When I stepped outside and checked my phone, there was a message from an unexpected number.
‘Awakener Kim Tae-yang?’
Or should I call him Director?
Anyway, upon checking the content, it included the broadcast date for the drama and the date for the commercial Ara would soon shoot.
I was a bit surprised that it wasn’t the person appointed as the temporary manager last time who delivered the news, but Kim Tae-yang himself.
I immediately replied with a thank you message and sent the details, like the drama’s broadcast date and Ara’s commercial shooting date, to Seon-ah as well.
By the way, they haven’t come to shoot videos lately. I heard there’s already a mountain of footage to edit, but it felt a bit disappointing not to see them.
“Our Ara is waiting so eagerly.”
“I’m the one waiting?”
Ara, who came out in response to my monologue, tilted her head. I patted Ara’s head and searched for videos on making dog treats and how to make charcoal.
“Milk and agar powder? Oh, it’s really simple.”
Making dog treats was easier than I thought.
I just needed to mix milk, agar powder, and produce.
Carrots, sweet potatoes, and nutty ingredients… honestly, it seemed fine to add whatever.
Instead, the milk should be goat milk or lactose-free milk, not regular milk.
Of course, I thought our Woofy would eat it even if made with regular milk, but since I was making it anyway, I should follow the recipe.
“Should I buy the ingredients while I’m at it?”
“Dog treats! Woofy likes them!”
The materials needed for making charcoal were already in the dungeon. I just had to fill a metal barrel with wood, close the lid, light a fire around the barrel, and let it heat for about three hours.
To put it simply, it involved heating the wood while blocking the air.
Ara and I went down the mountain and bought lactose-free milk and agar powder from the mart. I wanted to buy goat milk as well, but they didn’t have any here.
When we brought it back to the dungeon, everyone looked at us with curious faces.
“What kind of dog treat should we make?”
“Sweet potato!”
“Shall we? Let’s go with sweet potato.”
Since we were making sweet potato dog treats, we should make charcoal as well. We’ll be lighting a fire, so we should roast the sweet potatoes there.
First, I fetched some World Tree firewood. In fact, there was no need to fetch it since we already had it stocked in the warehouse. All the fires here were essentially lit with World Tree firewood.
I filled a large cauldron with well-dried World Tree firewood and closed the lid. Then, I placed more firewood around the cauldron like a bonfire and lit it.
“Fire!!”
“Our Ara has learned English too?!”
Ara shouted in English, raising her hands in celebration. Her eyes were glued to the firewood flames.
After checking the time, I left the charcoal-making to proceed and started preparing the dog treats.
First, I warmed the milk.
Then I added agar powder to the warm milk and stirred it well.
“Ara, can you bring me some carrots, sweet potatoes, and nutty ingredients?”
“Okay!”
Ara brought them, and I finely grated the carrots. I planned to bake the sweet potatoes and nutty ingredients using the residual heat from the burnt firewood, so I started with the carrots.
Bubbling.
As the milk started to form bubbles from the heat, I added the finely grated carrots. Then I stirred it on low heat for another 10 minutes.
“That’s it.”
“Done! Is it already finished?”
“Yes, it’s already done.”
Since it was homemade, the color just looked like white soup, with the orange from the carrots scattered like stains.
After turning off the heat, I let it cool for another 10 minutes before dividing it into small square containers. Now we just had to wait for it to set and dry, and it would be complete.
“Isn’t it easy?”
Actually, a dehydrator is needed, so I’ll have to go home to dry them with it. Thanks to Jae-seong, there’s a dehydrator at the main house.
“Kyu-seong Kyu-seong, can I try it?”
“Of course. Go ahead.”
Thanks to the agar powder, Ara carefully scooped up the dog treat, which was half-liquid and half-pudding, and put it in her mouth.
“Yum!”
“How is it?”
“It’s delicious!”
Honestly, even though it’s called a dog treat, it seemed like something that would taste good to humans as well. Considering the ingredients, it’s only natural?
There was plenty, so Ara ate some, and even the kids who were watching each took a bite.
Me? I didn’t eat… no, I couldn’t eat.
Tap, tap, tap-.
After making the dog treats and portioning them several times, the bonfire was nearly out. Checking the time, it was about when the charcoal would be ready too.
“Tada! Here it comes.”
When I gently kicked the scorched cauldron, it toppled over, spilling out the finished black charcoal along with the lid.
“Ohhhh! It’s black!”
“Ara, the soot you got on your face when eating sweet potatoes before was similar to that.”
“Can I do it again?”
“Not on my face…”
The freshly made charcoal was hot, so I let it cool for now. Just in case, I warned the kids to be careful as it was hot and used the embers of the dying bonfire to roast the sweet potatoes and nutty ingredients.
“Soot!”
Meanwhile, Ara, seemingly unbothered by the heat, picked up some charcoal and started doodling on the ground.
“I’m practicing my signature.”
“Sure, sure. Our Ara will have many opportunities to sign things, so let’s practice in advance.”
Ara’s hand gestures became noticeably more careful after hearing my words. Watching Ara seriously draw on the ground melted my expression unwittingly.
After checking the charcoal, I resumed making dog treats. This time, they were made with bell pepper and tomato.
Since the method was so easy, my hands moved naturally, like a factory production line. It could have been a bit monotonous, but with the chattering kids nearby, it was not boring at all.
-Hehe.
Squirm!
The slime and Kkumuris tumbled about, while over there, Woofy and Gomgom were chasing each other as if playing tag.
“Kyu-seong Kyu-seong! Look at this!”
And every time Ara finished a doodle, she would run over to proudly show it to me. As a result, I was busy stirring with the ladle and praising Ara’s signature.
“Alright, the bell pepper dog treats and tomato dog treats are done. Let’s see if the sweet potatoes and nutty ingredients are roasted well.”
Ara, who had tasted the bell pepper and tomato dog treats, followed me around with a happy expression.
Digging through the ashes, the sweet potatoes and nutty ingredients appeared, looking charred. Using a stick, I took them out and blew on them as I peeled off the skin.
“Munch.”
Our Ara couldn’t resist and took a bite. Her lips covered in sweet potato were adorable.
I strained the cooked sweet potatoes, and after removing all the skin from the nutty ingredients, I finely ground them into powder.
Dog treats made with these two ingredients were quickly completed. Ara tasted the finished liquid.
“Mmm!”
Ara gave a thumbs-up. I smiled and neatly packed them in storage containers for Bokkeum.
Before I knew it, it was 9 PM—time to sleep.
“Today was a productive day.”
“Productive!”
We planted peppers, made dog treats, and even created World Tree charcoal…
The task of drying the dog treats would be done at the main house tomorrow. I should share some of the charcoal too. Since charcoal can be used as a humidifier, I’ll suggest giving it a try.
As soon as the next day came, we finished preparing to go out and stepped outside.
And as soon as we arrived home, my mother welcomed Ara and questioned me.
“Is there any more of the soup you made last time?”
“There isn’t.”
“You say it so bluntly, it makes me feel sad.”
“There really isn’t any.”
Instead, I brought something else, Mother.
I immediately took out the containers of liquid dog treats and the charcoal made from the World Tree from Bokkeum.
“What are these?”
“These are dog treats I made myself. And this is charcoal I made myself too.”
“Dog treats? Charcoal?”
Ignoring my mother’s look that seemed to say, “Why did you make something like this?” I went to find the dehydrator. Fortunately, it was just as I expected, sitting in a corner of the storage room.
“Mom, I’ll use this.”
“Go ahead.”
After plugging it in, adjusting the temperature, and setting the time…
“This will take quite a while.”
The drying time was at least 4 hours. It couldn’t be done in one go and had to be done twice. So, in total, 8 hours. Additionally, there was so much dog treat mixture that it couldn’t all be done at once.
“Hmm…”
Oh well, it can’t be helped.
“Mom, when will Seon-ah come?”
“She’ll come after school. Why?”
“I was thinking of giving her some allowance and asking her to do a chore.”
I can’t stay here the whole time, can I?
Honestly, it was an easy job of just taking out the dried batch after 4 hours and putting in the next batch for another 4 hours.
Seon-ah gets her allowance, and I get my time, so it’s a win-win.
“Mmm~! This smells really good. Where did you get it?”
“You know the big tree at our house? I made it myself from that.”
“Wow, this is the first time I’ve smelled charcoal with such a good scent. It almost smells like fresh wood!”
“Use it as a humidifier. Just fill a basin with water and let it sit halfway submerged.”
Ding-dong!
While I was having a conversation with my mother, my phone rang. It was a text message notification.
Upon checking, it was from Guild Leader Han Seok-jun.
“Hmm?”
After reading the message, I momentarily doubted my eyes, but quickly regained composure and stroked my chin.
“What is it?”
“Oh, it’s nothing special. It’s just that the Awakeners Headquarters wants to meet me.”
“Awakeners Headquarters? You mean the government-run Awakeners Headquarters?”
“Yes.”
It’s not that unusual for the Awakeners Headquarters to want to meet me. An Awakener meeting with the Awakeners Headquarters, right?
Isn’t it?
“Kyu-seong Kyu-seong, your hand is shaking.”
“M-my hand? No! Not at all!”
My passive modesty kicked in.
The message only said they wanted to meet me, but why was I trembling like this?
“Meeting them is the right thing to do, right?”
“Of course! You should meet them.”
Listening to my mother’s advice, I immediately replied to the Guild Leader. He must have been waiting for my answer because my phone rang right away.
“Ah, hello, Guild Leader.”
-Yes. I’m contacting you again after just a day. Haha.
Guild Leader Han Seok-jun laughed amicably and asked when I would be available.
“I’m free today or tomorrow.”
-Then, shall we meet tomorrow?
“Alright.”
-There’s no need to be too nervous. They just have a good impression of you and want to greet you.
That makes me even more nervous, Guild Leader. Why would government officials go out of their way to greet someone like me?
-Oh, and you can choose the location. We’ll come to Yangju.
“Y-yes? But there’s no need for you to come all the way here…”
-I feel sorry for always asking you to come to us. I’ll bring people there. I’ll make a reservation at a nearby restaurant.
“Oh, um…”
-Then, I’ll see you tomorrow, Kyu-seong. I’ll send you the location and time by text.
The call ended quickly.
I stared blankly at my phone and then looked at my mother.
“Will… will it be alright?”
“Why are you so nervous? They’re just coming to say hello, right?”
“Yes, well…”
As I stood there bewildered, Ara smiled brightly and grabbed the hem of my pants.
“I want to wear my tiger outfit and say hello!”
“Sure. Since it’s tomorrow, let’s wear your tiger outfit.”
Yeah. It’s just a greeting, after all. What could possibly happen?
‘But why at this time…? Could it be because they heard about the European Union and the Dungeon of Wrath? Why do I feel like this meeting with the Awakeners Headquarters is somehow related to that incident?’
Cliche Novel 