“This is the village of fairies!”
“Waaah!”
The next day.
After resting from the fatigue of the previous day, we set out to explore the dungeon.
Since we briefly glanced at the fields, we first headed to the nearest World Tree.
Soon, we came across a quaint fairy village after passing through a dense forest where the roots of the World Tree towered like trees.
-(°0°).!!
-(”)?
Thanks to the unannounced guests I brought along, the fairies tilted their heads in confusion and stared at us.
“Is Frey still asleep?”
When I checked the minimap earlier, it clearly indicated that she was here.
The fairies nodded and chatted, confirming she was likely still asleep.
Soon, a few fairies hurried off and returned, dragging a half-asleep Frey along with them.
“Let go! Is this mutiny?”
Sleepy Frey mumbled nonsense.
Kyler and Emily, who had been eagerly exploring the village with wide-eyed excitement, became even more thrilled at the sight of the winged fairies.
“A fairy!”
“Who are you!”
What does ‘who are you’ even mean now?
It probably meant ‘who is this?’
“Huh? The Grand Lord? Lord? Oh, everyone’s here.”
Frey finally noticed us, rubbed her eyes, and looked around.
Ara then spoke to Frey.
“Frey! We have new family members!”
“New family members? Are you talking about these humans?”
“Hello! I’m Emily. Nice to meet you.”
Emily greeted with a bright smile.
Frey looked Emily up and down and stroked her chin.
“Hmm. I’m not sure if you’re fit to be with us! What can you offer to the Grand Lord? For reference, we fairies offer honey to the Grand Lord.”
“Honey?!”
Emily’s eyes sparkled at the mention of honey.
Frey, seeing her interest, raised her nose even higher.
“Hmph! Since you seem to want it so badly, I suppose we have no choice! Alright, kids. Let’s serve our guests some honey.”
✩(-^:°)-
-(。 >w•)/
The excited children rushed to bring honey.
We watched the whole process with nothing but fondness.
As always, just watching the pure-hearted fairies was enough to heal the soul.
Thump!
“This is our special Alfheim honey! It’s crafted using our unique method! Don’t be surprised when you taste it!”
With Frey’s boastful words, we each dipped a finger into the honey and tasted it.
It was the honey the fairies often used in various recipes. It had been a while since I last ate it straight like this.
“It’s always delicious. Thank you, kids, for always making such great honey.”
“Oh, it’s nothing!”
Soon, the fairies gathered around and started eating honey together.
Since it felt a bit lacking to just eat honey, I took out some Layla fruit, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and strawberries.
“Shall we try dipping them?”
“Oooh! Great idea!”
“This makes me so happy!”
The children were the most excited.
Everyone picked their preferred fruits or vegetables and spread honey over them before eating.
The sweetness blended harmoniously, creating a delightful synergy.
“Wow.”
It was incredible.
I chose sweet potato.
First, the outer layer was coated in honey.
Then, the soft flesh of the roasted sweet potato touched my tongue and teeth, releasing its rich aroma.
The combination of sweet potato and honey blended perfectly, creating a dense texture with an exquisite flavor.
It was already sweet, but the honey enhanced the sweetness to an entirely new level.
The best part was that despite being so sweet, it wasn’t overwhelming.
“Mmm.”
I could feel what happiness truly was.
The overwhelming sweetness filled my mouth, making it hard to focus.
I gave the fairies small chopped pieces of produce coated with honey.
The fairies held the tiny pieces tightly with both hands and ate them.
Seon-ah, unable to resist their adorable behavior, immediately started taking pictures.
Emily quietly leaned her head over and asked, “Sister! Could you take a picture of me too?”
“Of course! Come over here.”
Being naturally friendly, Emily had already grown close to Seon-ah.
But why is Seon-ah called Sister, and I’m just Uncle?
After the enjoyable snack time, we toured the Meluca flower fields and headed to the mine.
Clunk, clatter.
Gnolls and goblins were hard at work.
At that moment, a cart loaded with something came out of the mine.
-Kirik!
-Keng?
The kids, noticing us, stopped working and ran toward us.
Their big, sparkling eyes were so cute.
“Take it easy.”
-Kirik!
-Kekang!
From a human perspective, it seemed like work, but to them, it was more like play.
Yet, it was still difficult for me to get used to it.
I guess I was still, after all, human.
“What kind of resources does this mine produce?”
“Most of the construction materials come from here—mainly stone supplies. And we also get a few minerals and gemstones.”
Saying that, I led everyone toward the warehouse.
The warehouse was filled with a large pile of minerals.
Despite being leftovers from what the goblins used, it was still quite a large amount.
“I gave them rough names—this one’s mithril, that’s adamantium, and that’s Arabel.”
At the same time, I explained the properties of each mineral.
Kyler listened with a serious expression.
“We mostly supply these to guilds. I’ve received reports that prototype equipment is about to be released.”
“That’s impressive. If such effects are achieved without dungeon-sourced items but instead through artificial crafting…”
Kyler then subtly glanced at Ara and Cheong.
“Do you have any intention of equipping the familiars as well?”
“Excuse me? No, I don’t think so. There’s no real need for them.”
After all, I don’t go on dungeon expeditions.
Dangerous tasks… Well, they’re rare in the first place, and I don’t actively seek them out, so I don’t see a reason to equip the kids with gear.
‘Except for the tiger pajamas Ara wears.’
That one wasn’t just functional as an item—it was incredibly adorable when Ara wore it.
Of course, if other awakened beings around the world knew I was using a legendary item purely for decoration, they’d probably curse at me, but that’s not my concern.
“Hmm, I see.”
“If you’re interested, just let me know. I can ask them to make one for you, or you could even make it yourself here.”
“Is it possible to make one myself?”
“Yes. If Mammon and Ras work together, they can outdo most blacksmiths.”
Kyler pondered for a moment before nodding.
“Just in case, may I request one for myself as well? If it’s made by your familiars, that would be ideal.”
“Sure. We’ll be heading to the village soon, so I’ll discuss it when I meet them.”
Afterward, we toured the inside of the mine.
Inside, Gnolls and Kkumuris were bustling around.
“Thanks for your hard work.”
Oh, by the way, the Breeder Clan that moved in is now in charge of food distribution.
Thanks to that, it’s much more convenient, as I no longer have to come by and personally provide the food.
‘They even cook meals for them when they visit.’
Before, it was too bothersome to cook for them myself, so I would just hand over large quantities of produce. Now, they even prepare meals.
Because of that, the goblins and Gnolls were so overwhelmed by the improved welfare that they shed tears of gratitude and praised me.
Although it was more thanks to the Breeder Clan kids than me.
Of course, it was a win-win situation if you think about it.
The Breeder Clan kids were happy to be able to cook dishes they liked, and the kids here were happy to enjoy delicious meals.
With the mine tour concluded, we headed toward the Gnoll village.
“Hey, guys!”
-Grand Lord, you’ve arrived!
I had already given Mammon and Ras a heads-up.
Frey, well, she was pure-hearted, so it didn’t really matter, but I thought it was better to inform these two in advance.
-I shall guide the way.
-I will explain the village!
Since she had seen them before, Emily greeted the kids joyfully, and they were equally delighted.
Mammon, watching her reaction, sniffled sentimentally for no reason.
-I’m just glad you’re better!
“What’s wrong, Mammon? Are you crying?”
-Wh-what? I’m not crying!
Frey, half-squinting, stared at Mammon, who avoided her gaze while still sniffing.
Emily, finding him adorable, hugged Mammon tightly once more.
“Thank you for worrying about me, Mammon!”
-I-I wasn’t worried! I firmly believed that our Grand Lord would surely heal you!
However, before long, tears welled up in his big, sparkling eyes, making those who saw him smile.
-Khmm, Emily, you’ve grown much stronger since we last met?
“Can you tell? I’ve gotten super strong. Now I can even dance to the K-pop routines I always imagined!”
The first thing she wanted to do as an 8th-level awakened being was dancing…
Touring the village, I could feel how brightly and purely Emily had grown.
-Kirik!
-Ke-aeng!
The children we met in the village waved their hands in greeting.
Each time, Ara and Emily waved back, responding cheerfully.
“This village is quite large.”
“There are quite a few residents. But most of them built their houses by themselves, so it wasn’t much work for me.”
Oh, right, I remembered the request about making equipment earlier and brought it up to Mammon and Ras.
-Leave it to us!
-Is this where my power is needed? Hmm, I shall help.
Soon, they measured Kyler’s and Emily’s sizes.
Emily hadn’t expected this, but since they were making one, we decided to create a matching set with her father’s.
‘Even if she’s just a Sword Master in name, she should have proper equipment.’
Since they were making it anyway, I thought I’d ask them to make both a practice sword and a real sword for Emily.
-With Kkumuris’ help, we can easily craft swords!
“Oh! Then I’ll leave it to you.”
-This stirs up a new wave of creative inspiration! I had been losing my passion, having only made artistic pieces recently, but now it’s burning brightly again! Ooooh!
“Ooooh!” Ara, getting excited by Mammon’s enthusiasm, joined in, shouting as well.
Leaving the equipment-making to the children, we slowly made our way back to the village.
“It’s quite vast. Even that tree over there is incredibly tall…”
“Right? There are still two more places to introduce.”
“…Wait, there’s still more?”
“And that’s even after I excluded one of them.”
I decided it would be better to suggest exploring Pururuk Forest later when they had more time.
Besides, since the children there were very timid, I thought it might be too soon to introduce them to Kyler and his daughter.
With that, we took the surprised Kyler and headed toward the sea.
“A portal?”
Kyler seemed surprised at the sight of the portal.
Upon stepping through, he froze upon seeing the beach before him.
“Ah, ah…”
“Wow! The sea! Dad, it’s the sea!”
Emily, excited, ran barefoot along the sandy beach.
Ara and Cheong, not wanting to be outdone, followed suit, running after her.
“The sea…?”
“You didn’t expect to see the sea in a dungeon, did you? Honestly, neither did I. It’s fascinating when you realize the water is as salty as real seawater, isn’t it?”
“Ah, y-yes.”
Kyler seemed more confused than I had anticipated.
I looked at him, wondering if something was wrong, and soon he gathered his thoughts and gave a faint smile.
“Actually, Emily’s mother, my late wife, and I shared many memories by the seaside.”
“Ah…”
“I got lost in my memories for a moment. Please excuse me.”
“No, no, it’s nothing. It wasn’t a bother at all.”
Emily’s mother.
In other words, Kyler’s wife had passed away and become a star in the sky.
Since I had heard about it from Nathan beforehand, I decided to leave Kyler alone in his contemplative state.
“I can’t resist. I’m going to do some fishing.”
“Dad, really? You’re going fishing when we have guests?”
“They’re not just guests anymore. They’re like family now.”
On one side of the beach, a small building had been built for my father.
It had fishing gear, simple food supplies, a bed for resting, and even a change of clothes.
Soon, while my father fished on one side, we spent time playing on the beach.
“Grandpa! Can I try it too?”
“Of course! Go ahead.”
I was really glad Emily was so cheerful.
My parents had already come to see Emily as a granddaughter, and the sight was truly heartwarming.
‘I guess we’ll have to postpone visiting the Sky Island until tomorrow.’
When we go, I’ll take care of the Relic of Gluttony in one go.
We spent the rest of the day enjoying the seaside and even held a campfire at night, counting the stars in the sky.
Thinking of Emily’s mother, who was likely among those stars.
***
Meanwhile, news from the European Union.
They were still struggling with 9th-level monsters, but they were beginning to sense that something was off.
Monsters typically had certain behavioral patterns.
Even the strongest monsters could be defeated with the right strategy, and sometimes it was possible to avoid them altogether.
Though they had succeeded in thoroughly exploring every corner of the dungeon, the alliance still hadn’t located the boss.
It was as if it had vanished.
The only thing they found was a door they assumed to be related to the initial boss they had encountered, but that was it.
“Huh?”
“What’s wrong?”
“There seems to be a space behind this wall.”
“What?”
At last, they discovered the lair of the Gnolls.
Still, it took more time because they proceeded with extreme caution, worried that opening the wall recklessly might result in the sudden appearance of a boss monster that could wipe them out.
About a month later, the European Union finally confirmed the space behind the wall.
Once again, they found nothing but traces of emptiness.
Nevertheless, they rejoiced, claiming it was the discovery of a new civilization.
“This proves that indigenous people once lived in this dungeon!”
“Indigenous people in a 9th-level dungeon! We must find more evidence immediately!”
…They didn’t realize.
What they had discovered were merely traces resembling those of Gnolls found in a 1st-level dungeon.
Cliche Novel 