Slow Life (2)
Sunset.
“Phaaaaa…”
I flung myself onto the bed and let out a sigh of pure relief.
It was a crude setup—just straw topped with a cloth—but was there any place more comfortable than my own bed back home?
“……”
So comfortable.
But.
Nothing to do.
No phone, obviously. No internet, no Netflix, no podcasts, no TV, no radio, no comic books.
Even if you gathered every single book in the entire village, it wouldn’t come close to half of the comics on my old bookshelf.
Coming home from work to an empty house with no dog, no cat, and nothing to fill the time—this loneliness was killer.
“How the hell am I supposed to endure this boredom!!”
I could see why solitary confinement drove prisoners mad. Staring at the ceiling at night was enough to bore you to death.
I’d been a total loner back home. Even as an introvert, I’d never felt lonely or bored.
But this world? You had to be a social butterfly just to survive.
Ugh, this is brutal!! A life like endless loading with no BGM!
“Mister, training’s over?”
“You’re here! My survival kit!”
“[Package]? What’s that? More weird talk. You’re not teasing me, right?”
My place was a freshly built shack without a kitchen.
So I borrowed someone else’s or, like now, got periodic deliveries.
Food mattered, sure, but Reshi’s visits lifted the spirits in this silent old bachelor’s room, boosting my quality of life.
I opened the door, and as always, she handed over a basket packed with snacks and breakfast leftovers.
Maybe because I’d saved her, Reshi had taken it upon herself to guide me and deliver food. Three months in, and it was still going strong.
“You’re not doing anything weird, are you?”
Reshi’s gaze naturally drifted to my crotch.
Our first meeting had been me buck-naked, so sometimes she acted like one of the guys.
Thinking back, it was pretty embarrassing for this old man.
“……Hmph.”
Reshi covered her mouth with her hand, cheeks flushing.
She wasn’t completely shameless, then. Curiosity just won out over embarrassment.
“Hey, hey, that harsh knight lady’s torture leaves me with no energy for that stuff.”
“Then let’s go see the village chief. I’ll bring food, and we can hang out.”
‘Hang out,’ huh.
I ruffled Reshi’s hair lightly.
“Let’s go.”
The chief’s house was near the village center.
My newbie shack was on the outskirts.
Reshi had come to my place first instead of heading straight there. She really enjoyed walking with me that much.
“Knight guy, protect the lady properly.”
“Eh? Where’s the lady? All I see is a bedwetter.
Hey, don’t hit me. You’ll spill the basket.
No need to kick with your foot either.”
She’d get mad no matter what I said, but in the end, Reshi grabbed my hand and skipped along humming.
Walking hand-in-hand at night with a girl young enough to be my niece—felt kinda weird. Definitely fantasy world stuff. Back home, I’d get reported.
“No sex offenders around here?”
“Sex offender? What’s that?”
Reshi tilted her head, genuinely clueless.
Way too naive. Worryingly so.
She was the only one attacked while gathering because Kras had lured her out alone, away from the group.
A hot-blooded young guy trying to lure an innocent girl for something shady was bad enough, but he wasn’t there when the monsters hit.
Who knew when it might happen again? Time to warn her properly.
Hmm, how to explain ‘sex offender’?
“Bad guys who hurt or torment women in ways they can’t wash off. Women do it too, sometimes.”
“There’s one! Sex offender! Kirgil! You torment me every day!”
“No, that’s not totally wrong, but… no, it’s completely different!
I tease you ‘cause you’re cute!
Sex offenders do it with dirty thoughts.”
“Oh, then I’m going? You just called me dirty-minded.”
“Haha…”
My point wasn’t landing at all.
For her sake, I should tell her parents to teach her about the world.
“What is it, then?”
“Forget it. Just be careful around guys you don’t know besides me.”
“Again? You always cut off when I’m curious.
Oh yeah, you just said it? Teasing ‘cause I’m cute!”
“Did I?”
“You admit it? That I’m cute?”
“Yeah, yeah, I admit it. Cute enough that a naked pervert wants to charge in screaming to save you.”
“Hahaha! What’s that!!
Pervert mister, that was really scary back then.
Popped up right in front of me, y’know?”
She didn’t say if it was the goblins and orcs or me that scared her.
Maybe both.
Reshi hugged my arm tight and let out a long, relieved breath.
Not a word about Kras, even now. Too nice to curse him out?
Anyway, good times over.
“Village chief’s house.”
“Aww, already?”
“If you were a bit cuter or more mature, it’d feel farther.”
“Just watch, pervert mister. In a couple seasons, I’ll be a beautiful lady… Hm!?”
Whoa, where’s she looking!?
Reshi, why are your eyes on my midsection??
Moonlight’s bright tonight—shadows are sharp.
Hey! No need to squat down for a closer look!!
This is humiliating!
“Hehe, mister! You pretend not to, but your body doesn’t lie. You think I’m cute!!”
“Hey! Is that something a girl says!? Or a human!?”
Reshi was young, but past puberty.
Soft in the right places. Smelled nice too.
Yeah. Mouth says no, body’s honest.
What can you do?
It’s a healthy guy’s symbol—you manage it, not erase it.
Any man knows: fatigue can spark libido sometimes.
I’d just finished brutal training and clocked out!
“Be honest, mister, and I’ll forgive you.
Tell it straight to Reshi~ Hehe.”
Reshi was so pleased she rubbed against my back all the way into the chief’s house.
Guess I need to force-teach her ‘sex offender’ after all.
You!
The chief’s house in one word: apothecary.
Herbs in sacks hung everywhere, inside and out, filling the air with strange scents.
Shelves of potion bottles lined the living room walls.
She was always by the corner hearth-cum-kitchen.
Today, brewing or simmering meds as usual.
“[Has the precious outsider come to visit?]”
A lady with long silver hair like moonlight, tied back loosely, removed her steam-fogged glasses from the herbal brew and spoke.
Add a pointed hat, and she’d fly off on a broom. More witch than chief.
“[Yes, yes. This precious outsider has visited. Your pronunciation’s better than last time.]”
“Again! Kirgil and chief always talk in their secret language.”
Reshi pouted as she set down the basket.
The chief shed her thick, herb-scented work robe for her usual white dress and hugged her.
She called it academy uniform, but to me, it screamed RPG cleric—white was priestess-coded.
“Reshi, my little cutie’s here too~”
The village was new, built a decade ago on the frontier. Few people, fewer kids.
That’s why everyone doted on Reshi like a daughter.
Even giving a naked pervert a house made sense now.
“Kirgil, perfect timing. New books arrived, and I need help.
Grab some distance and wait.
This [big sis] won’t let you sleep tonight. Tell Ferio too.”
Village women were all strong-willed and willful.
The chief’s influence probably played a part.
She’d been an adventurer once, now settled here.
Worldly, skilled in crises from her past.
Ferio warned never to cross her.
With orcs and goblins lurking, they needed her battle smarts over some elder’s wisdom.
“Today I just…”
“Came to play with me!”
Reshi clung to my waist protectively, like a kid guarding her teddy bear.
Times like this, pat the head lightly.
“Oh ho, Reshi really likes you. I get it—I do too.
But Reshi, [big sis] needs Kirgil for a bit.”
“No. Way. If you take Kirgil, I won’t see him for days.”
“This’ll take one day.”
“Stay up all night, and he needs a day off.”
“You can still see his face.”
“But no playing together! You kept him a whole month. Give him back now.”
When I first arrived, only the chief could talk to me.
She vaguely understood, enough for awkward chats.
In Korean, technically.
Not conscious meaning—just using some Korean words.
Here, it was forgotten ancient tongue?
Unbelievable, but fantasy logic. Anyway, I needed someone to talk to.
Helped me adapt fast, learn the language quick.
Now I dreamed in the local tongue.
“Kirgil. This [big sis] really needs you. Live with me instead?”
Silver hair loose under moonlight, white dress radiating mature allure, tempting me.
If you saw a marriage proposal, you’d be wrong.
To her, I was top-tier translator.
Optimized research assistant.
Her eyes screamed professor eyeing a promising undergrad for grad school.
Ever slaved through a prof’s endless demands, day and night?
Handle constant nitpicky requests on tight deadlines, finish somehow—only for ‘Hmm, something’s off’ and redo.
Or ‘The dean’s guy comes the day after—review before?’ Solo muttering meant all-nighter rush.
That vague hell? Better Ferio’s sword hell—more human.
“Chief…”
“Family or close older sis gets [big sis]. Call me that!”
“[Noona] feels closer than [big sis].”
“Oh!? Good. Call me [noona] then.”
“Wait, chie—”
She grabbed her staff, aimed at my face.
Expressionless—scary.
Reshi gulped, tense.
“…Noona.”
The chief beamed brightly.
“Training’s exhausting lately—no energy for noona’s research.
Rest or free time, I’ll help.”
I took a deep breath, bowed earnestly.
“Please, noona.”
Not a seedy bar or club vibe.
Grown man sober, calling another woman ‘noona’—goosebumps and cold sweat.
No undergrad calls prof ‘bro’ or ‘sis,’ no matter how close!
“Yes! Of course. If you want that, noona understands.
I get it.”
‘Noona’ sounded so awkward.
She seemed thrilled with the title, no more pushing.
“Noona? Noo-na?
Kirgil calls chief that?
If it’s a nickname, teach me too.”
Not sure, but age-wise: auntie or aunty.
Still, I’d dealt with Karens at convenience store ‘Kim Gil’ shifts.
Handled cranky seniors in military.
Experience shining now.
“How about unnie? Younger girl calls slightly older or family-like women close to her.”
“Ooooh! Fun one. Reshi, call me unnie from now.”
“Unnie? Oon-nee? Hard to say. Hmm.”
Folks here butchered pronunciation.
Why I’m Kirgil, not Kim Gil.
Chief, pleased, packed fatigue meds, muscle relief potions, drinks galore.
No grabbing me again, but needed my translation for new ancient books—bundled them too.
Finishing up, heading out with Reshi—
“Kirgil, tried Happy Moment yet?”
“Yeah, lots of alone time.
Tried every way I know—failed.”
Chief, healthy guys gotta self-soothe sometimes.
…Can’t say that to her serious face.
“You can’t use magic.
Yet you have Happy Moment blessing.
Tell me if you find a clue.
Need help? Noona will give her all.
I must know what it is. Your blessing skill.”
‘Give her all to know my skill’…
This noona always misleads innocently.
Noona, if Ferio hadn’t warned, I’d call that indecent.
“Mister, let’s go! Go! Before chief grabs you again. Hurry~”
Oh, Reshi’s a bit sulky—caught my thoughts?
Did she see my face?
Not staring down there again, right??
No. She’s right.
Act on that delusion, and chief’d latch on for real.
Outta here!
Escape this grad school hell.