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< This child is growing up (2) >
Crunch crunch.
I said this to the little boy, who was stuffing his mouth full of meat and chewing it, as I handed him a water jug.
“Eat moderately. How many servings do you plan on eating by yourself?”
There were already many bones in front of the little boy. I wondered how much food could fit into that small body, as if he had hidden a subspace pouch in his stomach.
The little boy looked at me for a moment, then pointed to the meat in front of me and said.
“What is this? What is this?”
My mouth was still full of food, so my pronunciation was slurred.
As I nodded with a sigh, the little one quickly grabbed my share of meat and stuffed it into his bowl, which was clearly overflowing.
And then in the end,
“Keep on, keep on!”
His face turned bright red and he started to squeak. I patted the little boy on the back and muttered softly.
“···Did I pick it up for nothing?”
After a while, the little girl who had just finished eating suddenly pretended to be a young lady and wiped her lips with a tissue and said.
“Well, it was kind of edible.”
“Should I just throw it away again…?”
The kid couldn’t understand me because I was mumbling in Korean.
“What? What did you say?”
“Nothing. Anyway, how did you end up here?”
To my question, the little boy shook his head with a dark expression.
The guy said, crouching down slightly.
“···I accidentally crossed the dimensional gate. When I came to, I was in a cave-like place. There were a lot of people there, including those people from before, and people who looked like slaves.”
“A cave? A slave?”
Those red snakes. What the hell are you doing outside the restricted area?
I looked at the kid, as if to tell him to continue. The kid continued.
“Those people were startled and ran towards me screaming. I ran away and ended up in that place.”
And he added briefly:
“Thank you for saving me. I will definitely repay the favor.”
This kid. Aside from the fact that he’s a huge glutton, his speech and facial expressions are far too mature for a child.
It almost feels like an adult…
That part is a little questionable, but it’s better than whining and making a fuss.
“Where were you before you came here? Where is your hometown?”
The little boy’s expression darkened even more.
“···I don’t want to talk about it.”
It was a face that seemed to have a lot of stories, but I wasn’t particularly curious.
Actually, I liked my hometown as a kid.
There was something else I was curious about.
“Are you the only one who crossed the dimensional gate?”
“Yeah. I’m alone.”
That was a good thing.
I also asked about various things afterwards. Most of them were about the situation on the Gaia continent.
“I don’t know much about that···.”
But this kid didn’t know much. He seemed to be from the countryside.
As my questions rapidly decreased, this time the little one asked.
“How do you know the Gaia continental language?”
“I learned it before. I’ve been there before.”
That wasn’t wrong. It was just a lot different from what he was thinking right now.
The little boy raised his head with a surprised expression.
“Is there any way to go back?”
I just talked around a bit.
“There is no fixed gate. However, there is a high probability that the gate will be opened again in a few years.”
“ah···.”
The little boy had an expression on his face that made it completely unclear whether he liked it or not.
Then he glanced at me and said.
“Help me.”
“what.”
“I don’t know anything about this place. I can’t speak English, and my strength is still weak.”
“I saw you handling fire earlier.”
“······.”
As the boy quietly turned his palm upward, sparks appeared above it.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
But it still looked so weak that it could be blown out by a single gust of wind.
The boy said, protecting the flame with both hands.
“I need someone to protect me for a while.”
I spoke honestly.
“I’m busy. I hate looking after the kids.”
The little boy bit his lip at the cold answer. But my expression didn’t change.
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“If you pay the price?”
If that’s the case, then the story is different.
“···For what? I’m quite expensive.”
It would be nice if it was an artifact with powerful magic.
I think this kid has a story, so I wonder if he has one.
Heirlooms passed down through generations, or items with spirits are also good.
The little boy bit his lip as if he was reluctant to pay the price.
“The price is···.”
It’s a shame to give up what’s in your pocket. But kid, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.
The little boy screamed with his eyes closed.
“It’s my body!”
Then, as if in shame, she covered her bare chest with her small hands.
I came to my senses a beat late.
“···This crazy kid!”
And before I knew it, my hands moved first.
Taaak!
“Ouch!”
I sighed deeply and said to the little boy who was holding onto his head in pain.
“There’s no need for that kind of price. Do I look like a pedophile to you?”
The little boy, holding his head and bowing his head, muttered to himself.
“It’s strange. They say humans will do anything to mate with young females…”
What the heck? Female? Mating?
I said, my expression hardening.
“Hey. Bring me money or something.”
“Since I don’t have one, I’m going to use my body instead!”
Taaak!
The whip was the medicine for the cheeky brat.
“it hurts···.”
A little boy looking up at me while touching the bump on his forehead.
A look of incomprehension was evident on his face.
“I have nothing else to give you.”
Sigh. Why on earth did this guy get screwed over?
I can’t throw it away again…
“Okay. Just do some chores.”
“···uh?”
I gestured to the empty plates and bowls with my eyes.
“The water and detergent are at the back of the tent, so take them and wash yourself clean.”
“Well, then···.”
The little boy looks at me and says.
I nodded indifferently.
“A month. You can stay here. During that time, I’ll teach you some Korean and common sense.”
The little boy’s expression brightened up immediately. My expression must have been just as crumpled.
It’s really annoying.
The little boy quickly finished washing the dishes and brought them over. There was no need to check if they were clean. They had already dried them with fire and disinfected them.
This guy uses his fire-type abilities to clean up the mess.
“Well, it’s pretty good.”
When I said that, the little boy immediately made a proud expression. Oh my.
“Hey kid. I know it’s a little late to ask this, but what’s your name?”
“Lily.”
Lily? I tilted my head.
“That’s a strangely familiar name. And you know how to control fireworks… You really are…”
“What exactly?”
When I stopped talking in the middle, Lily asked with a puzzled look.
The moment I looked into those jewel-like, bright red eyes, a cold sweat ran down my back.
Hey, no way.
I began to slowly examine the girl’s appearance again.
The continent of Gaia.
Red hair that reaches down to her waist.
The ability to create sparks.
A young beauty with extraordinary beauty who will become a great beauty.
And the name ‘Lily’.
“You really···”
An image of someone came to mind from an old memory.
I only saw it briefly, but I couldn’t forget that intense image no matter how much I wanted to.
A being with red hair that spread out in all directions and burned down half of Seoul.
The woman and this little girl looked exactly alike.
Gulp.
At that moment, I swallowed dry saliva without realizing it.
“Fire Witch?”
About 10 years later, a monster burns down half of Seoul.
One of the
“Huh? What did you say?”
Luckily, I guess he spoke in Korean.
I looked straight at Lily and spoke again.
“What the f*ck.”
Of course, this time it was in Korean too.
*
*
*
I camouflaged my tent so that it couldn’t be seen using a simple formation I learned from my friend Jubal, a martial artist.
Ssssssssut.
As I arranged the stones and branches in order according to the flow of energy, the shape of the tent became blurred and an unpleasant fog rose.
Lily watched the scene with amazement.
“Wow! How did you do that?”
Come to think of it, that bastard Jubal must be doing well in the martial arts world right now.
“Sir! Are you ignoring what I’m saying now?”
“Shut up, kid. I’m just lost in old memories…”
We’ve decided on a way to address each other.
I think I’m calling this guy a brat, and this guy is calling me an old man.
The face value is 20 years old, but you’re calling me an old man. I feel like I’m the one who lost more.
Sooner or later, when I think of a more trivial title, I’ll have to call you by that.
anyway,
I said to Lily, pointing to the backpack.
“Come in.”
I took Lily and headed into the city.
Of course, I couldn’t pass through the restricted area fence with Lily from another world.
“Hey! See you again soon!”
Despite my warm greeting, the soldier guarding the barbed wire fence had a blunt expression.
The soldier glanced at my backpack and said,
“Your luggage has been greatly reduced.”
“Haha! I’m the youngest in the guild and I’m in charge of supplies. I have to buy a lot and go back.”
“···Please pass.”
The soldiers let me through without much inspection.
I thanked the Whitehouse Guild again, and stepped away from the fence, patting my backpack.
“Come out now.”
Lily, who had been crouching inside her backpack, poked her head out slightly.
The little boy looked around curiously.
“Wow. This is a village in this world.”
This guy. He thinks I’m a baby stroller and doesn’t even think about getting off.
“If you’ve seen everything, will you come down?”
Lily, who had come down while mumbling, walked next to me.
I glanced at the little boy walking beside me.
It was a little sad to see him wandering around the city alone in the other world with a wary face.
but.
When I recalled the sight of dozens of superhumans being burned to death with a single wave of the hand, the hairs on the back of my head stood on end.
···I never thought I would be the one to save disaster.
Among the numerous accidents and incidents that will occur over the next 20 years, these are the disasters that have caused the most horrific loss of life and property.
One of them was walking next to me right now.
Fire Witch.
A monster that suddenly appeared one day and burned down more than half of Seoul over the course of three days and nights.
At that time, hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties occurred, and over a thousand superhumans were killed while fighting the Fire Witch.
Although the superhumans eventually joined forces and succeeded in killing the Fire Witch, it took years to completely repair the damage.
“At that time, I really thought the world was ending···.”
Lily puffed out her cheeks in displeasure at my words.
“Why have you been talking to me in a way I can’t understand?”
“This is our language. If you feel wronged, learn quickly.”
“It’s fatal.”
I looked at the little girl’s doll-like face and recalled the moment when I faced disaster.
A ring of fire enveloping the city.
Lightning pouring down from the sky like meteors.
A pillar of fire rose up and split the ground.
It literally looked like the end of the world.
The fire witch who played with the superhumans who were praised as heroes and the large guilds that made a mockery of the state power like children.
There was one reason why I was able to survive that enormous disaster.
Because I was weak.
Even if I went to fight the Fire Witch, I would die without even being able to approach her because my skills were so bad.
I was assigned to a civilian rescue team, not a combat unit, and was able to survive.
Then, we met just once.
It was while rescuing civilians trapped under a building.
Suddenly, a loud noise was heard and I turned my head to see the fire witch flying at me just a few dozen meters away, turning the fleeing superhumans into a pile of charcoal.
At that moment, the Fire Witch glanced at me and passed by.
It felt like it wasn’t worth killing.
To be honest, I felt a little dirty in my pants at that time.
I looked at the future fire witch, Lily, with a slightly more disturbed expression.
“Bad year.”
“huh?”
Actually, I thought about it a lot.
What to do with this little kid who could grow up to be a disaster in the future.
Should I just kill him?
Or should I save him?
And I came to a conclusion.
“You can just change the future.”
The reason this little girl became a fire witch was most likely because she was kidnapped by a criminal organization when she was young and suffered terrible things.
I’ve already stopped it, and I just need to make sure it doesn’t happen again in the future.
And one more thing.
There were also calculations that using this guy’s power could bring my retirement forward significantly.
A crazy talent that could be a disaster.
I said, ruffling Lily’s hair.
“Kid. Don’t be mischievous.”
Instead of answering, Lily just slapped my hand away.
“Don’t treat me like a child.”
“With your hair like that.”
We headed to the market.
Earlier, I was carrying a 24-person tent by myself, so I couldn’t pack much else.
Especially food ingredients.
“I’ll make you a special meal for dinner tonight.”
Lily swallowed her saliva at my words.
If there’s one thing we’ve learned about this little guy in a short time, it’s that he’s a huge eater.
“Special meal? What’s that?”
“Nutritious Landlord’s Mana Youngyang Food.”
It was a recipe from the future that would replenish our lack of mana.
< This child is a grown-up (2) > End
ⓒ Ganjjajang
