With a trivial sound effect, the light vanished.
And then, taking the place of the light, Frey appeared with a “Ta-da!”
Flap flap-
“I’m flying! …Am I flying?”
Frey flapped her wings from the ground.
Her wings, composed of multiple pairs, were semi-transparent and shimmered with a sky-blue hue as they moved vigorously.
– I have awakened! I, Frey, have truly become the Queen of Alfheim!
“Oh, congratulations?”
Watching the diligently flapping Frey, I tilted my head in confusion.
It seemed like flying would take some time.
“Wow, you can fly now?”
“Right?”
As Seon-ah and I tilted our heads, Ara lay on the ground, observing Frey’s flapping.
“Is it flying? Is it flying!”
– I can fly!
Flap flap flap.
The wings flapped somewhat feebly.
But even though she said she’d become the true queen, it didn’t seem like anything had changed.
“Frey.”
– Yes!
“When you awakened, the curse was lifted, right? So, what’s changed?”
– I can fly! Now, just like the other queens, I can fly freely!
“And?”
– And? That’s it, I can fly now?
Because she’d mentioned being cursed and needing to awaken, I had expected some dramatic change.
– Ah! I can now communicate with World Tree!
“Oh?!”
That should’ve been mentioned first!
Of course, I was thrilled that Frey could fly now, but being able to communicate with World Tree was even more significant.
“Oh, oh, oh! You can talk to the shining tree!”
– Yes!
“What is it saying right now?”
– It’s too far, I can’t hear it!
As the somewhat lacking conversation continued, strength began to build in Frey’s flapping wings.
And as if rewarded for her effort, Frey’s small body began to lift off the ground.
“Oh my, oh my.”
“You’re really flying!”
My father and mother, seeing this, watched in amazement and cheered.
Seon-ah had already grabbed a camera and was recording in real-time.
“I, I’m flying! This is amazing!”
– Uwooo….
Ara and Mammon were watching with their mouths open, and even the Commander Pururk, no, Kongkong, was hopping around in celebration of this sight.
– Can you see? I’m flying right now!
“Yes, we can see! But, oh?”
As Frey’s clumsy flight wobbled like a crashing helicopter, she eventually fell.
Ara caught the falling Frey and shouted.
“I saved her!”
“Nice catch.”
It seemed that Frey’s flight practice would need to be a bit safer and take some more time.
After many events in such a short time, we had stew and spicy soup made from leftover monkfish and giant mackerel heads from the previous day.
– I’ve never tasted anything like this before! Sob. It’s a taste that moves me.
Seeing Mammon genuinely on the verge of tears, I felt a bit guilty.
I should have invited him yesterday as well.
And seeing this seemed to move my parents’ hearts, as they showed extra care towards Mammon.
“Our dear Mammon, eat a lot.”
“If it’s not enough, just say the word. I’ll have Kyu-seong cook more for you.”
Mammon nodded repeatedly, filled with gratitude, as he ate. But then, he quickly became dejected and said.
– I wish I could let my comrades experience this taste too….
“Hmm! That won’t do. Can you at least grill them yourselves?”
– Yes, my Lord!
“There are more that we caught in the warehouse. Take those and grill them. But don’t cook them too thoroughly, or you might burn them like last time.”
– Oh, as expected of my Lord! I, Mammon, am overwhelmed by your boundless grace.
I thought it might be a good idea to set a date and hold a cooking class next time.
Though, it would probably be better for my mother or Jae-seong to teach rather than me…
‘I’ll have to bring it up sometime.’
But today wasn’t that day.
After finishing our tearful meal, we escorted my parents outside.
I personally drove them home in the newly purchased vehicle.
My mother was fascinated, but my father seemed unsure where to place his hands, as if he were being overly cautious.
It was similar to how I felt the first time I sat in the seat, full of fear.
Indeed, I am my father’s son.
“Vroom vroom!”
“Ara seems to really like it. That’s a relief.”
My mother smiled as she patted Ara’s head.
“Please visit often. It’s not that far.”
“Sure. Next time, I’ll go to that sea place and we can fish together.”
“It’s a bit far, are you okay with that? If we take father, it could take over 10 hours just to get there.”
“Hmm, I’ll think about it.”
It seemed that going too far was burdensome for him.
Anyway, on the way back after seeing my parents off, my phone suddenly rang.
“Oh, it’s Hanul.”
Lately, Hanul has been quite busy, so it’s been a while since he contacted me.
I had heard that Ara Hongryeon was getting busier by the day, supposedly because of me.
I had heard it so much that it stuck to my ears.
“Good things are good.”
As soon as I answered the call, Hanul called out to me in a surprised voice.
“Kyu-seong, my brother!”
“Yes, brother. What’s going on?”
“You’re out, aren’t you! It’s just that we’ve roughly got the outline of the incident from last time. Are you busy right now?”
“No, I’m free. Should I head to the guild?”
“Oh! Could you do that?”
“I’ll be there right away.”
Since I was already out driving, I decided to stop by the guild.
By the way, has the case been closed? I heard it was something the European Union had done.
I hung up the phone and immediately got back in the car.
“Ara, let’s go to the guild.”
“Let’s go! Hanul, Jeong So-yeon So-yeon! We’re coming!”
***
The airport was bustling.
Various dignitaries from different countries were urgently arriving in private jets.
The government already knew this, having been informed by the Awakening Headquarters, but the public did not.
“Isn’t that Michael?”
“No way…?”
“Hey! That person is Dominic! Then the person next to him must be Michael!”
“Wow, amazing!”
Famous figures from Europe.
Not just awakened individuals but also high-ranking officials arrived in a hurry and headed somewhere.
Before the reporters could arrive, they quickly moved toward the Awakening Headquarters.
The Awakening Headquarters of South Korea.
This place was also in a state of emergency due to the sudden arrival of unexpected guests.
“Busy, busy!”
“Stop everything you’re doing! First, prepare to welcome the guests!”
Although Korea was in a position of power, the opponents were too strong to be haughty.
Especially since all the level 8 awakened individuals and high-ranking officials from the European Awakening Union were coming, there was no room for complacency.
Boom!
“Director! They’ll arrive in 5 minutes!”
“Are they coming this fast on purpose? No, I guess it’s already time.”
The swift action of the European Awakening Union was truly impressive.
Given that they were a united force, one would expect some conflict of opinions, yet they all managed to gather and arrive just two days after the incident….
“They’re definitely doing this on purpose.”
Their justification was to apologize as soon as possible for their wrongdoing.
But the real intention was clearly to rush things and settle matters before compensation discussions could take place.
“Director! They’ve arrived!”
“What about Ara Hongryeon?”
“They’re on their way with the guild leaders from Iron Blood and Terror. It will take about 10 minutes.”
“Hmm.”
The hallway grew noisy.
It seemed they had arrived.
Director Jeon Young-joo headed toward the hallway to greet them personally.
But with pride on the line, she didn’t go all the way outside.
‘Our Lee Kyu-seong almost got into big trouble!’
In truth, she felt it was rude for them to visit so suddenly.
It was as if they were trying to eliminate any time for consideration.
“Ah, Director!”
Team Leader Park, who had personally escorted the guests from the airport, noticed Jeon Young-joo stepping into the hallway.
Jeon Young-joo glanced over, confirming the identity of the guests behind him.
A group of level 8 awakened individuals from Europe’s great powers.
And the leaders of organizations ranked within the top 100 guilds worldwide.
Though there were only a bit more than ten people, each one was incredibly famous.
“Thank you for coming such a long way. I am Jeon Young-joo, the Director of South Korea’s Awakening Headquarters.”
“First, let me offer my apologies. I am Dave, the one responsible for this incident.”
Dave Taylor.
A 7th-level awakened individual and the guild leader of Taylor Guild.
Among those gathered, Dave was the least famous. While fame isn’t everything, to Jeon Young-joo, it seemed like he had been picked as the scapegoat.
“Please, come inside. Let’s discuss further.”
In any case, it was they who were in a hurry.
Jeon Young-joo had no intention of starting the conversation until Ara Hongryeon and the guild leaders from Terror and Iron Blood arrived.
“Ah, Director Jeon, is it?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“There’s something we need to address first, so I’d like to discuss that before anything else.”
The atmosphere wasn’t good.
Jeon Young-joo observed the person speaking as calmly as possible.
Michael Rodman. A French level 8 awakened individual and a world-renowned celebrity.
If Iron Blood had Kim Tae-yang, then Europe had Michael.
The difference was that Michael was far more famous.
And his political influence was also significant.
“First of all, Edward, the representative from the UK who acted alone in all of this, was expelled from the Union as of yesterday. In his stead, I offer our sincere apologies.”
“Acted alone?”
Jeon Young-joo chuckled inwardly.
But she didn’t show it.
“You should probably save that for the guild leaders. They’ll be here shortly.”
“We’ll do that.”
Michael responded coolly, and the European Union representatives maintained a bold demeanor as if they had done nothing wrong.
Once they were guided into the room, a heavy silence filled the space.
Since this wasn’t a meeting for a pleasant occasion, there wasn’t much to say beyond the formal greetings.
Jeon Young-joo was a person of pride, and the European Union was notorious for their arrogance.
“They’re a bit late.”
Someone muttered.
This attitude left Jeon Young-joo and the headquarters staff speechless.
Is that really the demeanor of those who have done wrong?
Before it came to this, the representatives from Austria who had visited first had apologized profusely.
Compared to them, this was simply incomparable.
“Director…”
At that moment, someone urgently called out to Jeon Young-joo.
Feeling a sudden unease, Jeon Young-joo preemptively asked back.
“What? Are the guild leaders going to be even later?”
“N-no, that’s not it…”
The employee took a moment to calm his breathing before choosing his words carefully.
Just as Jeon Young-joo was starting to wonder what could be making him so anxious, the employee finally spoke again.
“China…! Ah!”
Realizing his mistake, the employee quickly approached Jeon Young-joo and whispered in his ear.
“The guild leader of Skyscraper has arrived in Korea.”
“!!?”
Sky… scraper?
Why are they here now…?
“And not just them—Ino Junichi has also just arrived with his guild executives.”
“…”
The timing could only be seen as deliberate.
And Jeon Young-joo could feel it.
Without realizing it, this place had become the eye of the storm in the awakening industry.
Cliche Novel 