Chapter 108
Chapter 108
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: Episode 36. In Search of a Dream (2)
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Morning. Yoo Ji-tae pulled the pocket watch from his pocket.
This time, it was quick.
But wrong, buddy.
The current time was 8:59 AM.
There was still one minute until 9:00. And that one minute was incredibly important. Every morning at 9 AM sharp, the daily training tasks refreshed.
As always, Yoo Ji-tae accessed the Intramural Competition app and checked the day's assignments.
1. Clear C+ Grade Dungeon: Valley of Despair (5 players)
Points: 10
2. Explore the Five Points in Northern Hate Ling (2 players)
Points: 8
3. Craft a Level 1 Artifact (1 player)
Points: 80
...There were no high-point tasks.
The highest was artifact crafting, but that wasn't a one- or two-day job. And it wasn't something Yeoreum could handle either.
At this rate, winning spars would be better than grinding tasks.
Yoo Ji-tae took off his watch. Then he turned his gaze to the spot next to him on the sofa.
At some point, Bom was lying there, staring blankly.
"You really not going?"
"To class? I have a free period today."
"You don't."
"Hehe."
Lying had become her daily routine now. But it wasn't annoying enough to call her out on it.
That day, Gaeul also had a morning free period. "Unni! Unni! Unni!" Gaeul came running, wrapping Winter in a big hug. Winter was smiling, clutching the chick—which was about the size of a basketball—to her chest.
"Unni, what's that picture?"
Gaeul pointed at the wall. Next to the picture Winter had drawn (big-headed prince and the Yoo family) was the one Yoo Ji-tae and Bom had painted together.
The name on the picture was 'Salvation'. Bom had suddenly stuck it on there, insisting it wasn't really 'Apocalypse' like Yoo Ji-tae had said.
"Ajusshi and I drew it yesterday."
"Huh? You and Ajusshi drew a picture together?"
"Yeah."
"What about us, Ajusshi?"
"..."
"Draw one with us too, please."
"...!"
As Gaeul protested, Winter nodded vigorously with a serious face. Even the clueless chick nodded along.
Bom laughed at the sight.
"You guys are hilarious. What're you doing? All three of you?"
"Yeah, this? Choo-choo train! Wanna join, Unni?"
Soon, Bom grabbed Gaeul by the waist and hoisted her up.
That made it a chain: Bom holding Gaeul, Gaeul holding Winter, Winter holding the chick.
Bom lumbered around the living room with grunts. It seemed less about weight and more about the awkward position. Gaeul and Winter, held by Bom, burst into giggles.
"Ajusshi."
"Yeah."
"You come too, Ajusshi!"
"...Huh?"
"Do choo-choo train with us!"
"...!"
Winter waved her hands. She apparently wanted to add another layer to that bizarre human tower.
Yoo Ji-tae had no choice but to stand. He approached them.
Grab Bom's waist and lift, I guess.
That's when his eyes met Bom's as she slyly turned her head. Gone was her usual sullen expression. She looked at him with slightly tense eyes.
As he tentatively reached for her waist, her eyes—which had been locked on his—gained even more tension. Her somewhat downcast gaze slyly avoided his.
What's with her.
The regressor's mind had two analyzers: the 'Bom analyzer' and the 'Winter analyzer'.
Yoo Ji-tae plugged the situation into his mental Bom analyzer.
Too close? Yes. Unnecessarily so.
Quiet and gloomy atmosphere? Not really. Gaeul and Winter were belting out some nonsense song like little demons.
Maybe he misread it. As he touched her waist, her lips twitched faintly. She seemed to dislike it.
Maybe Bom just didn't like physical contact like this. Fine if she initiated, but not from others.
In any case, wanting only good memories for the dragons, Yoo Ji-tae pulled his hand back. He turned and headed to the sofa.
So he didn't notice Bom staring at his back, her gaze dropping as he walked away.
Meanwhile, the guardian glanced this way.
What're you looking at.
Afternoon. Gaeul was at class, and Winter was napping.
Yoo Ji-tae asked Bom, who had skipped class again today.
"Does drawing suit you at all?"
Bom shook her head at his question.
"It was okay. Fun, but... I didn't feel satisfied with having drawn it."
"What was the problem."
"Hm..." Bom pondered, then shook her head.
"Just doesn't fit me. Feels like I have no talent either."
"Talent?"
"Truth is, if I drew the image in my head as is, I feel like I could draw better?"
"...?"
Bom's drawings had always been a mess in his past regressions, so it was baffling as a regressor.
Misreading it as doubt, Bom's eyes widened.
"Why? I could draw better."
She started sketching in her notebook with a pencil.
The subject was the guardian sleeping like a statue against the living room wall.
"Hm... like this, like this..."
Surprisingly, Bom was telling the truth. As she drew realistically, the intricate, ornate helmet of the magic armor came out like a photo in the notebook.
"How's that?"
"You're good. Why didn't you draw like this yesterday."
"Dunno. Just... didn't feel like drawing it this way..."
Her expression was complicated, so Yoo Ji-tae didn't pry.
One thing was clear, though. The things she'd tried and failed at—drawing, sculpting, novels.
The reason drawing failed: she didn't want to draw pretty pictures.
"So what're we doing today then?"
Next up: sculpting.
The spring breeze was warm. The spring sunlight was clear.
The Lair's 'Production District'. Here, academy city residents could use facilities for cooking, metallurgy, art, fishing, alchemy, sculpting, music, and all sorts of production and arts.
Yoo Ji-tae bought a wood block for sculpting and carving knives here.
"Ever sculpted before?"
"Nope."
"Me neither. But why sculpting specifically?"
"Why."
"It's so unfamiliar."
It was something even he wondered about.
Why had she been carving statues in Europe, of all things.
Impossible to know now.
Every time he tried to buy just one at the shop, Bom added another. Her shameless face didn't change—she was determined not to do it alone.
They returned home and headed to the terrace.
"Whatcha gonna make."
"Hm... What about you, Ajusshi?"
The manual they'd bought together recommended easy ones like fish or rabbits for beginners.
"When you don't know, why not follow instructions? You do fish. I'll do rabbit."
"Sure."
Yoo Ji-tae and Bom sat blankly and started working as shown in the manual. Mark the cuts with a marker on the wood block and carve. Since both could infuse mana into objects, the hard wood shaved off like tofu.
Scrape, scrape.
Chunks fell from the wood block. Gradually, the fish took shape. Sleek body following the head. Round eyes and gills. Scales formed. Easy if you followed the manual.
Scrape, scrape.
He occasionally glanced at Bom's rabbit. Head emerging along the ears. Neck folding in, plump body. Cute round tail. Deep in concentration, her hair got in the way. She swept her grass-green side locks behind her ear.
Scrape, scrape.
The silence lasted over an hour before Bom broke it.
"It's so quiet."
"Class time."
The residential district was eerily quiet. Their carving sounds rang out a bit louder because of it.
"I like it this quiet."
"Yeah."
"Don't you? My voice is soft, so it doesn't carry in noisy places."
"..."
"What about you, Ajusshi?"
"Me... Doesn't matter if it's noisy or quiet."
"Even if your words don't get through?"
"Then don't talk."
"Convenient."
"Are all Green Dragons as quiet as you?"
"No. Most are pretty chatty."
"Really?"
"Dragons of Ascalifa are all talkative except the Blue Clan. I'm just the quiet type."
A chatty Green Dragon.
Hard to picture. The Green Dragon in his memories was always quiet.
"That's why I'm asking now that it's quiet today..."
"Yeah."
"Ajusshi..."
"Yeah."
"Why'd you stop the choo-choo train?"
She was still meticulously carving with her small hands. Now expressing the fur texture.
He started on the fish's fins.
"Why? You looked like you hated it."
"Why'd you think that?"
"Your face showed it."
The gentle conversation continued.
"You can read my expressions, Ajusshi?"
"We've lived together half a year."
"Yeah."
"Gotta know by now."
"..."
Bom blanked out, as if pondering something.
"What's up."
"Is half a year still short for relationships?"
"Dunno. Probably not short."
For people living together, it might even be quite long.
"Then why don't you know?"
"Know what."
"I wasn't hating it earlier."
His hand stopped dead.
He slowly looked up. Grass-green eyes stared back at him.
That expression again. Impossible to read what was in her head.
"..."
"..."
Scrape...
As Yoo Ji-tae resumed carving in the silence.
Bom's voice came.
"Weren't you the uncomfortable one, Ajusshi?"
"What're you talking about."
"Why? You get embarrassed easily."
She had no idea.
He'd simply lost most interest in women through repeated regressions. In the first couple loops, he'd had plenty of experience. After, he'd mercilessly dominated with fear when needed.
No reason to explain, so he stopped responding.
Bom spoke up.
"Right?"
"No."
"You are."
"I'm not."
"You totally are."
"..."
"If not, prove it."
"...What?"
"Do choo-choo train with me."
Her face was still expressionless. He ran it through his mental Bom analyzer. Surroundings. Her expression. Distance between them. And past events with this tone, their outcomes.
She was clearly teasing.
She knew he'd be the one embarrassed if he grabbed her waist. Probably ready to burst out laughing behind that blank face.
He didn't hate the teasing. But he wondered if indulging was right.
"Bom."
After complicated thoughts, he decided on a wall.
"I always do what you want, say I'll protect you guys. Makes you think I'm a pushover."
"Yeah."
"Remember what I said when we first met."
"...That you're not a good person?"
"Right. Saying it again. I'm not that good."
"..."
"Might be way worse than you think. Even Green Dragons can't know everything."
"No."
"Enough. You're smart—you get what I mean. Don't think everyone's good just 'cause they're nice to you. Wherever you go, whoever you meet. Got it?"
"..."
He wished only good memories for them, but hoped for some walls too.
Was she disappointed? Maybe. But not enough to shake her life. She'd been stable through worse.
"No. Doesn't matter if you're bad or not. So what if others think you're bad?"
But contrary to his worries, Bom spoke nonchalantly.
"Just be good to me. That's enough."