Moon's Labyrinths

Both Sungyoon and Jimin stood up and greeted her.

“How have you been, Ms. Grace?”

“I’ve been well. How are you, Mr. Sungyoon?”

“I’ve been well thanks to you. ”

The two of them exchanged a light handshake. Grace then looked at Jimin, who stood next to Sungyoon.

“Is this person the president of your company?”

“Yes.”

As soon as Sungyoon answered, Jimin took a step forward.

“It is nice to meet you. I am the president of Jungbum, Hahn Jimin.”

“Grace Elizabeth Victoria Taylor.”

The two women exchanged a short greeting, and then the three of them went back to the table where they had been sitting. Naturally, Jimin sat next to Sungyoon, while Grace sat on the other side.

“Thank you for accepting our request.”

Grace expressed her gratitude.

“It’s fine. It’ll be a problem if magical energy appears on Earth. I cannot stand idly. I have to solve this problem if I want safety for my family.”

“I am glad you feel that way about it. I’ll give you a quick rundown—”

Grace was cut off when the door opened once again.

“Do you mind if I join you, Grace?”

“Grandmother!”

The person who had entered the room was the Queen of England.

As soon as they saw who it was, Sungyoon and Jimin quickly got to their feet.

She was a monarch of a different country, and her political powers were limited due to the constitutional monarchy. However, this didn’t change the fact that she was a monarch.

Moreover, she was the grandmother of one of his party members, and as Koreans, they placed importance in respecting their elders.

But for many reasons, the two of them were at a loss as to how to treat the Queen, who had suddenly shown up.

“Do not be ill at ease. I am only here as this girl’s grandmother.”

The Queen closed the distance in an elegant manner, and she rubbed the back of Grace, who looked taken aback.

It seemed she hadn’t expected the Queen to show up so abruptly in their meeting. It was similar to the emotions one felt when one’s parents suddenly appeared in front of one’s friends.

“I thought you were going to introduce yourself at the dinner party later on?”

“They are already here, so I see no problem meeting them a bit earlier.”

The Queen let out a small laugh, a bit of mischief evident in it. It was the sight of a grandmother playing a small prank on her granddaughter. Sungyoon and Jimin had been stiff from being nervous, but when they saw this interaction, they loosened up a little bit.

First, Sungyoon and Jimin introduced themselves.

Grace was so flustered that she was unable to speak for a brief moment. The Queen left her be, and she looked at Sungyoon.

“Are you Mr. Woo Sungyoon?”

“Yes.”

She possessed the same blue eyes as Grace, and her eyes were clear and luminescent as if they had escaped the effects of time. Those eyes gently turned into the shape of a crescent moon at Sungyoon's answer.

“I am honored to meet the hero who saved my granddaughter.”

She gave her thanks with grace and elegance. Sungyoon was taken aback when a monarch of a country bowed her head toward him.

“I only fulfilled a commission. I received rewards for my actions too.”

“However, the fact that you saved my granddaughter doesn’t change. Policemen and firemen are doing their jobs to the best of their abilities. But despite this fact, people admire and respect them for their work. This is the same thing.”

Since it was the Queen who was saying this, Sungyoon had no objection. He awkwardly accepted her gratitude.

Afterward, the Queen didn’t leave. She naturally had the ability to lead the conversation and make people move at her own pace.

Even if she didn’t have true political power, she had spent decades traveling the world. She had met with countless people.

It didn't matter if Sungyoon and Jimin were capable people. In her eyes, they were novices. It wasn’t too hard for her to wrap them around her finger.

“How’s Grace doing? Is she doing good?”

She wasn’t speaking as the Queen. These were the words of a grandmother. As her eyes sparkled, the mischievous elder tried to find ways to tease and embarrass her granddaughter.

“Grandma!”

“What’s wrong? Your grandmother just wants to learn how you're doing at work.”

The always tough Grace was being made to dance back and forth by the Queen, and she was doing it with a gentle smile on her face. It revealed that the two of them had a great relationship with each other.

The Queen was treating Sungyoon and Jimin as if they were Grace’s friends. That was why they felt a bit more comfortable around the Queen.

“Ms. Grace is doing very well.She is very brave and smart. We are clearing the labyrinth much easier thanks to her magic, and she helps our party in many other ways.”

“Is that so?”

It seemed she felt pleased when he praised her granddaughter, and her laughter became a bit louder.

Grace lowered her head as if she was embarrassed.

“I’m glad she is doing so well. Honestly, I was against Grace joining Mr. Woo’s party in the beginning. She had almost died, yet she was joining some no-name party. I became very angry.”

“It is understandable.”

“I became very angry at Russell for taking Grace’s side. However, I became a bit relieved when I heard numerous great stories about Mr. Woo’s party. Also, I couldn’t ignore this girl’s will.”

The Queenlooked at Grace with warm eyes.

‘She’s a good grandmother.’

Naturally, he thought about his own grandmother, who had passed away.

“I’m sure she is still lacking in various ways, but please look out for her. I leave her in your care.”

“I can't say yes with absolute certainty because our line of work is very dangerous. However, I will do my best.”

“Hoo-hooht! You didn’t ask me to blindly believe in you. This makes you seem that much more dependable.”

Thankfully, the Queen seemed very satisfied with his answer. Sungyoon was able to relax a little bit more.

‘There is no reason to be nervous. It isn’t as if I’m here to ask permission for Grace’s hand in marriage.’

He knew the woman in front of him was a very important person. However, Sungyoon berated himself for becoming unnecessarily nervous in front of her.

However, he quickly erased those thoughts from his mind. It had unnecessarily made him think about his ex-wife and his in-laws.

The Queen turned to look at Jimin this time.

“You are the president of Jungbum?”

“Yes.”

“You named it after your father Hahn Jungbum. Am I correct? I remember him.”

“You knew my father?”

Jimintruly loved her father. Therefore, she showed an immediate reaction to the Queen’s words.

“You know that I am friends with Sir Russell, right? When Sir Russell had been young, your father was his rival. So I sometimes heard stories about him from Sir Russell.”

Hahn Jungbum had been the greatest Connector of Korea. At the time, a weird form of rivalry had been formed between the strongest Connectors of other countries.

“I see.”

She thought her father had zero ties to this country, yet she was able to find his traces.

Jimin looked overjoyed.

Afterward, the four of them became pretty comfortable with each other, and they continued their conversation. However, a knock on the door interrupted their conversation.

After receiving permission to enter, a man greeted everyone in the room.

“State your business.”

The Queen was a bit displeased that their conversation was interrupted, so there was a slight edge to her voice. The man who had entered was taken aback by her reaction.

“The Prime Minister called. He wants to speak to the guests as soon as possible...”

“That man always has terrible timing.”

However, the fate of London might be hanging on the balance right now, so it was difficult for the Queen to reject his request.

“I’m sorry, but it seems the Prime Minister wants to meet you all. It is bad manner to call up guests so soon, but we are in desperate times. Please excuse us.”

“It is fine. Should we go meet the Prime Minister right now?”

In a flash, Jimin put on her president face as she asked the question. However, the Queen didn’t answer her. The answer came from the man who had come to deliver the message.

“If you give him a call, he said he’ll come here.”

“Yes. That might be for the best. Anyway, we’ll be having the dinner party. There is no reason to travel far away from here.”

Before Jimin could say anything, the Queen ordered the man to call the Prime Minister to the palace. The man observed his manners as he left the room.

“Shall we continue to talk until the Prime Minister arrives?”

The Queen let out a bright smile. Her guests had come from across the ocean, and she didn’t want to let go of the talking companions she had found. Her smile was full of meaning.

The friendly conversation continued for a long time.

***

“Hoo-ooh!”

Sungyoon laid down on a comfortable bed.

It was a pretty expensive hotel, so the bed was quite nice. As expected, money talked.

‘Still, this place can’t be compared to the hotel in Armstrong city.’

He couldn't rent a room in the worst hotel on Armstrong with the amount he paid for this room. Still, the luxuries of Earth didn’t matter. He couldn’t avoid the fate of a Connector. He would start to feel the need to go back to the expensive and uncomfortable Moon.

‘I’m so full.’

He placed a hand on his stomach. His stomach was protruding more so than usual.

He had been treated to a British feast today. Britain was the butt of the joke for having the worst food, but this didn’t hold true for the food served in the palace. It had been a very satisfying meal.

‘I’m living the life of luxury by coming to London.’

Even if he took up a commission issued by Britain, it was unusual to be invited to dine with the Queen within the palace.

However, Sungyoon was one of the people who had saved Grace. He was also her party member. It was the main reason why he was invited. Jimin was invited alongside him.

The Queen had continued to ask various questions about Grace even at dinner. And the subject of these questions had felt flustered by them.

‘I guess we’ll take it easy and tour London tomorrow.’

It was too much to expect Sungyoon and Grace to investigate the cave without Tim and Emily. Therefore, the exploration of the cave was scheduled to start a day after the Ross siblings would arrive in London.

They only had to sweep the region near the cave every day, and then they were free to do anything. That was why Grace offered to give Sungyoon and Jimin a tour of London.

‘I’ll have to buy a lot of souvenirs for Shinhae.’

When he had this thought, Sungyoon suddenly missed his daughter.

So hebrought out his handphone and didn't hesitate before calling.

- Dad!

He heard Shinhae’s voice from the phone. Sungyoon’s mouth naturally curved upwards.

“How are things, Shinhae?”

- Good! I played with Jiyoon unni all day.

The little girl went on to describe every detail about how she had played with Jiyoon.

For many, it would be a boring topic. But Sungyoon didn’t miss a single word, and reacted to all the right parts of her story.

‘I’ll have to give Ms. Jiyoon a gift at a later date.’

She was on break from college, but it was very hard work to take care of someone else’s child.

Moreover, Jiyoon was staying at his house in order to take care of Shinhae.

Sungyoon always put Shinhae above everything, so he felt very grateful toward Jiyoon.

- When are you coming back, dad?

It was as if her bright and energetic voice had been all a lie. Shinhae’s voice drooped a bit as she asked the question.

“I’ll be back in three or four days.”

It was enough time to finish the investigation. Sungyoon didn’t plan on going sightseeing afterward. He didn't intend to stay here longer than necessary.

“You should play with Jiyoon unni until I get back. Dad will finish work as soon as possible. Alright?”

- Yes.

Shinhae accepted his words without making a fuss.

“May I speak to your Jiyoon unni for a moment?”

- Ok. Wait a moment.

He could hear Shinhae call Jiyoon with a loud voice.

After a brief moment, Jiyoon picked up the phone.

- Hello?

“It is me, Ms. Jiyoon.”

- Yes, Mr. Sungyoon. What can I do for you?

“I just wanted to say thank you for taking care of Shinhae.”

- Don’t worry about it. I love watching a kid as cute as her.

Jiyoon didn’t hesitate as she spoke those words. When she had picked up the phone, she already knew what Sungyoon would say to her.

“I will continue to rely on you.”

- Yes. Good luck with your work, Mr. Sungyoon.

After hearing Shinhae’s voice for the last time, he ended the call.

He wasn’t able to see the little girl, but he had heard her voice. He was pretty satisfied, and it seemed he’d be able to sleep well that night.

After putting the handphone next to him, he closed his eyes.