Ashu’s apron was still at the question mark grade.
There was also no description of the item, making me wonder if it was originally like this, unlike Ara’s relic.
“Ashu, but do you normally wear this apron like this?”
I asked while pointing at the apron with stains on it.
You never know. It could have been intentionally left that way.
But Ashu shook her head.
– Ashu gets stains on it while cooking.
“Really? Then is it okay to wash it?”
– Wow! Is Kyu-seong doing it? For Ashu?!
No way, just how lazy were they?
The apron was so dirty that its original color was unrecognizable.
It seemed like Ashu was only passionate about cooking and found everything else bothersome.
I immediately took Ashu’s apron and headed to the stream.
For something like this, hand-washing was the best option.
I grabbed a washboard and a laundry paddle and started scrubbing hard.
These tools had been part of the dD, but ever since we obtained a magic-powered washing machine, they were rarely used.
Thwack, thwack, thwack.
As I diligently scrubbed, Ara and Cheong came over to watch after finishing their meal.
“Kyu-seong is doing the laundry.”
“What is laundry?”
“It’s cleaning clothes.”
Before I knew it, Ara had become a proper older sister, teaching Cheong what I had once taught her.
At first, Ara also thought watching me do laundry was some kind of play.
The stains were more stubborn than I had expected.
However, with continuous scrubbing, they started to fade little by little.
“The color is changing!”
Cheong watched in amazement.
At the same time, Ara tilted her head and asked from beside me.
“Can I try it too?”
“You want to try, Ara?”
“Yes!”
Baton touch.
Ara grabbed the laundry paddle.
Soon, she was enthusiastically scrubbing the apron.
She was definitely stronger than me, so the grime came off much more easily.
“Whoa.”
At this rate, won’t we end up polluting the stream?
After taking turns washing for quite a while, the apron gradually started to regain its original color.
“Was this its original color?”
“I think so?”
The apron wasn’t white.
It was a slightly yellowish color, making me wonder if it needed bleach, but it also seemed like it was supposed to be that way.
As soon as we completely removed the stains, the apron suddenly shone brightly!
“Ohhh?”
Had it regained its item’s power?
Let’s check the information…
[Relic of Lust (Mythical)]
A relic infused with the power of lust that maximizes the wearer’s defense.
– When worn, maintains a powerful protective barrier at all times.
– Greatly increases stamina and speed.
– Significantly boosts charm. Can captivate one person per day.
“Wow!”
Once the stains were gone, it transformed into a mythical-grade item.
Its abilities were, as expected of a relic, utterly ridiculous.
Especially the effect of being able to captivate someone once a day—it was almost frightening.
‘This is too overpowered.’
However, the unfortunate part was…
A human couldn’t wear this apron.
Ashu’s apron didn’t seem to have a size-adjustment function.
It was literally an Ashu-exclusive item.
“We should take it back to Ashu!”
“Yeah.”
After finishing the laundry, I headed toward Ashu.
I waved the apron as I watched Ashu’s round figure busily cooking something.
“Ashu! The laundry is done!”
– Apron!
Ashu hopped over and eagerly received the apron.
Seeing how clean it had become, Ashu beamed with joy.
– Ashu’s apron looks brand new!
“Ashu, was your apron always this beige color?”
– Yes! Since Ashu’s fur is white, I made the apron a different color!
“Oh, I see!”
So there was a reason behind the color choice.
With the apron tied on, Ashu now looked like a warm-hearted chef from a fairy tale rabbit village.
“Hm, something’s missing.”
“Huh? What is?”
Ara crossed her arms and watched Ashu cooking.
Just then, Ashu was stirring a huge pot while adding ingredients.
“I figured it out! The missing thing!”
“What is it?!”
“There’s no hat!”
“Oh.”
She must have been talking about a chef’s hat.
As expected, Ara really liked hats.
“Then should we buy one when we go out next time?”
“That’s a great idea! While we’re at it, I’ll get a hat for myself too!”
Honestly, Ara.
That was your real goal, wasn’t it?
Listening to cute Ara’s plans, I decided to focus on preparing for our next outdoor trip.
I headed to the farm.
The crops had grown a lot in the meantime.
I was especially looking forward to the fruit trees, tea trees, and coffee plants that had grown well.
The fruit trees would take at least another month before bearing fruit, and the coffee plants still had a way to go.
However, the tea trees seemed ready for harvest.
Since the young leaves had to be picked and dried, their harvesting season came quickly.
Of course, they were young leaves from fully grown trees, but the slime-cultivated trees grew much faster.
‘I did learn a little about this, though.’
For tea leaves, I had even traveled all the way to Boseong, Jeollanam-do, to receive proper instruction.
When I had time, I would take these kinds of trips to learn about farming.
Just because I had visited once didn’t make me an expert, but it was better than not learning at all.
“Hm.”
My hand carefully examined the leaves.
From a distance, it seemed like tea farmers just picked anything at random, but experiencing it firsthand made it clear that selection was difficult.
They say if something looks easy, it’s because an expert is doing it.
Actually trying it myself, I realized just how vast the skill gap was.
“This should be it.”
As I started plucking the young leaves, Ara and Cheong watched me curiously.
“Can I try eating it?”
“Does it taste good?”
“Huh? Do you want to try it?”
Even though they looked like children, they were fundamentally slimes, so there was no need to worry about an upset stomach.
When I handed them the leaves, they chewed on them like little goats.
“Mm! This is green tea!”
“Oh, you got it right! Ara, you’re good at this!”
Ara guessed it immediately, while Cheong tilted his head in confusion.
It seemed a bit too difficult for Cheong.
“Now we need to let it wither, roast it on a hot plate, and then ferment it.”
“I can do it!”
Cheong eagerly raised a hand.
Now that I thought about it, I had completely forgotten about Cheong.
With his help, we could drastically cut down the processing time.
“Our Cheong is here! Then, can I ask you to help once we finish picking all the leaves?”
“!”
Cheong beamed with excitement, looking adorable.
After picking a few more leaves, we moved to the open space next to the outdoor kitchen.
“Okay, now we need to let these wither.”
“Yes!”
Cheong focused.
Immediately, the tea leaves began to wither at an incredible speed.
It was always fascinating to watch.
“They’re ready!”
“Yes!”
“Now we need to roast them. I should explain this part.”
I called Ashu over and explained the process.
Ashu puffed out her chest, as if to say, “Leave it to me!”
– Let Ashu and the Breeding Tribe handle it!
The rabbits, excited about discovering a new ingredient, gathered around to inspect the tea leaves.
I watched as they hopped around, carrying the leaves, and then guided them through the roasting process.
“Yes, keep it over high heat, but don’t let it burn. Just like that. Perfect.”
We repeated the process three times, roasting and rolling the leaves.
Gradually, they started taking on the familiar shape of green tea.
“It’s done.”
– It smells amazing! I want to use it in cooking right away!
As Ashu said, the tea was already releasing a pleasant fragrance.
Ara wanted to compare it and popped a roasted tea leaf into her mouth.
Even at this stage, it was already recognizable as green tea.
However, fermentation was also important.
Fermentation times varied, usually in hours.
Some teas fermented for as long as two days, but green tea typically took around seven hours.
With longer fermentation, we could make black tea, while a shorter time would yield white tea or keep it as green tea.
For now, we decided to ferment it for seven hours to produce basic green tea.
“Cheong, can you ferment it for seven hours?”
“Seven hours… I-I’ll try!”
Cheong looked slightly nervous.
But soon, they focused intensely.
Rustle.
I could almost hear the sound of transformation.
After just five seconds, Cheong exclaimed, “It’s done!”
“Great job, Cheong.”
Now, let’s check.
First, the scent.
“Mm!”
It was incredible.
Was green tea always this fragrant?
I suddenly wanted to compare it with a store-bought green tea product, but I didn’t have any on hand.
I had coffee, but no green tea.
However, to me, our homegrown tea smelled far better.
“And….”
An item notification appeared.
[Fragrant Green Tea Leaves LV.3]
-Calms the mind and enhances concentration.
-When brewed, increases focus.
-When brewed, slightly reduces stress.
Thanks to the slimes leveling up and Mark2’s abilities, our first harvest produced Level 3 tea leaves.
And the item effects were perfect.
It completely embodied the essence of green tea.
“Now, let’s brew it into tea.”
We immediately steeped the tea leaves in hot water.
As soon as the hot water touched the leaves, the aroma deepened and filled the air.
Even before drinking, just the scent alone was soothing.
Sip.
Ah, this is…
For a moment, all my worries melted away.
Was this a paradise or heaven?
The rich green tea aroma enveloped my whole body, and the warmth of the tea made me feel utterly relaxed.
“Haah.”
I felt drowsy.
This was great, but the side effect was no joke—I just wanted to spend the whole day drinking tea.
Gulp, gulp.
“Ahhh!”
Beside me, Ara downed her tea in one go.
That’s not how you drink tea…
But when I saw Cheong copying Ara and chugging it down as well, I figured it didn’t really matter.
As long as they enjoyed it.
“It’s delicious! So fragrant!”
“It’s making me sleepy.”
Anyway, the green tea was a huge success.
With the remaining leaves, I should try making black tea next.
‘This would make a great gift for China.’
Tea and China were practically synonymous.
Especially the Pu’er tea I had when I was invited to the skyscraper—it was so memorable that I still thought about it from time to time.
My tea was amazing, but it had a different kind of appeal.
If I made Pu’er-style tea from my own leaves, what kind of flavor and aroma would it have?
Since I’d be going to China soon, I should make a variety of teas as gifts.
After all, tea leaves are the same—it’s the fermentation and processing that determine the type of tea.
“Kyu-seong-Kyu-seong, are we building the house now?”
“House? Oh! Right, we were supposed to build a house.”
Since I had already checked on the farm, it was time to seriously think about the house.
I had considered building one so many times, but I had never actually gotten around to it.
Now, I really had to do it.
First, I should get advice from Kyler or my father.
“A house! So Kyu-seong-nim is finally building one.”
Kyler and his daughter happened to be at home.
When I mentioned wanting to build a house, Kyler enthusiastically offered to help, rolling up his sleeves.
“I actually had some regrets when building this house, so I’ll make sure to improve everything for yours. Just trust me.”
“Wow, that’s reassuring! As expected of Kyler!”
We also called my father, who had been fishing, and everyone gathered to discuss house construction.
With so many heads together, the blueprint for ‘My New House’ quickly took shape.
“It would be great if there was a swimming pool!”
“Of course. I’ll even make it into a waterfall.”
“Wow! That sounds amazing!”
Wriggle, wriggle.
Blop!
Before I knew it, the slimes had gathered, joining our planning session.
They communicated something, and Ara translated.
“We need a field!”
“We already have plenty of fields!”
“The dining hall must be big!”
“Hmm, I’ll consider that.”
“We should plant the World Tree!”
“That’s not happening!”
This time, Seon-ah approached.
“We need a workshop. I have video editing and other projects to work on. Oh, and a lab! If we’re taking care of the kids, we need a medical room and a treatment center, too…”
“Build that in your house!”
Next was Jae-seong.
“A fermentation room would be nice. Fermentation isn’t just for soy sauce, doenjang, or kimchi—it’s useful for many things. And we should have a mushroom cultivation roo—”
“You can make that separately! Why are you trying to put everything in my house?”
I was starting to feel dizzy.
The slimes alone were overwhelming, but now my siblings were joining in.
And that wasn’t the end.
– Hehehe.
“What is it, Kkumuri?”
“Kkumuri says we need a slide for sculpture exhibitions!”
“…That makes no sense at all…”
It looked like this house-building project was going to be quite chaotic.
Cliche Novel 