Chapter 553

As soon as the national exchange event ended, I pondered where the safest place in France might be.

Of course, if we only consider safety, the ‘Hexagone Balard’ in Paris’s 15th arrondissement, which houses the Joint Chiefs of Staff, would be the top choice.

However, one must always remember that what is scarier than ghosts or weapons of mass destruction is people.

Assuming everyone is an enemy, there are not many factors that I can control in the Hexagon.

A location surrounded by open plains, sparsely populated, and heavily guarded.

Yet still, a place where I can at least lead a somewhat normal life.

By sheer coincidence, there was exactly one location satisfying all these conditions.

The village of Vosne-Romanée in Burgundy, France.

‘Domaine de la Romanée-Conti.’

It was a winery producing the most famous and valuable wine in the world.

Although the population of Vosne-Romanée was less than 300, it operated a barrier that could rival the national defense force.

This meant that within this village, the use of magic was completely prohibited.

“Hmm… is that the real reason?”

“What?”

Without any hesitation, I decided on my next destination.

A beautiful vineyard lush with greenery.

I raced along the gently winding road following the endless rows of grapevines.

Looking at the dark red clusters of grapes, I realized that the harvest season was approaching.

“Isn’t someone going to steal those?”

Looking at the low stone fence that even a child could leap over, Saetbyeol voiced her concerns.

“What would they steal it for? They’re just grapes.”

“I heard that when the monks were cultivating vineyards in the past, land ownership concepts weren’t clear, so they used stone walls to demarcate boundaries.”

“Oh.”

As we entered the village, one by one, old-fashioned stone buildings began to appear.

The self-driving car led us to a modest winery with a quaint courtyard.

“Is this the right place? There are no signs or anything.”

“Wait a moment, I’ll call again.”

We parked in front of a metal gate that bore the scent of the Middle Ages.

Within the quiet and peaceful atmosphere, the ringtone broke the silence occasionally.

“Nobody’s picking up.”

However, shortly after, the sound of footsteps approached from the building.

A middle-aged woman dressed in a comfortable white dress removed her sunglasses and pressed a button resembling a car key.

Creeeak—

The metal fence began to move aside.

The woman approached and greeted us.

“Oh là là! I can’t believe it. I thought it was just a prank call. Ms. NaeMe, a warm welcome to you.”

“Thank you for the warm reception. But I thought Monday was a day for no visitors…”

“Oh no, it’s fine! Please, come in!”

“Ah, okay.”

We followed Madame Villein, who introduced herself as the granddaughter of the winery owner, into the reception room.

“Grandfather Bertrand will come by in about three hours. Congratulations again on winning the national exchange event, Ms. NaeMe. And could this be…?”

“Ahem. This is Saetbyeol.”

Madame Villein reached out her hand for a handshake but paused for a moment.

“Is it really okay to touch? I wouldn’t want it to melt or something…”

“I’m not a snowman, you know?”

Saetbyeol snapped back and shook her hand vigorously.

I explained the situation to her and asked if she could find us a villa to stay in for a few days.

“I do have a villa I don’t use, but it would be better to use my grandfather’s villa. It’s much better equipped. Could you please wait until he arrives?”

“No problem. We’ve got all the time in the world. Do you have capsules as well?”

“Yes, plenty. In this day and age, capsules are essential for having dinner with kids. We probably have about ten in total.”

I mentioned how children can’t endure the long dinner times typical in France.

“I was shocked by the presentation, but seeing it in person is even more astonishing. I thought you must be going through a lot here.”

“Yes, reality is harsher than I imagined.”

“Really?”

“You wouldn’t believe it, but I got a call from North Korea yesterday. They said it was the Organization and Guidance Department of the Workers’ Party of Korea.”

“Whoa, that’s scary news.”

I was taken aback when I saw an email that started with ‘Dear Respected Leader Comrade.’

Currently, Eborum, who manages my schedule, filters out important emails every few hours.

From Nigeria’s Dankote family to the Saudi royal family, IT company CEOs, professional athletes, and more, the list is quite extensive.

It’s said that there are more than 10,000 people in this world with assets exceeding 200 billion.

As such, my inbox is likely to explode in the future.

During our waiting time, I explored the winery with the CEO’s granddaughter.

Unfortunately, the tasting privilege was only for Saetbyeol and my dad.

But given the circumstances, I figured there would be opportunities sooner or later.

Eventually, I had a brief chat with the nearly 90-year-old owner of Romanée-Conti, Grandfather Bertrand.

“You’re not here to make me younger with some magic, are you?”

“No, nothing like that.”

“I don’t understand why everyone is so interested in such things. We go through so much effort just to preserve the value of this mere wine. We manage the temperature and humidity, take care of the lighting, purify the air with HEPA filters, and make sure the wine is stored at a certain angle in specially made racks to minimize vibrations. Anyway, the problem is with people who want to live too easily, tsk tsk. Clemence, do you know where our villa is on the way to the city? Let’s guide them there.”

Thanks to Grandfather’s pride in his wine, we were able to stay in a beautiful villa with a swimming pool.

“Since we have such esteemed guests, shouldn’t we pour some good wine? Is everyone okay with barbecue for dinner?”

Thump thump—

Hearing that made my heart start racing.

Could my dream be coming true already?

“Grandfather! Ms. NaeMe is only 10 years old! What kind of alcohol for a child?”

“Oh right, thank you for reminding me, ha ha. I almost made a mistake of feeding a minor alcohol. What kind of meat do you like, NaeMe? How about T-bone steak or lamb chops?”

“I’d be grateful for anything you provide…”

I pouted and jumped into the car.

Meanwhile, Saetbyeol, who had taken the seat next to me, whispered.

“Hehe, I’ll make sure to drink properly.”

* * *

For three days after the day of the barbecue party at the villa, I was entirely focused on game development.

Even if I tried to distance myself from the dreaded past life, it somehow brought forth nostalgia.

I built mountains, drew rivers, and designed cities with a completely clear mind.

I also made slight adjustments to the designs of the monsters.

The grotesque appearances of the monsters born from overly relying on my memories were made a bit cuter.

There was no reason to see unpleasant sights in a game created for healing.

Instead, I opened pathways to allow for creative appearances using a breeding system.

At this pace, I felt that the next area could be opened soon.

“Yeah, this is healing.”

Meanwhile, Love Unni returned to Korea and received a grand car parade welcome.

While she could not match Giselle Fisher in scale, they say 5 million people gathered in one place to praise her.

[Resonance – Ending Kaizen World.]

Pushhhhh—

Having worked vigorously, I realized it was already dinner time.

“Why is it so hot?”

I unconsciously wiped my sweat-drenched hair with my hand.

It seemed like that crazy cat had turned off the capsule air conditioning and left.

If even a little more time had passed, emergency mode would have activated, and the air conditioning would have turned on automatically.

I immediately barged into Saetbyeol’s room.

“Hey, do you want to die?”

“Hey hey! Phone call! I’m on the phone with a friend. You should use prettier words, NaeMe!”

“NaeMe? Did you lose your mind?”

“Uhhhh! Ugh! UGH!”

I lightly poked her in the solar plexus and side with my finger.

Why is she being such a drama queen?

She flailed around like a fish caught on a fishing line and ultimately rolled under the bed.

[Saetbyeol? Are you okay, Saetbyeol?]

“Ugh, ugh…”

I picked up the phone that had fallen on the floor and answered it.

“Hello.”

[Yes, hello?]

“Who are you calling our Saetbyeol at 1 AM?”

[Huh…? Are you Ms. NaeMe? Oh my gosh!]

The shrill scream pierced through my ears.

[Ms. NaeMe, I’m such a huge fan! Congratulations on your victory! I can’t believe you’re only 10 years old and how well you use the sword and do such amazing magic—]

“Your friend?”

[Yes, yes! I’m a classmate of Saetbyeol!]

“Oh, I see! I’ve been really curious about how Saetbyeol unni thinks of her younger sibling. Doesn’t she usually share such things with you?”

[She talks about it often! She often says touching her younger sibling feels like going to heaven… Also, she really loves her unni, so if I ask her to run an errand, she responds immediately, saying she’s such a good girl. Aah! And your voice is super cute too…!]

“Thank you. But we have to go eat dinner now, so I’m going to hang up.”

[Oh, it’s dinner time! Take care of yourself!]

Click—

I sneaked out, grabbing the hem of Saetbyeol’s clothes.

“I have my pride—”

“What?”

“There’s nothing like that, my heavenly unni.”

“Right. Make sure to repeat what you just said to your friends tomorrow.”

“Wh-what…?”

Wiping off my sweat with a white t-shirt tossed haphazardly on the bed, I hopped down the stairs with a thump to find a delicious Korean meal waiting for us.

Most ingredients were delivered by drone, while the rest was bought by Professor Cheon, among us, whose face was less well-known.

As everyone settled down and picked up their chopsticks, I took out the camera I had prepared earlier to film Saetbyeol.

“What’s that?”

“I’m filming a vlog for you to become famous.”

“Hey, unni, I’m not that greedy. I’ll take things slow.”

“210 billion.”

“…”

Hearing that jaw-dropping amount made Saetbyeol start coughing.

“I should pay you back?”