Chapter 125: The Surprisingly Ordinary Spirit Realm with a 1:39 Gender Ratio (1)
And just like that, the sex education session ended in spectacular failure.
All because Jamsuni suddenly blurted out something completely shocking.
“I don’t need sex ed.”
“...Why not?”
“Because ‘that’ already started last week.”
“That?”
What’s that supposed to mean?
I stared at Jamsuni with a confused expression, and her face turned red as she muttered something under her breath.
“..My-Monthly.”
“Y-Your-Monthly? What the heck is that?!”
“Yoo-hajin average, you dumbass!!!”
Whap! Whap!
Jamsuni’s small white foot kicked me in the shin.
Of course, it didn’t hurt at all.
But still—what the hell?
She said she started something last week? And now she doesn’t need sex ed?
Suddenly, a certain chick’s chirpy voice echoed in my head.
‘In the mortal realm, you’re only an adult when you turn 19, but in the spirit realm, if you can have a baby, you’re an adult. So that means I’m an adult!’
A woman who can bear children…
Hmm... Hmmm…
No way—could it be that day?
As in, that day for girls?
I was at a loss for words.
I had never, ever prepared for this kind of situation before. This is something that should be handled by a woman—a grown-up one at that. How the hell is a guy supposed to talk about this?
Look at her—Jamsuni is already blushing!
In a panic, I called out:
“Nayu!!! Help me!!!”
“Nayu makes a cool entrance!”
Out of nowhere, a girl with blue hair popped out of the closet.
That was Nayu.
...Wait a second. Why are you coming out of my closet?
But this was no time to ask questions.
“Nayu, Sojin says she started ‘that’ last week…”
“Nayu shows a confused expression.”
“You know, the thing girls get every month. Ugh, I can’t believe I’m explaining this out loud. No, wait—Sojin, just sit down here and talk with Nayu slowly.”
“No way. Why should I—”
Jamsuni pouted and crossed her arms.
But Nayu stood tall in front of her, full of confidence.
Yeah. If it’s Nayu, she can talk to Jamsuni like an adult and explain all the important stuff about being a woman.
“Hold up.”
But then, a thought suddenly hit me.
Didn’t that chick once believe that babies are made by kissing?
Yeah. Probably because she was homeschooled and only taught spritual ability training, she never learned the basics.
So what about Nayu?
Now that I think of it, Nayu never attended public school either.
Which is why, carefully, I had to ask:
“Nayu, do you know how babies are made?”
“Nayu is a smart person. Nayu proudly declares she knows everything.”
And then she continued, with a tone full of confidence:
“Nayu says storks bring babies!”
Nayu beamed proudly as she added:
“Nayu expects praise.”
“...Yeah. Uh-huh.”
At that moment, I was truly speechless.
And so, with my heart heavier than ever, time quietly passed by.
Before I knew it, the day after tomorrow had arrived.
A woman who made my heart even more tangled—
It was time to meet Kirieon.
Bzzz bzzz bzzz—
And just like that, I arrived at a Chinese restaurant.
“Who the heck names a Chinese restaurant Heart & Lung Institute?”
Turns out Heart & Lung Institute was actually the name of the Chinese restaurant.
Just hearing the name made it sound like some dungeon more intense than Tungseon Cave, but no—it was just a Chinese restaurant.
Why would anyone name a Chinese restaurant like that?
Tilting my head, I opened the door to Heart & Lung Institute.
I passed by a cloth curtain with the Chinese character for luck written upside down, then glanced around. The tables were slightly sticky, the floor made of old-style faux stone, and even the price tags were handwritten.
Places like this still exist, huh?
I found myself quietly impressed as I looked around.
“Over here.”
And there she was—Kirieon.
Striking Western features.
Lightly sun-kissed brown skin.
Practically naked.
And... boing-boing.
After forcibly dragging my eyes away from Kirieon’s boing-boing, I finally opened my mouth.
“Why did you want to meet at a Chinese place?”
“You’re gonna have a rough time ahead. I figured I could at least buy you a meal.”
“Rough time ahead? Actually, I came here today to tell you I’d rather not see you again.”
That really was why I came here.
Kirieon was half-insane.
If she were just half-insane, I wouldn’t even have needed to say anything.
But Kirieon wasn’t merely crazy—she was a hydrogen bomb in the shape of a woman.
One that could go off at any time.
So I came with a “strike first, survive later” mindset, fully equipped: knuckles, a stun gun, black sheath, a water gun, and more.
Come at me, I’m ready!!!
You’re not catching me off guard like last time.
But despite all that, Kirieon simply nodded, expression calm.
“Once this job is over, you won’t have to see me anymore.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Exactly what it sounds like.”
What the—?
I wanted to ask more, but I couldn’t.
Because Kirieon shoved a menu in my face.
“Just order something already.”
“Yessir.”
Can’t turn down free food.
Especially not when that food is Chinese.
“Is it okay if I order a combo set?”
“Do whatever you want.”
As I browsed the set menu with ganjjajang included, Kirieon casually muttered:
“Even the owner of this place used to fear the days I’d show up as a regular.”
A strangely sorrowful tone in her voice.
Honestly, based on how calm she seemed today, I was starting to think she wasn’t some lunatic but just a slightly more eccentric woman with a case of exhibitionism.
“Hehe... they must sense it—my instinctual restraint from slaughter.”
...Are you in your edgy middle school phase?
Forget what I just thought.
Watching her closely, I asked:
“So, Kirieon-nim, what are you going to order?”
“...You really have no sense of fear, huh. Just like I used to be.”
I stared at Kirieon.
Lightly bronzed skin that made her look healthier.
Lean, well-defined muscle.
Sharp features, like those of a Western doll.
And, of course, boing-boing.
Nothing about her looked scary.
I only avoided looking so I could keep my lower half in check.
Last time, I was so bewitched I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the boing-boing, but today I came prepared to face her head-on. This version of me? I’m a man who knows how to suppress desire.
So I ordered the ganjjajang + tangsuyuk + fried dumplings combo and mixed a bit of vinegar with the onions.
As I ripped open the disposable chopsticks, I thought:
Wow, it’s been forever since I had ganjjajang. This is gonna be good.
A place that’s stayed open this long usually means the food’s at least decent. The hygiene might be a little questionable, but hey…
Just as I was practically drooling,
Kirieon spoke in a tone of mild disbelief:
“Don’t you have something you wanted to ask me?”
“Ask you something? Wait—you’re paying for this, right?”
“No, not that.”
Kirieon looked at me, dumbfounded.
“Aren’t you curious what I want you to do?”
“Oh, right.”
I’d been so distracted by the ganjjajang that I completely forgot.
Now that I think about it, that was the main reason we were meeting today.
“So, what exactly do you want me to do?”
“Take a trip to hell.”
...She said that like she was asking me to go grab some drinks.
While I sat there stunned, the server brought over my noodles.
“Ah, ganjjajang, right here!”
As I stirred the sauce into the noodles, my mind started to wander.
Does hell actually exist?
Like, the real place swarming with ghosts and evil spirits?
Could I even see it?
I slurped my noodles and asked:
“Why exactly do I need to go to hell?”
“Don’t you want to get a Gate of Spirits?”
“Gate of Spirits?”
Thanks to my background at the shaman’s house, I at least knew what Ghost gate or Gate of Spirits was. And I’d even seen some ridiculously powerful ability users activate their Gate Manifestation or whatever it was.
That bastard Cheonsu used just that one skill to control every ability user in a deadly underground gambling ring.
“Apparently, a Gate of Spirits recently lost its master, and Cheonji discovered it. But in order to inherit it, Cheonji said you’d have to prove you have a natural connection to the spirit realm.”
Kirieon continued.
“Hell is a type of spirit realm—one that’s especially hostile to humans. Surviving there is the best proof of your affinity.”
Hmm. I see.
Anyway, this ganjjajang is really good. Perfectly chewy.
“So if one survive the longest in hell, they get to inherit the Gate of Spirits, right? That’s the offer? Hah, sounds insane. A direct route to the Heavenly Immortal Realm? There’s no way a true cultivator could resist that kind of temptation...!”
A masterless Gate of Spirits, huh?
Hmm, that does sound kind of valuable.
I dipped an onion slice in chunjang and ate it.
“The Gate of Spirits isn’t some second-rate insight you get from places like that Cave yesterday. There’s that one story everyone knows—about the guy who reached the Earth Immortal Realm before he even turned twenty. Spent centuries training, but couldn’t even complete a single frame of the Gate before going berserk. But you? You’ve already got a fully-formed Gate. For any cultivator below the Heavenly Realm, that’s a divine treasure. You won’t be able to resist.”
Tch. I’m already close to finishing the noodles.
Should’ve ordered the extra-large…
...Maybe I’ll get a bowl of rice to mix with the leftover sauce?
While I was mulling that over, I happened to catch Kirieon’s expression.
She was smiling like a total lunatic.
With that manic grin, Kirieon said:
“Do me this favor, and I’ll show you the way to the Gate. Stop playing the hero. Be selfish. Blow up this place—someone’s been eavesdropping and recording our conversation.”
Hearing that, I seriously considered her proposal.
...No. I decided not to order the rice.
I’ll just make do with the leftover tangsuyuk and dumplings.
And I responded:
“Yeah, that’s not happening.”
“...What?”
“Why would I blow up a Chinese restaurant all of a sudden? Over some ‘Gate of Spirits’? You’re asking me to commit a crime over a damn door.”
Become a felon because of some invisible ghost door?
That’s beyond low return for high risk—just thinking about it makes me feel like I’d get arrested on the spot.
“...You call the sublime enlightenment of the Gate of Spirits... a door?”
At that moment, Kirieon’s expression went completely blank.
She looked genuinely stunned.
Though... there was also a trace of being oddly touched in her face.
---The End Of The Chapter---
Join Patreon to support the translation and to read up to 5 chapters ahead of the release
Comments