🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 7
I wasn’t sure what about my clumsy hoeing had made her think that.
Swallowing a bitter smile, I answered,
“No.”
I’d already left the guild, and my body was so broken that I couldn’t even hold a magic bullet rifle anymore.
I couldn’t really call myself a Hunter now.
“I see…”
The grandmother seemed strangely disappointed.
After staring off into the distance for a moment, she abruptly turned around and started heading back to her house.
Ah, no.
I couldn’t just let her leave like that.
“Wait a moment, Grandma. Please wait!”
“Hm? Got something else to plant?”
“Just a second!”
I dashed into the house and returned carrying my housewarming gift—a health supplement set from the White Rock Guild—along with some steamed corn rice cakes and sweet rice punch I’d bought at the market earlier.
“It isn’t much, but… thank you for helping me today.”
“……”
“G-Grandma!”
Without even accepting what I offered, she briskly walked back toward her house.
I tried to stop her, but she moved surprisingly fast. Before I knew it, I heard the gate of the neighboring house opening.
Was my gift too shabby?
If nothing else, the supplements were genuinely high quality.
Maybe I should’ve brought something else?
Just as I was pondering that—
Creak.
The door opened again.
The grandmother returned carrying a heavy black plastic bag.
“Take this.”
When I opened it, I found it packed full of large sweet potatoes.
“I grew ’em myself. Give ’em a try.”
Without even looking my way, she took the gifts I’d brought and headed back home.
I hurriedly called after her.
“Thank you! I’ll enjoy them!”
The slight nod she gave without turning around somehow looked shy.
I had acquired a whole pile of large, delicious-looking sweet potatoes.
“They smell wonderful, pya! How are we eating these?”
I could boil or steam them, but since I had the chance, I decided to make roasted sweet potatoes.
I’d always wanted to try roasting them in a traditional hearth.
There was still some firewood left in the shed, so I loaded it into the stove and lit a fire.
Then I washed the sweet potatoes, wrapped them in foil, and placed them inside.
[The Mythical Dimensional Dragon’s Blessing—”Blessing of Cooking” has activated.]
A status window immediately appeared before my eyes.
Come to think of it, when I’d eaten glutinous rice donuts at the market, no notification had appeared.
Maybe it only works when I cook something myself.
For a blessing from a dragon, it felt surprisingly modest.
Anyway.
Now all I had to do was wait.
Crackle. Pop.
As I listened to the firewood burning, I absentmindedly stared into the flames.
Before I knew it, night had fallen.
Although it was spring, the nights were still chilly.
The warmth of the fire naturally relaxed me.
As the sweet aroma of roasting sweet potatoes filled the air, Lor impatiently smacked his tail against the ground.
“I’m hungry! Are they done yet?”
“Mmm… just a little longer.”
After soothing the impatient dragon and warming myself by the fire, I finally used a poker to pull the sweet potatoes from the flames.
“Ah, hot!”
Even through my gloves, they were surprisingly hot.
Carefully peeling back the foil revealed roasted sweet potatoes with slightly charred skins.
Crack.
When I split one open, the crisp skin broke apart to reveal a golden interior.
It was perfectly cooked, moist and glistening as though filled with honey.
“Wooooow!”
The sweet fragrance burst into the air.
Lor looked ready to pounce.
“Lor, be careful. It’s hot, so take it slow—”
“…H-hot! Hoooot, pyaaaah!”
“You really didn’t listen to me, huh?”
After calming down the hopping, yelping dragon who had burned his tongue, we sat side by side and finally tasted the roasted sweet potatoes.
“Fuuu… haa…”
I blew on the steaming sweet potato before taking a bite.
Rich sweetness immediately filled my mouth.
Even though it was hot, the sweet potato melted away like snow on my tongue.
I couldn’t stop eating.
“Pyaaaah… To think something this delicious exists in the world…”
[Cooking] Roasted Sweet Potato
Roasted directly over a traditional hearth fire.
A roasted sweet potato as sweet as honey.
Lor’s Gourmet Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥
Lor’s One-Line Review:
“Ah, hot! Hot! Be careful not to burn your tongue!”
Apparently Lor loved it too.
Still, it felt like something was missing…
Ah, that’s it.
I went into the kitchen and brought back some milk.
As I poured a full cup of the white liquid, I finally noticed how dry my throat had become.
One sip was enough.
The cold milk cooled my mouth and slid smoothly down my throat.
It paired perfectly with the sweet potato’s sweetness.
“Mmhehehe… this white liquid is delicious too!”
Lor let out a satisfied laugh, his mouth covered in a milk mustache.
Today had been a fulfilling day.
I’d gone to the market, organized the garden, and even received these delicious sweet potatoes.
My life in the guild had been much busier than this, yet the sense of fulfillment I felt now was completely different.
I looked up at the sky.
Unlike Seoul, it was filled with stars.
A thought suddenly crossed my mind.
I’m glad I came here.
“One more! I want another one!”
“Alright, alright.”
You gluttonous dragon.
You never give me time to get sentimental.
Chuckling, I peeled another roasted sweet potato for Lor.
Mmm.
Delicious.
I’d spent the entire afternoon working in the field, and now my stomach was full.
Sleepiness quickly washed over me.
After eating roasted sweet potatoes with Lor to our hearts’ content, I went to bed early.
The next morning—
BANG! THUD!
I woke to the sound of something heavy repeatedly hitting the wooden floor.
“Pyaah! Got you!”
What now?
Was Lor fooling around again?
Half asleep, I checked my phone.
6:00 AM.
Back when I was working, I’d already be awake and preparing for work by this time.
But now I was retired.
“Yaaawn…”
I set my phone down and closed my eyes again.
Sleep immediately started pulling me back in.
I worked hard yesterday.
Today I’m sleeping in…
THUD! CRASH!
“Mwahaha! Finally caught it! …Munch, munch.”
Lor’s excited voice—
And then the unmistakable sound of chewing.
My drowsiness vanished instantly as though cold water had been dumped over me.
Wait.
Caught something?
Caught what?
“Did I miss something?”
“Brown… small… has legs…”
“S-stop!”
“Why? It will be useful!”
Surely not…
That brown… small… thing with legs?
“No… don’t tell me…!”
I immediately jumped out of bed and flung open the door.
There sat Lor in the yard, showing me his small, round back.
“Lor!”
Ignoring my call entirely, he dug through the dirt with his front paws.
Then he unearthed something and popped it into his mouth.
The distance made it hard to see clearly, but it was definitely brown… small… and had legs.
Goosebumps erupted across my body.
I sprinted toward him.
“Lor, no! Bad! Bad!”
Munch munch…
“No! Don’t eat that! If you eat it, you’re not getting breakfast!”
“P-pyaah?!”
At the mention of breakfast, Lor reluctantly spat it out.
Whew.
At least the worst-case scenario had been avoided.
To dispose of the thing, I grabbed a long stick and cautiously approached.
It definitely wasn’t because I was afraid of bugs.
Definitely not.
“Ugh…”
It’s not moving, right?
…Right?
Turning my head away and squeezing my eyes shut, I poked toward the brown object with the stick.
Then—
“Thank you for saving me.”
“Huh?”
I blinked.
“Lor, what did you just say?”
“Pyaah? I didn’t say anything!”
That’s strange.
I could’ve sworn I’d heard a deep, masculine voice.
I looked around for the source.
Then the voice spoke again.
“Over here.”
It came from below.
I lowered my head.
A tiny lump of dirt sat at my feet.
Half of its body was wet from being covered in dragon saliva.
The little dirt clump was waving at me.
Now that I looked closely, Lor hadn’t been chewing on a bug at all.
He’d been chewing on this tiny dirt creature.
“…So it wasn’t a bug.”
“Pyaah! Why would I eat something like that? Give me breakfast!”
“Well, but…”
To be fair, he’d only said it was brown, small, and had legs.
He never actually said it was a bug.
Still, in the countryside, wouldn’t anyone naturally assume that meant an insect?
Not… whatever this poorly-made dirt lump was.
Whew.
I got worked up over nothing first thing in the morning.
No, wait.
That’s not the important part.
Didn’t this dirt lump just talk?
I crouched down and examined it closely.
The dirt creature was small enough to fit in my palm.
Though crudely formed, it had arms, legs, eyes, a nose, and a mouth.
It looked exactly like a little clay golem.
“…Were you the one talking?”
“Indeed, I was.”
Despite its tiny, adorable appearance, the clay creature spoke with a remarkably dignified voice.
[To be continued…]
