Chapter 116

Chapter 116: A Gift for Rin, Who Will Not Give Up

The building that was both my home and the guild headquarters.

Taking the guild's name, I had named the building Wind Forest as well.

The guild members at present: Han Se-a, plus twenty-six former Frost Flower Guild members who had come with her.

The elder Sword Saint, plus thirty-three Bamboo Fragrance Guild members who had come in with him.

And Santos and Eriksson.

The front-of-house staff—Kim Myeong-hun, Joel, and Ye-rim.

Adding myself, Ria, and Director Jang, that made sixty-seven members in total.

Of these, twenty-one were in the Rift on wall-sentry duty.

Sentry duty rotated among three teams on weekly shifts.

'Meaning only one week out of every three, they're officially on duty.'

During the weeks they weren't on duty, guild members came to headquarters to help with office work,

or formed parties and went hunting on the First through Third Floors,

or helped with construction at the outpost alongside the Eckard clan dwarves.

They could also just rest and do nothing if they wished.

Ours was a free-form guild, after all.

However, we paid generously for whatever work they did for the guild.

For that reason, quite a few guild members voluntarily pitched in.

'Since most of the guild members had been the elder Sword Saint's or Han Se-a's, the guild runs smoothly and systematically without issues.'

The two's experience as guild masters was of great help.

Instructor Park served as the guild's steward, too.

'Thanks to them, I have it easy.'

There wasn't much I needed to concern myself with regarding the guild.

Just occasionally reviewing large expenditures, giving final approval, or receiving reports—that was all.

Still, I made it a point to check in on the guild headquarters from time to time.

"You're all working hard."

I greeted the guild members doing office work on the second floor of the guild headquarters.

"Guild Master, you're here?"

"Is the lunch service over?"

Since we weren't a formal company, the atmosphere wasn't stiff even when the Guild Master—that is, the head—showed up.

Well, maybe I was the only one who felt that way.

'I'm not that oblivious.'

Anyway.

"Yes, I came after wrapping up lunch service. So, here."

I pulled out packaged food from Acresia and set it on the table.

The guild members looked on with anticipation.

"Don't tell me—"

"Yes, it was today's lunch menu, and since we had quite a bit of ingredients left after service, I made some and brought it over."

Truthfully, the ingredients hadn't been left over—I'd deliberately prepared more than needed.

From time to time, I'd make food like this for the guild members working at headquarters.

Today's menu was various types of California rolls, cold buckwheat noodles, shrimp tempura, and a vegetable salad set.

I also pulled out tableware for dishing up.

Seeing the food, the guild members exclaimed in admiration.

"Wow, it looks so delicious."

"Our Guild Master's cooking is always a guaranteed treat!"

"Thank you, I'll enjoy it!"

I greeted them and looked around the third and fourth floors as well.

The Gate Portal leading to the Rift was on the fourth floor.

To make sure outsiders could never pass through, you had to clear a first-stage ID card check and a second-stage fingerprint verification.

An access log placed by the entrance also had to be filled in.

I reviewed that log.

'Nine guild members, five Rift Management Bureau officials.'

A total of eleven people had passed between the Rift and here.

Since my mana had been drained in small amounts eleven times, the record was accurate.

Rift Management Bureau staff also rotated in and out of the Fourth Floor outpost through this Gate Portal.

The Rift Management Bureau branch had been completed, and the officials were setting up the office.

'It's just about the appointed time.'

When I waited downstairs on the first floor, Director Jeong Jae-yong and Deputy Director Kim Cheol-su arrived.

After exchanging greetings, I took them up to the fourth floor where the Gate Portal was.

First, I registered both of their fingerprints.

I also handed over the ID cards I'd had made in advance.

After we filled out the access log, we stood before the Gate Portal.

"So this is the Gate Portal."

"Pass through here and we're at the Fourth Floor outpost of the Rift."

Both men looked at the Gate Portal with excited expressions.

Come to think of it, the Deputy Director had never been to the Fourth Floor of the Rift before.

The Director, on the other hand, had been there once.

When he joined the follow-up expedition to rescue the S-Rank Trio.

'At that time, it wasn't even an outpost. There was nothing there.'

No restaurant, nothing.

If he went in now, he'd be surprised at how different the scenery was.

"Please, go on in."

"Understood."

The two of them entered the Gate Portal,

and I followed.

We'd moved to the third floor of the Wind Forest Guild branch at the outpost.

Whether inside or outside the Rift, I had installed the Gate Portal in the most secure location.

I led them up to the rooftop.

The view of the outpost that looked down from there—

"Good heavens..."

Director Jeong Jae-yong looked around the outpost in great astonishment.

"Is this really the same outpost that was once bare and empty?"

"Yes, it's the same. It's changed a lot, hasn't it?"

"Changed is an understatement. Without being told, I'd never have guessed this was that outpost. To develop it to this extent in such a short time is truly astonishing."

"It's all thanks to the dwarves."

Without the Eckard clan dwarves, we wouldn't even have started the stone masonry yet.

The buildings currently completed: the guild branch, the Korean Rift Management Bureau branch.

And currently under construction: eleven tree-house lodgings, the dwarven smithy, the fusion bar, and the bakery.

The outpost township was developing at remarkable speed.

Deputy Director Kim Cheol-su spoke.

"The walls surrounding the outpost are truly magnificent. Even from a distance, one can see how sturdily and meticulously they've been built."

"That's right. If you look closer, you'll be even more impressed by the craftsmanship. Why don't we take a walk and see them a bit later?"

"Understood."

After a brief tour of the outpost,

we went back down to the first floor and over to the Rift Management Bureau building next door.

The Rift Management Bureau building was built in baroque style.

Both looked at the exterior with admiration.

"I didn't expect you to build it this stylishly."

"The carvings are a work of art."

Well, carvings were the essence of dwarven architecture.

We toured the interior as well.

The first floor held offices and a civil affairs room.

The second floor served as lodging and a lounge.

The two were highly satisfied.

Back outside, the two were moved looking at the national flag and the flag bearing the Korean Rift Management Bureau mark, raised atop flagpoles.

"With this, our nation's Rift Management Bureau has achieved the greatest feat among all the world's Rift Management Bureaus."

"Indeed, Director."

They had reason to be moved.

China and Russia had each been pushing plans to establish Rift Management Bureau branches on the Second Floor of the Rift, flaunting their strength to the world.

And yet, our nation's Rift Management Bureau had established a branch on the Fourth Floor, not the Second.

From the Bureau's standpoint, it was an enormous achievement.

"Congratulations on the completion."

"Thank you. All of this is thanks to you, Master Seon-u."

"Indeed. It's a feat made possible only because our nation has you, Master Seon-u. We're deeply grateful."

I shook my head.

"The Rift Management Bureau has helped me in many ways. This is only a small token in return."

The two of them were moved by that.

We then took a commemorative photo in front of the Rift Management Bureau branch building using an analog film camera.

***

The Arcana Mana Herb and fruit I had received from the Golden Goblin.

I cracked open the fruit and extracted the seeds.

I thoroughly washed away the jelly-like membrane surrounding the seeds with water,

and planted several seeds in a small pot.

I then held it out to Rin.

"Rin, can you grow these seeds?"

"Yes! Rin can do it!"

Rin clenched her tiny fists in a fighting pose and answered confidently.

"Then, please do."

"Yes!"

Rin concentrated her earth mana on the pot.

But even after a considerable amount of time, there was no response.

"It's not wowking..."

Rin was flustered.

Until now, there had been no crop Rin couldn't grow.

Applecherries, Mandragora, dungeon wild grapes.

All of them rare crops, but she had always succeeded.

This was the first time she had tasted failure.

'And that soil even has Bell's golden-egg fertilizer mixed into it.'

It was the first time the Rin-and-Bell combo hadn't worked.

From that day on, Rin's stubborn streak kicked in.

"Hrrrgh!"

Trying until she was exhausted—failure.

"Haaa!"

Shouting with effort—failure.

"Gwoooow!"

Chanting spells—failure.

It was a daily chain of failures.

Whenever Rin had time, she kept clinging to the pot.

Two weeks passed.

Still, Rin would absolutely not give up.

"Rin'll make it gwow so Rin can hewp Papa..."

She would mutter quietly to herself, dabbing at the corners of her eyes.

Seeing that, I couldn't bring myself to tell Rin that if it wasn't working, she could give up, that the Mana Herb wasn't needed.

All I could do was watch silently and cheer her on in my heart.

'Rin, you can do it.'

Not just cheering in my heart—I also made her health juices using the finest ingredients, helping keep her nourished.

But that wasn't all.

"Liege Lord, Lady Rin's magical wand is finished!"

"Seon-u, I helped, so keep your promise—a month of free meals, guaranteed!"

Maxim and Ashley came to me while I was cleaning up the kitchen after the lunch service and called out.

"It's done!"

Delighted, I set down my dry towel, came out of the kitchen, and approached them.

Maxim handed me a wooden box.

I took it and carefully opened the box.

"Wow."

A design that drew admiration from me involuntarily.

A rod about fifty centimeters long, made of platinum—which had excellent mana-conducting efficiency.

At the base, a sapphire was set as a decoration,

and the upper-middle section was decorated in a leaf motif.

At the top, there was an ornament in the shape of a blooming flower petal,

and embedded in the center of the petal was a Persistent Highest-Grade Magic Stone that glowed with emerald light.

'I spent six hundred million won acquiring that Persistent Highest-Grade Magic Stone.'

Because I had rushed to procure it, I had paid about a hundred million won over the average market rate.

But I had no regrets.

It was a gift for a daughter who worked so admirably hard.

And this wasn't just an ordinary wand.

It was a magical wand that Ashley had inscribed with spells to boost mana efficiency.

A wand I had commissioned Maxim and Ashley to craft.

Using it, mana efficiency and spell power would increase by a factor of at least one and a half, I was told.

"Lord Maxim, thank you so much. The design is truly wonderful. Thank you too, Ashley. As promised, I'll provide unlimited meals for a month."

"Brace yourself. I'll eat ten servings of meat a day."

I left the final cleanup to Ji-young and the front-of-house staff and went straight home to the Rift house.

***

Rin wasn't in the yard.

When I entered the Rift house, I saw Rin asleep, leaning against the sofa's end table.

On the end table, the pot that still had no sprouts sat as before.

It seemed she had fallen asleep, exhausted from trying to make it grow.

"You finished work early today?"

Sensing my presence, Ria—who had been resting in the bedroom—came out to the living room.

She came over and gave me a light hug and a kiss on my cheek.

"I left the cleanup to the staff and headed home right away. How are you feeling, Ria?"

"I'm always doing well."

Ria and I sat face to face on the sofa.

I gently stroked Ria's rounded belly—she was now twenty-two weeks along.

"How has our baby been?"

"Mm, she says she's been good. She said she was waiting for Daddy to come home."

"Hehe!"

I was so happy.

Rin, sensing my presence, stirred awake.

Rubbing her eyes, she smiled up at me.

"Papa, did you come home?"

"I'm home, Rin."

"Hehe!"

She climbed up onto my lap and sat.

My lap was Rin's exclusive spot.

Then she gently stroked Ria's belly beside her with her hand.

"My sistaw. Want to see you soon."

Ever since Ria's belly had started to show, Rin had often stroked it and spoken to her little sister.

Recently, when Rin spoke to her, the baby had begun to respond with a kick now and then.

This time too, there was a kick.

Thump.

Rin was overjoyed.

"Sistaw answewed me! Hehe!"

Then how about I made her even happier?

"Rin, Papa has a gift for you."

"A pwesent?"

I opened Acresia and pulled out the wooden box containing the magical wand.