A Strategic Godfather Cocktail

For a brief moment, Daniel and I had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a constructive conversation.

By my standards, anyway.

How Daniel saw it, I couldn't say.

At any rate, he pestered me about when we'd meet next, but I had no intention of seeing him again anytime soon.

I used the mirror Daniel had given me to scoop up only Jeokmyo and Chilmyo, then handed the rest off to Daniel—offloaded the trash, I mean. Asked him for a favor.

Having the world's number one as a drinking buddy was definitely a good thing, but I was a fairly busy man myself.

I headed straight for Traders Mart.

Thankfully, the doors were still open.

"Whew. Almost thought I was too late."

I went straight to the salmon section.

There it was—a massive salmon fillet.

42,800 won per kilogram.

I'd be sharing it with my Master, so I'd need at least five kilograms.

I grabbed five slabs and moved on to the sauce aisle.

Horseradish sauce, capers, gochujang.

Sugar, lemon juice, onion, soy sauce, vinegar, wasabi.

After loading up on every sauce imaginable, the bill came to about 250,000 won.

And for my final stop, the liquor aisle.

When Team Leader Cho and I assault the top floor of the Tower, I intend to ask my Master for his help. Which is exactly why I'm preparing a strategic bribe.

Operation name:

Just picture it!

A dark, close-lipped cocktail bar, wisps of pale smoke drifting through the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠room like dawn fog.

A mafia don strides in, and the bartender bows his head with solemn respect.

Into a luxurious crystal glass: ice, whiskey, Disaronno—stirred gently.

A cinnamon stick smoked over the rim of the glass,

clink—

and presented with a flourish.

That's what I'm going to recreate in the World of Dream Souls.

The Heavenly Demon and a Godfather? Come on, they're a match made in heaven.

He's bound to love it.

'And while I'm at it, I might have a glass or two myself.'

"Man, that's gonna be tasty."

Shopping done, though,

for some reason people kept staring at me.

That never used to happen. Was it because my appearance had changed?

Anyway.

Everything went into my inventory, and I headed home.

Daniel stopped by the Korean Awakener Association.

At the main entrance stood exactly one man,

Cho Sang-hyuk, dressed in his combat suit—and unlike before, he greeted him with a deferential posture.

"Thank you for your efforts."

Daniel narrowed his eyes.

"Mister Cho. You li-ar."

"Haha, my apologies. It was rather classified."

Truthfully, Daniel understood Cho Sang-hyuk's position.

He'd have done the same in his shoes.

But understanding a man's motives and letting him play politics were two very different things.

Daniel pulled the mirror from his inventory.

As he poured his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠magic into the mirror, White Snake and his underlings came tumbling out.

Whatever Daniel had done to them, every one of them was unconscious.

"Are these the members of Japan's Orochi?"

"They are. Ah—and Jeokmyo and her subordinate, the Legend Newbie left them with me. Forget about those two."

"Understood. Of course."

"Mister Cho. Just remember one thing: Korea owes me today. I intend to make very good use of that."

Cho Sang-hyuk gave a measured nod.

"The Republic of Korea is deeply grateful to you, Mr. Jensen."

"Then grant your Legend Newbie dual citizenship—American and Korean."

"That, I cannot do."

Cho Sang-hyuk's answer was ironclad.

The man had never once crossed Daniel before, but this time his face hardened like he intended to concede nothing.

'Anything concerning Mr. Jaewoo, I will never simply let slide. Even if I have to stake everything I have.'

"Hey, Mister Cho. You're way too serious, you know that? That whole thing was cleared with your Legend Newbie already."

"...Truly?"

"Of course."

Cho Sang-hyuk's eyes went wide.

"I will verify that and get back to you."

"Verify it quickly. Move fast."

Daniel turned as if there was nothing more to say. But Cho Sang-hyuk couldn't hold back the curiosity swelling in his chest—

"Daniel. May I ask you just one thing?"

Daniel stopped mid-stride.

Then answered without turning around.

"What is it?"

"What was Mr. Jaewoo like?"

Daniel let the question hang for a moment before replying.

"...Legends really are legends."

With those parting words, he waved a hand and walked away,

and Cho Sang-hyuk gave him a slight, respectful bow.

"Hooowh—"

Only now did the tension drain out of his shoulders.

Cho Sang-hyuk let out a long breath and muttered,

"So that truly wasn't a stage meant for me."

The Daniel Jensen he'd just witnessed was a completely different man from before. Of course, even back then, he'd radiated the monstrous presence befitting a world top-ranked awakened—but now? It was on another dimension entirely.

Perhaps it was the heightened emotions lingering after battle, but even the faint magical energy leaking from him had been enough to steal the air from your lungs.

'So he was hiding his true strength all this time.'

Which only deepened his worry for Yu Jaewoo, and he picked up his phone and dialed.

—Yes, Team Leader.

Thankfully, the voice on the other end was perfectly calm.

"Mr. Jaewoo, it seemed you ran into Daniel... Are you all right?"

—I'm fine.

"That's a relief. What became of the dual citizenship matter?"

—Ah, go ahead and grant it. I came up with a plan of my own, you see.

"A plan, you say...?"

—I'll tell you when we meet. It's all been sorted out, so don't worry about it.

"Understood, sir."

—Right, then. Get some rest.

Click. The call ended, and Cho Sang-hyuk let out a small snort of laughter.

"Meeting the world's number one alone and settling everything himself. The more I learn about that man, the harder he is to figure out."

US Secretary of Defense Leni sat on the sofa of a hotel room, tapping away at a laptop.

Tap-tap-tap-tap—

"Maybe I should commission a one-shot-kill torpedo."

As he was organizing the tasks at hand, someone knocked on the door.

"Leni! Don't tell me you're asleep?"

Leni rose from the sofa and walked to the door.

The lock clicked—the door swung open,

and there stood Daniel.

"Come in, Daniel."

"Ms. Leni. Something's come up that needs handling. Fast."

"Calm down. What's got you in such a rush? That's not like you."

"I told you. Something urgent came up."

"What is it? Is this about that magical energy you let off?"

Daniel nodded.

"Yeah. I met the Legend Newbie."

"...!"

"The balance of power is about to shift. From here on out, we may not get to climb the Tower at this leisurely pace anymore."

It had been a long, long time since Leni had seen Daniel this serious. They were childhood friends, but some incident had long ago turned him into an entirely different person.

Which was precisely why Leni matched his gravity.

"Could he be an 'Apostle' too?"

"No, not an Apostle. When we exchanged numbers, I probed his divinity—no response whatsoever. But—"

Daniel recalled the scene from that day,

and his voice rose with something close to excitement.

"He's a being who will surpass divinity itself. We need him. Desperately."

Looking at Daniel's expression,

Leni felt a thrill run down his spine.

'I've never seen Daniel this worked up.'

"Tell me what you need me to do, Daniel."

Daniel nodded and laid it all out.

American citizenship (dual citizenship).

The transport of Jeokmyo and the Twelve Branches, and information manipulation.

A villa, warp items, and so on.

"And Jeokmyo and one of her subordinates?"

"Seems the Legend Newbie intends to use them. Oh, and look into skill-copying items for me."

"Skill-copying items?"

"Yeah. We need to copy Cho Sang-hyuk's skill, One Existence."

Leni returned to the sofa where his laptop sat.

"Got it. I'll find one, one way or another."

"Thanks. Ah, and—"

Daniel smirked.

"Dubai chocolate too, please."

"Haha. You're joking, right?"

"One hundred percent serious."

"That newbie of yours. Isn't he working the US Secretary of Defense a little too hard?"

Daniel nodded without a shred of shame.

"One hundred percent agreed."

"Hm~ hm~"

Humming to myself, I finished my shopping and made my way back to my little apartment with a spring in my step.

And right at that moment.

Bzzz—

My phone chimed with a message.

I checked it—it was my little sister.

My sister had turned uncharacteristically respectful.

So the brat learns, eventually.

I let out a small chuckle and sent my replies.

"Look at her, quoting proverbs and everything."

I set the phone down

and stepped into the World of Dream Souls.

Then I called out at the top of my lungs.

"Master! Your disciple has returned! You've been waiting a long time, haven't you!"

My Master sat in the pavilion beside a stately pine, circulating his qi—and the sight was nothing short of an immortal transfigured.

"Aw, come on! That's too much! Your beloved disciple comes home and you won't even pretend to hear me!"

At that,

my Master slowly opened his eyes and spoke.

"And what have you brought me this time?"

"Oho. My Master truly is a mind reader. A figure of speech, of course—not an actual ghost."

With that, I pulled out the ingredients I'd gathered.

"Your disciple shall prepare a meal!"

I laid the salmon out on the cutting board,

sliced it into generous, chunky pieces,

and sprinkled over a fitting amount of lemon juice.

I soaked the onion in cold water to draw out the bite, dressed it in horseradish sauce, and tossed it together.

Then I whisked soy sauce, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sugar, and vinegar together in a golden ratio,

added wasabi, and stirred it through.

Behold: the one and only 'Yu Jaewoo's Secret Soy Sauce'.

After readying a few small dishes,

I spooned out the capers and the gochujang.

For greens: lettuce, perilla leaves, cucumber, carrot.

I set the dining table on the pavilion floor and called my Master over.

"Ta-da! A banquet prepared by your devoted disciple!"

My Master walked over at his own unhurried pace.

Overhead, the Milky Way spilled across the night sky, and a cool evening breeze drifted past.

Truly, a feast of raw salmon.

"Master, please enjoy your meal."

My Master gave a nod, then reached out and picked up a plump, generously cut piece of salmon, topped it with the horseradish onion sauce and capers, and ate.

"Hah— as expected of my Master! You truly know how to eat!"

"This seat of mine is the Heavenly Demon."

See? 'This seat of mine' only sounds right coming out of my Master's mouth.

I picked up my own piece of salmon,

dipped it lightly in the soy sauce,

then swabbed it thoroughly through the gochujang.

"Mmm~!"

The gochujang and the salmon melted together into a flavor straight out of a dream!

That satisfying, springy chew was a thing of beauty.

Beyond that, I rotated through every sauce I'd prepared.

Onion with horseradish sauce; capers when the richness got to be too much.

Soy sauce with wasabi is simply the law of the land,

and next time I'll have to make chogochujang too.

The meal with my Master was joy itself.

And after the table had been swept clean,

my Master spoke.

"Tsk tsk. You ascend the Annihilating Heavenly Demon Art to its grand completion, and still you come home bruised?"

"Whoa there, Master. How on earth do you know I ran into a fairly tough opponent this time? You truly are a ghost."

"You brat."

"A figure of speech! I swear!"

"Hm. So he was truly that strong?"

"No, no—allow me to correct the record. I did not come home beaten. Let's call it... evenly matched?"

Honestly, if the power Daniel Jensen had shown in the Steel Colosseum were the full extent of him, I would have won. But.

'A sloppy, murky fight is a fight best avoided.'

"You could not overwhelm him. And if you were not beaten, then what would you call it?"

"Haha..."

So unless I overwhelm, it counts as a loss.

My Master, through and through.

My Master's voice dropped low.

"My disciple."

"Yes, Master."

"Do you wish to grow stronger?"

"Of course I do."

"Then from tomorrow, come to me every day once more."

...!

This was the words I'd been waiting for.

As expected, when all is said and done, the only one you can truly rely on is your Master.

Ah, what a rock of a man!

Of course, there was one thing to be done first.

"Master. The night is still young. Allow me to tell you the tale of what I faced out there. And—"

I drew a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue from my inventory.

Disaronno. Cinnamon sticks.

And out came the fine crystal glasses as well.

"Your disciple shall pour you a Godfather, Master."

The time had come to execute the operation.

'Time to start buttering up the Master, nice and slow.'