TRPM 411

chapter 411

Ziiing…

“?”

As I approached the resort riding Fafnir, my smartphone vibrated.

Perhaps because I had lowered altitude, getting closer to our destination, the signal finally reached me.

‘… Is this a message from Yoo Won-hoon?’

The message basically asked me to come via the helipad on the resort’s rooftop instead of the parking lot.

If a dragon landed in the parking lot, it would definitely cause a commotion.

Apparently, he had learned that I had departed riding Fafnir.

‘Of course, there must have been countless witnesses seeing us on Fafnir.’

We hadn’t exactly moved in hiding. We had left openly from Alex’s apartment, so the story would have spread quickly across social media—and it probably didn’t take long for Yoo Won-hoon to hear about it.

“Fafnir, start slowing down.”

Kaahk…!

Fafnir seemed slightly disappointed at my request, but at this speed, we’d overshoot the resort and end up in the sea.

‘Hmm…’

Come to think of it, quite a few people would love to ride on Fafnir, right?

Flying a dragon has always been a fantasy, I think.

With that thought, I considered telling Yoo Won-hoon to hold an impromptu event for the opening ceremony: anyone interested among the guests could take a ride on Fafnir for a big loop around the resort.

If Fafnir flew for a while, he’d probably be satisfied too.

“I’ll make sure you can fly for a long time, so hang in there until then.”

Kyeeeek!

Fafnir seemed to understand and slowly reduced his speed.

“Are we there yet?”
“Yeah. The resort should be visible soon.”

No sooner had I said that than the beach came into view.

Next to it, the massive resort was also visible.

“Whoa.”
“Wow.”

Iha-eun and I admired the resort’s view.

It was the kind of resort you’d normally only see on TV or online.

It immediately gave off the impression of an extremely expensive resort—definitely not for ordinary people.

… That applied to us, too.

“Calling this a premium resort seems a bit much, doesn’t it? Feels like it’s just for show.”
“Yeah, the scenery is nice, but the exposed facilities are a bit… lacking.”

Elena and Elliot gave a slightly harsher evaluation.

“We haven’t been to many resorts, so we’re not sure. Is it really that bad?”
“No, it’s not that it’s bad. It’s just that this seems less like a high-end resort for wealthy people and more like a resort targeting office workers.”
“Ahh….”

That made sense. Yoo Won-hoon had built this resort so that Legiones Guild employees could use it comfortably on vacation.

“Time to descend.”

I landed Fafnir on the helipad on the resort’s rooftop.

After dismounting with the kids, I extracted my inner energy from Fafnir, shrinking him down.

… Kyang…!

Fafnir protested as if I had tricked him, but I scooped him up, lightly patting him to calm him down.

“I need to talk to Yoo Won-hoon first. Stay small until then.”

Fafnir glanced at me briefly and then turned his gaze away.

… He doesn’t want to talk to me.

“He looks cute like this. Can I try holding him?”
“Go ahead.”

I handed Fafnir to Elena, who had been watching him intently.

Then…

?!?!?!

Fafnir froze in shock, realizing something.

‘Ah, he finally noticed.’

It seemed Fafnir realized only after being held by Elena that she was stronger than him… a true elite beyond his level.

“Hmm? Why is he like this?”
“Looks like he figured out that you’re secretly a psycho.”
“What?”

Watching Elena and Elliot growl at each other, I sensed movement and turned my head.

It wasn’t just me. All four of us, being skilled Awakened, could sense the presence immediately.

“… Ahem! Hello. Are you Han Geon-woo, Iha-eun, Elena, and Elliot?”

It was just a resort employee, probably there to greet us upon arrival.

We showed our invitation cards for light identification and followed the employee inside.

“This elevator stops only on the 1st floor and the top floor with the suites, unless in an emergency. The opening ceremony will be held in the banquet hall on the 1st floor, but since we have some time, we will first guide you to your rooms.”

Though the employee seemed experienced at guiding guests, our eyes couldn’t hide the tension.

This was clearly his first time in a real situation, even if he had training. Makes sense—this resort itself was opening today.

‘As long as he guides us properly, it’s fine.’

He handed us four suite keycards.

“If you accidentally leave the keycard in your room, please contact the front desk on the first floor. A staff member with a master key will accompany you to open the door.”

The suite’s interior was quite nice. The view from the windows wasn’t bad either.

“The ocean is right there.”
“We can see part of the beach too.”

After a quick check, we followed the employee with our keycards to the 1st floor.

There were quite a few people gathered in different areas.

‘As expected, a lot of famous people. Especially from companies allied with Legiones Guild.’

Since Legiones Guild was massive, many affiliated companies and other guilds were present.

‘People from Night Eagle, Cleaner, and Ironblood Guilds have also come.’

The guild masters of all three guilds attended, even with their families.

Which meant…

“You came?”
“Yes. But I think it’s my first time seeing your family.”

The Ironblood Guild’s master, Ji Hyung-man, had brought his family.

“Haha. But didn’t the Artist save my wife and eldest child from criminals directly?”
“… Did I save just one or two? You don’t expect me to remember every single face, do you?”
“Didn’t you?”

… My memory’s good, but not that good.

I saw Ji Hyung-man’s family: his wife and adult son. Likely the two I saved.

Nearby were two kids:

“Brother, can I go there?”
“Quiet. There are too many people today, remember?”
“Mom, I need the restroom.”
“Alright, let’s go.”

Two easily distracted sons.

“… Sorry.”
“No, that’s normal for kids their age.”

I told Ji Hyung-man to take care of his family first, then looked around.

“By the way, have you seen Yoo Won-hoon? I need to speak with him.”
“He’s probably greeting guests inside the banquet hall. But what for…?”

I explained to Ji Hyung-man that I wanted Yoo Won-hoon’s permission for people to ride Fafnir.

He smiled awkwardly.

“Haha. The old Yoo Won-hoon might hesitate, but the current Yoo Won-hoon would absolutely allow it. He’d probably be excited and want to ride Fafnir first himself.”
“I agree.”

As expected, he would.

“Dragon! I want to ride too!”
“Hey! I told you to stay quiet!”

… Ji Hyung-man’s son shouted after hearing our conversation.

Naturally, everyone’s gaze turned to the dragon Elena was holding—Fafnir.

Some of them looked eager.

“… Seems like we’ll have participants for the event.”
“Even though the event isn’t officially confirmed yet.”

Thinking that, we headed to the banquet hall where Yoo Won-hoon was.

It was almost time for the opening ceremony anyway.

To summarize, Yoo Won-hoon immediately allowed people to ride Fafnir after hearing my request.

“Can I ride first?”
“Of course.”
“Really?”

As expected, he wanted to be the first to try.

“Guild master… isn’t this unsafe?”
“Ah… Artist?”
“… Fafnir’s body is enchanted, so there’s no worry about falling or freezing.”

Technically, Fafnir casts the magic himself, but I didn’t need to clarify that.

“See?”
“Ha… I don’t care.”
“Great! Then let’s…”

Yoo Won-hoon quickly took the stage and started the opening ceremony.

“To ride the dragon as soon as possible, we will conclude the ceremony here!”

And just five minutes later, the ceremony was over.

“… I thought it was supposed to last 30 minutes.”
“People were just too eager to ride the dragon.”

But cutting the ceremony short just to ride the dragon quickly… was a bit extreme.

“Ahaha….”
“Still, the others seem happy, don’t they?”

Iha-eun observed the crowd. Perhaps they knew Yoo Won-hoon’s tendencies—or maybe they wanted to ride Fafnir themselves.

‘Looks like the latter.’

Now that the ceremony was over, the crowd’s expressions showed excitement rather than annoyance.

They probably thought that ending the ceremony early meant more flying time on Fafnir.

“Is it okay to run the ceremony like this… Ah, whatever. Fafnir?”

I called his name, and Fafnir, still stiff in Elena’s arms, responded.

“Let’s go to the helipad on the rooftop. Then we’ll give people rides and make a big loop before returning. Got it?”

Fafnir nodded. Smart as he was, with enough inner energy, he’d keep flying until every guest had a ride—or until he was satisfied.