Chapter 68
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: The Leader Root's Name
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Cheon Doun took the Gate and arrived in the Demon World.
His appreciation for the fluorescently glowing house in the dark forest was brief.
Sensing a presence inside, he moved the bag blocking the door and went in.
On the floor were the clothes he had intentionally left spread out. Small clumps of dirt were scattered over them.
It was a sign that the root had come out of the beaker and wandered around looking for Cheon Doun.
-Huuung?
The Leader Root's sound came from inside the house, but it was nowhere to be seen. As he scanned the interior, his gaze stopped on a pile of clothes.
The pile of clothes stacked in one corner was unusually bulging. It squirmed and moved.
-Huuung!
*The scent of the great helper is strong in here. The helper must be in here.*
The root was rummaging through the pile of clothes as if exploring a cave.
“Why did you go in there? I'm not in there. Come out.”
Cheon Doun said. At the sound of his voice, the rustling pile of clothes momentarily stopped.
A moment later, he could feel the root's movements become more frantic, even through the clothes.
*Thump-thump.* The clothes bounced up and down as if to a rhythm.
It was the result of the root wandering around inside the pile, unable to find the exit.
“Stay still. I'll get you out.”
Cheon Doun gently loosened the tangled pile of clothes. The root came tumbling out from inside a gray sweater.
-Hu, huuung.
Suddenly exposed to the light, the root squinted.
As it slowly opened its eyes, it saw the helper it had been searching for so desperately.
*Finally, I found you. My great helper. Where on earth did you go?*
The root looked up at Cheon Doun. It was happy, but at the same time, resentful. It felt bitter that its helper always disappeared, leaving it behind.
-Huuung….
*How much longer must I repeat this waiting?* The root walked weakly toward Cheon Doun.
Its body, which had wandered the house all day, had no strength left. The tension broke at the thought of having found its helper, draining its energy.
Cheon Doun reached out and caught the root before it could fall to the floor.
“Why are you so drained?”
-Huuung….
The root struggled in Cheon Doun's palm. It unleashed its joy of reunion and its bitterness onto his hand.
Cheon Doun lifted the root to check its face.
“You've been leaking sap by yourself again.”
There were traces of dried plant sap around its eyes. Cheon Doun wiped it away with his finger.
“Don't leak sap. If you're a plant, you should conserve moisture.”
-Huuung!
*Don't pretend to be worried now.* The root struck Cheon Doun's finger with its fine rootlets.
A blow of anger for disappearing without a word.
*Pitter-pat.* The rootlets tapped Cheon Doun's hand. It couldn't help but pull back its strength at the last moment, worried it might hurt him.
“Alright. So this is my fault.”
Cheon Doun brought over the beaker from the corner. He tried to bury it inside, but the root struggled and refused.
*If I take my eyes off him for even a second, the helper will disappear.* Having learned this from several experiences, the root clung to Cheon Doun's finger and wouldn't let go.
“Go to sleep now. I'm not going anywhere.”
-Huuung!
“I said I'm not going.”
-Huuung!
“Do I really have that little credibility?”
-Huuung!
*I guess not.* After a moment of thought, Cheon Doun lay down on his sleeping bag. Seeing this, the Leader Root found a spot next to him and lay down as well.
“I came to get you anyway. It's late, so let's get a good night's sleep. We'll leave when the sun comes up.”
-Huuung?
“We'll be back soon enough. Well, anyway. Go to sleep. You look tired.”
Cheon Doun said, checking the root's condition.
*It was a good thing I came early. If I'd waited until morning, it would have probably leaked so much sap from its eyes that its whole body would have dried up.*
Cheon Doun took out some moisturizing cream from his bag. He generously applied it to the root's body.
As he patted it with his finger, signaling it to sleep, the root's eyes gradually closed.
Just as they were almost shut, the root snapped its eyes wide open.
-Huuung…!
*I will not sleep. I will not fall for this trick to make me sleep so you can disappear.*
“I told you to sleep.”
*Pat, pat.* He patted it again, and the root's eyes half-closed.
-Huung….
It tried rubbing its eyes with its rootlets to fight off sleep. It was no use. It only made it yawn.
Seeing this, Cheon Doun pulled over his nearby T-shirt and covered the root with it.
“Hurry up and sleep. Pat, pat.”
When he made a "pat, pat" sound with his mouth, the root's eyes closed completely.
*It doesn't know the meaning of "pat, pat." But hearing the voice right next to it gave it a sense of relief that its helper was there.*
After rustling for a while, the root finally settled down and fell asleep.
‘I guess I can't leave this thing behind anymore. I should buy a bag so I can carry it around even when it's sleeping.’
Cheon Doun patted the Leader Root and closed his eyes.
‘Ah. Right. Maybe I should add "Dodagi" to the list of name candidates for this guy.’
*Dodagi, because I patted it to sleep.*
*For a name I came up with, it's not bad,* he thought.
“Dodagi… Dodag-ah? Dodagi. Seems pretty good.”
He tried saying the candidate name out loud.
It felt affectionate and had a nice ring to it. But knowing his naming sense was rock bottom, he couldn't trust this feeling.
‘I should ask the siblings for their opinion when I get back.’
Even if he asked, his mind was already leaning toward it.
“You sleep well, Dodagi.”
Cheon Doun said goodnight to the root and closed his eyes with a satisfied expression.
* * *
Early in the morning, Mr. Park was heading to his shop when he flinched and froze.
A group of burly men were huddled together in front of the shop. Among them was a gang member who had harassed him before.
‘A-are they here for revenge?’
*I should sneak out the back way.* But just as he thought that, a gang member spotted him and stood up.
“The boss is here! Hey everyone, greet him!”
“Good morning, sir!”
They bowed a full 90 degrees to Mr. Park. Mr. Park looked utterly terrified. Why on earth were they bowing to him?
“So this is the general store where you can find anything!”
“Huh? No, I mean...”
“Our new boss recommended this place. We'll be regulars from now on. If the boss recommends it, we have to trust it unconditionally!”
*A new boss? Who could that be?* Before he could even ask, Mr. Park was pushed from behind to open the shop door.
While he stood there blankly, the gang members turned on the shop lights themselves and looked around.
‘A-are they going to take the weapons?’
*It'll be a relief if they pay for them.* Mr. Park was anxious they might just take the items on credit or for free.
“Found it!”
Someone shouted as if they'd found what they were looking for. The men all rushed over.
*They're definitely going to pick up some menacing guns and knives.* That's what Mr. Park thought, but the men picked up something completely different.
‘A broom?’
They held up a broom and began inspecting it as if appraising it.
“How about this broom?”
“No good. We need one with stiff bristles. We have to sweep the streets. We need an outdoor broom.”
“Ah, is that so?”
“Hey. Isn't this dustpan good? It's designed so you can sweep up trash without bending over.”
“Ooh.”
“It's even a set!”
“Nice! Let's get that one!”
Mr. Park's eyes wavered at the flood of frantic conversation.
*What in the world is this situation?* He rubbed his eyes in disbelief and looked again, but the scene hadn't changed.
“Alright. We'll take this broom. Sir! All the broom sets you have here! Give us everything, including the stock in the warehouse!”
“E-even the stock? That's going to be quite expensive. Uh...”
“We'll pay the full price.”
The man pulled a wad of bills from his coat. Even at a glance, it was more than enough to cover the cost.
‘Thank goodness. They're not trying to take it for free.’
Relieved, Mr. Park brought out the stock from the warehouse.
When he tapped out the total on the calculator and showed them, the gang member paid without a word of complaint.
“But sir, we don't have enough. We'll need at least 100 more.”
“Th-that many? What on earth are you going to use them for... No. Yes. I'll place an order for you. Please come back in three days.”
Despite his wavering eyes, Mr. Park placed the order as they requested.
“We'll be back, sir! Oh, and if you can get a grass cutter, please get one for us! We'll need it soon!”
“A-a grass cutter, too? What in the world for...”
By the time he couldn't hold back and asked, the gang members had already left the shop.
The shelves were empty, as if a storm had passed through. Mr. Park stood there blankly for a moment, then let out a chuckle.
“Was I dreaming? What in the world just happened?”
As reality belatedly sank in, his expression brightened. His sales had skyrocketed the moment he opened the shop.
“They said their new boss recommended the shop, right? I don't know who it is, but I'm really grateful.”
*I have no idea why they need so many brooms, but this is great.*
Just as he was cheering inwardly, the shop door opened.
“Welco... Ah! Sir!”
Mr. Park beamed upon seeing Cheon Doun.
Having just come through the Gate, Cheon Doun had visited Mr. Park's shop before heading to the Coconut Family's building.
“Why are you in such a good mood?”
“Ah, I just had a customer who bought a large quantity of brooms.”
“Really?”
“Yes. And the surprising thing is, and don't be shocked when you hear this, the ones who bought the brooms were members of the Space Gang. The same people who came last time.”
The corners of Cheon Doun's mouth lifted slightly. When he heard about the bulk broom purchase, he'd had a suspicion, and it turned out to be correct.
“You have no idea how surprised I was. I thought they were going to take them for free on credit or something. But they paid in full and even bowed.”
“Bowed?”
“Yes. They bowed like this, very deeply.”
‘I didn't order them to do that. Was it Nam Giseok? Or the siblings?’
*Whoever it was, they did a good job training them.* As Cheon Doun smiled, Mr. Park said excitedly.
“From what I hear, the organization's leader must have changed. I don't know who it is, but they must have a good impression of our shop. They're the one who recommended this place!”
Cheon Doun chuckled. He had only mentioned it because he remembered how Mr. Park had given him a lot of freebies when he first bought clothes here. He hadn't realized it would make the man so happy.
Mr. Park, who had been speaking excitedly, looked at Cheon Doun with an "oops" expression.
“Oh dear, look at me. What did you need today?”
“I need a bag big enough to hold this root. Do you have anything suitable?”
Cheon Doun took the Leader Root out of his shirt pocket and showed it to him.
-Huuung?
The sudden brightness made the root rub its eyes and wake up. At the sight, Mr. Park jumped back in surprise.
“Th-the plant is moving!”
“Of course it moves. It's alive.”
Cheon Doun's nonchalant reaction left Mr. Park looking bewildered.
*Well, plants are living things, so they are alive. But moving around is definitely not normal.*
“Why is a plant moving... Ah, could it be some kind of chimera? Something for... detection, or something like that?”
“Something like that. Anyway, I need a bag to carry it in.”
“A bag... just a moment.”
Mr. Park went into the storeroom. A moment later, he came back with several hip packs that could be worn on the waist.
“They're Hunter items for carrying water bottles or potions. The size seems just right.”
Cheon Doun examined the bags Mr. Park had brought. The one that caught his eye was a hip pack worn at the side of the waist.
It was long and cylindrical, designed for a water bottle, and its width seemed just right for the root.
“This one looks good. Here, get in.”
Cheon Doun opened the bag and held it in front of the root. The root looked at the bag and tilted its head.
Not understanding the intention behind the offered bag, it flopped onto its back in Cheon Doun's palm.
After a moment of thought, Cheon Doun infused the bag with mana.
“Alright. Now try getting in.”
-Huuung?
When he offered the bag again, the root showed interest.
The root inspected the bag. *A perfectly sized hole from which my helper's energy is wafting.*
-Huuung!
*Now that I look at it, it's perfect for me to live in.* Giving it a passing grade, the root put its body into the bag.
As Cheon Doun tilted his hand, it slid right in.
“The depth is good too. It's perfect for the root's home.”
It was a perfect fit, with only its leaves peeking out. The bag's flap was detachable, making it a true home for the root.
Cheon Doun fastened the bag to his waist. The root poked its head out.
-Huuung!
*I like this place.* The root roared, conveying its feelings. Seeing this, Mr. Park found himself smiling warmly.
Even though it was a plant, it strangely reminded him of the hamster his wife kept.
“Sir. What's that plant's name?”
“Its name?”
*Revealing that it's a Mandragora would be a hassle. And it doesn't have a proper name to give yet.*
The only thing that came to mind was the number one candidate he had impulsively come up with last night.
“Its name is...”
Cheon Doun looked at the root in the waist pack. When their eyes met, the root let out a loud cry.
-Huuung!
At its spirited roar, the corners of Cheon Doun's mouth turned up. *As I thought, that's the only name that fits.*
“Dodagi.”
Cheon Doun spoke the name candidate he'd decided on last night. It rolled off the tongue nicely.
“This guy's name is Dodagi. Because I have to pat it to sleep.”
Cheon Doun said, stroking the root's leaves.