Chapter 74
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Two Days Off (2)
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The secret meeting took place behind the banquet hall, inside a dim pen.
“……”
Immediately after arriving at the pen, guided by Jeong Sowon.
I stared silently at the horrific scene before me.
Cramped iron cages, like chicken coops.
Monsters were crammed inside them.
“By Yu Wolha's judgment, monsters deemed useless are abandoned here.”
“……I see.”
The stench of blood, the smell of rot, fleshless bones and decaying food scraps, sticky blood, swarms of flies.
A sticky death mingled under the dim lighting.
Some monsters were already dead and decaying, some were panting heavily. Some were frenzied, drooling.
That was their end.
The end for monsters who once wanted to fight alongside humans, who had given their hearts.
In their midst.
“Ah, you're here. I've been waiting, customer.”
There was a Hunter from the Samwol Guild and a small dwarf held in his hand.
“Uh……. You must bring him back here by 3 PM the day after tomorrow. Don't be late. Got it?”
The Samwol Guild Hunter didn't recognize me.
Because I was wearing a mask and sunglasses, not my usual mask.
I nodded and lowered my gaze.
“……”
There was a dwarf, a leash on his neck, fidgeting restlessly.
As I looked at him, the Hunter spoke.
“Ah, I'm sorry, but please don't break him too much.”
“What do you mean?”
“Playing with him is fine. But it's best if you're satisfied with just using him as a punching bag. We've had people rent them like this, then brand them with hot irons or stick skewers in them. Treating that is a hassle…”
For a moment, a surge of anger rose within me.
I replied in a low voice and tossed him the money.
“That won't happen.”
“Aigoo, thank you. Well, have a good time.”
The Hunter took the wad of cash and disappeared, looking delighted.
Inside the pen, only the dwarf, Jeong Sowon, and I remained.
He was huddled over, making his already small frame seem even smaller.
“……”
Facing the trembling gnome, I slowly knelt down.
*Click.*
And first, I removed the leash from his neck.
“?”
“I'm taking it off. It must be suffocating.”
When I threw the leash to the ground, the gnome stared at me with his round eyes.
Aside from his abnormally large feet, he wasn't actually that ugly.
Large eyes, pointed ears, and smooth, ochre-colored skin. He was actually kind of cute.
…Or maybe not. Maybe I've just been looking at Gono too much.
“Ahem, anyway, I'll be in your care for the next two days.”
“……”
The spirit stared silently at the hand I offered with a cough.
His guard had lowered slightly, but he was still wary.
So, I gently took his wrist.
“……!”
Even though I held him gently, he trembled as if he'd been electrocuted.
Just what kind of torment had he endured to become like this?
I spoke in a low voice.
“It's okay. I'm not going to hit or torment you.”
“……”
He clearly understood my words.
His trembling subsided a little.
“Let's get along for the next two days.”
His eyes widened again.
He soon averted his gaze.
“Let's go.”
But as he followed me, the trembling in his body was clearly lessening.
***
It was past 8 PM when I returned home.
I decided to start properly hanging out with the gnome tomorrow.
After all, the priority was to get him acclimated to his current situation, even just a little.
“……”
Even after entering the house, the gnome just stood there blankly, not knowing what to do.
But his body was quite honest.
*Grrrroooowl.*
Suddenly, an earthquake erupted in his stomach.
Tamed monsters need to be fed continuously.
So it was natural for him to feel hungry.
“Hungry? Just a minute.”
I had already decided to cook for him anyway.
He's a demi-human, so he should be fine eating human food.
‘Still, this stings a little.’
To think the first person I'd cook for would be a gnome, not a girlfriend.
I was so sure the first person to taste my special egg fried rice would be my girlfriend.
“Nyaa?”
As I was swallowing my tears inwardly, San-gun trotted over.
When he gently rubbed against him, the gnome flinched and froze.
“……!”
“It's okay. This is San-gun, he's a really good friend. San-gun, go rest with him.”
I gently guided the gnome to the sofa as if pushing him from behind.
After seating him on the sofa, I started making fried rice in the kitchen.
As I beat the eggs, I glanced back and saw the gnome had turned his head to stare out the glass window.
He showed no reaction, even with San-gun asleep on his lap.
“Hmm.”
Watching him, I took a bead from my bracelet and dropped it on the floor.
*Poof!*
“Kiruk?”
“Gono, I have a job for you.”
I gestured toward the gnome with my chin and ordered in a low voice.
“Go play with him.”
Gono hesitated with an obviously reluctant expression.
But when I gave him a look, he finally scratched his head and slowly approached the gnome.
“Ki, kiruk.”
“E-eek!”
Truly awkward voices came from behind me.
I went back to making kimchi fried rice.
I didn't expect the gnome to adapt right away anyway.
For now, I just hoped he could find some psychological stability, even if just a little.
And, should I call it a relief?
“Were you two playing well?”
When I returned after finishing the fried rice.
The two of them got along better than I expected.
No, should I say they got along? I couldn't even tell if they were communicating properly.
But the gnome was no longer staring blankly out the window, and Gono…
“Kiruk.”
*Jingle!*
...was showing off his items to the gnome.
“You damn goblin.”
“Kerok?!”
I smacked the goblin on the head.
Gono looked up as if wronged.
“When did I tell you to show off your items? I told you to play with the gnome.”
“Kiruk, kiruk……”
I had a feeling, and he didn't deviate from my expectations one bit.
Feeling defeated, I turned my head to look at the gnome.
But something was strange.
The gnome, who had dead eyes until we got home, now had sparkling eyes.
His mouth was agape as he stared at the items Gono had laid out on the floor.
Uh, what's this?
Suddenly, the words of the Dream Lord flashed through my mind.
- Gnomes are very curious.
Plus, gnomes are creatures with a keen interest in crafting and refining items. Which means…
‘This is it!’
Unexpectedly, Gono's simple act of showing off his items had hit the jackpot.
I gently stroked Gono's head, which I had just smacked.
“Phew, I was wrong. You guys were having a lot of fun. Here, eat first, then you can play more.”
“……Kiruk?”
***
The gnome devoured the fried rice I made in the blink of an eye. He even glanced at me and held out his plate, as if asking for another serving. This was probably the first time he'd eaten a proper meal since being tamed.
After finishing two plates of fried rice, he went back to playing with Gono.
Though "playing" just meant quietly staring at the items Gono was showing off.
“Kiruk, kiruk!”
Gono was ecstatic to have something to brag about after so long.
I left them alone.
About two hours later, I sent Gono back to the Lord's Castle.
“It's late. Time for bed.”
Gono is sometimes woken up and summoned from the Lord's Castle.
The gnome must sleep too.
“We have things to do early tomorrow morning, so let's get to sleep.”
“……”
But the little gnome shook his head.
And pointed out the window.
“You want to watch before sleeping?”
“……!”
“Go ahead, then.”
It was a night with a bright, full moon.
The gnome stared blankly at the night sky and the cityscape spread out below.
Just sitting there quietly, until the moment I fell asleep.
***
The next day.
I rented a car early in the morning and headed out.
The first place I arrived at was…
“What's with you barging in so early in the morning?”
Sancheon's workshop.
Various items, item crafting equipment, an anvil, a forge…
Honestly, could there be a place more like heaven for a gnome?
“Barging in? I told you I was coming, Sancheon.”
I had already spoken to Sancheon.
“Ahem, well. Is this enough?”
And Sancheon, despite his grumbling, had already laid out various items on the workbench.
I gently pushed the gnome, who was hiding behind me, forward.
“Oho.”
“……”
When his eyes met Sancheon's, the gnome trembled and shrank back.
But that was only for a moment.
“So this must be the gnome you were talking about.”
“Yes. He's kind of cute, isn't he?”
“Haha, I don't know about cute, but he looks kind. Here, come here.”
“!”
Sancheon suddenly grabbed the gnome by his sides and lifted him up.
And sat him on the workbench, where various items were spread out.
The gnome's eyes widened instantly.
With sparkling eyes, he looked at the shields, swords, necklaces, and rings, then reached out a hand.
But he quickly stopped and looked back at Sancheon and me with anxious eyes.
Sancheon gave him a thumbs-up.
“Haha, if you want to touch them, go ahead. I won't say anything about it.”
Only after I nodded as well did the gnome begin to slowly touch the shield placed at the very front.
As his small hand touched the shield's surface, his large eyes opened even wider.
He caressed the items for a long time.
As if touching a treasure, preciously.
“……To think they treated a child-like fellow like him as a punching bag.”
“That's right.”
“There's an old saying that humans can be worse than beasts. The words of our ancestors are never empty.”
Sancheon looked back at me.
“Are you planning to save him?”
“I have to.”
“If that friend decides to follow you, I'd like you to bring him here often.”
“?”
“That friend of yours, it seems he can identify the grade of items. I intentionally mixed items of various grades. And he's picking out only the good ones to examine.”
Hmm, according to the Lord, gnomes are spirits best suited for smithing work.
He'd probably be wide-eyed if I told him the little guy also has a talent for refining and crafting.
“Understood. I'll do that.”
“……Well, aside from all that.”
Sancheon gazed at the spirit hugging the shield and muttered.
“I hope that friend of yours can find a little happiness. I can't believe a monster could wear such a world-weary expression.”
“……I know. Ah, by the way, Sancheon. Could I buy an item right now?”
“An item? What kind?”
“An item that can make a target invisible. Something like an invisibility cloak would be great. The size doesn't matter if it's small. Actually, I'd prefer it to be very small.”
“Why that all of a sudden… Aha.”
Sancheon looked at me with an expression of sudden understanding.
“Wait here.”
Then he rummaged through a box in the corner of the workshop and brought something out.
It was a silk cloak covered in a silvery powder.
“It's an invisibility cloak coated with the dust of a Camouflage Butterfly. Once activated, it lasts for 12 hours. It's single-use, and Hunters with detection abilities will spot it immediately. Is that okay?”
“Yes, that's more than enough.”
As long as it can avoid the eyes of ordinary people, it's sufficient.
Sancheon handed it to me without another word.
“Take it.”
“How much is it?”
“It's a gift, so just take it without any fuss.”
“But I've already been in your debt so much…”
“What debt? If anything, I'm the one indebted to you. If you really feel that way, just buy me a drink next time.”
I accepted the cloak with a wry smile.
***
After spending time at Sancheon's workshop.
I took the gnome, now wearing the invisibility cloak, to quite a few places.
Places that would hopefully satisfy his curiosity.
The place he responded to the most, and where we stayed until dusk, was…
Seoul Grand Park, with its various amusement facilities.
‘I can't believe my first park date is with a gnome.’
Well, that useless thought did cross my mind.
And a single tear did roll down my cheek.
But anyway, it was a good time.
Even the gnome, who had been following me with wary eyes at first.
Began to show his emotions little by little as time passed.
“……!”
His eyes went wide as he tasted the soft-serve ice cream I gave him.
He watched the carp in the park's lake with eyes full of wonder.
He coughed while eating a hot dog on a bench.
And he gazed at the sunset with a slightly sad face.
“Did you have fun?”
“……”
The gnome looked at me with the same eyes that had been gazing at the sky.
“……”
And then, he carefully gave a single nod.
With a faint, barely visible smile.
“That's a relief.”
That alone was reward enough for me.
***
The next day.
The time to part had come.
“Hic, eek.”
Standing before the abandoned building where the Samwol Guild Hunter was waiting, the gnome began to tremble like a leaf again.
He must be trembling instinctively, thinking of the days ahead where he would once again become a spectacle, suffering miserable abuse.
So, I placed both hands on the trembling gnome's shoulders and said.
“Don't worry. Just hang in there for a little while. I'll come get you.”
“……?”
The gnome's eyes widened, as if he understood my words.
I held out my pinky finger to him and said.
“It's a promise. But you have to make a promise too.”
The gnome tilted his head, his pointed ears twitching as if to ask, ‘A promise?’
“When you're free, you'll hang out with me again, just like these last two days.”
Two days. It was a short time.
All I did was carve out as much time as possible to let him rest.
Fed him delicious food, and took him to the grand park to see various things. That was all.
But I was certain that those two days…
...were dozens, no, hundreds of times happier than all the time he had spent since being dragged away by Yu Wolha.
“……”
Then, the gnome looked down at the ground. Then back at me with an anxious gaze.
And carefully, he nodded.
***
After sending the gnome off.
I picked up my smartphone and contacted someone.
According to the old man from Mullae-dong, she's been too busy to answer calls lately.
- Yeah, hello.
A languid voice immediately flowed out.
“Guild Master, could I see you right now?”
- Why?
“There's something I need to discuss regarding the Samwol Guild.”