Chapter 138

Chapter 138: Rin's Birthday, Mother's First Visit to the Rift House

The paving block installation began immediately after the Mage Tower was completed.

One month after it started, the paving work within the Outpost was finished.

Not just the ground, but each building had been touched by the Eckard Family's craftsmanship, giving everything a refined look.

It felt almost like the streets of Florence, Italy.

All it took was laying paving blocks, yet the place now exuded the atmosphere of a proper town.

A clothing shop had also been newly opened.

'I had recruited several guild members through interviews recently.'

The primary criterion was what kind of skill each candidate possessed.

Among them, I had selected a female Hunter who was a former clothing designer with a high Dexterity stat, and entrusted her with running the clothing shop.

She sold clothes she made herself, as well as clothes contracted from various clothing brands.

'Collaboration, advertising, and sponsorship offers have been pouring into guild headquarters.'

Among them were famous clothing brands.

We had partnered with three of those brands to sell their products at the in-Rift clothing shop.

'The Hunters had been clamoring for a clothing store.'

And for good reason. Hunters minimized their luggage and almost never brought a change of clothes.

Not even underwear.

More than half of the people staying at the Outpost simply lived in their combat gear.

That was bound to be uncomfortable.

'And it smelled too......'

As the Outpost developed, Hunters wanted everyday clothes befitting town life.

Once the clothing shop opened in response to that demand, it had been seeing a steady stream of customers.

'Everything is running smoothly.'

After checking on the clothing shop from outside, I turned and walked on to inspect other facilities.

I eventually arrived at the small plaza that had been laid out.

TING!

There, Bard Damon was plucking the strings of his classical guitar and scribbling something in a notebook.

I approached him.

"Damon, are you composing?"

"Guild Master, welcome. Yes, I was composing."

"That is wonderful. How is the work treating you?"

"Very well. I am thoroughly enjoying it."

"Glad to hear it."

He was a talent who possessed the best area-of-effect performance buff.

A talent our guild absolutely could not afford to lose.

Damon then said.

"Would you like to hear the piece I just composed?"

"I would be honored."

The distinctive bouncy sound of nylon strings on a classical guitar filled my ears.

I did not know much about music, but the melody was extremely pleasant to listen to.

When the performance ended, I shared my impressions.

"That is a lovely piece. It made me feel as if I were lying in a green meadow with my eyes closed."

"You caught my compositional intent perfectly. You truly have a good sense, Seon-u."

"Do I?"

Afterward, I toured the other facilities as well.

Everything was running smoothly without issues.

'Thanks to that, the guild's finances are overflowing.'

As a result, we were making donations in the guild's name to various Rift-affected regions, and regularly sponsoring several orphanages.

***

Rin's birthday.

I had first met Rin on January 11th, winter, by Korean time.

That was why we had set Rin's birthday as January 11th.

Today was that day.

The Rift house was abuzz with preparations for Rin's sixth birthday.

Ria, Ji-young, and I were in charge of the food.

'Today is the vegetarian buffet special.'

Despite being vegetarian, there was still "meat."

Not real meat, but soy meat and mushroom meat.

The mushroom meat was an alternative made by grinding and compressing pine mushroom, then rapidly cooling it into a firm, meat-like texture.

'When fried, it is so convincing that most people would struggle to tell it apart from real meat.'

Using those two alternative meats, I had prepared sweet and sour pork, spicy garlic chicken, and regular fried chicken.

The mushroom-meat chicken in particular was nearly indistinguishable from real chicken.

A famous overseas investment pitch show had once featured this mushroom-meat chicken, and every single investor who tasted it had mistaken it for real chicken.

The investors had been so impressed that they made a major investment in the developer.

It had caused a huge stir in the vegan food industry.

And one more thing.

'Beefsteak mushroom.'

In Korea, it was also called "ox-tongue mushroom."

When sliced, the grain of the mushroom truly resembled a beef steak.

It even dripped a red liquid, like rare-cooked meat.

When cut into portions and seared like a steak, it was hard to distinguish from the real thing by appearance alone.

The texture was similar to steak, with a subtle tartness and hint of lemon.

This mushroom was popular among vegetarians as a meat substitute.

'Even meat lovers can enjoy this mushroom.'

A steak that Rin could eat.

I wanted to give Rin, who could not eat meat, the chance to experience a wide range of culinary delights.

That was why I had prepared these alternative-meat dishes.

'It is also for the guests.'

Several guests were visiting today to celebrate Rin's birthday.

The guild officers, the Knight Quartet, Ashley and Fenrir, the Adult Dryad.

And there were two additional special guests.

"The food is all ready. Ria, I will go pick up our guests."

"Okay, see you!"

I opened a Gate portal leading to the Rift house.

After transferring to the Rift house, I took the elevator down to the first floor.

There, waiting outside the building, were my two guests.

I greeted them.

"Welcome, Director."

One was Director Jeong Jae-yong.

"Seon-u, thank you so much for inviting me!"

"I am the grateful one."

And the other.

"Welcome, Mother."

It was my mother.

She had taken a half-day off work to celebrate her granddaughter's birthday.

I hugged her.

"Of course I came, son. It is my precious granddaughter's birthday. Though I was not the best at celebrating my own son's birthday......"

"Please stop blaming yourself. And you always called me on my birthday and sent me nice gift cards."

Seeing my mother reproach herself was never easy.

I hoped she could find peace of mind by now.

"All right, Seon-u. I will stop."

"Then let us go in."

I escorted them into the building and up to the door on the sixth floor.

There, I handed my mother a necklace set with a Highest-Grade Magic Stone.

She fingered it and asked.

"If I wear this, can I really enter the Rift even though I am not Awakened?"

"Yes, wearing it gives you the protection of mana, so the Rift will not affect you. It is the same thing Yeona wears."

Yeona was Awakened, but her Mana stat was still low.

As a result, her mana could not fully protect her from the harmful elements inside the Rift, leaving her slightly affected.

For the same reason, the Rift Management Bureau did not recommend that low-rank or low-Mana-stat Hunters stay inside Rifts for extended periods.

That was why Yeona wore a Magical Necklace made with a Highest-Grade Magic Stone that shielded the body with mana.

I had had a spare protective Magical Necklace made for Yeona, and was now giving it to my mother.

'Mother had been saying for a while that she wanted to visit the Rift house.'

But now that the moment had arrived, she seemed slightly nervous.

"Trust me."

"All right, son."

My mother put on the necklace.

I could then sense a mana aura from her.

A protective film of mana was shielding her.

"I will open the portal now."

I opened the Gate portal leading to the Rift house.

Director Jeong Jae-yong, looking at the portal, said.

"I am nervous too. This will be my first time visiting your Rift house, Seon-u."

"I should have invited you sooner. My apologies."

"Trust takes time to build, so I understand. I am simply grateful that you trust me enough to invite me to your Rift house."

"Please, you have helped me so much. I am the grateful one."

"Not at all! Ha ha! Then I will go in first."

Director Jeong Jae-yong stepped into the portal.

My mother looked at the portal with a worried expression.

"Will I feel dizzy or nauseous when I pass through?"

"No, just think of it as walking through a doorway. But if you are nervous, hold my hand."

"All right."

I took my mother's hand and stepped through the portal together.

After the transfer.

"Just like you said, it is like walking through a door. I did feel a slight floating sensation, though."

"Right?"

My mother then took in the Rift house landscape and her eyes went wide.

"Oh my, this is so beautiful. This is really inside a Rift?"

"Yes, this is inside the Rift."

"Goodness, it is so different from what I imagined. I thought it would be more desolate, but the house blends so beautifully with nature."

"Does it not? After all, the finest landscaper tends this place."

"The finest landscaper?"

"Here she comes."

Rin spotted her grandmother and broke into a beaming smile as she ran over.

"Gwandma-!"

The finest landscaper was Rin.

"My little darling!"

My mother crouched down and embraced the running Rin.

Rin then said to her grandmother.

"Gwandma, it has been so wong! Have you been well?"

"Of course I have been well! Our Rin, you have grown since I last saw you."

My mother had visited just two weeks ago at our home outside the Rift.

Had Rin grown in two weeks?

Seeing her every day, it was hard to tell.

"Weally? Gwandma, did Win get bigger?"

"You sure did."

"Hehehe! I am so happy!"

"Happy birthday, my eldest granddaughter."

"Thank you for the birthday wishes, Gwandma."

Ria then approached with Yeona in her arms.

"Welcome, Mother. It is even nicer to see you here at the Rift house."

"Ho ho! Indeed. The house is truly beautiful."

"Is it not?"

My mother greeted Yeona too.

"Yeona, Grandmother is here."

"Dao."

Yeona squirmed happily in Ria's arms, smiling and reaching out.

Then the birthday party began in earnest.

First we sang the birthday song, and Rin blew out the candles on the handmade cake.

"Happy birthday, firstborn!"

"Happy birthday, our Rin!"

"Happy birthday, my eldest granddaughter."

"Happy birthday, Rin!"

"Happy birthday, squirt. Eat a lot and grow taller."

"Aroooo-!!"

.......

Everyone celebrated Rin's birthday.

Rin thanked them with a deep bow.

"Thank you so much for celebrating with me."

Then the gift-giving ceremony followed.

Large stuffed animals, gemstone accessories, a cute children's dress, shoes, and more.

Everyone had given gifts, but when I, the father, had not given mine yet, Eriksson asked.

"Seon-u, where is your gift? Do not tell me you did not prepare a birthday present for your own daughter."

"Of course I did. I will reveal mine later."

"Oho?"

We then enjoyed the meal.

An entirely vegetarian spread.

Rin ate with tremendous relish.

"Papa, this is sooo dewicious!"

She said this while eating the mushroom-meat chicken.

"Is it? Ha ha! Eat up."

"Yesh!"

Not just Rin, but everyone ate well.

"This steak is really mushroom......?"

"It has a slightly tart, premium steak flavor? Vegan food is not half bad."

"It is just as good as real meat."

"It is only this good because our Chef made it. When I tried vegan food at a vegan restaurant, it was nothing special."

Everyone was happily eating the vegetarian dishes and the alternative-meat dishes alike.

On the other hand, two attendees were displeased with the offerings.

None other than the true meat enthusiasts, Ashley and Fenrir.

"How is this supposed to be meat? There is not the slightest hint of the raw, bloody aroma that real meat has!"

"The male human said he prepared a lot of food, so I came with high hopes, and it is nothing but grass!"

As expected, those two balked at the alternative meat.

Well, there was no helping it.

I opened Acresia and brought out steaks I had pre-grilled.

"I knew I could count on you, Seon-u!"

"Male human, I knew it!"

After giving them their meat, I sat down next to my mother.

She then asked me.

"Seon-u, are those two the dragon and Fenrir you told me about?"

"That is right. They are gentle, so there is nothing to worry about."

"I am not worried. They seem like nice people. And that woman over there is the adult female of the Dryad species?"

"That is right. She is essentially Rin's master. When Rin grows up, she will become just as beautiful as that Dryad."

"I am sure she will. How fascinating."

This scenery was thoroughly familiar to me.

But to my mother, everything must have been novel and wondrous.