Chapter 85

Chapter 85: Planning for the Future

The Blessing of Dexterity skill appeared.

[Artisan's Krakpus Restorative Seafood Soup]

[Blessing of Dexterity Effect: Strength+0.5, Stamina+0.5, Minor Vitality increase for 30 days]

[Glace Mushroom Effect: Toxins removed and neutralized]

Strength 0.5, Stamina 0.5.

This was the first stat dish to give 0.5 increments instead of whole numbers.

But combined, it still equaled 1.

On top of that, a minor vitality increase for 30 days.

'Ahem.'

As expected from an octopus monster rich in taurine.

An interesting effect had appeared.

'At least a stat dish appeared — that is what matters.'

I then picked up a piece of octopus tentacle.

The question was whether it had become tender enough to eat.

'Most of the stat dishes I have successfully made so far have been edible.'

A certain level of quality had to be met for the Blessing of Dexterity to activate.

So the chewiness should be at an acceptable level.

I took a bite of the tentacle first.

'Hmm?'

Before cooking, the monster's raw flesh had been extremely tough, but after thorough simmering in the pressure cooker, it had become very tender.

The chewy texture was delicious.

"Is it good?"

Ria asked.

"Yeah, it is good. Try some, Ria."

"All right."

Ria took a bite.

She nodded.

"It is delicious. Wonderfully chewy with a remarkable depth of umami."

"Right? Let us have a drink."

I poured a glass of soju for Ria.

Then poured one for myself.

"Cheers."

"Cheers!"

We clinked glasses and drank.

"Ahh!"

I did not usually enjoy soju that much, but with a soup-based dish, nothing beat soju.

Ria, who at first could not handle the taste of soju, was drinking it with ease now.

"This is nice. When I first tried soju, there was this chemical-like smell that put me off, but now that I am used to it, it tastes sweet."

"Haha! You really have become a true Korean, Ria."

"I am Korean."

"That you are."

Ria smiled with continuous happiness as she ate the octopus and seafood.

She really was lovely. Whose wife was she again?

Just watching her brought a warm smile to my face.

I shelled the abalone meat for Ria and peeled the shrimp for her.

I deboned the chicken too.

"Do not just give everything to me — eat some yourself, Seon-u."

"Just watching you enjoy the food makes me happy."

"Oh, come on."

Ria picked up a piece of octopus and a slice of Glace Mushroom with her chopsticks, dipped them in the dipping sauce, and held them out to me.

"Here, say ahh."

"Ahh."

Being fed by Ria made it taste even better.

We clinked glasses once more.

We savored the evening together on the beach, enjoying the restorative seafood soup as a side with three bottles of soju.

After polishing off the soup, I hastily stored everything in Acresia to clean up.

Slightly tipsy, we gazed at each other.

Ria, her cheeks flushed, asked,

"Shall we go home...... to the bedroom?"

"Let us."

I opened a Gate portal and we headed home.

And we were intimate until morning.

Perhaps it was thanks to the restorative seafood soup — I had more energy than usual.

***

Bell had grown considerably.

She was no longer a pup.

She had grown to nearly the size of a large dog.

'She is growing so fast.'

Then again, given that a fully grown adult Fenrir was enormous, perhaps this was not fast at all.

As a result of growing so much —

"Bell, run! Hehe!"

"Woof!"

Bell carried Rin — still small at the average height of a three-or-four-year-old — on her back as they ran around the yard.

Bell and Rin were still the best of friends.

Both of them were adorable.

Ria and I watched contentedly from the outdoor table, sipping tea.

I said to Ria,

"Someday, Rin's little sibling will be born too, and all three of them will be running around the yard together."

"I know. We are happy now, but we will be happy then too."

Truthfully, before meeting Ria, I had been negative about marriage.

I had simply wanted to live a life for myself.

'I could not even understand the concept of romantic love between a man and a woman.'

Since I had never passionately liked anyone, I simply could not comprehend it.

But then I met Ria, fell passionately in love, and now that I was married, I could not be happier.

Everything brought me joy and happiness.

The world looked beautiful.

"I had no idea marriage could be this happy. I am happy now, and I look forward to the happiness that lies ahead."

Ria smiled at my words and nodded.

"I feel the same. If I had known I would be this happy, I would not have needed to agonize before we started dating. My past self was so foolish."

Ria had indeed agonized a great deal.

For my sake, she had said.

In the end, she started dating me, went through naturalization, married me, and here we were.

As we talked, the knight trio arrived.

In response, the magical turrets installed outside the fence flickered with blue Mana.

But upon detecting that the visitors were not intruders, the Mana light extinguished.

They were designed to never attack living beings carrying magic stone access passes.

'Good performance.'

Just two days prior, the anti-intrusion magical turrets had been fully completed.

Ashley had tested their performance by attempting to sneak in from the air without a pass, using stealth magic.

The moment she descended, the turrets immediately detected her and attacked with lightning bolts, but they were easily blocked by Ashley's shield.

Regardless, the turrets boasted excellent performance — capable of detecting even a dragon that concealed its presence or used stealth magic.

"Good morning."

"Did you sleep well?"

After the knights greeted us, we returned the greeting.

Shortly after, the Sword Saint and Eriksson also came by to exchange pleasantries.

After the greetings, Eriksson stretched.

"Ahhh! Refreshing. Nothing beats sleeping in a proper bed."

The log cabin that Neville had begun building for the S-Rank trio had been completed.

I asked Eriksson.

"A house is better than a tent, right?"

"Tents have their charm, but yeah, having a house is nice. Personal space and all."

"I bet. But are you two really fine with staying in the Rift permanently?"

When I asked, Eriksson scratched his cheek with his index finger.

The Sword Saint gazed into the distance.

Eriksson had no particular affiliation, so his situation was understandable.

"Sword Saint, sir, you are a guild master. Is it all right to be away from the guild for this long?"

"Ahem, it is fine. I delegated full authority to Instructor Park before coming. He manages the guild well, teaches the disciples well — does everything impeccably."

Instructor Park was the vice guild master of the Bamboo Fragrance Guild.

He was the one who had handed me the ice-attribute highest-grade magic stone previously.

So in other words, the Sword Saint had dumped all responsibilities on him before leaving.

Poor Instructor Park.

"I can open a Gate portal for you at any time, so please visit the guild now and then. That way your disciples will feel at ease."

Instructor Park had been calling me repeatedly, asking whether his master was doing well.

"Understood. I should visit soon."

I said to Eriksson as well.

"Eriksson, has it not been several months since you last contacted home?"

"Hmm...... it has, actually."

"The Rift house is well-defended now, and the restaurant is running smoothly, so take a trip home once in a while. You are welcome back anytime."

"Got it."

Santos was currently on his way back, accompanying the Eagles Guild to escort the Cartel Union members into custody.

***

The dish Ria and I had eaten from the octopus monster was a restorative seafood soup.

However, I did not put it on the restaurant menu.

The restorative seafood soup overlapped in role with the Horn Rabbit Restorative Soup.

Instead, I decided to sell an Emperor Seafood Stew.

True to its name, it was a seafood stew loaded with luxurious ingredients fit for an emperor.

'The star ingredient is, of course, the octopus monster.'

I also added abalone, scallops, shrimp, conch, blue crab, and lobster.

The result was a Blessing of Dexterity dish with the exact same stat options as the restorative seafood soup.

'In terms of visual impact alone, the Emperor Seafood Stew is number one among all stat dishes.'

When I presented the stew — heaped on a large iron platter — to a customer who had reserved it in advance:

"Wow...... That is an enormous serving."

Stunned once by the visual.

"Vitality for 30 days......? I cannot resist that."

Stunned twice by the stat options.

Vitality was, for all intents and purposes, synonymous with stamina in bed.

Before long, the Emperor Seafood Stew became famous among the Hunters for boosting virility.

Of course, in a Rift populated by over seventy percent men, the benefit was not particularly needed.

But the 30-day duration was what hooked the Hunters.

"Since it lasts 30 days, if I head back within two weeks, I will still have two weeks of the effect left."

"I cannot pass up a vitality boost."

"My wife has been waiting for me to come home. I absolutely need to eat this before I head back."

And so, guilds and party members preparing to depart began placing reservations.

Although the stat options were only Strength 0.5 and Stamina 0.5, the vitality bonus drove sales — priced at two high-grade magic stones per serving and still selling briskly.

And they were stunned a third time by the taste.

"Ahh! With a drink, this is incredibly refreshing."

An unspoken rule emerged among Hunters who ate the Emperor Seafood Stew.

They always paired it with soju, vodka, tequila, or some other distilled spirit.

Among those, soju was the top seller.

"I need to visit Korea someday. I love every Korean dish I have tried here. And soju is great, makgeolli is great."

Another Hunter said to the one who had spoken,

"Chef An is supposed to be the best chef in Korea. Why would you go all the way there to eat? Just eat here."

"That is a fair point."

I had been chatting with customers at another table and walked over.

"Korea has many excellent chefs besides me. There is a lot to see and plenty of great food to try, so please do visit. You will not regret it."

"Haha! If you say so, Chef, then I absolutely need to go."

Thanks to the Rift restaurant, global interest in Korean cuisine was growing.

Famous Hunters who had visited were sharing stories about the food they had eaten at the restaurant on Mutube, social media, TV broadcasts, and more.

'Oh, come to think of it, there was a rumor that Michelin would be sending an Awakened evaluator to the Rift restaurant soon.'

Whether that rumor was true or not did not matter much to me.

A good evaluation would not necessarily bring in more customers.

Besides, the menu changed daily, and the interior was not exactly high-end, so receiving a top evaluation would be difficult.

'Their evaluation criteria cover not just the taste and detail of the food, but also the restaurant's ambiance and service — everything is assessed.'

***

Today, I went outside the Rift with Ria, Rin, and the Sword Saint.

The purpose was to look at buildings for sale.

The Sword Saint had come along to help.

Rather than a regular realtor, we went through a vetted firm specializing in commercial building transactions to view properties.

"Hmm......"

The location and price were good, but the building was too old.

Another building had plenty of floors but a narrow floor area.

We spent the entire day touring building listings around the metropolitan area, but finding one that met my criteria proved difficult.

Rin, apparently exhausted, had fallen asleep in the car.

The Sword Saint remarked,

"Rin must be tired from the long car ride."

"It seems so. It is a rare day off, and I did not want to leave her alone, so I brought her along, but I should have let her rest at home."

I decided to call it a day.

That was my plan, but then —

The Sword Saint called Director Jeong Jae-yong of the Rift Management Bureau and asked if he had any connections.

The Director asked him to hold, hung up, and shortly after, I received a call from someone.

"Yes, hello?"

-Good day. This is Executive Director Lee Gi-yong from Seonhwa Asset Management. Director Jeong Jae-yong asked me to contact you.

Seonhwa Asset Management was a subsidiary of a major conglomerate.

"Ah, yes. Hello."

-To tell you a bit about myself......

He proceeded to recite his credentials.

He said he was extremely well-connected in this industry and that there was no information he did not have access to.

He claimed to have introduced commercial real estate properties to numerous celebrities.

He then told me that there were currently no small building listings matching my criteria that also had high investment value.

However —

-There are a few small buildings where construction was halted right before completion due to funding issues, and lien holders are currently exercising their rights.

"Would the lien complications not make things complicated?"

-Very much so. However, two of the construction firms holding the liens are companies I have a personal relationship with, so the process would be relatively safe and straightforward. Would you like to take a look at those buildings? If you are interested, I will contact them.

"Yes. That would be much appreciated."

The addresses he provided were one in Goyang City and one in Mapo District, Seoul.

We headed to Goyang City first and viewed the property.

It was the most appealing building I had seen so far.

Then we viewed the building under lien in Mapo District.

"Oh......?"

The exterior was sleek.

The exterior was virtually complete.

A seven-story building with a floor area of roughly 150 pyeong.

We went inside.

The interior was also clean.

Ria looked around and exclaimed,

"This place is great."

"Right? The location is good, and the building is clean."

I asked the construction company holding the lien,

"If I were to purchase this building, would it be possible to convert floors five, six, and seven to residential use?"

"Absolutely. It would cost extra, though."

Prior to that, purchasing the building from the current owner and resolving the lien would cost approximately 22 billion won.

The costs for completing construction and the renovation work for the residential conversion would be separate.

'It is a bit pricey, but I like the building itself.'

It was new construction and nearly complete.

Both the location and the building design were good.

I would need to give it serious consideration.

"Seon-u, if you are only going to use floors five, six, and seven as your residence, will you be renting out floors two, three, and four?"

At the Sword Saint's question, I shook my head.

"No, I will use them as guild offices."

"A guild......? Are you thinking of establishing a guild?"

"Yes. It will not be a typical guild, though — just a family guild."

The three front-of-house staff: Kim Myeong-hun, Joel, and Jeong Ye-rim.

Then Director Jang, who ran the wine shop.

And if they wished, I would also recruit Eriksson and Santos, who had no current affiliation.

When I said this, the Sword Saint pointed at himself.

"Why am I excluded?"

"Excuse me? You are the master of your own guild, sir."

"Hmm...... true. Then how about this?"

"How about...... what?"

"My guild merges into yours. The Bamboo Fragrance Guild building in Cheonmasan would then become a branch of the guild you establish."

"......"

Is this man serious right now?