"We don’t have time, so I'll explain the situation as fast as I can,” Seo Jun-Ho said as he walked toward the ice statues.

"Summarize it in one line," Skaya replied.

"Arthur was discovered while pursuing a member of Gluttony Squadron. His location and situation are currently unknown.”

"Thanks for the summary. Then, I guess I won’t even have to ask who you're going to wake up this time. It’s Gilberto for sure, right?”

"Of course…"

Seo Jun-Ho glanced at Skaya and asked, "Do you know why?”

"Huh? Excuse me, and I’m sorry Mr. Specter, but I’m an archmage. I have a very good memory!"

She made a slightly sarcastic expression and looked toward Gilberto.

"The tattoo on his left forearm is something I inscribed on my own."

"...Oh, you remembered?"

"Ah, geez!"

Skaya and Seo Jun-Ho had no idea about Arthur's whereabouts and it would be hard to go to Dustang and search for his tracks without a lead.

‘Fiends are not fools. I'm sure they've set up surveillance at the site.’

The moment he approached the collapsed residence, he would get followed. In fact, he could find Arthur's position by killing those fiends and then using the Confession of the Dead on them.

'But that’s a stupid idea considering we don't know what Arthur's condition is.’

If the fiends’ opponents were Specter and the archmage, there was no way the fiends would miss out on the opportunity. If Arthur was captured by them, the fiends would probably notice that he was Gilberto’s son.

'So, we need a way to find Arthur's location directly.’

The method Seo Jun-Ho chose here was none other than ‘Gilberto.’

"His magic tattoo, it's still working, right?" Seo Jun-Ho asked, nodding his chin while staring at Gilberto sleeping within the ice.

"Of course. If there's any magic left in his body, it'll work from the moment he wakes up."

Skaya said this in a voice full of pride as an archmage. Once upon a time, Gilberto had asked Skaya for a favor. He had asked her to engrave a "location tracking magic" on his body that could track Arthur's location in real time.

"That son-loving fool. At the time, I had been harsh on him asking why he would engrave such a thing… Sorry, Gilberto," reminisced Seo Jun-Ho.

"It's all just in case this happens. It's called a father's love. Okay?" Skaya said.

Gilberto's tattoo was the only thing that could pinpoint Arthur's location in this situation.

"Fortunately, I've gained quite a bit of magic recently.”

It was all thanks to the Frozen Heart and the Heart of the Darkness Dog. Seo Jun-Ho hadn’t taken the Amitabha Holy Water just yet, but it was insurance that made him feel secure.

"Did you bring the bracelet?”

"Oh, right." Skaya took a bracelet out of her inventory and looked at him with a crooked eye. "I definitely told you it would take a month, right?”

"Why would it even take so long just to engrave magic on it? Isn't the work already done?"

"Haa, I keep telling you... Stabilization is the most important thing in this kind of work."

"Give it to me."

The mithril bracelet she handed over had a magic design that she had engraved on her own.

"It looks good."

"Are you serious? It's made of mithril, mithril! The mithril that can’t be obtained right now because there isn’t any!"

"What about it?"

"That expensive bracelet has unstable magic in it. It’ll probably turn into junk after one use.”

"Even if that happens, I won't resent you."

"Hey, I'm resenting you right now, though.”

Life had always been a series of choices. Seo Jun-Ho simply chose the present gain over the high-quality bracelet of the future.

"We don't have time, so let's hurry up."

Knock, knock.

Seo Jun-Ho knocked on Gilberto’s ice statue as if he was knocking on a room with people in it. Message windows that he had already seen popped up once again.

[Effect of the skill ‘Frost (EX)’ has been checked.]

[Seal of Frost (EX) can be removed.]

[Your base magic stat is high enough to remove the ice seal.]

[However, your understanding of the Frost skill is slightly low, so there will be a penalty.]

[Upon removing a seal, 30 magic stats will be permanently consumed.]

[Upon removal, you will suffer under the effects of Curse of Bitter Cold for 20 days and all stats will be lowered by 50%.]

[Upon removal, you will be unable to remove another ice seal for another 90 days.]

[Are you sure you wish to remove the ice seal?]

"Oh."

The penalty was lower compared to the last time and it was to the point where it wouldn’t even be that noticeable. Seo Jun-Ho couldn’t help but take a look at Skaya.

'I think she was just a hippo... A magic-eating hippo.'

"Why are you looking at me like that? It makes me feel uncomfortable for some reason.”

"…No. Why would you even be uncomfortable?”

It was his fault for not being strong enough. Regardless of whether Skaya slowly glared at him or not, Seo Jun-Ho was convinced by the reduced penalty.

‘If the penalty for waking Gilberto up is this...’

If he worked hard to improve over the next three months, the penalty should be much lower by then. Perhaps the next time he unsealed one of his friends, there wouldn’t be any penalty.

"…Gilberto." Seo Jun-Ho's voice trembled ever so slightly.

Watching the scene, Skaya relaxed her glare and showed a nervous look.

"You slept a lot. Time to wake up now."

[Ice seal has been removed.]

[30 magic stats has been permanently consumed.]

[You have been inflicted with Curse of Bitter Cold (20 days).]

Voooooong!

The frost energy emerged from Seo Jun-Ho's palm toward the ice. The energy spread like a wave in an instant and surrounded the entire ice statue.

Craaack.

The ice, which seemed like it would never break, broke down helplessly. Despite the thin ice flying in all directions, Seo Jun-Ho walked forward. His friend's body was still as cold as ice.

“...”

Slowly, the eyes half opened. The moment Gilberto's shining green eyes captured the world after 26 years, Seo Jun-Ho greeted, "Good morning, Gilberto."

"Hello! I’m here, too!"

Gilberto’s two old friends welcomed his return. Gilberto looked up with sleepy eyes, then closed his eyes with a deep sigh.

"…Huu, these guys are still here to bother me even in my dreams.”

***

The touching reunion ended there. Seo Jun-Ho and Skaya, who had been treated as an incubus and a succubus in an instant, acted relentlessly.

"Hey, since you have already woken up, get up! Quickly! My arm hurts."

"Gilberto, how long are you going to lie down? He's too lazy."

"...Damn it."

Gilberto frowned with his eyes closed. It was all because he finally understood that this wasn’t a dream.

‘It's reality.’

It was a nightmare-like reality that reminded him of cigarettes even though he had quit smoking a long time ago. He raised his upper body and squeezed out the water from his wet blond hair that came down to his shoulders. Looking around with sharp eyes, he spoke in a serious voice, "Where is this horribly dirty place?"

"It's my lair, you punk."

Gilberto was hit by Skaya's weak punch and he shook his head.

"It's dirtier than I imagined.”

Like a Player, he first checked his physical condition as soon as he got up.

"…The Curse of Bitter Cold. It's going to last a month."

He looked at the broken ice pieces on the floor and then at Mio and Rahmadat.

"What about those two?"

"I can't pull them out yet."

"Not yet, is it?"

"I'll pull them out when the time comes, just like you and Skaya."

"Hey, don't talk about pulling us like we’re rewards from a gacha game."[1]

When Skaya grumbled, Gilberto noticed something else. Through that short conversation, he realized that Seo Jun-Ho was the one who had created this situation.

"…I'm glad I trusted you," said Gilberto.

Seo Jun-Ho, who was like his friend, teacher, and brother, must have succeeded in defeating the Floor Master.

"You had spoken grandiose words that you were going to cut off the Frost Queen’s head, I believed that...”

"Hey, hey, hey. Be quiet."

Seo Jun-Ho hurriedly closed Gilberto’s mouth while looking at the Frost Queen standing in the back. But the spoken words had already entered her ears.

"Ho-oh, so you went around saying you would cut off my head, I see." The Frost Queen gently touched her neck. "You actually did it. Congratulations."

At that time, Seo Jun-Ho had cut her neck accurately with a half-broken sword. To be honest, it had hurt so much that she wanted to burst into tears—it had hurt very, very much.

"Well, the pain didn't last long...”

When Frost recalled the bitter memory and pouted, Gilberto asked, "Jun-Ho, who's that kid?"

"Uh..."

How was he supposed to explain this? While Seo Jun-Ho was thinking about it, Skaya shouted, "It's Frost Queen-nim!"

“L-let go!"

Skaya hugged the Frost Queen and sniffed at her hair.

"Oh, it smells good. Frost Queen-nim, what shampoo do you use?"

"Huh? I use the 1 + 1 product that Contractor bought... No, put me down now!"

Gilberto shrugged as he looked at the struggling Frost Queen.

"What, is this like a new joke you made while I was asleep?"

"No… It's sad, but it's true."

Gilberto's expression became weird. Gilberto pointed at the Frost Queen who was awkwardly struggling with her short limbs and asked, "Is she... Is she really the one who once terrorized mankind? That Frost Queen?”

"Yeah..."

The "worst boss" that gave mankind despair quickly degenerated into "that."

"Skaya, stop for now and send the Frost Queen over here."

She listened well. Skaya put down the Frost Queen and took something out. On the other hand, Frost, who was walking timidly, lowered her head as if she knew what was about to happen.

"Gilberto, Frost has something she really wants to tell you."

"…To me?"

"Yeah."

Of course, it was time for the second apology. She had also apologized when she first met Skaya.

"I... No, certainly I...”

Skaya blatantly took out a DSLR Canon camera and started to film the Frost Queen’s apology. Was she being overly brazen now that she had some success?

"Ugh... You."

Frost Queen looked up at Gilberto, who was four or five times bigger than her and spoke. Gilberto’s cold and emotionless eyes akin to that of a sniper’s, calmly looked down at her.

"I, I...”

All of a sudden, Gilberto knelt down on one knee and stroked the Frost Queen's head. A warm and gentle expression was on his face, which didn’t suit his figure at all.

"It's okay. Kids all grow up making mistakes. Who would’ve thought that the Frost Queen was a small child like you?”

“...”

This size wasn’t really her normal size. Gilberto turned his head and scolded Seo Jun-Ho instead.

"You are still you. Even though she had been the Floor Master, how could you have thought of cutting off the head of such a cute little child?"

"No... When we were fighting, she was an adult about the size of Skaya.”

"Does that really matter? She's just a small, vulnerable kid right now.”

“...”

What did that have to do with anything?

‘Ah.’

Seo Jun-Ho finally remembered one thing that he had forgotten.

"It must have been very scary.”

"Yes... He suddenly came to the nest where I lived and threatened to cut my head off."

"Have you seen such a bad guy before? Don’t worry. I'll scold Jun-Ho for you."

"Thank you, human. Can I call you Gilberto?”

"Of course..."

Gilberto, this guy… Ever since his son was born, he had become the kind of married man who was a hopeless sucker for children.

1. in gacha games, you usually ‘pull’ characters using real-world money, the original is ‘take them out,’ but I think it’s funnier this way xD ☜