Chapter 143

They had allowed guild members who wished to do so to live together with their families. To make that possible, the guild provided all fundamental lodging, appliances, and various necessities. The construction engineers—rarely given a chance to work in real-world conditions—assembled a five-story building within half a day. Through spatial expansion effects, the interior was far larger than it appeared from the outside, with five units per floor, for a total of twenty-five households.

They could have built more, but surprisingly few people chose to bring their families.

“Children in school can’t easily move in the middle of the term. And many households don’t have kids. Those ones seem to be planning to stay here only on weekends—maybe spend a night in the guild dorms and head back.”

“Let’s keep it like this for now. If more space is needed, we can add an extension or build another building.”

Even while they discussed, the engineers never rested.

They were now working behind the village, clearing and leveling a wide area so the children could run around safely. A playground was a given; they also created a shared field that could be used for both soccer and basketball. Their skill was so incredible and their hands so fast that just three of them were completing sections in the blink of an eye.

They even connected three trees to construct a small hideout-like hut. The moment that project began, curious children began peeking around, and as soon as the hut was finished, they scrambled up excitedly.

Even after the sun had completely set, the children refused to go home. They were all squeezed into the small hut, far too cramped for comfort, yet they seemed endlessly delighted—eating roasted sweet potatoes and corn they had brought, chattering loudly.

Adults who came to check on them shook their heads with resigned smiles at the children’s joy, then left. Whenever they happened to see Jae-i or the guild hunters, they bowed and thanked them. Jae-i accepted the gratitude with a slight nod.

It looked like construction would be finished tonight. The real issue was how long the children planned to stay up there.

Jae-i strolled lazily to the base of the hut and looked upward.

“Hey.”

“Y-Yes?!”

A round head popped out of the small window—then another, another, three, four, five heads total. Yesterday there had been four; one more had joined. It was a much younger girl. One child explained that she was his little sister.

“We told her only big kids could play, that if she stayed up too late Mangtae Grandpa would come take her away, but she followed us anyway.”

“But you’re not supposed to do that… Mom and Dad get worried,” the older boy fussed.

The small girl pouted.

“Mangtae Grandpa is nothing! Guild Leader Hwang Jae-i is way stronger!”

“……Well… that’s true, but you still shouldn’t stay out too late.”

“Mom said it’s fine! ’Cause the Jae-i Guild is right next door!”

Apparently, being out late was permissible because of the presence of Hwang Jae-i and his guild. The older boy, unable to refute his sister’s bold reasoning, pouted in defeat, then looked down at Jae-i.

“But, um… can we bring other village kids here to play too?”

“……Do what you want.”

“Really? We can just bring them whenever?”

This land belonged to the village. Even if the guild had upgraded the playground and facilities, bringing other kids here was entirely up to the children. When Jae-i nodded, their eyes lit up.

“Reaaally?!” they shouted, then suddenly yelled down toward Jaehyun.

“Jaehyun! Thanks to you, we got a playground, a soccer field, and a hut! Seriously, thank you!”

“Let’s stay friends until we’re a hundred! When I get married and have kids, I’m gonna bring them here to play!”

“Me too! When we’re adults, let’s meet here every night and play!”

They went on excitedly, then each of them thanked Jaehyun again. Embarrassed, Jaehyun’s face turned beet-red and he waved his hands.

“Guild Leader Hwang Jae-i did all of this. I didn’t do anything.”

“What do you mean nothing? You invited the Guild Leader to our village! Right!”

One kid suddenly stretched his neck forward.

“Hey, we have a sports festival at school tomorrow! Guild Leader-nim, are you coming?”

“Right, we wanted to ask! You came here because of Jaehyun’s invitation, right?!”

“…….”

Jae-i’s gaze slid past the cluster of children to where Jaehyun stood half-hidden in the back.

Caught off guard, Jaehyun frantically shook his head. It embarrassed him to hear them say all of this happened thanks to him. And the sports festival? He knew the Guild Leader didn’t come here just because of him. There had been a time he thought so—when he first dared to send his letter. But after speaking with his mother, he realized that probably wasn’t the full truth.

Hwang Jae-i—one of the most famous hunters in Korea—wouldn’t travel this far just for a school invitation.

As Jaehyun tried to correct the misunderstanding, a flat voice rose from below.

“Tomorrow, you said?”

“……!”

Jaehyun hurried forward so their eyes met. Jae-i looked up.

“I’ll see how things go.”

It wasn’t a promise, but Jaehyun’s heart thumped wildly with hope. The children accepted it as a promise anyway, cheering and seizing Jaehyun to shake him around.

At that moment, the hunters who had finished their work cupped their hands and called out:

“Kids! Time to come down! Your parents will worry if it gets later! Uncles are done for the day too!”

“What? But it’s not even eight yet—!”

“We know you’re supposed to start washing up at eight. Come on, let’s head back together.”

“……I wanna play more…”

The children deflated, sinking back inside the hut. Only Jaehyun kept looking at Jae-i, cheeks flushed, eyes gleaming with moisture. Jae-i quickly turned away and surveyed the newly finished facilities before heading down the hill.

He had meant to take just a quick look, but stayed far longer than expected.

Earlier, when the beast—tired from a full day of playing at the beach—kept clinging to Dohwa and babbling, refusing to revert or let go, Jae-i had left it with Dohwa in the guild office.

He no longer worried about Dohwa being alone with it. Annoying as the creature was, it would never harm him or Dohwa.

“Guild Leader.”

“…….”

Planning to take a side path through the mountains to avoid running into villagers on the main road, Jae-i turned. A hunter approached, brushing dust off his hat.

“I noticed the homes around here are pretty run-down. And the village doesn’t even have a community hall. Tomorrow, after we finish our work, may we go around and repair some things? Just small fixes. Of course, we won’t file for outside-work pay, and we’ll cover the costs ourselves—”

“File the outside-work request and ask the guild for whatever materials you need.”

“……S-Sir? Really?”

“A giant building barged in out of nowhere. The villagers are probably more inconvenienced than we are.”

“…….”

“Use whatever you need. Apply for extra pay too.”

That was all he said before turning and descending the mountain path. But after a few paces, he stopped, glanced back toward the beach, and added:

“Make a swimming pool for the kids too.”

He resumed walking.

The hunter blinked, then burst into laughter.

“Yessir—!!”

Jae-i grimaced. It had been his suggestion, but the reaction made him second-guess saying it at all. He quickened his pace—so fast that from behind he almost looked like he was running.

His steps slowed only when he reached the foot of the mountain. From here, the road led straight back to the guild.

He lifted his head.

In the middle of the vast, empty field stood the enormous guild building—completely out of place, almost comically so.

A short, incredulous laugh escaped him. He had chosen the location himself, decided and executed everything in half a day… but now, looking at it, he could only wonder how he ever thought placing it here was a good idea.

Footnote

1. Mangtae Grandpa (망태 할아버지) — A Korean folktale figure said to take away misbehaving children.