“Welcome, Mr. Kyu-seong!”
“Oh my! I’m so glad you’re safe, Mr. Kyu-seong.”
“You’ve caused quite the trouble again this time, haven’t you, Mr. Kyu-seong?”
The next morning.
As soon as I arrived at the Ara Hongryeon Guild, I was greeted by familiar faces.
“Oh, everyone is here?”
“They’re here to see you, Mr. Kyu-seong,” Han Seok-jun said with a smile.
Beside him were CEO Baek and Johann, the Guild Master of the Terror Guild.
These people, who are usually too busy to spare any time, had all gathered here, and I couldn’t help but feel a little guilty.
“Oh dear, I’m late.”
“Ah, Director!”
Director Jeon Young-joo and two team leaders, whom I had previously dined with, also came by.
“Wow, we have quite the luxury of guests today,” Johann said with a joking laugh.
But to me, it felt very real.
It was as if all the powerhouses of Korea were gathered in one place.
Thinking that I was face-to-face with people I had only seen on TV still didn’t feel real.
“Ahem! But Mr. Kyu-seong, Ara didn’t come with you today, did she?”
Baek Tae-seop looked around subtly, clearly wanting to see Ara.
Feeling a bit guilty, I awkwardly scratched my head.
“Actually, since I have an inquiry to go through today, I left Ara with my sister. Ara’s tired of these investigations by now.”
“An inquiry? What kind of inquiry?”
Director Jeon Young-joo asked, tilting his head in curiosity.
“You shouldn’t say that so casually, sir.”
“I thought I was being questioned about the incident in Austria?”
“Oh, we’ve already received all the necessary materials from that side. You don’t have to do anything. Today’s just a gathering to celebrate your safe return.”
“Really?”
So that’s what this is? What a relief. I thought I was about to face another week of nightmares.
“Hahaha! It seems you’ve had quite a hard time, Mr. Kyu-seong. Well, it was no ordinary situation after all.”
“Guild Master Johann’s assistance was crucial in receiving those materials from Austria.”
“Oh, no, it was nothing. I just made a phone call.”
So this is what connections are like. Knowing these amazing people sure made life easier.
“Alright, then let’s get into the investigation that’s not really an investigation.”
“An investigation that’s not an investigation?”
“Come on, we just want to hear firsthand what happened from you.”
“Oh, that? Well…”
It was a story I had repeated countless times during the week of questioning. Saying it one more time wouldn’t be too hard.
Of course, I planned to share additional details with Guild Master Han Seok-jun later, especially about explaining the monster byproducts.
Meanwhile, I couldn’t help but wonder about Ara, who was likely having her first one-on-one date with Seon-ah. Was she behaving well?
***
Seon-ah could have left Ara at her parents’ house, but she chose not to.
Instead, she decided to bring her along to school.
“Ara?”
“Isn’t that Ara?”
“Yeah, that’s right! It’s Lee Seon-ah, from the Dungeon Studies department, and the owner of the Ara Channel!”
Today, Ara was dressed up, wearing a stylish one-piece dress. She also had on a wide-brimmed lady’s hat. Naturally, Seon-ah had coordinated her outfit.
“Is this the school?”
“Yes. Give them a wave, Ara.”
Flap, flap.
When Ara waved her hand at Seon-ah’s words, people screamed in excitement.
“Kyaa! It’s really Ara!”
“Do you think we can get an autograph?”
“Just one picture, please!”
Her popularity was incredible. Ara had now become the nation’s beloved niece.
As a result, Seon-ah couldn’t even enter the classroom and had to spend a long time acting as Ara’s manager, managing the crowd.
“Alright! Please line up. One line only. Hey! No cutting in line!”
An impromptu fan meeting had started. Ara, with determined resolve, greeted each fan with utmost sincerity.
“Hello, it is!”
“Hi, Ara. How can you be so cute?”
“Would you like to pat me?”
“Oh my, can I?”
Despite interacting with strangers for the first time in a while, Ara didn’t seem awkward at all. Her incredible sociability was on full display.
After spending some time taking pictures and signing—well, doodling—Seon-ah quickly wrapped things up.
“Alright, I have to head to class now, so I’m sorry to those still in line, but we’ll meet again later!”
“Oh, what a shame.”
The students obediently complied. After all, they had to attend class too.
After dispersing the crowd, Seon-ah entered the classroom with Ara.
She had already received permission from the professor to bring Ara along.
[The Difference Between Monsters and Familiars, and Understanding Them]
When they entered the classroom, it was already packed. The fan meeting had caused them to arrive just in time.
Professor Hong Se-eun, who had already arrived and was preparing for the lecture, noticed Seon-ah and Ara entering the room.
“Seon-ah, you’re here.”
“Yes, Professor.”
Seon-ah, who always showed passion in her studies, was already well-loved by her major professors.
As a result, she often faced tiring tasks, but Seon-ah embraced them with enthusiasm.
She was a true dungeon otaku, the type who enjoyed even tough assignments or errands.
“Ah, is that the child?”
“Hello, it is.”
“How cute. How old is she?”
“3,501 years old, it is!”
“Wow, Ara is quite old, isn’t she?”
“Yes!”
Professor Hong Se-eun laughed warmly, accepting the conversation, and the students couldn’t help but smile.
“Alright, let’s start the class.”
As the lecture began, Ara stuck close to Seon-ah, carefully looking at the textbooks with her.
She didn’t understand what was going on, but she was trying her best to focus, which amused the nearby students.
“Does anyone have a question?” the professor asked.
Nobody raised their hand, but suddenly, a small hand shot up.
“Oh, Ara!” Seon-ah called out in surprise, but the professor was quicker.
“Yes, Ara, you can ask your question.”
“If a familiar has a baby, is the baby a familiar too?”
“Hmm, that’s a great question. Let’s start by understanding the breeding of familiars.”
The professor then gave an explanation, using the simplest words possible to match Ara’s level. This allowed the students to revisit familiar concepts from a fresh perspective.
“Hearing it without technical terms really changes the way I look at things.”
“Wow, I never thought it could mean that. So the difference between familiars and monsters could come from this.”
Professor Hong Se-eun also realized that trying to explain things in a simpler way allowed her to think from various perspectives, which felt refreshing.
“Ara, did you understand?” she asked after finishing the explanation. Ara scratched her head awkwardly.
“Hehehe, I don’t really get it.”
“Haha, that’s okay. Ara, you’re at the age where you should be playing and having fun.”
Ara’s cute response melted the expressions of the students around her.
With that, the class eventually ended, and people swarmed around Ara, who had now become a little star.
“Seon-ah, can you bring Ara with you to school more often?”
“Kyaa! Ara held my hand! It’s so soft!”
Ara smiled happily as she munched on snacks that were handed to her from all directions.
“My brother is busy today, so I’m just looking after her for a bit.”
“Your brother’s a member of the Ara Hongryeon Guild, right? Wow, that’s so amazing!”
“I’m so jealous. Your brother is in the Ara Hongryeon Guild, you get to see our nation’s niece Ara every day, and your YouTube channel is doing great too!”
“Ah, the videos from today at school will be uploaded. Does anyone need a mosaic?”
“Me, me! I’m not wearing any makeup today.”
And so, Ara continued to share in Seon-ah’s daily life. After finishing school, they had a quick fan meeting while eating lunch, and finally, the two were able to head to the rice mill.
“It was delicious.”
“The school lunch?”
“Yeah!”
Seon-ah burst into laughter as she saw Ara recalling the school lunch first among all the experiences of the day.
The two stopped by the nearest rice mill and asked the owner to mill the rice.
“Where is this rice harvested from?” asked the mill owner.
“It’s from a dungeon,” Seon-ah replied.
“A dungeon? Rice grows in dungeons too? How peculiar.”
The owner was fascinated, as he had never seen this variety of rice before. The golden sheen of the rice was enough to catch anyone’s attention. The mill owner was so intrigued that he asked if he could take a little portion of it in exchange for milling it for free.
“Hmm, I think I should ask about that.”
Seon-ah quickly sent a text message to Kyu-seong. She thought he might be too busy to respond, but luckily, he replied quickly.
-It’s fine. Go ahead and share some.
With permission granted, they decided to give about 10 kilograms of rice.
Rumble, rumble, rumble.
The machine started up, and the grains of rice began falling from the stalks. The loose grains were filtered to remove impurities.
“Wow,” Ara’s eyes sparkled as she watched.
The grains were then moved to a new machine.
Thud, thud, thud.
The giant machine roared to life, and soon, gleaming white rice began pouring out.
“Ooooh! It’s rice!” Ara exclaimed in awe.
“Haha! Yes, it’s rice,” the mill owner responded, enjoying Ara’s excitement.
The mill owner then began packaging the rice into bags.
“Wow, that’s quite a lot. You sure you can take it all back?”
Cliche Novel 