Chapter 80

EP.80 Reward (4)

"We're just friends."

Although I was greatly taken aback inside, I answered without hesitation.

When it comes to such questions, a quick response is crucial.

Hesitation can make you seem insincere.

Besides, "just friends" is the most accurate answer.

However, upon hearing my response, Kang Woo-hyun clicked his tongue.

"Tsk—You answered without even thinking. Is my daughter that unattractive?"

There it is!

The ultimate move of the overprotective dad.

How did it not deviate from my expectations?

I had sensed that this conversation would come up, but the dice had already been cast.

From the moment I finished my answer, I had been preparing my excuses.

I calmly delivered my prepared response.

"Absolutely not. Kang Juyeon is, without a doubt, a charming and beautiful person, both in appearance and in her inherent strength. She is an outstanding holder, unmatched in her field, and a popular student who is highly regarded in the Academy. I simply answered to avoid any misunderstandings about the exact nature of my relationship with her."

Phew, phew.

I took deep breaths internally.

The answer I had prepared in my head came out smoothly.

It was almost like a rapid-fire rap.

Kang Woo-hyun, who hadn't expected such a high-speed response, was taken aback and cleared his throat.

"Hmm, hmm. I see. So, my daughter is that impressive, huh?"

"Yes. What more is there to say?"

With that, Kang Woo-hyun's face was filled with a satisfied smile.

"Indeed, my daughter. As the successor of the Fire Judgement, she should be that good. Yes, she should."

...Social life is tough.

I almost had a moment of despair, but he wasn't entirely wrong.

My evaluation of Kang Juyeon aligns with the public perception, and it's true that she is one of the most beautiful students in the Academy.

It's just that her aloof and cold personality makes her hard to approach.

Moreover, as the successor of one of the three major clans, the Fire Judgement...

She is a tree that is too high to climb, let alone look at.

"Anyway, it's a relief. Juyeon talks about you a lot, so I was worried there might be a misunderstanding."

"..."

"If it had been the kind of relationship I was thinking of, I would have kicked you out of the clan immediately, regardless of any rewards or anything."

"...Pardon?"

"Hahaha. I couldn't just leave a thief who wants to take my daughter in the clan, could I?"

Crazy...

I almost got into trouble.

What kind of unreasonable person is this?

If someone cared about their daughter even a little,

they would kick out all clan members and be done with it?

The authority of Clan Master Kang Woo-hyun, which I had felt when I first met him,

is plummeting.

He was an S-rank holder who made me nervous and couldn't even talk to at first...

But now, he's just an overprotective dad.

And to whoever it may be, I wish good luck to the man who will eventually take Kang Juyeon away.

Becoming the son-in-law of the Fire Judgement is not an easy task.

"Anyway, I understand. Our meeting today is over. I hope we can have another conversation in the future."

"...Yes."

I don't want to talk anymore, Master...

I didn't want to hear Kang Woo-hyun's relentless way of speaking any longer.

'Still... it was cleaner than I thought.'

The meeting with Kang Woo-hyun went much better than I had expected.

I didn't make any major mistakes during the meeting, and Kang Woo-hyun, with his unmaster-like straightforward attitude, made the conversation flow smoothly without any pressure.

Getting recognized for my performance and receiving the [Repentant's Sword] was a bonus.

It was a conversation with many benefits.

'He doesn't seem to be making a deep recruitment offer either.'

It might be wishful thinking, but I did wonder what I would do if Kang Woo-hyun made a formal recruitment offer from the clan.

My performance in this mission was good, even by my own standards.

As a team member, I quietly did my part, and in the boss room, I significantly contributed to both protecting my teammates and hunting the boss.

Frankly, my performance was on par with a B-rank holder.

'He only gave a reward, not an offer.'

However, Kang Woo-hyun only praised my performance as a reward, without making any formal recruitment offers.

It might be difficult for the Master to propose such personnel-related matters, or it could just be my wishful thinking.

In any case, for me, who has no plans to officially join a specific clan, the current situation is not bad.

"Then, I'll be going, Master."

"Sure, see you again."

I lightly bowed to Kang Woo-hyun and left the Master's office.

Fortunately, the meeting with the Master went smoothly.

* * *

A two-room apartment in Seoul.

With only two rooms, the kitchen was quite narrow, but a dining table and a sofa were somehow squeezed into the tight space.

Choi Arin sat at one side of the dining table, looking at her phone.

The first thing she found was a food delivery app.

Chicken, pizza, pig's feet, pasta, fast food...

These were perfect for a Friday night.

"Hey, I'm ordering delivery. Do you want to have dinner together?"

Just as she was about to pay for the pig's feet, Choi Arin looked up at the sofa.

Her sister, Choi Yumin, was lying on the sofa like a corpse, resting.

Choi Arin was asking her.

Suddenly,

"Damn, you scared me."

The corpse-like figure suddenly sat up.

Choi Arin jumped back in surprise.

Although it was her sister, every time she saw this, she felt like there was no such thing as a ghost.

Choi Yumin, with a puffy face and a bad complexion, answered in a dying voice.

"No... I have to work."

"Again? Come on, take a break. You'll really die if you keep this up."

"The work is almost done... The contract date is coming up, and I want to finish it by then."

"Ugh. Why are you doing so much for Do Jae-hyun? He's just one of your customers."

Choi Arin looked at her sister with a disgusted face.

Thanks to the passage of time, Choi Arin now knew the name of the holder who had contracted with them.

Do Jae-hyun.

He was a special customer who had invested a large sum of money in her and her sister, providing financial support.

In response to Choi Arin's reprimand, Choi Yumin's face suddenly turned stern.

"What? Do Jae-hyun? What kind of attitude is that to our investor?"

"What? He's just a customer to me. You did a time contract, but I do a per-job contract. And he hasn't called me much since the last contract, anyway."

50 million won for the first contract.

200 million won for the next contract.

A customer who bought potions at unimaginable prices, but there had been no significant transactions since then.

He probably hunts less often or doesn't need potions.

So, while Choi Arin still appreciated him as a customer, she didn't think of Do Jae-hyun as special as her sister did.

Initially, as a student holder who trains more than hunts, she didn't have high expectations.

"Anyway, I have to work. Eat alone..."

"Do as you please. If you don't eat, it's your loss."

In response to Choi Arin's provoking words, Choi Yumin waved her hand dismissively and stopped engaging.

Then she went into her room.

Below the room was another hidden space.

She went down the stairs to a narrow basement.

A makeshift forge that the Academy started using during the break.

It was still too expensive to set up a personal workshop...

But it was a small, cozy workshop she had set up herself.

While it was possible to use a private forge by paying per hour, having a personal workshop, even a small one, was better for long-term projects.

"Where was I working yesterday..."

Choi Yumin moved to one side of the workshop to find her work-in-progress.

It was a piece of equipment that was not yet fully finished.

To be precise, it was armor she was making using leather.

"Since he said he needed good armor..."

Do Jae-hyun had once requested that she focus on making armor when producing equipment.

He still had many of the weapons she had made previously, especially the [Well-Honed Longsword], which he was using well, so he didn't need any additional reinforcement.

While the contract only required her to provide five pieces of equipment per month, she wanted to try to meet his request as much as possible.

"Hmm. Anyway, thanks to Jae-hyun, I got the Epic Rune."

The Epic Rune in the metallurgy category, [Iron-Blooded Master].

A rune that had appeared as her production skills improved.

It was a talent in metallurgy that would secure her promotion to an advanced class in the next or the following semester.

She thought that if it weren't for Do Jae-hyun's support, she wouldn't have grown so much.

After he provided the investment, her growth continued to accelerate.

Her intense focus on the contracted work, even to the point of skipping meals, was simply due to this reason.

...That was all there was to it.

Clang, clang, clang.

Shaking off her brief distraction, Choi Yumin was already holding metallurgy tools and focusing on her work.

What she was making was leather armor.

Do Jae-hyun had once given her 'lizard skin' from somewhere, and she was making the armor using that.

Moreover, the lizard was quite unique, as the skin had a reddish hue in some areas.

The equipment was almost complete.

All that was left was to finish the seams.

Swoosh, swoosh.

Choi Yumin meticulously connected the remaining seams and completed the final design.

"Done!!"

Looking at the perfectly finished work, Choi Yumin smiled brightly.

Was it Thursday? Friday?

No, it had been a week.

It was the moment when the armor, which she had spent a long time crafting, was finally completed.

And the information window that appeared after a long time confirmed that the work was successful.

[Improving skills and developing techniques! Your long-practiced metallurgy is becoming deeper. Your understanding of the equipment you are making is rapidly increasing.]

[The level of the 'Iron-Blooded Master' rune has increased.]

[You gain 1 Strength and 1 Spirit due to the rune's attributes.]

The name of the completed item was [Burnt Lizard Leather Armor].

It was the first rare item she had successfully made since becoming a blacksmith holder.

"Wow. He'll really like this."

...Despite achieving such results, Choi Yumin.

Just hoped that the customer would appreciate it.