“Wow, driving in Seoul is really tough.”
I barely managed to arrive at Ara Hongryeon.
The traffic jams and complicated road conditions were overwhelming, but I made it safely.
‘Thanks to my expensive car… I was able to get some courtesy driving.’
Is this why everyone admires expensive cars?!
Anyway, I contacted Hanul after arriving, and he immediately came down to the first floor of the building.
“Hahaha! How have you been, Kyu-seong! And nice to see you too, my successor, Ara!”
“Have you been well, Hanul!”
As soon as we met, Hanul put Ara on his shoulders. Seeing him, I smiled and greeted him, then asked,
“Have you been very busy lately?”
“Haa, it’s all because of you, Kyu-seong.”
“Uh…”
“Hahaha! Just kidding, just kidding! But it’s actually true. Thanks to your crops, the dungeon raid success rate has skyrocketed. We’ve been breaking records for months, holding the top spot in the country.”
“Wow, that’s amazing!”
We exchanged some light conversation as we headed inside. Familiar faces greeted us as we passed by.
“Oh, Ara!”
“Ara, do you want some candy?”
“Mr. Kyu-seong! Thanks to you, work has been so much more enjoyable lately! We’re really grateful to have you with our guild!”
After greeting everyone, we went up to the meeting room, where Young-seong and Jeong So-yeon were already waiting.
“Welcome, Kyu-seong. Hello, Ara!”
“Welcome.”
We greeted each other and took our seats.
Come to think of it, I still hadn’t heard why they called me here.
“How long has it been, Kyu-seong?”
“It’s been a while, Brother. I saw Si-young a few days ago during the attack incident, though.”
“How are you doing?”
“I’m fine. Ara ended it so quickly.”
At the mention of her name, Ara puffed out her chest proudly, almost reaching the ceiling.
“By the way, why did you call me here?”
“Huh? Didn’t you hear?”
Young-seong squinted his eyes and glared at Hanul.
Hanul awkwardly responded,
“Didn’t I tell you?”
“……”
“Guess not.”
“……”
“So why did you call me here?”
I heard it was to discuss the aftermath of the attack incident.
“Today, some high-ranking officials from the European Union are visiting Korea. Or rather, they should have arrived by now. Our guild master has already gone to meet them.”
“Oh.”
I just nodded my head.
But the looks on everyone’s faces became peculiar.
“‘Oh’ is not enough, Kyu-seong.”
“That’s right. This could be an event significant enough to be written in our country’s history books.”
“Huh?”
In the history books?
The magnitude of the situation hadn’t really hit me until that moment.
“Is it really all because of me? I mean, they’re coming for other reasons too, right?”
“It’s because of you. Well, not entirely because of you, but you’re the main reason.”
“Oh.”
“…You still don’t seem to get it.”
“No, I understand!”
The three of them looked at me with doubtful eyes.
Feeling awkward, I scratched my head, and Ara asked me,
“Did Kyu-seong Kyu-seong do something wrong?”
“Huh? No, I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Kyu-seong Kyu-seong is amazing! He did nothing wrong!”
The atmosphere lightened as everyone chuckled.
Soon, Brother Young-seong began explaining again,
“Anyway, the guild master and Si-young have gone to the Awakening Headquarters, so we’ll get a call soon. Of course, you don’t need to go. If they want to apologize, they should come to you, right?”
“Well, that’s true.”
I didn’t think there was anything to apologize for, but it seemed like the people around me were more concerned and worried than I was, as the person involved in the incident.
“And there’s going to be some discussion regarding Wrath because of this incident. You mentioned you were interested, right?”
“Yes. I am interested.”
Not just in Wrath, but in all the Seven Deadly Sins. I wondered if I could somehow manage to bring in the harmless ones.
‘I should ask Ara and Mammon later about the other Seven Deadly Sins.’
In truth, I brought Mammon along by chance, so I hadn’t been particularly interested in the Seven Deadly Sins before then.
However, after Mammon became my familiar, with the related quests and hearing about Wrath’s Ras, my interest grew significantly.
Currently, three dungeons related to the Seven Deadly Sins have been revealed: Wrath, Greed, and Lust.
Greed is already dealt with, so only Wrath and Lust remain, but just by their names, they don’t sound very kind.
‘But from what I’ve heard about Wrath, it doesn’t seem all that bad.’
So what about Lust?
I was curious.
“We won’t get a resolution today. It might take days, maybe even months.”
“But the European Union is in a pressing situation right now. Preparing for the Wrath raid is costing them money even while doing nothing. The results might come sooner than expected.”
I nodded in agreement as I listened to Brother Young-seong and Jeong So-yeon’s opinions. It was very reassuring.
“Should we start preparing in advance, just in case?”
“For what?”
“For the supplies needed for the Wrath raid.”
“That’s not a bad idea. Even if you can’t personally participate in the raid, they’ll definitely want to procure your items. It wouldn’t hurt to be prepared.”
“Then I’ll start preparing slowly from tomorrow.”
“Do you have everything you need? Enough hands?”
“I have plenty.”
When I said there was no problem, Brother Young-seong muttered quietly.
“Lazy farmer.”
“Sorry?”
“Nothing, just talking to myself. Some of us are so busy that we’re working ourselves to the bone, while others just set up auto-hunting and relax.”
“Haha.”
He wasn’t wrong.
Instead, I proudly puffed out my chest and said,
“I’m really good at being lazy.”
“Haa, I should’ve stuck to my retirement. If I hadn’t, I’d be fishing at your place every day by now.”
After that, we chatted about recent events and various news. We decided to wait for word from the Awakening Headquarters or the guild master by the end of the day.
“Oh, right. Hanul.”
“Hmm?”
“I finally made the jang. The meju we made together back then.”
“Ohhh! Really?!”
“What’s this? Making jang?”
Jeong So-yeon asked with a curious expression, and Ara answered in her place.
“We made something called meju from soybeans! And just yesterday, the fermentation was completed! We put the meju in a jar with brine, floated some charcoal, and closed the lid…”
Ara explained everything from start to finish, then proudly spread her hands wide.
“We’re making doenjang and ganjang! We just need to wait for a bit more, and it’ll be done!”
“Wow, really? Ara, did you help make it too?”
“I made it!”
“Oh, our Ara is so impressive.”
As Ara shared her adventure in making doenjang, Brother Young-seong and Hanul swallowed hard, as if their mouths were already watering.
“Kyu-seong’s doenjang, huh…”
“Could we maybe make gochujang too?”
I was about to nod, but then I hesitated.
“We’ve already harvested some peppers, though it’s not much.”
“Ohhh!”
“But I’m not sure about gochujang yet. I don’t know how spicy the peppers need to be to make it.”
“What do you mean?”
“If you harvest peppers later, they get spicier. So I’m not sure how long to wait or what level of spiciness would be ideal for gochujang.”
“Hmm! You should have mentioned that earlier! I can help you figure it out.”
“How?”
“We can analyze the spiciness level of peppers used for gochujang and compare it to yours. But you’ll need to harvest one every day and send them to me when you have time.”
“Yes. I’ll give it a try.”
I decided to send them every three days.
It could be a bit tricky if I missed the timing, but it was much better than doing it haphazardly.
“Doenjang stew!”
“Kimchi stew!”
“Oyi doenjang muchim!”
“Soy sauce marinated bulgogi!”
“Spicy pork stir-fry!”
“Kimchi!”
“White rice!”
“Kyaa!”
Ara and Jeong So-yeon began listing food names as if they were playing a relay game.
When they mentioned white rice, I couldn’t help but wonder if by the time the doenjang, ganjang, and gochujang were ready, we could actually make a meal with rice I grew myself.
‘Just imagine putting kimchi on top of white rice… gulp.’
The thought alone made my mouth water.
Ah, I’m hungry.
“Shall we chat while having something to eat?”
“!!”
Everyone’s heads snapped around so fast that it made a whooshing sound.
For a moment, it felt like a scene from a horror movie, sending chills down my spine.
“I guess I was being insensitive. Haha.”
“No, no! It’s fine, let’s talk while we eat.”
Hanul, perhaps afraid I might change my mind, became desperate. Who would believe that this man could be called a predator, seeing him like this?
In the end, I took out some seafood dishes that I had made and brought separately.
There was spicy braised monkfish, simmered croaker heads, and other assorted seafood. Unfortunately, the crayfish were all gone.
“W-What is this?!”
“Kyu-seong! Are you dealing with seafood now too? Are you running an aquaculture farm?!”
I just smiled at their fuss and started serving the food. Ara, who was waiting quietly beside me, was watching the others with a mischievous expression.
“Hehe. It’s delicious, you’ll be surprised.”
She looked like a little devil tempting them. But I can guarantee it—the food was so good that you’d believe a devil had made it!
The seafood itself was incomparable to anything on Earth…
And it was cooked with my crops? There was no way it wouldn’t be delicious.
If it wasn’t good, it would only be because it had gone bad.
“Whew, whew.”
Hanul, no longer able to hold back, picked up a spoon with trembling hands. It was a slightly scary sight.
“You can go ahead and eat.”
“Th-Thank you for the food.”
“Thanks for the meal!”
“Ooh, this looks delicious.”
Hanul carefully scooped some of the broth from the stew and brought it to his lips.
Ah, he knows how to enjoy food.
That stew broth was a concentrated extract of my crops, giant croaker head, and a finely ground stock made from the shell of a giant crayfish.
This dish might even stand a chance against Jae-seong’s cooking. I was quite confident, even though I made it myself.
And it really was incredibly delicious!
Gulp.
His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.
And then, Hanul shed a tear.
“I swallowed it by mistake! Come back up, you wretched throat!”
Ah, it seemed to be a success.
Soon, the others tasted the food, their eyes widening in surprise.
“I expected it to be good, but this is…”
“It’s terrifying. I feel like I won’t be able to eat anything else after this. What should I do?”
Jeong So-yeon and Brother Young-seong stared down at the food with faces full of fear. Of course, they didn’t say they wouldn’t eat it.
Soon, the sound of utensils clinking filled the quiet meal. What was supposed to be a light snack turned into a full-fledged meal.
Ring, ring, ring.
“Who’s calling during a meal? Huh? Brother?”
Just as the bowls were nearly empty, Hanul muttered as he looked at his phone.
“It’s a call from Seok-jun.”
Everyone paused their eating and waited for a moment. It was a call from the guild master.
“…Huh!”
Hanul suddenly let out an exclamation.
What could have happened?
“I understand. Yes. Yes, yes. We’ll do that.”
After the call ended, Hanul looked at us with a serious expression.
I thought he would start talking while eating, but the atmosphere was so serious that we all waited for him to speak.
Gulp.
“I had a fishbone stuck in my teeth.”
“Hey! You scared me! So, what did the guild master say?”
At Brother Young-seong’s words, Hanul finally revealed what he heard on the call.
“Ryu Wang-jin from Skyscraper, Ryu Cheon, and even Junichi have arrived.”
“Stop joking. You just want to finish eating, don’t you?”
“Huh? No, I’m serious.”
Hanul waved his hands in protest, looking genuinely wronged. It was getting hard to tell if he was joking or serious.
“Is that true?”
“Yeah! They’ve come to the Awakening Headquarters. They’re asking if we can come over now too.”
What on earth…
What’s going on?
Cliche Novel 