TFSG 35

Chapter 35

No, if this man Black Deputy had acted any worse, he would’ve completely lost it and become irreversibly broken.

And that would’ve complicated everything.

I grabbed my uncle’s robe.

Still, it means he felt left out.

Sigh, he’s not even a kid.

He’s totally acting like a sulky eight-year-old.

For reference, I estimate he’s mentally younger than Brother Gye-won, hence eight years old.

I shook my head but still tried to comfort my uncle.

“Anyway, it all worked out in the end, right?”

“…….”

I decided to treat the patient in front of me like an emotionally immature child.

“If you’re that worried, then help me next time, okay?”

I smiled sweetly.

“You’ll be on my side too, right, Uncle?”

“……Hmph.”

Black Birang turned his head sharply, pouting with a slightly reddened face.

“It’s not like I wasn’t already on your side. I’m better than the eldest brother, you know?”

He grumbled and stepped back.

“I know how precious the person treating me is, okay? I’m ready to do anything…”

“But you still can’t go outside, so you’re not much help yet.”

“Ugh! It’s not like I wanted to be stuck inside, okay?”

Well, that much I get.

The reason Black Birang couldn’t go outside was because of people who harassed him for his illness, or those jealous of his abilities.

“Last time, Daddy and Uncle Baek helped me out. They were so cool.”

“Huh? Eldest brother and that guy?”

Why is the uncle called “hyung” (older brother), but Dad is “that guy”?

“Why is Dad ‘that guy’?”

“Well… He may be my brother, but it’s not like that man ever acted like a proper father… Whoa!”

Black Birang suddenly ducked his head. A gust of wind swept past where he’d just been standing.

“Ha ha ha, I dodged it!”

Thud!

“Ugh…!”

“Watch the back of your head too.”

Dad said calmly.

I knew he was going to hit him…

That’s how Dad is. He doesn’t pick fights, but he never backs down from one either.

Come to think of it, all three brothers are like chihuahuas—always ready to fight…

No wait, Uncle Baek is more like a mature, sly dog.

Maybe only this uncle is like a chihuahua.

“Hyung, what the hell?!”

Anyway, the explanation was over. I tried to leave immediately, not wanting to waste time.

“Hey, hey, wait a sec.”

But Black Birang blocked me with a serious tone.

“Hey, kid. No matter how I think about it, I’m worried about sending you out with the second brother. So, I’ve decided…”

He looked very solemn.

“I’ll secretly tag along.”

I paused. Then smiled brightly.

“Daddy! Uncle’s saying weird stuff! Kick him out!”

“What? Hey, hey, Black Biyu! You little brat! Aaaah!”

As if waiting for the signal, the wind whirled and wrapped around Black Birang.

“Are you crazy?! Don’t! I said don’t—Aaaaaagh! You’re gonna pay for this!”

He was launched into the sky in an instant.

Home run.

Dad, who’d cleared him out in one swing, lightly landed next to me.

“Enough chatter.”

Both Dad and Big Uncle are really rough with Baby Uncle. Is this how youngest siblings are always treated?

Is this okay for the heroine’s dad…?

“Let’s go to the market!”

Despite that thought, I laughed.

“Are we heading out now?”

“Yep!”

* * *

“Dad, did you eat today?”

A little while later, we arrived at the main gate of the Black household.

Thanks to the restricted zone manager Gambarin being surprisingly cooperative, leaving the estate was easy.

Even though a lot of eyes were on us.

It seemed the incident in the main house had spread rapidly. From the looks of it…

People from the main family will probably come soon.

I hummed a tune.

In front of the gate, Dad picked me up and floated into the air, probably intending to use his powers.

Woooow.

Thanks to that, I got to see a cityscape I’d never seen in any of my lifetimes.

With each rooftop we leaped across, the scenery changed quickly.

It was an amazing experience.

And unlike before, it didn’t feel like riding a rollercoaster, so I got to enjoy the view.

But anyway.

“Dad, why aren’t you answering? Did you eat?”

This man, his silence is basically a “yes.”

Dad, Uncle, and Uncle Baek—they all have one thing in common.

As patients, they have zero understanding of the basics of treatment!

Regular meals! Quality sleep! No smoking or drinking! Absolute psychological stability!

Didn’t Big Uncle get caught sneaking drinks behind Gye-won’s back…?

And Baby Uncle?

He seemed better but still had occasional anxiety symptoms.

And Dad…

Now that I’m watching him, I know. He doesn’t eat.

I honestly don’t know how he’s still alive with habits like that.

And skipping meals wasn’t just Dad’s problem—Uncle and Uncle Baek were the same, just varying in degree.

At least Uncle Baek got force-fed by Gye-won.

Lately, even Cousin Oppa has been calling Baby Uncle to feed him too.

If I weren’t here, wouldn’t Gye-won basically be a child head-of-household? Damn these useless adults!

Are you even adults?!

I glared at Dad with narrowed eyes.

“…I ate.”

“Really? You’re not lying again by saying you just drank water?”

“……”

Excuse me, sir!

“Water is not food!”

“Fair point. Let’s declare it food from now on.”

“Are you kidding me?”

Dad glanced at me. He was scanning me.

“You’re skin and bones too.”

“That’s ‘cause I didn’t get to eat while growing up.”

“……”

He turned his head away awkwardly.

Yeah, why’d you bring up something you can’t win?

“…You nag too much.”

“Then don’t give me reasons to nag, bad patient.”

“……”

We passed over rooftops in silence.

“I’m curious about something. The restricted zone manager…”

“Gambarin?”

“Yeah. How did you find out his personal info and weaknesses?”

I froze. I’d already been asked the same question by Big Uncle when we pressured Gambarin.

I didn’t expect to get asked again by Dad—on our way to the market, no less.

I calmly replied.

“That’s a trade secret.”

But he cut me off. Tch, I wanted to use that line again.

“If you don’t want to say, that’s fine. I won’t force you.”

Strangely, that made me feel like blurting it out.

If I tell you, how much would you even believe?

I looked up at Dad.

I stared quietly at his sharp, defined features and suddenly spoke.

“Actually, I came from another world.”

“What?”

“And I’ve lived this life many times already. That’s how I know everything. That’s how I knew.”

Dad gazed intently at me.

“If you don’t want to talk, just say so.”

“Okay.”

I figured he’d react like that. I grinned.

I used my lifespan to treat myself so I could recover naturally, but the illness still lingers.

One day, will he forget even this moment?

Still, I’d like him to remember.

Because I’ve never lied to Dad. Not even once.

* * *

We arrived at the market.

Wow, it’s been a while.

It was huge. I was impressed all over again.

This land governed by the Black family had many places with Eastern-style names.

The name of the medicinal herb market was Black Forest.

Sounds like a villain-infested forest from a wuxia novel.

In my first life, I came here often on errands. In the second, I worked here to satisfy my thirst for knowledge.

In the third life, I earned the money I needed to leave by working here.

The Western continent worships dragons as guardian deities and reveres fire and earth.

So, it’s filled with earth sorcerers using weapons born from the ground and fire sorcerers wielding flames.

Some of them even earned money performing street shows.

“Wow! A fire show!”

“This fire sorcerer’s pretty good.”

“A strongman act, right?”

Of course, not just anyone can become a sorcerer in the Western continent—most people are just regular folks.

“If we go that way, we’ll find it.”

After dying miserably in my first life, I studied pharmacology like crazy in the second.

“What are we buying?”

“Well, let me tell you.”

No one had really been there to teach me, since I didn’t have a proper guardian.

There were times when I worked unpaid in the market, gaining experience however I could.

“Today, we’re buying something really, really rare.”

Still, because my family treated me like garbage, I managed to overhear a few valuable things.

“Wait, you’re saying you found that in a market alley?”