Chapter 32
Chapter 32
"Uh... Mister? Do you have food for this little guy?"
"Of course! We have everything from low-grade to highest-grade. Which one would you like to choose?"
There were two main reasons why people in the Ruined Game era called travel pets 'Jegiral'.
One was because the probability rates were absolute shit.
The other was...
"G-give me one... highest-grade..."
"Ahahaha, as expected of the Owner-nim!! I'll bring it out right away! The price is 100 tubs, but I'll give you a discount for 90 tubs!"
The price of the feed was insane.
According to the pet system, even if it only eats one meal a day, that's 90 tubs a day.
That means 2,700 tubs a month go down the drain for that little guy's food bill.
The man walked into the warehouse with a bright smile and came back holding a can the size of a fist.
'If it were a low-grade pet, I could just feed it low-grade food... but since a flying species came out, I have no choice... Dammit.'
"Here you go!"
The man was happy that expensive feed had finally sold after a long time, and I smiled bitterly, shook his hand, and proceeded with the transaction.
Sigh... I'm going to have to... earn more money...
I returned to the bird, which was looking at me with bright, sparkling eyes.
Click!
As soon as I opened the can, a delicious smell that was enough to make one feel ecstatic just by sniffing it filled the trading post.
Gulp...
As expected of a 100-tub can... Even as a human, I want to eat it...
Kyang!! Kyaang!
Well, look at this? Does it know it's its food and is asking for it?
It was definitely a money-eating hippo, but it would be worth that much...
With trembling hands, I placed the can in front of the little bird, and it chirped happily, then shoved its head into the can and started eating ravenously.
"Sigh... Yeah, eat up."
I stroked the head of the bird that was eating like crazy, but
Kyaang!!
It screeched at me as if telling me not to touch it while it was eating.
This little bastard has a nasty temper...
The food you're eating, I bought with my money, you little shit!
As I was bickering with the bird, Eunmi sat down next to me.
"It's cute... Is it Geumseul-ssi's pet?"
"Uh... simply put, yes, it's a pet."
Eunmi must have found the bird eating so diligently cute, as she carefully stroked its head,
Kyaang~
This little bastard?!
It showed a completely different reaction than when I stroked it.
'This guy is 100% male...'
When I looked at it with a displeased expression, Eunmi looked at me and asked.
"So, what are you going to name this friend?"
A name, huh...
"Hmm... jet-black feathers... bird... crow...?"
Keureung!!
The little guy seemed annoyed by my naming and took an attacking stance toward me.
Hey, you can't attack me anyway because you're my pet, you know?!
Eunmi watched the two of us and laughed awkwardly,
"Hoho... It doesn't seem to like it."
"I guess so. Hmm... what should I name it..."
While I was agonizing over it, the little guy cleaned out the contents of the can, which was larger than its own body,
Kyang!
Huh? It can fly?
It flapped its wings and landed on my head.
Kyaang~
Perhaps it was using the newborn special 'eat and sleep', as it opened its mouth to yawn, and started to sleep, breathing steadily.
"Wow, it really does whatever it wants..."
Even back in the Ruined Game days, pets all used different AIs, giving the feeling of raising an actual animal, but this guy is a completely living creature...?
"Well... since it's black, I'll just name it Kkamang-i."
I opened the system and pressed the newly flashing red box,
[Would you like to register My Pet?]
[Confirm] [Decline]
I pressed the confirm button.
Then, an interface appeared in front of my eyes asking me to enter its name.
"Alright... the name is... Kkamang-i..."
When I pressed the confirm button floating in the air, a new window popped up.
[My Pet]
Name : Kkamang-i
Level : 4
Free Points : 3
Health+3 / Agility+1 / Stamina+1
[Skills]
[P] Flight : Can fly in the sky.
[P] Intimidation : Inflicts fear on enemies of a lower level than itself.
[A] King of the Sky : Summons subordinates. [The higher the Dominance stat, the stronger the subordinates.]
"Wow..."
For a travel pet without attack functions to level up, food was important, and the reason I bit the bullet and chose the highest-grade food was that the experience points and random stats gained varied depending on the grade.
The highest-grade food provided 5 random stats, which is why, even though it was just born, it had points in Health, Agility, and Stamina.
'Anyway, this guy was a King-grade pet... That's huge.'
The King skill was an incredible skill that allowed it to summon attackable subordinates even though it was a travel pet, helping in battle.
"Heh heh... I'm going to have to raise this guy well..."
I was annoyed by the cheeky attitude it showed just a moment ago, but after seeing the stat window, it became so adorable.
I really am jaded by the secular world...
So what! To survive in this harsh world, I had to do whatever it took.
"Thanks to you, I got a good one. Thank you. I'll head to the blacksmith now."
"Haha, I'm glad I could help! I'll be waiting for the Owner-nim's next visit, hahahaha."
--
Starting with the trading post, I finished looking around the blacksmith and even the magic shop.
"Earning money is really hard, but spending it happens in an instant..."
I had definitely entered the village giggling at the sight of 10,000 tubs, but after visiting just three shops, I had less than 4,000 tubs of Peanut Butter left.
"My salary doesn't go up, but the prices are insane... Sigh..."
However, as much as I spent, my appearance was flashy compared to before.
First, I purchased leather armor and a helmet to protect my body at the blacksmith, and at the magic shop, I purchased a detection magic tool and a long-range defense magic tool.
"I'm satisfied because my safety has increased by that much, but...."
'I need to earn more money because I have to get gear for Ha-rang-ssi next time...'
"Ah, Eunmi-nuna, you worked hard today."
I spoke to the nuna who had been following me around all day without saying much.
"It's nothing... Uh... It was nice to be able to see so many amazing things."
"Then I'm glad."
Looking at the sky, the sun was setting, and while I might be fine alone, the risk of traveling at night with Eunmi was too high.
I'll have to stay the night in this village today...
"Eunmi-nuna, sleep at my place tonight, and let's decide what to do tomorrow."
"Ah... okay..."
I turned around and headed to the residential area where my house was, and Eunmi slowly followed behind me.
--
I opened the door to my house and went in, familiar with the routine, and
Ah...
I remembered that I hadn't cleaned up after my wild sex with Ha-rang last night.
I hadn't just done it on the bed; I had carried her around while she was passed out and enjoyed sex here and there...
"Ahahahaha... T-the house is a little... d-dirty, right?"
Condoms filled with semen were discarded everywhere.
As soon as she entered, Eunmi blushed at the traces of the affair, not to mention the semen scattered throughout the house.
"G-Geumseul-ssi... you and your wife... must have been... very compatible... And... your stamina is... excellent..."
"Aha... y-yes... right... W-wait a second!!"
I took out the chives that give an agility buff from my inventory and chewed them,
Bang!! Screech screech!!
Flap flap! Swish swish!
and started cleaning the house at high speed.
Kyaang.. Keureung..
Kkamang-i, who was sleeping soundly on my head, flew toward the sofa in a huff,
Kyaaaaang...
and after a long yawn, fell back asleep.
Eunmi seemed flustered by my fast movements, turning her head back and forth, following me with her eyes,
"Aaah... I'm getting dizzy..."
She walked slowly and sat down next to Kkamang-i.
--
Seeing as that dirty house became as clean as a new one in less than 5 minutes, the power of chives and the power of shame were truly great.
Huff... that was exhausting...
I wiped the sweat from my forehead and sat across from Eunmi,
Kyaang..
a groggy Kkamang-i flapped over and snuggled into my arms.
"Phew... you've been waiting a long time, right...?"
"N-no..."
I had nothing to say, so I carefully stroked Kkamang-i, and she was also bowing her flushed head without a word.
Just then,
Grrrrumble~
Eunmi's stomach was crying out for food, and her face, which was already red, turned as red as if it were about to burst.
"Ahahaha... come to think of it, it's mealtime."
Kyaang?
I put Kkamang-i on my head, got up from the sofa, and headed to the kitchen.
Hmm... Soybean paste stew is good, but I'm starting to get sick of it...
After thinking for a moment, I remembered the Komutko Mountain Seasoned Bulgogi I had found when exploring the freezer last time.
I immediately manipulated the system and went into the shop tab to find the seasoned bulgogi,
Whoa... meat is expensive, as expected...
[Komutko Seasoned Bulgogi (Frozen)]
Price: 10 Peanut Butter tubs
I was sad about the profiteering of 10 tubs for a mere 2-serving portion of seasoned bulgogi, but
"Sigh... sometimes you have to eat meat..."
I closed my eyes and pressed the confirm button.
Along with the sound of Peanut Butter being deducted, the frozen seasoned bulgogi appeared on the table,
"It's really hard to make a living..."
I started cooking it over low heat.
As the meat melted and sizzled, the house was filled with the delicious smell of seasoned bulgogi.
"Heh heh, at least it's worth the high price~"
When I put the chopsticks I was using to flip the meat into my mouth, the spicy and sweet seasoning flavor hit my mouth,
"Keee~ This is it, this is it~"
I turned down the heat and opened the shop window again to buy two bowls of rice.
Fortunately, I had wooden spoons and chopsticks, so I didn't need to buy utensils separately.
Just like the smell of autumn gizzard shad brings back a daughter-in-law who ran away from home, Eunmi entered the kitchen at the smell of bulgogi, which is impossible to smell in an apocalypse world.
"G-Geumseul-ssi... this smell right now..."
"Hm? Ah, Nuna, please sit in the chair. It'll be done soon."
I stirred the frying pan to stir-fry the meat one last time and finished it off by sprinkling some whole sesame seeds I bought from the shop.
Keee~ I think I'm good at cooking?
It was just stir-frying seasoned frozen meat, but I gave myself a high score for not burning it.
Since the table was made of wood, I put the whole frying pan on it and sat in the chair.
"Here~ It's been a while since you've had meat, right? Eat up."
"R-real meat...??"
"I'll eat well."
She stared at the meat in front of her as if she couldn't believe it, and I thought, 'If I eat first, she'll eat on her own, right?'
I scooped up a lot of meat with my chopsticks, put it on my rice bowl, and ate it with the rice.
Chomp.. chomp..
Kheu! The price is insanely expensive, but this is the taste!!
I worked hard today, so the rice tasted like honey.
As I shoveled the meat into my mouth like a madman, Eunmi seemed to feel a sense of crisis and hurriedly picked up her chopsticks,
"I-I'll eat well."
She greeted in a small voice, then picked up a piece of meat and put it in her mouth.
"Ueup.... It's... delicious... sob..."
The moment I put down my chopsticks and scooped the meat with a spoon, Eunmi suddenly started crying.
Ah... why are you crying while eating...
"Nuna, is it not good? Why are you crying?"
"Sob... No... It's just... it's so delicious... It's been so long since I've had a meal like this... That's why... sob.."
That's understandable.
In a world like this, meat is precious, and meat with lots of commercial seasonings is even more precious.
Having felt the loss of her husband and the fear of almost being kidnapped, and then having a proper meal she hadn't been able to eat for a while, the waves of emotion must be shaking uncontrollably.
I took a bottle of water out of my inventory,
Clatter!
opened the lid, and placed it in front of her.
"First, drink some water and calm down. Why are you crying with delicious food in front of you??"
"Sob... Yes... I'm sorry... And... thank you..."
Eunmi wiped her tears with both arms and gave me a bright smile.
Wow... she really is pretty...
I wonder what Ha-rang-ssi is doing right now...
Seeing her smile, Ha-rang's face came to mind.
"Alright, then let's eat again!"
"Yes... I'll... eat well.."
--
"Phew.. I'm full..."
I patted my stomach, which felt like it was about to burst, and leaned back in the chair,
Kyaak!! Peck! Peck!!
Ouch! Mr. System!? My pet is attacking me?!
Kkamang-i was also pecking at my head, asking for food.
"Hey, you only get one meal a day. I'll feed you tomorrow, so hold on for today."
Kyaaaak!!
At my words, Kkamang-i seemed to get angry, flapping its wings and pecking at my head at an incredibly fast speed,
"Ouch ouch ouch!! It hurts!! It hurts, damn it!!"
When I waved my hands to protect my head, Kkamang-i flapped away and landed on the table.
Kyaang!!
"Sigh... Alright... I get it..."
Why are Ha-rang-ssi and Kkamang-i both weaker than me, yet stronger...?
I opened the shop tab and selected the highest-grade pet food,
[Highest-grade Pet Food]
Price: 100 Peanut Butter tubs
I pressed the purchase button with trembling hands.
Sigh... this is really breaking my back...
As I sighed, the can appeared in my hand,
Kyaang~
Kkamang-i acted cute, asking for food.
This little bastard... so cunning... but still cute.
I laughed helplessly and opened the can.
Click!
My stomach feels like it's going to burst, but this smell is really... amazing...
I swallowed my saliva and placed the can in front of Kkamang-i.
Kyang!
"Yeah, at least you're greeting me, so that's a relief."
I stroked the head of Kkamang-i, who was greeting me as if to say it would eat well, and as soon as my hand fell away, Kkamang-i shoved its head into the can.
"Aww, look at you eat... Yeah, thanks for at least eating it deliciously."
"Geumseul-ssi, I've finished the dishes, what should I do now?"
Huh?
"You didn't have to do that, why did you?"
"No, like you said, Geumseul-ssi, I thought about what I could do to prove my worth, and this kind of housework was all I could think of."
Ugh!!
Eunmi was digging into the dark history born of my arrogance with a bright smile,
"I-is that so... Ahaha... Yes... worth... is important..."
I think I'm going to be kicking my blankets tonight.