Gogang’s face twisted as he looked at Jurim’s blank, stupid expression.
No matter how overbearing Jurim was, he had always been cooperative when it came to important matters. Yet here he was, completely spacing out.
“What’s more important right now, the current situation or the kid’s birthday?”
Jurim replied nonchalantly, as if he were being asked something pointless.
“My daughter’s birthday, of course.”
Gogang gaped, then gritted his teeth.
“…Fine, I get it, so fix your expression. That’s the only way we can leave even a little sooner.”
Only then did Jurim smile brightly, pretending to listen, and Gogang let out a deep sigh.
Who would have thought that On Jurim would become a fool for his daughter.
On Jurim, the fool for his daughter.
This ill-fitting descriptor was actually a hot topic nationwide.
When leaving the RP Dungeon, Jurim had thrown Gidan and Nayeon as bait to hide Geuru and quickly returned home with the child.
But paparazzi had caught him getting out of the car holding his sleeping daughter in front of the house.
It had also caused surprise that the candy he bought after dragging the entire press corps to an ill-fitting convenience store was for his adopted daughter.
But the sight of On Jurim with a gentle expression, holding a child clutching a candy bag, had sparked an enormous reaction.
Thanks to that, these days “On Jurim, the fool for his daughter” was on everyone’s lips day after day.
Recalling the photo taken at that time, Gogang unconsciously smiled at the corner of his mouth.
That aside, this guy was really something else.
*He won’t even introduce her once.*
Gogang was a close friend of On Suhyeong and had known Jurim for almost his entire life. Yet he wouldn’t even introduce his daughter to someone like him.
*It’d be nice if he brought the kid around to show her face just once.*
Just as Gogang clicked his tongue, Jurim turned his head.
At the end of his gaze, a businessman was conversing with foreign dignitaries. It was Jang Hyeonmin, the CEO of the distribution company responsible for most of the domestic Silverlight Grass circulation.
“Hmmm.”
Jurim sank his back deep into the chair and glared at Jang Hyeonmin with narrowed eyes.
***
[Clack-Clack Filial Piety Factory! Manual]
1. Assign workers to the completed factory.
The filial piety factory made of Legos was the size of a dollhouse.
Geuru placed the workers alongside the conveyor belt line that descended in a spiraling oval from the third floor to the first.
Palm-sized, unfinished teddy bears No. 1, 2, and 3 took their places in front of the levers.
2. Register the finished product to be mass-produced.
[Excellent Strawberry-Flavored Syrup©]
Geuru lifted the excellent syrup.
Unlike usual, the container holding the syrup was an ordinary syrup bottle, not a teddy bear one.
This was a situation where she couldn’t be caught as Jjapsso.
She had promised her dad, and Geuru herself didn’t want to go to juvenile detention, so she had to refrain from Jjapsso activities.
Therefore, the one donating potions had to remain nothing more than an anonymous Santa.
However, it was an all-too-well-known fact that Jjapsso used teddy bear syrup bottles, so this time she had decided to use ordinary ones.
When she put the excellent syrup, bottle and all, into the ingredient container, the registration was complete.
3. Shake out and pour in all Filial Piety Points.
A window popped up asking how many Filial Piety Points to put in.
Geuru was about to press the “All (max)!” button, naturally, when she paused briefly.
*Mmm.*
A corner of her heart felt uneasy because it was a waste.
But…
*Geuru, you need a lot of potions to become Santa.*
Geuru squeezed out a few tears and then shook out and poured in every last Filial Piety Point.
*Whirrrr—*
At the same time, the rollers moved and the conveyor belt began to turn.
Mepisto, who had been dozing off sitting atop the factory, started in surprise and fluttered up into the air.
“It’s moving!”
Geuru’s eyes sparkled as she waddled over and sat right up against the factory.
Mepi also settled on top of Geuru’s head and observed the factory curiously.
On the third floor of the filial piety factory, Doll No. 1 pulled a lever, and a toy dumpling steamer lid came down and pressed with a thunk, like a stamp.
When the lid rose, a syrup bottle had been made. Each time No. 1 pulled the lever, a syrup bottle popped out from inside the lid.
The syrup bottles made in this way moved along the conveyor belt.
On the second floor, Doll No. 2 squeezed the syrup pouch hanging from the ceiling. The syrup that glugged out from inside the pouch, which narrowed into a funnel shape, slipped into the syrup bottles.
And in the final section, upon entering the first floor, the syrup bottles were sealed and placed in cardboard boxes.
Doll No. 3 grunted as it moved the boxes and stacked them up like a tower.
*Hiyaaa!*
Geuru’s eyes sparkled at the perfectly operating process.
It was faster and easier than expected, and there was also a tension that made her palms sweat unconsciously each time the cute but clumsy dolls made a mistake.
*This is fun!*
Just watching it was enjoyable. It was a moment when the 100,000 Filial Piety Points didn’t feel like a waste.
Each time the dolls busily moved, the boxes piled up one by one.
Now she just had to distribute these without getting caught…
Geuru racked her brain over the next concern.
It would be nice if Santa Geuru could ride Rudolph (her bicycle) around and donate syrup, but then everyone would surely realize that Geuru was hiding her strength.
She would have nothing to say if people asked where all this syrup came from.
And if she sent dolls controlled like before?
It would be no different from confessing that Geuru was Jjapsso.
*Mmm. Danger, danger.*
She shook her head.
Though no one would appreciate it, for Geuru’s safety, no one could know her identity.
In the end, she needed a helper to quietly distribute the syrup.
*Hmm.*
Geuru busily packed the small potion boxes into “Expand, Bagbag!” as she thought of a candidate.
There was only one person who could help Geuru right now!
***
Deputy Choi of the Hyunak Logistics Management Team sighed as he checked the request forms.
It was no exaggeration to say that potions made up almost the entire list of items requested by the guild members.
“Supervisor Kim, how many potions do we have left right now?”
“Ah, potions… there are almost none left now. They were sent to the hospital as a priority yesterday, so…”
Supervisor Kim trailed off as if she felt sorry.
It was likely the same not just for Hyunak but for other places as well.
“As expected?”
“Still, I’ll go check.”
“Please do.”
Supervisor Kim nodded and headed into the supply room, toward the section where the potions were kept.
He knew there were almost none left anyway. He just hoped there were a few more than he thought.
Worrying about which team to distribute the remaining ones to first, he checked the shelves without expectation.
*Huh?*
The shelves should definitely have been completely empty, but—
*Syrup bottles?*
Small bottles that children would drink from filled the shelves.
*Why are these here?*
Baffled and bewildered, he hurriedly grabbed a few syrup bottles and ran back to the office.
“Deputy, what are all these?!”
“Huh? Oh? I’ve never seen them before either… Huh?”
“This, this is it, right? Syrup potion?”
“Huh? I think it is…?”
The two blinked blankly.
Unconsciously, both thought of one person.
*Jjapsso?*
Though they worked in the logistics management team, they were still industry insiders, so they had often heard stories about the production-class hunter who used syrup bottles.
Jjapsso, who always sold high-quality potions and whom every guild desperately sought.
Though they weren’t teddy bear syrup bottles like the ones they had heard about, if they were contained in syrup bottles like this, they couldn’t help but think of Jjapsso.
Both were non-Awakened, so they couldn’t tell if this syrup was real, but an Awakened would be able to check the information.
Deputy Choi, who had been fiddling with the syrup bottles, suddenly sprang to his feet.
Of course, it might be someone’s nasty prank, but—
*In times like these, someone would play this kind of prank inside Hyunak? They’d have to have some serious guts…*
For some reason, his gut feeling wasn’t bad.
His heart pounded fiercely for the first time in a while. It was a sign that something huge was waiting.
“Supervisor Kim, I’m going to the guild side to check the information window!”
“L-let’s go together!”