After a bad experience with a taxi, I decided to use public transportation for my return trip. Even during the journey back, Ara kept her helmet on. The sight of a small child wearing a helmet drew a lot of attention from people, but Ara seemed oblivious, moving around excitedly.
‘Since my house is on the way back to the dungeon, maybe we should drop by.’
I realized I hadn’t explained my situation in detail to my parents, so this seemed like a good opportunity to visit them. And since I had Ara with me, I could introduce her as well.
“Ara?”
“Yes?”
“How about we stop by my house on the way back?”
“What is your house? Does Kyu-seong Kyu-seong also own another dungeon?”
“Remember my siblings you met last time?”
“Jae-seong! Seon-ah!”
“Yes. They live there with our parents.”
“Kyu-seong Kyu-seong ’s parents?!”
Ara, still wearing her helmet, suddenly shivered with excitement and raised her arms in a cheer.
“Kyu-seong Kyu-seong ’s mom and dad! Are they also great lords?”
“They’re just ordinary people.”
Ara seemed to have high expectations, and I was worried she might be disappointed. Soon, we arrived in Yangju. Ara’s steps toward the house were noticeably bouncy.
“Will Jae-seong be at your house?”
The phrase “your house” had become just a noun for her. Since Jae-seong had quit his job, he was likely to be at home.
“Probably.”
“Ooh! Sweet potatoes, sweet potatoes!”
“Ara, I didn’t bring any sweet potatoes this time…”
“What?!”
Ara quickly removed her helmet and looked at me with wide eyes, clearly shocked by the unexpected news.
“No sweet potatoes…?”
“Well, you see…”
Since we had only gone shopping, I had tried to carry as little as possible. I only had the containers of Layla I had divided. Visiting home was a spur-of-the-moment decision, so I hadn’t thought about bringing sweet potatoes.
‘…Should I drop Ara off and quickly return to the dungeon?’
To console the visibly disappointed Ara, I took out some Layla. The sweet smell reached her nose, lifting her spirits.
“Layla!”
“Shall we eat some Layla for now?”
“Yes!”
She quickly started eating the cut Layla from the container, her face brightening as if she had never been upset. Holding Ara in my arms, I headed to the house. My parents would probably be surprised, but my siblings should have explained everything already… right?
As I reached the front door, I thought it might have been a good idea to call ahead. I opened the door.
“I’m home.”
“Kyu-seong? You’re here again without notice.”
I heard my mother’s voice and soon saw her coming from the kitchen. Ara, who had been nervous since we arrived, gasped and then shouted upon seeing my mother.
“Great Lord!”
“Oh, is this Ara?”
“Did the kids tell you?”
Ignoring my question, my mother walked straight to Ara in my arms. She seemed to have completely forgotten about me.
“Oh my, what a pretty child!”
“Great… great lord…”
Ara, who had shrunk in fear, closed her eyes tightly as my mother patted her head. My mother naturally took Ara from my arms and continued to caress her.
“How cute! How old are you?”
“Three thousand five hundred years old!”
“Five years old?”
Watching their conversation, Jae-seong leisurely walked out from the inside.
“Hey, you’re here? Oh, Ara’s here too?”
“Jae-seong!”
Recognizing a familiar face, Ara extended her hand towards Jae-seong in greeting.
“Long time no see, Ara. How have you been?”
“I’ve been well!”
“Hmm? What’s this smell… Layla?”
Jae-seong looked at me.
I ended up handing him the container of Layla.
“Share this with our parents.”
“Hmm, could this be made into a dish? Do you have more? I want to experiment with some recipes.”
“There’s more in the dungeon…”
Since I was thinking about dropping Ara off and returning to the dungeon, I could bring back more Layla while I was at it.
“Seon-ah and Dad haven’t returned yet. They’ll probably be back in about three hours.”
“Is that so? Jae-seong, then come with me to the dungeon for a bit.”
“To get more Layla?”
“Uh, there’s that too. I’m going to get some sweet potatoes. Can you make candies again?”
“Sure.”
Ara, who was listening intently while being held in my mother’s arms, shouted.
“Candies!”
“Yes, yes. I’ll get the sweet potatoes, so wait here for a moment.”
“I will wait!”
“Mom, please take care of Ara for a bit.”
Leaving Ara with my mother, Jae-seong and I returned to the dungeon.
Even though it was close, it took about an hour round trip because it was located halfway up the hill.
“Phew, nothing happened, right?”
As we entered the dungeon, two Rookies greeted me on the first floor.
The 19 slimes that had gathered gave a bustling feeling.
As we went down, Poispois, who was lazily floating in the pond, greeted me with a start.
“You’re living the good life.”
“Brother, don’t be too hard on them.”
“Hard on them? I’m just stating the facts.”
“It sounds like you’re nagging them.”
What are you talking about! I’ve put so much effort into slime welfare!
Although I’ve reflected on my actions after seeing Ara’s behavior recently, my title as a slime welfare officer has never changed.
When we reached the storage, the newly harvested carrots and cherry tomatoes were piled up.
“Should we take some tomatoes and carrots too?”
“Sure.”
Now that I think about it, are the tomatoes outside drying well?
As I collected the sweet potatoes and Layla, I saw the tomatoes laid out to dry next to me.
But they didn’t seem to be doing well.
“Jae-seong.”
“Yeah.”
“Come here and take a look at this.”
“Why? What’s up? Oh! You’re drying tomatoes. How many days has it been?”
Jae-seong crouched down to check the state of the tomatoes and naturally picked one up and ate it.
“Hmm? What herb is this?”
“It’s a dungeon plant called Embergrill.”
“Wow, amazing!”
Jae-seong’s reaction was better than expected, and I got curious too.
When I picked up a dried tomato and tasted it, the salty taste of the salt, the sweetness of the tomato, and the scent of Embergrill mingled complexly, stimulating my taste buds.
“Hmm? This…”
Contrary to its appearance, it was really good.
It seemed fine to eat as it was without further drying.
Though it might lack a bit of impact on its own, it would be great to accompany meals or be used as a cooking ingredient.
‘Ah! Should I try drying them in the Dungeon of Gluttony?’
Leaving the ones already dried as they were, it might not be a bad idea to try drying them again in the Dungeon of Gluttony.
“Take some of the dried tomatoes too.”
“Can we take them all?”
“No, I need to dry them a bit more.”
Jae-seong, who didn’t know my plan, only picked the slightly more successful dried tomatoes and stood up.
Squirm, squirm—
“Oh, hello? Was this one’s name Mark2?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
I’ve noticed it before, but Mark2 seems particularly interested in Jae-seong.
Probably because Jae-seong, being a cook, has an affinity with a farmer.
“The texture is really nice. Can I raise one too?”
Jae-seong, fiddling with the approaching Mark2, glanced at me, hoping I would let him adopt one.
He had a look like he was eyeing Mark2 with the intention of adopting it.
“No.”
“You’re so stingy, brother.”
“Slimes are still monsters. Keeping one outside the dungeon is illegal.”
“We need to change the law. Harmless ones like slimes should be allowed as pets.”
“Do you know how much slimes eat? You wouldn’t be able to handle it.”
“Do they eat that much?”
Seeing him seriously contemplate it, he must have really thought about adopting a slime.
I thought he was mature and reliable, but sometimes he comes up with these strange ideas.
“If you’ve got everything, let’s go.”
“Okay.”
We packed up and headed back home.
Because we had spent more time in the dungeon than expected, it took us three hours to return after leaving Ara.
Beep-beep—
“Hey, dad and Seon-ah must be back.”
Jae-seong muttered as he saw the shoes at the entrance.
At the same time, the sound of laughter continuously burst out from inside.
Heading to the living room, we saw Ara dancing clumsily in the middle while our parents clapped.
Seon-ah was standing next to them, filming a video, not noticing us at all.
“What are you doing?”
“Oh, our Ara saw something on TV and started dancing along.”
It was awkward seeing my father, who had probably seen Ara for the first time today, calling her “our Ara” with a big smile.
I never knew my father had this side to him…
“Kyu-seong Kyu-seong! You’re back!”
It was Ara, still waddling and dancing to welcome me.
For someone with physical abilities of a level 3 Awakener, her dance was rather clumsy.
“Brother, can’t we just raise Ara at our house?”
“No.”
I firmly refused and soon placed my luggage in the kitchen, asking Jae-seong to make some sweet potato candies.
When I returned to the living room while Jae-seong was cooking, Ara, with her nose held high, was delivering a lengthy speech.
“…So I breathed fire! The charging bulls were so startled that they stopped in their tracks!”
“Wow, our Ara did that!”
“People rushed over and praised me! So many came that Kyu-seong Kyu-seong got angry! All because I’m so amazing!”
Though they didn’t really understand what she was saying, they found Ara so adorable that they just clapped along.
Thinking about it, Ara was at an age where she craved praise.
But is she really 3,500 years old?
I never actually checked her age.
As we waited, listening to Ara’s chatter with the family, the delicious and sweet smell filled the air, signaling the completion of the cooking.
“Sweet potato candies!”
Ara, who had stopped talking, eagerly jumped into my arms, her face full of anticipation.
“Here are the sweet potato candies you’ve been waiting for.”
Jae-seong, usually so taciturn, made a rare joke as he brought out the plate.
He had not only made sweet potato candies but also lightly grilled the carrots and tomatoes I had given him.
The amount was quite substantial.
“Can you eat all this?”
Mother asked worriedly, but my siblings, already aware of Ara’s appetite, just smiled.
“Well then, shall we have dinner a bit early?”
As we set out various side dishes and rice, the meal finally began.
Ara devoured the various side dishes and rice she was trying for the first time, but she never let go of the sweet potato candies.
“Delicious!”
“Hoho, eat as much as you like, Ara.”
Seeing the small, adorable child with such a good appetite made my mother so happy that she busily watched Ara eat.
As the mountain of food gradually diminished, the shocked expressions of my parents were amusing.
“She really ate it all?”
“Hehehe….”
Ara, who had neatly emptied her plate, finished the meal by licking the plate that held the sweet potato candies.
Even that sight was so adorable that the whole family’s attention was focused on her.
“Hic!”
Ara patted her rounded belly and hiccuped.
I chuckled and began to clear the dishes for washing.
“Our Ara really ate well. Was it good?”
“It was satisfying. But I could eat more.”
As I did the dishes with Seon-ah, I asked Jae-seong to make more sweet potato candies.
I had brought almost all the sweet potatoes I had stored in the dungeon, planning to make and store all of them as candies.
“How about making dried sweet potatoes too?”
“Can you make those?”
“Yeah.”
Jae-seong nodded nonchalantly.
I asked him to make half into candies and the other half into dried sweet potatoes, and then checked on Ara, who had fallen asleep beside my parents.
“She’s living the good life.”
“Don’t be too hard on her, brother.”
“What are you talking about?”
Ara will live a blessed life with my family forever.
I will make sure of that.
Riches and glory don’t matter to me.
I just want us all to live happily together for a long time.
Cliche Novel 