Chapter 194
When I was done, I could see a red glow slowly rising over the ridge.
“…… The sun is already up.”
Morning had arrived after a long night of moving gems, collecting and researching new materials.
I was sipping a cup of mixed coffee I’d found in a corner of the warehouse to ward off my fatigue.
“Master. It’s all cleaned up.”
Han Seo-joon reports, unaware of how hard he’s been working and the charcoal-black stains on his clean-shaven face.
“……So, the team that’s staying behind?”
“Yes. Alpha and Gamma decided to secure the perimeter first and then set up camp.”
Mines that produced magic stones were extremely rare in the world and it would be absurd to abandon such a place.
“Alright, tell Dad and Consigliere to give it a rest while I explain things to them. By the way, did you get me a satellite phone?”
“Yes. We’ve arranged to call every half hour.”
“Good. I’ll get going.”
I stretch and finish the last of my coffee, then head out to find the space wizards, who are already waiting for me.
The spatial wizards had already made their way over here, thanks to my phone call and as I approached them, they bowed to me.
“Do you wish to return?”
“Yes. I apologize, but I need to get some rest today.”
I feel sleepy.
My eyes are bleary even now, and I’m sure I could fall asleep in my bed right now.
The wizard nodded in understanding.
“I’ll have you ready in a moment, but if you’re going back to the manor, will you please step up to the circle?”
I do as he says and step up onto the circle drawn on the floor with the rest of the troops.
“I’ve already fixed the coordinates on both sides, so the recoil shouldn’t be too bad, then, thank you, everyone.”
“Just a little more trouble for you.”
I was the now familiar motion of spatial magic being triggered as a brief flash of violet mana engulfed the surroundings.
“…… Damn. You said the recoil wouldn’t be too bad?”
Still grimacing at the unaccustomed recoil of the spatial magic, I finally caught sight of my father and Consigliere, who had come to greet me.
“Father? Godfather?”
“Eugene!!!”
Consigliere rushes to me as soon as our eyes meet and throws his arms around me.
“You really are the treasure of our family! You’re the best! Aaahhhhhhhhhhh!”
A hug from Consigliere.
As I stagger back from the overwhelming welcome, my father smiles.
“He’s been in a frenzy ever since you said you’d discovered the magic stone mine.”
“Don Corleone, what are you talking about? The more money you have, the better, hahahahaha!”
This is probably because he’s also the family’s wealth manager.
I was expecting this in Australia, but I didn’t expect him to like it so much.
Who would have thought that at this age, he would be so excited?
“Oh, Godfather. Now I’m getting a little frustrated.”
“Huh? Oh, I’m sorry, yeah, yeah. You’ve worked hard, you should get some rest.”
I’m finally free.
“By the way, as you say, I’m still trying to figure out who to send to Australia. We’ve been running out of room in the warehouse for all the tramps and Foreign Area criminals we’ve been catching lately, and I’m sure they’ll be happy to have a job. It’ll be better than being stuck here doing nothing. Hahahaha!”
I wondered who we were going to take to Australia, but I never thought he’d use the guys we had.
It was always in the back of my mind, but Consigliere really…….
“That’s a great idea.”
He must be a genius.
I’m sure they’d much rather be in Australia, with its vast grasslands, deserts, and trees, than in a warehouse waiting to die.
Plus, they’ll be able to keep fit with regular exercise!
Mmm. How humane.
Corleone, a pro-social enterprise that creates job creation systems for ex-offenders.
This might be bigger than I thought……?
“Consigliere, Eugene will need to sleep soon, so I’ll send him first. He’s been through a lot, and now…… we’ll have to clean up the mess.”
“I suppose we must, yes, yes. I won’t hold you now. Go inside and get some rest.”
I bowed my head, looking at the two of them, still smiling.
“Well, let’s go inside first.”
“Sure. We’ll deal with the non-public award for today’s work tomorrow. I’m sure everyone else would like a good night’s rest right now……. Right?”
Dad’s question was followed by the voices of the troops behind him.
“””Thank you Don for your consideration!”””
It seemed that the others were just as tired.
As I dragged my tired body into the mansion, I saw an unexpected figure standing there.
“Ugh…… big brother…….”
A girl rubbing her eyes while hugging a teddy bear about her size.
“Jiyun, weren’t you sleeping?”
It must have been the wee hours of the morning in Korea, where the time difference is slower than in Australia, but Jiyun was waiting for me.
“Everyone was making a lot of noise, so I thought……brother was coming.”
Jiyun yawns as she mumbles something about not feeling sleepy yet.
A younger sister greeting her brother at the crack of dawn.
“Thank you. You must be sleepy, so go back to bed.”
“Okay…….”
This felt very good as it was. I felt like I would be able to rest more than usual today.
* * *
I opened my eyes and looked at the time on my desk clock.
Two in the afternoon, a time I wouldn’t normally dream of waking up.
“……I overslept.”
I groggily rolled out of bed and stood up, drying my face.
After a quick shower, I stepped out and locked eyes with Alessia, who was standing in the doorway.
“……what are you doing?”
“I was ordered by the Consigliere not to disturb the Master’s sleep, so I’m standing guard at the door.”
“What?”
I froze at her incomprehensible answer and slowly, things began to come together.
“Consigliere, had you stand guard so my sleep wouldn’t be disturbed?”
“Yes.”
“He told you to muffle the footsteps of the staff members when they pass by?”
“Yes.”
“Wow…….”
This level of consideration is overwhelming, to say the least.
“By the way, what about Jiyun? It’s Sunday, so the tutors won’t be here.”
By the way, there was something strange, Alessia is currently Jiyun’s maid so I can’t believe she’s here.
“Oh, she went to visit her friend.”
“A……friend?”
“Yes. Mr. Kwak’s granddaughter. She traveled with Don early this morning to go to Ms. Yeon’s house. Don said he wanted to talk to Mr. Kwak Chun-sik too.”
The old man and father?
Hmmm, I smell an event.
……Maybe he’ll tell me later.
“Also, I was told by Consigliere that you should go to the study if you have a cough, though I suppose I could go right now…….”
It wasn’t too hard to guess why my godfather was calling me.
It was probably because of my work in Australia.
“I’ll be there right away, then. Thank you, Alessia.”
Alessia bows and walks off in the other direction.
I followed her out the door and headed over to find Consigliere, who was now struggling under a mountain of paperwork.
Consigliere’s study is still very quiet.
The birds outside the window are not singing, as if they know they are not supposed to make a sound around here, but are instead concentrating on organizing their feathers.
“Godfather. It’s Eugene.”
I say, knocking lightly, and a gruff voice answers from inside.
-Yes. Come in.
Pulling down on the doorknob and pushing the door open, I step inside to find a different scene than I expected.
Papers on the desk? Same thing.
A neatly organized study? Same thing.
A smiling Consigliere? Something was off.
“……Godfather, do you have any good news for me?”
“Good news? Of course there are. An unexpectedly large income has rolled into our Corleone’s arms. Now, do you see that?”
Consigliere rises from his seat and places his hand on my shoulder.
His fingertips pointed to the stack of papers on the right side of his desk.
“That’s the agenda for the morning. And next to it. See the papers?”
A stack of papers about the size of two fingers, much smaller than the agenda.
“Those are the ones I’m going to finish today. Do you have any idea how this is possible?”
I shook my head, because of course there was no way I could know, and he grabbed me by both shoulders.
“Thanks to the magic stones you brought with you this time, things that were stuck are starting to unravel. Natural magic stones are quite rare.”
……Surely, if that was the case, it would cut down on his work time.
Just then, a familiar word flashed across the Godfather’s desk.
“Is that, is that the paperwork you just signed?”
“Hmm? Ah, you mean that one, yes. Normally, I would have rejected it as ridiculous, but since the……family is flush with capital, I figured we could afford to invest in this.”
“Do you mind if I take a look?”
“Sure.”
I lift the papers on his desk and start reading.
“Request for investment in the Academy’s café……Cielo Notturno? Claimant is……Latte?”
Why are these papers here?
I stare at the papers with a puzzled expression, and my godfather smiles amusedly.
“The kids I recently hired are getting better and better, so I wanted to give them a raise. Normally, I would have refused, but……come to think of it, it’s your business, so I paid.”
“The kids you hired recently?” I ask.
“From the looks of it, I’m guessing they put it in writing because they didn’t want to get in trouble if they asked first.”
“Whatever, Latte wouldn’t lie to me, and besides…….”
─I actually found a lot of interesting information there.
Godfather smiled with satisfaction and sat back in his chair.
“You mean interesting……information?”
“Yes. However, it’s no fun to talk about work as soon as you wake up, so let’s first give you the reward I told you about at dawn, shall we?”
Saying that, Consigliere leaned down and lifted something from under the desk, placing it on the table.
“Here. This is the reward I have prepared. Although it’s something I used to use, I can’t think of anything else that would suit you better than this.”
And the box is pushed in front of me.
“Check it out.”
Swallowing hard at his words, I slowly reach for the box.
It belonged to no one else but Dominic Adambanto, the Shadow in the Dark, the Consigliere of Corleone.
Slowly, I opened the box, and inside was a jet-black ring.
[You found a new item!]
[Name: Abyssal Flame Ring]
[Rank: Unique]
[Type: Ring]
[Description: This ring was quenched with black salt from the Abyss. When worn, 3 times per day generates black salt in a visible area.
[Skills:]
[1. Abyss: This ring was forged in the Abyss. Increases your stats in the dark.]
[2. Black Salt: Adds Darkness damage to your flames.]
[3. Light Devourer: Black Salt burns more intensely as it absorbs light. The flame can be extinguished with the user’s will.]
“…….”
Holy Moly.
