Chapter 65
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Seru's Day (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Woof woof! Woof woof!
As the brown puppy-shaped alarm clock (named Bori) let out its wake-up call, her eyes snapped open.
Seru, freshly awake, peered out the window with her bright, clear eyes. Outside wasn't the usual overcast sky she saw every day—instead, the sun was shining.
Sure, it was half-obscured by something, but a sun was a sun.
'The weather's clear today! I can draw a sun in the weather section of my diary.'
Ever since the number appeared on her wrist, it had been "cloudy" every single day.
But yesterday, after she teamed up with Uncle, her big sister, her big brother, and the others to defeat the monster, she could finally mark it as "clear."
On such a special day, her picture diary had to be special too.
Filling it with the usual stuff about training and hunting? No way—Seru wouldn't stand for that.
'That's it! I'm gonna do something fun today! First...'
Seru got out of bed and neatly folded her bedding.
That made her a good kid, and she was a hundred—no, a thousand times better than that.
She stuffed the bulging blanket back in by force, shaping it up, then placed her hands on her hips and grinned.
'Good enough, good enough. It's no big deal.'
Turning her head to the next bed, she saw her big brother sleeping with his belly exposed, smacking his lips like he was dreaming about something.
"Nom nom... Gimme some too, that looks yummy..."
Seru toddled over and shook her babbling big brother's arm to wake him.
"Big bro, big bro. Let's play, Seru and you."
"Ungh... Yeah, big bro'll play with you, nom nom."
"No! Not in your dream—wake up!"
"Yeah yeah, big bro'll..."
Snore—snore—
He cracked his eyes open and looked at her for a moment, mumbling to himself before diving back into snores.
'Dang it, big bro's not playing.'
She'd wanted to spend the rare day off with him, but big bro was out.
'No choice. Guess I'll play by myself.'
Normally on a special day like this, she'd ask her big brother first what to do, but now she had to figure it out all on her own.
Crossing her arms clumsily like her big brother often did, Seru pondered for a bit before clapping her hands.
"Hmm... Ah! That sounds perfect!"
Sparks flared up in the air matching her clap, flickering out, but she ignored them and left the room.
...
Maybe because it was still early morning, the hallway was completely empty, not a soul in sight.
Standing in the silent, still corridor, Seru paced back and forth on her tiptoes.
'Which room should I go to?'
Everyone was off today, they'd said.
Big bro, Min-jun Uncle, Firefighter Uncle, Bear Uncle, So-hee Unnie, Soo-yeon, Soo-yeon's uncle, even Auntie—all of them.
Playing with So-hee Unnie who was great at playing with her, or Bear Uncle who'd protected her so reliably in battle, or her friend Soo-yeon—all sounded good.
But today...
"Uncle! I'm going to Min-jun Uncle's!"
He was always training whenever he had free time.
So what did Uncle do on his days off? Curious, Seru stood in front of the door to Min-jun's room.
Knock knock.
A careful knock brought a clear voice from inside the room.
Unlike her lazy big brother, Uncle was diligent, as expected.
"Yes, come in."
"Pardon the intrusion."
Now a full-fledged elementary schooler at eight years old, Seru politely greeted him as she cautiously opened the door.
"Hi, Uncle."
Peeking her head in, she saw Uncle at his desk, greeting her with a pleased face.
"Seru, it's 'pardon the intrusion,' not 'pardon the intrusings.'"
"But, Uncle, can I come in?"
"Of course. What brings our team's mascot to see me? And up this early?"
Sniff sniff.
With his permission, she stepped inside, and a familiar scent brushed her nose.
'What was this smell again... Ah! That wood smell!'
The wood from when the magic stone opened. She'd remembered it because of its thick, heavy aroma.
Inhaling it, Seru looked around the room and finally sat in a chair far enough from Uncle to face him.
"Me? I decided to be a reporter today."
"A reporter?"
Her role for the day was to write stories about her teammates—as a reporter.
It was practice for when she grew up to be a great reporter like her dad someday.
And the first person the future reporter would interview was 'Uncle.'
"Yeah, you're my 'interflooee.' So keep doing what you were doing. I'll be quiet and stay right here."
"'Interflooee' is 'interviewee.'"
"Psh, no biggie, no biggie."
Seru waved her hand to brush it off, and Uncle smiled warmly at her.
"If it's an interview, shouldn't you ask questions or take pictures or something?"
"I'll do pictures in my diary. And I'm doing observation reporting, so no questions needed."
"Observation reporting? Is that a thing?"
"I just made it up."
Observing Uncle—who only ever trained and exercised—on his day off, and drawing it in her diary.
Unnie and big bro would all be curious too. Her diary would be worth a fortune someday.
"You'll get bored... You sure?"
"Of course! I'm mature. I'm almost old enough for elementary school already!"
"Wow! Our little Seru's all grown up."
Uncle, who'd approached in the blink of an eye, ruffled her hair.
At the warm touch, Seru unwittingly closed her eyes for a moment, then remembered why she was here and shook her head.
"No! I'm not a kid. I'm a reporter today. So you do your thing, Uncle."
"Ah, in that case, I should treat you right as a reporter. But, young reporter, interviewing me will cost you, you know?"
"...Cost?"
Cost?! What cost!
She hadn't even thought of that. Seru hurriedly dug into her pocket and pulled out one of the three candies she'd saved for break time.
"Here, this!"
"Oho! Yes, thank you. Looking forward to working with you, Reporter."
"Ahem, got it."
Trading snacks for an interview opportunity—being a great reporter was a long, tough road.
Uncle popped the candy in his mouth and sat back at the desk, fiddling with something.
It was a chunk of wood the size of his face, and he was carving it with a small knife.
Scrape scrape—
"..."
For a good while, the only sound in the quiet room was the knife shaving the wood.
Seru watched intently.
Uncle, quietly focused, had a smile playing on his lips.
'He enjoys playing alone in his room like that? Looks boring.'
Truth be told, she hated being alone. Thinking back now, she couldn't imagine how she'd survived alone with just her big brother in that basement before—being alone quietly was scary and awful.
Whenever big bro went hunting, she'd spend the day bored in that dark place (sure, there was the passed-out Firefighter Uncle, but still).
'Back then.'
If Uncle hadn't come to their house... Just imagining it was horrifying.
Scrape scrape—
Even as she thought that to herself, the steady sound of the knife on wood tickled her ears, calming her mind.
...
Was she getting too comfy?
Her eyelids were growing heavy.
'No, gotta observe Uncle...'
Knock knock knock.
Just as her eyes were drifting shut, a knock came at the door.
Seru jolted awake at the sound and pretended to be casual.
A reporter who fell asleep on the job was a failure.
—Boss, can I come in?
"Yes, Team Leader Jeong. Come on in."
Hearing Firefighter Uncle's voice from outside, Uncle set down the wood and opened the door.
"I figured the boss would be up. Huh? Seru, you're here too? Playing in here?"
"Not playing. I'm a reporter today. Uncle's my interfoogee."
"Interfoogee?"
"Seru says she's interviewing me all day."
"Oh, playing reporter, huh."
"No! Not playing! I'm a real reporter!"
Firefighter Uncle just didn't get it. Calling it play—he still thought she was a little kid.
"Yeah yeah. Reporter, huh? Interview me sometime later too."
"Anyway, Team Leader Jeong, what brings you here?"
"Ah, got sidetracked talking to Seru. I wanted to practice the new skill I picked up, so I came to ask you to be my training partner."
"Ah... Of course, happy to help."
Her sharp reporter's eyes just caught Uncle's subtle expression shift.
Deep breath before answering. His dark eyes wavered at "training partner."
'Uncle wants to be alone...'
She considered telling Firefighter Uncle, but remembering her role today, Seru clamped her mouth shut.
'Observe. I'm just observing.'
Uncle followed Firefighter Uncle out in his casual clothes, and the two headed to the training ground to spar.
Firefighter Uncle with his own weapon, Uncle with a practice iron club.
Seru sat off to the side, watching Uncle respond to the training.
"Team Leader, that move's better for advancing than retreating..."
"In that situation just now, instead of swinging your weapon once, step in and claim the advantageous position..."
"Hup... Yes, just like that!"
'Wasn't he annoyed earlier?'
Where was the guy who'd hated leaving his room? Now it was just Min-jun Uncle, sweating buckets and earnestly helping Firefighter Uncle.
'Weird Uncle.'
The enthusiastic session started early in the morning and only wrapped up at lunchtime.
"That helped a ton. You're the boss, alright!"
"Haha, no big deal. Call me anytime you need more help."
"Yes, I'll do that next time too!"
Firefighter Uncle left to have lunch alone with Unnie for the first time in ages, leaving Seru and Uncle to head back to the room.
Uncle took a quick shower, then sat down and resumed fiddling with the wood.
Scrape scrape.
Seru cautiously approached and observed. Uncle turned to her with a gentle smile.
"What can I do for you, Reporter?"
"...Nothing."
"Want me to tell you what I'm making?"
"No! I can figure that out myself!
"Ah, I see. Mind if I keep going then?"
"...Yeah."
She itched to ask what it was, but to fulfill her mission, she held back again.
'Big bro said adults are good at holding back.'
Scrape scrape.
Each pass of Uncle's dagger revealed more shape from the wood.
But it still wasn't clear enough to identify.
Seru returned to her seat to watch him carve.
Gurgle.
And then—her stomach growled, echoing through the quiet room.
'Oh no, a reporter who can't even hold back hunger... I'm disqualified.'
"It's not 'cause I'm hungry..."
"You've been working hard on your reporting, Reporter. Let me treat you—lunch together?"
"Together?"
"Yes, together."
"Then... since you asked so nicely, I guess I have no choice but to eat with you—"
Knock knock knock.
Just as she was accepting Uncle's earnest lunch invite, another knock sounded at the door.