Chapter 394: Wow, I Like Milk. Grow Tall. Strong Bones.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 394: Wow, I Like Milk. Grow Tall. Strong Bones.
On his way back to his quarters, the Elf King let out a hollow laugh as he recalled the bluster that had come from his respected teacher’s mouth.
“Honestly, Teacher. Does he still think of me as a child? I’m long past the age of trembling at scary stories.”
Even when he was young, the Elder used to try to control his behavior by telling him frightening tales intended to make him cower.
Well, if that fellow actually managed to enter the Fairy Forest, it would be for the best.
Once the elven troops rescued them after they had suffered enough, his teacher would no longer have any excuses.
The Fairy Forest was a place where fairies played cruel pranks, and occasionally, even high-tier species like Ents appeared.
And though his teacher might not know it, a ‘monster’ had recently appeared that even the elves couldn’t handle, and it was currently claiming victims. What could a mere human, unfamiliar with the forest, possibly do?
“There will be no problems.”
In the unlikely event that the human managed to take out that nuisance and die in the process, it would be ideal, but that was probably asking for too much.
* * *
[Graaaa…!]
A massive roar shook the Fairy Forest.
At the cry of the giant monster that had recently reigned as king over the surrounding area, the inhabitants of the Fairy Forest held their breath and hid.
The violent predator considered everything other than itself to be prey, boasting an appetite that led it to devour anything that caught its eye.
The fear that they might be the next meal if they were spotted paralyzed them.
Its toxicity was fatal upon contact, its massive size was threatening, and its eyes—which watched with enjoyment as it ate its prey alive—seemed to instill a realization in all other creatures that they were nothing more than food.
It was when the predator’s second roar echoed that they began to feel a sense of confusion.
[Gr…a…! G…!]
“Shut up. Be quiet.”
At the sound of the gasping, which was different from usual and sounded as if the creature were in pain, the inhabitants overcame their fear. They lifted their heads to look at the predator that had terrorized them.
Its hide was torn as if it had been hacked to pieces, and shattered scales were scattered all around. Its eyes, which had always been full of confidence and sadism, were now wavering between wariness and terror.
At first, the sight was so unfamiliar that most of them wondered if they were dreaming.
Who? What kind of monster had appeared to reduce that beast to such a state?
The new predator that had begun hunting the old one was small.
It was a boy so small that one might mistakenly think he wasn’t threatening at all.
[Graaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]
Was it because it couldn’t believe it was being bested by such an opponent?
The black serpent roared as if trying to shake off its fear.
It had to scream louder, even louder.
To deny the emotions it was experiencing for the first time in its life, and to win this fight.
Its roar had always made its prey cower, and there was nothing easier to deal with than cowering prey.
The Ents of the forest, the giant tigers that opposed it, the horned horses—all had succumbed before this roar.
“I said, shut up.”
However, the scream it let out to dispel the encroaching fear and embolden itself only had the opposite effect.
Blades of shadow rose up and pierced the serpent’s roaring maw, and one side of its forked tongue was sliced off.
“Don’t you understand?”
Its bodily fluids, which had melted all other living creatures, were purified into transparent water the moment the boy reached out his hand. Even when it tried to engage in physical combat, it couldn’t get close because of the shadows.
With no options left, it wanted to flee, but there was no way escape was possible.
The serpent could do nothing but cry out sorrowfully.
In the face of pain and terror it was feeling for the first time, its pride as the prince of the forest had already vanished, and the self-esteem it held as a reigning predator had long since been ground into the dirt.
I shouldn’t have touched him.
The problem was that it had picked a fight, thinking a new toy had appeared.
“Because of you, my Ugly Noona got scared and tripped. How are you going to take responsibility for that?”
If it had known such a monster was mixed in with the group, it never would have touched them…!
“So-hyun. I’m okay. And you shouldn’t bully it too much.”
Surprisingly, the human it had first lunged at began to speak up for it.
[Gra…?]
“If you bully it more, the leather and materials will all be ruined. Considering what we’ll get from it, let’s send it off without any more pain.”
But as they say, hope only makes despair feel colder; she wasn’t worried about its well-being.
The little monster, perhaps not yet finished bullying it, pouted his lips and looked over.
If it begged for its life, would he spare…
“You’re lucky.”
Thump! With the sensation of something hard falling onto its head, the ‘Nidhogg’s Kin’—a High-Rank Species that had briefly plunged the Fairy Forest into chaos—met its end.
* * *
“…Wow, its head is completely smashed.”
“Maybe it’s because he’s younger, but our Junior is actually more relentless.”
At the words of Baek Seol and Ha-ru, who were roughly processing the materials, everyone looked at the shrunken Kang So-hyun.
The small child, who had torn apart a High-Rank Species monster—rated even higher than a high-tier species—with a strength that didn’t match his appearance at all, had hilariously turned quite timid, like a child afraid he was about to be scolded.
The gap between the way he had just shredded a monster like a toy and the way he looked now—like a boy of his apparent age—was immense. However, the boy didn’t seem particularly interested in how those around him viewed him.
“Ugly Noona. Are you really mad because I bullied that thing?”
“Huh? Oh, no. Noona isn’t that mad~?”
To be precise, it was more a question of whether anyone here would dare to get angry at him when they didn’t know how he might react, but in reality, Kim Ga-eul wasn’t particularly angry.
“I did it because it seemed like Noona was really startled… If you don’t like it, I won’t do it anymore.”
“…No, actually, I think I kind of like it?”
“Ga-eul…”
“A-ah, no. Ha-ni—I mean, Han-hee. It’s just, we haven’t seen So-hyun act like this much…! Honestly, you’re enjoying it too!”
“…I haven’t even said anything yet. Why are you getting so defensive? Anyway, he seems anxious because he’s young, so hurry up and tell him it’s okay. So-hyun looks like he’s about to cry.”
“So-hyun, Noona is really okay~! I’m not mad, I just thought it was a waste!”
“…Yeah, that’s a relief. Seo-ha told me.”
“Hmm? Seo-ha?”
“Yeah. She said a cool man is someone who comforts a woman when she’s startled and fights in her place.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yeah. Oh, but she also told me not to do that for anyone else but her…”
After thinking for a moment, the boy grinned and covered his mouth with his index finger as if it were a secret.
“Since it seems like Ugly Noona will become as close to me as Seo-ha is, I’ll protect you behind Seo-ha’s back. It’s a promise.”
That smile was so far from what one would expect from a child that Kim Ga-eul finally voiced what most of them were thinking.
“So-hyun, you actually have all your memories, don’t you…?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The boy only tilted his head, acting as if he didn’t understand.
* * *
As it grew late and they began to set up camp, Kang Ha-ni felt a strange sense of envy as she watched Kang So-hyun playing while sitting on Cathy’s lap.
“So-hyun, shall we eat this too?”
“Yes. I’d love to, Professor.”
Seeing him happily accept snacks and smile as if they were delicious made her want to try it too.
However, there was a reason she couldn’t bring herself to attempt it.
Strangely, for a while now, whenever So-hyun came close, her chest felt a bit heavy—or rather, she felt a stifling sensation.
“So, So-hyun. This is a bit embarrassing for me.”
“Hmm, I ate everything you gave me, Professor. Why won’t you eat what I’m giving you?”
“I-it’s not that, it’s just the position is a bit…”
…While she was lost in thought for a moment, So-hyun was stroking the head of Professor Cathy, who was kneeling, and feeding her a chocolate bar.
“Hya…! So-hyun! The ears on my head are a bit sensitive!?”
“But they’re twitchy and cute.”
“I-is that so? Still, just a little…!”
“They’re cute, so I want to keep touching them. Can’t I?”
“I-it’s not that you can’t. Just a bit more gently…”
“But you seem to like it when I touch here? I think your ears want to be touched more.”
“I-it does feel goooood, buuut…!”
…No, what exactly is this situation? How did it turn into this just because she looked away for a second?
As she stared blankly at the scene, her eyes met So-hyun’s, who was playing with the professor.
Come to think of it, she hadn’t heard what So-hyun would call her yet.
Ga-eul was ‘Ugly Noona.’ Professor Cathy was ‘Professor,’ and Professor Park A-ram was supposedly called ‘Little Witch.’
After pondering for a moment, he released Professor Cathy and trotted over to hand her a chocolate bar.
“Hmm…? Is this for me?”
“Yeah. Weren’t you watching because you wanted to eat this?”
…What is this? This adorable creature.
“…Ugh!”
There it was again.
The moment she thought So-hyun was cute, her chest throbbed, and that strangely stifling feeling grew stronger.
…She had thought she was the only one who hadn’t changed since entering the Fairy Forest, but had some kind of problem actually developed?
“…Hmm?”
But So-hyun, tilting his head as if something were strange, approached her and began to sniff.
…No, don’t do that. She hadn’t even been able to shower. Her body odor probably wasn’t strong, but she didn’t smell like flowers like he did.
“Noona, you smell like milk.”
“…Huh?”
…Milk? Did he just say milk? Was that a compliment? More importantly, at least he recognized she was a woman.
The moment she hugged him as he naturally spread his arms, the throbbing sensation grew even stronger. Yet, seeing him acting spoiled with such a peaceful expression, she didn’t feel like letting go.
“It’s cozy. I like the Professor, but I like Noona too.”
“Ah, um. Look, So-hyun. Right now, Noona is hiding the fact that she’s a woman for certain reasons, okay?”
…Actually, in this group, more people knew than didn’t, but still, Lilac and Cheon Yu-hak didn’t know.
“Hmm, really? Then what’s Noona’s name?”
“Oh? Kang Ha-ni…”
“Then is it okay if I call you Ha-ni?”
…No, has he always smiled with his eyes like this? Or was it a habit that remained even after he shrank?
Ugh. No, seriously, what is this? It’s hurting to the point where it’s hard to ignore now.
Perhaps because she had reflexively frowned.
Noticing that her condition was strange, So-hyun reached out and touched her forehead.
“Ha-ni, are you okay?”
…Oh, she thought it would be nothing since he was smaller than usual, but thinking of him as So-hyun made her feel a bit embarrassed.
“Don’t be sick.”
Seeing him look at her with such genuine sadness felt unnecessarily cute, but the stifling feeling only grew stronger the more she felt that way.
“Oh, right.”
“Hmm?”
And then, she received a sudden kiss on the cheek.
“Seo-ha said that if you do this when someone is hurting, they’ll feel better. Do you feel a bit better, Ha-ni?”
Perhaps because she was startled by the sudden surprise, the tension in her body vanished in an instant.
“Ah.”
Feeling a strangely damp sensation, she looked down and realized the bandages wrapped around her chest were wet.
…No way. It couldn’t be that.
Even if the fairies were playing pranks, could this actually be possible?
“Hmm? The milk smell. It got stronger. I like it.”
…Seriously?
Whether he knew her heart was in turmoil or not, he burrowed deeper into her arms, saying he liked the smell of milk.
Why did she get the feeling that she might be the one who had undergone the biggest change among the group?