All Tasks Complete
As the red light slowly rose beyond the ridge, visibility began to improve.
“……The sun’s already coming up.”
While sorting the mana stones and gathering the newly acquired data for analysis, morning had arrived before I knew it. I was sipping on some instant coffee I’d found in the corner of the warehouse to shake off the fatigue.
“Young master. Everything has been sorted.”
Han Seojun reported in, his once-pristine face smudged with soot he hadn’t even noticed—proof of how hard he’d worked.
“……Got it. What about the teams staying behind?”
“Yes. Alpha and Gamma teams will secure the perimeter first and then set up camp.”
Mana stone mines were incredibly rare worldwide. Leaving a place like this behind was simply unthinkable.
“Understood. I’ll brief Father and the consigliere myself, so tell them to hang in there a bit longer. Oh, and did you give them the satellite phones?”
“Yes. They’re set to check in every 30 minutes.”
“Good work. Time to head out.”
I stretched, downed the rest of my coffee, and made my way to the space mages who were already waiting.
Thanks to the advance call, they’d teleported over and were standing by. They bowed as I approached.
“Heading back?”
“Yeah. Sorry to Jiyoon, but I need some real rest today.”
I was sleepy, and my eyes felt heavy enough that I could pass out the moment I hit the bed.
The mage nodded in understanding.
“Heh heh—indeed, young master. You’re still at the age where sleep makes you grow. We’ll prepare right away. Those returning to the mansion, please step onto the circle.”
I joined the other unit members on the floor circle as instructed.
“We’ve already fixed the coordinates on both ends, so the backlash shouldn’t be too bad. Then, thank you all for your hard work.”
“You guys hang in there a bit longer.”
The now-familiar activation of spatial magic: purple mana enveloped us, followed by a brief flash.
“……Damn it. You said the backlash wouldn’t be bad.”
I grimaced at the lingering nausea when I spotted Father and the consigliere waiting to greet us.
“Father? Godfather?”
“Eugene!!”
The moment our eyes met, the consigliere rushed over and pulled me into a tight hug.
“Well done! You’re truly our family’s treasure! The best! Uh-haha! Uh-hahahaha!”
A hug from the consigliere—my first time experiencing such an enthusiastic welcome. Dazed, I heard Father chuckle.
“He’s been in a frenzy since you reported finding the mana stone mine. We’re not short on cash, so what’s got him so excited?”
“Don Calione! What kind of talk is that? The more money, the better—and even more is even better! Hahaha!”
He handled the family’s finances too, so this reaction made sense. I’d expected excitement from Australia, but not this level. Who knew I’d get a piggyback ride at my age?
“G-Godfather. It’s getting a bit tight now.”
“Oh? Ah, sorry about that. Right, right. You’ve worked hard, so get some rest.”
Finally freed, I caught my breath.
“By the way, we’re selecting personnel for Australia as you suggested. We were short on holding cells for the riffraff you’ve caught and the Foreign Quarter criminals. Now you’ve even found them jobs—they must be thrilled. Better than rotting here helpless. Uh-hahaha!”
Using the guys we’d captured for Australia? The consigliere was always full of surprises.
“That’s a brilliant idea.”
A genius, no doubt. They’d prefer Australia’s vast plains, deserts, and forests over waiting to die in storage. Plus, steady exercise for top-notch health management! So humane. Calione: the socially responsible enterprise creating jobs for criminals. This could be a real moneymaker……
“Consigliere. Eugene needs to sleep soon, so let him go. Our son’s worked hard—now it’s our turn to handle the aftermath.”
“Quite right. Yes, yes. I won’t hold you. Go rest up.”
Bowing deeply to the still-smiling pair, I replied.
“Then I’ll head in first.”
“Yes. We’ll handle rewards for today’s work tomorrow. Everyone else wants rest now too, right? ……Isn’t that so?”
“““Thank you for your consideration, Don!”””
The others were just as exhausted. Dragging my weary body into the mansion, I spotted an unexpected figure.
“Nngh…… O-Oppa……”
A little girl rubbing her eyes, clutching a bear doll as big as herself.
“Jiyoon. You’re still up?”
Korea was behind Australia’s time zone—early morning here—and she’d waited for me.
“Dogs were noisy…… Heard oppa was coming…… Yawn.”
Still groggy, she yawned mid-sentence.
A sister greeting her brother at dawn? My heart warmed.
“Thanks. Go back to bed—you’re sleepy.”
“Yesss……”
This felt great. I’d sleep even better tonight.
* * *
I checked the desk clock the moment I woke: 2 p.m. Way past my usual wake-up.
“……Slept like a rock.”
Yawning, I splashed water on my face and got up. After a quick shower, I stepped out and locked eyes with Alesia at the door.
“……What’re you doing?”
“The consigliere ordered me not to disturb your sleep, so I’ve been standing guard.”
“What?”
Her baffling answer left me blinking. It started to sink in.
“The consigliere stationed you here to keep my sleep uninterrupted?”
“Yes.”
“And told the other servants to muffle their footsteps?”
“Yes.”
“Whoa……”
This level of consideration was overwhelming.
“By the way, where’s Jiyoon? No tutors on Sunday.”
One oddity: Alesia was Jiyoon’s maid. Why was she here?
“Ah, she went to a friend’s.”
“……Friend?”
“Yes. The granddaughter from Elder Gwak Chunsik’s house—Yeon-ah. Left early with the Don this morning. He had business with Elder Gwak too.”
Father and the elder? Smells like an event. ……He’d tell me later.
“Also, the consigliere said to visit the study if you cough. Probably best to go now……”
Guessing why Godfather wanted me was easy: Australia business.
“Got it. Heading there now. Thanks, Alesia.”
She bowed and walked off. I headed to the study, where the consigliere was likely buried in paperwork.
The area around his study was deathly quiet, as always. Even the birds outside knew not to chirp, focused solely on preening.
“Godfather. It’s Eugene.”
A light knock, and a low voice replied from within.
—Come in.
Pushing the door open revealed…… something off. Piles of documents on the desk? Same. Neatly organized study? Same. Beaming consigliere? Suspicious.
“Um…… Godfather? Something good happen?”
“Good? Of course! An unexpected windfall rolled into Calione’s lap. See that?”
He stood, placing a hand on my shoulder, pointing to a stack on the desk’s right.
“That’s what I processed since dawn. And next to it—the remaining files?”
A much thinner pile, barely two fingers’ height.
“That’s today’s workload. Know why it’s possible?”
I shook my head—he grabbed both my shoulders.
“‘Mana stones.’ Thanks to yours, stalled projects started moving. Natural ones are rare.”
……Yeah, that’d speed things up.
Then, a familiar term flashed on his desk.
“That—what you just signed?”
“Hm? Oh, that. Normally I’d reject such a ridiculous claim, but…… with our overflowing funds, why not invest?”
“Mind if I take a look?”
“Go ahead.”
I picked it up. The contents hit me.
“Investment request for the academy cafe…… Cielo Notturno? Requester…… Latte?”
Why was this here? Staring blankly, Godfather grinned amusedly.
“She wants to raise wages for her improving staff. I’d usually nix it, but…… it’s your business too, so I approved.”
Recent hires—those kids, huh.
“Looks like she submitted paperwork to avoid getting chewed out by asking directly.”
“So what? Latte wouldn’t lie, and besides……”
—She’s pulling in plenty of useful intel from there.
Satisfied, he plopped into his chair.
“Useful…… intel?”
“Yes. But no shop talk right after waking—let’s do rewards first, as I mentioned at dawn?”
Leaning down, he lifted something from under the desk and set it atop.
“Here’s my prepared reward. It was mine, but…… nothing else in reach suits you better.”
The box slid toward me.
“Take a look.”
Swallowing hard, I reached for it. An item used by Dominic Adanbanto, the ‘Shadow in the Dark,’ Calione’s consigliere.
I opened it slowly. Inside gleamed a pitch-black ring.
◈ Type: Ring
◈ Description: A ring forged from black flame in the abyss. Grants 3 uses per day: Generate black flame at any visible location.
◈ 【Skills】
◈ [1. Abyss: Made in the abyss. Stats rise in darkness.]
◈ [2. Black Flame: Adds dark attribute damage to flames.]
◈ [3. Light Devourer: Black flame burns fiercer by absorbing light. Can be extinguished at user's will.]
“……Holy moly.”