Chapter 37
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Prepared Ingredients
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Cheon Doun landed in the path of the Mandragoras.
Startled, the plant roots backed away, assuming a defensive posture.
A leaf shield. A defensive stance where they lowered their heads and spread their leaves with all their might.
As the roots lined up horizontally, they formed a defensive wall of leaves over twenty centimeters high.
-Hooo...
The withered root, not yet having recovered its strength, couldn't hold the formation, its leaves trembling faintly.
A Mandragora next to it gently supported it with its smaller roots.
-Hoo, hooo...!
Gaining confidence, the withered root roared with all its might. As if on cue, the Mandragoras advanced.
Step, step, step. The dignified march of the roots. The twenty-centimeter iron wall of leaves pressed toward Cheon Doun.
“It’s me.”
Cheon Doun said, sitting down in front of the Mandragoras. At the familiar voice, the roots raised their heads.
-Hoong, hoong!
-Hoooong!
Seeing Cheon Doun, the Mandragoras quickly gathered around him.
Their leaves rustled as if trying to express something, but communication was impossible.
“Didn’t you come looking for the silver root you brought with you?”
Yu Beom, who had approached from behind, asked.
As if to prove his words, the silver root poked its head out of Cheon Doun’s pants pocket.
-Hooo...
At the faint sound, the Mandragoras crowded around the pocket.
They had been searching for an hour, thinking it had been carried off by a monster. They had finally found their kin.
-Hoong, hoong!
-Hoooong!
The large Mandragora had found their companion before they could. It had brought their kin back safely. The small roots began to circle Cheon Doun as if paying homage to him.
“Huh, what’s this? I was just guessing, but it looks like I was right. Were they really looking for their companion?”
Yu Beom looked intrigued. He had sensed it before, but he had never seen monsters with such strong camaraderie.
“It might be because there are so few of them.”
“What do you mean?”
“Mandragoras are a species that typically live in dense clusters of dozens or even hundreds. But in my garden, there are only five, including this metal root.”
Including Cheon Doun, who was considered a giant Mandragora, that made six.
Cheon Doun took the silver Mandragora out of his pocket.
“Their numbers are so small, they must stick together more tightly.”
They were already a species with strong bonds. Forming a smaller colony seemed to have heightened that sense of kinship remarkably.
“I brought them along so they could witness the hunters’ demise. I guess it was unnecessary.”
Cheon Doun gathered the Mandragoras in his arms.
“I’ll put them back in the garden. Yu Jia is at the waterfall right now, right?”
“Yeah. I should head back too. But about that yellow ore. Even an A-rank Hunter won’t be able to cut it cleanly. Aren't you worried you'll just waste the ore?”
“It’s fine. I’ll do the detailed carving later myself. I’m planning to smooth it out into a rounded shape without any sharp corners.”
The task he had given the hunters was just the groundwork for that. A simple job of cutting the materials into similar sizes.
At that, Yu Beom nodded in understanding.
“If that’s the case, it doesn’t matter if the cuts are a bit crooked for now. Let me know if you need help later. My sister and I are masters at building houses, you know.”
Having lived self-sufficiently for decades, they knew how to build a decent house.
A normal log cabin, unlike the house of horrors Cheon Doun had built.
With their help, building such a house would be possible.
Of course, he had no intention of suggesting they build a new house right away.
Cheon Doun was currently enjoying the process of developing his territory.
Telling someone like that what to do would just be meddling.
“Alright. I’ll let you know if I need help later.”
For now, that answer was enough.
A time would come when he’d get tired of the current house and want a change. When that happened, he and his sister could roll up their sleeves and help.
‘Building a house with the three of us would be fun.’
Yu Beom smiled faintly and returned to the waterfall.
* * *
Cheon Doun arrived home with the Mandragoras.
In front of the house, Kim Nari was preening the feathers of the sleeping Parrot-Poison Bird.
Bird feathers were scattered messily around her.
“Looks like it threw a tantrum.”
“That’s right. This bird tried to destroy the house. So I stopped it.”
As soon as Cheon Doun had left, the Parrot-Poison Bird had revealed its ferocity. It had planned to destroy his nest and fly away triumphantly.
It had charged with that intention but was stopped by Kim Nari, who had come out of the house.
The result was this. No matter how much it attacked, it couldn’t break through Kim Nari’s defense, and the Parrot-Poison Bird had collapsed from exhaustion and fallen asleep.
This was the second time it had been defeated by a creature much smaller than itself. The sleeping bird’s face was etched with self-doubt.
“Mister. Are you going to scold this bird?”
“No. Just leave it be. It must be tired from moving the ore.”
Cheon Doun placed the Mandragoras in the garden.
Once in the garden, the five roots each stretched out.
-Hoooong!
We are home. After letting out a cry, they each burrowed into the ground.
One of them, the silver Mandragora, stopped midway through digging.
-Hooo...?
The silver root turned around. Kim Nari was squatting there.
Kim Nari couldn’t take her eyes off the small metal root.
This is like me. I know without even touching it. It’s probably a lifeform from the same place as me.
-Hooo...?
The silver root also tilted its leaves as it looked at Kim Nari.
What is that? It’s not one of my kind. But there’s something about it that feels like kin.
Due to the resonance between Machine Lifeforms, the two couldn’t take their eyes off each other.
Kim Nari reached out her hand. After some hesitation, the silver root extended a leaf in return.
Tap. A fingertip and a leaf touched.
“Mister. I think this one is like me.”
“Really? I guess that root is from the Coconut Family, too.”
“That... yes, that’s right. I think this one came from there, too. This one probably has nowhere to go, like me. It would be good to let it stay here in the garden.”
“Go ahead. It seems the other Mandragoras here have accepted it as part of the family.”
The silver root, having finished its communion with Kim Nari, burrowed into the ground.
Watching it, Kim Nari’s expression seemed somewhat uneasy.
There were things she knew instinctively, even at a young age. This root was created to find her. Similar things might happen in the future.
‘If I stay here, Mister will be in danger too.’
She was safe today. But what about next time?
Perhaps now was the right time to leave. Kim Nari brushed the dirt from her hands and stood up.
“Mister. I have something to tell you—”
“Do you know the location of the Coconut Family?”
The question came so suddenly that Kim Nari froze.
“Not just that it’s across the waterfall. Something distinctive about the place you lived. A building, a street, anything. Tell me anything you can think of.”
“Uh... I don’t really know. I got lost and ended up here.”
Kim Nari said, recalling the day she escaped the research institute.
On the day of her escape, she had seen a group of hunters on the street opening a Gate and going through.
She had jumped in before the Gate closed.
Thanks to the hunters who had entered first, the coordinates had been set to a forest area. Her arrival here was purely a coincidence.
“Alright. It’s fine if you don’t know. Go set up the table in the yard. You’ll find a portable table and chairs in the luggage Nam Giseok brought.”
“A table...?”
“We ate our fill at the sea, didn’t we? We should at least serve them a meal before they go.”
“Ah...! A meal. I understand. I ate a lot. I must give a lot back.”
Kim Nari ran into the house. She came out with a large camping bag and began unpacking it in the yard.
Cheon Doun watched her for a moment before standing up.
‘Now that she has something to do, she won’t leave right away.’
Kim Nari didn’t know the location of the research institute she was from. But finding it would be easy.
The fact that they had requested a guild to find a Machine Lifeform meant it wasn’t an illegal research facility.
If it wasn’t a hidden organization, tracking it down would be simple.
“I’ll have to pay them a visit.”
Let’s go after the meal. Cheon Doun muttered with a serene expression.
* * *
Late that night, Nam Giseok and the siblings returned to the house.
“Hyung-nim, I’ve finished cutting the ore. I sent those hunters back with the return stones I had.”
Nam Giseok said, his face a picture of relief.
“By the end, those guys couldn’t even remember their own names and were crying. It’s all karma. If word gets out in the industry, there’ll be truckloads of people who’ll find it gratifying.”
They were men who had made many enemies. Nam Giseok was certain that no one would extend a helping hand to them.
“But what is all this?”
Nam Giseok asked, looking at the portable table and chairs set up in front of the house.
He had brought them over piece by piece, but they had never been used until now.
“I thought I’d feed our friends something before they head back.”
“Us?”
The siblings asked in surprise. They hadn’t treated him with the expectation of getting anything in return, but there was no reason to refuse the offer.
It was their first time being treated to a meal by someone, and they were inwardly thrilled.
In all their decades living inside the Gate, no one had ever treated them this way.
“I wonder what’s on the menu. Could it be a specialty of the forest region?”
“No, I haven’t been settled here long enough to know the local specialties. But I have something that I think you’ll enjoy, so look forward to it.”
Cheon Doun looked at Nam Giseok.
It’s your turn. At his meaningful glance, Nam Giseok nodded.
The time had finally come. It was time to showcase the skills he had learned in his crash course at the cooking academy.
“Leave it to me, Hyung-nim. Now, you two, Brother and Sister Bird, please have a seat. I’ll cook for you right away.”
The sociable man was already calling the siblings "brother" and "sister" as he offered them seats.
“Let’s see. Something’s missing... Right, that’s it!”
Nam Giseok went and fetched a luminous stone from a corner of the garden. It was one he had set aside to use for building a fence.
-Hoooong!
As Nam Giseok carried the luminous stone away, the Mandragoras poked their heads out and protested.
The luminous stone was a rock that emitted demonic energy. For the roots that had been enjoying that energy, it was like having their midnight snack snatched away.
“Sorry about this. I’ll just borrow it for a bit!”
-Hoong, hoong!
The Mandragoras tapped the ground with their small roots in protest, but Nam Giseok stubbornly moved the stone.
“I’ll just put this here for some light.”
He placed the luminous stone near the table. The gloomy night of the Demon World was instantly transformed into a campsite atmosphere.
“This is perfect. I told you I’d make Pasongsong Gyerantak before, but the timing was never right, so it just fizzled out.”
Nam Giseok opened the luggage he had packed to the brim.
He placed a gas burner on the table and set a pot on it. He laid out a cutting board and knife and took ingredients out of a preservation box.
He finished by putting on a white apron.
“You’re really going all out.”
“Indeed. As expected of someone with a chef’s license.”
Watching him, the Yu siblings’ faces filled with anticipation.
Cheon Doun also watched, wondering when he had managed to bring all that stuff.
He knew Nam Giseok brought a bundle of things every time he came, but he hadn't realized it was this much.
‘Behold. I have prepared for this day!’
Nam Giseok pulled out the secret ingredients from his bag.
Curry in his left hand. Ramen in his right.
If they chose curry, he planned to finely chop the topping ingredients he’d brought in the preservation box.
If they chose ramen, it was time for the green onions and eggs, also in the preservation box, to make their appearance.
He had memorized the online recipes for both.
‘I, Nam Giseok, am a man who gets things done. I even brought cheese.’
He even had cheese to add according to their preference. Perfect. With a solemn expression, Nam Giseok looked at Cheon Doun and the siblings.
“I’ll make whatever you choose. Curry or Pasongsong Gyerantak. Which do you prefer?”
A dazzling array of choices was laid before Cheon Doun and the siblings.
“Pasongsong Gyerantak... The name has a certain ring to it.”
“Brother, I think I’ve heard of that before. It was when I was very young, so my memory is hazy.”
“If we heard it when we were young, it must be quite old. It might even be a traditional dish.”
The siblings discussed it with serious faces. Cheon Doun couldn’t hide his interest either.
He couldn't pass up the Pasongsong Gyerantak, which Nam Giseok had been promising for a while.
But the curry was just as tempting. He had only heard of it, never tasted it. In the slums 70 years ago, curry was a luxury food that was hard to come by.
What should they choose?
They entered a state of deliberation, their faces as serious as if they were facing a momentous, life-altering decision.