After finishing his conversation with Kyu-seong, Kyler met Nathan before leaving Korea and said,
“I’ve decided to show my daughter to Mr. Kyu-seong.”
“What? Are you out of your mind?”
Nathan exclaimed in shock. Thankfully, they were in a private hotel room, so his voice wouldn’t leak out.
“What if you get caught by those other guys?”
“I’ll handle them. My daughter’s treatment comes first.”
“You…!”
Nathan furrowed his brow, let his words trail off, and let out a heavy sigh.
“Fine. If you’ve already made up your mind, there’s no stopping you. But can Kyu-seong even treat her?”
“I’ll find out.”
“You’ve exposed your daughter to something uncertain? Rushing into this out of desperation, huh? Even the great Kyler Lucas can make mistakes.”
“Do I seem desperate and careless to you?” Kyler said in a calm, low tone.
Nathan tilted his head in confusion and asked, “Did you find out something? The Korean government has guarded information about Kyu-seong so tightly that even our intelligence agency couldn’t crack it.”
“Instinct.”
“…What?”
“Instinct. Gut feeling.”
Nathan froze at Kyler’s audacious answer, then grabbed him by the collar.
“Hey, you lunatic! You’re gambling your daughter’s life on a gut feeling? I knew you were insane, but this takes the cake!”
“Nathan, after all these years, do you still not trust my instincts?”
“I trust your instincts, sure! But that’s when you’re the only one at risk. This time, your daughter’s involved!”
“Calm down, Nathan.”
And then Nathan blurted something shocking.
“Emily isn’t just your daughter; she’s my niece! You’re gambling with my niece’s life? How can you expect me to stay calm?”
“……”
“I never blamed you when my sister died. But if anything happens to my niece, then…”
Nathan’s trembling hands released Kyler’s collar. Yet Kyler remained composed and said,
“Are you aware that Mr. Kyu-seong has treated multiple cases previously deemed incurable?”
“Of course I know. Even now, his antidote is being sent to the remaining addicts worldwide. It’s distributed through the guild, isn’t it?”
Kyu-seong was still actively producing antidotes. Although on a smaller scale than before, these antidotes, made available through Ara Hongryeon, were helping awakened individuals suffering from addiction worldwide. Recently, the antidote had been enhanced via Mammon’s methods, allowing full recovery after just one or two doses.
Thanks to this, most addicts had been cured.
“But Emily’s illness isn’t something that simple.”
“Even Ryu Cheon, the youngest level 8 awakener from the Chinese Skyscraper Guild, showed improvement in his condition.”
“That’s…”
“Regardless, Mr. Kyu-seong has proven he can solve cases that modern medicine can’t. If there’s even a glimmer of hope, I have to take Emily to him. Time is running out.”
Kyler’s words left Nathan silent.
Though revealing their identities posed a risk, Kyler wasn’t entirely wrong.
“Nathan, when Mr. Kyu-seong comes to the U.S., I want you to assist him well.”
“Fine. Emily is my niece, after all. I can make sure things work out without drawing attention. If anyone asks, I’ll just say she’s here for treatment.”
“Thank you, Nathan.”
As if the conversation had ended, Kyler stood up. Nathan, wearing a complicated expression, saw him off.
“Back to the dungeon?”
“Like you said, there’s no guarantee Mr. Kyu-seong can treat her, so I have to continue what I’ve been doing.”
“Take care, and let me know when Kyu-seong arrives in the U.S.”
After Kyler left, Nathan pulled out a pocket watch from his coat. It was a gift from his now-deceased sister. Inside was an old photograph.
The picture showed a young Nathan, Kyler, and Catherine—Nathan’s sister and Kyler’s lover.
Flipping to the next photo revealed another image.
It was of a young girl who looked just like Catherine as a child.
His niece, Emily.
“I will save you, no matter what.”
Nathan’s quiet vow resonated softly in the air.
After leaving, he stopped by the guild to take care of various minor tasks before heading home.
***
This time, Cheong, who had grown a bit more accustomed to our absence, greeted us without crying.
“Sis is here! Dad is here!”
Though he wasn’t crying, his eyes were brimming with tears as he ran toward us. Ara lifted him up high with a cheerful grin.
“I’m the one who’s back!”
“Wowwww!”
After twirling him around playfully, Ara turned to me with a grin and demanded, “Time for snacks!”
“Alright, alright.”
I emptied out the snacks I’d brought through Bokkeum, drawing the attention of all the children nearby.
Even though I thought I’d been treating them to snacks quite often, a slight pang of guilt tugged at me as I saw their eager faces.
Leaving the children and the snacks under Seon-ah’s care, I turned my attention to the seeds of plants I had received this time.
“Ohhh.”
Honestly, even looking at their scientific names didn’t help much. While there were translations into Korean, they didn’t make things any clearer.
“Popo tree? Oh, a cousin of papaya? Nice.”
At least I could guess something like that, but the others were completely unfamiliar.
The seeds were provided in abundance—thousands of seeds per type, it seemed. Planting them all would be impossible, so I figured I’d start by doing some calculations.
“Since we have some spare hands, how about planting each type across 1,000 pyeong (approximately 3,300 square meters)?”
With ten types of seeds, that made a total of 10,000 pyeong.
Although 10,000 pyeong wasn’t a massive area for farming, I decided to expand gradually.
To designate specific plots for these seeds, I sought input from the slimes who happened to be visiting.
One of the newly born slimes promptly started guiding me to a location.
Squelch!
“Oh, here?”
The spot the slime brought me to was entirely new land.
While the existing fields were located north of the slime village, this place was far to the south.
There was more than enough land to work with.
“Let’s roughly mark out the boundaries.”
After making so many fields, I had gotten pretty good at estimating land sizes.
As I was outlining ten fields of 1,000 pyeong each, Seon-ah and the children came to visit, each carrying one or two bags of snacks.
Their appearance was utterly adorable.
“Making another field? Didn’t you just make an apple orchard earlier today?”
“There are new seeds to plant this time.”
“What seeds? I want peaches!”
“Ha ha ha, peaches will have to wait for next time.”
I didn’t even know what most of these seeds would yield.
Five of them were dungeon plants, said to be edible, but their exact nature remained a mystery.
Thanks to meeting Kyler earlier than expected, I had some extra time today.
While the kids watched and snacked, I grabbed a hoe and began tilling the soil.
“Let’s cheer for Kyu-seong Kyu-seong! Fighting!”
“Wow, amazing big bro Kyu-seong!”
The children’s cheers, muffled by their snack-filled mouths, gave me an extra boost of energy.
I worked harder, encouraged by their support.
“Hey, oppa!”
“Yeah?”
Seon-ah called out to me as I was in the middle of tilling.
Curious, I paused to listen to her unexpected news.
“Winter is coming soon!”
“Winter? Oh! Winter!”
It had already come to that time!
The cycle of seasons in the Dungeon of Gluttony was short.
Unlike Earth, where winter came once a year, here it arrived roughly once every quarter.
Looking at the timeline now, it seemed I should have been preparing for winter instead of creating a new field.
“Thanks for letting me know. This could’ve been a big problem.”
“Why? What’s the big deal? Is winter going to be rough?”
Come to think of it, had Seon-ah never experienced winter here?
Winters here weren’t harsh; it was just a light dusting of snow—not the bone-chilling cold of a Korean winter.
“We need to prepare the leaf house.”
“Leaf house?”
“Yes. But since it’s still far from the season when leaves fall, I’ll just set up a greenhouse instead.”
Thankfully, I’d already prepared greenhouses.
After the last winter experience, I made sure to stock up on supplies in advance.
“I’ll plant everything once winter is over.”
“So, what are you going to plant? Aren’t you going to tell me?”
“It’s written on the box. I don’t know much either—it’s a request.”
At that, Seon-ah went to check the box.
The children, full of curiosity, gathered around her to take a look, chattering amongst themselves.
Ara, Cheong, Gomgom, Soo, and even the Kkumuris all joined in.
Their round little backs were so adorable, they looked like a group of plush toys.
“I don’t understand a single thing.”
“Exactly my point.”
As much as there were plenty of seeds, I couldn’t risk testing the requested varieties during winter.
Besides, winters here, as far as I knew, were extremely short—one or two weeks, tops.
I couldn’t quite recall, but it wasn’t long.
“Oh, by the way, I might be going to the U.S. soon.”
“The U.S.? Why all of a sudden?”
Seon-ah exclaimed in surprise, and I shrugged.
“Someone asked for a favor.”
“Why do you take on so many favors? Are you a pushover?”
“It always comes back to me in some way. It’s all about giving and living generously.”
It wasn’t as if I was helping for free.
If I could help Kyler’s daughter, securing the Seven Deadly Sins as my familiars would become significantly easier.
“Hmm…”
“I’ll take Cheong with me to the U.S. And before we go, let’s spend some time with Mom and Dad.”
“Alright. I’ll bring them over.”
To be honest, this sudden U.S. trip caught me off guard too.
I wasn’t particularly worried, but what weighed on my mind was Cheong.
He hadn’t even been on an outing yet, and now he’d experience international travel—it might be overwhelming.
Before that, I should take him to visit my parents and let him greet them.
‘Might as well take Mammon and Ras with me too.’
Since we’d be flying on a private jet, there was no need to worry about prying eyes.
Kyler had assured me that treating his daughter would be done discreetly, so there was little chance of drawing attention.
Ara and Cheong were reliable enough, but with Mammon and Ras along, there’d truly be nothing to worry about.
‘I’ll take them with me!’
That meant I’d need to get familiar certification for my familiars.
If I entrusted the process to Director Jeon Young-joo, it would likely be handled quickly and without exposing my identity.
***
“Thank you for everything.”
Roughly a year had passed.
Jae-seong, who had become an incredibly skilled individual during this time, bowed deeply to Junichi as a sign of gratitude.
Junichi, feeling a pang of sadness at Jae-seong’s departure, sighed and nodded.
“Please, rise. If anything, I should be the one thanking you. You’ve brought much joy to my palate.”
“……”
“I would’ve liked you not to take Chef Orie along with you as well, but I can’t stop her if she decides to go.”
“It’s been an honor. Thank you.”
“In return, please make sure to invite me to the wedding.”
“Oh, I… I’m not sure if we’ll…”
Jae-seong’s face turned red as he stammered, while Orie, standing beside him, covered her mouth to hide her laughter.
Over the past year, the two had grown close and eventually became a couple.
Now, with Jae-seong deciding to open a restaurant in Korea, Orie had agreed to join him.
“On one condition.”
“A condition?”
“When you open the restaurant, I must be your first customer. No exceptions!”
“Understood. I will make sure to have you as my very first guest.”
“Ah, such a shame. Have you told Mr. Kyu-seong yet?”
“No, I haven’t. I plan to surprise him.”
“He’s going to be quite shocked. Very well.”
Junichi stood up, a smile on his face, and then turned to his assistant.
“Prepare the plane. I’ll be going to Korea with them.”
“Mr. Junichi, your remaining schedule for today…”
“Apologies, but push it to a later date. With Jae-seong and Chef Orie leaving, I can’t just stay here.”
“You don’t just want an excuse to visit Mr. Kyu-seong’s dungeon, do you?”
“Ahem!”
Caught off guard by the remark, Junichi awkwardly looked away.
Everyone chuckled at his reaction as they began preparing for departure.
“I’m looking forward to seeing Mr. Kyu-seong’s surprised face.”
“Me too.”
“And even more so, going there with Chef Orie.”
“Aha… ha ha.”
Jae-seong laughed awkwardly, but the anticipation was clear.
Finally, he was returning to Korea.
Cliche Novel 