Chapter 21: I Want to See the City (4)

Crunch!

The girl took a big bite of the apple tanghulu with her tiny mouth.

Unlike the Guild Master, who had bitten half of his in one go, her bite left barely a trace, like a worm had nibbled it.

…Can she even feel full eating like that?

No, can she even taste it properly?

Maybe I should’ve bought some easy-to-eat candy instead of following the trend with tanghulu, he thought.

While he was fretting over this needlessly, the girl exclaimed, “Wow! Ow! Oww! My tongue tingles!”

She kept munching away at the tanghulu, her cute lips soon glistening with sugar.

It’s sweet!

So sweet it hurts my tongue!

Goodness, so this is what heretics, what people on the surface, eat!

No wonder most people on the surface can be happy – it must be because of delicious food like this!

The crisp texture of the fruit combined with the crunchy sugar coating was quite satisfying to chew, and the burst of tart juice mixed with sugar syrup made her mouth water like a flood.

“Guild Master! You should eat some too!” the girl said, grinning with rosy cheeks. She looked genuinely happy.

Though her eyes and voice were directed at the Guild Master, her attention was clearly fixed on the tanghulu.

“There’s plenty, so take your time,” he replied.

The Guild Master couldn’t help but smile at her pure joy. His usually stoic lips had become unexpectedly generous.

However, he was so busy watching the girl’s cheeks puff out that he hadn’t touched his own tanghulu at all.

“…Oh! Did, did you want to try the apple flavor?” the girl suddenly asked, hastily extending her hand.

Before he could answer, she was already pushing the apple tanghulu towards his mouth.

“Hehe, eat it. They say good things should be shared,” she said.

At first, he was going to tell her to eat it herself, but he couldn’t ignore what she said next.

“Ah,” the Guild Master opened his mouth blankly, and the girl pushed the apple tanghulu in with a bright smile.

Rather than feeling grossed out by eating food the girl had already bitten…

“…It’s sweet,” he muttered.

“Right? If the demon of gluttony knew about this, wouldn’t all the fruit on Earth be gone?” she replied enthusiastically.

It was incredibly sweet.

For someone who didn’t particularly seek out sweet things, it was an almost dizzying level of sweetness.

But more than the taste, it was his inexplicably pounding heart that affected him most.

A child… a child…

He finally understood why the adults around him, his guild members, had been urging him to get married and have children.

This was completely different from the humans who only saw money and power when they looked at him, or those who were terrified of his appearance and abilities as if he were a monster.

This was just… warm.

“Say ‘ah’!” the girl said, already pulling out a strawberry tanghulu and holding it up to his mouth before even tasting it herself.

The strawberry burst in his mouth, filling it with tart juice.

Instead of speaking at length, the Guild Master reached into the bag and pulled out another tanghulu.

This time it was green grape.

“Open your mouth,” he said.

“…Okay!” she replied.

He gently placed it in the girl’s small mouth.

So this is happiness, he thought.

This is what it means to be at ease.

Before they knew it, both of their faces were full of smiles as they shared tanghulu face to face.

“Hehe… Are you feeling better now?” the girl asked.

“Hm?”

She showed a surprisingly cunning side for her age.

The Guild Master had been staring blankly into space, maintaining his usual stoic expression.

But as his expression softened and his gaze turned to her, the girl rolled her eyes slyly and whispered, “Monk Jamyeong and you, Guild Master… You’re both such good people for taking in a sinner like me, but you both look so worried…”

Was that so?

Had I been so obvious that even a child could notice?

“People are naturally prone to making mistakes and worrying. But… isn’t it sad when you’re so worried that you can’t even enjoy the things you should?” she continued.

The girl fidgeted with her fingers and then presented something with a “ta-da!”

It was a small sparrow-shaped doll that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. It looked familiar, as if it had been modeled after the Daddy Sparrow she carried around.

“What’s this…?” he asked.

“These little ones don’t spend all day worrying about what they’ll eat and just staring at the ground. When the three of them fly together in the sky, singing… hehe, I was really envious,” she explained.

She reached out and slipped the sparrow doll into the Guild Master’s pocket.

He noticed her oddly broken fingernails.

“So… if anything happens, I’ll try my best to help you… I hope you won’t worry too much and can relax as much as you want, Guild Master!” she said earnestly.

The Guild Master finally admitted it to himself.

He had been worrying about the girl, stealing glances at her.

Was the child okay emotionally? Did she know any other information about the cult?

What if the district office head turned out to be part of the cult?

What if she was bothered by the citizens who had appeared to see him?

What if she was disappointed by gifts she didn’t like?

Then what would she like, and what would she dislike?

His life up to this point, leading Chungseong Guild to become one of the top three guilds in Korea, had been full of critical decisions.

He couldn’t even approach something as simple as playing with a child without overthinking it.

No wonder the child couldn’t fully enjoy herself with him standing stiffly nearby like that.

As the Guild Master’s expression turned serious, the girl lowered her head, worried she might have said something wrong.

But then…

“You’re right. I guess I should stop worrying and do what I want to do now,” he said.

His voice was the same as always – seemingly emotionless and gruff, but with a hint of thoughtful consideration.

By the time the girl raised her head again, they had already entered an unfamiliar building.

“Welcome…” someone began to say.

The first thing they saw was a glass display case full of brick-like objects, with people in suits standing behind it.

“…T-the Chungseong Guild Master?!”

“I want an Opal Pro Max 16. Is it possible to activate one right now?” the Guild Master asked.

“O-of course it is!”

He had stopped deliberating whether to buy it or not and had marched straight into a mobile phone store.

Ignoring all the other trivial items, he strode forward and added to his order:

“AirPods Pro, Ultra Watch, and tablet. Give me the latest models of everything, all Opal brand products.”

The girl had no idea what was going on.

“…R-right away, sir!” the store employees stammered.

For them, this was like hitting the jackpot.

The Guild Master had no intention of skimping on ambiguous areas.

Since he was buying it for the girl, it had to be the best! The most expensive and highest quality!

“Open your mouth,” he said to the girl.

“…Ah?” she replied, confused.

While the employees were running around frantically, he leisurely fed her another piece of tanghulu.

Cavities?

That’s only a concern in backward countries without Awakened healers.

In his eyes, the girl looked scrawny compared to other Awakened individuals anyway.

“I-I’m going to burst…” she protested weakly.

“Hmm. Just try one more,” he insisted.

“Eek!”

The girl had literally tasted her fill of apple, pineapple, green grape, strawberry, tangerine, and even durian tanghulu before finally escaping from this sugary hell.

Urp- She let out a tiny burp, her face turning bright red with embarrassment.

The Guild Master, on the other hand, thought ‘She must be full now’ and smiled contentedly.

After the girl’s eating show was over, while the Guild Master and the girl relaxed, the employees diligently processed the paperwork and activation for their VVIP customer.

In the end, this is what the girl received:

Opal Pro Max 16 4TB Hermès Premium Edition, including 2-year insurance: 5.7 million won.

Opal Pad Pro 6TB, including 2-year insurance: 4.4 million won.

Opal Max headset and AirPods Pro, totaling 1.1 million won.

Plus a 6G unlimited data plan at 160,000 won per month.

He had spent about 12 million won while just sitting there munching on tanghulu.

Multiply that by two and you could buy a basic compact car…

Wait a minute.

That’s not a bad idea.

Since we’ve come this far, why not get an armored car instead of a compact one?

“…Sir? S-sir? Are you listening?” an employee asked nervously.

“Ah. Yes, I’m listening,” the Guild Master replied.

“So, the contract is under your name, so there shouldn’t be any issues with usage. However, Opal phones don’t have student control apps, so if you need something like that…”

“That’s fine,” he said dismissively.

Well, he could always gift her a car later when she was old enough to get a driver’s license.

Besides, she was a smart kid.

There was no need to restrict her usage time or limit her apps.

As the girl stood there, mouth agape at the array of new gadgets, the Guild Master said, “Here, take it. It’s yours. This is the smartphone I explained earlier.”

He placed the fully set up smartphone in her small hands.

“It-it’s heavy,” she said.

How do adults use these one-handed?!

She had to grip it tightly with both hands just to hold it.

But… what was she supposed to do with it now?

The Guild Master and the employees were staring at her expectantly.

“Um… Wow! Th-thank you!” she stammered.

“You’re welcome. See if it suits you. If you don’t like it, I’ll buy you a different one,” he replied.

At this point, the girl felt compelled to do something.

After all, when adults stare like that, it usually means they want something.

Hmm, what could she do to satisfy them?

Suddenly, she had an idea.

Oh! Monk Haein had shown her something before!

Laptops and smartphones look similar, so maybe they work similarly too?

Tap, tap-

Mimicking the Guild Master, she tapped the screen a few times.

An internet browser popped up, showing a familiar website.

“Ah! Guild Master! Look at this!” she exclaimed.

By now, she had figured out the basics.

She quickly accessed the Chungseong Guild’s lecture site for students.

Having memorized the address, she navigated there swiftly despite using a smartphone for the first time.

“I see you can use it well,” the Guild Master said, pleased.

She really was a smart kid.

To use a device she had just encountered for the first time with such ease.

However, he couldn’t maintain his proud smile at the girl’s next actions.

Is getting a smartphone as a gift a good thing?? (Posted by: Anonymous54)

(Photo of full set of Opal electronics.jpg)

I suddenly received this as a gift, is it good??

– Anonymous 41: Are you a silver spoon kid??

– Anonymous 58: Ah, I want an Opal too, I’m sick of this space phone!

– Anonymous 27: Just one cyber burger….

Huh? Kim Seongyeong said everyone has at least this much? (Posted by: Anonymous54)

(Detailed specs of Opal Pro Max 16 photo.jpg)

Aren’t these common for people taking lectures at Chungseong Guild?

– Anonymous 41: You bastard, where do you live?

– Anonymous 73: So who the hell is this Kim Seongyeong?

– Anonymous 74: Isn’t he that guy? The awakened student

– Anonymous 27: With that much, he’s definitely a silver spoon….

The girl, having learned this behavior from somewhere, was grinning proudly after stirring up trouble online.

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