Chapter 97
Chapter 97
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: Hatching (2)
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Jang Seonhwa looked around the workshop with curious eyes.
Rare minerals she'd never seen before were everywhere.
Purple quartz that glowed on its own, black metal with rippling surfaces, all piled up like mountains.
Jang Seonhwa asked.
"Ryu Susa, are all these puppet materials?"
Seoran answered.
"That's right. Aren't there really so many wondrous things?"
"Yes, exactly!"
"Then shall we make a puppet right away?"
"Wow!"
The two headed to a nearby workbench.
Seoran first unrolled a large sheet of paper for drawing blueprints.
Then she handed a thin piece of charcoal to Jang Seonhwa.
To the puzzled Jang Seonhwa, Seoran said.
"Finishing the blueprint will take some time. You might get bored waiting, so doodle away."
"Understood!"
Jang Seonhwa immediately filled the blank paper with drawings.
Mom and Dad, brothers and sisters, and her pet rabbit.
In the margins, she crammed in tons of small, cute animals.
Seoran closely examined Jang Seonhwa's drawings.
Overall, she seemed to favor cute, fluffy furballs.
For reference, Seoran's current blueprint depicted an "eight-eyed gargoyle puppet."
Eight-eyed gargoyle.
Virtually no blind spots, and it even had arms.
It would unleash destruction beams at range, fight up close with magic tools gripped in its hands.
Of course, not a single strand of fur, and utterly not cute.
It might be too intense for an eleven-year-old girl.
It could even become a trauma.
Seoran reluctantly changed her plans.
For now, she scrapped the half-finished "eight-eyed gargoyle puppet" blueprint.
Then she began pondering what bird might be cute.
A bird with fluffy feathers, round and plump overall.
A bird of prey blending cute charm with savage attack power.
Ideally, one with eyes big for its size.
One sprang to mind right away.
An owl.
Seoran immediately crafted a prototype.
*****
Seoran and Jang Seonhwa looked up at the owl puppet.
The puppet stood just shy of five cheok tall (about 150 cm).
Even so, it was enormous for a bird of prey.
Jang Seonhwa asked.
"It came together faster than I expected?"
Seoran answered.
"It's small in size with a simple structure, that's why. Especially since I didn't need to develop any new functions, it wrapped up quickly."
"What functions does it have?"
"Hmm, self-recharging for starters. Then target allocation, spiritual power sharing, swarm network functions, and I added those. Nothing else special. Oh, spellcasting function, I suppose?"
"So many varied functions in a single puppet! As expected of Ryu Susa!"
Pleased by the praise from the child, Seoran declared.
"From today on, feel free to call me Teacher!"
"Really!?"
"Yes!"
Jang Seonhwa cried out loudly.
"Thank you, Teacher!"
"Ahem, ahem!"
Seoran barely suppressed the corners of her mouth threatening to soar skyward.
She couldn't succumb this easily.
If possible, she wanted to remain a stern teacher.
Of course, it didn't last.
Seoran completed five owl puppets one after another.
Intending a brief rest, she glanced around.
The quick-witted Jang Seonhwa swiftly fetched a chair.
"Teacher, have a seat here!"
"Yes, thank you."
Seeming to sense her mouth was a bit idle, she even brought snacks.
"Teacher, please have some candy and tea!"
"Hmm, delicious. But where did you get them?"
"From the kitchen!"
Similar incidents repeated several times.
Jang Seonhwa had no fewer than five younger siblings.
She'd even raised loads of pet rabbits that couldn't speak.
She was practically a professional in caretaking.
Seoran fell quickly.
"Oh, ooh..."
As Jang Seonhwa massaged her shoulders, she asked.
"Does it feel refreshing?"
"The best..."
Her soft, coaxing tone and eyes brimming with goodwill.
Here lay the ideal paradise every father dreamed of.
Jang Seonhwa was a daughter-con machine in her own right.
Seoran became the landmark No. 2 daughter-con.
For reference, No. 1 was her father, Jang Ok-gi.
The two spent blissful time together until Damcheong returned home after finishing his playtime.
*****
Seoran was utterly drained all evening.
She only picked at her rice.
She even left her meat dishes behind, which was most unusual.
As Damcheong scattered fish food into the pond, he asked.
"Seoran, why so listless?"
"I miss Seonhwa so much..."
"Oh, so that girl's name was Seonhwa."
Jang Seonhwa had left hand-in-hand with a maid quite some time ago.
Her next visit wouldn't be for five days.
She said she had no time amid her diligent training.
Damcheong recited a magic incantation out of helplessness.
"By the way, you've made new puppets. If it's alright, might you explain them?"
Seoran brightened up and said.
"Are you curious?"
"Yes, very much so."
"Then I'll explain in full detail!"
Seoran whistled shrilly.
No response even after her fingers were drenched in saliva.
So she simply sent a summoning signal.
The owls lined up before the puppet workshop stirred to life.
Soon after, they unfurled their wings wide and shot into the sky.
They flew via propulsion mechanisms, adjusting posture with wingbeats.
The owl puppets reached their destination in no time.
Ten owls touched down amid whirlwinds.
A legion of raptors, each five cheok tall.
Damcheong asked.
"What are they called?"
"The Ja-an-hyo Legion."
Ja-an-hyo.
Owls with purple eyes.
She'd carved entire lumps of luminous amethyst quartz and embedded them as eyes.
Of course, with eyes closed now, they weren't visible.
"They all look like they're smiling."
"Not intentional. Owls just end up with smiling faces when their eyes close."
"How do they open their eyes?"
"They open automatically upon entering combat mode."
Seoran sent another signal.
The Ja-an-hyo Legion snapped their eyes open in unison.
Amid the surrounding darkness, only their massive glowing eyes burned bright.
A sight to induce cardiac arrest if encountered at night.
Damcheong clapped in delight.
"So cute, truly adorable! What makes their eyes glow like that?! No matter how I look, I can't figure it out!"
Feeling smug for no reason, Seoran replied.
"You wouldn't know, but it's a rare mineral called luminous amethyst quartz. It has the effect of stabilizing the spiritual power passing through its interior. Thanks to it, I shored up the destruction beams' weakness."
"Destruction beams had a weakness? Astonishing."
Damcheong felt slightly puzzled.
The destruction beams Seoran had developed—that is, the imperceptible invisible rays—were excessively powerful even among neutral spells.
They collapsed the target the instant they fired, so the unaware died without a chance to react.
If one had to nitpick, the drawback was their finicky activation conditions.
Immense spiritual power from a gold core larger than a Ye-ui Pearl.
Proficiency in consciousness division to manipulate thousands of clones.
Finally, a heaven-bestowed aptitude for spiritual power control.
One had to fulfill all three grueling conditions.
Even Damcheong, a spirit beast over a millennium old, had barely met the spiritual power one.
He could fire destruction beams, but with slow recharge and abysmal accuracy.
People commonly dubbed such things "custom spells."
Damcheong asked, just in case.
"Don't tell me destruction beam activation has gotten easier?"
"No, the range has increased."
"I see..."
Seoran chattered excitedly.
Something about structural stability, atmospheric diffusion interference.
In summary, long live luminous amethyst quartz.
Damcheong nodded vaguely.
"Hmm, I see. What an incredible discovery."
"Exactly. Now sniping with destruction beams is viable. Pouring unilateral fire from beyond the enemy's perceptual range—you couldn't lose even if you tried."
"Oh... Any other functions?"
The reception wasn't great.
In a slightly deflated tone, Seoran said.
"Well, flight functions and chorus functions, too."
"Chorus? I'm curious—let's hear it."
"Yes..."
Seoran sent a signal.
The ten Ja-an-hyo began to hoot.
They varied their pitches to weave in harmonies.
The tune they sang was a plain old folk song from Liang Kingdom.
It was a midsummer night's concert, performed by owl puppets under the baton of Maestro Ryu Seoran.
*****
Two days later, Yi Agum visited Seoran's estate.
And she muttered despite herself.
"What now?"
Man-sized owl puppets stood endlessly along the estate walls.
Every one wore a cute eye-smile.
They appeared to be newly made puppets.
Upon passing through the gate, the interior was much the same.
The courtyard left no room to step amid the owl puppets.
Yi Agum weaved deftly around the obstacles.
Then she spotted something strange.
Every owl puppet was staring at Yi Agum.
Shift sideways a bit, and their gazes followed.
Some had necks twisted halfway around.
Timider than she looked, Yi Agum shouted at the top of her lungs.
"Sister, I'm here! Sister! Come out quick!"
Seoran, in the puppet workshop, heard and emerged.
"Agum, what's wrong?"
Yi Agum pointed at the Ja-an-hyo Legion as she said.
"No, their heads are... the owls' heads toward me..."
"The puppets' gazes are locked on you?"
"Yeah! That's exactly it!"
Seoran said nonchalantly.
"You stepped in the flower bed, that's why. It's just a warning—zero danger."
Only then did Yi Agum check her feet.
A few flowers lay crushed.
Once she stepped out of the flower bed, the gazes vanished.
Having aged ten years in an instant, Yi Agum asked.
"Why add a function like that?"
"Uh... just because?"
There was no particular reason.