Round 93

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After hearing the full story from Frey, I immediately left the dungeon.

“Ara-!”

In my urgency, I shouted Ara’s name in the dark forest, even though there was no way she would be there.

“Oh, wait, I should call first…”

Could she have gone back home?

When I thought of the places Ara frequently visited, home came to mind first.

-Hello?

“Mom! Is Ara there by any chance?”

-Ara? She’s not here. What’s going on?

“She hasn’t come home at all, right?”

-Don’t tell me Ara is missing? She hasn’t come home.

Ah…

I squatted down, clutching my head.

-Kyu-seong, talk to me. Where could Ara have gone?

“She wasn’t home when I got there. I heard she went out alone to buy a present for me…”

-Ara went out alone?! And she hasn’t come back yet?

“Yes.”

At that moment, I heard Seon-ah’s voice over the receiver.

-Ara is missing?!

-You should report this to the police.

“Ha… Yes. I’ll report it and keep looking.”

-Brother! Where are the places Ara frequents? Let’s start searching there together.

“The places she frequents?”

-Never mind. Let’s meet up first. Come home.

“…Okay.”

As I headed home, I found my family already prepared.

“Have you reported it to the police?”

“Not yet.”

“Then I’ll go and file a missing person’s report.”

“Okay.”

“Everyone else, let’s split up and search. Where are the places Ara frequents?”

“Ara Hongryeon and Dasom Orphanage.”

Sweating from anxiety, I kept checking my surroundings, hoping Ara might come this way.

Just as we were about to set off with our plan, my phone rang.

“Hello?”

-Kyu-seong, it’s Han Seok-jun.

“Ah, Guild Master!”

-Sorry for the sudden call, but where are you right now?

“I’m at home. Actually, I’m dealing with a problem right now…”

-I think I know what the problem is.

“Pardon?”

Momentarily stunned by the unexpected words from the Guild Master, a thought flashed through my mind.

“Could it be that Ara is with you right now?”

-She’s with me now. I was surprised when I got the call, too.

“I’m coming to the guild immediately. I’m sorry, Guild Master.”

-Oh! I’m not at the guild.

“Where are you then…?”

-I’m at the Yongsan Awakening Goods Store.

Yongsan? Ah!

She must have gone to Yongsan to get me a present. She probably remembered shopping there before.

“I’m coming right away!”

-Okay. We’ll wait here. Take your time.

After hanging up, I breathed a sigh of relief. My family, having overheard the conversation, urgently asked.

“What did he say? Did they find her?”

“Yes, she’s at Yongsan with the Guild Master.”

“Ah! Thank goodness.”

But one thing puzzled me: how did Ara meet the Guild Master?

‘Did she go to the guild first, and then the Guild Master decided to accompany her?’

As I waited for my father to bring the car around, I was lost in thought, until Seon-ah screamed.

“What’s this!”

“What? What happened!”

“There’s been an accident in Yongsan!”

“An accident?!”

What on earth is going on?

* * *

We hurried to Yongsan, which was still bustling despite the evening hour. There were multiple fire trucks, ambulances, and even heavy-duty vehicles that looked like special forces transports.

“…”

On the way, we managed to get a rough idea of the accident from the news. I also called the Guild Master again to confirm Ara’s safety, so my major worries were alleviated.

“Dad will park the car. You get out first.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

As soon as we arrived near the scene, I jumped out of the car and ran to where Ara was. I soon spotted a familiar round figure in the distance.

“Ara!”

Her tiger ears perked up at my call. She turned around, saw me, and with tears streaming down her face, ran towards me.

“Kyu-seong Kyu-seong!”

“Ah, Ara.”

I caught the flying Ara and held her in my arms. 

As I stroked her face, which was rubbing against mine, my mother and Seon-ah approached.

“Ara!”

“Oh, my dear. Are you okay?”

Ara quickly lifted her head and waved to my mother and Seon-ah.

“Seon-ah Seon-ah! Grand Lord Lord!”

“Come here. Let me see you.”

My mother lifted Ara up and carefully checked her over. 

Fortunately, she seemed to be fine.

“Kyu-seong, you arrived quickly.”

“Ah, Guild Master. Thank you for taking care of Ara in advance…”

“It’s nothing. The police mistook Ara for an awakened one and contacted our guild after verifying her name. I was already heading to the scene after hearing about the accident.”

It was a fortunate coincidence.

Anyway, I was relieved to see that Ara was safe.

“Kyu-seong Kyu-seong.”

Ara, looking sheepish, approached me. 

I wondered what was up, but I hugged her again.

“Are you okay, Ara?”

“Kyu-seong Kyu-seong, I’m sorry…”

“For what? Going out? It’s okay. I’m just glad you’re not hurt.”

“That’s not it.”

Ara showed me something. 

She had been holding a hat all this time.

“The hat got torn. Am I going to get scolded?”

“Oh, is that all?”

I had been worried that something bad had happened, but seeing the torn straw hat made me feel relieved.

I immediately ruffled Ara’s hair to comfort her.

“I’ll buy you a new one. Or we can fix it.”

“Can it be fixed?”

“Of course.”

My mother, standing next to us, confidently spoke up.

“I’ll fix it for you. Don’t worry, my dear.”

“Wow! As expected of the Grand Lord!”

Seeing Ara quickly regain her energy, Seon-ah wiped her tears and laughed. 

She seemed to love Ara’s cheerful transformation.

“How is Ara so cute!”

“Hehe. I am cute.”

As we enjoyed our reunion, a police officer approached from a distance.

“Are you Ara’s guardian?”

“Yes, I am.”

“I’m Inspector Park Kyung-heon from the Awakening Special Forces. Thanks to you, we managed to prevent a major incident. We sincerely thank you.”

I bowed my head in response to the stern-faced officer.

“It’s nothing.”

“May we ask for your cooperation in investigating this incident?”

“Cooperation?”

“We need a statement.”

“Oh, well…”

I hesitated, wondering if Ara could give a proper statement.

Seeing my hesitation, Guild Master Han Seok-jun stepped forward.

“Let’s talk. Ara is a member of our guild.”

“Ah, Guild Master Han Seok-jun. Shall we proceed that way then?”

The officer seemed to recognize our Guild Master.

Well, Ara Hongryeon is quite famous, after all.

“Kyu-seong, take your family and Ara inside for now. I’ll contact you later.”

“Is that okay?”

“Of course. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

With Guild Master Han Seok-jun handling the situation, I felt relieved. He winked at me, signaling that I could go.

If I were unaffiliated, this would have been very troublesome. I was grateful.

“Shall we go home?”

“Yeah!”

I needed to find out what happened in more detail, but for now, we decided to head back.

Ara’s solo outing ended without any issues.

* * *

After spending the night with my family, I returned to the dungeon.

“I’m back!”

The worried look on Ara’s face had vanished, and she confidently greeted the slimes.

Squeak! Squeak!

Blorp!

The slimes welcomed Ara with all their might, and she rubbed her face against them.

“I missed you all!”

“Haha.”

Ara, wearing the neatly mended straw hat my mother had fixed, was soon surrounded by slimes, who tossed her in the air.

Having caused a commotion over Ara’s disappearance after visiting Iron Blood yesterday, I guessed the slimes had been worried about her too.

“Hehe! Kyu-seong Kyu-seong!”

“Yeah? What?”

“Hehehe.”

Seeing Ara laughing mischievously, I tilted my head in confusion. 

Why was she laughing after calling me?

“Ta-da! It’s a surprise gift!”

“A surprise gift?”

Ara spread her arms wide and spoke.

Oh, that’s right, she went out to get me a present. She didn’t forget amidst all that.

But Ara’s hands were empty.

What’s this?

“Ah! Ara is the gift!”

“Hmm? No! It’s right here.”

Ara pointed to the empty space.

Just as I was wondering why she was pointing at empty air…

-Neigh!

-Bark!

-Tweet?

“Huh?”

I heard sounds that shouldn’t be there.

* * *

Awakened Management Headquarters, Yongsan Branch.

Amidst the bustling crowd, Park Kyung-heon appeared.

“You’re here!”

“Yes. Where is Jeong Ji-hwan?”

“Ugh, don’t even get me started. He’s still denying everything.”

Park Kyung-heon nodded silently at his colleague’s words.

“I can understand. Losing his familiars is like losing everything.”

“A Level 5 summoner’s personal power is minimal, so he must have staked his life on controlling those 5th-grade monsters. Losing not one, but two of them, he might prefer death.”

“Where is he now?”

“In the interrogation room.”

“Alright, let’s go.”

“I’ll join you!”

The two headed to the interrogation room, where they saw Jeong Ji-hwan sitting behind a glass pane. Another officer was already interrogating him.

“Hey, Jeong Ji-hwan! Spit out where you sent the familiars you reverse-summoned!”

“No, I’m seriously innocent! I swear I don’t have them anymore!”

Jeong Ji-hwan’s face was flushed red with frustration, and he was shouting, spitting in his agitation.

“We already know you summoned the 5th-grade monsters, the Fire Wolf and the Phantom Horse! It’s all on CCTV, and you still deny it?”

“Yes, I did summon them! But I swear, the master-servant contract broke on its own, and they disappeared!”

“This guy is really something!”

“I’m seriously innocent!!”

Jeong Ji-hwan was genuinely aggrieved.

Not only had the master-servant contracts with his familiars suddenly been severed, but now he had no idea where they had gone. His entire life’s fortune, those 5th-grade familiars, had disappeared without a trace, driving him to the brink of madness.

In this situation, the police were pressuring him to produce the missing creatures…

“Ugh!! This is driving me insane!”

“Hah, you show no signs of remorse. Do you know your sentence will increase if you keep this up? But I guess you don’t care, do you?”

Park Kyung-heon and his colleague, watching the scene, shook their heads.

“He hasn’t learned his lesson yet.”

“He’ll change his tune when he gets his sentence. What about the other two?”

“They’re being more cooperative. This guy’s the biggest problem. He’s the one who planned the crime and recruited the others.”

“A real piece of work. We need to confiscate his familiars quickly.”

If Jeong Ji-hwan had heard this, he would have been driven even crazier by the unfairness. The two disappeared, leaving Jeong Ji-hwan alone in the interrogation room, now sobbing and sniffling.

“My familiars! My familiars!”

“Is he out of his mind?”

When it came to his familiars, Jeong Ji-hwan was genuinely aggrieved.

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