Descending the familiar stairs, I opened the door.
Kang Hanul and Jeong So-yeon looked puzzled as they stared at the door that suddenly appeared.
Despite their confusion, they followed us into the Dungeon of Gluttony.
And there, immediately revealed, was a pure white landscape.
“Oh my! It’s snowing?!”
“…I wonder if we can still catch fish in winter.”
“Brother! Why didn’t you tell us it was snowing?”
My first plan to surprise my family was a success.
Then, looking to the side…
“What is this…?”
“A double dungeon? That’s impossible!”
Their reactions were as satisfying as I’d hoped.
The two couldn’t stop marveling at the surroundings, touching the snow and looking up at the sky.
Ara couldn’t hide her grin as she watched their reactions but suddenly sensed something and quickly turned her head.
“Woffy! Purr!”
The kids who always greet us first when we enter were running towards us energetically.
Amidst the snowy landscape, Woffy stood out while Purr was running with a stealthy yet swift pace.
“Hehe.”
Today, one of the monsters even had a small creature clinging to its back.
Although Hanul and So-yeon might have been startled by the sudden appearance of monsters, they stayed calm, likely influenced by our composed reactions.
Or rather, they were looking at me with wide eyes.
“Kyu-seong, do you handle both fire wolves and ghost horses?!”
“Wow, Kyu-seong! You must have lured them with food, just like you did to me!”
Ignoring Hanul’s strange comment, I helped my family onto the backs of Purr and Woffy.
“You both can run, right?”
“Mm! Where are we going?”
“To the field. It’s quite spacious.”
“Wow, this place is amazing. You’ve kept it so well hidden, Kyu-seong. You truly are the mastermind.”
I scratched my head, deciding not to respond, and looked at Ara.
“Ara, it’s a running race!”
“Alright! It’s a race!”
I sent Purr and Woffy off first, and we followed behind.
As Ara dashed ahead, the distance between us grew.
“Hahaha! It’s been a while since I’ve had such a refreshing run!”
Snow flew in all directions as Hanul raced ahead, leaving Ara, So-yeon, and me in the snow spray.
With eyes wide open, we chased after Hanul.
“Stop right there!”
Ara picked up speed, closing in on Hanul.
He laughed heartily and quickened his pace.
Despite not running far, we quickly reached the field.
“Ugh!”
Ara, unable to catch Hanul before arriving, puffed her cheeks in frustration.
“Hahaha! You’re still not there yet, Ara! You need to get stronger! Haha!”
“I will get stronger!”
Meanwhile, Jeong So-yeon was tugging at my sleeve, her eyes fixed on the scene before her.
“Kyu-seong, Kyu-seong, what is this? Is it a village of indigenous people living here?”
The houses and buildings built by the small creatures looked like a fairytale village celebrating Christmas in the snow.
The quaint buildings, well-maintained landscaping, and roads had slimes and small creatures bustling around.
Noticing us, they wobbled over to greet us.
“Cute!!”
“Hehe.”
Jeong So-yeon clutched her chest, overwhelmed by the adorable creatures trying to greet us in their own way.
“Ugh.”
Seon-ah, what are you doing?
Seon-ah mimicked Jeong So-yeon’s reaction and then collapsed from the back of Woffy. Fortunately, the soft snow cushioned her fall, and she clutched her heart without any injuries.
“This village was made by our kids. They’re not natives but rather immigrants.”
“Immigrants?”
“Yes. I’ve been feeding and raising them.”
“Wow…”
Jeong So-yeon couldn’t close her mouth as she looked at the village. Then, she suddenly took out her phone and handed it to me.
“Um, if it’s not too much trouble, could I ask you to take a picture?”
“Of course. Not just one, I can take dozens.”
“Thank you! If I had known, I would have brought a selfie stick!”
I took several pictures with the cute, snow-covered village in the background. No matter how I took the photos, they looked stunning against the dreamy sky.
“Brother, why didn’t you decorate with twinkling lights?”
“Twinkling lights? What’s that?”
“The small lights you use to decorate Christmas trees.”
“How am I supposed to install lights without electricity? Even if we had electricity, why should I bother?”
“Dad!”
Seon-ah quickly ran over to Dad, probably to ask if we could install electricity here. Shaking my head, Jeong So-yeon laughed.
“You have a close-knit family. It’s nice to see.”
“Close-knit? Hmm…”
Meanwhile, Ara was showing something to my parents and Hanul. They were the snow sculptures we made the day before.
“Wow, Ara, did you make this big thing?”
“It’s this big!”
Ara explained the size with her arms wide open, looking incredibly cute. Meanwhile, Seon-ah started capturing Ara and the snow sculptures with her camera.
“Mom and Dad, why don’t you make a small snowman since you’re here? We can decorate the village with it.”
“At this age, making a snowman…”
“Oh ho ho. Shall we?”
Dad was about to refuse but stopped short, glancing at Mom before crouching down to start making a snowball.
“It’s nice to find our inner child.”
Dad…
Soon, the atmosphere shifted to snowman making. Hanul also started making a snowball with a smile, and Jeong So-yeon, after some hesitation, joined Ara to make a snowman.
“Me too…!”
“Let’s make one together.”
Seon-ah quickly joined Ara and Jeong So-yeon, starting to make a snowman cheerfully.
In the meantime, I began organizing the tasks for today.
‘I’ve borrowed an artifact that emits light, but I need to set up the greenhouse first. Peppers will have to wait…’
Therefore, making soy sauce bricks came first. I had already harvested and stored all the beans. Additionally, I had gathered the tools and materials needed to make soy sauce bricks through the guild.
‘It should be all here.’
Feeling pleased, I looked at the space-expanding artifact and observed the nearly finished snowmen.
“Wow! It has a carrot nose!”
“Finished! It looks so cute!”
Unlike the giant carrot snowman we made the day before, this time Ara’s team made a proper snowman. They used branches from the World Tree for arms, tomatoes for eyes, and a carrot for the nose.
“Snap!”
Ara ran over, grabbed a straw hat, and placed it on the snowman. With that, the snowman looked complete.
“Wow, did our Ara make this?”
“Yes! What did the Great Lord make?”
“Grandma made a small one.”
“Ooh! It’s cute!”
Mother had made a tiny snowman that fit in the palm of her hand, paired with one made by Father.
“Ara, do you want to have it?”
“Can I really have it?!”
“Of course!”
Ara carefully took the snowman with trembling hands. What fit in Mother’s hand took up both of Ara’s hands.
“Aw, it’s so cute…”
Ara moved cautiously, as if holding a precious little creature. Everyone watched her fondly.
“Kyu-seong, Kyu-seong! Th-th-this!”
“Oh, yes, Ara. It’s a cute snowman.”
“Wh-what should I do with it?”
Seeing Ara’s uncertainty, I couldn’t help but pick her up and hold her. Even then, Ara was careful not to hurt the snowman in her hands.
“Shall we place it on the roof of the building where you keep your hats? It can guard your hats.”
“Ooh!”
Ara, impressed by the idea, followed me to the building where she stored her hats. The building was built to her height, so I had to bend halfway to enter. But this time, I just lifted Ara up to place the tiny snowman on the roof.
“Take good care of my hats.”
Ara gently patted the snowman and then raised her arms in a cheer.
“I’m hungry!”
“Shall we eat something then?”
It was about time for a meal. Let’s eat first before making the soy sauce bricks.
“Food! To think I can eat Kyu-seong’s food in a place like this!”
Hanul, who was making a lumpy muscle sculpture—probably trying to make a self-portrait—quickly ran over. Jeong So-yeon also looked at me with eager eyes.
“Let’s eat before we work!”
“Kyu-seong, did you have something to do? We hope we’re not interrupting…”
“Oh, it’s nothing much. Just making some soy sauce bricks. It’s not particularly difficult or time-consuming.”
Hanul’s expression stiffened at the mention of soy sauce bricks. He cautiously approached and asked,
“Today’s the day to make soy sauce bricks?”
“Would you like to help?”
“Can I?”
“Of course.”
I had already familiarized myself with the process, and it wasn’t difficult. The only downside was that it took some time.
‘Even if we finish shaping them today, the fermentation will take over two weeks… If we succeed in cultivating the peppers in the meantime, we could make soy sauce, gochujang, and doenjang all at once.’
Assuming it didn’t fail, of course.
But I had a good feeling about this. We had already tasted the beans raw, boiled, and made into soy milk. I had a feeling they would work well for soy sauce bricks too.
“This is the storage room.”
“Wow, it’s spacious!”
My family had already seen the storage room before. It was a large building, comparable to a big logistics warehouse. Father had been surprised by this building. The other buildings showed the cute aesthetic sense of the little creatures, but this one had changed his mind.
“Choose what you want to eat from here. I’ll cook it somehow.”
“No, we have guests. I should do it.”
“No, Mom. You should rest. You’re here to enjoy yourself, so I should be the one to treat you.”
“Brother, can’t you just let Mom handle it?”
“…Do you not trust my cooking skills, little sister?”
Looking at the piles of ingredients, everyone picked what they wanted to eat. Eventually, we compromised, and I decided to cook together with my mother.
Since the available ingredients were limited, the cooking didn’t take long.
First, we made curry with carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, and Embergrill herbs.
Next, we prepared a salad with stir-fried eggplant and boiled sweet potatoes, and a now-familiar pizza. We also made sweet potato sticks that Ara loves.
“Oh? Did Dad bring some meat?”
“Yes. We have lettuce, garlic, and onions too, right? Let’s soak the onions in the dressing sauce and eat them with the meat.”
Seeing the pork belly and neck meat emerging from the fishing bag, my mouth watered at the thought of having something greasy for the first time in a while. No matter how tasty my crops are, meat is still meat.
Sizzle.
While the meat was grilling, we started eating. We heated the packed rice from the storage room and enjoyed it with curry and various side dishes.
“Gulp.”
Hanul occasionally made strange noises, but I ignored them and ate heartily. At first, I wasn’t that hungry, but as we cooked and smelled the food, my appetite quickly grew.
“Why does the food taste different today?”
“Food always tastes special when eaten outdoors!”
Jeong So-yeon tilted her head in curiosity but continued eating without stopping. Beside her, Ara was devouring 20 servings of packed rice, determined not to lose.
“Meat is ready. Try it wrapped in lettuce with garlic.”
Lettuce, garlic, and onions. These were crops I had harvested some time ago but hadn’t delivered yet due to magical variety improvement.
As a result, it was the first time Jeong So-yeon and Hanul were tasting these crops.
“Gulp.”
I could hear Hanul swallowing his saliva as he skillfully wrapped a ssam.
“It would’ve been great if you made the ssamjang too.”
“I’ll make it next time.”
Agreeing with my father, I wrapped a ssam and handed it to Ara.
“Ah~!”
“Ahhh. Yum!”
Oh, my cute little Ara! Her cheeks puffed out as she chewed, looking incredibly adorable.
“Mm!!”
“Is it good?”
“Mm! Mm!!”
“You can finish chewing before talking.”
Ara’s mouth never stopped moving. Finally, Hanul took a big bite of his ssam.
“Mmm~!!!”
His reaction was priceless. Given his usual enthusiastic reactions, it wasn’t surprising, but I was eager to try it myself. My lettuce and garlic with meat! I should make a ssam for myself too!
Cliche Novel 