Round 66

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“Yum yum!”

Growl—!

Watching them eat so deliciously made my stomach rumble.

But, as an adult, I began handing out the potato pancakes to the kids first.

-Growl?

The slimes and Ara just ate whatever I handed them without thinking, but Gomgom seemed fascinated.

For a moment, Gomgom held the potato pancake I gave him with both paws, flipping it around curiously, until Ara scolded him.

“Don’t play with your food!”

-Roar!

Gomgom flinched and then immediately spread his paws to threaten Ara. His small paws fiercely raised beside his face.

Flash!

At that moment, Ara’s eyes gleamed. In an instant, the potato pancake that had been on Gomgom’s paw disappeared.

“Yum yum!”

-Roar, roar?!

Gomgom, with a flustered face, desperately searched for the potato pancake that had vanished from his paw. But he couldn’t retrieve the pancake that had already disappeared into Ara’s mouth.

-Roar, roar!

“Alright, alright. There’s more, so don’t cry.”

I squatted down and handed another potato pancake to the pouting Gomgom, who was clutching my waist.

“Ahhh~!”

-Roar!

Gomgom opened his mouth wide, and I scored a direct hit!

Since it wasn’t too hot, Gomgom chewed the potato pancake contentedly, and his face soon brightened.

-Roar!!

“Haha, it’s good, right?”

Taking this chance, I grabbed one for myself! Yum!

“Mm!”

The rich flavor of the potato was maximized by frying, enhancing its nutty taste. The mashed potatoes melted in my mouth with a soft texture.

This deliciousness! I can’t resist!

Eventually, as I put another one in my mouth, Ara started helping herself to the potato pancakes I had heated up.

Munch, munch—

Soon, everyone gathered to eat the potato pancakes, and in the meantime, I quietly heated up some carrot fries.

‘How did they make these?’

The carrot fries had lost their original shape. They were thinly sliced, made into threads, coated in batter, and fried, looking like round yarn balls.

According to Jae-seong, it was a skill not easily replicated, and my competitive spirit made me try twice, both times ending in failure.

“A chef is indeed a chef. I shouldn’t underestimate them.”

I picked up the heated carrot fries with chopsticks and handed them to Ara, who was devouring the potato pancakes.

Ara, without any suspicion, just put the food I handed her into her mouth.

Crunch!

“Ooooh!”

Crunch, crunch, crunch!

I could hear the crispy sound of the fries being chewed.

Ara continued munching with delighted eyes.

“Gasp! Del, delicious! It’s like Candies!”

“Really?”

I had already tasted the potato pancakes.

But I hadn’t tried the carrot fries yet since it wasn’t a dish I could make, and Ara’s reaction made me excited.

Ara’s favorite food was none other than Matang (Sweet Potato Candies). So if these carrot fries were on the level of Matang, it meant they’d join the list of Ara’s favorite foods.

Could it be because of Ara’s dramatic reaction?

The slimes and Gomgom paused their enthusiastic eating of the potato pancakes to stare at the carrot fries I was heating up.

“Alright, alright. One at a time!”

I fed the slimes and Gomgom directly with chopsticks. Each time, a crispy sound echoed.

-Crunch!

“I want more! I want more too!”

I diligently heated the carrot fries while feeding the kids. It seemed like it would be hard for me to get a taste.

There weren’t as many carrot fries as there were potato pancakes.

Since Jae-seong had put a lot of effort into making and frying them, it was labor-intensive and not as easy to make in large quantities like pancakes.

“Yum yum! Hm? Isn’t Kyu-seong Kyu-seong going to eat?”

“Of course, I will.”

It was endearing that she thought of me while munching away.

Thanks to her, I managed to eat a carrot fry too, and as soon as it entered my mouth, crunch! I was slightly surprised by the crispiness of the fry.

‘Even after a day, it’s still this crispy?’

Normally, it would be soggy by now, but it was strangely crisp. Was this another effect of the carrots I grew?

I didn’t know the reason, but I enjoyed it immensely.

Crunch!

“Mm!”

It was delicious in a different way from the potato pancakes.

The unique sweetness of the carrot enveloped my entire tongue, making me wonder if carrots were always this sweet.

Even though it was sliced thin like thread, the juice of the carrot was still intact, melting together with the savory oil.

It felt like eating a gourmet snack.

‘I see why Ara liked it.’

My hands and mouth kept moving without rest.

While heating the potato pancakes and carrot fries, the curry was ready, and we immediately prepared the rice.

“Curry!”

-Growl.

Ara’s eyes sparkled, and Gomgom’s nose twitched as he sniffed the aroma of the curry.

We prepared each bowl with plenty of curry along with the instant rice we had. Since we brought enough curry for two days, there was no need to hold back.

‘If we run out, we can just go back and get more.’

Since the entrance was only 10 minutes away, we could easily bring more food.

As we prepared the generous servings of curry, everyone sat quietly, waiting.

“Alright, it’s done. Let’s eat.”

“Ohh!”

Ara cheered, holding her spoon excitedly.

Gomgom, unable to use utensils, just tilted his head, watching Ara’s actions.

“Let’s eat.”

“Eat well!”

I took a bite of the curry.

As expected, it didn’t disappoint. Indeed, nothing beats a proper meal.

Glancing to the side, I saw Ara scraping her bowl clean, holding it up. She had learned to serve herself curry and was already opening another instant rice to eat more.

Gomgom tentatively dipped his tiny paw into the curry, then licked it.

-…!

He froze in shock for a moment, then started licking the curry without stopping.

‘How cute.’

The slimes, though I couldn’t tell where their mouths were, ate the curry bit by bit. They also helped themselves to potato pancakes and pickled cucumbers, showing they knew how to enjoy their food.

“Let’s see. I’ll try too…”

A bite of curry. A bite of cucumber salad.

A bite of curry. A bite of pickled cucumber.

A bite of curry. A bite of potato pancake.

Mm! It was a feast that rivaled a high-end restaurant. Moreover, the cucumber side dishes oddly complemented the curry, so I ended up eating two bowls.

“Ugh.”

I overate for the first time in a while.

Before I knew it, the curry pot was empty, and all the other side dishes we brought were completely devoured.

‘We ate all the food meant for two days.’

Well, there’s plenty of food around, so no worries.

Ara and Gomgom were diligently licking the empty bowls. Their actions were so identical, like twins, that I instinctively took out my phone to take a picture.

“Ugh! Now that we’ve eaten, how about a nap?”

I took out a camping chair that could be extended.

Then, I set up a hammock between some nearby trees.

“We couldn’t use it last time because there weren’t any trees…”

Finally, my camping dream was complete.

Ara immediately climbed into the hammock and lay down. Her giggling at the gentle swaying was delightful.

-Roar!

Gomgom spread his paws, indicating he wanted to be placed in the hammock too. I lifted him and placed him next to Ara.

“Kya haha! It’s so fluffy!”

-Roar.

As she hugged Gomgom, I couldn’t tell if she meant the hammock was fluffy or Gomgom was fluffy.

Just in case, I also set up a tent and prepared a sleeping bag for Ara.

“Oh, good job.”

Splash!

The slimes, having finished washing the dishes, were tidying up the gear. Natural-born workers.

After helping with the remaining cleanup, I finally thought about taking a break and noticed that Ara and Gomgom were quiet. Wondering why it was so quiet, I approached the hammock and saw the two of them sound asleep.

“…Candies…”

–Roar.

They looked like little angels as they mumbled in their sleep.

I couldn’t resist taking another picture, grinning as I returned to the camping chair.

I hadn’t mentioned it before, but I’d taken quite a few videos and photos. As I scrolled through them, it occurred to me that Seon-ah might steal my phone if she found out.

‘…I’d better prepare a tribute for her in advance.’

It wouldn’t do for our princess Seon-ah to get upset. Ahem.

As I reminisced over the memories, sleep gradually overtook me. I closed my eyes and fell asleep without resistance.

* * *

“Let’s go!”

“Let’s go, indeed!”

After a good sleep, we started working again.

We were almost done making the paddy field, but there was one final task left: removing a remaining stone.

“Phew, it won’t work. We need to dig out more soil around it to pull it out.”

“Can’t we do it?”

Even with Ara’s help, the stone embedded in the ground wouldn’t budge. At this point, it seemed more like a massive boulder than a simple stone.

‘…Should we just leave it and create a new one beside it?’

Thanks to Ara and the unique hoe, making another paddy field wasn’t that difficult. But for some reason, I felt determined to remove this boulder.

“I think we should try to get this rock out somehow. Can we do it, Ara?”

“We can do it!”

With a confident shout, Ara exhaled through her nose and began digging more soil around the rock with me.

“Wow! It’s huge!”

“Yeah, it’s bigger than I thought.”

It seemed impossible to pull it out just like this. So, I decided to use a pickaxe to break the rock into smaller pieces and then remove it.

Clang!

“Ow.”

My whole body tingled.

It was definitely too much for me alone.

“Let me try!”

Ara raised her hand and stepped forward.

I handed her the pickaxe, and she mimicked spitting into her palms before gripping the pickaxe.

“Hiyah!”

Clang!

The sound was louder than when I did it, but the rock didn’t break. What kind of rock was this?

Ara’s whole body seemed to tingle too, as she jumped around making funny faces for a while before shouting to me.

“Can I use my breath attack?”

“Breath attack?”

Isn’t that a bit too much?

But Ara was glaring at the rock with blazing eyes.

“Make sure you control your power. Got it, Ara?”

“Okay!”

If she used her full power, the entire area would probably blow up. I repeatedly reminded her to be gentle, then stepped back with the slimes and Gomgom.

“Take this!”

Paaaaaa—!!

From a safe distance, Ara unleashed a devastating beam. But it seemed to have changed color from before.

‘Wasn’t it sky blue?’

Now it was almost a deep blue.

You didn’t forget to control your power, did you, Ara?!

Boom–!

Splash!

“Huh?”

“What?”

The rock did break, but as it shattered, something started gushing out. Then it began to fall and wet the surroundings.

Shaa—

Drip-drip—

“What on earth is this?”

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