Chick 172

172

From major guilds like Brome and NAG to rising stars like Undang, Chase, and Blast—

All the top-ranking hunters were gathered to witness the railgun demonstration.

Producer Seo, slightly tense, asked,

[Do so many guilds usually gather for a raid?>

[No, that’s not normal, but today they all came to see the chick.>

In exchange for handing over the dungeon they owned, they’d earned the right to observe the railgun test.

Grew stepped forward confidently, followed by the Hyunak guild members.

Briefly glancing at Chase’s guild leader and an A-rank rookie named Lee Taemin, Grew found a suitable spot, then launched the drone.

When the chick soared up and took its place mid-air, Grew raised a fork.

[A fork?>

“……”

Was she going to do the demonstration herself? Junim pressed a hand to his forehead.

Grew held up her tiny fork and huffed several proud breaths through her nose.

Gidan, meanwhile, was dragging over a felled golem.

With a body of solid stone, the golem was one of the most notoriously tough monsters to defeat.

The camera alternated between Junim’s tense face and Grew’s triumphant look on screen.

[Hi-yah!>

Just as Grew was about to jab the golem with her fork—

Gidan stepped in to block.

[Hold on a second. Guild Leader Chase, I thought we agreed all outside filming would be off.>

All eyes turned toward the Chase guild leader.

[Excuse me?>

Serhi strode right up to the Chase guild leader, who tried to play innocent, and briskly snatched his bag. Shaking it out, he produced a camera.

The Chase guild leader, flustered, raked a hand through his hair.

[Sorry, my Taemin really wanted to replay it later…>

[We apologize.>

Taemin joined him in apologizing, and murmurs rippled through the crowd.

[What’s going on?>

[I think Hyunak arranged to have exclusive filming rights for the chick…>

Soon the commotion died down, and Grew poked the golem with the fork.

Despite the golem’s rock-hard exterior, the fork pierced it as smoothly as if it were pudding.

Some gasps rose at that, but the greater astonishment instantly faded at what came next—the launched projectile.

Crack—

Too fast for the naked eye.

Powerful enough to pierce the golem completely.

And fully portable.

Clap clap clap clap!

Starting with one, applause and admiring murmurs broke out all around.

Trying to hide her pride, Grew hugged her fork tightly to her chest.

At that moment, Gidan quietly approached, setting up a sound barrier and asking in a low voice,

“You modified the drone?”

Its power was noticeably increased compared to their previous tests.

The diameter of the hole it left behind was nearly twice as large.

“Yup! Put in a brand-new mana stone. Now it’s rated A!”

Grew broke into a broad, bragging grin, and Gidan let out an impressed breath.

To think, changing only a single mana stone could make it A-rank.

That item truly was worthy of being called a destroyer of physical laws.

No wonder the test run alone had been a game-changer.

After mussing up the extraordinary youngest’s hair, Gidan dropped the barrier.

The other guild members were still marveling as they examined the golem.

Meanwhile, Grew dug out the snacks she’d packed earlier and went around handing them out to the observing guild members, shaking hands and thanking them like a politician on a campaign.

The set burst out in delighted laughter and cries of “How cute!”

Thus ended the friendly joint raid attended by several guilds.

Short interviews with various hunters followed.

• Guild Leader Hyunak? Today she was especially small, precious, and kind. Why is that? (laughs)
• Guild Leader, you’re too cute! Please be our Hyunak leader forever!
• Guild Leader On, thanks for the snacks! You were adorable today!
• She’s even cuter in person than on video. I took tons of pictures thanks to her.
• Yes… Is it possible to kidnap her and raise her at home?>

The final, suspiciously serious comment finished, and the set’s cameraman captured Junim’s perturbed expression.

In the next shot, Grew was seated in a cozy-looking room, gazing into the camera.

At the bottom of the screen, a caption read: ‘Impressions After Being Guild Leader for a Day.’

Producer Seo, speaking in a gently encouraging tone, addressed the slightly nervous child.

[Guild Leader On, people are saying you did a wonderful job today.>

At the gentle praise, Grew’s eyes sparkled, her nerves vanishing instantly.

[Really?>

[Absolutely! You’ll get to watch it all when the show airs. Now, could you share your thoughts with us?>

[Yes!>

• It was fun. Very very!

Q. Was there anything difficult?

• There was a lot more work than I expected. Honestly, I always thought Daddy just played at his desk, but there were lots of hard documents, and so many things I had to pay attention to.>

Recalling the troubles from the raid, Grew sighed with wistful eyes.

She realized that even things that seem simple don’t always go smoothly. How many times had that happen to a guild leader? And how many more times would it happen in the future?

[- Now that I know how tough it is, I’ll give Daddy lots of massages. I’ll help out with guild work, too. I’ll do everything! I’ll be so good to him!>

Grew huffed proudly through her nose.

• Ummm……>

Grew rolled her eyes thoughtfully.

[- That’s still not enough. There’s always some loss when you use words.

Q. Loss? What does that mean?

• Daddy says, ‘Whenever energy changes, there’s loss.’ Like, a big circle turns into a little triangle. It happens to feelings, too. When you say them out loud, not all of it gets through. That’s why you need an amplifier. Like petting, massages, worrying and saying, ‘Don’t do that,’ ‘That’s forbidden’… Just words alone can’t carry all of Grew’s big circles.

Grew stretched her arms wide and flapped them up and down.

[- Because Grew’s circle is soooo big. Even bigger than this!

Q. Grew, you’re really clever! Can you say one last thing to Daddy?

• Yes!>

Grew pushed her face right up to the camera lens.

When told she could scoot back a bit first, she straightened again and shouted,

[- Daddy, Grew loves you so so much!>

Forming a heart with both arms, Grew beamed brightly as the video came to an end.

---

On the set, Junim quietly smiled as he stroked his watch.

Producer Seo observed him, almost as if studying him.

There truly was a certain presence about him that drew attention, even if he did nothing at all.

It seemed it wasn’t just striking looks or bold words that drove high viewership ratings.

Meanwhile, Junim, who had watched the video as if determined not to miss a moment, met Producer Seo’s gaze.

Producer Seo flashed a gentle smile.

“It really was a lovely video.”

Junim smiled back in agreement.

At the sight, Producer Seo and the other staff briefly stared at him in a daze.

“It seems other people see you that way, too, sometimes.”

He hinted at what he wanted to say: that, to him, Junim always looked that way. Producer Seo broke into a soft laugh.

Even without a blood connection, the love Junim felt for the child seemed every bit as deep, and that was heartwarming to see.

“As a single father, I’m sure adoption wasn’t an easy choice. You must face plenty of challenges, too, don’t you?”

Junim touched his temple and nodded.

“Well, yes, all sorts of things.”

“I take it she gets into a fair amount of trouble. That’s the impression I got—even in the video… a little?”

Trying to soften it, Producer Seo smiled, and Junim let out a short laugh.

“It’s less the child’s fault than mine, as a father—I’m far from perfect.”

That answer caught Producer Seo off guard, but Junim continued,

“Sometimes what I thought was for the child was really just my stubbornness. Well, I’m learning, bit by bit.”