Winter had ended.
As the white snowfields vanished in an instant, a sense of longing lingered.
However, before that longing could fully settle, we welcomed the fresh, green season and began moving diligently.
“Alright, pack it tight.”
“Pack it tight!”
Together with the children, we planted seeds and crops in the field we had prepared in advance.
We started with the ones requested from the U.S.
After that, we planted various fruit tree saplings we had received from the guild.
‘Grapes, pears, peaches, tangerines.’
And although it’s not a tree, we even planted watermelons.
We brought in a large quantity of fruits this time.
I wanted to try growing tropical fruits too, but since planting too many at once would have been overwhelming, I wrapped it up here for now.
To be honest, there were still coffee and green tea left, but Junichi from Japan said he would get those for us, though it might take some time.
“Well, since he’s someone who’s passionate about food, it’ll probably take a while.”
While I was lost in thought, we finished planting all the seeds.
Now the task requested by the U.S. was complete.
“Waaaah!”
“Well done!”
“I’m hungry!”
Emily, Ara, and Cheong.
After working hard with the three of them, we enjoyed refreshing strawberry milk.
“Gulp, gulp. Ahh!”
It was delicious!
Strawberry milk after finishing work was incomparable to anything else.
“I should tell Seon-ah to start raising cows soon.”
Recently awakened, Seon-ah had been gradually studying and researching her abilities.
Since she was already aiming to become a monster veterinarian, she seemed to enjoy each day even more, having acquired such a fitting ability.
But still… wouldn’t it be a waste to use such an ability only as a veterinarian?
I immediately asked Seon-ah if she had considered raising livestock monsters.
At first, she naturally refused.
However, I wasn’t asking for meat; I was interested in the monsters’ fur or milk.
“She said she’d think about it, though.”
Of course, just because it’s monster milk doesn’t necessarily mean it tastes better than regular milk.
And the same went for the fur.
As far as I knew, there were few monster furs better than wool.
‘I heard they’re extremely expensive…’
Naturally, since it wasn’t possible to capture and raise monsters, the prices were bound to be high.
If Seon-ah succeeded in raising them, she would be the first.
Of course, I had no intention of making financial profit from this.
It was too troublesome, and I just wanted enough for our family to eat and wear.
“Alright, since everyone worked hard, shall we go have breakfast?”
“Sounds good!”
“Breakfast! It’s breakfast time!!”
I took the children to the kitchen.
There, the rabbits greeted us warmly.
“Hello, everyone.”
The Breeding Tribe worked in shifts, meaning that regardless of day or night, we could always find freshly made food whenever we visited the kitchen.
Seeing the 1,300 members of the Breeding Tribe, I thought they were numerous, but thanks to them, we experienced a 24-hour open kitchen.
“Now, what’s on the menu today?”
“I want today’s special and sweet potato fries!”
They made whatever menu we requested.
If we didn’t have a specific menu in mind, the Breeding Tribe children would decide and prepare something for us.
“Oh, pancakes! Pancakes are the best for breakfast!”
Pancakes with Alfheim honey.
It was an unbeatable combination.
The pancakes were made with gosogoso flour, so they exuded a rich aroma.
“Wow, this looks delicious.”
“Let’s share.”
Seeing Emily drool over the pancakes, I gave her a portion.
Emily’s meal was vegetable bibimbap.
“Mmm!”
The soft and sweet honey.
The fluffy texture and rich aroma of gosogoso flour.
The savory flavor of the pancake mixed perfectly with the honey, creating a harmonious blend.
– Beep!
Salad as a bonus?
Thanks!
I enjoyed the pancakes and salad thoroughly.
I also spread honey generously on Emily’s portion and shared it with her while stealing a spoonful of her bibimbap.
‘Great!’
The vegetables were incredibly fresh.
They tasted so good that it was hard to believe they were just vegetables.
Although I usually preferred meat, ever since I started farming, my palate had changed a lot.
Vegetables that taste better than meat?
If I hadn’t experienced it myself, I would’ve found it hard to believe.
And now we even had kangnang jerky.
Vegetables that taste like meat.
The bibimbap and salad both contained kangnang.
It was a miraculous plant that tasted almost exactly like meat—about 100% identical.
It was especially rich, with plant oil seeping out like juice, perfectly replacing the fat in meat.
“Sweet potato fries, sweet potato fries.”
Ara sang happily as she ate her upgraded sweet potato fries.
Currently, the crops had leveled up considerably.
The highest level, tomatoes, were already at level 5.
Even sweet potatoes had reached level 4.
Compared to level 1, they had naturally become much tastier.
Moreover, by adding various extra ingredients, the flavors had become richer, making it impossible for them not to taste great.
“Ugh.”
Ah!
I ended up eating too much for breakfast.
In that case, there was only one solution.
“Nap time!”
“Nap time!”
Living life exactly as we wanted.
That’s why I’m happy.
There were things to do, but I wasn’t bound by time.
If something couldn’t be done today, it could wait until tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the crops that were already planted were being taken care of by the playful slimes.
I lay down on a hammock in the village.
Each of us claimed a hammock, and as we lay there, it felt like paradise.
With winter gone, the temperature had risen slightly, but a cool breeze was blowing, making it feel like a pleasant autumn day.
We took a nap for about an hour with the children.
I felt something nudging me and opened my eyes to see Kkumuri beside me.
– Heheh.
“Hey there. What’s up?”
Kkumuri gestured with its body, as if telling me to follow it.
Scratching my head, I got up.
I glanced to the side and saw the children peacefully napping.
“Cute.”
Ara was drooling with her mouth open, Cheong was curled up like a pill bug, and Emily was comfortably sprawled in her hammock.
I decided to follow Kkumuri while the kids were still asleep.
Kkumuri led me to where Purr was.
Gulug!
Seeing Purr after a long time, I waved cheerfully.
“Purr, haven’t seen you around lately!”
Gulugulug
Purr greeted me warmly and began explaining why he had been so busy lately.
Kkumul!
Gulug~!
“Ah, you were busy managing the new fields in the rabbits’ village.”
With the sudden increase in population, especially the Breeding Tribe, who now outnumbered our original family members several times over, food was a bit of an issue.
Of course, we had been summoning slimes regularly, so there were plenty of farmers.
Thanks to that, even with the expanded fields, there were enough workers.
– Heheh.
“Alright, alright.”
Kkumuri urged me to keep following.
I thought we were just here to greet Purr, but apparently, this wasn’t our destination.
Curious, Purr decided to tag along.
We soon arrived at a warehouse.
“Huh?”
A warehouse? What’s going on?
I had recently asked the Kkumuri to manage the warehouse.
Since they had even learned numbers, they were practically invincible at organization.
When we entered the warehouse, I finally understood what was happening.
– Groo?
– Sooo!
“Oh, Gomgom, you’re awake?”
Gomgom and Soo were there.
But these two had made quite a mess.
Honey was spilled everywhere, along with various crops.
It seemed that Gomgom, who had just woken up from hibernation, was hungry. He didn’t seem to realize that he could have gotten food from the rabbits in the kitchen.
– Grooo?
Even though Gomgom looked guilty, glancing around nervously, he couldn’t stop licking the honey off his mouth and paws.
“Let’s clean up first.”
We started cleaning up with the Kkumuri.
Feeling sorry, Gomgom and Soo joined in, though they weren’t much help.
‘But they’re cute, so that’s enough.’
Their cuteness alone made up for it.
Once we finished tidying the warehouse, I lifted Gomgom up.
– Kwang?
“Time for a bath.”
It was his punishment for getting himself covered in honey.
I carried Gomgom and headed toward the stream.
Once we started washing the sticky fur with water, Gomgom happily splashed around.
– Sooo.
“Soo, come here. You need to wash too.”
Soon, Soo joined in, and the two of them started playing in the water.
When Kkumuri and Purr joined in as well, the sound of splashing water echoed around us.
“What’s this noise?”
“Oh, Ara, you’re awake.”
It seemed the sound of us playing in the water had woken Ara up, and she approached, rubbing her eyes.
Before long, she jumped in with a splash.
Sploosh, sploosh.
She looked half-asleep but was happily splashing around in the water.
Soon, the children started spraying water at each other as they played.
“Uncle.”
“Dad.”
Emily and Cheong, who had also woken up, joined us.
Before long, we were all soaking wet from the water play.
“Wait a moment. I’ll go grab some towels and a change of clothes.”
By now, it was time for everyone to wake up.
Since we had been up and active since dawn, it was only now that the others were starting to wake.
Of course, Kyler had woken up even earlier than us and was currently exploring a dungeon nearby.
He should be back soon.
I dried the children off with towels and helped them change into clean clothes.
Just then, we greeted the family members who had woken up and were eating breakfast.
“Good morning!”
“It’s nice to see you all so energetic in the morning.”
Mother enjoyed her meal with a bright smile.
Ara quickly ran over to her, showing her affection.
Having played in the water right after waking up, the children were a bit hungry, so they snacked on something light.
Before we knew it, Kyler had returned.
“Dad!”
“You’re up early.”
“We helped with farming, took a nap, and now we’re having a snack.”
Emily replied cheerfully with a bright smile.
Watching her, Father suddenly asked,
“Is all the work done?”
“Are we going fishing?”
“Well, I just thought if we had some spare time, I could take the kids and enjoy some fishing.”
Father spoke with a slightly embarrassed expression.
Seon-ah, finding his reaction amusing, smiled and added,
“Perfect timing! The rabbits asked us to gather more seafood. We can go fishing and collect some shellfish or crabs too.”
“Father, would it be okay if I finished up some farm work before we head out? You can go ahead and start fishing.”
“No need. I’ll come along and help out.”
After finishing our meal, everyone, including Father, headed to the field together.
“Wow, fruit trees! Amazing!”
“The saplings look healthy. We’ll be able to make some delicious desserts.”
Seon-ah cheered, and Jae-seong smiled.
Soon, we all started planting the saplings and seeds.
The process wasn’t too difficult.
Since we had already gotten the hang of planting apple trees, we were quite efficient.
However, unlike those of us who were familiar with farming, the others, for whom this was their first experience planting saplings, found the whole process fascinating and enjoyable.
“Grow big and strong, little tree!”
Ara patted the soil gently, finishing up her planting.
As if in response to her words, the grapevine she had just planted swayed gently in the breeze.
Time passed, and soon the day of our scheduled meeting with my brothers arrived.
It was also an opportunity to reunite with familiar faces we hadn’t seen in a long time.
“You all came!”
“Hello, Kyu-seong! Hey, Ara!”
Si-young greeted us eagerly, her face full of excitement.
Behind her were Young-seong, Hanul, and Hanul’s mother.
Unfortunately, the guild master couldn’t make it due to his busy schedule, but from the looks of it, everyone else had barely managed to carve out some time in their busy lives.
‘Well, it has been quite a while since their last visit. No wonder they wanted to come so badly.’
Was the last time during the guild gathering?
In any case, this time we had new sights and more delicious food to share, so they were more than welcome.
“Welcome, everyone!”
Cliche Novel 