ALL NOVEL Chapter 281
Chapter 281. Departure
After the call with Evelyn Curdstar ended.
Kim Si-hu attempted to connect with another Dimension Phone existing in Grudia.
However, after about 30 minutes of trying, he had to give up.
“The other devices aren’t even getting a signal.”
It was impossible to connect for some unknown reason on the other side.
The Dimension Phone might have been broken or lost for some reason.
Regardless of the answer, Yoo Ji-han was certain of one thing.
Something bad had happened to the Grudia Expeditionary Force.
‘It can’t be helped.’
It would have been nice to finish the deal with Angels Garden by just finding out Sian Pierce’s whereabouts.
But with things turned out this way, there was only one option.
“I’ll be going to Grudia soon.”
“……Okay.”
At Yoo Ji-han’s declaration, Kim Si-hu nodded heavily.
Grudia was the hometown of his mother, Erna Hass!
Although he had heard a lot about Grudia since childhood.
Who would have thought he would go to that world himself?
“Are you really going to Grudia?”
“It seems so.”
When Yoo Ji-han’s party announced they would go to Grudia.
Miley, who had left that world, wore a very complicated expression.
Then, as if she made a decision, she said.
“Then I’ll accompany you!”
“No. You don’t need to help, Miley Unnie.”
“Si-hu, but still….”
“I’ll finish what I have to do and be back quick, just like I did in Kallem.”
Miley, who had been a maid in the Siron Kingdom.
Born as the daughter of a maid, she was an elf destined to bow her head to everyone she met throughout her life.
After the power struggle for the throne began in the kingdom, she witnessed innocent maids dying caught up in the battle above and developed negative feelings toward the kingdom and that world.
Knowing this, Kim Si-hu had no intention of taking Miley to Grudia.
“Actually, I was curious about what kind of world my mom lived in. I’ve only heard stories.”
“……Then promise me just two things.”
“Two things?”
“First, avoid contact with Dark Elves like Evelyn Curdstar as much as possible.”
Unlike the elves, who maintain a good cooperative relationship with various races.
Dark Elves had a closed nature, rejecting all races except their own, despite their skin color being different.
Thus, Miley warned against confrontation with the Dark Elves.
“What’s the second?”
“Don’t go to the Siron Kingdom.”
“……Why?”
“There might be someone who recognizes you.”
Miley looked at Kim Si-hu’s hat.
To be precise, she was looking at the pointed ears hidden beneath it.
Although he was a Half-Elf, having inherited only half of the elf’s blood, Kim Si-hu was undoubtedly a member of the royal family born of the Siron Kingdom!
If he went to the kingdom, there would undoubtedly be people who recognized his identity, even without him having to say anything.
The bloodline of royalty was that distinct, and there were even ways to identify royals through magic.
‘What kind of trouble could Si-hu get involved in there?’
No one knew how the power struggle in the Siron Kingdom had ended.
Who became king, and who died in the process was also unknown.
But there was Princess Erna, who had left the kingdom despite having high reputation and ability, showing no interest in the throne.
If her son went to the Siron Kingdom, it would surely cause unnecessary misunderstandings.
‘The biggest problem is the World Tree.’
The power of the colossus that Kim Si-hu had begun to harness.
If it became known to the elders of the Siron Kingdom and beyond.
At that time, Miley couldn’t even predict how the situation would unfold.
“Got it?”
“……Yeah, sure.”
“Let’s talk separately soon.”
Seeing Miley asking for reassurance again, Kim Si-hu reluctantly nodded.
*
“I’m back.”
“Oh my, our daughter is back~”
When Lee Mi-a returned home, a middle-aged man wearing a black apron ran to the entrance to greet her.
The man, whose eyes resembled those of Lee Mi-a, was her father.
Warmly welcoming his daughter, he took the burden of things she was holding.
“Today too, you worked hard! Want to eat first?”
“No.”
“Huh!”
For a daughter who loved food so much to skip a meal!
Her father looked extremely surprised.
His facial muscles clearly portrayed his emotional changes, very different from Lee Mi-a, who was usually expressionless.
“What happened at the guild today?”
“Nothing.”
“Did someone hit you? Or did you hit someone? You didn’t kill anyone, did you?”
“No.”
“Then is it that Ji-han fellow? Just say it! Dad will go give him a good talking-to!”
“I just need to find something.”
“What is it? What could make our daughter skip dinner?”
“It’s a carrier.”
“A carrier?”
“I’m going to Japan in a few days.”
Lee Mi-a’s father’s eyes widened at the announcement that she was heading to Japan.
It was because his daughter, who generally hadn’t traveled abroad since the days of Keroes, was finally going.
“Going to Japan? You?”
“For now, I’ll call it a business trip…. Just to be safe.”
“Where to? Tokyo? Osaka? Kyoto?”
“First, it’s Tokyo.”
“Tokyo! Tokyo is great. I visited there for about three days back in the day….”
Lee Mi-a’s father blabbered on, following closely behind his daughter as she walked across the living room, spouting stories he didn’t even need to ask about.
Seemingly accustomed to his behavior, Lee Mi-a casually responded while pulling out a travel carrier that had been buried deep in the warehouse.
Seeing his daughter open the dusty zipper of the carrier, her father had a slightly touched expression.
“Our daughter is finally going on a trip with her friends!”
“It’s not a trip; it’s work.”
“Why isn’t riding a plane with friends a trip?”
“Because it’s a visit by invitation from Watanabe Yosuke, so it’s work.”
“That’s the same thing!”
Although she achieved high rankings at Hero Academy, her friends always struggled.
For her father, it was incredibly emotional that his reclusive daughter would embark on a journey.
“Hey, our daughter! Moving guilds brings about so many fun happenings.”
Lee Mi-a had shown prominent skills in the group known as Kim Hyun-tae’s Party within Keroes.
Thanks to having a daughter like her, her father, who previously worked for a construction company, managed to barely get by.
And now, after retiring, he was simply cheering for his daughter from the back.
He had never cared much for his daughter during her workaholic days.
Especially after Yoo Ji-han was expelled from the party, it seemed she had lost even more vitality.
Even the daughter, who used to consume more than three bowls of rice in every meal, had started eating just two bowls around that time.
However, after Lee Mi-a became independent from Keroes, the atmosphere had changed.
The lost vitality had returned.
‘It must be because of Ji-han.’
He had roughly caught on to the starting point of the changes in his daughter.
It was undeniable since whenever Lee Mi-a shared her stories, nearly every situation involved him!
When she struggled, he was there to help, wiping the monster’s blood when it splattered, and whenever she got hungry during battles, he would provide snacks…
He did the things even family couldn’t do.
Even after Ji-han left Lee Mi-a, her father had always kept an eye on Ji-han.
“Next time, make sure to bring him home.”
“Who?”
“Who do you think? Yoo Ji-han.”
Pause!
At the suggestion to bring Ji-han home, Lee Mi-a’s hand froze in mid-air.
Then, looking up at her father with a sulky expression, she said.
“Why would you bring him to our house?”
“He’s the hero my daughter believes in! As a parent, isn’t it only right to meet him at least once?”
“I don’t see any need for that….”
“If you don’t say anything, I’ll just go meet him at the guild next time myself.”
“…….”
“You know how I am, right?”
Her father was determined to meet Ji-han by any means necessary.
Being someone who always kept his word, Lee Mi-a glared at her father, who winked at her.
‘Oh my! Our daughter’s reaction is so entertaining!’
Seeing his daughter display rebellious behavior for the first time in a while.
Lee Mi-a’s father smiled broadly.
*
After returning home and washing up, Yoo Ji-han sat down at his desk.
There were tasks he needed to handle before leaving for Japan.
——Hyung! I’m completely overwhelmed on my own!
Yoo Ji-han, who held 25% share in Sweet Fun as an executive and has already officially become the Vice Guild Master.
He had become significantly involved in guild management at Kim Si-hu’s active request.
Tasks that originally only the Guild Master had the right to handle were now being handed to him.
“Is this what they mean by rising in the world?”
Yoo Ji-han fiddled with the business card that Kim Si-hu had given him as a surprise gift.
[Sweet Fun]
[Vice Guild Master Yoo Ji-han]
On the white business card was an image of honey flowing from a yellow honey jar, with his name written underneath.
It was a card created by Captain Nam Ho-yeol, leveraging his past experiences working in a game company.
What would he have reacted if someone handed this card to him just two years ago?
‘He’d probably worry about me joining some strange guild.’
As that thought crossed his mind, a smile involuntarily spread across his face.
Seeing that, Sylph spoke up.
—Ji-han. Why are you laughing alone?
“Nothing. Just thinking.”
—If there’s something interesting, you should let me know too!
“I’ll tell you next time.”
—Hmph! Tch! Pooey!
Sylph sulked at Yoo Ji-han.
Back when they first made their contract, he used to invest over 8 hours a day with Sylph.
But as he gradually took on more tasks, he now only spent time with her from late at night until just before sleep.
And even then, if work or appointments came up at night, there wouldn’t be a moment for just the two of them.
—You know? Other Spirit Masters usually play with their spirits during this time!
While Sylph had a lot of exchanges with Yoo Ji-han.
The time spent together since they formed the contract wasn’t as long as one would think.
For other spirits, this would be the time they were just beginning to open up their hearts and get close.
Sylph was helping him actively as if they had been together for ten years.
—If you keep this up, I’m going to sulk!
“Got it, got it. Let’s chat.”
—Chat? I like that! Hee hee hee!
Finally putting down his work, Yoo Ji-han lay down on the bed with Sylph.
And as he pondered what topic to bring up in their conversation.
Sudden thoughts flashed through his mind.
“Hey, Sylph! I just thought of something about you….”
—Huh?
“You don’t really like Si-hu’s dad, do you?”
Kim Si-hu’s father, a Korean researcher at Kyoto Monster Research Institute.
And also, the husband of Erna Hass, Sylph’s former contractor, Kim Geon-oh.
This trip to Japan included a planned meeting with him as well.
‘There had been opportunities to talk before, but I declined.’
Sylph didn’t like Kim Geon-oh at all.
She had even vigorously shaken her body to refuse contact with him when they met in Korea.
Even after Sylph could speak, she never had a conversation with Kim Geon-oh.
Whenever a chance to get in touch arose, she simply remained silent.
Not giving any reason for it, leaving only those around her puzzled.
“Why is that?”
—I just hate that guy who took Erna away from me!
Sylph viewed Kim Geon-oh as someone who took away her first contractor.
While she maintained a friendly relationship with Kim Si-hu, who was born from them.
“Either way, once we go to Japan, you’ll meet him directly.”
—I know.
“Can you tell me the reasons before that?”
—You see, I watched Erna giving her last breaths while she was lying on the bed.
As a spirit, watching the last moments of her contractor left a painful memory for Sylph.
The feeling of helplessness when unable to do anything for her dying contractor stayed with her more painfully than anything ever.
—This is something I’ve never told anyone until now… After Erna’s last breath, weird medical machines were still showing her as if she wasn’t dead. And do you know who came first after Erna died?
“Was it the nurse? Or the doctor?”
—Researchers who worked with Kim Geon-oh at the same institute!
“……!”
—They took hair, saliva, skin flakes, and even blood from dead Erna’s body. The machines only acknowledged Erna’s death after those researchers manipulated it with magic.
“Are you sure?”
—Ji-han! I never mistake people.
Spirits identify other beings by combining numerous information like appearance, magical power, and scent, among others.
What Sylph encountered while hiding in Erna’s hospital room was unmistakably Kim Geon-oh’s fellow researchers.
“But that’s the Monster Research Institute!”
—That’s what I’m saying!
Not family, nor a doctor or nurse, just the researchers studying monsters.
Why would they sneak into the hospital and take bodily tissues from a deceased patient?
Even Sylph and Yoo Ji-han couldn’t comprehend it.
‘Something smells rotten.’
Whenever Kim Si-hu mentioned his late mother, his eyes often took on a sad quality.
Yoo Ji-han thought deeply, recalling him.