Translator: Nox
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: The Reward for the Garden
Cheondo-un arrived home and thought about what to do next.
Making a garden and building a dresser. Between the two, the priority was obvious.
"I should make the garden first."
Mandragoras are like sunfish.
They wither if planted in environments they dislike—extremely sensitive creatures. If forced into confinement, they scream and die the moment they're pulled out.
To avoid such a tragic end, he had to build the garden quickly.
Cheondo-un roamed the forest and gathered stones the size of human heads.
With them, he began constructing the garden’s perimeter.
"This size should be good?"
A rectangular garden.
Too large and it's difficult to manage. Too small, and the mandragoras might feel cramped and run away when he tries to replant more in the future.
He settled on a reasonable size—about 15 pyeong. After laying the perimeter, he broke off tree branches to make poles.
Infusing mana into a stick, he drove it into the ground to use as a plow substitute.
The stick dug deep before hitting something solid and stopping.
Using the stick like a lever, he pried out a watermelon-sized rock.
"Already off to a rough start."
He tossed the stone far away and stabbed the stick into the ground again to till the soil.
"Is this a tree root?"
It was originally a forest, after all. Though he had cleared the surface, the underground was tangled with roots and rocks.
Each time he hit a root, he dug it out and threw it aside. Just then—
A rustling sound came from behind.
‘Here we go.’
The mechanical creature that had previously come in the form of a poodle.
Now, it peeked from behind a tree.
‘Yup, it's in human form now.’
A young girl, around 7 or 8 years old, wiggled her fingers at Cheondo-un.
“H-hello.”
She spoke, nervously fumbling her greeting and flustered by her awkwardness. Cheondo-un smiled gently.
“Yes, hello.”
Encouraged by his response, the mechanical creature pointed toward the house.
“There’s a house over there.”
“There sure is.”
“Is that your house, mister?”
“As you can see.”
“Then you live in the Demon Realm?”
“In a manner of speaking.”
The girl’s eyes widened. Wasn't it supposed to be impossible for humans to survive in the Demon Realm? Her expression said it all.
She looked Cheondo-un up and down, noting his animal-hide clothing.
He looked like a caveman straight out of a book or movie.
Of course, he was way too handsome to be a typical caveman, but the outfit fit the aesthetic.
“So… are you like, a native of this place?”
After much thought, the girl offered what she thought was a plausible theory.
Just like that, he had become a native of the Demon Realm. How should he react? Cheondo-un stifled a laugh and nodded.
“Yup. I’m a native here. What tribe are you from?”
“Tribe? Uh, I’m from… across the waterfall. A really faraway place. I belong to a tribe there.”
“Across the waterfall, huh? I heard there's a Coconut Tribe over there.”
Cheondo-un made up nonsense with a serious face. The girl’s eyes trembled with panic.
“C-Coconut…! Y-yes. I’m from the Coconut Tribe.”
Though flustered, she nodded quickly.
The Coconut Tribe. It sounded like they survived solely off coconuts.
Would she have to say that’s her staple food if asked?
Now an accidental member of the Coconut Tribe, the girl watched Cheondo-un’s face closely.
‘That expression…! He believes me. He really believes I’m from the Coconut Tribe!’
The young mechanical creature's confidence soared sky-high.
Having bought her lie, Cheondo-un gave her confidence. She stood straighter, proud.
“And this. I found this outfit on the way, so I wore it.”
“That looks like my clothes.”
“Ah, no. In our Coconut Tribe, there’s a rule… finders keepers. So this is mine now.”
She clutched the outfit and asserted ownership with a flimsy excuse.
“Alright, it’s yours.”
Cheondo-un said with a barely concealed smile.
He had expected a stiff, robot-like being upon hearing “mechanical creature.”
But what showed up was a child with “goofball” written on her forehead. A chimera, to be exact, in the form of such a child.
‘Though I doubt her strength matches that clumsy behavior.’
This was the same kid who had overpowered five B-Class Hunters on the snowy mountain.
Her actions might be awkward, but her power was not to be underestimated.
‘She must have high combat capabilities. No doubt that’s what she was made for.’
However, mentally, she was very young. Cheondo-un guessed around three to five years old.
‘She’s clearly a child… but her word choice feels unusually mature. No, more like… like she’s quoting a book?’
He had seen similar cases in the lab before.
When low-intelligence beings were forcibly implanted with human knowledge, it often caused side effects.
Cognitive dissonance. That’s what the child in front of him was experiencing.
The girl hesitated before stepping out from behind the tree.
After gauging Cheondo-un’s mood, she suddenly bowed deeply at the waist.
“Mister, I have a request.”
“What is it?”
“I want to stay here. I hope you’ll allow it.”
“That’s out of nowhere. Why?”
“I want to settle down somewhere safe. I… I was exiled from the Coconut Tribe.”
“Oh dear. What happened?”
Cheondo-un held back a laugh and asked with a serious face.
“Well… that’s, um, a t-tribal secret. Anyway, I got kicked out. That’s what happened.”
“I see, that’s how it is.”
He didn’t know what “it” was, but he nodded anyway. Encouraged, the girl added—
“There are monsters everywhere around here. But not many near this place. It’s a good spot.”
Thanks to Cheondo-un marking his territory, most monsters avoided the area.
They instinctively recognized this region as his domain. The girl seemed to sense that too.
‘Doesn’t seem like the type that’ll cause trouble. Should be fine.’
He felt no malice. No hostility either. Just a small creature genuinely looking for a place to rest.
“Alright. Stay as long as you like. But not for free.”
“Th-then?”
“You’ll have to work while you’re here. Pay your lodging fees. Fair, right?”
She might look like a kid, but she was a chimera like him.
If she was going to stay, he intended to make use of her strength — the same strength that overwhelmed B-Class Hunters.
“See that garden?”
He pointed to the patch of land.
“You’ll need to till that soil. If you can finish that, you can stay.”
“That’s all?”
“Of course not. There’ll be more work while you’re here. A lot of heavy-lifting, just like this.”
The girl brightened. That much, she could easily do.
“I’ll do it. I’m strong. Really good at heavy work.”
“You seem like it. So, what’s your name, little one?”
“My name? Uh, that’s…”
Her eyes darted around, eventually landing on a nearby flower.
A flower similar to one found in the human realm.
“Dogna… Kim Nari. My name is Kim Nari.”
A name clearly made up on the spot. Cheondo-un didn’t press and instead handed her the digging stick.
It was nearly two meters long and heavy, enough to make a normal child wobble, but Kim Nari took it without flinching.
‘She doesn’t seem to know how strong an average kid is.’
Despite trying to hide her identity, she showed her strength freely.
‘She must’ve never been outside the lab before.’
A child with no worldly experience.
Likely raised in isolation, without contact with anyone except researchers.
Cheondo-un had her pegged. Kim Nari's first real glimpse of the world was this very Demon Realm.
“There’ll be lots of rocks and tree roots in the ground. Pull them out and toss them far. Think you can handle it?”
“Of course.”
Kim Nari rolled up her sleeves. With each swing, the stick plunged deep into the soil.
Applying force, she turned the soil and unearthed buried roots.
Cheondo-un smiled in satisfaction. A new labor force had rolled right in.
“Now I can go make that dresser.”
With that, he headed into the forest to chop some wood.
* * *
When he returned with the timber, the entire garden had been tilled.
His joy at gaining a useful helper was short-lived.
From behind the house came the sound of sobbing. He approached and found Kim Nari crouched and sniffling.
“Crying?”
She flinched at his voice.
She hadn’t sensed his presence—shocking. And she was clearly embarrassed to be caught crying.
“N-no, I’m not crying.”
“Could’ve fooled me. Wipe your nose before you say that.”
Kim Nari sniffled and rubbed her eyes.
“Was tilling the field that hard?”
“No.”
“Then why the tears?”
She didn’t answer right away, and Cheondo-un didn’t push. He simply sat beside her and waited.
After a while, she finally spoke.
“I remembered a fight I had with my friends.”
“Happens all the time. Just forget it.”
“Is it okay to forget?”
“Yes.”
Normally, kids grow up fighting with friends. But Cheondo-un sensed this “fight” was of a different nature entirely.
‘She must’ve been in a ranking match.’
Chimeras are created for hunting monsters. Accordingly, they undergo extensive combat training.
Ranking matches test the limits of their power.
Experimental subjects are pitted against each other, ranked accordingly.
‘Back in my day, we had them around age ten.’
Low ranks faced high-risk experiments.
With their lives on the line, kids resorted to all sorts of schemes.
Poisoning food was basic. Pushing others down stairs — routine.
Sometimes, they ganged up to beat higher ranks.
One top-four kid was ambushed in his sleep. He ended up with broken limbs in the infirmary.
“He’s disqualified from the ranking match,” they’d said.
Researchers didn’t intervene. If anything, the victim was blamed for being careless.
From that moment, something cold flickered in the children’s eyes.
They were chimeras with monster DNA and combat training — innocence long gone.
“This again?”
“They did it last time too. Only targeting the top ranks.”
“We need to form our own team if we want to survive.”
During break time, the third-ranked kid called for a meeting. Top-ranking kids gathered.
Cheondo-un stood up out of curiosity but was blocked.
“You’re not invited.”
“Why?”
“Do you even have to ask? Take a hint.”
The third-rank scowled.
Cheondo-un had always been first place.
To the others, he was an immovable wall. If he disappeared, everyone’s rank would go up.
Mid-ranks grouped up. Top-ranks grouped up. Only Cheondo-un stood alone.
The next obvious target? Him.
“No room for you here. Better sleep with one eye open. You heard what happened to number four, right?”
Laughter echoed.
Hostility. Ridicule. They saw him as already fallen.
Cheondo-un just wagged a finger.
A strand of thread shot from his fingertip, instantly binding their legs.
Crunch. Crack.
Bone-snapping sounds filled the air. Nine kids fell, writhing in pain.
That was the first time he revealed his silk-thread ability.
“You bastard! What the hell did you do?!”
They screamed, clutching their legs.
He ignored them and walked past.
“Nine disqualified,” he muttered brightly.
No one messed with him after that.
* * *
Cheondo-un looked at Kim Nari.
He had never had close friends at the lab, so he wasn’t hurt when his peers turned on him.
‘She must’ve been different.’
Her slumped shoulders spoke volumes.
“Sounds like you were close with them.”
“I thought so. But maybe it was just me. They all ganged up on me.”
Her comrades’ betrayal. Multiple kids attacking one.
Cheondo-un now understood her position at the lab.
‘She was probably like me.’
A special case monopolizing the top rank — and targeted because of it.
The difference: she couldn’t endure the pressure.
What should he say at a time like this?
After some thought, he pulled out some bread from his bag.
“Here. Eat.”
“Huh… is this for me?”
“Yeah. You tilled the garden. That’s today’s wages.”
“W-wages? This is my first time getting paid.”
Kim Nari raised the red bean bread in delight.
Her face beamed as if she’d never cried.
“My wages…! This is my very own pay!”
