“You still haven’t found any clues?”
Eli, a Level 9 Awakener, let out a sigh.
Recently, they had inquired worldwide about any clues or whereabouts of the Hero and the Demon King, but nothing had come up.
At this point, he began to doubt whether the assumption that they were Awakeners was even correct.
‘I was sure they were Awakeners…’
Eli’s opinion, which was decided in the Level 9 meeting, spread worldwide.
Most countries had naturally cooperated, so unless someone was deliberately hiding them, it was strange that nothing had surfaced.
As he sighed and pondered whether his Awakening ability might reveal some new information, he received a message.
– The Scarecrow has visited the Skyscraper.
A person of interest—Lee Kyu-seong, codename: Scarecrow.
He was an Awakener who had been gradually getting acquainted with increasingly influential figures.
Amusingly, he was only Level 1.
However, Eli had no intention of underestimating his abilities.
Even Eli himself had been astonished when he first heard about him.
In fact, Eli had gone so far as to track down and personally taste one of Kyu-seong’s crops—a cherry tomato.
The taste was so impressive that even Eli, who had experienced all kinds of gourmet delicacies, had been left in awe.
– A new crop has been discovered.
“A new crop?”
– It seems to be tea.
“Tea?”
That was unexpected.
Many Awakeners, especially those who valued gourmet experiences, enjoyed beverages like tea, coffee, and alcohol.
‘Lee Kyu-seong’s influence is going to grow even further.’
Even Eli himself was curious about the black tea brewed from Kyu-seong’s tea leaves.
However, no matter how much influence Lee Kyu-seong wielded through food, that was all he could do.
He had no direct combat power, so there wasn’t much he could actually achieve.
‘But it doesn’t hurt to be cautious.’
Eli had, in fact, subtly tried to prevent Kyu-seong from making contact with Isthart.
The masked men who had appeared when Isthart’s guild members arrived at Kyu-seong’s place had been hired by Eli.
Eli had been surprised when he heard that they had been neutralized without achieving anything.
After discovering that Hassan Al Din Sinan was by Kyu-seong’s side, Eli assumed he was the one who had taken care of the situation.
“Is there any way to get hold of those tea leaves?”
– We can try, but since the opponent is the Skyscraper…
“Don’t push yourselves too hard.”
– Understood.
After ending the call, Eli once again started gathering information.
He had to make sure he hadn’t missed anything.
The Hero and the Demon King—
Beings believed to be on par with the Seven Deadly Sins.
He needed to identify them as quickly as possible.
Bzzz
“Hm? What’s happening this time?”
– Sir Eli! Hassan is suddenly acting erratically!
“Erratically?”
– He’s demolishing the entire center of his city!!
“What?”
What was this nonsense?
***
For an entire day, I had conducted countless experiments using my tea leaves.
No matter how powerful Cheong’s ability was, attempting to brew tea from a ten-thousand-year-old leaf was simply absurd.
In reality, the limit had been around 3,000 years.
Even that was mind-boggling, but Yu Bi-hong had bowed to me, pleading to ensure a steady supply of thousand-year tea leaves.
It wasn’t for sale—she and her people simply wanted to drink it themselves.
‘It’s not that difficult, anyway.’
I planned to continue supplying the Skyscraper regularly, including thousand-year, two-thousand-year, and three-thousand-year fermented tea.
Now that the tea discussion was over…
Seon-ah had surprisingly adapted within a day.
Thanks to the Skyscraper’s hospitality, she had received a translation item, which she hadn’t had the previous day.
I only saw her in the evening when it was time for dinner—she looked exhausted but her eyes sparkled with excitement.
“How’s it going?”
“Oh, it’s fun. I love it. My curiosity is overflowing beyond control.”
“That’s good to hear.”
However, realizing that she wouldn’t be able to see our cute little ones for a while made her feel sad.
For a while, she clung to Ara and Cheong, lamenting about it.
Ara and Cheong eventually turned to me with troubled expressions, silently pleading for help.
But I couldn’t stop her.
Forgive me for being weak.
After spending three days at the Skyscraper, observing Seon-ah’s work and handling tea-related matters, we finally returned to Korea.
And as soon as we arrived back in Korea, another guest was waiting for us.
“Haha, you’re quite busy, aren’t you?”
“You’re here, Elder.”
Hassan had returned to measure the size of the World Tree.
“The foundation work has already begun.”
“Foundation work?”
“We’re clearing out the area where the World Tree will be planted.”
“…You’re very proactive, aren’t you?”
How eager must he have been to plant the World Tree if he had already started construction?
Especially since the site had been filled with high-rise buildings.
It was beyond my comprehension, but it was actually happening.
When we entered the dungeon together, we saw the bustling restaurant as expected.
Since we had arrived in Korea in the evening, it was the busiest time of day.
Fortunately, we had prepared a separate underground passage for such situations, allowing us to go straight down.
As we descended, I saw rabbits scurrying about.
– Beep!
The breeding tribe children, excited to see me again after three days, greeted me.
Ara and Cheong also exchanged warm greetings with the rabbits.
“Have you all been well?”
– Beep-beep!
Since it was the busiest time of day, I decided to greet Jae-seong and the restaurant staff later and headed inside.
“Haha, it’s still as magnificent as ever.”
Hassan marveled at the dungeon’s scenery.
Then, suddenly, he started collecting insects.
Weren’t you here to check on the World Tree, Elder?
We postponed greeting the family and headed straight to the World Tree.
Measuring the size of the World Tree was expected to be a difficult task, but surprisingly, it didn’t take very long.
“Hm, I’ve got a rough estimate.”
“Oh.”
Hassan, who had disappeared at an incredible speed, quickly made his assessment and began calculating the diameter and height.
Then, in no time, he presented the final measurements of the World Tree.
“Just to be sure, I measured it with some extra margin. This should be enough.”
“You’re really fast at calculating dimensions.”
“I’ve done this kind of work many times before.”
…Why had he done this so many times?
A slightly ominous thought crossed my mind, but I pushed it aside.
Having only measured the size of the World Tree, Hassan disappeared just as quickly as he had arrived.
He had truly come like the wind and left like the wind.
“You came all this way just to leave immediately?”
I muttered, but Hassan was already gone.
Returning to the village, I ran into my parents.
“Did you take Seon-ah there safely?”
“Yes, she seems to be adjusting well.”
“I wonder if the food there will suit her taste.”
“It’s not just any ordinary guild, so I’m sure they’ll take good care of her. I’ll visit her from time to time as well. Mom and Dad, you should come with me someday.”
“Alright, let’s do that.”
Now that all the urgent matters were settled, I finally had some time to relax.
I went to pick up Jae-seong when he finished his shift.
The condition that neither Ara nor I could enter the Dungeon of Gluttony without each other was quite inconvenient.
Fortunately, Jae-seong didn’t seem to mind as long as he could get to the restaurant.
– Overlord! You have returned!
“Oh, Mammon, have you been doing well in my absence?”
– I have been pouring my soul into my art!
Since receiving recognition once, Mammon had been actively working on his artistic creations.
Unlike Ras and the trolls, who loved nothing more than digging into the ground, the goblins surprisingly had a delicate side.
Thanks to this, mining was treated as play, while processing the extracted materials was the goblins’ main job.
‘Now that I think about it, I haven’t checked in on Gnoll Village in a while.’
I decided to visit Gnoll Village.
When I mentioned going there, Ara, who had been playing enthusiastically, immediately tagged along.
– The village has changed a lot.
“It has?”
– Yes! Until recently, we kept all our handmade artworks inside our homes, but someone suggested using them to decorate the village instead.
Ohh, really?
I rode on the back of a large dog and headed to Gnoll Village.
On the way, I made a stop at the fairy village and the mine.
Naturally, Frey and Ras joined the group.
– The village has completely transformed. I quite like it.
Ras had just left the mine, yet he showed no signs of exhaustion.
Even after hauling a massive minecart, he looked completely fine.
And finally—
Upon arriving at the village, I was left in awe.
“Wow! It really has changed a lot.”
“It has become beautiful!”
Gnoll Village had been a planned community.
Originally designed with structured planning, it had a rather rigid atmosphere.
But now, it was completely different.
Sculptures and decorations were placed all around.
Various charming ornaments adorned the streets, houses, and even roadside trees.
It felt like a village full of artists.
Thanks to the neatly arranged layout, it was both clean and brimming with a cozy charm.
“Whose idea was this? It’s amazing!”
– It was my idea! Well, not entirely, but I contributed!
Frey flapped her wings as she proudly exclaimed.
Mammon, however, looked at her in disbelief.
– When did you ever contribute? You shameless little fly.
– That one! I said it would look nice there! And that one too!
Mammon shook his head at Frey’s blatant boasting.
Ignoring them, Ras answered my question properly.
– My subordinates were the first to start placing objects on the streets.
“Oh, that’s unexpected.”
– We weren’t originally planning to decorate the village. We just had too many of these items, so we started leaving them outside.
“…Huh?”
Well, as long as the end result was good, who cared about the process?
Either way, we spent some time strolling through Gnoll Village, catching up on everything that had happened.
I had been away so often lately that I hadn’t been able to check in on everyone properly.
Seeing that they were all doing well filled me with gratitude—and a little guilt.
“Are you all eating well?”
– The Breeding Tribe’s cooks visit at every mealtime to prepare food for us. There are also some who stay here permanently, so if we ever get hungry, we can just ask them to cook.
“Hm, sounds like everything’s running smoothly. Let me know if anything is inconvenient.”
Oh, speaking of which, I should visit the Breeding Tribe’s village too.
But it seemed that most of the Breeding Tribe children weren’t actually in the village.
Instead, they were stationed in the Slime Village, Gnoll Village, or the upper-floor restaurant.
Since they enjoyed cooking more than anything, they naturally stayed in places where people would eat their food.
Still, I should check out their village.
I wanted to see how well they had settled in.
As I arrived at the village, a breathtaking scene unfolded before me.
Small grassy hills dotted the landscape, with members of the Breeding Tribe making homes within them.
It looked just like the Hobbit Village from ‘The Lord of the Rings’.
As I admired the peaceful scenery, someone suddenly emerged from one of the burrows.
“Huh? Ashu, you were here?”
– Hello. You came to see Ashu…?
Rubbing her eyes groggily, Ashu had clearly just woken up.
She must have been working tirelessly and then falling asleep wherever she pleased.
“I came to check out the village.”
– Ashu’s village? Okay. Take a look.
Seeing Ashu still half-asleep, Ara suddenly pounced on her.
Ashu wobbled without resistance.
“Ashu is adorable!”
– Ashu is… cute?
Yeah, she really was.
Her dazed expression had a surprisingly powerful charm.
After a quick tour of the Breeding Tribe’s village, I noted that its real essence lay deeper within the burrows.
However, since I might get lost inside, I stuck to the outer areas.
– By the way, Overlord.
“Hm?”
– When are you bringing Bell?
“Bell? Who’s Bell again?”
– The blacksmith Bell! The cat!
“Oh, you mean Sloth?”
Right, I needed to bring him over.
I’d check things out with Kyler first, then handle it.
“Why are you asking about Sloth all of a sudden?”
– The minerals from the mine are starting to pile up. If we bring Bell and the other catfolk, they can process them.
“Ohh.”
Now that I thought about it, we could use those minerals to craft equipment.
It would be great to arm our guild members with high-quality gear.
“I already know where he is, so I’ll go check it out.”
– Please take us with you!
Mammon clenched his fists eagerly.
Did he just want an excuse to go on a trip?
“Alright, let’s go together.”
– Thank you, Overlord!
– I shall come as well. It has been a while since I’ve flexed my strength.
– A-Am I coming too, Overlord?
I’d check Kyler’s schedule first.
Then, we’d head out to find our blacksmith, Bell.
Cliche Novel 