TRPM 338

chapter 338

The first day ended with visits to five different valleys to collect valley water.

Tonight, we planned to stay at a campsite near the mountain with the fifth valley.

“Ugh… I’m exhausted…”

Ms. Son Ji-hye, who had been driving all day, collapsed as soon as the tent was set up.

For reference, we had brought three tents in total:

• A relatively small one for Ms. Son to use alone,

• One for me and Ryu A-min,

• And one for Ryu A-young and Lee Ha-eun.

‘If we only had two tents, things would’ve been awkward…’

Although Ms. Son is known as a woman, she is actually a man. That would make it awkward to use either the men’s or women’s tent alone. Or rather…

“Teacher, no matter how tired you are, wouldn’t it be better to eat dinner and wash up at the shower before lying down?”

“Mm…”

She responded, but couldn’t get up. She must be that tired. If she’s like this on the first day, how is she going to manage the remaining four days…

“So, what are we having for dinner?”

“Dinner? Since it’s the first day, something light…”

When Ryu A-min asked, I looked at the barbecue grill prepared at the campsite and laid out the ingredients for tonight’s dinner on the nearby table.

“Let’s have pork belly.”

Along with the pork belly, I set out vegetables, kimchi, ssamjang (wrap sauce), and instant rice that just needed microwaving.

“Where did all this pork belly and vegetables come from?”

Ryu A-young and Lee Ha-eun, who had just finished setting up their tent, asked as they looked at the table.

I silently pointed to my bracelet—the “pocket space artifact.”

“…Seriously, Gun-woo, how big is your pocket space artifact? And how many things do you actually have in there?”

“Hmm.”

I said it to imply I didn’t want to answer.

“…Well, okay. But are we going to eat now? Isn’t it a bit early for dinner?”

“Yeah, it’s early. It’s only five o’clock.”

But…

“Aren’t you guys going to have a late-night snack? I was thinking of making ramen.”

“Oh, so if we want a snack later, we should eat dinner early? Makes sense.”

At my words, the other three immediately sat down. Even the teacher, who had been lying in the tent unable to fight off her fatigue, came out and sat down.

Hmm…

‘Looks like I’m the one grilling the pork belly.’

Everyone had taken their seats. Even if the teacher was tired, I wasn’t about to let the other three just sit around.

“Hey, Ryu A-min, go to the campsite office and heat up the instant rice. They should have a microwave there.”

“Me? Why me?”

“The girls are going to work too.”

“Alright…”

Ryu A-min grabbed the instant rice from the table and stood up. I then spoke to Ryu A-young and Lee Ha-eun:

“You two, wash the vegetables at the sink.”

“All of this?”

“Yes.”

“Got it. We’ll be right back.”

The two of them took the vegetables to the sink.

“Hmm… I’ll…”

“Teacher, you should rest.”

“Thanks…”

With that, I began grilling the pork belly on the barbecue.

Ssss…!

‘…Sounds good…’

The pork belly cooked quickly. Watching it grill, the teacher looked over at me.

“Do you have sesame oil for dipping?”

“Ah…”

Hearing that, I quickly checked the table and realized there wasn’t any.

“One moment.”

I searched the pocket space for sesame oil and found a bottle, half-used but with enough remaining.

‘Ah, this is the sesame oil I once used for a ritual.’

I remembered buying it because oil is often needed in rituals. Of course, the remaining oil wasn’t used for the ritual; the oil from the ritual had already been purified and discarded.

‘I completely forgot about the sesame oil while buying pork belly. If I hadn’t bought it for rituals, we’d have to eat pork belly without dipping sauce today.’

I handed the teacher the sesame oil and some salt to make a dipping sauce. It wasn’t difficult, so even a tired teacher could manage. Then I refocused on grilling the pork belly.

“I’m back.”
“We’re back too!”
“Look, isn’t it clean?”

By the time I cut the pork belly and placed it on a plate, the others had returned.

“Sit down. You can eat all the pork belly on the plate. And…”
“Hot…!”
“…Be careful, it’s hot.”

Ryu A-young, impatient as usual, popped some pork belly into her mouth and was startled, but it was no big deal. As an awakened, she probably didn’t get burned badly.

“Gun-woo, you eat too.”
“Just finish grilling this first.”

I said as I continued grilling. Just the initial batch wouldn’t fill all five of us.

‘They must be growing quickly; they sure eat a lot.’

Still, seeing them eat happily was satisfying. I was about their age, after all.

‘Is this what it feels like to be a parent?’

Wanting to give your kids something extra… I filled the plates with the cooked pork belly and sat down.

“If there isn’t enough pork belly, tell me.”

There was still plenty left, and even if we finished, there were more things to grill—sausages, marinated ribs, and so on. So no worries about running out of meat.

While I grilled, Lee Ha-eun asked me:

“Gun-woo?”
“Yeah?”
“Can I feed some pork belly to Sarang?”

I looked down and saw Sarang, who had been summoned at our feet.

“You don’t really have to feed your familiar, but if you want, go ahead.”

Sarang immediately stuck out its tongue, seemingly asking for meat. Lee Ha-eun placed some pork belly in a bowl on the ground. Sarang buried its head in the bowl and started eating.

Seeing this, Ms. Son asked Lee Ha-eun:

“Ha-eun, do you usually starve Sarang?”

“No, normally it eats dog food. Meat is only a special treat for special days.”

You don’t have to feed your familiar, but it’s not a problem if it does. I placed new pork belly on the grill to replace what Sarang ate.

After dinner, the kids, excluding the teacher, played a quick game of rock-paper-scissors to decide who would clean up.

“Ugh…”
“Why us?”

Ryu A-min and Lee Ha-eun ended up responsible. Waving them off, Ryu A-young said goodbye:

“Don’t forget to sort the trash!”

They tidied the table and headed to the campsite’s recycling area. The barbecue grill would be cleaned later by staff. Once Ryu A-min and Lee Ha-eun disappeared from view, Ryu A-young looked around.

“Huh? Where’s the teacher?”

It seemed she realized Ms. Son wasn’t around.

“While you focused on the pork belly, the teacher went to shower first.”
“To brush teeth?”
“Probably both brushing and showering. I saw her bring a change of clothes too.”

“Oh, I need to shower too…”

Ryu A-young said, looking at me. I didn’t understand at first, so I asked:

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Actually… we didn’t bring a change of clothes for you and A-min.”

“…Ah.”

Right, Ryu A-young and Ryu A-min had come empty-handed.

“So why look at me?”
“Do you have any clothes in your pocket space that I could wear?”
“Do you think I’d carry women’s clothes?”

“Exactly. I guess I’ll have to borrow from Ha-eun. But it should fit; Ha-eun brought clothes with size-adjustment magic.”

“…How do you know that?”
“Don’t misunderstand. Ha-eun’s things are in my pocket space, and I could sense her magic from them, so I just knew.”

Ryu A-young looked slightly uneasy but seemed willing to trust me.

“Oh, here comes the teacher.”

While they were talking, Ms. Son, finished with her shower, walked toward the tent. She must shower quickly—maybe because she was too tired or maybe to avoid others.

“Teacher, you went to shower alone? Come with us next time.”
“Ha ha… In places like this, crowded showers are uncomfortable. So I went quickly.”

She likely showered quickly to avoid being seen. Though she appears female, she is actually male, and being seen in the women’s shower could cause misunderstandings.

“Teacher, can you rest first? You’ve been driving all day…”
“Ah, yes. Please rest, teacher.”

Ryu A-young stepped aside so Ms. Son could enter the tent. I quietly said to her as she passed:

“…Next time, let’s try a lodge instead of camping.”

It would be easier to keep her gender hidden, and sleeping in a bed would be more restful.

“Yeah, that sounds better.”

The teacher agreed and went inside, zipping the tent.

“We’re back.”
“Wait, the teacher’s already asleep?”

At that moment, Ryu A-min and Lee Ha-eun returned from the recycling task. It was just past 6 p.m., and the kids were full of energy. To let the teacher rest, they needed to be kept away from the tent.

“…Anyone want to go to the store with me?”

I knew exactly how to handle them.

“I do!”
“Me too.”
“I’ll get my wallet.”

The kids naturally grabbed their wallets, and we went to the nearby store. Returning, our hands were full of snacks and drinks.

‘If we were adults, we’d have bought alcohol too.’

That would’ve been a bit of a waste.