Chapter 90
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Translator: MJK
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: Is That a Chicken?
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After finishing my conversation with Riu, Xiao Lin returned to the room.
Now, only her tear-choked voice echoed inside.
"Riu! Are you really going to make that choice?"
Xiao Lin grabbed Riu's shoulders and clung to her desperately.
"How could you? Do you have any idea what I've been through these past three years trying to save you? And now that you've finally woken up, you're talking about dying?"
But Riu gently wrapped her hands around Xiao Lin's instead.
It was hard to believe she'd only just awakened after three years—she was astonishingly calm.
"Lin, calm down. This is my choice. Just like three years ago. If this is my fate, then I have to accept it."
"Riu!"
There was no stopping Riu's decision.
The key to all this was Riu's own will.
No matter how many methods I offered, if the owner herself had no desire to live, no elixir or secret art in the world could help.
Besides, Riu was the seed's current host.
'Whatever purpose that seed has, it chose Riu of its own accord.'
That immense power had taken root in her body.
It couldn't be mere coincidence.
It meant Riu's soul or temperament resonated with the seed somehow.
So if she chose to give up on life, extracting it might not go smoothly.
"I'm trying to make the right choice."
Conviction burned in Riu's eyes.
A tragic conviction that the world would be safe only if she vanished.
But on the face I faced, there was no sense of duty—just an eerily dry tranquility, as if she saw her own death as her sole refuge.
'If it were just a sense of duty, I could tell her there are other ways.'
No, if she truly wanted to live, she would've asked me already.
Most people would grasp at any straw and search for alternatives.
'A saintess's spirit of sacrifice?'
That might be part of it, but her unnaturally detached demeanor couldn't be explained by sacrifice alone.
It was suspicious for someone who'd miraculously opened her eyes after three years to show zero attachment to life.
"But Riu, we still don't fully know what that seed is."
"No, I'm certain it's a cursed seed."
Riu shook her head firmly.
"I can feel it—the ominous, destructive energy growing inside me as time passes. This... it's a calamity that should never see the light of day."
Riu saw the power consuming her body as pure evil.
"About that seed."
Riu and Lin both turned to me at my words.
"From what I could see, it's a bit different."
"What?"
"Three years ago, Riu closed off her consciousness and sank into the abyss."
"Yes."
"That seed is what kept her life force from fully extinguishing back then."
"What?"
"You must have felt it too, Riu."
"N-No way..."
She tried to deny it, but doubt crept into her voice.
I figured Riu would've sensed that strange warmth enveloping her in the darkness, keeping her from freezing to death.
"I'm not saying the seed is safe. But at least, it doesn't seem intent on letting you die."
"......"
"There's still so much we don't understand about it. That's why I'd like you to come to Korea at least once, so we can figure it out properly. What do you say?"
My suggestion made Riu's eyes waver.
It was a choice before life or death—a chance to face the truth.
Enough to stir any healer's curiosity.
"But... is that even possible? The Chinese government must know I've awakened by now. They planted surveillance magic in my body."
"I know."
I answered matter-of-factly.
"I didn't block it on purpose."
"What?!"
Xiao Lin, listening beside us, cried out.
She probably hadn't even realized it was there, so my choice not to block it shocked her.
"By now, the Hunter Management Bureau's situation room in China is in chaos. An S-rank hunter who was basically a vegetable suddenly has normal vitals."
China was likely panicking over Riu's awakening itself.
Dreading the seed's rampage, they couldn't rashly send in forces, yet they couldn't leave her alone either—a dilemma.
One thing was certain: they wanted their uncontrollable time bomb gone as soon as possible.
"We can't extract you the normal way anyway. They'd prefer your death over your survival for safety's sake."
"......Yeah, they would. They always have."
Xiao Lin said worriedly.
"The problem is transportation. The road to the airport will be crawling with security, and scrolls would definitely get detected."
"That's why we need your ability, Lin."
"My ability?"
"You can compress gravity to an extreme and gather it in one spot, right?"
"Uh? Possible, but you're saying we'll use that to travel?"
"Yes."
"That's only theoretically feasible..."
"With your mana reserves, it's more than possible. Just a slight variation. Crush the surrounding space with gravity to create a isolated gap severed from the outside."
I pulled an old scroll from my pocket and held it out.
"If you warp space with gravity to make the gap, we can slip through the surveillance net and move instantly."
Xiao Lin's jaw dropped.
"How... do you even know about that?"
She stared in disbelief.
"That's an idea that requires perfect understanding of physical laws and mana essence."
"I read every book in the library that day."
"......Ha."
Xiao Lin let out a hollow laugh.
Her eyes screamed it was impossible.
She clearly didn't believe I'd actually read them all.
"But there's still a problem. Even if I distort gravity, I can't fix the coordinates. The warped space might dump us somewhere random."
"This will handle that. I promise—no worries."
I handed her the scroll, faintly dusted with flower pollen.
"Alright... I'll do it. No, I will make it work."
"I'll head back first, prepare, and contact you. It won't take long—stand by."
They already knew I was coming and going here.
No need to hide—I'd stroll out the front gate boldly.
Time was short if I wanted to prep for guests.
Back home, the trip had taken less than half a day.
"Oppa, you're back?"
Stepping inside, So-ye waved happily from the porch where she was doing homework.
The family lounged peacefully in the yard, napping or playing in the dirt.
"So-ye, we have guests coming over."
"Guests? Who?"
"Sisters from China. One's really sick, so she'll rest here at our house."
At "sick," So-ye's eyes widened.
Having been ill herself for so long, worry spread across her face instantly.
"Really sick?"
"Yeah, so oppa's prepping a room."
I headed to the small room attached to the annex—currently a storage shed.
It was piled with miscellany from Dang-geun-tap trades and Valhalla deliveries.
Creak—
Opening the door unleashed a cloud of dust, revealing stacks of boxes ready to topple.
The first thing that caught my eye was the hefty metal machine dominating one corner.
"Oh? This thing..."
Brushing off the dust revealed its sleek silver body.
"Right, this was here."
Yu Seo-jin had sent it over before.
Back then, garden crops grew and sold so fast I hadn't needed it and stashed it away.
"Perfect timing now."
I fetched a basket of harvested lychees from the garden.
True to its name, the [Forgotten Fruit Tree] hadn't borne fruit once since that first bountiful day—not even from the seeds.
"This'll go in here."
I stored the fridge in my inventory, moved it to the cafe, then filled it neatly with the remaining lychees.
"Now for the rest."
I started sorting the room's contents in earnest.
Quite a few useful items emerged from the dust piles.
I placed the bed in the sunny center of the room.
Set the table beside it.
Didn't forget the little knick-knacks.
"Perfect. This'll do nicely."
The cluttered storage had transformed into a cozy, comfortable guest room.
After watching the broom set finish cleaning, I gathered the family in the yard.
"Everyone, listen up!"
-Hmuht?
"Ppoeng?"
"Kkiyot?"
"Kkokkok?"
"Osot?"
Muryong, Hasuo, Gorani, the chicken, and the badger.
They clustered together, looking up at me.
"New guests are coming to our house soon. No freaking out—be good, got it?"
They nodded or chirped in agreement, each in their own way.
"Now..."
Final step.
To safely bring them from China, I needed fixed coordinates.
I approached the Disaster Flower in the garden corner.
"Disaster Flower."
Flutterflutter!
It shivered like aspen leaves at my call.
Like a private snapping to attention for the division commander.
Maybe from all the bed-warming for Muryong lately, it seemed more attuned to my moods.
"Relax. Open a door over there. No motion sickness, nice and safe."
The flower bobbed its bud vigorously, as if replying.
Then it exhaled red energy, constructing a stable dimensional passage in the air.
Vrrr—
Space rippled gently.
'Simple principle.'
The Disaster Flower was a natural predator born devouring space and dimensions.
Connecting spaces was as instinctive and easy for it as opening a door for us.
It precisely located its own pollen and bridged the space smoothly.
Shoooo—
The monster that once plunged nations into disaster-level terror.
Had become our household garden's personal dimension shuttle.
"......Huh?"
Xiao Lin blinked awake, staring blankly around.
Just moments ago, they'd been home—now a serene rural landscape unfolded.
Crickets chirping, crisp air laced with earth scent...
"Where...?"
"Welcome."
I approached with a greeting, startling Xiao Lin and the supported Riu.
"Gorani-man? We already arrived?"
"Yes. Right on target."
"No way... Scroll travel can be this comfy? Zero motion sickness."
Xiao Lin marveled in disbelief.
Normal inter-country scrolls tore space forcibly, leaving rollercoaster aftereffects.
But the Disaster Flower's path felt like stepping to the next room.
"Cough..."
Then Riu, leaning on Xiao Lin, laboriously lifted her head.
Her face was still pale from incomplete recovery, but her eyes scanned sharply—a healer's instinct.
"The energy here... so pure. Like another world."
Riu's gaze shifted to the animals gathered in the yard.
Muryong, Hasuo, Gorani, and the badger eyeing the guests curiously.
"Not one ordinary. Legendary spirit beasts all in one place..."
And then.
"......?"
Her eyes locked on one spot, quaking like an earthquake.
"Wh-what's that bird...?"
Riu pointed a trembling finger at the chicken coop roof.
There stood the majestic chicken, Kkokko.
"Why? Scared of chickens?"
"No, it's not..."
Riu swallowed dryly.
"That's a chicken?"
"Yep."
I replied casually.
But Riu didn't buy it.
She stared like it'd invented life itself.
"That chicken... what is it?"