Translator: Nox
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: The Use of Fur Clothes
‘Come to think of it, Mandragoras are known for their strong sense of kinship.’
Even though it was still a juvenile, it had stepped up to protect its fellow kin—how admirable. Cheon Dowoon gently patted the Mandragora’s leaf.
“It’s nothing serious. You can go back underground.”
– Huung?
Smelling the scent of its kin, the Mandragora lifted its head. The stiffly alert leaves softened.
An adult Mandragora! With Cheon Dowoon’s appearance, the three sprouts visibly relaxed.
“The ground will rumble a bit. It might get noisy, so hang in there.”
– Huun, huun.
– Huuung.
With an adult Mandragora present, the sprouts deemed it safe and returned underground. They even touched each other’s leaves to confirm everyone was unharmed.
Seeing that, Cheon Dowoon chuckled and infused mana into the garden bed.
“I’ll give you mana frequently until the construction is done. Just endure the rumbling for a bit.”
The leaves fluttered in response. From underground came the soft "huung" sounds. Watching beside him, Guu wore a look of curiosity.
– You can even communicate with Mandragoras?
“Not really. But these guys seem to recognize me as one of their own.”
– One of their own...? Ah, I see. That’s why they’re living here so peacefully without running away.
Guu looked at the garden bed with newfound understanding.
Mandragoras didn’t have human-like intelligence like Guu. Still, even unintelligent beings had preferences.
These Mandragoras were clearly fond of Cheon Dowoon.
After infusing mana into the garden, he returned to his construction. For the delicate Mandragoras, he paid extra attention to ensure the ground didn’t shake during the work.
He smoothed the timber and cut it to size. By the time he drove posts into each corner, the sun had begun to set.
While immersed in the expansion, he suddenly remembered something and looked back at the house.
“It’s been a while now. Is Kim Nari still inside?”
– Now that you mention it, she hasn’t come out. Even if she’s trying on everything, it’s taking too long.
Worried that something might be wrong, Cheon Dowoon peered into the house.
Kim Nari was sitting in the middle of the room. In front of her was the box full of clothes.
She hadn’t even taken the clothes out, let alone organized them.
She had pulled out a couple of items, laid them on the floor, and then froze.
At that moment, Cheon Dowoon realized.
That small mechanical creature had been locked up in a lab all her life. She had never worn proper clothes.
Though she looked like a 7- or 8-year-old child, her mental age was far younger.
‘I completely forgot.’
This was like handing dozens of clothes to a toddler between 3 and 5 years old and telling them to organize them.
On top of that, she had never worn real clothes before.
Kim Nari sat before the towering pile of clothes in a panic.
Asking Cheon Dowoon how to fold clothes didn’t even occur to her. He had told her to organize the clothes, and she had promised she would.
In that situation, going back out to ask how was too much. At least, for the timid Kim Nari, it was difficult.
“What are you doing?”
Cheon Dowoon asked as he sat beside her, feigning ignorance.
“I, um… that is…”
Kim Nari’s eyes darted around in panic. Her round eyes trembled.
Her hands clenched the clothes awkwardly, fidgeting without knowing what to do.
A useless being who couldn’t even do a simple task.
If they found out she was useless, would they kick her out?
Her complexion turned pale at the thought.
“I-I’m organizing the clothes. I’ll finish soon.”
“Really? Then let’s do it together. It’ll be faster with two of us.”
Cheon Dowoon pulled out a shirt from the box. Slowly, as if demonstrating, he began folding it.
He folded the shirt in half, then again to make a neat square. He did the same with another shirt and stacked them.
Next were the pants. He folded them neatly and stacked them together.
He repeated the process for other clothes, categorizing and stacking them.
Kim Nari’s eyes began to shine.
She scanned Cheon Dowoon’s movements and absorbed the pattern.
‘So that’s how it’s done!’
Her expression brightened.
“I-I want to try! I can do it!”
With clumsy fingers, Kim Nari began folding the clothes.
It was hard at first, but once she got the hang of it, her hands moved without hesitation.
“Uncle, look! I’m folding clothes!”
“I see. You’re doing well.”
“Really? I’m good at it?”
“Yes. You have a talent.”
“Ooh! I have talent!”
She didn’t know what talent it was, but she was happy. Grinning brightly, Kim Nari kept folding.
With the two working together, the box emptied quickly.
“I’ll organize your clothes too! I got clothes, so I should work!”
She ran outside and brought back the other box.
Cheon Dowoon didn’t help. Seeing how much fun Kim Nari was having folding clothes, he just watched.
“All done! I’m fast! I have talent!”
Kim Nari struck a proud pose with her hands on her hips.
She hummed with satisfaction, proud of her accomplishment and finding meaning in having done her part after receiving clothes.
But that didn’t last long. As she looked at the stacked clothes, she tilted her head.
“But Uncle, won’t it be hard to wear the clothes like this? It looks like it’ll be hard to find anything.”
“Right. That’s why I’m building a dressing room now.”
“A dressing room? A room for clothes?”
“Exactly. This space is for sleeping, so I’m separating it.”
“Oooh.”
Kim Nari’s eyes sparkled again.
“I want to help too. Is there something I can do?”
“There is. But not right now. First, change out of the ones that don’t fit. Pick something you like.”
“Something I like?”
“Yeah. Whether it’s the color or design. Try it on. If you don’t know how to wear it, call me.”
Cheon Dowoon picked up Guu and stood up.
“I’ll wait outside, so come out when you’re done.”
As Cheon Dowoon left, Kim Nari looked flustered. She had secretly hoped he’d choose an outfit for her.
Choosing just one among dozens of clothes was a high hurdle for Kim Nari.
That’s why Cheon Dowoon had left—so she would decide for herself.
“I… uh… something I like… something I like…”
Kim Nari hovered in front of the neatly folded clothes.
With hesitant movements, she sifted through various pieces and pulled out one she liked.
“This… I thought this one looked good when I was folding it. Can I wear it?”
She turned around, but Cheon Dowoon had already gone. With a slightly panicked face,
Kim Nari looked at the outfit she’d chosen.
Is it really okay for me to pick like this on my own? At first, she felt fear.
But as she held up the clothes, that fearful feeling began to fade.
“My clothes…”
A pleasant thrum filled her chest. A smile bloomed across her face. Holding the clothes
high, Kim Nari danced with joy.
“These are my clothes. Clothes I chose!”
Her eyes sparkled. Making her own decision was a joy she felt vividly for the first time.
* * *
Swooooosh. The sound of water falling echoed refreshingly through the forest.
Nam Gisuk opened his eyes under the waterfall.
“Something… it feels like something is about to be revealed… like a wall is about to break… Ugh… so difficult.”
He leapt across stepping stones out of the valley.
After drying off with a towel and changing clothes, he looked at the sky.
“It’s already evening. I’d better get back quickly.”
The night in the Demon Realm was dangerous. Even as a B+-Class Hunter, wandering alone at night was a gamble with death.
“I lost track of time because I was so focused. Luckily, there are no dangerous monsters in this area. Zoning out like that in the Demon Realm could’ve killed me…”
Though he said that, Nam Gisuk knew the area was safe. He looked around curiously.
“Come to think of it, I’ve never run into monsters here. Did hyung take care of all of them?”
Of course, there weren’t none at all. Occasionally he saw harmless small species like the Mandragora.
They were more akin to regular animals than monsters.
When the difference between predator and prey is too large, the stronger often doesn’t see the weaker as food.
Just like a dinosaur wouldn’t hunt a mouse, small and weak monsters didn’t avoid Cheon
Dowoon and lived peacefully in his territory.
“Being here feels more like a camping ground than the Demon Realm.”
Nam Gisuk chuckled at his own thoughts.
As he ran through the forest, a house wrapped in white threads came into view. Logs were stacked like a construction site. Cheon Dowoon and Guu were sitting in front of them.
In front of them, Kim Nari had her arms spread out, proudly showing something.
Nam Gisuk immediately noticed something different.
“Oh, Kim Nari. New clothes?”
“Uncle!”
Kim Nari ran to him.
“Look! Uncle bought me clothes.”
She spread her arms, proudly displaying her outfit.
“These are clothes I chose. I picked them myself.”
She wore a white hoodie.
Printed in the center was a large yellow chick. She gently patted the chick print as if she liked it.
“This picture looks like Guu. Even the wings look like his.”
The chick on the hoodie was flapping its wings.
“Most of all, this expression looks just like Guu. That expression is Guu himself.”
Sharp eyes that looked as if they were glaring at something.
The expression, drawn with a bit of humor, resembled Guu’s sharp gaze—at least to Kim Nari.
“It’s cute. It suits you.”
“Right. I match this outfit well.”
She struck her usual proud pose.
“I’ll call this the ‘Guu Shirt.’ It’ll be my favorite shirt.”
While Kim Nari was overjoyed, Guu looked conflicted.
Is that really how I look? No one answered his muttering. Meanwhile, Kim Nari’s boasting continued.
“And these pants—I like them too.”
She brushed off her shorts with her hands.
“Pumpkin pants!”
A white hoodie with a chick on it, light brown pumpkin shorts, and yellow sneakers.
Kim Nari smiled and looked at her feet.
“I even got sneakers. These yellow shoes are cute.”
Cheon Dowoon smiled gently at the sight.
“They suit you. How’s the size?”
“They fit well.”
She beamed as she answered.
Of course they fit. She had adjusted her foot size to match the shoes.
And the shopkeeper, Mr. Park, had chosen sizes perfect for a child her age, so there wasn’t much to adjust anyway.
“Oh? Hyung, your clothes changed too. I didn’t notice because it’s dark. Is your fur-cloak training over now?”
“Fur-cloak training?”
“You know, that fur you always wore. Like a caveman outfit. At first, I wondered what it was… but then I realized. That fur was full of intense poisonous energy.”
Nam Gisuk looked at Cheon Dowoon in awe.
“To wear something like that… You must’ve had to circulate your mana nonstop to keep
the poison at bay. What about when you slept? Truly a training method like no other.
That’s why you’re so strong.”
Cheon Dowoon remained silent. Guu also said nothing. Only Kim Nari tilted her head in confusion.
Still oblivious, Nam Gisuk glanced around the house and continued.
“And I was surprised by the luminous stones on the ceiling too. To intentionally create a difficult environment for mana control by installing them in the house… and then to live in poison-soaked clothing… What extreme training! I finally understand why you’re so strong, hyung.”
Another long silence.
Cheon Dowoon looked at Nam Gisuk and entered the house. In his hand was the washed and neatly folded fur-cloak.
Why is he bringing that over to me?
“Hy-hyung?”
No… don’t come over here. Nam Gisuk stepped back in unease.
