Chun Jiweon’s house looked no different from an ordinary home.

A neat entryway.

A reasonably spacious living room and kitchen.

Several rooms seemed to be on the first floor, and stairs led up to the second.

The furnishings were complete—everything a house of this size should have.

But there was one thing that felt oddly out of place.

It’s too quiet.

The others seemed to notice as well, their eyes shifting uneasily as they looked around.

“Mayor, don’t you live with your family?”

I already knew the answer, but I asked anyway to break the awkward silence.

“Ah, no. I live here alone.” Chun Jiweon smiled.

“They say a man’s household reflects his character. People love to judge those in high positions by how they manage their homes. But if you have no household, there’s nothing for them to nitpick, eh? Hahaha.”

He laughed heartily.

Or people might say, ‘What kind of man can’t even start a family, yet sits in the mayor’s chair?’

If someone wanted to sling mud, logic didn’t matter. They’d always find an angle.

I smiled wryly at the thought.

“Now then, make yourselves comfortable in the living room. I’ll prepare our meal.”

He sat us down on the sofa and headed to the kitchen. Soon, he was pulling out ingredients by the armful from the refrigerator.

“Y-you’re going to cook, sir??” Lumina asked, startled.

“Yes. Living alone, I’ve naturally picked up cooking. I dare say I’ve gotten rather good at it. Sometimes I even invite the Peacekeepers or friends over for a meal. So don’t worry—just relax and wait.”

After a while, the sound of running water gave way to the rhythmic tok tok tok of knife against board.

Lumina fidgeted on the sofa, torn between going to help and staying put. She’d glance at us, then at the kitchen, unable to settle down.

Seo Yui, on the other hand, watched the cooking with interest. Meiling only pouted, clearly displeased.

She looks like she’s thinking, “We’re starving, and now we have to wait longer?” Still… this is surprising.

I’d never have guessed Chun Jiweon’s hobby was cooking. Much less that he sometimes fed the Peacekeepers himself.

There had never been a hint of this in the game.

“Mayor, is there anything I can help with?” I asked.

“No, no. You’re guests. Don’t lift a finger. If you’re bored, there’s the remote—turn on the TV.”

“Yes, sir.”

Since he insisted, I sank into the sofa and waited.

Before long, the scent of sizzling food filled the air, rich enough to make my stomach clench. Chun Jiweon handled the wok with practiced ease, just as he claimed.

“Ah…”

Lumina quickly covered her stomach with both hands and ducked her head. A faint growl had escaped.

We all pretended not to notice.

Truthfully, my stomach wasn’t doing much better.

Ten minutes later, Chun Jiweon called us to the table.

“Wow!” Lumina gasped.

Sweet-and-spicy shredded pork with steamed buns, twice-cooked pork, eggplant in garlic sauce, egg drop soup, and fried rice.

“Go on, dig in.”

Meiling was first to sit down. She didn’t even say “thank you” before snapping up a glossy piece of pork with her chopsticks.

Her eyes widened the moment she tasted it.

“Well? Not bad, is it?” Chun Jiweon chuckled.

She nodded, already reaching for more.

“Come on, you too.”

“Thank you for the meal.”

“Let’s eat!”

Seo Yui and Lumina joined in, their expressions mirroring Meiling’s.

Guess I should try as well.

I wrapped the shredded pork in a steamed bun and bit down.

Crisp bell peppers, onions, and bamboo shoots. Juicy, tender pork. The sauce had seeped into every ingredient, coating them in rich flavor.

It was the best meal I’d had since arriving in this world—better even than the hotel feast Chen Kai had once treated us to.

“Mayor, your cooking really is incredible.”

“Isn’t it?” Chun Jiweon grinned.

In less than ten minutes, every dish was scraped clean.

What surprised me most was that Chun Jiweon had eaten even more heartily than we had.

I suppose it makes sense. To maintain a body at over level 90, you’d need an appetite like that.

When the meal was done, he brought out fruit and tea.

“Now then. With lunch out of the way, let’s get to business.” He lifted his teacup.

“Yein. You said you had information for me about mana stone development.”

“Yes.”

From my inventory, I produced a prepared material item—a fist-sized gem that shimmered with rainbow light.

“Wow. Pretty…” Lumina whispered.

Even Seo Yui couldn’t take her eyes off it.

Chun Jiweon studied the gem silently.

“This stone… I’ve never seen anything like it. And yet, the energy it gives off feels strangely familiar.” He turned his gaze to me.

“Yein, what is this exactly?”

“My friend calls it a Spirit Stone.”

“Spirit Stone?”

“Yes. Would you like to see for yourself?”

At my nod, he picked up the gem.

“Try channeling a little mana into it.”

He did so.

The instant blue energy flowed from his hand into the stone—

“Ahh!” Lumina squealed.

“What the—why is it glowing so bright!?” Meiling shouted, shielding her eyes. Seo Yui covered hers with a hand.

“…”

Chun Jiweon stared, wide-eyed, as the stone blazed with dazzling light.

Then, slowly, the glow faded, and the gem returned to its rainbow sheen.

“This… this is unlike any mana I’ve ever felt before.” His eyes locked onto mine.

“Attempts to use ordinary mana stones for power have all failed—except for Forward’s company.”

“Right. No matter what was tried, the energy always collapsed. Transmission, storage, distribution—it all ended in failure.”

“Yes. That was the phenomenon known as mana stone energy dissipation. No theory could explain it.”

He nodded.

“But according to my friend, the Spirit Stone makes all of that possible.”

“Can you prove it?”

“With thunderstones, a transformer, wiring, and a battery, yes. But I don’t have them on hand right now.”

“Wait here.”

He stood and headed upstairs.

And in no time, he came back down.

In his hands were two containers of different sizes, some wires, and pipes.

“Long ago, I tried experimenting myself—whether awakened mana could be harnessed to generate usable electricity.”

I didn’t expect him to actually have all the equipment on hand.

Chun Jiweon placed the Spirit Stone into the larger transparent container, and a thunderstone into the smaller one.

The two were connected by a pipe.

From there, wires extended out, linking to a transformer and a battery.

“Magical conduits using demonic materials, and reactors to extract mana from stones—those were built long ago. Back then, people dreamed of reviving civilization by drawing unlimited power from the demon realm’s abundant mana stones. But in the end, only Forward succeeded. Now then, step back, all of you. This old equipment could leak mana or electricity.”

We moved several meters away from the table.

Once satisfied, he pressed the machine’s switch.

Wuuung—

A low hum vibrated through the room as the Spirit Stone began to glow.

Brilliant light filled the living room, and streams of pure white mana flowed through the pipe into the smaller container.

Crackle!

The thunderstone struck by the white mana flared with sparks, radiating golden light.

Our eyes darted toward the transformer and battery.

“Ah!” Lumina cried out.

A tiny LED on the transformer lit up, followed almost instantly by the indicator light on the battery.

“……”

Chun Jiweon said nothing, simply staring at the battery.

After about a minute, he switched the machine off, stopping the flow from the Spirit Stone.

He disconnected the battery, lifting it up to eye level.

“…There’s still power stored.”

His voice trembled—slightly, but unmistakably.

“Yein.”

He didn’t take his eyes off the battery as he called my name.

“Yes, sir.”

“Did your friend also tell you how to make Spirit Stones?”

“No. He said it was best if he alone kept the method. But if needed, I should send a request through me—then he’d craft more.”

Chun Jiweon nodded.

“Your friend will change this world.”

“I hope it changes for the better.”

“Of course. I’ll make sure of it. May I keep this Spirit Stone?”

“Yes. My friend asked me to deliver it to you.”

“Thank you.”

He stored the Spirit Stone in his inventory, then once again examined the battery.

The indicator light still glowed.

After that, the mayor took out his car, offering to drive us back to Gwangcheon.

All the way there, he remained silent, lost in thought about the future.

Finally, as we neared the city gates, he pulled over and spoke.

“Yein.”

“Yes.”

“Next time, if possible, I’d like you and your companions to spare some time.”

I frowned.

He could’ve just called for me alone. Why the others too?

“Is this about the Spirit Stone? Or because of Jodie?”

“No.” He shook his head.

“There’s something I want to tell you all. About myself and my comrades… the Pioneers.”

“!”

I froze.

Even behind me, I could sense the girls’ shock.

“I’ll be busy for a few days with the Spirit Stone, so come to my house next weekend. I’ll cook you something different then.”

“…Understood.”

I nodded.

A direct story about the Seven Pioneers, from Chun Jiweon himself… I can’t miss this.

“Until next time, then.”

“Yes. Thank you for the ride.”

“Th-thank you!”

“Much appreciated.”

Lumina, Seo Yui, and I bowed our heads. Meiling gave the briefest nod.

The mayor smiled, waved, and drove off.

“So, what exactly is this Spirit Stone?” Meiling asked.

“Is Forward using those too?”

I shook my head.

“No. What Forward uses isn’t Spirit Stones.”

“What? Then there are multiple ways to generate electricity from mana stones?”

“That’s right.”

“Then what method is Forward using?”

“You’ll find out later. I’d rather not be the one to say.”

“What? Why not?”

I didn’t answer—just scowled.

Even thinking about it made me sick.

“…Hmph.”

Meiling snorted, but dropped it.

“Anyway, about tomorrow’s schedule—there’s something we need to discuss.”

I changed the subject. Lumina and Seo Yui looked at me attentively.

As we walked back into Gwangcheon, I explained what we needed to prepare for tomorrow.

----------------------------------------

“What…?”

Oh Sungcheon furrowed his brows at his phone.

“Yang Ren. What did you just say?”

[Well, I understand your frustration, Boss, but it’s as I said. That brat Nam Yein and those three girls—turns out they’re already with All Around.]

The secretary and subordinates in his office went stiff, watching their boss’s expression grow darker.

“…So what happened?”

[All Around interfered, shouting about ‘war’ and shielding them, so we had no choice but to pull back.]

Crack!

“Eek!”

One subordinate hiccupped. Another dripped with cold sweat.

The secretary turned pale, frozen like a statue.

[Apologies, Boss. But that brat must die by my hand. We can’t allow them to think they can mock us and live. Especially Nam Yein. He must be crushed.]

“Of course.” Oh Sungcheon’s voice was low.

“Len.”

[Yes, Boss.]

“Tomorrow, I’ll adjust your schedule. You’ll get a separate dungeon assignment.”

[Ah. If it’s inside the Academy’s official training, even All Around won’t be able to intervene. Brilliant, Boss. As expected.]

“That order I gave before—leave their limbs intact? Forget it. Make them beg for death.”

[Understood.]

Oh Sungcheon ended the call and whipped around to glare at his secretary.

“You heard.”

“Y-yes, sir!!”

“Go. Make it happen.”

“Right away!”

The secretary rushed out.

Left behind, Oh Sungcheon ground his teeth, eyes fixed on the wall.

The subordinates who had come to report stood paralyzed, dripping sweat, unable to move.

(End of Chapter)