Chapter 36
Chapter 36
Before leaving the house, I ate some Mom-grown Bok Choy.
Crunch..
Then, the bruises and bumps caused by the ruthless violence disappeared at high speed.
Phew... I almost died for real...
Only after my body returned to normal did I come out to the yard with Ha-rang.
--
Eunmi was sitting in the yard with Mother, chatting, when Ha-rang, who was standing next to me, called out to Eunmi in a loud voice.
"Hey you!!"
"M-me?"
"Who else here is a newcomer besides you?! Come here for a second!"
Wow.. Are you trying to establish dominance..?
I wanted the two of them to get along, but I wasn't in a position to demand that, so I couldn't stop Ha-rang's actions.
Eunmi looked at me with anxious eyes, and after awkwardly smiling and looking away, I thought, 'I'm sorry, Noona.. I can't stop Ha-rang-ssi either..'
And so, the two women went inside the house, and I sat down next to Mom.
As soon as the house door closed,
Smack!
She slapped my back.
"Ow.. Why are you doing this, Mom?"
"I heard everything from Eunmi-ssi."
Good grief.. Noona.. Did you spill everything..?
Before Mom could scold me further, I tried to kneel, but
Grab
Mom pulled me into a hug.
"M-Mom?"
Pat.. Pat..
"Son.. In a world like this, human relationships are even more important. Especially family."
I had nothing to say to Mom's words.
As I stayed still without saying anything, Mom stroked my hair.
"Mom believes that my son, who has lived kindly without causing any trouble until now, will do well."
Damn it...
Guilt for betraying Mom's trust, guilt for betraying Ha-rang's trust, gratitude toward Mom for believing in me despite that, and gratitude toward Ha-rang for forgiving a man like me—I couldn't say a word.
The patting lasted only a moment before Mom grabbed my bowed face with both hands and pulled it up to meet her gaze.
"Son!"
"Yes..."
"So, do you like Ha-rang-ssi? Or Eunmi-ssi?"
Uh.. Mother?
"Mom..? What do you mean by that.."
"Why, you slept with both of them, didn't you? Rumor has it that my son's nighttime skills are quite impressive?"
Where on earth did that rumor come from!!
"Ahaha.. Th-that is.."
Smack!
As I laughed awkwardly, Mom slapped my back, and
"You can't put spilled water back in the cup, but you can be careful so the cup doesn't tip over again, right?"
"Yes.. I'll be careful so this doesn't happen again.."
"Yes, yes, my good son. So, who do you like more?"
"Ah, Mom!"
Thanks to Mom's consideration, my heart felt lighter.
'Thank you, Mother.'
--
While I was bickering with Mom, the front door opened, and
"Mother~ I'm going to borrow Honey for a moment~ Honey! Come here for a second!"
As Ha-rang spoke in a soft yet coercive voice, Mom patted my back.
"Yes, go on now, son. Fighting?"
"Yes, I'll be back, Mom."
I stood up, dusted off my butt, and walked to the door confidently... no, cautiously.
Click
As I entered the house, Ha-rang closed the door, and I spotted Eunmi Noona sitting on the sofa, smiling awkwardly.
Ha-rang walked haughtily, sat a little distance away from Noona, and tapped the seat next to her.
"Honey? Come sit here."
"Ah... Yes.. By the way, Eunmi Noona is.."
"Shh! Just hurry up and come here."
"Yes!"
I quickly went and sat next to her. The position I was sitting in now was between Eunmi and Ha-rang, and as I sat on the sofa, Ha-rang grabbed my hand.
"Unnie? You take that hand too."
"O-okay.."
Huh? Did they settle their relationship?
I tilted my head at the sight of Ha-rang calling her "Unnie" while Eunmi replied in casual speech, but the fact that I had a flower in each hand almost made me grin foolishly.
Hehehe.. No.. Pull yourself together!!
I almost let my lips curl up at the soft and warm feeling felt in both hands.
"Honey.. I talked with Eunmi Unnie a bit. She said she was swayed because a cool man like you appeared when she was in a difficult situation."
A.. cool man? Hehehe..
"But in my opinion, I think that's just a temporary emotion to replace the sense of loss from losing her husband."
I nodded at her incredibly realistic words, and
"So, for now, Unnie will live with Mother, and after her emotions have calmed down, let's talk about it again, the three of us."
"Yes.. I understand."
Satisfied with the answer, Ha-rang leaned on my shoulder.
"But since Unnie can do what I can't..."
Ah, internal ejaculation?
I stroked the cheek of Ha-rang, who was mouthing something, with the back of my interlocked hand.
"It's okay. Ha-rang-ssi, you also have a hole that can receive it inside your body, right?"
I said it brightly, thinking of her anus, and Eunmi, who was next to me, tilted her head as if she didn't understand, then
"A hole that can receive it..? Gasp?!"
realizing the identity of the anus, she blushed.
Thwack!
Ow.. Ha-rang-ssi..?
Ha-rang let go of the interlocked hands and slapped the back of my head, then looked at Eunmi, seemingly embarrassed.
"Hey! Saying that! Out loud! Ugh..."
Ah.. Is it a secret? Ahaha..
"W-we're family! Right? Eunmi Noona? Ahahahaha"
"Y-yes, that's right... we're family..."
At the word "family," Eunmi seemed to recall her husband's face again and became sad, and
Thwack!
I got hit one more time.
"Anyway! I won't care where you have sex with Eunmi Unnie, but you must sleep in this house's bed with me! Got it?!"
"Yes! I will only sleep in our house's bed!"
Thus, Eunmi became our new family.
--
Whether it was because quite a bit of time had passed while settling the relationship, or because the emotional drain was severe, I felt hungry.
"Shall we go eat now?"
"Let's. I'm starving to death after beating you up."
"I'm sorry.."
Ha-rang also spoke to Eunmi, who was sitting awkwardly.
"Unnie, let's go eat too."
"Oh.. Okay.."
"By the way, did you two settle your relationship? You were using casual speech with each other."
When I asked how that happened, she said,
"Even if she's a rolling stone, she's older than me, so I told her to speak comfortably."
A.. rolling stone?
"Ah.. Ha-rang-ssi, then can I also use casual speech.."
"You can't. I hate men who talk down to me."
Ah.. Yes.
There was no change in titles, but we went out to the yard in a softer atmosphere than before.
--
Mom, who was tending the vegetable garden, spotted us and smiled proudly at the sight of the three of us holding hands.
The moment we were about to cross the yard to go to Mom's house, my eyes caught sight of the giant egg and Kkamang-i dozing on top of it.
"Oh, right. Ha-rang-ssi, I bought Jegiral, do you want to hatch it now?"
"Ah~ come to think of it.. Wait! Is the one you rode in on a flying pet?!"
Ahaha.. You're quick-witted.
"Yes, I guess I was lucky, the 0.1% probability broke through."
"I'm jealous.. I want to hatch mine now too!"
Ha-rang pulled my hand and approached Jegiral, and Eunmi let go of my hand.
Wondering what was wrong, I turned my head, and
"Ah.. I'll go help Mother prepare the meal."
She smiled awkwardly and walked toward Mom.
She still needs time.. Just as it's hard to infiltrate an already tight-knit relationship, no matter how comfortably we treated her, she seemed to feel her own burden.
As I stood blankly watching Eunmi walk away, Ha-rang pulled my arm again.
"Honey, hurry!"
"Yes, let's go."
--
"I hope a flying species comes out for me too~"
Ha-rang looked at Kkamang-i on top of Jegiral with high expectations, and I took out the Black Dagger and handed it to her.
"You know how to use it, right?"
She smiled brightly, took the dagger, and said,
"Of course!"
She pricked her thumb and let it bleed.
"Ugh, it stings.."
Kyaang..?
I picked up Kkamang-i, who was dozing on the egg, and Ha-rang gave me a cute eye-smile as she let her blood drip onto the egg.
Drip.. Drip..
Like before, the egg absorbed the blood and started to tremble.
Hmm? When Kkamang-i came out, there was a shining light..
Crack! Crackle!
Pii!
What came out of the egg was a
"Ch-chick..?"
with snow-white feathers.
Pii-ik!
A chick appeared.
Ha-rang was frustrated by the sight, but she put on an expression of resignation and held the chick in her arms.
"To think a Popo came out.. I wanted a flying species too..."
The chick's species name is Popo. It's a pet that looks like an ostrich when fully grown.
"Ahaha.. Still, Popo is top-tier, you know."
"That's true.. But compared to your pet... Ugh.."
Pii-ik! Pii-ik!
Ha-rang stroked the head of the Popo, which was crying out happily, oblivious to the ways of the world, and began to manipulate the system to register it as My Pet.
"So, what are you going to name it?"
"Wait a second, Honey... Da..rong...i.. Done!"
Is the wand's name Arong-i and the pet's name Darong-i..?
I felt her naming sense was cute for being so consistent, and the pet called Darong-i rubbed its face against Ha-rang's chest.
'Crazy! I'm.. I'm jealous, Darong-i!!'
"Hehe, still, it's cute~ By the way, Honey, do you have any spare pet food?"
"Uh.. I have Highest-grade, but I don't have regular food..."
"Really? It's a bit of a waste to feed Highest-grade to a Popo.."
We started to worry for a moment, but there was no other choice.
"Let's just raise Darong-i into the strongest Popo.."
"Can we afford the food expenses?"
Ha-rang worried about the butter.
"Oh, come to think of it, when I filled the pouch with 10,000 cans, I got an Initial Perk. I think that can cover it to some extent."
"Huh? What reward?"
At her question, I smiled brightly and said, holding up my fingers in a V-sign.
"A permanent 2x Peanut Butter accumulation event."
"D-double?!"
"Hehehe, it's a jackpot, right?"
Ha-rang, who was surprised, gave a sly smile and held out both hands as if asking for something.
She didn't stop there, but wiggled her shoulders and hips, saying,
"Honey~ I want to feed our Darong-i~ the highest-grade food~"
Ah...
If she had been in lingerie, it would have been sexy, but she was currently wearing a shabby navy robe. All I could see was her fluttering robe and her face as she acted cute.
"A...haha.. Yes.."
I laughed awkwardly and took a can out of my inventory, and
Thwack!
Argh!
Ha-rang kicked my shin and snatched the can.
"If Unnie had acted cute, you would've been all mushy, right..."
"N-no, it's not like that.."
"Hmph! Here, Darong-i~ let's eat~"
Ha-rang turned around and opened the can.
Clatter!
Kyaang?!
Kkamang-i, who was dozing on my head, jumped up at the smell of food.
"Ah, I'll give you food too."
I stopped Kkamang-i, who was trying to steal Darong-i's food, and took out a can and placed it on the floor.
Kyaang-kyaang!
Then the guy flapped its wings happily and buried its head in the can to start eating.
I stroked Kkamang-i's head because it was cute, and
Grrr!
Its temper was still nasty.
"Yes, yes.. Kkamang-i, do you see that white chick over there?"
It was a guy with a nasty personality, but as if listening well to me, it stopped eating for a moment and looked in the direction my hand was pointing.
"That bird is your younger sibling, Darong-i. You have to be good to it from now on, okay?"
Kyaang!
Kkamang-i answered as if to say "don't worry," and then focused back on the can.
'It's a smart guy, so it'll handle it well on its own.'
I left it alone and approached Ha-rang, who was squatting down.
She was drooling while watching the can Darong-i was eating, and
"Honey.. can't we try eating this can too..?"
"Let's go eat human food..."
I forcibly stopped her, tempted by the ecstatic smell, then took her hand and dragged her into the house.
"Aaaah~ I want canned fooooood too~"
--
When we entered the house, a strange savory smell stimulated our noses, and
"Huh? This smell is.."
"Honey! It's the smell of bread!!"
Ha-rang hurried into the kitchen.
"Bread...? Ah! Eunmi Noona had the Baking skill."
I followed her into the kitchen, looking forward to eating bread for the first time in a while.
"Unnie! When will the bread be done baking?"
"Hmm.. It should be done in about 15 minutes. So let's eat it as dessert."
"Oh yeah! Mother~ I'll scoop the rice."
"Hohoho, please do, Ha-rang-ssi."
Three women were moving around in the kitchen, and on the dining table, there was also some delicious-looking meat, likely grilled from frozen tenderloin.
I pulled out a chair without much thought, and
"Son! Wash your hands and sit!"
"Yes.."
I pushed the chair back in.
I went to the bathroom, washed my hands and feet clean with soap, and when I went back to the kitchen, Mom and the two women were already seated.
But this seating arrangement...
Mom and Ha-rang were sitting on the inside, and Eunmi was sitting on the outside.
I smiled awkwardly and sat next to Eunmi Noona, then grabbed a water cup to wet my throat.
"Hohoho, to have two such pretty and kind daughters-in-law come in~ Mom is happy, son~"
Pfft!!
Cough! Cough!!
I choked on my water due to Mom's sudden attack, and
Tap, tap, tap
"G-Geumseul-ssi? Are you okay?"
Eunmi, who was sitting next to me, patted my back.
"Cough! I-I'm okay.. Mom! If you say things like that suddenly.."
When I blamed Mom,
"Why? It's the truth, isn't it? My foolish son brought such kind young women, I feel like spreading the news to the neighborhood residents."
Thank goodness.. that it's an apocalypse world..
I was grateful that such rumors wouldn't spread.
"Now, now, let's eat quickly before it gets cold. Ha-rang-ssi and Eunmi-ssi, eat as much as you like."
"We'll eat well, Mother~"
"Yes.. Mother.."
Good grief..
I smiled slightly at Mom's consideration and started to eat.
--