I was anxiously pacing around.
Beside me, Ara was mimicking my actions.
Ahead of us lay the Pururuk Forest, where Kongkong’s hideout was located.
Inside, Seon-ah had entered.
I tried to help, but Seon-ah pushed me away, saying my presence was distracting, and went in alone.
Soon, sounds of grunting could be heard from inside.
“Huh? Could it be…?” I stopped pacing, filled with curiosity, and Ara suddenly shouted:
“Is it born?”
Ara quickly ran over to take a peek inside the hideout and then rushed back to me.
“One has been born!”
“Oh!”
So, it was born!
I wanted to go inside to check, but I stood still, fearing I might scare Kongkong.
After waiting for quite a while, Seon-ah came out, sweating.
“Is it done? All finished?”
“Yes. Phew, that was tough.”
“Well done! Here’s some juice!”
Ara thoughtfully handed over a drink.
Seon-ah smiled as she patted Ara’s head.
“You’re the best, Ara.”
“Hehe.”
As they were chatting, something suddenly popped out of Kongkong’s hideout.
“Huh? A baby?”
“What? It’s out already?”
Even Seon-ah, who had helped deliver the baby, was surprised.
What emerged were none other than Kongkong’s newborns.
“Wow!”
Ara sat down with wide, curious eyes in front of the babies. The newborns, with fur still wet, tentatively approached Ara.
“So small.”
The Pururuk was already tiny, but the newborns were even smaller. They were barely the size of an adult’s palm.
Their small size made me feel extra cautious around them.
As more newborns emerged, they each reacted differently to their first sight of the outside world.
Some stumbled in surprise, some awkwardly ran around with excitement, while others, too timid, shrank back and observed cautiously.
There were a total of 11 babies that came out.
It was amazing to see them so active right after being born.
“Hello, are you Kongkong’s babies?”
– Pururrk.
Unlike adult Pururuks, the baby ones made tiny, chirpy sounds. Ara’s friendly nature shone, and the babies fearlessly approached her.
“They are herbivores, after all. They start moving around immediately.”
“Are all herbivores like that?”
“Not all, but most are. It’s an evolutionary trait for survival.”
“Ohh.”
Listening to Seon-ah’s explanation, I sat down next to Ara. However, unlike with Ara, the baby Pururuks seemed wary of me.
I thought I was good with animals, but I felt a bit disappointed.
– Pururrk.
At that moment, Kongkong came out of the hideout.
Despite just having given birth, she looked fine.
She approached me and nudged her head against me.
“Huh? You want me to pet you?”
I naturally stroked her head and felt her soft fur.
“You did a great job, Kongkong.”
“She’s hungry.”
“Huh?”
“Kongkong is hungry. She wants something tasty.”
“Oh, so you weren’t asking for pets?”
Feeling a bit embarrassed, I scratched my head and pulled out various crops I had stored with Bokkeum.
Meanwhile, the other Pururuks gathered around to welcome the newborns.
– Pururrk!
– Pururrk.
The adult Pururuks began licking the babies all over.
Watching this, I shared some crops with Kongkong and scattered the rest around.
“Eat up, little ones.”
Since Seon-ah was already taking care of them regularly, there wasn’t much of a dramatic reaction.
Instead, the newborns were startled and curiously stared at the crops I scattered.
Can the babies eat this too?
Just as I wondered, the babies started eating the crops.
“Wait, aren’t they supposed to drink milk?”
“Wow, this is fascinating.”
Seon-ah seemed just as intrigued by my surprised reaction.
I wondered if their teeth had fully grown, but the babies were munching on tomatoes and potatoes without any issues.
Soon, a mini festival began.
We joined in and chomped down on the raw crops as well.
“Sometimes, eating them like this isn’t so bad.”
When I mumbled while chewing on a carrot, Ara, holding a sweet potato and a cucumber in each hand, nodded enthusiastically.
“Tasty!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
The newborns, now dry and fluffy, were flaunting their cuteness.
With more energy than before, they were actively running around, making the scene lively.
It was like a picturesque painting with the babies darting everywhere and Ara chasing after them.
“Hehe.”
Seon-ah, who had somehow picked up a camera, was now snapping pictures of the scene.
Everything was fine, except for that smile—couldn’t she tone it down a bit?
“Hmm, maybe we should introduce our new family members.”
Mammon, Frey, and Ras.
Including Mark2 and the slimes.
I suggested to the Pururuks that we take a tour of the dungeon.
Since they usually merged into a single entity to move, it wouldn’t be difficult.
The issue was the babies, but they merged on their own.
-Kraang!
The baby Pururuks merged into a tiny predator.
When the eleven palm-sized Pururuks combined, they formed a small beast, even smaller than Ara.
It was a bit clumsy, with mismatched colors, but that gave it a certain charm.
“So cute.”
Seon-ah’s eyes were now filled with hearts.
It seemed that the baby Pururuks had made their way onto Seon-ah’s list of favorites.
-Ahem! You creatures! I am none other than the Goblin King Mammon!
Mammon stood before the lined-up baby Pururuks and began delivering a long speech.
Frey watched him with a pitying look.
-You must follow my words from now on. If you do, I’ll give you a nice reward!
-Pururrk!
The baby Pururuks, not understanding a word Mammon said, simply wagged their tails in delight.
Some of them couldn’t contain themselves and dashed off in all directions.
-Hey, you little ones! Didn’t you say you’d listen to me?
Mammon flailed, while Ara burst out laughing at the sight.
Ras stood with a stern expression, maintaining his posture without uttering a word.
-As expected, who would listen to you?
-Ugh, you bug-like creature! Are you daring to disrespect the great Goblin King?
-Oh my, can you even catch me with those short legs? Try jumping. I’m curious if you can reach me.
The newly born Pururuks were freely exploring the world they were experiencing for the first time.
They were less cautious and filled with curiosity compared to other Pururuks.
‘Maybe it’s because of the different environment they were born in.’
In any case, it was a delightful sight.
Squish!
“Yes, Mark2. You brought Poispois here.”
It seemed like all the slimes had gathered after a long time.
The sight of the distinct, colorful slimes gathered together was like looking at a collection of marbles, each with its own personality.
Meanwhile, Seon-ah didn’t seem willing to put down her camera.
-Pururrk?
The curious baby Pururuks sniffed and poked the slimes with their noses.
The slimes simply jiggled, letting themselves be explored.
“Jump! I want to jump! Jump!”
Ara threw herself into the middle of the slimes.
The sudden move startled the slimes, but they caught her to prevent any harm.
Splat!
“Kya-haha!”
You guys are working hard.
The slimes made a sulking gesture, pretending to sigh in relief.
-But with more members now, will we be okay with food?
Ras asked me.
Food wasn’t a problem. After greatly expanding the fields, there were even surplus crops left over after deliveries.
Of course, the crops grown in Gnoll Village’s fields didn’t have any special effects, so they were just used for consumption.
“There’s no problem.”
-Hmm, but cooking every time must be exhausting.
“Well, it is… quite tiring.”
It is…
Although I usually kept it simple, I did occasionally cook meals.
However, when I did cook, it was time-consuming and labor-intensive.
‘At the very least, I have to cook enough for all the members in Slime Village too.’
It would feel too selfish if only Ara and I were eating cooked meals.
So, whenever I cooked, it was in large batches, often preparing hundreds of servings, which took a long time and was exhausting.
-Hmm! Now that you mention it, there are some who actually enjoy cooking!
-I was just about to bring that up.
“Huh? Who are the ones who enjoy cooking?”
What could this mean?
Could it be another story about one of the Seven Deadly Sins?
-There are some who always call themselves chefs.
-They’re not bad at cooking, but they’re not particularly good either, so it’s a bit ambiguous.
Just then, Ara, who was riding the waves of the slimes, joined in.
“Ashu!”
“Ashu?”
“It’s an evil one!”
“Evil?!”
Wait, Ara calling something evil?
Could it finally be a true demon befitting the Seven Deadly Sins…!
“A very! Evil! Rabbit!”
“…Rabbit?”
A true demon, but… a rabbit?
As I tilted my head in confusion, Mammon and Ras chimed in as well.
-Hmm, I wouldn’t exactly call it evil…
-It’s always clumsy.
-It always tries to pull pranks, but usually gets caught in its own schemes.
-Or gets caught before even trying, and then ends up crying.
Ara’s evaluation was starkly different from theirs.
What kind of creature could evoke such contrasting opinions?
‘Sorry to Ara, but I’d trust these two more.’
Before meeting Ras, I had envisioned a formidable, massive monster, mainly because Ara kept emphasizing how impressive it was.
I had a feeling that this Ashu character would turn out to be more mischievous than truly evil.
“So, this one likes cooking?”
-Yes, not only Ashu but also its kin all enjoy cooking.
-But they’re only enthusiastic about it; they need more practice to improve.
Heh.
Rabbits that love cooking, huh.
Sounds like useful workers—no, manpower—no, talent.
“Gasp! Kyu-seong Kyu-seong is laughing wickedly again! Something is about to happen!”
-Oh! So that’s the legendary sinister laugh Ara was talking about! It’s so powerful, it even makes me tremble in fear!
What are you saying, guys?
I’m just thinking of a win-win idea for everyone.
The rabbits would be happy cooking, right?
And we’d be happy eating that food!
Lackluster cooking skills?
No problem! Skills can be improved with practice.
And who will teach them?
Heh, soon a highly skilled chef from Korea will be coming over to teach them.
***
Meanwhile, in Japan.
Jae-seong, who was cooking, suddenly felt a shiver run down his spine.
“What was that?”
His fellow chef noticed and asked with concern.
“Jae-seong, are you okay? Are you feeling unwell?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“By the way, Chef Jae-seong, when did you say you’d return to Korea?”
“Hmm, I think I’ll be back by the end of this year.”
“Oh! That’s a shame. I’ll make sure to learn as much of your skills and know-how as I can before then.”
“Haha. I’ll be learning from you as well.”
Hmm, teaching someone…
It reminded him of something Kyu-seong had said before.
He mentioned that he had hired one of the children from the orphanage as a staff member and asked Jae-seong to teach the kid some cooking skills whenever possible.
Although he wasn’t used to teaching, he thought it might be a good experience and was looking forward to it.
But what he didn’t know…
Was that he wouldn’t be teaching just one person.
But rather, hundreds of “creatures.”
Cliche Novel 