CHAPTER 110: THE OWL HUNT (1)

Standing in the kitchen, Song Ha-Eun sighed. “Ugh. What the hell am I doing wrong?”

She stared at the jeyukbokkeum pile before her and scratched her head frustratedly. For the past few days, she'd tried to replicate the flavor of Isabella's dish, yet it tasted completely different even with the same recipe.

“Did she put some kind of drug in it or something?”

She glared at the heap in the pan, feeling wronged. Just as she sighed again—

“You’re making it again?” a voice echoed.

“Eek!” Her shoulders jerked as she turned to face Kwon Oh-Jin, who had just returned from training. “Y-You’re back early today?”

“Yeah. I wrapped up early since I’ve got to head to the association later.”

“You’ve been out for like seven hours, haven't you?”

“Closer to nine. I left around three this morning.”

He'd recently set up his personal training facility in the complex Isabella had gifted him, essentially moving in. While Song Ha-Eun also frequented the place, she didn’t train from dawn till daybreak like he did. Her mana would run out long before that.

I don't even get how he does it.

Kwon Oh-Jin, a six-star Awakener, somehow had far more mana than she did as an eight-star.

“Aren’t you pushing yourself too hard?” she asked.

He chuckled and shook his head. “I’m resting well in between.”

Vega perched atop his shoulder and furrowed her brow. “Says who? You trained for nine straight hours today and barely rested for thirty minutes!”

“That’s because I've got things to do today.”

“Haa... I’m worried you’ll collapse again if you keep this up.”

“You know I need to train hard right now.”

Vega froze as she recalled the great war he'd mentioned before. “That’s... Haa. Even so, don’t overdo it. Building strength is important, but your well-being is even more so, wouldn't you agree?”

“Yes, ma’am.” He nodded, then shifted his gaze to Song Ha-Eun's pile of jeyukbokkeum. “Wow, just how many servings is that?”

He chuckled as he reached out to grab a piece, but she hurriedly stopped him.

“Ah, no!”

“Why not?”

“Uh, well... I-I kinda burned it, so it’s not edible.”

“It doesn’t look that burnt,” he replied. The slightly charred bits even appealed to him in a way.

“Whatever! Just don’t eat it!” She got in between, shielding the massive pile.

“Pfft. Is it because it doesn’t taste like Isabella’s?”

“Th-That’s not it!”

“Man, you sure are stubborn about the weirdest things,” he said, finding it cute how she was oddly competitive against Isabella. “Alright, time to have a taste.”

“Hey!”

He ignored her protests and moved a heaping spoonful into a bowl, then picked up a piece of meat and popped it into his mouth.

Chomp, chomp.

“Hmm

... You really are a bad chef.”

The overcooked meat was tough and overly salty.

Still, it seems all those days of practice paid off. Chewing it doesn't feel like torture anymore, even if it would be criminal to call it delicious.

Song Ha-Eun flushed red. “S-See? I told you I fucked up!”

“Pfft.” Holding back a laugh, he continued eating the jeyukbokkeum.

She watched him go, then mumbled, “You said it was bad.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty bad.”

“Ugh, then why do you keep eating it?”

“Because you made it.”

Song Ha-Eun pouted. “You threw it out last time...”

“Hey, you literally turned that batch into charcoal.”

You couldn't feed that to anything.

“It's at least edible this time.”

Even if it tastes like shit.

“Hmph. Don’t eat it if you think it's bad. Go have Isabella or whatever her name is cook for you...”

“I don't need delicious food to survive,” he replied. He knew better than anyone how humans could survive on just protein bars and water. “But I need you.”

He could survive even without luxurious apartments and expensive designer goods, but his life would be meaningless without her in it.

“W-What did you just say?”

“I don’t need you to be good at cooking,” he reiterated, his voice steady. All he needed was for her to stay by his side like she always had.

Her eyes widened. She made a series of jumbled noises as she stomped her feet in place.

“Oh... Ah. Oooh!”

Wriggling like she was holding something in, she finally broke into a wide grin.

“Heh, hehe. Geez, you little punk... D-Do you really like me that much?”

She grinned from ear to ear as she grabbed his cheeks and stretched them out.

Vega folded her arms and narrowed her eyes, displeased, but refrained from interrupting the moment between the two of them. “Hmmm.”

“That aside, you really can't cook," he teased. "You’d think someone would improve at least a little after making the same dish over and over.”

She responded with a glare. “Shut up and eat, you brat.”

“Yes, ma'am.”

He chuckled and happily finished the jeyukbokkeum.

“Alright, the association calls. I’ll be off, then.”

“Are you going to get your reward?” she asked.

“Yeah, and something else too.” He knew he needed the association’s help in hunting down the Owls. “Do you want to come along?”

She thought about it for a moment but quickly shook her head.

“No, I’m good. I’m going to train hard today too.” She'd gotten inspired watching him train to the extreme. “Besides, I feel like I have something... nearly in my grasp.”

She touched the eye patch over her left eye and flashed a confident smile.

“Achieve what?” he asked.

“Hehe, it’s a secret. I’ll show you once I’ve mastered it.”

“Hmm.”

Seems like she's also made some progress recently, he discerned. She's incredibly talented, after all.

Although she couldn’t compare to him since he had the Black Heaven's help, her growth rate was explosive compared to other Awakeners.

“Ugh. If I could train as long as you, I’d probably master it faster,” she grumbled.

“Well, you don’t have that much mana.”

“You’re the one with an absurd amount!”

However, behind her furious expression, she knew her mana reserve was lacking.

That's the one flaw she has, he thought. She'd be several times stronger if she had more mana, ugh. It's not like I can transfer some, either.

For now, there wasn’t much he could do but watch her train and support her from the sidelines.

“Alright then, I’m heading out,” he declared.

“Already?”

“There’s still some time left, but I figured I’d go early and fit in a light training sesh."

The association had decent training facilities as well, albeit crowded and slightly inconvenient.

“You just went at it for nine hours! How much more training do you need?!” She quickly grabbed his arm, pulling him back. “Just stay here and rest a bit before you go.”

“But—”

Vega fluttered over and joined Song Ha-Eun in tugging on his arm. “I agree as well. Have you not already pushed yourself today? Your mana circuits must be practically frayed.”

“Pfft. Okay, okay. I’ll rest for a bit, then.” He shrugged, admitting defeat. “Wake me up in thirty minutes.”

As he headed toward his room, Song Ha-Eun suddenly grabbed his shoulder.

“Wait up...”

“Yeah?”

“I-If you’re going to take a nap, do it here.” She pointed to the couch in the living room.

“Huh? Why?”

“Ahem! I-I’ll let you use my lap as a pillow, so hurry up!”

Oh, that’s what she means. She really can't help herself on things like these.

“W-What, you got a problem with that?” she asked.

“Nope.”

Why would I?

“I have a problem with it,” Vega expressed.

Song Ha-Eun was stunned. “Eh?”

“Why are you trying to hog my child? I shall also take care of Oh-Jin!”

Huh? Is this really happening now?

“Ha. How are you planning to take care of him in that state?” Song Ha-Eun asked.

“Hmph. I can manifest in my true form for thirty minutes. Plus, how do you plan to pull off a lap pillow with only one leg?”

“W-What did you say?!”

Damn, my goddess can really clap back.

“If you two are going to fight, I’ll just go to my room and sleep,” he said.

“Ah.” Song Ha-Eun stretched out her arm, pleading. “W-Wait!”

She and Vega suddenly made eye contact.

“Ahem. It seems there is no other choice,” Vega muttered.

After a dramatic compromise, the two sat side by side on the sofa.

Song Ha-Eun patted her left thigh. “Come on, lie down.”

Tap, tap.

“Uh... this position is kind of awkward,” he remarked.

Song Ha-Eun and Vega were seated right next to each other on the couch, their thighs touching. If he were to rest his head on Song Ha-Eun’s lap, his back would awkwardly end up on Vega’s legs.

“Stop whining and hurry up!” Song Ha-Eun yelled.

“Lie down, my child,” Vega chimed in.

He admitted defeat and reluctantly lay on the couch. The unbelievable softness of both their thighs enveloped his head, shoulders, and back.

“There, now sleep tight,” Song Ha-Eun murmured.

Vega giggled softly. “Close your eyes and rest comfortably.”

... How am I supposed to sleep in this situation? he wondered.

***

Kwon Oh-Jin arrived at the association after ample rest.

“You’re here,” the chairman greeted.

Han Tae-Ho, Han Jun-Man, and Lee Woo-Hyuk were already gathered inside. The same group had assembled to capture Cheon Woo-Seong before.

“Shall we get straight to the point?” Han Jun-Man asked.

The meeting for the day was held to share information about the current state of the Black Star Society and its movements. Kwon Oh-Jin, however, had no intention of stopping there.

I've got other goals in mind.To rise quickly, one needs stepping stones to trample on.

He came to the association specifically to prepare those very stones.

“Before we get to the agenda...” Han Tae-Ho opened a drawer and took out a luxurious silver case, which he handed to Kwon Oh-Jin. “Take this.”

“This is...”

“Haha. Didn’t I say I’d give you something last time?”

“Ah.”

Kwon Oh-Jin’s eyes sparkled. I expected it to take longer to complete.

Han Tae-Ho confidently announced, “This is an Astral Relic personally crafted by Kim Si-Hoo. As for its performance... hehe, you’ll understand once you use it.”

Click.

Kwon Oh-Jin slowly opened the case.