Ning arrived back in Korea. By now, the eyes on him were gone. Either the Constellations weren't able to find him, or they weren't searching for him at risk of offending him.
Either way, Ning was enjoying the lack of spotlight on him.
"You're back!" Saphandra was the first one to say.
Sorlus had already arrived back home. Ning was a little surprised at his speed and wondered if he had spent a bit too much time inside of his own world, trying to destroy Stryxus.
"Why didn't you return with him?" Hi-Ah asked.
"I had a few things to do," Ning said. "Anyway, let's not stand—"
Suddenly a phone rang. Ning looked around and saw Hi-Ah pull her phone out from her pocket. "It's the director of the Dungeon Defense," she said. "He's been calling me for the past few hours, trying to ask if you are back. What should I say to him?"
"Give me the phone," Ning said. He took the phone and accepted the call.
"Is this the director?" he asked as soon as he accepted.
"Ning? You're back?" the director's voice came from the other side.
"Yes, I'm back. Is there an emergency you need me for?" he asked.
"No, there's no eme—"
"Then I'll see you later," Ning said and hung up the phone. He gave the phone back and walked away. "Ah, I'm hungry. Let's eat something. Has grandma eaten anything yet?"
Looking at the time, it was about 3 in the afternoon in South Korea, so it was time for some snacks usually. Today, however, everyone had skipped lunch.
"No, I gave some heated soup to grandma, but she hasn't eaten anything else," Hi-Ah said. "I'll cook something up."
"Jung, help your sister and I will reward you with something," Ning said as he walked up to the staircase.
"Reward? What sort, brother?" Jung-Hee asked.
"The sort that you find out after getting. Now get to work," Ning said and went to his grandmother's room.
"Grandma? Are you awake?" he asked from the door.
"Hmm?" Jung-Hwa turned from the book she was reading towards the door. "Ah, my child. Where have you been? You've been gone since yesterday."
'Yesterday?' Ning thought. Now that he thought about it, once he left for the White Devil guild yesterday, he hadn't seen his grandmother at all.
His time had been wasted on various different things, and as such the old woman hadn't been able to see her grandson at all.
"I've been… busy," Ning said.
"Too busy to see your own grandmother that you haven't seen your entire life?" she asked.
"I'm afraid so," Ning said. He walked by her bed and sat down. As he did, something purplish came to his hand from somewhere which he quickly slipped underneath his grandmother's bed.
"What were you busy with?" the grandmother asked. "Do you have a girl you like or what?"
Ning chuckled a bit. "It was a different kind of busy," he said. "More so related to fighting."
"Oh, are you okay?" she asked.
"Oh yes, I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me," Ning said.
"I see," the grandma said. "Don't focus too much on your work too. My Min-Ki did the same and he ended up marrying so late. You are already 25 years old, you should think about finding a girl and settling down with her."
"Oh, did Uncle not tell you?" Ning asked.
"Tell me what?" the grandma asked.
"I'm married," Ning said with a smile.
"WHAT?!" the old woman was so shocked that she had to take her reading glasses off to look at him properly. "Are you serious?" she asked.
"Of course," Ning said. "Why would I lie to you, grandma?"
"You are really married? Quickly, show me a picture of her. I want to see what sort of granddaughter-in-law I have," the old woman said and got up to check.
"I don't have a picture of her," Ning said.
"You don't have a picture of your wife? Are you lying?" she asked.
"No, no, I'm not lying. I don't have any phone with me at the moment," Ning said. "I left it all behind in china."
"Oh, then what about your wife? Did you leave her behind as well?" she asked.
"Yes, but not in China. She's someplace else," Ning said.
"Why are you leaving your wife alone in this current state of the world? What if there's a dungeon break?" his grandmother got angry. "You should have her come immediately!"
Ning chuckled a bit. "I was actually planning on doing just that, grandmother," he said. "I was planning to go get my wife."
"When?" she asked.
"Uhh…" Ning thought for a moment and said, "Tonight doesn't seem like a bad idea."
"You'll leave tonight?" she asked.
"Yes," Ning said. "The sooner I go, the sooner I can come back with her."
"That is true," his grandmother said. "Go, set things up. I can't wait to see my Granddaughter-in-law."
"I'm sure you will love her, grandma," Ning said. "She's a foreigner."
Ning left the room and went back outside. He walked over to where his cousins and Saphandra were and explained the situation.
"Can't you just go and come back, as you did so easily with the USA? Why are you telling us this?" Hi-Ah asked.
Ning shook his head. "This place takes time," he said.
"Oh, how long will you be going for?" she asked.
"Uh… no more than a month. Although, I hope it will be less than that," Ning said.
"Is sister-in-law pretty?" Jung-Hee asked from the side.
"Very," Ning said. He turned to look at Saphandra. "Do you want to come with me or stay here?"
"How long will it take?" she asked.
Ning thought for a bit and only told her the real answer. When she heard it, Saphandra quickly chose what she wanted to do. "I'll stay here."
Ning shrugged. "That's most likely the better choice here," he said.
"Now then, before I forget about it, I should give you two your rewards," Ning said as he pulled something out.
The two siblings got curious and looked at what it was. When they saw it, their eyes went wide.
"Behold," Ning said. "These are SS-ranked Mana stones."
