The hidden Kyler stiffened.
Despite trying his best to hide his presence, Emily instantly figured out his location.
‘How did she detect my presence?’
When news came that Kyu-seong had entered the United States, he visited the treatment center once a day to check on the progress.
He soon realized that Kyu-seong was attempting to awaken his daughter, Emily.
‘An unexpected treatment method.’
In truth, he was skeptical.
Kyler, too, knew well that awakening was not an easy task.
He was simply grateful that Kyu-seong was making the effort for his daughter.
But the result was…
“Who are you, sir?”
Emily suddenly appeared before Kyler, who had been hiding.
She asked with innocent eyes.
“Ah, um…”
He had kept his identity hidden so far, and now he couldn’t bring himself to speak.
After regaining his composure, Kyler managed a faint smile and spoke.
“I’m a friend of your father.”
“A friend of my father? Are you a friend of my father?!”
An unexpected reunion with his daughter.
But Kyler couldn’t be honest.
His heart was breaking, but all he could do was nod.
“I was asked to watch over you.”
“Where is my father? What is he doing? I miss him!”
At Emily’s cries, Kyu-seong and his group rushed over.
Kyler, seeing them, smiled bitterly and patted Emily’s head.
“Your father is doing well. But you can’t see him right now.”
“Ah.”
“How are you feeling? Are you still in pain?”
“No.”
Though she shook her head, Emily couldn’t take her eyes off Kyler.
She had been told he was a friend of her father, but perhaps she had sensed he was related by blood.
Her eyes reacted to every gesture Kyler made.
“Really… really, I’m glad.”
“I’m completely better now.”
“Good. But you should definitely get checked.”
“I will. But promise me something first!”
“Hmm?”
Before long, Emily’s eyes were filled with tears.
“Promise me you’ll tell him to come pick me up!”
“……!”
“I’ll listen well. I won’t be sick anymore. I’ll shower and brush my teeth by myself, and I’ll eat on my own! I won’t beg him to play with me!”
Kyler’s heart felt like it was being torn apart at Emily’s trembling voice.
“I can change my clothes and sleep by myself! So please, tell him to come pick me up.”
“Alright.”
Kyler managed to calm himself and spoke.
“I’ll tell your father.”
He couldn’t stay any longer.
Just being exposed like this put Emily’s safety at risk.
‘I need to settle this.’
Though only an accurate examination could confirm it, Emily seemed to have been healed.
Kyler was simply thankful to Kyu-seong.
Now, the remaining task was to resolve the issues with the U.S. government and remaining grudges.
It wouldn’t be easy.
With luck, he could end up as a cripple, and in the worst-case scenario, he could lose his life.
But.
For Emily, he would sacrifice his life if necessary.
“See you again. Be good and listen well.”
“Yes! I’ll see you again!”
After their final farewell, Kyler faded away like a shadow.
By the time the group arrived, only Emily was left standing there.
“….”
Emily stood with her back to the group.
She wiped her tears with effort and greeted them with a bright smile as if nothing had happened.
“Wow! That was my father’s friend! He must have been watching over me secretly!”
“Oh! Really!”
Ara responded enthusiastically, her eyes sparkling.
At her pure reaction, Emily couldn’t help but smile sincerely.
***
After Emily’s awakening, she underwent a two-day examination.
It included a comprehensive check-up and an awakening test.
However, Nathan secretly carried out the awakening test, abusing his authority.
The ability that was clearly anything but ordinary.
Moreover, the sharpness to detect Kyler’s hidden presence.
Considering that Nathan had to conceal the fact that she was Kyler’s daughter, he didn’t want his niece to attract attention.
‘Now that she’s healed, other problems have arisen.’
While waiting for Emily, who was undergoing the awakening test, Nathan couldn’t relax his stern expression.
Kyler had moved all this time to heal Emily’s illness.
But now that Emily had been healed, other issues that had been lurking beneath the surface were starting to resurface.
“Is the result not good?”
“Oh, Mr. Kyu-seong. No, your guess was right. After awakening, her body’s balance has been restored. Emily will no longer be in pain.”
How did Kyu-seong figure it out?
Global experts had researched treatment methods, but none had ever thought of forced awakening.
Of course, someone might have thought of it.
But since there was no method, they likely never mentioned it.
You couldn’t take an already sick Emily to a dungeon or have her hunt monsters for forced awakening.
Also, there could have been side effects if she came into contact with mana. Emily’s unknown condition was unpredictable in how it would react to mana, so caution was necessary.
“Your expression looked unusually bad…”
“Ah, I made a mistake.”
As the head of the intelligence agency, it was a failure.
Lately, his inner thoughts had been leaking out more often.
And it happened most frequently when he was with Kyu-seong.
“Are you alright?”
“Are you okay?”
When the children tilted their heads and asked, Nathan smiled warmly and patted their heads.
“Yes, I’m fine…”
…but not really.
“Haa.”
Nathan’s sigh grew deeper.
He had barely healed Emily, and now he was worried about Kyler’s safety.
When would this father and daughter ever find happiness?
“Nathan.”
“Yes? Oh, I’m sorry. I’ve been lost in thought…”
“I’m not sure what’s bothering you, but if you’re okay, could you tell me? I may not be able to solve it, but I can at least look for a solution.”
“Hmm…”
Kyu-seong’s strength lies in crop items.
In fact, he had healed Emily with them.
Using an unprecedented, powerful item, ‘an item that forces a rank to increase.’
The currently known awakening rank of Lee Kyu-seong was Level 1. However, Nathan had noticed that this information was incorrect.
If someone like Kyu-seong could grow such crops, his rank must have already risen.
‘I’ve even seen him eat the strawberries directly.’
Hmm, perhaps.
If Kyu-seong were to bribe with crop items, maybe Kyler could avoid death and resolve the grudge.
But for that, he felt too guilty towards Kyu-seong.
He had already received so much help up until now; asking for more would be shameless.
“Stop!”
“Uh, huh?”
“You’re thinking too much! Lee Kyu-seong is a great Overlord who can grant any wish!”
What on earth was Ara talking about?
Nathan found it hard to understand but interpreted it as a suggestion to speak freely.
“Haa, I’ll explain the situation briefly.”
Thus began the explanation about Kyler’s current situation. As the story progressed, Kyu-seong and the children became more and more intrigued.
“This sounds like a spy or killer movie plot.”
After hearing the whole story, Kyu-seong remarked in admiration, and Nathan smiled bitterly.
“If it were a movie, I’d be relieved. The problem is, this is happening in real life.”
“Hmm, I think I need to talk to Kyler.”
‘…Could you possibly help?’
It was absurd to think that way for a moment.
Once again, Nathan had already received more than enough from Kyu-seong.
Compared to that, what Nathan and Kyler had done was nothing.
Of course, he would consider Kyu-seong a lifelong benefactor and repay him until his death, but that was for the future.
If he received more help here, even as the cold-blooded head of intelligence, he would feel ashamed.
“If this ends badly, I won’t forgive it!”
“Yes, that’s true.”
Nathan found himself agreeing without realizing it.
Thinking about it, Kyu-seong had invested an enormous amount of time and resources in this matter.
Though it wasn’t a big deal for Kyu-seong, at least in Nathan’s eyes, it seemed so.
“While healing Emily, she started feeling like a niece to me. No, now she’s just like my niece!”
“Ah…”
Nathan looked at Kyu-seong with a touched expression.
Kyu-seong, however, continued on his own, getting worked up.
“She’s also a friend of my children. If it’s something beyond my capacity, I’ll step aside, but for now, I have to try!”
“Kyu-seong!!!”
In the end, Nathan grabbed Kyu-seong and showed tears.
Surprised by Nathan’s sudden reaction, Kyu-seong quickly understood.
From what he had heard, Nathan’s last remaining blood relative was Emily.
For someone like her, who had been sick her whole life and was only now recovering, how would it feel to have no chance to rejoice before a string of misfortunes hit again?
“Director, the test is finished.”
At that moment, an employee came out of the examination room and spoke.
The employee was taken aback when he saw Nathan crying but soon casually handed over the report.
“Can I share this with the person next to you?”
“Just the fact that you’re saying this means the result isn’t ordinary. It’s fine.”
Nathan, now back to his usual cold intelligence director persona, received the report.
He then took a deep breath.
‘How did it turn out?’
Kyu-seong also suppressed his curiosity and peeked over.
Just detecting Kyler’s presence already showed significant talent.
Moreover, Emily’s ability was said to be that of a Sword Master, so he was eager to see the results.
“Can I know as well?”
“Of course. It’s your creation, Mr. Kyu-seong.”
Creation? Heh.
Kyu-seong awkwardly scratched his head and began to look over the report.
Unfortunately, the report was filled with technical terms and English, making it difficult to understand.
‘What’s with the readability…?’
As he struggled, Nathan, noticing his trouble, spoke.
“The youngest record wasn’t broken, but it’s just below it.”
“Eh?”
“A Chinese awakener, Liu Chen, was born as a Level 8 awakener. Though Emily’s awakening was slower, she set the second fastest record.”
“Does that mean…!”
Kyu-seong was left speechless.
Nathan’s words meant that
Emily had awakened as a Level 8 awakener.
“As you know, Mr. Kyu-seong, being a Level 8 awakener at birth is equivalent to being a Level 9 awakener. She’s Level 8, despite not having cleared any quests yet.”
Nathan was right.
Awakeners grew stronger by completing quests.
But Emily started at Level 8.
She was almost guaranteed to become a Level 9 awakener.
“Perhaps she could even aim higher, alongside Liu Chen.”
“Whoa!”
Above Level 9?!
Could such a Level even exist?
Kyu-seong was stunned and looked over at Emily, who was happily twirling a stick in her hands.
“Kyu-seong.”
“Yes, yes!”
Nathan gripped Kyu-seong’s shoulder firmly.
Startled by his intensity, Kyu-seong looked at him with wide eyes.
“Mr. Kyu-seong, you have created the future representative awakener of the United States. No, perhaps you have awakened the world’s greatest awakener!”
“Ah, no…”
‘That’s not what I was aiming for.’
Kyu-seong’s head began to spin.
Cliche Novel 