After Ara and Ryu Cheon’s meeting ended, I tried to meet Jae-seong separately, but in the end, Ryu Cheon ended up following along.
“We have about two days of free time.”
“But is it alright for you to be going around alone? Didn’t Yu Bihong come with you this time?”
“Since I came to Korea on short notice, Yu Bihong couldn’t come due to her schedule. And yes, it’s fine for me to be on my own.”
Ryu Cheon said that and then continued speaking clearly.
“I’m an adult.”
“Yes, of course.”
“I can take care of myself.”
That’s not what I was asking. I meant, is it alright for such an important person to be wandering around alone, but it seems she misunderstood.
“Hey, bro! Oh, who is this?”
Just then, Jae-seong arrived.
He tilted his head curiously as he looked at Ryu Cheon, who was bundled up tightly.
“This is my guest. Actually, no, this is Ara’s guest.”
“She’s my fan!”
Ara said, waving her hand instead of greeting.
“Oh, you’re a fan. Hello?”
“Hello, younger brother of Kyu-seong.”
Thanks to Ryu Cheon’s now native-sounding accent, Jae-seong didn’t notice anything strange when he heard the greeting.
I’ll have to introduce him properly later. There are too many people here right now, so it’s difficult to openly say he’s Ryu Cheon.
“Shall we get going?”
“Huh? What about the fan?”
“Oh, She’s a fan, but she’s actually a friend.”
We went to where the car was parked.
And as expected, Jae-seong’s reaction came out.
“What the heck, bro?! Is this your car?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Wow.”
I felt a thrill from the reaction I had been hoping for.
Ryu Cheon seemed indifferent, but Jae-seong kept examining the car, mumbling constantly.
“No way, bro. Did you really buy this car? I can’t believe it…”
“Actually, I didn’t buy it, I received it.”
“You received it?!”
Jae-seong was shocked once again.
And Ara, watching Jae-seong, smiled contentedly.
“Just watching you is satisfying enough.”
Ara, is that really how you say it?
Ara also subtly enjoyed people’s reactions.
After getting in the car, Jae-seong became even more excited.
When asked if he was interested in cars, he waved his hand, saying that wasn’t the case.
“It’s just fascinating, that’s all. Really.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. I’ve never known you as someone who would drive something like this. Of course, it’s also my first time riding in such an expensive car.”
That’s true.
In fact, this is also my first time riding in such an expensive car.
Although I’ve ridden in Hanul’s car before, it wasn’t this expensive. But still, that was also a car worth hundreds of millions.
“Oh, and I couldn’t say this earlier, but the person sitting in the passenger seat right now is Ryu Cheon.”
“Ryu Cheon? Ah! The one from yesterday!”
Jae-seong hurriedly greeted him.
Ryu Cheon gave a simple greeting and then focused back on Ara, indulging in her presence to his heart’s content.
“We happened to end up coming together.”
“Was it an inconvenience?”
“What? No! Not at all.”
I should stay close with Ryu Cheon, or rather, the Skyscraper Guild. After the last tour, I felt that we might collaborate on various projects in the future. As a huge corporation, no, a guild, I might need their help more often than not.
We soon arrived home.
Jae-seong marveled at the site where construction was nearly complete.
“Would it be okay to just build a restaurant on this empty land?”
“Yeah, that should be fine.”
“Well, if you want, you could just build it in the dungeon too. The dungeon has a better atmosphere anyway.”
“Thanks, bro. I’ll think about it a lot.”
Actually, Jae-seong has already been here a few times, so that’s that, but I was curious about Ryu Cheon’s impressions.
However, Ryu Cheon just stood there blankly with her characteristic expressionless face. At least she had removed her hat, mask, and sunglasses.
“Shall we go inside?”
“I! I will guide you!”
“Alright. Ara, guide Ryu Cheon.”
“Ryu Cheon, Ryu Cheon! Hold my hand tight! You shouldn’t get lost!”
Ryu Cheon nodded quickly and tightly held Ara’s hand.
Seeing her somewhat affectionate demeanor, I couldn’t help but feel amused and followed them contentedly.
We entered the dungeon.
As usual, Ara was supposed to guide us, but unfortunately, the Infinite Slime Dungeon had long been cleared out.
“Hmm…”
Ara rolled her eyes, searching for something to say.
But there was hardly anything to say, looking at the empty dungeon.
“Uh, um… It’s been cleared out!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Hmm… A field! There’s a field!”
Ara headed towards the remaining vegetable garden.
There, a rookie slime, meeting its first guest, wiggled curiously.
“A slime?”
“This guy is a rookie! All rookies manage this garden before moving on to the next stage!”
“Rookie? Next stage?”
Ara picked up the slime.
The squishy slime bounced cutely.
“Do you want to touch it?”
“Can I?”
“Yes, you can!”
Ryu Cheon grabbed the slime and began to squish it.
Soon, it seemed she liked the texture and got completely absorbed in the slime.
“A slime. This is my first time seeing one.”
“Huh? Ryu Cheon, it’s your first time seeing a slime?”
“Yes.”
Ah, now that I think about it, Ryu Cheon was born as an level 8 awakener.
If that’s the case, she might not have had the chance to see lower-level monsters. After all, lower-level monsters don’t even produce magic stones, so they’re rarely targeted for subjugation.
“Slime. It’s cute.”
“I’m cute too.”
“Yes. Ara is cute too.”
After playing with the slime for a while, they started walking again. As they did, Ryu Cheon tilted her head.
“Did you make potions here?”
“Oh, this is just the entrance; there’s another place for that.”
“Hmm?”
Ryu Cheon had a puzzled expression, as if wondering if there was more space in a lower-level dungeon.
Ara and I, as well as Jae-seong, who had already experienced the Dungeon of Gluttony, all looked expectant.
I can’t wait to see that expressionless face filled with surprise!
We descended underground.
The area was truly empty. There was a trickling spring, but it was mostly neglected except for when the rookie slimes occasionally took a break or when Ara and I used it for washing up.
“This used to be a field too.”
“Why is there nothing here now?”
“They moved out!”
“Moved out?”
The more confused Ryu Cheon became, the more frequently Ara’s lips twitched with a smile.
And finally, the long-awaited entrance.
We passed through a cracked altar-like place and descended the stairs. The stairs had been reinforced, making them even more sturdy.
“A door?”
Ryu Cheon muttered as she noticed a door that appeared out of nowhere. Still holding Ryu Cheon’s hand, Ara turned the doorknob.
“Welcome!”
With that, Ara and Ryu Cheon disappeared into the door. Jae-seong and I followed behind them.
As soon as we entered, I checked Ryu Cheon’s reaction.
However, surprisingly, Ryu Cheon just stood there blankly without any expression. Her face was still as expressionless as ever.
“Um, what do you think…?”
Ara asked cautiously.
Then, finally, Ryu Cheon’s head slowly lowered.
She stared blankly at Ara, then lifted her head again to look around before finally locking eyes with me.
“This place…”
“Tada! This is our home!”
Ara exclaimed, spreading her arms wide.
Ryu Cheon then lifted Ara up, looking around once more.
“I’ve explored many dungeons, but this is the first time I’ve seen a place like this.”
“This is our home.”
“…Ara’s home. It’s amazing.”
Her voice sounded dazed.
I thought she wasn’t reacting, but she seemed so overwhelmed that she was stunned.
Ara, still in Ryu Cheon’s arms, gestured towards the direction of the slime village. At the same time, Woofy came running towards us from afar.
“A monster?”
“It’s Woofy!”
“Woofy.”
Ryu Cheon reached out with a trembling hand to pet Woofy, which was lying on its back, showing its belly and acting cute.
“Huff, huff.”
“Cute.”
“I’m cute too!”
“Yes. Ara is cute too.”
Hehe, I’m satisfied.
Although the reaction wasn’t as intense as I expected, it was still a satisfying response.
“Hey, bro, how far do we have to go to get more of those seafood we found earlier?”
“Hmm, it’s a bit far. If you ride Purr or Woofy, it would take about 10 hours? Maybe a little less than 10 hours?”
“Wow, that’s really far. So how big is this place?”
That’s exactly what I was thinking.
In fact, with the existence of the sea, the Dungeon of Gluttony is not just a space but could be considered a whole other world.
“I’m planning to make a proper trip there next time to gather a lot more.”
“Honestly, I think the seafood here is a bit tastier than the ones on Earth. Some of them were overwhelmingly better. I want to use them more often. I’d like to serve them to the customers at the restaurant too.”
“I’ll do my best, brother.”
As we walked as if on an outing, we soon arrived at the slime village. Ryu Cheon, who had paused there, stood still, staring at the scenery.
Various slimes were bustling around.
Their dazed, somewhat blank expressions resembled Ryu Cheon’s.
The landscaping and buildings, decorated like a village from a fairy tale, softly glowed under the dreamy starry sky.
I waited for a moment to let Ryu Cheon take it all in.
Just then, Gomgom and Soo appeared at the entrance of the village, waddling along.
“Gomgom! Soo!”
Ara, who had already gotten off Ryu Cheon’s arms and was now riding on Woofy’s back, waved her hand. Soo waddled over without any sign of caution, and Gomgom slowly approached, cautiously observing the surroundings.
“-Sooo.”
Soo, who had come running in a clumsy manner, alternated between looking at Ryu Cheon and Jae-seong, whom he was seeing for the first time, darting back and forth.
“Who’s this? So cute.”
“This is our new family member, Soo. Lee Soo.”
“You even gave him a last name?”
“It wasn’t given, it just attached itself.”
“?”
As the curious Soo continued to wander around, inspecting the new people, Ryu Cheon suddenly lifted him up.
“-Sooo.”
Like a toy that makes a sound when squeezed, Soo let out his characteristic cry and stared blankly at Ryu Cheon.
Ryu Cheon also gazed intently at Soo.
“Cute.”
Bang, bang!
Ryu Cheon declared this as if a judge had reached a verdict. It seemed that, for Ryu Cheon, the world was divided into things that were either cute or not.
“Huh, Brother?”
“Oh, you were here.”
Just then, Seon-ah appeared as well. She was taking care of a slime, but when she saw Ryu Cheon, she paused.
“Ryu Cheon?!!”
“Hello.”
Ryu Cheon, still holding Soo, bowed slightly.
They had already met during the orphanage event.
“Oh, hello. Jae, Jae-seong is here too?”
“Yeah.”
Jae-seong waved warmly like a bear, but Seon-ah, focused on Ryu Cheon, quickly greeted him and then approached cautiously.
“It’s been a while, Ms. Ryu Cheon.”
“It’s been a while. Please just call me Ryu Cheon.”
“Gasp. Can I really do that?”
She seemed excited to meet someone she admired. Even though she wanted to become a monster veterinarian, she still held a deep admiration for awakeners.
“Today, we’re just here for fun. I brought her to show around the village and the fields.”
“You did well, brother!”
Does she like it that much?
Well, if my sister is happy, then this brother is happy too.
“Then, can I leave Ryu Cheon with you and Ara for a bit? I need to talk with Jae-seong about some ingredients and cooking.”
“Sure! Leave her to us!”
“I’ll be the one to guide you!”
Spending time with our kids would make the day fly by. I wanted to show her the fairy village, the lake, and the hot springs, but I needed to talk with Jae-seong quickly.
‘Doenjang, soy sauce, gochujang!’
And soon-to-be-harvested rice.
There was quite a bit to discuss with Jae-seong.
Cliche Novel 