Chapter 53
It was a leisurely and peaceful afternoon.
With nothing particular to do, the Heavenly Demon sat at the reception table, reading interior design magazines he hadn’t been able to touch until now.
As he sipped his hot green tea, he suddenly gazed up at the distant sky.
“Quiet.”
Yes. It was quiet.
At least until Jang Chaewon came storming back.
“Heavenly Demon, what have you done!”
The moment she burst through the door, her cheeks were flushed red.
The Heavenly Demon furrowed his brow in confusion.
“I have been sitting here at this table reading a book this whole time.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about! What on earth did you do for the Divine Land Management Team to call saying they’re revoking our territory grade?!”
“What are you talking about.”
“They said it’s because of something an employee did. Look for yourself!”
Chaewon shoved a red piece of paper in front of him.
The Heavenly Demon took it and read the contents carefully.
“…we have confirmed that your employee entered a dungeon without authorization, summoned a hidden monster, and extracted relics. Furthermore…”
It described how the Heavenly Demon had hunted the hidden monster Minotaur to heal Kim Hyewon—whose heart was failing due to a botched awakening.
Beep—beep—beep.
At that moment, Nameless, who had been resting in the charging station, suddenly lit up.
HeavenlyDemon.Heavenly Demon.
Rolling out quickly from the storage room, Nameless approached.
MayIseethataswell?May I see that as well?
When the Heavenly Demon placed the paper on the table, Nameless hopped up.
Asexpected,it’sbecauseofthatincident.As expected, it’s because of that incident.
After diligently reading the text, Nameless spoke to Chaewon.
Ms.JangChaewon.ThismatterisnottheHeavenlyDemon’sfault.Ms. Jang Chaewon. This matter is not the Heavenly Demon’s fault.
“What?”
Nameless pulled out his thin, mechanical arms and pointed at himself.
Thisallhappenedbecauseofmymistake.This all happened because of my mistake.
Chaewon, who had been standing with her arms crossed and brows tightly knit, scoffed.
“What do you mean your fault?”
The Heavenly Demon, who had been sitting silently, spoke calmly.
“I merely entered the dungeon. And then hunted one hidden monster.”
“What?”
HecaughtaMinotaurinthedungeon.He caught a Minotaur in the dungeon.
“A Minotaur? The hidden monster that drops national treasure–level relics?!”
When Chaewon gaped in shock, Nameless shook his head.
Norelicswereobtained.AndtheHeavenlyDemondidn’tevenknowitwasillegal.No relics were obtained. And the Heavenly Demon didn’t even know it was illegal.
The Heavenly Demon glanced at Nameless with mild surprise.
So you can lie too.
“You can’t just gloss this over!”
Chaewon pointed solemnly at the red paper.
“An employee of this territory went into a dungeon for no reason and hunted a Minotaur—the hidden monster. Do you know how serious this is?!”
The Heavenly Demon had only entered the dungeon with Nameless to save Kim Hyewon, the convenience store girl.
But now that he realized it had been illegal, he couldn’t say anything.
“Why did you sneak into the dungeon in the first place?”
To her question, he replied flatly:
“It was a personal matter.”
“I told you before—those who receive divine commissions and rewards cannot use dungeons for personal gain!”
“I did not intend to gain anything.”
“Then what was it?”
The Heavenly Demon closed his mouth again.
Even he didn’t know exactly why he acted that way.
To maintain the benefits at the convenience store? Because the dying girl was pitiful? Or perhaps because, despite the existence of the Earth God, humans still suffered and died from illness?
“My apologies.”
But even his apology did nothing to calm Chaewon’s anger.
“You should’ve at least told me! If you’d said something beforehand, none of this would’ve happened.”
“Owner.”
“It says right here we might lose our territory rank!”
Chaewon yelled, biting her lip.
“Do you understand how big a deal this is?! Our shop could be shut down!”
Ding—
Just then, with the sound of the door chime, a young man in a suit entered.
It was Dongwon, an official from the Divine Land Management Team.
“Noona.”
Dongwon entered with a stiff expression, and upon noticing the red paper on the table, his expression darkened further.
“You came because of this too?”
When Chaewon held up the paper, Dongwon nodded awkwardly.
“This was reported all the way to the higher-ups.”
“All this over one territory employee secretly killing a hidden monster?”
“You know how it is. If it’s done in the shadows, maybe. But once there’s evidence, it becomes a big deal.”
Glancing at the Heavenly Demon, Dongwon cleared his throat.
“Apparently there was a broken nano-bot discarded in that dungeon. A porter found it, investigated the memory chip by chance, and witnessed footage of you fighting the Minotaur.”
On Dongwon’s phone screen was the heavily injured Heavenly Demon and Nameless walking out of the dungeon.
“We stopped it from spreading online, but… we couldn’t stop it from being reported up the chain.”
Chaewon clenched her teeth.
“So you’re here to punish us directly?”
“Of course not. The audit office is sending people, so I volunteered to come instead. Noona, you know my personality.”
“The owner has nothing to do with this.”
The Heavenly Demon stepped forward.
“I will take responsibility for everything.”
Dongwon shook his head bitterly.
“Heavenly Demon, this store is run by Noona. That means she can’t avoid responsibility either.”
Nameless spoke up:
TheHeavenlyDemonwasnotproperlybriefedondungeonregulations.Ifanyoneshouldbepunished,itisI.The Heavenly Demon was not properly briefed on dungeon regulations. If anyone should be punished, it is I.
“Quiet, both of you.”
Chaewon sighed deeply.
After all, she was the one who hired the Heavenly Demon. Dongwon was right—she couldn’t escape responsibility.
And truthfully, she had always suspected that the Heavenly Demon might one day cause trouble involving a dungeon.
That’s why I attached a nano-bot… but I didn’t expect the bot to cause trouble with him.
She shot Nameless a disbelieving look.
Wait… a nano-bot causing trouble?
A strange thought crossed her mind.
Nameless might be chatty, but its intelligence far surpassed humans.
Meaning—it didn’t just analyze monsters and combat. It also held expert-level knowledge about laws and human society.
So there was no way Nameless wouldn’t have anticipated this outcome when entering a dungeon with the Heavenly Demon.
“Hey, nano-bot. You—”
Before she could finish, Dongwon subtly gestured toward his phone.
“Noona. Let’s leave the rest of that conversation for later. Anything you say now could be misunderstood.”
Given the seriousness of the situation, it was likely recording automatically.
“Later?”
“Please come with me for now.”
“So you’re telling me I have to undergo questioning?”
As Chaewon sighed, Dongwon replied:
“Don’t worry. Today is only for basic fact-checking by the audit office. The actual decision will be made in the disciplinary hearing later.”
“That is questioning.”
“I cannot understand this.”
The Heavenly Demon stared at Dongwon.
“You said you are an official of the Divine Realm.”
“That’s correct.”
“Then why trouble yourselves with investigations? Should you not simply call a god to discern the truth?”
“Huh?”
“Heavenly beings must reside here as well.”
Dongwon blinked, then realized what the Heavenly Demon was implying and sighed.
“All the beings here are Earth Gods. They simply perform their duties while living on the same land as humans.”
“I do not understand.”
“The Earth Gods are not the ‘omniscient, omnipotent gods’ in the sense you’re thinking of.”
“Do not lie.”
“…Excuse me?”
The Heavenly Demon swept Dongwon with a sharp gaze.
“A spirit god called the ‘Face-Stealer Ghost’ lives in this town. When I first came here, that old man imparted knowledge with a single finger. He even peeked into my memories.”
A faint red shimmer glowed in the Heavenly Demon’s eyes.
“Yet you claim the Divine Realm has no such being capable of investigation?”
“Well… yes, there are beings like Face-Stealer. But right now, neither he nor any other god can peer into your mind.”
“What do you mean.”
“Because you are an employee of a Territory.”
Dongwon met the Heavenly Demon’s red eyes with a faint smile.
“As long as you work in a Territory, you are also a member of the Divine Realm. That’s why you can’t enter dungeons for personal use.”
So that’s how it is.
The Heavenly Demon’s eyes deepened thoughtfully.
A member of the Divine Realm…
Dongwon checked the time and spoke heavily.
“Noona.”
Meeting his gaze, Chaewon sighed and nodded helplessly.
“Fine. Let’s go.”
The Integrated Government Complex—where the ministries are gathered.
On the far eastern end of the vast grounds, there was a very secret door.
This golden, shimmering door could neither be seen nor touched by humans. Only Earth Gods, or the owners of Territories, could pass through.
“This way.”
They passed through the door made of light. Fog surrounded them, then parted, revealing dozens of hanok-style buildings.
This was the central administrative complex of the Divine Realm.
“Here.”
Inside a rounded, whale-backed hanok building was a pitch-black glass door.
As they approached, light shimmered, and a man wearing the traditional uniform of a royal guard appeared.
His skin was pale like white powder, and his eyes—long and sharp like a phoenix’s—radiated authority.
“I am Dongwon, Deputy Chief of the Divine Land Management Team.”
“That machine cannot enter.”
The guard pointed at Nameless perched on the Heavenly Demon’s shoulder, but Dongwon answered firmly:
“It is no ordinary machine. I have already reported it upward. It is here as an important witness.”
The guard scrutinized Nameless, then reluctantly stepped aside.
“This way, Noona. Heavenly Demon.”
As Dongwon entered, they followed.
A fresh breeze blew inside, and the interior was furnished in an elegant, old-fashioned style.
Standing before a black wooden door, Dongwon paused—and the door opened with a rumble.
“Inspector, these are Ms. Jang Chaewon from Bokbok Interiors and—”
“That will be all, Deputy Chief Dan Dongwon.”
A voice cold as ice cut him off.
It spoke again, invading their ears without appearing in view.
“Both of you, come in.”
The shadowy, disembodied voice made Chaewon visibly uncomfortable.
Dongwon whispered:
“I’m sorry, Noona. It’s because Heavenly Demon is from the human race…”
“I know. It’s because of me, not him.”
“Noona…”
“It’s fine. Just stating a fact.”
Chaewon suppressed her displeasure and patted Dongwon’s shoulder.
“I’ll be fine. Go do your job.”
She smiled lightly and entered the room of light. The Heavenly Demon silently followed.
Watching them go, Dongwon murmured softly.
“Noona…”
He remembered her past—the sight of her wrapped in blue radiance, glaring down at him with overwhelming majesty.
“Please… don’t hate us too much.”
