Powdering the Spirit Horn at Cheonroe Guild
After stuffing myself silly on fish, Han Serin and I slipped back out through the tower's entrance.
"Fwaaa..."
Taking in the tower air and then the city's smog-choked breeze again—man, it felt great. My lungs were getting properly filthy, just how I like it.
"Good work out there, Arang. Where to now? Want me to drop you home?"
Han Serin rolled her shoulders lightly as she asked me.
Going home to crash sounds nice, but with all the moving boxes everywhere...
I shook my head, thinking of the horn I'd left with her.
"No thanks. I wanna bake with that stag horn I got right away."
"You sure you're not beat? You hustled plenty today. Just head home and rest up."
"Eyy, baking's not tiring at all. It's fun, actually~."
Okay, maybe a little tired, but kneading dough is so enjoyable it melts the fatigue away. And with a brand-new ingredient? Any exhaustion just vanishes.
Worst case, I'll munch a morning bun while I work.
Han Serin stared at me for a beat, let out a dry chuckle, then ruffled my hair.
"Jeez... such a tiny thing with all that stamina. Impressive, impressive."
"Hehe, that's 'cause I'm at that age where energy's endless~."
"...Must be nice being young."
She stretched my cheek waaay out and sighed. Anyone hearing that would think she was ancient, but she's still in her twenties. ...Right? Otherwise, those perky boobs are straight-up unfair.
"So, where we headed? Baekya Guild with Eunwol?"
"Hmm... no. Cheonroe Guild this time."
"Eh? Cheonroe...? That's Cheon Yura's turf."
Her eyes went wide again.
"What's the sudden reason to trek there? You could just bake at Eunwol's."
"Well... this stag horn. To mix into bread, it needs to be super fine powder. Baekya's mixers won't cut it."
"...Fair point."
Baekya's bakery setup is pretty high-end, but Cheonroe's gear is next-level. Plus, I'd heard they have tons of artisans who handle monster byproducts—maybe a hunter specialist for this?
"Figured I'd hand it off to their processing experts."
"Yeah... Yura does snag a lot of artisans."
She nodded, but frowned like it pained her.
"Still, do we have to invade that prickly Yura's front yard...?"
Her lips pouted out, but she couldn't resist my pleading eyes and finally gave in with a nod.
"Fine, fine. Let's go. I'll get you there safe."
"Yay! Thanks, Serin unnie!"
"...Keep calling me unnie from now on."
I stifled a giggle at her blushing face as she whipped her head away.
She's got this unexpectedly cute side.
Her desperate attempt to hide the flush just made me laugh harder.
A little later, we pulled up near Cheonroe Guild's headquarters in her car.
She parked on the shoulder, cracked the window, but stayed put in the driver's seat.
"Arang, I can't stand looking at that smug Yura face, so we're parting here."
"Got it—thanks so much for the ride."
I beamed through the window and waved.
"Unnie made today awesome—great views, loot, all of it! We gotta go together again!"
My warm send-off earned a soft smile from her.
"I had a blast hitting the tower after so long. Head in safe, and you better save me one when the bread's done."
"First taste tester's all yours~."
She gave a casual wave and peeled out without a backward glance.
I waved until she was gone, then turned and headed into Cheonroe Guild.
"Oh, you're back?"
"No way... it's really her from before..."
The reception desk staff spotted me the second I stepped into the lobby, lighting up with bright smiles as they hurried over.
They remember me? After just one visit?
"Hiii~."
"Aigo, welcome! Here to see the guild leader again?"
One friendly female staffer slipped a sweet orange juice pouch into my hand as she asked.
Mm, the power of connections—satisfying.
"Thanks! Yeah, for the guild leader. She super busy?"
"Not at all! We'll call her right now for you. Mind waiting in the lobby?"
I nodded, and they hustled back to the desk in a flurry, frantically dialing somewhere.
I stabbed the straw in and slurped away while plopping neatly onto the lobby sofa.
I could feel Cheonroe hunters passing by stealing glances at me.
...Gotta turn down snacks this time.
Still got leftovers from last time at home.
My stomach's tiny as is—mixing in snacks makes meals take forever.
The burly hunters were whispering among themselves, peeking but hanging back awkwardly. They looked itching to come say hi, yet hesitating.
Oh, right.
Last time I was here, Yura laid down the law... explains it.
From the vibe back then, she's not the easy-approach type on a normal day either.
Eh, I'm bored anyway. Chatting with folks sounds fun.
Potential customers, right?
I hopped off the sofa, flashed a bright grin at the gawkers, and bowed politely.
"Hi there!"
"......Gasp."
"Ahem, cough!"
My greeting hit like a bomb— their faces flushed red, eyes bulging.
"Uh, h-hi... kiddo."
"She's adorbs... no wonder the guild leader's obsessed..."
Goodwill boost achieved.
Smiling to myself, I gave them a little wave.
"Arang!"
The lobby elevator dinged open, and out rushed Guild Leader Cheon Yura.
Spotting me, her face bloomed into a grin, a soft smile tugging her lips.
"You came?"
I trotted over with a beaming smile and greeted her. She gently stroked my bangs and asked warmly.
"Yeah. What brings you all the way here? Bread baking?"
Her eyes sparkled with anticipation.
I glanced around. Way too many staff and hunter eyes in the lobby.
...Whip this out here, and it'll get noisy.
I sidled close and whispered low.
"Guild Leader... not here. Somewhere just us two?"
"...Eh...?"
Her eyes went wide like a startled bunny, cheeks flaming red in a flash.
?...What's this about.
"J-just... us two...? Ahem! R-right. If that's what you want."
She cleared her throat, eyes darting everywhere, then grabbed my hand and hurried off.
"This way. To your private bakery. No one but us can enter."
She was clearly misunderstanding, but I didn't bother correcting her.
Eh, nothing serious.
We headed to the dedicated bakery building she'd splurged on for me.
Still tough to get used to, no matter how many times.
"Okay, spill. What's this big talk that needs just us?"
She asked, face still a bit flushed.
I carefully unwrapped the bundle from my pocket.
"This. I wanna get it processed."
Swish.
"This is..."
She took the horn without thinking.
The flush vanished from her face, replaced by her serious guild-leader mode as she examined it.
"...Arang. Where the heck did you get this?"
"Huh? Oh, picked it up in the tower earlier."
She alternated stares between me and the horn like I'd said something insane, then sighed.
"...Yeah, okay. With all your miracles, I'm kinda used to it now."
"......?"
"Anyway, we'll appraise the exact value later, but this... it's top-tier stuff. Auction it off, and the big shots would fight tooth and nail."
She set the horn carefully on the counter.
"So you want it processed? Our guild forge has hunter smiths—they'll do it perfect. How?"
She clearly thought I wanted gear or armor made.
...It's for bread.
Felt kinda bad betraying her expectations.
"No! Not gear or anything. Grind it into fine powder for bread!"
"......What?"
"Gotta mix with flour for dough—no crunchies, super fine powder, please~."
She stared at me, utterly blank.
So shocked her face went full doofus mode, totally unlike her.
"...You're using this pricey thing for baking?"
"Yep!"
Honestly, even if I made gear, what would I do with it?