    Using a chipless, barely functional terminal to connect to the internet and place an order defied logic.

    Raven’s flustered reaction wasn’t unexpected.

    I, on the other hand, already knew the secret.

    Heh. Did you think I’d walk all the way to the northern black market for nothing?

    I reached out for Echo, and Raven reluctantly handed it back, his face still puzzled.

    As Echo returned to my hands, a cheerful voice rang out.

    [ “Mama! Friend!” ]

    For a brief moment, Echo’s screen flickered before returning to normal.

    Raven seemed to sense something was amiss, but before I could reassure him, a chilling memory surfaced in my mind.

    This terminal was featured in one of the story’s horror episodes: The Haunted Terminal.@@@@