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Chapter 221

Anyway, the strategy for the western forest assault came to an end like that. The corpses were to be sold or processed through the Magic Tower.

If we had combined it with a guild request, we could have earned a lot more money, but that would have led to all sorts of tiring issues.

When Yeon-woo, Shar, and Tae-oh returned to the dorm exhausted, they were greeted not by a dark room.

In the kitchen, there was a pleasant sound of chopping, “Tang tang tang,” and as Yeon-woo entered, he caught sight of Dawn running towards him with a bright smile.

“Hmph, you made it back safely?”

“Uh… I didn’t expect you to welcome me?”

“What kind of misunderstanding is that? I’m welcoming Tae-oh, you know?”

“Being welcomed as a sidekick isn’t so bad either.”

“If that’s what you’re satisfied with.”

With a slightly sour expression, Dawn held out her palm, clearly asking for something.

“Tae-oh, you can play with Dawn until dinner.”

With that announcement, Tae-oh, who had jumped out excitedly, paused. What’s wrong? Why aren’t you going to play? As if responding to Yeon-woo’s look, Tae-oh turned his body robotically and proclaimed solemnly.

“Now that we’re home… we must wash our hands…!!”

“O-oh….”

That determination to wash his hands before play was akin to a warrior. I clapped at the sight of Tae-oh and Dawn heading towards the bathroom.

Shoving Shar towards the bathroom, I noticed someone peeking out from the kitchen wall. It wasn’t Shar; it was Nea.

“You’ve returned.”

“Yeah, I’m back. Did everything go well?”

“…Why are you stealing my lines? I’m fine; you didn’t get hurt, right?”

“Totally fine. Look.”

With a pout, Nea returned the question. Yeon-woo, appearing perfectly fine, opened his arms. As Nea scanned his body top to bottom, her expression scrunched up.

“…You don’t look fine at all!”

“Huh?”

At her words, Yeon-woo looked down at himself.

His clothes were badly torn, his body was covered in dirt from rolling on the ground, and blood was seeping from scratches on his skin. The lingering nail marks from Ja-young were stingy, but it wasn’t unbearable.

“…Still, isn’t this within the range of acceptable?”

“Ugh, you fool! Hurry up and come with me!”

Nea, flaring up, waved her finger, causing the sound of the kitchen’s electric stove to turn off. Nea grabbed Yeon-woo’s hand and dragged him outside.

Could it be that I’m getting scolded like this? But then Nea knelt down and started spraying water on his wounds.

“If you get hurt, that should be the first thing you mention! What are you doing!”

“Ouch, ouch! It’s strange; it didn’t hurt when I was still, but it’s unbearable now that you’re pouring water.”

“That’s just common sense!”

“Ahhh….”

Startled by Nea’s shout, Yeon-woo shrank back. At his reaction, Nea swallowed hard. She was shocked at having lost her temper unexpectedly.

“I-I’m sorry, Yeon-woo. Did I scare you? I didn’t mean to get angry. Just….”

“N-no, I was just surprised by the sudden loud voice. Honestly, you have a good reason to be mad.”

Nea, suddenly feeling guilty, blurted out as Yeon-woo rushed to comfort her.

“I’ve heard similar stories a lot. Take care of your body, okay? Looking back, I did get hurt quite a bit this time, didn’t I?”

“U-um….”

“But Nea, you should understand. I’m not deliberately getting hurt. Look, even just washing these little cuts is painful, so why would I intentionally come back all beaten up?”

“That’s… true.”

It seemed Nea had somewhat absorbed Yeon-woo’s persuasive words. After all, an Awakened individual is still human. When water touches their wounds, it hurts, and when they apply antiseptic, they act as if they’re dying.

Yeon-woo wasn’t trying to get hurt; it just happened while desperately trying to win.

“This is inevitable, Nea. As long as I do this job, wounds will follow. If you overreact to every little scratch, you might tire yourself out first.”

I wondered if I was saying this right, but there was no help for it. Yeon-woo didn’t want to stand in opposition to Nea over such matters.

After all, he had barely been hurt enough to call it “just a scratch.”

This time, even Kim Yoo-min would say, “Oh, I actually got hurt less today!” So it was clear that Nea’s standards were a bit overly protective.

‘I guess she’s been in a wound-free environment for too long.’

What business would she have gotten hurt in the nest?

Sure, there were stories of Hunters coming in from time to time, but did they have the power to scratch the scales of a dragon using just that?

For her, the concept of a wound might lean toward the exaggerated direction where even a small scratch could potentially be fatal… though that’s not entirely wrong.

‘If she’s going to live with me for life, she needs to gradually shift her mindset.’

To be honest, Yeon-woo had no confidence in coming back unscathed, so adjusting Nea’s way of thinking would be the quickest solution.

With that thought, Yeon-woo and Nea finished their pleasant chat and entered, having washed off all the dust and wounds, to find the children seated at the table chatting away.

“What do you think Mom and Dad are doing? I’m hungry.”

“Weren’t they just out talking for a bit? I hope they come back soon.”

“Speak of the devil. What were you two talking about?”

Underneath the three kids, a high stack of cushions formed a tower. Because the dining table was rather tall for their height, an emergency supply of cushions had been brought in.

As they sat wobbling on the high cushions, the three kids quickly turned their heads towards the two.

“We didn’t do anything special. Just shook off some dust.”

“Hmm, Mom went through all the trouble of cleaning, and we shouldn’t mess that up. But why is Mom acting like that…?”

“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing. Yeah.”

Even until that moment, Nea couldn’t hide a slight look of discomfort, but she quickly forced out a laugh at Shar’s comment. No, if Nea did that, it would seem like they did something odd….

Yeon-woo had to spend the entire dinner trying to smooth over the strange atmosphere lingering between Nea and him, including Dawn’s meaningfully cryptic smile.

*

“Hey hey, Riley. Have you had dinner? Are you busy right now? If it’s not too much trouble, could you help analyze something for me?”

[Hmm, I believe that when your boss calls after work for business-related matters, you should flee quickly.]

“I’m sorry.”

At Riley’s calm voice, Yeon-woo hurriedly bowed his head. Of course, bowing didn’t do much since Riley couldn’t see it, but showing sincerity is what matters.

Right now, Riley was an indispensable assistant to Yeon-woo. She was the ultimate secretary who perfectly handled all his requests without delving too deep into his affairs. In other words, she was Yeon-woo’s very own Giovanni.

[…Sigh, what is it?]

Knowing or not, Riley let out a low sigh and asked back. After all, everyone clearly liked Yeon-woo.

“Did you confirm what I put in the Archive today? I need to find a place to transplant that.”

[Hmm, are you asking sincerely?]

‘? Then I’ll ask sincerely.’

[You occasionally show such foolish sides that I’m genuinely worried.]

What on earth was she talking about? There was no way Yeon-woo wouldn’t know a spot with rich natural surroundings, someone to protect the trees, and someone who was great at growing plants.

[…Why are you excluding the orphanage from your thoughts?]

‘…Huh?’

Let’s see, rich natural environment, managed by the nuns who protect the trees, and with nuns who are great at growing plants.

‘Ohhh, true?’

[What exactly are you trying to achieve? Is that all?]

“Um, I plan to dilute it and sell it as elixirs, and I was hoping to request some research on that.”

[Understood. Will security measures be necessary?]

“Yes, definitely. It’ll be obvious if people discover we have it because they’ll come charging in with their eyes aglow. We need to find a method to conceal its existence before we transplant it near the orphanage.”

[Then I will temporarily exclude Nea from that research. After all, the ‘Transfer’ project cannot be initiated immediately.]

Wait, the name of the research on interdimensional transitions I was conducting for Nea was ‘Transfer’? Yeon-woo blinked in disbelief at the absurd name, and Riley followed up with another question.

[Is there nothing more you need? I, too, would like to take a break when it’s time.]

“Got it. Thanks, Riley. Take a break.”

As soon as Yeon-woo finished speaking, he felt the connection to Riley cut off.

She wasn’t the type to just hang up like that… But, thinking about it, it wasn’t odd for someone to turn like that working under a boss dropping loads of work on them daily. That boss being me, of course.

The time he took to call Riley had disconnected him from reality, so Yeon-woo decided to head to Relin’s Archive.

With everything that had happened, it felt worth considering opening a gate to Relin’s Archive toward the orphanage.

Since Relin’s Archive had been incorporated into the library, visitors had increased, and the library was bustling even at this hour.

The brightness of the lights still shining as the closing time approached was a far cry from what it had been six months ago.

“Greetings, Choi Yeon-woo.”

“Haha, no need to welcome me so much. Please carry on with what you were doing~.”

As he navigated past the warm welcomes from the librarians, Yeon-woo stepped naturally into the Archive.

In any case, it was common knowledge that Yeon-woo was the greatest contributor to linking Relin’s Archive with the library.

Of course, it was a secret that he had become the manager.

Even though many people passed through, the area where the Tree of Life was located was a separate space within Relin’s Archive, making it inaccessible to anyone apart from Yeon-woo, Riley, and the Archive’s managing book, Relin’s Book.

Countless magical tomes flew around like migratory birds, and many mages were immersed in reading with enthusiasm, tickling the sides of those tomes.

It was truly a proud sight. Ah! I’ve increased the reading rate of the mages!

Well, considering that the ability to communicate through interpretation magic differs subtly in nuance from the content written in a book, it would be more accurate to say that I was struggling desperately to interpret rather than actually reading.

With a satisfied smile, Yeon-woo observed the scene and hid behind a bookshelf. Suddenly, Relin’s Book fluttered into his arms.

“Hey, have you been well? Send me over there.”

Flap flap!! With the energetic page-turning of intense affirmation, Relin’s Book emitted a bright light. I should take care of its cover next time; I heard it really likes that.

As the light that filled Yeon-woo’s view disappeared, the scene he saw at the center of the forest unfolded before him.

Reaching out toward the forest behind him, he felt a solid wall. The forest was just a wall, and the only living beings truly existing were the Tree of Life and microorganisms living in the soil covering its roots.

“Okay, shall I taste some sap then?”

Of course, saying “taste some sap” didn’t mean he was going to hang off a tree like a stag beetle and suck at it.

After all, the ground was all sap, so there was no need to hang from a tree.

However, there was a slight problem. Well, it wasn’t just a slight problem. It was minor to Yeon-woo but might be quite a serious issue for others.

The sap produced by this tree contained an excessively pure essence of nature, so if one didn’t absorb it indirectly by training nearby, the excessive mana concentration could lead to a mana seizure.

‘But I have the Dragon Heart.’

With a Dragon Heart that could fortify mana passages well enough to hold both the aura core and mana heart, it should be fine to take in this pure essence of nature directly.

Well, he might lose a bit because it was too refined, but with this much, losing a little bit wouldn’t be a big deal.

With that thought, Yeon-woo sat cross-legged at the base of the tree.

“Don’t eat it, please. Save it for your skin….”

I’m going to eat it, though.

Thinking that, as Yeon-woo waved his hand, the sap collecting at the base of the tree floated into the air. One liter, no breathing, challenge!!

(To be continued in the next installment)

 

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