Suddenly appearing, Hanul gives a seed and leaves. Ara talks about being a successor and bids farewell.
“Wow, it’s amazing.”
Cheong carefully holds the seed in his hand and murmurs.
For now, as I’m driving, I left it to Jeong Soyeon and the kids and headed straight home.
“I know he’s very busy, but he came all the way here to give this.”
“He could have come later when you had time……………”
“It’s understandable because of his urgent nature. Anyway, I’ve never seen such an item before. A spirit’s seed? Does a spirit appear if we plant it?”
I was curious about that too.
Generally, when you say ‘spirit’, it refers to the summoned creatures controlled by the awakeners who have awakened spirit-related abilities.
Even in our house, weren’t there the Kkumuris? Despite appearances, they were spirits.
‘Was it a spirit of purity?’
Now I don’t quite remember what kind of spirit it was.
Anyway, it seemed like it was a spirit.
Since we were near home, we arrived quickly.
I headed straight to the dungeon.
It was 8:50 PM.
It was still an active time for restaurants, so I quietly went through the back door towards Gluttony.
“It’s really been a long time.”
Jeong Soyeon said with a voice full of anticipation.
I wondered what her reaction would be, seeing the much-changed dungeon from before.
I opened the door and entered.
Jeong Soyeon took a long breath as the scenery of the dungeon unfolded.
“Ah! I missed this so much!”
“Ha-ha. Take a good rest.”
But, there was an unexpected character near the entrance.
-Purr, Purr, Purr.
Someone was lying stretched out, sleeping.
The white fur on their belly contrasted with their black fur, looking fluffy. With every breath, their cute belly puffed up.
“Bell?”
“It is Bell.”
Bell was sleeping right here.
Why isn’t he sleeping in his own house in Nyang Village, and instead sleeping here?
‘Cats are not to be understood.’
He just came out to sleep because the weather was nice.
But why sleep all the way here?
I just couldn’t understand.
“A… cat?”
Jeong Soyeon’s eyes widened as she saw Bell sleeping.
“Bell has become a new member of our family. Bell and the cats have recently moved into our dungeon.”
“Cats…….”
As I guessed, Jeong Soyeon, who likes cute things, seemed to like cats too.
“Can, can I touch him?”
“Yes, maybe?”
Hearing only a ‘yes’, Jeong Soyeon immediately ran to Bell and started petting his belly. Bell, for his part, continued to sleep sprawled out in a bizarre position as if he were a person, snoring softly.
“Bell can be woken up with a snack!”
Ara pulled out a pouch from behind me and rummaged through it.
“Can you wake him? What is it? What kind of snack?”
Then, voila! Ara pulled out a Churu. Cheong, standing next to her, giggled and ate the Churu.
“It’s a Churu!”
-Huh, eh, Churu?
At the mention of Churu, Bell lifted his head in a drowsy daze. His expression was comical.
“Ah, hello, Bell?”
-Who’s that?
“I’m Jeong Soyeon, Kyu-seong’s friend.”
-Kyu-seong? I don’t know about that.
“I am Lee Kyu-seong.”
It seems Bell still hadn’t memorized my name.
As I intervened, Bell lazily flipped over and looked up.
-Nyah, surprise. Human, you were here too?
“It seems you’re not surprised at all.”
-I was, I was.
This cute little guy. First, let’s give him the Churu.
I handed the Churu to Jeong Soyeon. It wasn’t meant for her to eat, but for her to feed Bell.
-Lick, lick.
Bell was already diligently licking the Churu Ara gave him while lying down. As soon as Ara’s Churu ran out, he turned his gaze to Jeong Soyeon.
-Give me the Churu.
Look at that confident demeanor.
Jeong Soyeon, liking his appearance, quickly approached.
“Ah, so cute……”
Jeong Soyeon melted as she watched Bell lick the Churu from her hand.
He was indeed cute.
That’s why people go on about cats, cats. Especially Bell, who was very cat-like.
The other cats were just like dog-cats.
I liked both.
Thus, we spent some time playing with Bell. I had also bought some cat toys for the cats when we went out, and the lazy Bell was actively twitching around.
‘He’s not moving.’
Literally twitching.
He didn’t follow the toys but just sneakily threw a cat punch or shook his hips and tail.
“So, so cute.”
Jeong Soyeon, who was playing with him enthusiastically, seemed to have hearts popping out of her eyes.
I threw some catnip and a piece of actinidia wood, and Bell vigorously rubbed his body on the ground, enjoying it.
“Feeling good?”
-Feeling good? Who.
“You.”
-That’s a human misunderstanding.
Anyone could see he was thoroughly enjoying himself with his whole body.
What a misunderstanding.
“But Bell, why were you sleeping here instead of at home?”
“I followed a butterfly here, and found a nice spot to sleep.”
“Ah… okay?”
That was a very cat-like thing to say. Jeong Soyeon was enthusiastically petting and stroking Bell, clearly showing her love for cats.
“So, you like cats, Ms. Soyeon?”
“It’s because it’s Bell! How can there be a cat that fits my ideal type so perfectly!”
“You know your stuff, human.”
Bell, it seemed he just called everyone human. That was very much like Bell.
“Shall we head towards the village now?”
“What about Bell?”
“Bell? Well, let’s take him with us.”
“Let me go, human.”
Despite his words to be put down, when I picked him up, Bell just stretched out and started purring.
At that, Jeong Soyeon seemed unsure what to do, and I quietly asked,
“Can I carry him?”
“Of course. Here you go.”
After being handed over to Jeong Soyeon, the unabashed guy kept purring. But I decided not to be jealous.
“Hmph.”
“Lee Kyu-seong, are you sulking? Why are you sulking?”
“I’m not sulking.”
It was true.
Back in Slime Village, the first thing I did was inspect the spirit seed.
[Spirit Seed]
[A special seed left by a spirit. It contains unknown vitality]
An item without any particular grade. My crops had grades, or at least levels, but this one just had a name and description.
“We need to figure out what this is first.”
It would be troublesome if it grew into a gigantic plant like the World Tree if planted just anywhere. So, understanding what this seed really was, was important.
And just recently, I had spotted a slime with useful abilities while reviewing slimes to send to the little ones.
He should be working in the field by now…
“Found him.”
There, that guy. A slime with a leaf-like thing on its head. I called him over immediately.
Sik-sik?
“Hello, Sik-sik.”
By the way, Ara named him.
His ability? The ability to identify plants.
He was already an expert in farming as a slime, but now Sik-sik had gained the ability to identify plants.
Leaving Jeong Soyeon, who was enjoying healing time with Bell and the kids in the village, I showed Sik-sik the seed.
“Do you know what this is?”
Sik-sik grinned.
He inspected the seed on my palm.
Then, he gestured as if asking if he could examine it himself.
“Of course. Go ahead.”
Sik-sik swallowed the seed.
He chewed on it, making me slightly worried he might just digest it.
Ptui.
He spit the seed back into my hand along with some liquid.
It felt strangely awkward.
“How is it?”
Sik-sik grinned.
He tried to express something earnestly, but all I could understand was that it was somehow alive. Eventually, I had to bring Ara over to start translating.
“This is no ordinary seed!”
“Yeah, I figured.”
“It’s a plant, but not a plant! Ohhhhh…”
Ara, after explaining, suddenly looked at the seed in my palm with a look of awe.
“Is it a spirit?”
“If you plant this seed, a new life will be born! Not a plant, a new life!”
“Ah, should we plant it right away? Where would be the best place?”
“Uhhhh, that’s something we should ask Mark2 about.”
As expected, we can’t do without our Mark2.
He’s currently managing the World Tree, but it should be fine to take a little time.
The portal is connected. I need to go right now.
“Ms. Soyeon, I’ll have to step away for a bit. I’ll be back in about 30 minutes.”
“Okay, got it! Hehe.”
Jeong Soyeon was smiling happily, surrounded by slimes, Kkumuris, the kitchen bunnies, and Bell.
She’ll be fine on her own.
I stepped through the portal to where Mark2 was.
As I arrived, one of Hassan’s subordinates, who was always on call, greeted me.
“Welcome, Mr. Kyu-seong.”
They had even learned Korean, which was initially a bit overwhelming, but I just accepted their kindness.
“May I go see my slime at the World Tree?”
“Of course. Oh, but there’s a guest with Hassan at the World Tree right now.”
“A guest?”
“Level 9 Awakener Eli is with Hassan at the World Tree.”
Coordinator Eli!
He was a famous Level 9 Awakener. Although rumors said he was the weakest among the Level 9 Awakeners, he was celebrated as the first among them.
Following the employee’s lead, I headed towards the World Tree.
Soon, the massively grown World Tree was visible even from a distance.
“Has it grown that much already?”
It was large enough to be called a great tree.
Wouldn’t it take over a hundred years for a normal tree to grow this much?
“The tree is huge!”
Ara, sharing my shock, exclaimed in surprise.
“My, have you arrived?”
Hassan, who had been resting in the tree, pushed aside the leaves to reveal his face. At the same time, rustling sounds came from elsewhere, and a new face appeared.
‘Is that Eli?’
But what exactly was he doing there?
I knew Eli’s face already. He was quite a celebrity, and I never imagined him climbing trees.
Prejudices and preconceptions are indeed wrong.
He’s informal enough to climb trees…
“Cough!”
Suddenly, Eli dropped from the tree.
And then he quickly disappeared from the spot.
“What the…”
Was he embarrassed, or was it my imagination?
It was our first meeting, and we didn’t even get to say hello before parting. I thought at least a greeting would have been exchanged.
‘Well, he’s an important person after all.’
Just then, Hassan, who had been in the tree, suddenly yelled.
“Hey, you! When you meet someone new, you should greet them!”
Taken aback by the sudden shout, Ara and I looked at Hassan in surprise. It was the first time I’d seen the old man show such behavior.
Eli stopped at Hassan’s shout.
Oh, did my coming here cause trouble?
But Hassan, apparently not intending to stop, smoothly climbed down the tree and approached Eli like a shadow.
“Help this old man who’s giving new life, or rather, who has given new life to an old man.”
“What are you talking about?”
Eli frowned as he spoke.
Fortunately, the Level 9 Awakeners seemed to be equipped with translation artifacts, so the message got through.
However, the problem was what Hassan said.
Even I was shocked by Hassan’s excessive introduction and waved my hands.
“Oh, no! It’s an exaggeration to say I gave life.”
“Exaggeration? I was just waiting to die. In such a situation, it was you who helped me achieve an unfulfilled dream, wasn’t it?”
“No, that’s…”
Wasn’t he wrong? But it wasn’t anything grand; it was just a trade that benefited us both.
“Who are you?”
Eli, now interested, suddenly asked. Then he squinted his eyes and said, “Lee Kyu-seong from South Korea?”
“Uh? You know me?”
Oh, now that I think about it, Eli’s ability is to see things others can’t.
Could it be…
‘I hope he hasn’t figured out I’m the Demon King. Oh, wait! I’m not a Demon King, what am I talking about!’
I nervously swallowed dry saliva, waiting for Eli’s response.
Cliche Novel 