Chapter 121
Chapter 121
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 121
Chapter Title: New Beginnings
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"So… the book was right."
"What did you say?"
Briareus was lying on the sofa, clicking the remote.
The table was piled high with snack wrappers and empty drink containers, and the floor was littered with crumbs.
"Aren't you going to clean up?"
"Mmm. In a bit."
"Sigh…"
Do-jae was seething.
After returning from Busan, he'd had no choice but to bring the creature home.
He had even let him use the room his brother was supposed to stay in.
And now, after just one day, the entire place was a complete mess.
On top of that, the room was now filled with junk he'd collected from who knows where.
*Click-.*
"Ugh, this is so boring. *Yawn*. Hey, Do-jae, isn't there anything fun to do?"
Briareus turned off the TV and let out a long yawn.
Do-jae fought the intense urge to smack him and started vacuuming.
*Vrooom-!*
He gathered the scattered trash into a designated garbage bag and sucked up the crumbs on the floor with the vacuum.
The noise seemed to bother Briareus, as he covered his ears.
*Thump- Thump-!*
"Hey! What are you doing?"
Do-jae pushed at Briareus's foot, which was dangling off the sofa, with the vacuum cleaner.
"You have a lot of crumbs on your foot."
"Are you defying me over a few spilled crumbs? Me, the Red Dragon Briareus?"
Briareus shot up from his seat, shouting angrily.
But Do-jae paid him no mind, switching the vacuum head to clean the sofa.
"Since you're up, move."
*Nudge, nudge-.*
"Hey, seriously! Look here, Mr. Lee. You were all nice when you brought me here. Is it okay to give me a hard time like this? Huh?"
"...I didn't bring you. You came here on your own. And you were the one who said you wanted to stay by my side."
"Damn… What are you, a robot?"
Briareus looked utterly disgusted.
But Do-jae completely ignored him and finished cleaning.
"Sigh. This is just too sad. I'm just going to go to sleep."
"Good. I'm heading out, so don't move a muscle. Just stay here."
"What? Where are you going? I wanna come too."
*Thud-.*
Do-jae tossed a box to Briareus.
It was a brand-new smartphone he had activated after returning from Busan.
"Use this from now on. I've saved my number in it, so call me if you need anything."
"Ooh! Is this the Apple Phone 15 Pro Max! This expensive thing... Do-jae, you're on fire!"
"Just be quiet. Don't cause any trouble. Lie down and watch MeTube or something."
"Okie dokie! You're the best! Thanks a bunch!"
Do-jae shook his head.
He left the house, amazed that this halfwit was actually a dragon.
***
*Ting-a-ling-.*
After leaving, Do-jae entered a cafe.
He walked toward a man who was waiting for him.
"You're here."
"It's been a while."
The man had shed his usual black suit for a dapper outfit in much brighter colors.
It was Kim Soo-kyung, the current commander of the MID.
"Congratulations. It's not much, but here's a small gift."
Kim Soo-kyung congratulated Do-jae with a bright smile, handing him a few paper bags that were sitting beside him.
"Clothes?"
Inside the bags were clothes from a luxury brand.
He took them out and saw they weren't his size; they looked like they would be a perfect fit for his brother, Do-young.
"I figured there was nothing I could possibly give you, Mr. Lee, so this is a gift for your brother, to express both my apologies and my gratitude for what happened. I hope you'll accept it."
"I was thinking of getting him something anyway. Thanks for being so thoughtful."
"Not at all. Compared to the significant things you've done, this is nothing."
After saying that, Kim Soo-kyung took a manila envelope from his bag and placed it on the table.
Do-jae immediately checked the contents of the envelope.
"...Is it all perfect?"
"Of course. It's all been taken care of."
Inside the envelope...
...were various identification cards and documents.
And the photo on them was of Briareus's polymorphed face.
"Good. And the other thing I asked for..."
"Right here."
Kim Soo-kyung took out another palm-sized box and set it on the table.
"It's only been two days since I asked... You must have gone to some trouble."
"Yes, it was a bit difficult, having to go all the way to Osaka, but whose request was it? When it's a request from you, Mr. Lee, I must do my absolute best."
"Well, you don't have to go that far..."
Do-jae opened the box, feeling a little awkward.
Inside was a string of prayer beads made of black glass.
"It's a bracelet that interferes with the wearer's mana. Only the person who put it on can take it off."
"How much mana can it interfere with? Can it suppress an S-rank's mana?"
"This is unconfirmed, but it's said that even Japan's S-rank hunter, Morita Ryosuke, couldn't remove this bracelet."
"Morita Ryosuke..."
"Yes. Morita Ryosuke, the Exorcist."
Do-jae recalled a face he'd once seen on the news.
Morita Ryosuke, one of Japan's most famous hunters and one of the top rankers in the world.
True to his nickname, the Exorcist, he was incredibly powerful against monsters, especially the undead, and was often compared to the Lord of the Dead, Lucy Ferguson.
"If even someone like him couldn't remove it, this is a seriously dangerous item."
"It is. An extremely dangerous item. So, if you don't mind my asking, may I inquire what you plan to use it for? I can't even begin to imagine what you would need this bracelet for, Mr. Lee."
"I'd rather not say. Whatever you're thinking, it's not going to happen."
Looking at Kim Soo-kyung with the Eye of the Golem, Do-jae could see that he was worried.
"Haha... As expected, you see right through everything, Mr. Lee. I overstepped. My apologies."
"Thank you for handling my requests so quickly. Is there anything you need from me?"
This time, Do-jae offered to return the favor.
The things Do-jae had asked for were by no means simple, and the fact that Kim Soo-kyung had resolved them so quickly meant he must have gone through considerable trouble.
Do-jae felt he needed to offer something in return; a one-sided relationship of just making demands would eventually crumble.
"Fortunately, I'm managing well on my own for now and have no requests. If something comes up, I'll be in touch."
"Alright. I'll talk to you later."
Do-jae stood up.
He hadn't even touched his coffee, but there was nothing more to discuss with Kim Soo-kyung.
Kim Soo-kyung must have felt the same, as he didn't try to stop Do-jae from leaving and simply bowed his head.
"Until we meet again."
***
"Whoaaaa! This is our office? Awesome! Were we this rich?"
Park Kyung-min jumped up and down at the entrance with exaggerated gestures, overjoyed.
Ha Tae-seong and Gong So-eun, who had arrived with him, were also several times more emotional than usual.
"This is insane... It doesn't even smell like mold..."
"How many desks are there? Look, there's a break room too. And two bathrooms! They're even inside the office!"
"What are you doing standing at the door! Get in here."
Jeong Hoon-hyeon pushed the Park-Ha-Gong trio inside as he entered the office.
With his hair slicked back with enough pomade to shine and a crimson suit, he was dressed in a style that exuded his signature gangster-like vibe for the first time in a while.
"Director Young-jin... Did you do all this by yourself? This is amazing..."
"Hmph. I had help from an interior design company, but overall, you could say it reflects my aesthetic sense. If we had a bit more money, I could have made it as nice as my mom's company. It's a shame, but I'll have to be satisfied with this. Hehehe."
Ji-yoon and Young-jin, who followed him in, each shared their thoughts on the new office.
Soon after, Eun-hee also got off the elevator and entered the office.
"Congratulations!"
"Ooh, Ms. Eun-hee. You shouldn't have!"
Eun-hee had brought a basket filled with vibrant flowers.
She carefully placed it among the congratulatory flower pots and wreaths that had already arrived.
"Kuhuhu... To think a day like this would come! Everyone, come here!"
Jeong Hoon-hyeon ran toward the guild members and pulled them into a hug.
Eun-hee and Ji-yoon deftly sidestepped the embrace, but Young-jin, being the closest, was dragged in along with the Park-Ha-Gong trio for a tight group hug.
"Ughhh... Master! Stop!"
After a long, emotional hug, Jeong Hoon-hyeon sniffled and released his arms.
Then he took out a handkerchief and blew his nose loudly.
*Honk-!*
"Ugh... Gross! Master, you're the leader of a proper guild now, not some tiny one. Have some dignity!"
Ji-yoon said with a frown.
The other guild members nodded vigorously in agreement.
"Guild Master! We're a respectable guild now! It's not like when it was just the four of us, so please be more careful!"
"Park Kyung-min's right. Seeing you like that makes me embarrassed for you."
"Hey, you rascals. You're not the ones to talk! Anyway, I'll try. By the way, Director Shim, when did you say the new recruits were coming?"
Jeong Hoon-hyeon said, looking at his watch.
The current time was 9:15 AM.
"I told them to be here by 10:30. Should we take a tour of the building before then?"
"Sounds great!"
"Yes!"
"Let's go right now!"
The Guardian Guild members followed Young-jin with wide smiles.
The building they moved into had five floors in total.
They started their tour, going down one floor at a time by the stairs.
"This is another office! We'll be adding about 30 new members, so this floor will fill up too."
The fourth floor was an office space, just like the fifth.
However, the fourth floor was an open-plan space without separate rooms, divided by partitions and walls.
This floor was also designated for the non-awakened guild members who would handle administrative work.
Next was the third floor.
"Wow... This looks like a chairman's conference room!"
The third floor was divided into three rooms.
One was a conference and multi-purpose room.
It was made large enough to comfortably accommodate all the guild members.
Next was the storage room.
In addition to various supplies, it also had cabinets where members could store their personal belongings.
Finally, there was a lounge with a bright view of the outside.
It was a large break room with a cozy atmosphere where anyone could relax comfortably.
"I paid special attention to this area. My mom always said that a person's ability to focus depends on how well they rest."
Everyone nodded at Young-jin's words.
After all, these were his mother's words, not just anyone's.
They couldn't help but agree.
And then, they went down to the second floor.
This was the place everyone was most satisfied with.
"This is the space I put the most effort into making sturdy! Unless a meteor hits, this place will be fine even in an earthquake."
The second floor was a gymnasium designed for training.
Not only was it spacious, but it was also filled with all sorts of exercise equipment whose names they didn't even know, and further inside, there was a bathhouse complete with a sauna and spa facilities.
"Director Young-jin! Can't I just live here? I'll pitch a tent in that corner!"
Park Kyung-min pleaded, grabbing onto Young-jin's pant leg.
The facilities on every floor were just that perfect and impressive.
"Lastly, the first floor, as you saw on your way in..."
They all went down to the first floor.
The first floor housed a lobby, a reception area for visitors, and a small convenience store and cafe.
"From now on, everyone has to work even harder! When you think about the money that went into this building... you get it, right?"
"That's right! Let's all work hard! This is all thanks to Director Young-jin and Vice Guild Master Do-jae! Ah, speak of the devil."
Just as Jeong Hoon-hyeon was encouraging the guild members.
Two men opened the building's entrance and walked in.
"Sorry we're late. I had to bring this guy."
One was our Lee Do-jae.
He was walking in his usual comfortable attire, and the other...
"Nice to meet you all. I'm Lee Do-jun."
The man introduced himself as 'Lee Do-jun'.
It was Briareus.