Chapter 120 – New Golem Maker (2)

When Lee Shin-Woo arrived at the winery, he found that, surprisingly, Kratia had gotten there already. He told her about the lock on the winery and opened the door; whilst going down, Kratia couldn't hold herself back and asked, "What's that?"

[My name is Rem. I am a Golem who serves Master Lee Shin-Woo.]

"I told you before that they would try to use me. It was intended as a surveillance unit."

"Was? Tell me more about that."

Unlike Jin, who had completely given up on trying to understand Lee Shin-Woo, Kratia always tried to study whatever unique ability Lee Shin-Woo had and opened her mind to invent a new technique, even when she knew she couldn’t replicate Lee Shin-Woo's ability.

Lee Shin-Woo wasn't the stingy type who withheld information; he told her in fair detail how he'd reprogrammed Rem and created a new command authority out of his ownership.

"The darkness element..."

She'd already heard about the ability that Lee Shin-Woo the goddess gave him, or more precisely, the goddess had awakened in him, but when Lee Shin-Woo explained that he'd achieved a new feat by using the remodeled Steelworker seal in tandem with his darkness mana, Kratia couldn’t stop a wry smile from tugging at her lips.

"That's impossible for me. Though I can think of a few ways to defend against it."

"Nice, tell me then. So I can make it even better."

"Sure, as much as you want... That’s what I'd like to say, but before that…"

Kratia extended her hand and pointed at the corridor behind them. It was filled with equipment designed to preserve wine. It was originally a winery, so it made perfect sense that they would be there.

"Help me clear all this up first."

"Mm, I'm not going to clear those out,” Lee Shin-Woo said. “You see, I'm going to dig up a new room right next to it for the Golem-making equipment."

"Still... Isn't the equipment useless?"

Kratia tilted her head in what could be described as a cute manner. Right. Lee Shin-Woo realized that he hadn't given her a proper explanation regarding this winery. Of course, it would be fine if he didn't explain... It would probably be fine...

"Before that, shall we form a new contract, Kratia?"

"That’s scary. Don't come over while spewing black mana."

There was no way she wouldn't be afraid of a skeleton approaching her with blackish red goblin fire blazing in his eye sockets and black mana spewing out of his hand.

Still, Lee Shin-Woo had created a fairer bilateral contract with terms she would agree with, and Kratia soon realized that Lee Shin-Woo was going to establish a solid contract with her.

"It's a promise with mana, right?” she asked. “Then we're also partners now."

"No, not really."

"You're colder than the Winter Queen..."

Business partners would be the best word to describe their relationship. They would help each other when they were in the same area, and they would combine their abilities for joint research. Of course, there was a chance that their relationship might grow deeper along the way.

Lee Shin-Woo hashed out the details. "We'll keep each other's secret, and if we're in range, we help each other out. This is good enough, right?"

"Yeah."

Once she consented to the terms of the bilateral contract, darkness mana spread from Lee Shin-Woo's hand and intertwined both their hands. Soon, the mana melted away. A simple message appeared before Lee Shin-Woo.

[You have formed a cooperative relationship with Kratia Melloi. When you stand on the same battlefield as her, the effects of Rebellion are partly shared with her.]

"How many abilities do you even have?" Kratia asked incredulously.

"How many species live in this world... I'm joking."

He'd formed a proper contract with Kratia, so now he didn't need to hide anything from her. He, Kratia, and Jin went past the winery and entered the underground passageway.

Because Lee Shin-Woo had increased the security on the underground passageway the other day, Kratia had been wholly unaware of its existence until he opened it.

"I'm so frustrated!"

"I’ve moved the security devices, which had been hiding and maintaining the facility even during the time of the Empire, so it makes sense that you wouldn’t notice it."

"But you were the one who moved them!"

Not only had Lee Shin-Woo moved the devices, he had also remodeled and reinforced them. They had been incredibly complex to begin with, and he made it even more so; therefore, it was only natural that Kratia wouldn't be able to spot the passageway.

...And whenever Lee Shin-Woo's abilities grew, the security system grew stronger as well.

"What exactly were you hiding here? Ah, a vineyard!"

Kratia remembered that Lee Shin-Woo didn't want to clear out the wine facilities. Then she recalled the overwhelming quantity of grapes he had given her. She connected the dots quickly, but then another question came to mind, and she tilted her head.

"You haven't been growing grapes here, have you?"

"Yeah, I haven’t been growing grapes."

"Then were the grapes you gave me from the winery? It didn't seem like it though..."

"Mm, probably?"

On Earth, grapes were categorized into those for wine brewing and those for direct consumption. Grapes meant for eating would make the wine tasteless, while wine grapes were bitter to the taste even though they could be made into heavenly sweet wine.

But in Heguroa, or at least in the Underground Empire, Heita, there was a very thin line between the two. Brewers had repeatedly experimented on their method so that they could create delicious wine out of any grapes. It was possible because they used magic, which didn't exist on Earth.

"But there are two other factors contributing to the vineyard."

"Two...?"

"First, the power of an elf. There was a time when an elf was nearby. The reason you were able to eat those delicious grapes was because of our elven senior, Erian Ruparte."

"So the elf's power still remains in the vineyard?"

"Yeah. And the second one is..."

The trio arrived at the end of the passageway. Lee Shin-Woo had already exterminated all the insect-type monsters that had crawled into the passageway before. After checking again to make sure, he nodded and released the lock he had set up.

The vineyard was then revealed, as well as...

[What is it?]

[Who is it?]

[Paul Zero...]

[It's Paul Zero!]

[Paul Zerooooo!]

Did the century's superstar arrive or something? Kratia looked around, puzzled, but she soon figured out who that superstar was as more than 300 Dryads lunged at Lee Shin-Woo in unison.

Kratia had thought it was an attack and prepared to cast her magic, but it didn’t take long for her to realize that it was unnecessary.

[What took you so long!?]

[Paul Zero, your elemental power has gotten even stronger!]

[Everyone, look! Paul Zero is using the darkness element. As I thought, you really are an elementalist!]

[It really is true. You've become even cooler! Your head looks even smoother than before. Look here. Squeak, squeak...]

"That's probably just you misunderst..."

[Paul Zero!]

[Master, shall I attack?]

"No, please step back..."

Soon, Lee Shin-Woo got buried underneath a pile of Dryads and could no longer be seen. What was so good about this skeleton that caused them to shriek and latch onto him!?

Kratia stood beside Jin and froze, overwhelmed by what was happening. Somehow, she had become the third wheel. Looking at the tired expression on Jin’s face, she deduced that this was quite the familiar sight to him.

She asked, "What are...these guys...?"

"Dryads. Shin-Woo... Paul Zero's diehard fans."

Kratia's eyes narrowed even further. Jin sighed and gave her a rough explanation of what had happened in whispers. While they were doing that, Lee Shin-Woo had finally freed himself from the aggressive welcoming and was able to speak with the Dryad Princess, Sinea.

She nodded at him and listened as he told her about Kratia, who he said was a trustworthy ally. Then he told her the purpose of his visit... Grape harvesting.

[Paul Zero, you can take as many grapes as you want. We've done a lot of good for the grapevines by showering them with affection.]

"Thanks. I'll take a look at them first."

Following Sinea’s gesture, Lee Shin-Woo reached out to one of the grapevines and grabbed a handful of grapes. They were much livelier than the ones he had harvested with Erian a few months ago.

"It's almost like the grapes are glowing..."

With the power of an elf and now the dryads, facilitated by the magic facilities, the vineyard produced a masterpiece of mother nature!

He would need to check later if he could use the grapes to create great wine, but at the very least, he was sure that they were of greater quality than any regular grapes, and would be hard to come by anywhere.

"Shin... Paul Zero, a simple question for you. What are you going to do by making wine? Mm, you can't even drink it."

As expected, Kratia was straightforward with him. Lee Shin-Woo calmly acknowledged her without looking the least bit hurt. Although he regretted not being able to eat or drink, he wasn't stupid enough to take it out on a person who had nothing to do with it.

"But I can sell it."

"What are you..."

"At an extremely high price. Why wouldn’t I try to make my own wine then? Would you like to try some grapes?"

"I've already eaten plenty thanks to you, but... Yeah, I'll try some."

Lee Shin-Woo gave Kratia some grapes as his jawbone clattered. She carefully plucked one and placed it into her mouth, and at that moment, her eyes shone in vivid natural colors. The only thing he could tell was that it was incredibly delicious.

But that wasn't all.

"It's abundant in magic. Mmm, I'm sure. You can use it as a material for potions."

"...Really?" Lee Shin-Woo was caught off guard.

"Really."

Unfortunately, Kratia didn't know how to make mana potions. There was only one course of action left for him at the moment.

[Everyone, please harvest the grapes.]

[I understand!]

In the time that he hadn't seen her, the Dryad Princess had become much more authoritative. Once she gave the order, the Dryads moved in perfect order and collected the grapes. Seeing that, Lee Shin-Woo realized all those grapes wouldn't fit in the winery even if he used up all the free space.

"As I thought, we have to expand."

[Paul Zero, is there anything else we can help you with?]

"Not yet. I'll tell you later when I need your help."

[...Okay. You still have the twig I gave you, right?]

It felt weird looking straight at Sinea, as it felt like his every thought was right out in the open. He knew her feelings were pure, so it felt even more awkward than when he met with the goddess, who he and his fellow heroes were affiliated with.

Lee Shin-Woo nodded while trying his very best to not look her straight in the eye.

"I'll be in the area for a while. You see, I plan on making wine."

[Then we'll be seeing each other often.]

Sinea laughed softly, as though she knew everything Lee Shin-Woo was thinking, and kissed his cheekbone. Seeing that, Kratia flushed and applauded quietly.

"The romance between a skeleton and a spirit... How romantic. Ow!"

"Stop spouting such crap."

While Kratia and Jin quarreled over something trivial again, the other Dryads began to shower Lee Shin-Woo with kisses, as if showing that they wouldn't lose to Sinea.

Even though Lee Shin-Woo had told them he would be in the area, and that they would see each other often, it was no use. They were creatures who acted out their instincts.

[Gliddery...]

[Squeaky.]

[Paul Zero, don't go and play with us!]

[Let's stay here together!]

[Master, shall I attack?]

"I told you to stay back."

It took Lee Shin-Woo 4 minutes to escape the Dryads. By the time he'd escaped, Kratia and Jin had disappeared.

Were they jealous? Lee Shin-Woo reminded himself to ask the Dryads to be affectionate with Jin as well before chasing after them.

[Master, behind you...]

"Hey, don't follow me."

[Ugeuk.]

Three days later, Lee Shin-Woo finished expanding the winery, and was ready to go into manufacturing.