# 69
“Hello, Master!”
“Good afternoon!”
The children, who had been noisily chattering and ignoring Seo Ji-seop’s guidance, immediately ran up to greet Riyekan like soldiers meeting a celebrity. Their tension was evident. Riyekan simply nodded halfheartedly and turned to the side.
Right away, the children who had been pretending to be well-mannered shot Jin-ha reproachful looks. He could feel their protest about why he had brought this frightening wizard. Instead of making excuses that it wasn’t his decision, Jin-ha summarized the situation.
“Welcome back. You can all continue with what you were doing. Guild Master!”
“Yes? What is it?”
After the children scattered like a flock of sparrows, Seo Ji-seop walked forward.
“What happened with my report?”
“Ah, so that’s why you’re here. Dr. Jo Sung-hyun uploaded it to the association server for you. The Lizard Temple was immediately verified by the association and conquered in two days, and I heard breaking news that the Central Park dungeon was successfully conquered just before we came here.”
“…That’s a relief.”
Jin-ha smiled with trembling eyes, his strength suddenly drained.
“They rescued all the children too. Though they had to do what the monster called the ‘Lord’ inside the fortress ordered them to do, they weren’t starved. I wouldn’t be surprised if America wants to give you some kind of commendation.”
This wasn’t a joke but the truth. America was sensitive about protecting its citizens from external threats and had been subtly targeting Jin-ha for a while, so they would likely use this opportunity to court him.
“No thanks for that kind of thing.”
Jin-ha replied as if annoyed, then asked:
“What about the fairy disease treatment?”
“That was successful too. Dr. Jo Sung-hyun… no, you should hear about this directly when you go back. Anyway, it was successful, and they plan to manage rather than conquer some fairy realm dungeons to ensure a stable supply of fairy tree branches.”
“That’s great.”
“But they’ll need to complete the fairy-repelling powder for that, which isn’t ready yet. He said the concept of ‘tears of deep sorrow’ is difficult to understand, so he’s going to assign it to an alchemist separately.”
“That is a bit challenging.”
It was all good news. Jin-ha was so pleased that he grabbed Riyekan’s arm, who was pretending not to notice beside him.
“Thank you, Riyekan. This is all thanks to you.”
“Indeed, Master. Thank you sincerely for sharing your knowledge.”
Seo Ji-seop followed with a polite and mature greeting. Riyekan haughtily raised his chin.
“I’ll collect a hefty price.”
“Of course, I’ll gladly pay it.”
“As you should. If your business is done…”
At that moment, Seo Ji-seop hurriedly pulled out a document envelope from inside his jacket and handed it to Jin-ha.
“What is this?”
“Your friend, what was his name… Cha… Cha…”
“Cha Ki-young.”
“Right, Cha Ki-young. He asked me to deliver this to you.”
Jin-ha, sensing what the contents might be, opened the envelope and took out what was inside.
“I found your family safe. Your father entrusted all his belongings to a company when he came to Korea. He prepaid the storage fee for 100 years, so everything was intact. I used a bit of your DNA to find it? Please understand.”
He was talking about DNA as casually as if he had borrowed a few 10,000 won bills from a desk. Jin-ha disapproved of Cha Ki-young’s attitude of committing crimes so nonchalantly, but decided to let it go this time. It couldn’t be helped…
“Your father’s family album was there. It was meticulously organized from when he was born until your grandparents passed away, so I investigated further based on those photos, and it’s certain that your father was born in California. He wasn’t adopted either. Check the newly printed photos I included.”
Jin-ha, filled with confusion, took out the photos from the envelope. All sorts of thoughts raced through his mind. If what Cha Ki-young had investigated was true, it meant Jin-ha was a pure Earthling. Then what was the text “Born in Abon” that he thought he had seen on the day of his awakening?
That text had been a trauma that had dominated and pressured Jin-ha since his awakening. Because it was information he had read from his father’s final retreating figure, he couldn’t forget it, and because he couldn’t forget it, it began to weigh on his mind, eventually shaking him to his core.
And now, all of that was just a misconception?
Jin-ha, frozen stiffly, began to check the photos one by one. There were several baby photos that, despite being of an infant, still showed his father’s impression. As he checked them in order, Jin-ha froze at one particular photo.
It was a picture of a small baby wriggling his arms and legs in a cradle, with five or six stuffed animals placed behind the child. Animal dolls that he had definitely seen somewhere before.
“……”
Jin-ha stared intently at that photo before blurting out:
“…Jin-ha?”
“I need to go to Earth.”
“Now? Suddenly?”
Jin-ha nodded. The animal-shaped stuffed toys behind his father’s photo looked exactly like the dolls in Master Senistry’s report. Especially the squirrel doll dressed as a nurse, which looked as if it had simply been reduced in size.
It wasn’t a misconception. It was clear that his father was somehow related to Master Senistry, which meant he was also connected to this world.
“I need to see the Deputy Director… I have something to ask him.”
Although the children’s magic lessons had shown minimal progress so far, the information Jin-ha had sent to Earth this time was quite valuable. Since the Deputy Director was striving to become the Director, if he negotiated to give the credit to him…
“Jin-ha! The Deputy Director is missing!”
“…Missing?”
“Yes. After he said he was going to America last time and disappeared, they checked and found no record of him entering the United States. Manager Nam is currently searching for him. Though he’s probably fine, given how tough he is, but you never know.”
Something felt ominous.
A secretive business trip would be typical behavior for the Deputy Director—it could be showmanship to make his achievements stand out. But it didn’t make sense for someone who planned to oust the Director and take that position to be absent so long that the word “missing” came up. Something had definitely happened to the Deputy Director.
Though the Deputy Director’s well-being wasn’t his concern, Jin-ha still had things to receive from him, so he couldn’t ignore it. Jin-ha frowned and clicked his tongue.
“I still need to go. When I get there…”
“By whose permission?”
Riyekan’s low voice pulled back Jin-ha’s nape, who had become urgent with excitement. Jin-ha paused and turned to look at Riyekan.
Riyekan, visibly upset, had his lips twisted as he tilted his head sideways.
“Hunter Lee Jin-ha isn’t in a position to come and go as he pleases, is he?”
“Yes, I know. I need your permission.”
“Yet you act like this?”
“Riyekan.”
Jin-ha stepped closer to Riyekan and whispered in his ear.
“The reason I want to go to Earth has the same purpose as investigating Abon. It’s important to me, so please grant permission.”
“No.”
“I’ll compensate you doubly.”
“…Doubly?”
When Jin-ha nodded, Riyekan fell silent as if considering.
“I’ll resolve it and return within three days.”
“……”
“Please.”
“…There’s something you should know.”
Jin-ha’s expression brightened as he realized the man was half-convinced. Riyekan whispered in Jin-ha’s ear.
“I’ll definitely get lonely, and you’ll have to take responsibility.”
“I understand.”
He was prepared for that much. Jin-ha answered without hesitation. Then Riyekan added:
“And I want to cover Hunter Lee Jin-ha with my pheromones.”
“…Right now?”
“Right now.”
“Why now?”
It was a request that defied common sense.
The reason Riyekan wanted to cover him with pheromones was due to the possessiveness aroused by fragments of his broken soul, and pheromones were a unique scent that only alphas and omegas could perceive. Since there were no people with such traits on Earth, it would be meaningless anyway.
“Is that not allowed?”
“…Go ahead.”
After rolling his eyes briefly, Jin-ha grudgingly accepted. Riyekan then grabbed Jin-ha’s chin and kissed him. Jin-ha tried to push away the intruding tongue, having no chance to resist, but ended up getting entangled instead.
Damn it, he didn’t say he’d do it like this. The children are here too…
Jin-ha glared at Riyekan, too shocked to close his eyes. Despite greedily licking inside his mouth, Riyekan’s closed eyes looked kind and delicate, and he even seemed happy, filled with satisfaction. Jin-ha firmly gripped Riyekan’s shoulders, unable to push him away.
Because of that unnecessarily handsome face…
At that moment, a thick scent like burning premium incense subtly brushed his nostrils. As he unconsciously tried to remember where he had smelled this familiar fragrance before, Riyekan bit his lip and pulled away.
“Good. Now you can go.”
“…You really…”
Jin-ha gritted his teeth as he gasped.
Behind him, the children were holding their breath in shock, while Seo Ji-seop could be heard boasting that he knew this would happen.
Though he hadn’t expected to keep the contract—where he had agreed to caress Riyekan in exchange for information about the Abon Kingdom—a secret forever, he never thought it would be revealed in this way.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
