NPC Fell onto My Bed C36

Chapter 36

“Oh, Noah! My dear comrade!”

The moment Noah stepped into An Jeonghyeok’s home, a booming voice rang out. Iron rushed forward before Noah could even take off his shoes and pulled him into a crushing hug.

Having fallen into this world long before with Noah, Iron had grown quite accustomed to modern Earth. His striped underwear and sleeveless tank that exposed his forearms and chest were proof enough. Noah let out a strained sound as Iron’s bare, muscular arms squeezed him tight.

“Urgh…”

“Noah? What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

“That is…”

Noah hesitated, unable to say the truth. He couldn’t very well admit he was sore because of last night.

As he had told Gu Taeheon this morning, Noah had cast recovery and fatigue-relief magic on himself as soon as he woke. It had helped — at least on the outside. But his insides were another matter.

Since morning, a dull ache had pulsed deep in his abdomen. His waist hurt, his whole body ached — but the inner pain, from below his navel to just above his groin, was the worst. That had been the first place he targeted with magic, yet strangely—

His divine power did not work there.

Healing skipping only one specific area — even Noah, a High Priest, had never experienced such a thing. Still, aside from that inner ache, he felt mostly normal again, so he had assured Taeheon he was fine.

Then Iron’s solid muscles squeezed him too tightly, and the hidden pain flared again.

“…It’s nothing. I wandered lost yesterday, so I must be tired.”

“Haha! Yes, I heard! To think Hildegart himself got lost — one truly never knows what life will show you.”

Iron patted Noah’s shoulder encouragingly, saying he too once got lost following Jeonghyeok, and Noah accepted the comfort with an awkward smile.

Right then, Jeonghyeok, who entered after closing the door, shot a sharp glare at Iron’s outfit.

“For fuck’s sake! Could you please wear pants outside of sleeping hours?!”

“We’re all men here. Why bother?”

“Bro, I do not need to see your dick hair poking out of your boxers, that shit is a jumpscare.”

Instinctively, Noah glanced down where Iron stood. The front of the blue striped underwear had a small opening clearly designed for convenience — though, contrary to Jeonghyeok’s complaint, nothing seemed to be sticking out.

“Heh. What can I do if mine is too big? Buy me bigger ones.”

“I already told you that’s the biggest size they make, you beef-brained ogre.”

Despite once begging Noah to inform him if a way home appeared, Iron was thriving here — scratching inside his underwear while walking deeper inside the house like he belonged.

Come to think of it… he seemed to have gained some weight too.

Noah tilted his head, observing his back. With Iron’s naturally large build it wasn’t dramatic, but a healer’s eye did not miss such changes.

“Iron, what shall we eat for lunch?”

“Hmm. A matter of utmost importance. …Samgyeopsal?”

“Samgyeopsal? For lunch? Seriously?”

“Then beef?”

Iron swallowed his saliva loudly at the thought of beef. Jeonghyeok shook his head and turned to Noah.

“What about you, Noah-nim? Anything you want?”

“I…”

Noah paused. Something he wanted to eat… He recalled all the food Taeheon had fed him. Among them, most memorable was—

“Cream soup?”

“…Huh? Cream soup?”

“Yes. There was a cream soup I had while overlooking the night view with Taeheon-nim. It was very delicious.”

Jeonghyeok’s face twisted oddly. Noah had spoken sincerely — wanting to share that delicious soup with them — but Jeonghyeok pressed his lips together and answered reluctantly.

“Uh… yeah, that’s gonna be impossible right now. I know the place but they don’t deliver. Anything else?”

“Then, um… last time Taeheon-nim ordered delivery — the red sea creature with big claws… It was tasty. King… King-cray?”

“King crab?”

Jeonghyeok let out a breath like his soul was leaving him. He stared at Noah.

“…Did Taeheon ever tell you how much that costs?”

“The price? I have never heard it…”

Noah looked embarrassed. Now that he thought about it, having food brought by someone surely wasn’t free — yet Taeheon never said. Still, everything he served was delicious…

Jeonghyeok stared at him, realizing just how extravagantly Taeheon had treated Noah — delivery king crab, river-view restaurant…

Too expensive for lunch — especially since Iron ate like a bottomless pit. Even with Taeheon’s card, Jeonghyeok’s conscience drew a line.

So he picked three saner options.

“Okay. Menu candidates: One, yukhoe bibimbap. Two, pizza. Three, kalguksu.”

“Oho! Pizza! The round flat thing we ate before — I choose that!”

“Iron, shut up.”

It was Noah’s choice — he held Taeheon’s card, after all. Noah listened carefully to the explanations, then chose:

“Then I will have bibimbap.”

“Yukhoe bibimbap — great choice. Should I order?”

“Can the meat be removed?”

“Then I’ll switch to mountain-vegetable bibimbap. The sanchae one here is good.”

Excited, Jeonghyeok began scrolling his delivery app. Noah grew intrigued — food made from mountain herbs sounded pure and refreshing. If delicious, he wanted to tell Taeheon later.

“What the— 80 minutes? It’s a popular place, so the wait’s long. You guys okay?”

“Yes, I am fine.”

“I am hungry. Is there no snack in this house?”

Jeonghyeok sighed, then fetched a green-bag potato chip and tossed it to Iron. Iron tore the bag open with ease — pop — salty scent filling the room.

Noah swallowed unintentionally. Curious, he asked,

“Iron, what is that?”

“This? Chips. Made from potatoes.”

“You don’t know chips, Noah-nim? Taeheon never bought you any?”

Iron grabbed a handful and shoved them in his mouth, crunchy sounds echoing. Noah’s eyes sparkled.

“He did tell me about snacks, but said they were not good for the body…”

“Yeah, that guy used to never touch junk food back when he was an athlete— HEY IRON, don’t hog it, share!”

Iron wordlessly held a chip toward Noah. On instinct, Noah opened his mouth and accepted it — then his eyes widened.

“It is delicious…!”

“Told you! There’s a lotta delicious stuff in this world. Hmph, when I go back, I wanna take some chips and cola with me.”

Even as he spoke, Iron kept eating nonstop. Noah edged closer, taking chips from Iron in turn — Iron giving himself two, then Noah one, repeating rhythmically.

Then Iron paused mid-chew and asked suddenly,

“Speaking of which, Noah — have you tried that game connecting our world?”

“…Game?”

“Last Chronicle, as they call it here. To us, it is our world…”

Crunch. Another chip disappeared in Iron’s mouth.

“And here, they call it a game.”

Footnotes

Sanchae Bibimbap (산채비빔밥) — Korean mixed-rice dish topped with seasoned mountain vegetables; typically vegetarian and earthy in flavor.