“Will you be all right, hyung?”

Yuhyun looked at me with concern as he spoke. I nodded, keeping my eyes on the paper lying on the living-room table.

“It’s a lot to handle, but… well.”

Honestly, it made me a bit sad. The paper on the table was none other than the list of tasks kindly sent by Seok Simyeong that I needed to deal with.

“The additional interview after my return was skipped for health reasons. We still need to let Peace’s doll show its face once for promotion. Since the baby monsters aren’t formally registered under me yet, we’ll have to go to the Association to sort that out… And the Chinese hunter assignment, Haeyeon Guild will handle that, right?”

“Yes. No need to worry about their paperwork. They’re already waiting at the port.”

“We need to schedule the surgery… Hey, they already caught a gold hamster in the meantime.”

They said it’s due to arrive soon. Then I’ll have to handle overseas mounts too… First foreign assignment, meaning more face time everywhere.

“It seems the Awakening Center is also nudging the Association. Korea’s safe now, so maybe we can postpone that. Lots of dungeon filming gear got deployed too. And there’s Director Song’s issue… We need to gather overseas hunters to verify them as well.”

What is all this? Why so much? The most urgent is registering the monsters.

“Haeyeon Guildmaster, I’ll grant my sister a limited special priority.”

Yuhyun blinked and smiled.

“Thank you, Director Han Yujin.”

She answered naturally, then sat on the single sofa, letting her long legs hang loosely. I’d told her several times that crossing her legs was bad for her posture, so she usually sat properly. Yet she still looked relaxed.

…If I sat like that, I’d look nothing like this.

“High-tier mounts are rare regardless of species, but among them, a water dragon is indispensable for Hunter Park Yerim of Haeyeon.”

“It being essential for an S-Rank means its price won’t be cheap.”

“And at present, Yerim is the only high-tier hunter in the country needing an aquatic mount.”

In other words, no other guild but Haeyeon will pay the proper price. Overseas trade would incur huge taxes under the Special Act.

“Of course, I won’t devalue it because of that. I’ll pay whatever it takes to satisfy Director Han.”

“You’re confident. But it won’t be so easy to satisfy me. What if I refuse?”

Haeyeon’s guildmaster rose, walked around the table to stand beside me, then bowed her upper body. Her hand reached out, gripping my shoulder. If someone else did that, it’d feel threatening—but her face was gently smiling.

“Will you refuse?”

Her voice, really asking, had a touch of playful charm. I tugged my sister’s arm and she obediently flopped down beside me.

“As guildmaster, where did you learn this?”

“From hyung, of course.”

“What? When did I ever!”

There were times, like when I was working part-time… but that was just customer service. Especially when elders felt sorry for a young man struggling.

“Even if you learned it, would an S-Rank hunter copy it?”

“There’s no one else but you, hyung, and no one else I need to learn from.”

I ruffled my sister’s head roughly as she leaned in.

“What else would I do, if not turn to you?”

“Since no one outside Haeyeon can trade, if I refuse first, all the better. Gives us a pretext, and we can come back and negotiate at our leisure.”

A good answer.

“What do you want, hyung?”

“You’re a good sister, so I’ll give you the old S-Rank baby-monster rate. It’s basically your debt anyway.”

The guild would help handle related tasks, but they weren’t obliged to pay for a personal mount. I wanted to give it freely, but handling official matters too privately could backfire later.

“That’s really not much.”

“Then maybe you could volunteer to give Haeyeon’s guildmaster a massage. My shoulders are stiff after bathing the kids yesterday.”

Yuhyun immediately began kneading my shoulders.

“Ah, that’s relieving. Black-water buffalo would be great for an A-Rank riding team. They can even join S-Rank dungeon teams.”

“Sure, take the buffalo.”

“Alright. As for Leafnil and Horned Fox, let’s hold off. Both are tricky.”

They’re too small to use as mounts, and their combat abilities make them hard to slot as fighters. They must’ve trapped them on a whim just because they’re high-tier baby monsters. I’m the Breeding-Facility Chief for mounts.

“Pegasus… ugh, it hurts.”

“Feels tight. Around the wing bones too. Straighten your back, hyung.”

“Ah, hey. Easy… The steppe pegasus is A-Rank, but S-Rank hunters could use it as a mount. Defense skills are meh… ah! Ranged is far worse—wait, wait!”

“Krkrkr.”

Peace, crouched under the sofa, perked up at my groan and bared her teeth.

“Peace, are you okay—Yuhyunaagh!”

“After your leg’s healed, let’s really train.”

“Still, I—I was taking down mid-tier hunters in the dungeon!”

“That’s why this happened. You’ve gotten into the habit of overusing your body in battle, not just magic or skills. You had memories from before regression, occasional stat boosts, and you shared senses with nearby S-Rank hunters.”

Hm, that makes sense. It’s hard to feel your limits in such an environment.

“And you never protected your body even normally.”

I have no response to that.

“Anyway, I think Pegasus would suit Hunter Evelyn. No obvious elemental skills, but I wanted to ask.”

Hyunah could use it too, but she already has Sorok. Even if Sorok grows slowly, better to lend a unicorn. There’s even a blue one.

“Haeyeon doesn’t need it much now?”

“Not immediately. A-Rank mounts are plenty.”

Two unicorns, two wolves, a lizard, an ostrich—it’s more than enough for one advanced team.

Of course, to form full teams for Yerim and Seong, we’d need far more beasts. But since one team is ready, it’s good to show Haeyeon a bit of concession. Monopolies breed resentment.

I lay the phone on my sister’s lap. The tight spot in my back eased a bit, and it hurt less.

“Hello, Guildmaster Seong.”

[Did you sleep well last night, Han Yujin?]

“Yes, I slept soundly. I wanted to ask about Pegasus for Evelyn.”

[She’d welcome it.]

“Your answer came so quickly, it sounds like you’ve already discussed it with Evelyn.”

We’re in sync. It’s comfortable not having to drag things out.

“Then cutting to the chase—ugh!”

[…Han Yujin?]

“I’m getting a massage, so it’s a bit painful here. Please handle registering the new baby monsters for me.”

I’m tired. Need to cut down my work.

[You should register them yourself, Chief.]

“Don’t be obstinate. Couldn’t Guildmaster Seong find one clever workaround?”

[Director Song will complain.]

“Don’t bother Director Song. Keep it clean, please. We’ll finalize trade terms after registration.”

I ended the call and phoned Haeyeon immediately. Peace’s doll is still managed by the promo team, but they plan to form a separate department soon.

“It’s certainly been delayed.”

[Yes. All prep except concept shots is done. We just need Director Han’s time.]

“Weekend would be best, right?”

Weekdays mean work and school. We checked schedules. The top priority is photos; we’ll shoot them this afternoon.

“I don’t know why I have to be in them.”

It’s Peace’s doll—just make Peace look cute. We’ll photograph the effigy Peace with me, then the adult form with Yuhyun.

Then I asked Seok Simyeong about the facility’s new recruits. They’re handing over tasks gradually, but with few experienced people, it will take time.

[Haeyeon will continue handling expert tasks, but the facility should have one or two reserves. After things settle, more hires will be needed.]

Recruiting won’t be hard. Despite high qualifications, many hunters want to work with beasts. Maybe they love animals.

[And I assume the guildmaster is nearby.]

“Yes, I’m here.”

[Reporters are waiting at the building. When you escort her to Haeyeon, it’d be appreciated if Director Han could see her off.]

“See her off?”

[Yes. To fully dispel rumors about the kidnapping, you two should show a friendly front for [N O V E L I G H T] a while.]

That’s easy enough, but what rumors? That we’re on bad terms because I left and went into a dungeon?

[Also, we’ve narrowed down names for the Riding Facility. Please confirm.]

Hm, I’ve lost confidence in naming lately. But since it’s a selection, closing my eyes won’t be bad.

I saw Yuhyun off with Peace and headed to the facility. In the meantime, Yerim returned from the Hunter Association.

“I think our guild’s biggest strength is how close we are to the Association.”

Yerim grumbled. Yesterday was the return report, today was new equipment registration. Items Yerim acquired were processed as obtained in Japan with Shishio’s cooperation. Truly my reliable daughter…

“If we register everything and the Association combs through it, won’t it be chaos?”

“Of course. But they only take appearance data. If there’s no lethality, it’s just a report—and Japan always had strict gun control.”

So initially people said hunters shouldn’t personally own weapons. But since mid-tier Awakened are stronger than guns, the debate died down.

“They’ve installed a temporary large pool.”

A facility hunter guided us to the training grounds, where a ten-meter movable pool sat on the grass.

“Unfortunately it’s too weak to use for other monsters.”

Surely a baby wolf could tear it apart. The rooftop garden has a pond, but too small for a water dragon. They’re negotiating a long-term rental of a nearby indoor pool.

“Kyurrrk!”

The baby water dragon poked its head over the pool’s blue barrier. Yerim floated over and reached out. The dragon affectionately rubbed its snout against her palm.

“Can I carry it in a water bubble like this? It seemed to like that.”

“Of course.”

No sooner had I given permission than the dragon rose in its water bubble. Circling happily, just as Yerim said.

“Have you decided a name?”

“Yes! But we also have a spirit. So we picked two: Sanho and Mar. ‘Mar’ can mean sea, but ‘margarita’ means pearl. So coral and pearl.”

Yerim narrowed her brow, undecided which to use. Coral and pearl—honestly better than anything I’d think of. But water attribute names I could manage too.

“If you consider the water spirit, maybe you can pick one! Has it matured enough?”

“It’s gotten a deeper color.”

When it was held in China, she couldn’t take it out.

“Mar suits a water dragon, right? Blue scales with a hint of pearl sheen. How about it, Mar?”

“Kuu!”

“Like it? Hmm?”

Yerim shook the dragon’s fin like a handshake.

“Mar will go to the Gyeonggi facility when grown. They’re building an artificial lake, remember?”

“Probably. Unless it learns phase shift like Peace.”

“Mar, you can do it! Live with me, sister!”

“Grrr.”

If they bond, maybe it could.

Leafnil, being nocturnal, was asleep. Pegasus seemed to have befriended a lamb. Sorok unexpectedly awoke too.

“Sorok, have you been exercising?”

“Biyaeng!”

When Sorok stood, the buffalo lay down. Ostrich and pond lizard are fine, they said. But the Horned Fox is very shy.

It’d eaten but hadn’t been walked, cornered itself. When I entered, it pricked its ears and ran to me.

“Shh, it’s okay. It’s not scary.”

Should I bring this one home? Peace would hate it. I scooped up the fox and stepped outside. Now then.

“You’re not naming these yourself, right, sir?”

Yerim narrowed her eyes.

“…I’ll leave naming the buffalo and Pegasus to their owners. The others—I guess I don’t have to name them.”

The problem was this: one of them asked me to name it.

“I should say I prefer naming them.”

If someone else did, they might hate it.

“The fairy dragon that turned into Guildmaster Seong—they remember seeing it in the dungeon?”

“Oh, that pink dragon?”

“Yes. So, um, pink or cherry…”

Yerim watched me. Thankfully she didn’t look serious.

“You’ve tried hard for a middle-aged man.”

“Is that okay?”

“It’d be fine for a dragon. It can speak and even turn human. It called you ‘Dad.’ Pinkie is cute, but grown up…”

…Thinking of calling Seong Hyunjae “Pinkie” gave me chills.

“Normally it stays in child form even if it transforms.”

“Try thinking beyond color first. It’s been fine so far! You can do it, sir!”

Yerim praised me that there’s progress.

“Or how about asking Guildmaster Seong? It’s related.”

“The changeling doesn’t like Guildmaster Seong much.”

Still, I might get some advice. It’d be better than my ideas.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep