Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: There Are No Separate Beast Years
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Dad had come to this quiet neighborhood with the local uncles to catch fish.
A town with no people around, just the serene beach where waves crashed endlessly. A boring place.
...Did I really need to tag along?
No playground, no arcade... not even any kids my age. I was killing time alone, quietly gazing at the beach, when my eyes met those of an incredibly pretty girl.
She had black hair way longer than mine, slightly droopy gray eyes, and skin so pale it was dazzling—unlike me, who was always tanned from playing outside.
"You! What's your name?"
This was the prettiest girl I'd ever seen!
Prettier than any kid on TV, even.
I wanted to be friends, so I asked her name... and...
"Greetings! A mighty and vigorous morning to you! If you're asking me, I am Han Yuna!"
She planted her hands on her hips, puffed out her chest, and declared it proudly... Uh, um.
'Is she... a little slow?'
Uh oh. Mom said kids like this aren't weird—they're just a bit unwell. She told me to be nice to them.
Like those really tough-life kids that sometimes show up on TV. Is she kinda like them?
If I asked if she was sick, she'd probably get mad, right? Yeah, that feels likely.
I'd be super upset and angry if other kids asked me the same thing.
"R-Really? Let's be friends! I'm Yuri! I'm eight!"
I shook off those thoughts and forced a smile, but she puffed out her cheeks like she was a bit hurt and annoyed, glaring at me with those pretty eyes.
"Why'd you just widen your eyes like that?"
"...Huh?"
D-Did she catch me?
No way. It was just a thought. I didn't say anything out loud.
"You just thought I was an easy mark, didn't you?"
"N-No! I really wanna be friends!"
I denied it fiercely, terrified she'd read my mind, but Yuna still looked suspicious. She tilted her head with those sharp, haughty eyes fixed on me.
Ugh, I swear it's true.
Okay, sure, I had a tiny mean thought, but I really do wanna be close friends.
"Ahem! Fine! Han Yuna hereby grants you a special pardon—this one time!"
"Uh... y-yeah..."
"But I'm the only kid around here. Where'd you come from? The mainland?"
"Huh? Oh, D-Dodong... Dad went behind those rocks over there with the uncles to fish. He told me to wait here 'cause it's dangerous."
"Ah~ fishing? Makes sense. Rockfish are delicious this time of spring. Hehe."
Rockfish? Some kind of fish? Ugh, I don't know stuff like that.
I don't even get why anyone would do something as boring as fishing.
"Wanna play together?"
"Huh? For real? Yeah! I wanna play!"
At least until Dad gets back, I can hang out with this pretty girl, chat sweetly, have fun, and time will fly by.
Hehe. Next time Dad goes fishing, I can tag along and play with Yuna instead.
Yuna beamed at my answer and grabbed my hand. She led me down the big road by the seaside where cars were parked, then dashed toward a towering rock and leaped up to cling to it...?
"...?"
"You can see the uncles fishing from the top! C'mon, let's climb!"
"??"
'...How the heck do you climb that?'
Yuna dangled there effortlessly from one hand on the rock, waving me up.
How do you climb a rock that tall, Yuna?
You could get seriously hurt if you fell. Huh?
"I-It isn't dangerous?"
"Huh? You think? I fell off that spot once before and just got a little scrape."
"??"
That height looks deadly if you fell.
But she says just a scrape?
'Sh-She's not human...'
Humans would die falling from there, Yuna.
Can a person even hang onto a huge rock like that so lightly?
"Yu-Yuna... C-Can't we play something else?"
"Something else? Hmm~"
She hopped down lightly from a spot at least three times my height, then stroked her chin like an adult lost in thought.
Something else, please. Rock climbing scares me.
"Got it! Let's go to where my little sibling is~!"
Little sibling!!
Yuna has a little sibling!
She must be super duper cute, just like Yuna!
I'm so excited!!
Following Yuna up the steep hill was exhausting, but we finally reached a somewhat large doghouse, where...
"Oink?"
"...?"
"Little sib!! Let's go outing!!"
"Oink! Oiiiink!!"
"???"
It wasn't cute at all—just a massive pig, like the ones our teacher showed us at school. The kind that looked like it'd snap in half if you bumped it lightly.
What is this place? It's scary. Is Tonggumi always like this? I wanna go home...
Our young friend Yuri seems more timid and frail than I expected.
Don't kids need to chew on rocks and joyfully ride playground centrifuges with friends when they're little to grow up strong and sturdy?
'In my past life, even when I flew off the centrifuge, I'd laugh it off, jump right back up, and hop on again.'
I still remember it vividly.
Those days when my shins were caked in blood and I didn't even notice, just yelling "Wheee, so fun~!" while playing.
Then at home, I'd see my pants soaked red, freak out a bit, slap on some ointment and mercurochrome, wrap it all in bandages, and brag to my friends the next day.
That's how kids build toughness—getting bloody from play, breaking bones here and there, taking hits. It's what gives you the stamina and endurance to survive the harsh adult world later.
Just look at me now.
"Oiiiiink!!"
"Aaaaaah!!!"
"Kyaaaaaaa!!!"
Me and Tonggumi's youngest, our mascot... Calling it a wild boar feels impersonal, so I named our quadrupedal little sibling Burari. We're tearing down the road together!!
Doesn't this prove a kid who can handle a playground centrifuge has a physique rivaling a wild boar's?
Last year, I could still pass for human-level, but lately, I've been creeping into superhuman territory.
That's why when racing Burari, I give myself a handicap and run on all fours for fairness. Hehe.
This refreshing wind, the wide-open road free of cars or people.
Basking in the breeze mixed with salty sea air and the fresh scent of grass and earth, running wild without a care in the world.
This is the pure freedom only kids can feel. Yup.
Grown-ups don't have the stamina or time for this.
So while we're young, we gotta milk these privileges for all they're worth—no regrets later. Right?
"Sto-Stop!! No more!!! Let me off! Let me oooooff!!!"
Sigh. With all this timidity, can she even survive the brutal adult world?
Body and mind both so fragile. Hmm. No helping it.
For my first friend in this Han Yuna life, time for a special training course.
"Burari! Right turn!!!"
"Oiiiink!!"
Burari and I naturally hop the railing and head up the mountain.
We usually stick to roads for walks, but sometimes even pet boars miss the wild, so we run the hills together like this. Yeah.
But get this?
There are no paved paths on Tonggumi's mountains yet.
The old folks have no reason to bother climbing.
"Kyaaaa!! Kyaaaaaaa!!!"
Seeing her cling to Burari's neck and wail like a roe deer really fires me up!
Our first nature outing of the year, and Burari's putting extra oomph into those gallops too!
Alright! Burari! Let's run another 30 minutes like this!
For our friend Yuri to be reborn healthy and strong, Tonggumi's beast duo has gotta step it up, right?!
Full-course treatment!!
With that spirit, I cleared my head and dashed excitedly...
......
"Yu-Yuna... Hng. I-I wanna go home... Take me baaaack..."
"...Bu-Burari. Look over there. Th-That's a mountain I've never seen!"
"O-Oink! Oooink!!"
We're screwed.
We're lost.
"Huh? Where'd Yuri go? Owner~ Have you seen my daughter around here?"
"Eh? Daughter? Oh~ You mean the one with short hair, all tiny?"
"Yes, yes! That's her."
"That kid? She went off to play with our neighborhood Peerless Warrior earlier."
"??"
Peerless Warrior? Did some burly guy drag her off?
I worried she might've been kidnapped, but the old man sitting dazed out front of the supermarket didn't seem concerned.
"Peerless Warrior?"
"Yup. Peerless Warrior. The kid from that young couple over there. Girl's got insane strength and a great personality, so that's what we call her around here."
"Aha."
Just a nickname, huh.
Good. Looks like our girl made a friend and went to play.
"Really? That's great~ We were planning to stay the night anyway. Gimme the fish market haul and a crate of soju."
"Whoa, going all out today, eh? Big catch?"
"Sigh, what can I say~ The net was overflowing when we hauled it in~ Gonna day-drink in the tent over there and head back tomorrow morning."
"Tsk tsk. Got the wife's permission?"
"......"
Eh. Tomorrow's me can handle that somehow, right?
Irresponsible thinking that'd make tomorrow's me flip out and rage, but whatever.
Can't just let all that rockfish and small fry go to waste.
Fresh rockfish sashimi first, mix the rest into spicy anchovy sauce for hoe-deopbap, and boil the small ones whole into maeuntang stew.
Should set some aside in case Yuri and her friend show up.
Grinning ear to ear.
The owner tossed in some cola as a bonus. Chatting with my buddies, passing drinks around, getting buzzed—then swigging straight from the bottle 'cause glasses felt lame...
"Thud! Hey, waitasec? Where's Yuri?"
"Huh? Yuri? Oh~ Probably off playing with her friend."
"Heh~. Sounds good. Whoa now. What's with the empty bottle? Already wasted?"
"Pfft. I could drink all day."
The sun had set, sky gone dark, surroundings pitch black—yet we kept pounding the soju.
Looks like our Yuri really hit it off with her new friend~