Chapter 908

EP.908 [Light Novel Side Story] The Death Dinass of the Blue Sky 2 Vol. 025

After spending the night practically pulling an all-nighter for interviews, Xian fled the association as if escaping, claiming skin care as the reason. Using an autonomous vehicle to flee back to the office, Xian quickly disbanded the team.

– Just in case, you guys should just take tomorrow off.

With the location of the office now known, Xian decided to shoulder everything alone to minimize the burden. Worried about going solo for the national event, the team wanted to join, but the overwhelming crowd made it necessary for the team members to hide due to the pressure.

Thus, the next day…

Xian donated 20 trillion at the official government event, received their share of 67 billion, returned to the office, and ended up grumbling not-so-seriously about the duo who caused all this chaos.

“I hate this. Really. I’m trying to live quietly, not like this.”

“…Isn’t it already too late for that quiet life?”

Gaon asked with a tired expression while watching Xian search for a mint chocolate cake recipe. The cat nestled in Xian’s arms was fascinated by the baking videos on the screen. Xian stroked the cat’s fur thoughtfully.

“Exactly. Should we just go all out? It’ll happen sooner or later anyway.”

“Restrain yourself. If the world finds out you’re an <Alchemist>, there will be chaos.”

Nyaaah?!

The cat bristled and fell off Xian’s lap. Xian picked up the startled cat and gently stroked its fur.

“Did I scare you? Sorry. Good kitty, good.”

Nya, nyaahh~

The cat curled up on Xian’s thigh and closed its eyes. Thanks to the motionless cat, Xian could stroke its fur leisurely, soothing mind and body.

Ding dong. The doorbell rang. Gaon got up, opened the door, and there was Huan holding a coffee box and drinks.

“Boss? Is it okay to close the café?”

“I’ve sent everyone away and put up a temporary closure sign. We need to be able to do business after all.”

Huan’s words carried weight. He looked quite exhausted.

“I’m really sorry about this…”

Huan glared at Xian menacingly.

“Why don’t you consider moving the office elsewhere?”

The landlord started acting unreasonable.

* * *

Crunch, crunch.

Yuna hummed a tune while peeling an apple. Recently, Yuna has been spending more time in the kitchen on her days off, and her cooking skills have been improving daily. After Valentine’s Day, the kitchen was filled with all sorts of baking supplies Yuna bought.

“Where’s the baking powder? Mom didn’t use it last time, right?”

Yuna called out to the living room. Her parents, watching TV, were confused looking between the TV and the kitchen.

“…Look harder in the cabinet!”

“Got it~ Hmmph~”

Yuna sang a cherry blossom-scented tune while adding baking powder and starting to knead the dough. She looked like a newlywed housewife, had she not been their daughter.

There’s a daughter in the kitchen, and a daughter on the TV. No matter what channel they turned to, public or cable, news channels, there were updates about their daughter and her acquaintances.

[Seoul’s Hero! Donor of 20 trillion! There are opinions suggesting that the Oracle Studio where he works is actually planning to establish a guild in Korea. What does Professor Do think about this?!]

[Though foreign capital, hiring purely Korean guild members boosts rather than undermines the market economy, and is expected to greatly invigorate domestic economy…]

[According to key informants, the studio, which was expected to withdraw quickly around January, stayed in Korea thanks entirely to E-Rank Hero Yuinah. Formerly an E-Rank Hero at Hero Academy who recently dropped out, she joined the studio to prevent its overseas relocation…]

[Some say that due to current laws restricting foreigners from being guild leaders, the studio plans to appoint Yuinah as the guild leader…]

“……So the daughter baking apple pie in the kitchen and the young lady on TV are the same person?”

Yuna’s father watched the gossip about Yuna on TV with a pale face.

Seoul’s hero, constantly attached to Xian, appeared in countless paparazzi photos assisting or leading Xian with a cool and rational demeanor.

“Apparently the startup we talked about before….”

“……”

The couple recalled. Since the trouble during the New Year, they felt a wall had formed in their relationship with Yuna, but they never imagined she would make such incredible moves in the meantime.

“What did you not ask earlier?”

“I decided to wait until the results came out…”

“Ah, that’s me?”

Yuna brought over a plate with coffee brewed in the kitchen. The freshly baked apple pie filled the living room with a warm, sweet aroma.

“The pictures could have come out prettier.”

“…Yuna, is that really you-”

Beeep! Yuna’s Magical Gear rang. Swallowing a bite of apple pie meant for taste testing, Yuna answered the call. The couple pretended not to listen but perked up their ears.

“Yes, what is it?”

[Yuna, do you have time now?]

The couple exchanged glances. That blond foreigner’s voice from two hours ago at the official event echoed.

“Yes, I’m fine. Please tell me.”

[Then there’s somewhere we need to go together…]

“Where?”

[Our new home…]

Kung. Yuna closed the door and went inside.

“Honey.”

“……”

The couple’s worries deepened. The thinly sliced apples atop the apple pie seemed to draw hearts unintentionally.

Ten minutes later.

“Mom, sorry, can you watch over the kitchen? I’ll be back soon!”

“Where are you going-”

“To a real estate place!”

Yuna, wearing a beige coat and brown shoes, rushed out the front door. The couple turned off the TV and began exchanging and analyzing information about Yuna’s activities over the past month.

“Is she getting married?”

“Honey, what are we going to do? I never imagined having a foreign son-in-law.”

“Let’s not drink kimchi soup. …20 trillion… …”

* * *

“……Was it about the new office?”

“Yeah. That’s how it turned out.”

Xian greeted Yuna as she entered the autonomous vehicle. Yuna sat in the passenger seat and observed the pedestrians around her. It seemed her face was already recognizable, as people whispered upon seeing her.

“Sorry to call you on your day off.”

“No problem. I can come whenever you call, Xian. But why suddenly the office…?”

“I had a talk with Manager Huan.”

Xian recounted the detailed background of Huan mentioning the office relocation after venting his frustrations.

After Nuri’s potential S-Rank determination, when customers increased, they were quite happy. Familiar regulars visiting turned into a bustling scene, significantly boosting sales.

However, after a week and about a month passed, too many customers came.

The problem was that most of these customers didn’t align with Huan’s café management philosophy.

“Mostly hunters trying to start conversations with Nuri, right?”

“Yeah. Manager Huan had quite a headache.”

And at the point when Xian’s team moved to Seoul, troublemakers appeared and overturned the first-floor café.

“Young women drove them all out with sheer strength, causing quite a commotion. Manager Huan carefully selects coffee beans to brew coffee, but became busier and the quality slightly dropped. Some customers complained that if this state continues, they wouldn’t be able to buy coffee here anymore.”

Xian recalled the woman who bought a lot of coffee beans on the first day they visited the café. That strange woman exuding a strong coffee aroma.

“…?”

“What’s wrong all of a sudden?”

“Ah, nothing. Anyway, after that customer completely wrecked the store, it seems Manager Huan had some kind of epiphany.”

“One hundred customers aren’t as valuable as one who truly appreciates the taste of my coffee, huh? I’m surprisingly impressed by this artisan spirit…”

“Landlord issues.”

“Landlord issues.”

Huan and Xian had a landlord-tenant relationship. Xian should be grateful that the contract wasn’t immediately torn up and they weren’t evicted.

“So are you moving the office altogether?”

“Not exactly. I’ll use the existing office as a workshop and find a new one.”

Xian confirmed the autonomous vehicle had almost reached its destination and pointed outside to Yuna.

“By the way, there’s a great property available.”

The autonomous vehicle stopped at a high-rise building a little distance from their office. From the first floor to the top, buildings related to Yu-Sung were everywhere, and at the top hung a guild sign.

“……Could this be…”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

Xian tilted their neck.

“The place I initially intended to settle in.”

* * *

“Why are you here again, Brother?”

“Isn’t it about time you got used to it? It’s under Yu-Sung’s umbrella. Haha!”

Ha-Yu Jun chuckled and shoved the contract forward. Yuna nodded with an expression of exasperation.

“It might be better to just consider Ha-Yu Jun as a high-ranking member of Yu-Sung.”

“Huh? I told you last time! I’m the president of Yu-Sung!”

Ha-Yu Jun pounded his chest proudly. Xian casually disregarded Ha-Yu Jun’s boastful claims and double-checked the contract.

“In exchange for taking over Megrez’s office, Yu-Sung will invest a small stake in our guild?”

“More precisely, when we establish the guild later. For now, it’s just a rental agreement for the office, and we’ll re-sign a formal contract when the guild is officially formed.”

“It’s not a bad deal…”

Xian trailed off. There were various reasons why he initially wanted to set up here, but the best one was that ‘miscellaneous merchants’ didn’t frequent the area.

“There’s security provided by Yu-Sung’s Special Ability users on the first floor, and lodging and meals are all taken care of here, right? Honestly, I don’t think there’s a better place anywhere else.”

“……Brother. Are you hiding something?”

Xian pointed at the empty Megrez office, pressing for answers.

“I know the guild master is hospitalized, but there’s no way they’d sell off the guild so hastily like roasting beans in a flash. Moreover, everyone’s gone. Brother, are you really connected to Yu-Sung-”

“……It’s not exactly that, but there’s someone who’s quite interested in you.”

Ha-Yu Jun glanced at his watch uncomfortably.

“Do you remember when I last asked you to add one person without asking questions?”

“Of course I remember that. But could it possibly be…?”

Ha-Yu Jun bowed his head sheepishly.

“…This person took significant interest after observing the recent Seoul incident.”

“Whoever it is, what does this person have to do with this office?”

Yuna interjected, pointing at the contract. The reason Xian deliberately called Yuna, even though it was her day off, was naturally because the guild master was Yuna, not Xian, meaning she couldn’t make decisions alone.

Of course, there were underlying intentions like setting up a new nest together or needing help after losing their right arm, but Yuna had undoubtedly been a great help to Xian in various ways.

“Just a moment.”

Thanks to Yuna’s observation, Xian felt like the tangled thread was unraveling.

“Could the person Brother mentioned be the owner of this guild…?”

“Yeah, that’s right. I’m just acting as their proxy.”

Creeeak. The iron door opened. A fragrant coffee aroma filled the office. Ha-Yu Jun stood up promptly as if waiting and bowed deeply.

“Have you arrived, Miss?”

“Hmph.”

Flowing blonde hair. Oversized sunglasses covering half the petite face. Premium leather coat made with core-infused advanced materials. The blonde woman dressed head-to-toe in luxury left Xian and Yuna speechless.

“Reckless heir of the Yu-Sung family?”

“Master Xian!”

If you really say that out loud, what will happen? Yuna jabbed Xian in the waist, and Xian quickly covered his mouth with his left hand.

“It’s fine. I know I’m reckless.”

The woman clicked her heels and sat in the upper seat sofa. Ha-Yu Jun stepped aside and moved towards the exit.

“Hey, Brother? Leaving your seat suddenly…”

“Don’t worry about it. This liar is just going to get some coffee. Rather, Mr. Xian. Let’s get straight to the point.”

The blonde woman removed her sunglasses with a smirk. Her pupils sparkled with golden stars.

“In exchange for joining your guild, I’ll cover the rent for this office. How does that sound?”

The smiling woman exuded a coffee fragrance.