Chick 218
by Cristae218
“Kriteto Reactor Seed Potato!”
“Hm?”
“…?”
Groo stared at On Suhyeong’s dazed expression, mouth agape.
Inside his head, bombs were going off in succession.
‘Stupid, I blurted it out too honestly~!’
What should I do?
Does Grandpa already know that “Jjapso” made the Kriteto Reactor?
What would Dad do if he found out I let it slip to Grandpa that I’m Jjapso by a careless mistake?
Joorim was very sensitive about Groo’s true identity.
They’d even fought over whether Groo should be a Hunter or not. If he found out Groo was letting it slip this easily…
‘This time he’s going to say “No” a hundred times for sure!’
While Groo stood frozen, mind in turmoil with his mouth hanging open, On Suhyeong quietly spoke.
“Kri…”
So startled was Groo that he hiccupped.
Hic!
His face blanched, and he quickly covered his mouth.
“Kri… what was that, again? Grandpa’s hearing’s gotten quite bad lately, I couldn’t quite catch it.”
“…!”
Groo’s eyes began to sparkle.
“Christmas… potato… hic!”
“Ah, Christmas potato. I see. So this is a toy factory that makes Christmas potatoes.”
“Yes, ye-es! Hic!”
“Shall we head inside and play at drawing up factory plans together?”
“Ye-es.”
“Let’s go.”
“Ye-es! Hic!”
“You really look startled, Groo.”
“I’m not startled at all… hic!”
“I see. Let’s go inside, have a nice juice, and you can calm down.”
“Okay. Hic.”
On Suhyeong gently wiped away the tears beginning to well in Groo’s eyes, then patted his back softly. The hiccups quickly subsided.
“But Groo, can we leave that out there?”
On Suhyeong gestured to the baby bird and hamster buried up to their necks, and they whimpered for help.
“Biiiiii!”
“Myuuuuu!”
“……”
Guess I should take them out since the factory’s closing for today…
Groo grabbed Mephisto and Bailach by the heads and popped them out of the earth.
Once free, the two cuddled into On Suhyeong’s arms, smiling sweetly.
“Heh heh heh.”
Groo stuck out his lip in protest at the sight.
“Let’s go in.”
“Yes.”
Contrary to Groo’s worries about being found out—
“What’s the principle behind the Christmas potatoes?”
“You put mana stones in here… like this…”
“These days, even toys use mana stones, huh? Must be lots of fun.”
“It is!”
Groo flashed him a big, goofy grin, thinking,
‘Grandpa is so incredibly clueless…!’
Gained 1 point of new knowledge.
How could someone so oblivious be the chairman of such a large company?
In dramas, clueless chairmen always seem to be betrayed a lot…
Groo gazed at On Suhyeong with a sad, protective look.
‘I’ll just have to protect Grandpa too.’
While Groo resolved himself, Grandpa was already drafting new blueprints on his laptop.
“Would it be all right to make this part out of soft material? The corners are easy to bump into, you see.”
“Ah! That’s fine. Good idea.”
“Very good. And this rotary kiln part: let’s extend it into a long cylinder so the potatoes roll out one by one…”
With deft, clicking fingers, the blueprints quickly gained a professional form.
‘Woooow…’
It was nothing like the clumsy old factory.
Now, considering a child might carry it around, it had handles, and as a whole, it was designed to look like an amusement park attraction.
Groo played with the magical new design in his head, rotating it in 3D.
[Your knowledge has increased!]
[Clack-clack! Filial piety factory leveled up!]
[You may now assign three more workers!]
‘Whoa!’
Six workers now! With twice the manpower, even an S-grade reactor was no longer a dream!
“Groo, do you think this could be made out of LEGO? Grandpa could have a mold crafted; would you still be able to use it as a toy then?”
“Yes!”
All that mattered was designating it as a filial piety factory; what it was made from didn’t matter at all.
“That’s a relief.”
“Heehee.”
Grandfather and grandson beamed at each other.
“Still, Groo, I don’t think it’s safe to leave the toy here. The emptier a house is, the more careful you must be—there are a lot of staff going in and out.”
Dun-dun!
Then there’s nowhere Groo can leave it!
Would he have to move it back to the guildmaster’s office?
Groo imagined, with a shudder, the angry wolf-monster that was his dad booting the factory out of the room.
“If Groo’s toy needs a lot of mana, Grandpa could place it in one of the company’s dungeon properties.”
“Dungeon?”
Groo perked up his ears.
“That’s right. Companies like ours sometimes buy up abandoned dungeons. They’re good for research, waste disposal, all sorts of things.”
If the factory was in a dungeon, Groo could use the ‘Dungeon Is an Open Door’ skill for easy access.
“Groo can really have it?”
Groo at least knew dungeons cost more than land—and that not just anyone, even with money, could buy them.
On Suhyeong chuckled and tapped Groo’s nose gently.
“Of course. If our Groo wants it, Grandpa is happy with whatever makes you happy.”
Ziiing—
Groo clutched his fluttering heart.
“Groo too! Groo wants Grandpa to be happy!”
“Then will you tell Grandpa he’s your favorite?”
“Yes! Groo—!”
“Wait a second.”
On Suhyeong quickly pulled out his phone and began recording a video of Groo.
“Groo loves Grandpa the most!”
Laughing brightly, On Suhyeong kissed Groo’s cheek. Groo giggled and kissed his grandpa’s cheek in return.
After filming, On Suhyeong seemed to send the video off somewhere.
Soon, messages flooded the screen, and he chuckled quietly to himself.
What’s he doing? Groo wondered, tilting his head.
Then a name reading “My son~♡” popped up on the screen, and the phone began to vibrate.
“Is that Dad?”
“He’ll probably be here soon. Would you like to have dinner at our house?”
“Yes!”
“All right, Grandpa will have everything ready. You go play in the meantime.”
On Suhyeong patted Groo’s bottom.
“Let’s go play!”
Groo announced brightly, and zipped outside, with hamster, rabbit, and baby bird following close behind.
On Suhyeong looked out at the child playing in the yard, his face shining with joy.
‘Who would have thought even my grandchild would be so gifted?’
He hadn’t exactly lived a virtuous life, and yet, somehow, he was now blessed with such a wonderful child.
Life was truly unpredictable.
Groo seemed to want to keep his secrets, but On Suhyeong had known for some time now that Groo was an exceptionally sought-after Hunter.
Thinking back to why his fussy and lazy son brought the child, who visited Orchestra shortly after, and certain interviews after he and Groo had a falling out, it wasn’t hard to put the pieces together.
Moreover, having had such brilliant sons himself, he was hardly swayed by prejudice as others might be.
In fact, the reason he’d appointed the suspicious “Jjapso” as a straw CEO for an affiliate was precisely because he already knew Jjapso was Groo.
“……”
The smile on On Suhyeong’s face faded as a persistent worry gnawed at his thoughts, prompting a sigh.
When you ran a company this large, you inevitably developed a sharp eye for reading between the lines.
You learned what was connected to what, how to see the bigger picture.
On Suhyeong turned on his phone and sent a message to his chief of staff.
Investigate everything on the top-secret “Project Wilderness.”
The real aim of the secret project was the “realization” of On Ijo.
On Ijo, who possessed an L-rank crafting skill, was known by another name: “Imago Dei.”
Just as God created man in His own image, Ijo was a creator who could perfectly replicate anything in existence.
Organic or inorganic, from animals to humans, monsters; regardless of material conditions or grades…
It was no illusion that Groo sometimes reminded him of Ijo.
On Suhyeong steadied his trembling hands.
If his suspicions were correct, he wanted to erase all records before Joorim figured it out.
Because as Groo continued to grow, it was inevitable that Joorim would one day reach the same conclusion.