The price of winning the match was sweet.

Guild Master Kang Heseop played a leading role in the meeting and was involved in most decisions.

I heard later that all of our guild members were assigned to very comfortable positions. Especially I’m in a very safe position.

On the other hand, the Astora Guild and some guilds that partnered with them had to pay the price of defeat.

They were assigned to very difficult positions or were scattered.

Little by little, they were pushed into a disadvantageous position.

They stared at Kang Heseop while grinding their teeth, but could not do anything to express their dissatisfaction openly.

They had already lost their cause due to the crushing defeat of the sparring.

However, Kang Heseop did not intentionally force himself to make them disadvantageous in every way possible.

He only did so in the areas where someone had to take the heat, and in the rest of the cases, only the success of the mission was the top priority.

After a long meeting, as soon as Kang Heseop came out, he burst out laughing.

“Hahahaha!! Did you see the faces of those guys earlier?”

“Of course, I did, Uncle! They were shaking throughout the meeting.”

“Ugh… I should have taken a picture of them and shown them to Hayong…”

Kang Heseop and Yerin grinned, which showed how much they suffered because of the Astora Guild.

Jin was smiling quietly as if he was in a good mood.

Kang Heseop, who was smiling, approached me, patted my back, and raised his thumb.

“Sihyeon! Today was the best day of my life. Unlike what I heard, your sword handling skills were amazing.”

“Hahaha. I was just a little lucky.”

“Lucky, huh! You don’t have to be too modest.”

He went on to speak to Lia.

“You did a great job, too, Miss. Lia.”

“You can call me comfortably as just Lia. Even though it’s temporary, now I’m also a part of the Guardians guild, right?”

“Hahaha! Of course. Lia is really good with words. I really like it.”

Kang Heseop, who burst out laughing asked Lia in a subtle voice.

“Lia, do you have any thoughts on joining our guild? I’ve already checked your skills, so I’ll make sure to give you the best treatment.”

Lia replied with a smile.

“I really appreciate the offer, but I already have a place where I belong. I’m sorry.”

“Well, If that’s the case, it can’t be helped. But my offer will always be valid. Call me anytime if you ever changed your mind.”

Kang Heseop looked disappointed for a moment but soon shouted with a smile on his face.

“Aren’t you guys hungry? Shall we all go eat something delicious?”

“Uncle, Meat! Korean beef!”

“Korean beef sounds good! I know a good restaurant. Is everyone okay with that?”

We followed Kang Heseop to the restaurant.

That evening, I was able to eat as much delicious Korean beef as I wanted.

After finishing the meal, Kang Heseop ordered some additional meat for take-out and gave it to me, saying,

“Take it home.”

I was able to return home feeling very good at the thought of being able to bring some expensive meat to my mother and children.

     

A few days after the guild representative meeting, the day of the Angel mission dawned.

Lia and I got up early in the morning and got ready to go out.

My mother insisted on sending us off and woke early than usual.

“Is there anything you forgot? How about a small breakfast? Even now, I can make a simple meal.”

“It’s okay, mom. We have to go a little far, so we’ll just grab something on our way.”

My mother kept asking us with an anxious look on her face. I knew how she felt, so I answered with a smile as brightly as I could.

The moment I was about to put on my shoes in front of the front door, Speranza came out of the room.

“Papa…”

She approached me while rubbing her half-closed drowsy eyes.

I took off my half-worn shoes and hugged Speranza.

“Oh, dear. Why didn’t you sleep more?”

“Umm… I wanted to say goodbye to papa…”

A happy smile bloomed on my face hearing the words of my cute daughter.

I just want to give up on this damn mission and want to play with her all day.

I gently swept Speranza’s disheveled hair with my hand, suppressing my urge.

“Papa and sister Lia will come, as soon as we finish the job. Let’s do something fun with grandma, Akum, and Gyuri.”

“Will papa come back soon?”

“Yes. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Un. Yes, papa.”

Speranza nodded and brought her face close to mine.

Then the fox girl, who was in my arms gave me a cute kiss on the cheek.

“Hehe.”

Speranza smiled slightly shyly.

The tickling sensation on my cheek felt very good.

My whole body felt energized as if I was buffed with that kiss.

Is this the secret behind all those dads who works hard tirelessly?

When I was drunk on Speranza’s kiss, I felt like someone was stabbing me in the side.

When I turned my head, there was Lia, who was asking for something with her eyes.

I smiled and took Speranza over to Lia.

Quick-witted Speranza, who understood the meaning, immediately hugged Lia and kissed her in a cute way as she did to me.

Lia smiled very satisfactorily.

“Thank you, Speranza. I’ll also come back soon.”

CHUU

Lia took her lips to Speranza’s plump cheek as if to repay her blessing.

Not to lose to Lia, I also kissed the other cheek.

“Hahahaha! It tickles!”

Speranza trembled with a happy smile.

“Come on, you two! How long are you going to fool around with Speranza? You’ll be late after getting ready early.”

My mother took Speranza from my arms and pushed us.

There was a slight disappointment on my face and Lia’s.

But as my mother said, it was really time to leave.

I put on my shoes again and opened the front door.

“Bye, Mom.’

“Goodbye, Lady Saya.”

“Take care and come back safely. We’ll be waiting for you with dinner.”

“Byebye, Papa! Sister Lia!”

I left the house with my mother and Speranza seeing us off.

As soon as I went down and stepped out of the building, I was able to meet Yerin, who stood with a sad expression.

“Hey, why did you come down so late? I’ve been waiting for a long time!”

“Sorry. I’m sorry,”

“What? Why is your face smiling while you’re apologizing? For some reason, my intuition says that you were late because you were playing with Speranza…”

I flinched and trembled at Yerin’s sharp intuition.

However, I quickly made an excuse with a casual expression.

“Hmm…What are you talking about? Speranza is still sleeping. Don’t say anything weird and get in the car quickly. You’ve moved all the equipment, right?”

“Yes, everything is ready.”

“Then get in the car quickly.”

I made Yerin and Lia get into the car roughly.

I had a cold sweat looking at Yerin’s eyes, which were full of doubts for a while.

“Wow… why are there so many people?”

Near the place where the rift opened, a huge crowd was gathered.

From the police officers, who were controlling the onlookers to reporters, who were diligently taking notes, and media personnel, who were practicing their comments in front of the camera.

Contrary to my surprise, Yerin said with a very calm expression.

“It’s not an ordinary Rift. The Angels sensed the strangeness and brought together the country’s outstanding Awakeners. It would be rather strange if no attention was paid to it.”

I nodded naturally at her explanation.

Rather, I felt stupid for thinking it was strange.

I parked my car where there weren’t many people, and unloaded the luggage.

As I was unloading, I heard a familiar voice from afar.

“Hey, guys! Why are you late?”

“Oh, Jin. When did you arrive?”

“I arrived just a while ago. Hi… Miss… Lia-nne?”

“Hello.”

Jin greeted Lia a little awkwardly and helped us unload.

I took my supplies and headed to the meeting place.

People gathered in a large vacant lot were chatting, checking their equipment, or warming up lightly.

Yerin looked around for a while as if she was looking for someone.

She asked Jin, who came along with us.

“Did Captain Dae arrive yet?”

“Oh! The captain is giving an interview with the guild Master. Look, he’s over there.”

At the place where Jin pointed, guild master Kang, and a man I saw for the first time was getting interviewed by reporters.

The two answered the reporters’ questions leisurely without any camera pressure.

It looked very professional and cool.

Jin, who noticed my feelings from my eyes, coughed and bragged.

“Hmm. Actually, I had a brief interview a while ago. Of course, it wasn’t a long interview like the guild Master’s or  captain… …but the one who interviewed me was a pretty famous reporter.”

“Oh! Really? That’s amazing.”

At my pure admiration, Jin shrugged and made a proud expression.

Yerin burst into laughter at the sight.

“Hahaha! Oh Jin, you’ve grown to the point where your getting interviewed, huh? But, trust me, after a while you’ll start hating them.”

“What? Yerin, have you been interviewed before?”

“Yes, I have done it a few times before. At first, I accepted all the requests for interviews because it was fascinating. These days, I’m rejecting everything except for an official request through the guild. When you meet a bad reporter, it’s very annoying and excruciating throughout the whole interview.”

Hmm…

Today, Yerin and Jin felt very far away.

In fact, if you think about it a little bit, it was not a surprising thing.

Even though it got past its heyday, the Guardians Guild was still a well-known guild, and the two were aces there.

In this day and age, an outstanding Awakener can have more popularity and fame than most celebrities.

The interview was something that’s natural.

“Sihyeon.”

Lia, who was standing behind me quietly, called me.

“Yes, Lia?”

“What is this interview thing?”

“Umm…”

I briefly looked around and explained what an interview is, to Lia.

“Wow… Then, will it be shown on the device called the TV that’s in Sihyeon’s house?”

“That’s what happens when you get interviewed by a famous broadcaster.”

Yerin, who heard our conversation, sneaked in with a smile.

“If you’re active in the Rift today, you might also be asked for an interview, Lia.”

“What, really?”

“Of course. Besides, you’re beautiful, so there’s going to be a whole lot of interview requests.”

Yerin said jokingly and Lia dropped her head down shyly.

Hmm… Interview…

I briefly pictured myself on TV.

I imagined how amazed the children and how proud my mother would be when they saw me on TV.

It felt very pleasing.

It wouldn’t be bad to do an interview if I had a chance.

As we were chatting like that, someone approached us.

“You were all gathered here.”

It was Kang Heseop and Captain Yoon Daeho who had finished the interview.

“Come to think of it, Daeho has never seen these two before, right? This is our guild’s new member, Lim Sihyeon, and this is our temporary member, Lia.”

Captain Yoon Daeho bowed his head in a very polite manner at the introduction of Kang Heseop.

I was flustered by the polite attitude.

“How are you? My name is Yoon Daeho, and I’m in charge of an Attack squad in the Guardians Guild.”

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