“Did we do something wrong, daddy?” Evandel asked me.

We were currently having lunch in Oslo, after coming back from the dungeon, we had breakfast and then went around the place for a bit, visiting stores and stuff. Evandel even bought a few clothes for her to wear and even toys, which surprised me for some reason. Maybe because she never had toys during the original novel, and only a cat, Hayang.

“Nah, we didn’t.” I just shrugged at her question.

“But Hajin looked really angry at you…” She said while pouting, right before eating a fry.

“Pfft… Relax.” I laughed while throwing a steak to Shina who was sitting beside us. Having Shina with us, no restaurant wanted us to eat inside, so we had to order some take-out food and went towards a park to sit down and eat.

“He won’t be mad at you, then?”

“Oh, he will. But don’t worry. He can’t do anything about it.” I just shrugged at her worry. “As a friend of mine used to say, he has to make double the effort now, first getting angry, and then getting calm all by himself.”

“*chuckles* That sounds funny… But I don’t understand it.” She said, before eating another fry.

“Don’t worry.” I chuckled while wiping a little bit of sauce from her mouth. “So, ready to go back home? It should be around 9:00 PM there or something. Perfect time to sleep.”

“Yay!” She said while finishing her last fries as fast as she could.

“Wow! Easy there! We still have time *chuckle*”

“Mkwey!” She tried to speak, but it was hard with so many fries in her mouth. Making me chuckle.

***

Meanwhile, back in Cube. Kim Hajin was sitting on the couch, leaning back while clutching his head

“*sigh…*” I let out a deep sigh.

A few minutes have passed since I talked to Cristopher over the phone, but it still surprises me that he decided to take Evandel out of Cube as if it was the most normal thing to do.

“I… I somehow should have guessed it…” I said before standing up. “I guess I just have to wait for them to come here, and then talk to him.”

With that, I walked towards the kitchen, opening one of the drawers and taking out a small pouch filled with the Butterfly Seeding’s Dust that Boss gifted me during the final exam.

“Mm... With this amount I might be able to divide it and use a little bit…” I said while looking at the dust, before letting it fall over the table, dividing it into three parts. “let’s test it like this first.”

I ordered Aether to condensed in a small ball and picking up a third of the dust, I sprinkled over it. The dust slowly dissipated into the small ball formed by Aether, and it shined on its core.

“Ho… It did work…” I was amused at the dust working with such a small amount. “Now I just have to give one part to Kim Suho for when he gets his main weapon and the other… Mm, maybe I can give that to Cristopher. That should be good.”

At that moment, my smartwatch vibrated.

“Mm?”

Looking at it, I found a message from Chae Nayun.

[Chae Nayun: Hey, thank you for today. By the way…]

“What’s with her all of a sudden.” I waited for her to keep writing, but after some time without her next message, I just decided to reply.

[Kim Hajin: What?]

[Chae Nayun: What?] This time, she answered immediately.

[Kim Hajin: What?]

[Chae Nayun: What?]

“*sigh…*”

[Kim Hajin: Just go to sleep.]

[Chae Nayun: ㅋㅋㅋ No, you. ㅋㅋㅋ]

“What’s wrong with her?” I frowned at the weird conversation we just had. Before the smartwatch sounded again.

[Next Friday, there will be a shareholder meeting for Packhorse Master.]

“Mm? Isn’t this good news? I guess there’s not much time before Packhorse Master conquers Suwon Royal Devil’s Nest.”

Once they did. Their stocks would grow astronomically, making me rich thanks to all the stocks I’ve been buying from them.

Taking my focus back to reality, my smartwatch sounded again.

“The hell? Am I getting popular or something?” Kim Hajin asked while looking at his smartwatch. This time, it was an unknown sender.

[Hello, Hajin cadet-nim? This is Yi Jin-Ah. You saw me during the day. Can we talk?]

“What does she want all of a sudden?” I asked myself, but before I could answer her, she wrote again.

[Yi Jin-Ah: It’s about this morning...]

“Does she want to keep babbling like this morning?” I was about to write Park Sangho to ditch on her. But she wrote again.

[Yi Jin-Ah: I wanted to apologize. I may have gone a little bit overboard.]

“Huh? Now, this is a surprise.”

[Yi Jin-Ah: But I hope you can understand me. Essence of the Strait isn’t precisely a simple guild, and receiving cadets lower than the 100th place in the rankings out of a personal petition isn’t exactly good from the perspective of someone working on the guild.]

“Well… She does make some sense… In her position I would also be irritated to receive someone ranked 934th, being part of the second-ranked guild in the entire world.”

I pondered for a bit about what happened.

“Still. It isn’t a good thing to be berating other people for a mere ranking.”

[Kim Hajin: Apology accepted. But still. You should learn not to judge other people without letting them prove themselves. It is something unethical and unprofessional.]

[Yi Jin-Ah: I know! And I apologize for my behavior. And also… I wanted to ask if you may be interested in a scholarship?]

“Huh? A scholarship? What’s she talking about?”

The idea of a scholarship is quite interesting, considering that I’m currently in debt to Cube, and my only funds are all invested. Even if I get new money, I usually invest it all, leaving just enough for my personal use.

[Kim Hajin: What type of scholarship?]

[Yi Jin-Ah: Well… I still have to talk about it with my superiors. But I was thinking about funding your stay in Cube while also giving a few benefits, and in exchange, you can do a little internship with us.]

[Kim Hajin: It’s illegal for guilds to contact cadets.]

[Yi Jin-Ah: Please keep it a secret! And I don’t think it’s a bad idea for you, don’t you think? We could do it in a way that you don’t even need to come here.]

[Kim Hajin: I don’t know. Let me think about it.]

[Yi Jin-Ah: If you want, we can talk about it tomorrow when you come to the Guild Experience Program, okay? Again, I’m sorry for what happened this morning, and I hope you seriously consider this proposal, Kim Hajin cadet-nim.]

“Now… What to do…?” I started thinking about her proposal.

Being truthful. It’s not exactly a bad idea. I would get easy money while doing a really easy job, and even if I already thought about abandoning the program after I’ve sated my curiosity, I could go tomorrow and check what they can offer me.

But it’s still quite weird for her to offer me a scholarship if we consider her relationship with Yoo Yeonha and the fact that it was Yoo Yeonha who asked the guild to let me get into the program in the first place.

“Should I consult it with her…?”

With that last thought, I turned to look at my smartwatch again.

[Kim Hajin: Hey.]

***

Some minutes ago, in the female dormitories for first-years in Cube, Yoo Yeonha has been working since the moment she got back to her room. She not only wrote a report about today’s Guild Experience Program, but she also made a few job posts inside Violet Banquet for her new project.

[Information Guild ‘Falling Blossom’ – Now Hiring]

[A new information guild, Falling Blossom, is looking for elite agents.]

An information agency that would work as both her shadows and informants.

“This should be enough for now.” I muttered before stretching, still sitting on my work chair. “I’m not going to wait anymore for that lazy bum. I’ll get the information myself.”

I am still a little angry that my uncle hasn’t told me anything about the petition I made some weeks ago. It’s been a month and still nothing. There’s no way he didn’t find anything until now unless he isn’t working on it at all.

“Mm?”

It was at that moment, that my smartwatch sounded with a cat’s meow, indicating that a message just came.

[Chae Nayun: Hey, did you see the footage of our fight with the limestone golems?]

[Yoo Yeonha: Yeah, why?]

I quickly answered, only to be bombarded by a few messages.

[Chae Nayun: Well, you see.]

[Chae Nayun: Um.]

[Chae Nayun: How do I say this?]

[Chae Nayun: Today…]

{How can she be this dumb… Really…} I thought before letting out a sigh.

[Yoo Yeonha: Are you talking about Kim Hajin saving you? It got recorded beautifully. You were practically in his embrace.] I answered while letting out a small chuckle.

[Chae Nayun: What? Why are you looking at that?]

I rolled my eyes at her answer.

[Yoo Yeonha: Because I have to write a report.]

{Which I already did earlier~}

I chuckled while remembering the little scene when Kim Hajin somehow pulled Chae Nayun into his embrace, effectively saving her from the limestone golem that was about to smash her head like a watermelon.

{Though… How did he save her? Maybe with magic power? But to use it like that… How strong must his control be?} I thought, remembering that scene where he merely held his hand out and pulled Chae Nayun.

[Chae Nayun: Argh! Don’t you dare spread it!]

I chuckled once again.

[Yoo Yeonha: I won’t, hehe. So? Did you like it?]

[Chae Nayun: As if. Anyway. I’m going to a seminar next Tuesday with Kim Suho. Do you wanna come too?]

“I pass~”

[Yoo Yeonha: No.]

[Chae Nayun: Shin Jonghak’s coming too.]

{…}

“…”

[Yoo Yeonha: Fine, I’ll go.]

“*Sigh…* It’s just because I can leave him alone or he would start fighting against Kim Suho. Yes. That’s it.”

It was not as if I was overly interested in going with Shin Jonghak, it’s only that he’s being on edge recently with all that’s been happening with Cristopher, and I need to help him as his childhood friend.

At that moment, another meow sounded on my smartwatch.

“Mm? Does she want anything else?” I muttered while looking at my smartwatch once again, but this time, the sender was completely different and unexpected.

[Kim Hajin: Hey.]

[Kim Hajin: Do you have time?]

“What…?” I was completely surprised. He barely texted me, unless he needed something.

{What could it be?} With that thought, I answered him.

[Yoo Yeonha: Yes. Is there a problem?]

At that moment, a funny thought entered my mind, making me giggle a little.

[Yoo Yeonha: Or are you going to ask about the footage from today’s fight with the limestone golems?]

[Kim Hajin: What? Why would I?]

“*giggle*”

[Yoo Yeonha: Are you sure? There’re some great moments in there.]

[Kim Hajin: Forget about it. I have something to consult with you.]

{Huh? He wants to consult something with me…?}

[Yoo Yeonha: What is it?]

[Kim Hajin: Yi Jin-Ah contacted me.]

“What…? That woman did what…? Is she insane!?” I suddenly shouted, enraged about what he just told me.

[Yoo Yeonha: What did she say?] I quickly answered, before preparing myself to make her pay.

[Kim Hajin: Well, that’s the thing. I thought she would insult me or something like this morning. But contrary to my expectations, she actually offered me a scholarship.]

“…” I just didn’t know what to do. I was completely stuck here. “A scholarship…?”

[Yoo Yeonha: A scholarship? Are you joking with me?]

{That’s the only way this conversation makes sense.}

[Kim Hajin: I’m not. That’s why I’m asking you! She just talked to me, apologized for this morning's incident, and then offered me a scholarship.]

[Yoo Yeonha: Did you take it?]

[Kim Hajin: No. I asked her to let me consider it. And she told me that we could talk more about it tomorrow.]

[Yoo Yeonha: Okay. Don’t answer her. Let me think about this thing and tomorrow we can talk about it. But don’t talk to her before you see me! Understood!?]

[Kim Hajin: Sure.]

“*sigh…* Just what is she thinking…?” I muttered to myself.

It does look like a smart move. Even if we have to pay a fine for contacting him like this, Kim Hajin is worth any amount of money, he’s been constantly proving himself.

{But for her to be the one to offer a scholarship…}

Yi Jin-Ah isn’t a part of my father’s faction. She’s part of the vice leader's faction. And as such, she’s basically against me. And Hajin’s a cadet that I highly value, so it’s weird for her to actually acknowledge him.

{Is it some move from her to damage my reputation inside the guild? No. It doesn’t make sense. She knows what he’s able to do, she saw it firsthand this morning.}

There was no reason for her to make such an offer to a cadet that I personally invited to the guild, even less when she knows he can be an important member of our guild.

“I don’t know what you’re planning to do, Yi Jin-Ah. But I will make sure that this move of yours will benefit me more.” I muttered, before restarting my work.

{Also… How the hell did she find his contact info…?} I thought while writing on my computer.

***

“Well, I guess that will be it. *sigh…* Though… Should I accept it?”

Back in Kim Hajin’s dorm, he was currently debating about accepting the proposal or not. At least until someone knocked on his room’s room.

“Mm?” Standing up, he went to look who it was, only to find out Cristopher and Shina, along with a husky puppy in his arms.

“‘Supp?” He said while entering the place and leaving the husky on the floor while Hajin closed the door.

“So, you’re finally here? I thought you would stay outside for the night.” Hajin glared at him.

“Oh, we thought about it. But then I remembered I had training to do and a little bit of something, so I couldn’t stay out, you see.” He shrugged back.

“Hajin!” It was at that moment that the husky finally transformed into Evandel and went to hug Hajin.

“Hi, Evandel.” Hajin said while patting her head.

“Are you angry with daddy?” She said while looking up with a pout, making him flinch.

“Em… No… I’m not angry.” He scratched the back of his head. “It’s just that it was dangerous…”

“No! It’s not dangerous at all!” Evandel said after separating from him. “Dad can protect us! He’s strong!”

“See, Hajin? She truly knows. You should learn a thing or two from her.” Cristopher only smirked at him.

“…” Not knowing what to say, Hajin merely let out a deep sigh. “Fine… How was your adventure, Evandel?”

“Great! Look!” She said while spreading her arms and showing off her dress.

“Huh? A dress?”

“Yes! We found it inside the treasure chest! It’s warm and it changed its size to fit me!”

“Wow, that’s amazing!” Hajin said while clapping.

“Also! I killed monsters, Hajin!”

“Huh? You did what…?” This time Hajin was truly surprised.

“Yes! Dad helped me! He taught me how to use my Natural Energy!”

“Oh, really? That’s great.” He smiled at her, before turning to look at him.

“She still has a little bit of work to do. But she’s quite amazing.” Cristopher smiled while looking at the excited Evandel.

“Well, if it’s you who’s saying it…” Looking at him, he could only nod back. Not knowing why was he worried or angry at first. After all, if there was someone who could keep Evandel safe, it was Cristopher.

“How was that Guild Experience Program’s thing?” Cristopher asked him.

“Mm? It was great, though they now want to give me some kind of scholarship thanks to a little thing that happened this morning.”

“Isn’t that good then?”

“I thought so, but it’s weird. The circumstances are just not precisely good, or at least, I think so.”

“Why?” Clearly not understanding how free money isn’t a good thing, Cristopher tilted his head.

“Well, the one to offer it was someone who had a little conflict with me this morning, all because she’s against Yoo Yeonha, who’s the one that got me into Essence of the Strait for the Guild Experience Program.”

“Yeah, so?”

“Well. It’s basically like if a political enemy of the one that advocated for you suddenly offered you something too good to be true. It could be a potential trap.”

“So?” Cristopher asked, still with his tilted head.

“Yeah, so?” Why Evandel did the same, but with a confused face.

“…” Hajin just stared at the duo in front of him. Deciding to ignore Evandel for the moment. “Don’t you see how that could go wrong?”

“Look, I just see that someone wants to give you free money. Free money equals more investing in shares, more shares equal more money.” Cristopher shrugged. “More money equals good things.”

“But… It’s like selling your soul to the Devil at this point…”

“Mm? What the heck do you mean? Just do it. All in all, you just have to slay the demon in case shit goes wrong. And you’ll have a great ally in there too.”

“…”

“Listen. If you want, reject it. I’m just saying, that it’s not exactly a bad choice. You’ll be able to win money just by doing a few things for Essence of the Strait. And all in all, if you do well, you’ll be able to support Yoo Yeonha, wasn’t that something you wanted to do?”

“Well, yes… But still…”

“You’re thinking too deeply into it. There’s barely any risk, and more to win from it. Did you talk to that grown girl about this?” Cristopher said while quoting with his fingers at the grown girl part.

“Yeah, I talked to her.” Hajin nodded after rolling his eyes. “She told me to wait for her before deciding anything. She wanted to talk to me tomorrow.”

“Well, there you have it. Go, and talk to her. She may be stupid when it comes to her desire to be a grown adult, but she’s quite cunning and has a nice brain for this kind of thing, whenever she’s not misunderstanding things.”

“Oh well…”

“Are you going to go out tomorrow too, Hajin?” Evandel suddenly asked.

“Yeah…” Hajin answered with an awkward smile. “I thought about going just today, but things extended a little bit.”

“Mm…” Evandel suddenly turned to look at Cristopher. “Does that mean that we’re going to go somewhere tomorrow, daddy?” She asked with a hopeful expression.

“Of course, we will!” Cristopher said while patting her head. “I’ve wanted to take a trip to South America since a little while ago. This time, we’ll go towards Argentine Patagonia!”

“Yay!” Evandel raised her arms.

“Go to sleep. I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning.” He said to her with a smile.

“Wait! You have to take a shower first!” Hajin quickly intervened

“Really!?” Evandel asked with a frown.

“Yeah, do as he says. Take a shower, and tomorrow we’ll bath in some lake or river in Argentine.”

“Okay!” With a big nod, Evandel ran towards the bathroom.

“*sigh…* Are you really going there…?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea…”

“Pfft. Leave it. She needs to go out. You can’t leave her here as if she was a prisoner.”

“But… What if someone sees her?”

“Let them. If they try something funny, I’ll be there to protect her.” Cristopher said while a small glint of blacklight passed through his red eyes.

“…” Hajin had to step back at the sheer pressure he emitted. “You’re really into protecting her, huh…”

“Of course. No one should try to harm a child.” Cristopher shrugged.

“Are you sure it’s just because of that…?”

“Yes.” He nodded while giving him a stern glance. “Well, Shina and I are going to take our leave, see you tomorrow.”

“Right, see you.” Hajin nodded, not prying any further. “Also, did Shina grow or is it my idea?”

“She absorbed some Magic Power from the dungeon, and slightly grew. It was a surprise, a good one though.”

“*sigh…* I just don’t know what to think about you and your ideas anymore.”

“Don’t pay attention to it. It’s not like you would be able to change my mind.” With a shrug, he went out of the apartment.

***

The next morning, Evandel was waiting on the table for Cristopher to come, while looking at the small orb formed by Aether, which was glowing with a blue light.

“Hajin! Hajin! What’s this?” She asked him.

“Mm? Oh, that’s an artifact of mine. I used something special to strengthen it, and is slowly evolving.” Hajin said while putting on the jacket that Rachel gifted him.

“Wow! Does it take time!?” She asked.

“Yes, it seems so.” Hajin nodded at her.

“Wow…” She looked at the small orb.

It was then that a knock sounded on the door.

“Daddy's here!” Evandel shouted excitedly and went to open the door.

“Wait! Evandel!” Hajin rushed behind her trying to stop her from opening the door. “You can’t open the door like that!”

But before he could even get to her, she had already opened the door, to find a yawning Cristopher behind it with Shina beside him.

“‘Supp?” He said before going in, receiving a jumping child who hugged him. “Okay, calm down, let’s go in first, Evandel.” He said while carrying the child inside.

“You’re earlier than I thought.”

“Yeah, I made some breakfast for Evandel.” He said while putting a bag over the table.

“Breakfast!? What is it?”

“Nothing fancy, just a simple sandwich. We’ll eat something later in Argentine.”

“Okay!” With that Evandel took the bag and started eating the sandwich inside.

“Mm? What’s that?” Cristopher asked while looking at the ball of Aether.

“That’s Aether. Remember the dust that Boss gave me during the final exam?”

“Mhm.” He nodded.

“I used it on Aether, and it’s now evolving. I could divide the dust into three parts, so I can still give one to Kim Suho, and there’s another one left. Do you want it?”

“Mm? Sure, why not.”

“Okay, give me a second to look for it.” Hajin said as he went towards the kitchen to look for another third of the remaining dust.

Once he picked it, he put it inside a small pouch and gave it to Cristopher, telling him that it would work better if he used it in some special item, or if he tried to infuse his magic power with it.

“Also, I would like your opinion on something.” Kim Hajin suddenly said.

“Sure.” With a shrug, Cristopher saved the small pouch inside his backpack.

“Well…” Hajin scratched the back of his head. “I’ve been saving some SP until now, and I’ve been thinking about what would be the best path for me to take.”

“Mhm…” He nodded, while Evandel also looked at Hajin with her mouth full, looking like a squirrel, which made Cristopher chuckle.

“Well, I’ve had this idea about a new Gift. Actually, is something that would help me strengthen my items, like weapons and other equipment.”

“Mm? It sounds good. What do you need my opinion for?”

“Well, I’ve been increasing my stats lately thanks to your training and the Natural Energy. So, I wanted to know if there’s no other path I could take, being dependent on a weapon is not always a good thing.”

“I mean, it’s not like there’re no other ways for you to fight. But it’s not like you need to give up on your weapons to strengthen yourself with other powers.” Cristopher shrugged. “Using guns is not only about firing from a distance. A master gunslinger can fight at close-range, and some even use other weapons like swords or knives. You’re limiting yourself too much if you think that pursuing the path you’re on is not a good idea.”

“You think so?”

“Yes. So, keep going on with your idea for the gift. I’ll also help you to increase your equipment power later with some runes. That’ll help you to increase your power. Sadly, there’s nothing I can do about your use of Magic Power, or you would waste a lot of time training with it.”

“…” Hajin nodded before his smartwatch sounded. “It seems like Yoo Yeonha is waiting for me. Guess it's time for me to leave. Are you leaving too?”

“Yeah, Evandel, let’s go. You know what to do.”

“Yay!” Evandel, who already finished eating, transformed herself into a husky puppy and jumped into Cristopher’s arms.

“Let’s go then.”

With those parting words from Hajin, they all went out towards Cube Portal Station. Both of them ready to go to their selected place.