“What’s with the bath all of a sudden? It’s a good idea, but it’s so sudden,” I said as I entered the bath and even though I outright complained, it wasn’t so bad.

‘It’s actually nice…’

I had been using magic to wash up, but relaxing like this was completely different from using magic. The private bathrooms in our rooms were nice, but since this bathhouse was created for the executive members, it felt even better. When we were remodeling a long time ago, someone said something about the content of the water, so I guess the water had turned this into a relaxing bath.

‘They said something about mineral water...’

Everyone had to be enjoying it because they were all smiles, but Kim Hyun-Sung and Ahn Ki-Mo especially looked relaxed.

‘I’m surprised Hyun-Sung is here.’

I had never expected our lovely regressor to participate in Park Deok-Gu’s plan because he seemed like the type who would avoid this kind of situation, but I guess it didn’t matter to him.

‘This guy… he must be confident…’

I wasn’t the type to avoid a situation like this, especially when the Guild Master himself was here, but if Kim Hyun-Sung hadn’t come here, I honestly wouldn’t bother to go.

While I was thinking about something else after complaining, Park Deok-Gu answered me as if all this wasn’t anything special.

“It’s really just for us to get acquainted. That’s it.”

“Acquainted?”

“Yeah, get acquainted. We haven’t spent time together since the rookies joined. All we did was have dinner together and a welcoming party. We’re closer because we have been together since the tutorial dungeon, but that’s not the case for the rookies. It’s the same for Chang-Ryeol as well!” he responded with an exclaim.

“That’s true,” I commented.

“We should have taken care of you better. The fact that we neglected the rookies and immediately left for the expedition is bothering me,” he confessed.

‘Our pig is so kind.’

It was something I had overlooked myself. Back then, he almost got isolated from the party, which was why he was bothered and worried that the rookies were going to fall behind.

‘I thought he didn’t think about those things…’

I was thankful that he cared about them.

“That’s why I planned this out with Miss Jung-Yeon. Ahem. Usually, when you do group events, it’s difficult for people to decline them. We’ll become close by forcing ourselves to take baths together,” Park Deok-Gu explained.

“...”

“Since we’re here, I’ll say this much… We—men—aren’t having any issues, but the female members don’t seem close at all. Despite going on an expedition together, Ha-Yan noonim and Hee-Young noonim still seem like strangers… Even I feel awkward watching them,” he added.

“They definitely don’t seem close,” Kim Hyun-Sung chimed in.

“I knew our bro feels the same way! And Jo Hye-Jin noonim is always going around preaching the rules and principles that she may have ended up building a wall around herself, which makes it hard for others to socialize with her. And that kid, Ye-Ri, isn’t the talkative type either. I feel bad for saying this, but other than Miss Jung-Yeon, all the other female members seem egotistic…” he continued.

“Aaahhh…”

Now that I thought about it, he said was true. It surprised me that he was taking care of his fiancee during all this, but I couldn’t deny what he said. Out of the female members in the guild, Hwang Jung-Yeon was the most normal.

“Ahem! To add to this… that girl named Han Sora trembles every time she sees Ha-Yan noonim… Our blacksmith is in a better situation, but according to Miss Jung-Yeon, everything is still a complete mess. By the way, didn’t you and Hyung-Sung bro ride in the Black Swan Guild’s carriage on the way back?” Park Deok-Gu asked.

“Did something happen?” I asked.

“It would have been great if something did happen. But during that long ride—no one said anything,” he answered.

“What?”

“I really felt like I was walking on eggshells! During the entire trip… Ye-Ri and Hye-Jin noonim had said a few things, but that was it. When they did talk, it was all about work so they never had any normal conversations! This is definitely not normal! Don’t you think so? Ki-Mo bro? Ahn Ki-Mo bro!” he shouted.

“I agree. If I had the chance to escape, I would have done it. It wasn’t a situation where I could just ignore and bear with it,” Ahn Ki-Mo replied.

“That’s right!” Park Deok-Gu strongly agreed.

“It would’ve been better if they fought. I tried to relieve the awkward atmosphere, but… it would’ve been better if I hadn’t tried anything. I still can’t forget their expression,” Ahn Ki-Mo added.

I thought the atmosphere became awkward because Kim Hyun-Sung and I had ridden the Black Swan Guild’s carriage, but I didn’t bother telling them that. Naturally, Park Deok-Gu thought that this was his chance, so he excitedly continued.

“Say something, Chang-Ryeol!”

“I don’t really know much about the others,” Lee Chang-Ryeol replied.

“R-Right. Then, uh! How about telling us the relationship between Ah-Young and Sora?” he asked.

“They don’t really have a connection, so I can’t really describe it. If I were to use the words that Deok-Gu hyung-nim used earlier, it seems that they don’t really care about each other,” he answered.

“Ahem… I told you so! This is the current situation of the Blue Guild’s female members!” he screamed.

I was convinced.

“Well, this is really all I could do and I think it’s time for us to come up with a more fundamental solution. At this point, you and the bro should show off your powers… How about a pep rally? I’m definitely in. Everyone… say… something…”

Park Deok-Gu suddenly became quiet.

“Wow… yours is really big, Miss Ah-Young. How did you make it so big?”

‘Huh?’

I heard Hwang Jung-Yeon’s voice from beyond the wall, and we hadn’t noticed them so far because we were so focused on our conversation. Their voices were quiet, so it felt like we had to really focus to hear them, but for some reason, I could hear them loud and clear.

‘They really messed up the construction work… this…’

We hired a decent company, but it seemed that they built this place without much effort. We had to take care of this issue. I wasn’t sure if the female members had heard our voices, but anyway, we kept hearing them from beyond the wall. I tried not to focus on their voices, but I unknowingly imbued my ears with mana.

“I-I’m not sure. It just happened that way…” Yoo Ah-Young replied.

“It’s no different from a lump of fat.”

“Oh my, that’s not true, Ye-Ri. Look how pretty they are…”

“Not really. People said they don’t like it big. Yeah. They definitely said that,” Kim Ye-Ri said.

“If people like moderate sizes, then maybe Miss Ha-Yan and Miss Hee-Young’s are…” Hwang Jung-Yeon paused.

“No. Miss Ha-Yan’s are definitely above average and Miss Hee-Young… I think Miss Sora’s size is the appropriate size. By the way, you have such a nice body, Miss Ha-Yan. You don’t even have any fine hair.”

“I-I’ll be embarrassed if you keep looking at me…” Jung Ha-Yan stuttered.

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

I got up from my seat, afraid that they would start talking in detail. The male members were also surprised that they ran out of the bathhouse.

“I guess we were wrong. They seem… close.”

We heard Ahn Ki-Mo’s voice in the quiet room. Even the persistent Park Deok-Gu couldn’t refute and simply lowered his head. I felt uncomfortable because it felt like we didn’t finish our baths properly, but the bath did make me feel better. During all this, my heart broke when I saw Max struggling to dry his hair, so I grabbed his towel and helped him.

- Th-Thank you.

“No need to thank me. Do you want to drink something? Wait, can you even drink?” I asked.

- I can. I don’t really need nutrients, but now that I’m outside the museum, I want to drink something.

“Here, drink some milk,” I offered.

- Thank you.

“Tsk. How’s your chest?” I asked.

- O-Oh, it’s kind of throbbing, but I’m okay.

“She’ll be your older sister, no, dragon, Mr. Max,” I informed him.

- Ah…

It was funny how he was getting worried.

“You’ll be busy starting tomorrow,” I told him.

- Okay!

“You’re going to go to school and the research has to be done as soon as possible. Do you understand what I’m saying?” I asked.

- Ah… yes, I understand, CEO Lee.

Now that I thought about it, I never gave him a room.

After I bowed to Kim Hyun-Sung and signaled that I was going to head out first, I exited with Max and I was surprised to see Dialugia first.

‘Why is she here?’

Before I could greet her, she spoke up with a really embarrassed look. Even though she was talking, she looked as if she was trying to read my expression.

‘What?’

Dialugia was supposed to be at the nest, so there was only one reason why she was here. Naturally, I got worried that Smartie may have caused trouble again.

She spoke, but what she said was completely different from what I had expected.

“Um…”

“What’s wrong? Did Smartie…”

“Ah! No, it’s nothing like that. It’s not that, but…” she paused.

“Yes?” I asked.

“H-How about we forgive Dialuria now?”

“What?”

“I-I feel so bad for our Dialuria… I think we have punished her enough,” she added.

“What did you say?” I asked.

“Well… she looked like she was really looking forward to the outing you promised her… I think she has reflected enough, so… let’s…”

It hadn't even been three hours since Smartie tackled Max. Even though I knew I wasn’t doing a good job parenting, I had no choice but to ensure that I understood why Smartie was growing up like this.

“I think… it’s best if we forgive her now,” Dialugia said.