CHAPTER 41: THE START OF DECEMBER (1)

It was December 1.

The atmosphere at the DG Guild entrance was filled with end-of-the-year vibes.

"Jingle bell, jingle bell~♪" Kim Ki-Rok sang.

Following his lead, Kim Ji-Hee sang along as well. "Jingle bell, jingle bell~♪"

"Jingle bombs away~♪"

Kim Ji-Hee sat by the fireplace and tilted her head in confusion. "Bombs away?"

"I don't know the lyrics that well," Kim Ki-Rok replied.

"It's a Christmaa song!"

"Right. It's a Christma song." Kim Ki-Rok copied Kim Ji-Hee's mispronunciation.

"Christma is on December... 24th!"

"That's right. December 24th."

It was a bit early to get into the year-end mood at the beginning of the month, but why not?

Kim Ki-Rok took a sweet potato wrapped in foil out from the fire and handed it to Kim Ji-Hee.

"It's hot, so cover your hand with mana before you hold it."

"Yeeess!"

Following Kim Ki-Rok's instructions, she wrapped her hands in mana to receive the sweet potato and removed the foil.

"Hmmm." Her mouth watered at the sight of the well-baked potato.

Kim Ji-Hee looked at Kim Ki-Rok with eager eyes. "Um, mister."

"Yes?"

"Can I eat it?"

"Not yet. Let it cool a bit."

Kim Ki-Rok managed to resist the cute rabbit girl's request.

Following Time Rabbit's strong demand, Kim Ki-Rok had dressed her up in a white padded jacket and placed a custom-made, rabbit-shaped trapper—better known as a bomber hat—on her head. Her outfit had transformed her into a cute little rabbit and was worthy of praise!

"Eat it when it's completely cooled. Also, drink some Spite with it."

"Can I eat it with my mouth coated in mana?" Kim Ji-Hee asked.

"Your mouth would be fine, but your stomach would hurt. Best not to do that."

Kim Ji-Hee nodded and proceeded to blow gently on the sweet potato to cool it. When it was finally cool enough, she took a bite and immediately shivered in delight from its taste.

Kim Ki-Rok understood. These sweet potatoes were traded regularly with someone in Gangwon Province who had Awakened Skills related to farming. There wasn't a world where these would taste bad.

"Take a sip of this Spite as well."

"Spite!"

A bite of sweet potato, a sip of Spite.

How could such a combination not be delicious!

Watching Kim Ji-Hee munch on sweet potatoes like a rabbit, Kim Ki-Rok pulled a thoroughly cooked one from out the fire and began eating.

"Mmm."

"Mmm."

Sip, sip.

"Kkkh!"

"Kkkh!"

He marveled at the meal after every bite and sip, prompting Kim Ji-Hee to do the same.

"Ji-Hee. Do you want to eat normal potatoes as well?"

Kim Ji-Hee had a big smile on her face. "Yeeess!"

Kim Ki-Rok took out a potato and placed it in front of her. "Let's see... What do we have here?"

"Let's see. What do we have here?"

"Should we roast corn too?"

"Yeeess!"

"There are skewers in my subspace pocket. Do you want to eat some skewers too?"

"Skewers!"

"We also have mushrooms as well."

"Umm..."

"Skewers?"

"Yayyy!"

"Bell peppers?"

"Umm..."

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"Ha ha ha."

Kim Ji-Hee raised her arms up and shouted with joy at the mention of any kind of food she liked. But when something she disliked was suggested, she simply turned away and went back to nibbling on sweet potatoes.

Without realizing it, Kim Ki-Rok had burst into laughter and had taken out an outdoor barbecue grill along with the necessary cooking utensils from the subspace pocket.

"Mister."

"Yes?"

"So. Are we eating dinner?"

"Hmm."

It was currently 4:00 p.m.

The ingredients were already prepared. All that was left was to cook them.

"Shall we? Should we have an early dinner today?"

"Yeeess!"

"Okay. Then, Ji-Hee, call everyone here. It's been a while since our last one. We'll be having a company dinner today."

"Yeeess!"

The more people around a delicious feast, the merrier it was. Little rabbit Kim Ji-Hee ran toward the building holding up potatoes and sweet potatoes in both her hands like torches.

Kim Ki-Rok slowly rolled up his sleeves and looked more serious.

"Well... time to begin."

He infused mana into one arm and placed the frying pan on the fire, adding the meat once it was heated.

"Sizzling like a fire~♪"

He started cooking meticulously to the tune of a song. "Passion and..."

***

The DG Guild had grown at a remarkable rate after revealing themselves to the world through the shocking livestream. The guild had a potential A-Class Hunter who had contracted with a Greater Elemental, and although their abilities were somewhat lacking, the Mapogu siblings were a textbook example of a perfect Hunter team, and various talented Hunters had also joined their ranks. They had an exceptionally high proportion of Elementalist members compared to other Guilds.

Even Elementalists who had not yet contracted with an Elemental and those who believed they had potential as Elementalists knocked on the doors of the DG Guild, having been influenced by the Elemental idol group.

The group had now changed their name to Fairy Flower after receiving complaints from other Elementals that naming the group "Fire" just because the leader was a Fire Elemental was unfair.

Initially, only Elementalists who had already contracted with F. Flower's Elemental members joined the Guild. The problem, however, was the remaining Elementals who had yet to find a suitable contractor. The group leader, Aeple, thought long and hard and decided to launch a livestream with the help of Kim Ki-Rok.

"Elementalist of the world! Unite—"

"Aeple. That's not it."

"Huh? This isn't it?"

"No. That's not it. At this rate, you will get scolded by Miss Ji-Yeon."

"I got it, CEO Kim! All you potential Elementalists with abilities as small as mouse droppings, come to the DG Guild! I will train you myself!"

Although the livestream started very cryptically, the content was straightforward: DG Guild would give a chance to potential Elementalists who had the qualities but needed to be at the level to contract with Elementals!

This livestream helped gather people who had the potential to become Elementalists, and those who passed the selection process would move on to training.

It wasn't just Aeple that was training these potential Elementalist candidates. The Elementals belonging to Fairy Flower came together to train them as well because the candidates' growth would lead to the debut of their idol group.

So, was DG Guild entirely composed of Elementalists?

Nope.

Kim Ki-Rok was recruiting Hunters with great effort, and some who were eyeing the growth potential of this guild had even gathered on their own.

As such, the expanded team now consists of fifty-three members, allowing them to grow to a medium-sized guild in Seoul with an impressive roster.

***

Equipped with potatoes in each hand, Kim Ji-Hee entered the main lobby looking around and ran toward the front desk.

"Un! Ni!"

"Oh my, Ji-Hee. What brings you here?"

"Mister said that we're having a company dinner."

Kim Ji-Hee announced the news while Kim Ki-Rok, known as Crazy Bastard outside the guild and God Ki-Rok within, was busy cooking outside.

"Can you join our dinner?" Kim Ji-Hee asked.

The front desk ladies hesitated slightly in response to the indirect question but soon nodded.

Attendance at the DG Guild dinner was voluntary. They had no obligation to join them.

Company dinners were usually a hassle even for most socialites, and a majority of people would rather skip them. However, that was a different story when Kim Ki-Rok hosted dinner. The food was so delicious that one had to worry about stepping on the scale the next day. And it was also a pleasure to see Kim Ji-Hee waddling around during dinnertime.

Kim Ji-Hee extended both the normal and sweet potatoes to those who had decided to attend. "Do you want these? Mmm, it's delicious. Yum."

Kim Ji-Hee's hands were trembling slightly. The potatoes seemed so precious to her, but Kim Ji-Hee would never go back on her words.

Yoo Min and Chae Ji-Na patted Kim Ji-Hee's head. "It's okay. We can eat at the dinner."

"Aha!"

The unnies would get a serving themselves anyway. Kim Ji-Hee nodded, putting the potato in her mouth and running over to the convenience store.

"Uncle! Man-Kook! " Initially, she had called him oppa, but considering the age difference, he was now called uncle.

Jeong Man-Kook raised his head at the call. The convenience store table for two that Jeong Man-Kook had occupied was piled high with food. He patiently waited for Kim Ji-Hee to speak as he continued to wolf down the food.

Kim Ji-Hee took a deep breath and brought up the matter. "There's a company dinner!"

"Hmm!" Jeong Man-Kook looked out the convenience store window to see Kim Ki-Rok cooking while headbanging in the yard and declared, "I'll join!"

"Okay! Then, convenience store grandpa!"

"Me too?"

"Yeeess! He told everyone who had the time to come!"

The convenience store grandpa turned his gaze in the direction Jeong Man-Kook was looking. Kim Ki-Rok was using a ladle as a microphone and singing loudly while walking over to where the other cooking utensils were.

Sometimes, the convenience store grandpa would question Kim Ki-Rok's sanity, but he knew one thing: this man was definitely a good person.

"Our landlord lives such an interesting life."

"Grandpa?"

"Ah, right. I'll be joining as well."

"Yay!"

After she had gotten the confirmation of the two men, Kim Ji-Hee ran to her next destination. Stepping into the elevator, she hesitated before pressing the third-floor button.

There were five different departments in the office area of DG Guild. The PR Department, responsible for promoting the guild and its members, had two teams. The Management Department supported the members' daily lives. The Technical Support Department, led by Kang Woo-Hyuk, consisted of supporting craftsmen. The Sales Department was responsible for external Guild affairs. Finally, there was the Finance Department.

Arriving on the third floor, Kim Ji-Hee knocked on the door of the nearest one, the PR Department.Despite the noisy interior drowning out the knock, she had respected Kim Ki-Rok's teachings, so Kim Ji-Hee confidently opened the door.

The guild members in here were typing away at the keyboard, engrossed in document work.

Tck, tck, tck. Click! Click!

There were others who wore headphones and were immersed in video editing.

"Hello, this is DG Guild's PR Department..."

Some were busy, talking into their phones.

Even with the workday nearing its end, there was no slack in this department.

Glancing around the office, Kim Ji-Hee spotted the leaders of Team One and Team Two chatting on the sofa and hurried over.

"Hello."

"So... Oh, Ji-Hee is here." The two leaders had been in the middle of a serious discussion, but after noticing Kim Ji-Hee, one of them opened the jar on the table. "Ji-Hee, do you want some chocolate?"

"Yeeess!"

Snacks were always available in the office just in case she ever visited. Seeing Kim Ji-Hee struggle with her potato-occupied hands, the team leader directly put a piece of chocolate in her mouth.

"Are you here to play?"

"Ah!" She snapped back from the sweet taste of happiness and returned to her duty. "Mister said that we're having a company dinner."

"Really? Where?"

"Outside!"

Looking out the window, they saw Kim Ki-Rok bustling around cooking, with Aeple next to him keeping some kind of beat. They carefully opened the window and were blasted by a spontaneous performance below.

"Crossing the moonlit road~♪"

"Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!" the Elemental chanted.

Looking out the window, the evening seemed chilly but the conditions weren't too bad.

After being told that the PR Department would contact the others in the building, Kim Ji-Hee finally headed downstairs.

Ding dong.

As the elevator doors opened, warm air unexpectedly poured out despite the fact that it was almost winter.

"Hooah!"

Hunters were engaged in their personal training using custom equipment.

"Die!"

"You die!"

Other Hunters were aiming their training weapons at each other.

"Oh? Ji-Hee's here?"

Kim Ji-Hee happily ran toward the familiar face.

Reaching out, Yoo Seh-Eun patted Kim Ji-Hee's head and asked, "What brings you down here?"

"Mister's having a company dinner!"

"Company dinner? At We-Love-Hanwoo?"

Shortly after forming a connection in Mapogu, the meat restaurant WLH purchased a building near DG Guild and opened its thirteenth branch.

"We're eating outside."

"Huh?"