It was about a week.
After staying in Austria for that long,
I was finally able to return to Korea.
Most people had already gone back to Korea to handle the work they had left behind, but Hanul and I stayed behind and returned together.
Jeong So-yeon, saying it was an abuse of authority, insisted that she wanted to stay too, probably because of my food and Ara, but it was no use.
“Hahaha! This is the power of time and authority!”
It seemed better to enjoy the food and sightseeing with Ara by my side rather than dealing with the piled-up work back in Korea.
“But it’s all over now, isn’t it? The power of time and authority.”
“That’s a shame. Kyu-seong, is there no way you could undergo the investigation for just a few more days?”
“Brother…”
My brother is so transparent.
I wish he could become a little more opaque.
And so, we were able to board a plane to return to Korea.
It had only been about a week, but maybe because I had been worked so hard, I felt emotional the moment I stepped back onto Korean soil.
“Kyu-seong, are you going straight home?”
“I plan to stop by my parents’ house.”
We had each driven separate cars, so we parted at the airport.
We promised to meet again soon, and I retrieved my car after paying a hefty week’s worth of parking fees.
“Vroom vroom, it’s been a while.”
“Indeed. It’s been a while since we’ve been home.”
“I can’t wait to see Seon-ah Seon-ah and Grand Lord!”
I needed to see my parents, and Seon-ah too.
There was a lot of work piled up at the dungeon as well.
I had refrained from using the Master of Gluttony as much as possible to avoid any suspicious behavior, but I was curious if the gnolls and he were getting along well.
I drove quickly and soon arrived at my parents’ home.
As I opened the door and walked in,
“Oh, you’re back?”
“Grand Lord!”
“Oh my, Ara. My little puppy. Come here. Awww.”
My mother reacted quite normally.
It seemed like my short trip had yet to be discovered.
“Did you have a good time?”
“Yes! It was fun!”
“I’m glad to hear that. Should I give Ara a snack?”
“Yes!”
Mother.
Your son, Kyu-seong, has also returned.
Mother quickly brought out a strawberry pie she had made.
Is it even possible to cook something that quickly?
The pie was loaded with jam made only from water and strawberries, fresh out of the oven and piping hot.
“Did you bake this right after I told you I was coming?”
“Of course. I had to feed our precious Ara something delicious.”
Crunch.
As I bit into the pie, the soft yet crispy texture of the pastry enveloped my tongue.
The strawberry jam hidden inside was chunky, with seeds that popped as I chewed.
The sweetness wasn’t overwhelming, and the tanginess was refreshing.
“Mom!”
“Yes?”
“The jam tastes even better than before!”
“I’ve learned to control the consistency now.
Not overcooking it, just right. It’s also less sweet when eaten with the pastry.”
It was so delicious.
I wanted to take some and share it with the kids.
The dough was, of course, made with the usual buttery goodness.
I ended up getting a lesson on how to make pies from Mom.
Beep beep beep.
Ding-dong.
“Huh? Shoes? Ara, are you back!?”
“I’m here too.”
As I was learning how to make pies, Seon-ah came back.
Seeing her for the first time in a week, she ran straight to Ara, completely ignoring me, and happily gobbled up the pie Ara handed her.
“Seon-ah!”
“Ara! It feels like forever! I missed you so much I almost died.”
“Gasp! You must not die!”
Seon-ah hugged Ara tightly and ate the pie Ara gave her with an expression of pure happiness.
“This is a bit tricky. It takes a lot of time, too.”
“Try practicing it a few more times when you get home. But are you planning to give all of these pies to the kids?”
“Yes. When something tastes good, I want to share it.”
“You’re really like a parent now.”
“Mom, your son hasn’t even gotten married yet. Why do you say such things? Sniff sniff.”
I said it as a joke, but lately, I could truly relate to a parent’s heart to some extent.
Whenever there was something good, I thought of the kids first.
When I ate something delicious, I wanted to feed it to the kids, and when I saw something fun, they were the first to come to mind.
“I’ll come tomorrow too, Mom. Let’s make it together.”
“Oh, I’d appreciate it if you did. I’ve got some new members of the family, and I’d like to introduce them to you.”
“New members?”
“What! Did you bring more of them, oppa?”
Seon-ah’s eyes were already sparkling with excitement and anticipation.
She was certain that since I brought them, they had to be adorable.
‘And she’s not wrong.’
They really were cute.
Moreover, this time, they were full of charm.
“When are you coming?”
“I’ve been waiting for you because I was worried about Kongkong. Let’s go together now.”
“Okay.”
After finishing the pastry lesson and agreeing to meet with Dad tomorrow, we returned to the dungeon.
It had been a week since I’d last been there.
There was a lot to check on.
‘First, just like Seon-ah said, Kongkong.’
I thought it might be time for her to give birth soon.
I wouldn’t know for sure until I saw her, but according to Seon-ah, we might be seeing her pups by next month at the latest.
Of course, since we weren’t veterinarians, we couldn’t be 100% sure, but since they were originally animals used to living in the wild, they should be able to adapt well even without us.
The second thing was the new members.
The gnolls and Gwaa—I was curious how they were getting along, as they should have adjusted to the dungeon by now.
‘Lastly…?’
Soy sauce, miso, and rice farming.
I couldn’t help but wonder if they had already harvested the rice, even if the soy sauce and miso were still in progress.
“I’m going to check on Kongkong right away.”
“Okay. I’ll check things out and gather the new members in advance.”
“New members? Are there a lot of them?”
“Yeah. I moved them in as a group, similar to the goblins.”
“How do you even do that?”
“Hm, by tempting them with food?”
“No, I mean, how do you physically move them?”
“That’s a trade secret.”
We bickered as we entered the dungeon.
And, as always, Woofy…
“Eek! What, what is this? Save me!”
“Oh? It’s Gwaa. You’re coming out to greet us today too?”
Both Woofy and Gwaa had come out to greet us.
I calmed Seon-ah down first and stroked his chin.
“Seon-ah, this is another new member of the family. His name is Gwaa.”
“He’s a good boy! Yes, yes, he is!”
Ara tried hard to convince Seon-ah that Gwaa wasn’t scary, but to someone seeing him for the first time, he might have looked pretty terrifying.
To me, though?
After being unfairly knocked out by Ras and seeing him getting lonely, he didn’t seem scary at all anymore.
Besides, he’s my familiar.
“Is he also your familiar, oppa?”
“Yeah. His name is Gwaa. He used to live under the same roof as the new ones, and I felt bad leaving him behind, so I brought him along.”
“Ohhh…”
Seon-ah gave me a surprised look.
What was that look for?
“Oppa, weren’t you like a ruthless boss? You care that much about monsters?”
“Hey! Don’t say something like that where people can hear!”
Where else in the world would you find a monster welfare officer like me! It may look like I’m working them hard, but they’re actually enjoying it—or rather, they’re playing!
He purred like a cat as I scratched his chin, despite his huge frame.
It was such an adorable sight, completely at odds with his massive size.
At least, that’s how I saw it. Seon-ah, on the other hand, was still struggling to adjust.
“He’s huge. We should measure his size sometime.”
“Oh? Are you going to do it?”
“I-I have to. That’s what I’m staying in your dungeon for, oppa.”
Seon-ah was saying something quite admirable.
For Seon-ah’s sake, I decided to share a bit of information with her.
“Oh, by the way, this guy is a Level 9 monster.”
“Oppa! Even if you’re joking, I’m not going to get scared by something like that!”
“A joke?”
I was proudly sharing this information, expecting her to be surprised and excited about it being a Level 9 monster, but her reaction was unexpected.
Ah, maybe her reaction was natural?
“That’s not funny. Don’t scare me like that.”
When I tilted my head in confusion, Seon-ah gulped, as if she started to sense I was serious.
Sometimes ignorance can be bliss, I guess.
Since she’s such a dungeon fanatic, I thought she’d be happy to hear about a Level 9 monster, but it seems I misjudged.
“Um, well, on second thought, maybe it’s not Level 9. Yeah, it was just a joke.”
As I scratched my head, seeing her eyes shake intensely, I realized my late attempt at lying only made the truth more obvious.
“Hey, Woofy, take Seon-ah to the Pururuk Forest.”
-Woof!
I tossed a dog treat to Woofy and left Seon-ah in his care.
Before any further misunderstandings could arise, I got on his back with Ara.
“Alright, let’s head to the Slime Village, him.”
-Him…
Leaving Seon-ah, who was still staring at Ras in bewilderment, we headed to Slime Village.
When we arrived at the village, aside from the slimes and Kkumuris, everyone else seemed to have gone out, as there was no one around.
“Soo! My brother! Where are you?”
“Looks like they went out somewhere.”
“Gomgom isn’t here either.”
Could they be with the gnolls?
Come to think of it, Purr wasn’t around either, which meant they must have all ridden Purr somewhere.
Hmm, it seems like instead of bringing the gnolls here, it’d be better for us to go to them.
By now, the Goblin Village should be much more complete.
Of course, progress had been slow due to a lack of materials, but now that the gnolls were here, the problem was solved.
‘When Seon-ah gets back, we’ll have to take Woofy and go together.’
Until then, I’ll inspect the fields.
Ara, excited to visit the fields for the first time in a while, ran ahead eagerly.
As a slime, Ara naturally saw the field as a sort of playground.
Kkumuris!
Splish!
Cliche Novel 