A Scent from the Otherworld
Days had passed since the Druid incident. Fortunately, Sujin had regained her energy as time went on. It felt like she was forcing herself to act cheerful, but I didn't call her out on it. Emotions have a way of feeding on themselves and growing. The more you dwell on hardship, the harder it gets; the brighter your outlook, the brighter life becomes. Sujin, having rolled through years as a hunter, seemed to have internalized this, snapping back to her old self in no time.
The kill on the Druid went down as her achievement. Thanks to that, not only did she avoid getting chewed out for wrecking her armor, but a commendation plaque even arrived in the mail from the government.
With the matter settled, the return-to-farming plan kicked off again. The purification of the Back Mountain Field had shifted our priorities a bit. We decided to start with an orchard rather than field crops. Fruit trees take longer to establish, after all.
It was a simple task: buy some saplings of decent fruit trees and plant them.
"Oppa! I saw on YouTube that you do it like this."
"Heh. I know."
"Hehe. Yeah, you'd know better than me."
Back when we were kids, I'd often helped our parents with farm work. Sujin, being a girl, was mostly let off the hook, but as the boy, I got dragged into it every time.
I used to resent that as a kid.
Who would've thought that later, I'd want to do it but couldn't—and now here I was, doing it again. Life's full of surprises.
I dug a shallow hole with the shovel, planted the sapling, and sprinkled fertilizer behind it. Even after twenty years, farming hadn't changed much.
Thud.
Over to the side, Yelena had joined in on the sapling-planting too. She was the one digging with the shovel, while Sujin and I handled the planting.
Thud. Thud.
The ground was still half-frozen from the cold weather, yet she was digging it up impressively well.
"Whoa! Yelena! How are you so good with a shovel?"
"...My mother taught me when I was little."
"Heh. Makes the work way easier, thanks to you."
"Leave it to me. Yelena works hard."
"Yeah!"
Yelena flashed a satisfied smile and kept digging away. Looking closely, a faint shimmer of mana rippled around the shovel.
If you're gonna use that, just say so.
Sujin still didn't know Yelena was an awakener. It struck me as odd now. Was there really a need to keep it secret? They seemed pretty close.
"Sujin, you and Yelena seem tight?"
"Huh? Of course! Over ten years of friendship."
"Still pen pals, right? You hadn't seen each other in ages."
"Oh, that?"
Sujin brushed the dirt off her hands and scratched her head.
"We are pen pals, but we actually met up about nine years ago. I was in Russia briefly for work."
"Whoa, they send you overseas? Big corp perks."
"Kinda... After joining, I spent half my time abroad. Russia, China, a few trips to Europe and the US."
"My little sis is a big shot now."
"Just work trips. You've never been overseas, Oppa?"
"Nope."
"Oh."
From what I'd gleaned online, overseas travel wasn't a huge deal these days. My one and only trip had been a school excursion to Jeju Island.
"Back in my day, people pointed fingers if you spent money abroad—said it'd trigger another IMF crisis."
"Huh? What's that got to do with travel?"
"Everything! Foreign currency's precious. That's why everyone hoarded gold."
I still remembered our parents collecting gold rings to deposit at the bank. But Sujin just laughed like it was ridiculous.
"Pfft, haha. Oppa."
She paused her laughter to drop a bombshell: overseas trips and the IMF crisis weren't really connected.
"N-No way. That's what they taught in school. It was in the textbooks."
"Whoa, I've only seen that as a meme. Someone actually learned it."
"Ugh."
"Anyway, Yelena's helped me out a ton. Yukang Group's work is official sometimes, but often off-the-books. I'd crash at her place those times."
"...Really? Nothing weird happen back then?"
"Weird? Nah..."
"Sujin. Soo-hyeok. What are you talking about?"
"Eek!"
The one digging far off suddenly popped her head in. I startled and fell on my butt.
"Haha. Why so jumpy?"
Sujin grinned and replied.
"Nothing much, Yelena. Oppa seems super interested in you. Keeps asking about you."
"......"
Yelena's brow furrowed deeply at Sujin's words.
"...Why stare like that?"
"Soo-hyeok. Keep promise. Promised. With me."
"Yeah, sure, but..."
"I. Watching Soo-hyeok."
She pointed two fingers from her eyes to mine, then went back to digging far off.
"You two get along well?"
"That looks like getting along?"
"If you really hated each other, she wouldn't even talk."
"...Sigh. Never mind."
We dropped the chit-chat and got back to planting saplings. Yelena, who hadn't paused once, was already way ahead.
At this rate, we'll finish by end of day.
I frowned at her distant figure. She was helpful, sure, but suspicious in so many ways. Hiding that she was an awakener, freaking out about public security and agents the moment she saw me... I'd let it slide amid the chaos, but letting someone like that into the house bugged me.
"Tch."
What could I do? Sujin was the head of the household now.
I shelved thoughts of Yelena and focused on planting.
Crunch.
As I went to dig again, something caught my eye. A weed that looked strangely familiar yet alien. They formed clusters about half a square yard across.
"This...?"
"Oh? Still some left."
Sujin raised an eyebrow, like she knew what they were. Odd-looking things: brown grass curled up at the ends like dried ferns.
"...What is it?"
"Yeah. Otherworld crop. Must've survived the dungeon bloom aftermath."
"Dungeon bloom?"
"You know, from the Druid thing? When everything around turned pitch black?"
"Yeah..."
"That's dungeon bloom. Next stage after a field grows. Ugh, still gives me chills thinking about it."
Sujin shuddered like the nightmare was replaying.
"Anyway, dungeon blooms spawn these. Unlike regular crops, they only grow in dungeons, so we call 'em otherworld crops. Thought they'd all died after killing the Druid, but some hung on. The cleanup crew must've missed these."
"They collect them? Why?"
"Why? They're like miracle drugs for awakeners. Can't really cultivate them. Some fetch insane prices."
"Ooh... So these are... valuable?"
"This one's just weed-tier. Effects are weak compared to others. A-12, I think? Still pricier than rice farming."
A-12. Sounded like a code name just for otherworld crops.
"Haha."
But Sujin had it wrong. This wasn't some fancy A-12 weed. It was pinch hookweed, one of the spices from over there.
"What's so funny?"
"Pfft, haha..."
"...What's up? You've been giggling weirdly."
"Just... ran into an old friend from afar."
I hadn't misseen it last time in the Back Mountain with the Ents. This uniquely shaped plant.
"...From afar?"
Sujin's eyes lit up.
"No way?"
"Yeah. Common as dirt over there."
Otherworld—most ubiquitous plant in that world. Never tasted it myself.
Reinhardt loved this stuff.
Expeditions meant a lot of field rations. I'd hunt while the party cooked, but we ate together. Mostly rehydrated hardtack in boiling water—faces got gloomier by the day. That's when Reinhardt would forage pinch hookweed and sprinkle it on. Spicy with that signature "pinch hook" aroma; one bunch made a whole pot of soup pop.
I'd always gripe, 'What's this pinch hook smell?'
Old memories brought a smile. He was probably living well now. With the Demon King dead, the three dukes of the demon realm gone too—they'd escaped the Demon Castle safely. Peace had come.
Heh. Who knew I'd miss it.
I shook my head to clear it.
"You know how to cultivate it?"
"Roughly."
"Whoa! For real? Otherworld crops wither fast—that's why they're pricey."
"Heh. Even better."
Even dung has its uses. Who'd have thought the Druid would hand us a gift like this?
I dug up the whole patch of pinch hookweed and loaded it onto the cart.
"C'mon. Time to show my sis some food from the world I lived in for twenty years."
"Hehe! Yeah!"
Sujin's eyes sparkled. Less like tasting otherworld cuisine, more like dreaming of riches—but I let it slide.
* * *
Back home, we headed straight to the vegetable patch out front.
"No one knows how to grow this?"
"Mm... Far as I know. Rumors of secret farms, but that's just talk. Assume impossible."
"Heh."
"How the heck do you cultivate them? Even our company tried everything and failed."
Sujin was an A-rank hunter at powerhouse Yukang Group. If they couldn't...
"Tried unique abilities, mana injections. Gave up and pulled the plug."
"Obviously. They don't grow on mana."
"What?"
"Wait."
"Gulp."
Sujin clamped her mouth shut at my cue. I gathered my focus fully.
Tuning into the surroundings: cool breeze, damp earth scent moistening my nose.
[......]
Then came the discordant yet harmonious tinnitus.
A bit more concentration.
[...Eek.]
[Eeek.]
This'll do.
Foaming-at-the-mouth whispers. First try—not bad. I'd caught the spirits' attention.
I whispered a small wish toward the voices.
Whoosh...!
The wilting pinch hookweed straightened up.
"Wha—...!"
"Phew. Worked."
"What was that? Just now?"
"Spirit arts."
"Spirit... arts? Oh!"
I'd mentioned it to Sujin once: otherworld humans used body techniques, spirit arts, and divine arts—no mana.
This was one: spirit arts.
"They offer rites to spirits before every planting over there."
Spirits. The biggest difference between Earth plants and otherworld ones.
"Whoa. So you've used spirit arts before?"
"Huh? Nah. Demons and spirits don't mix. Not as bad as divine arts, but still. Works now?"
Guess I really was human again. Divine arts make demons bleed from every orifice on contact. Spirits were antagonistic too, so I'd never bothered.
Stuck to body techniques.
But I knew the basics. Great Sage Argel—I'd begged her to teach me. Failed every time back then, gave up.
"How? Teach me!"
"Just... focus your mind, listen to the spirits' voices."
Sujin looked puzzled but mimicked me.
"...Not working?"
Frustrated frown.
"Heh. Aptitude varies."
"Ugh... Feels unfair."
"Haha. If you really wanna learn, I'll teach you slow later."
Fat chance, though. Mana cores resemble demon horns in nature. Awakeners would struggle with spirit arts.
"Whoa! How much is this worth?"
Sujin, over her pout, eyed the vibrant pinch hookweed with dollar signs in her gaze.
Sujin...
Whatever. Good is good.
Short growth cycle anyway—plenty more soon.
Should be fine... right?
I plucked a bunch.
"O-Oppa! What're you doing?"
"Hehe. It's fine. Grows back quick."
"Mm. If you say so."
I held the pinch hookweed to my nose and inhaled deeply. Unique aroma, first time experiencing it properly. As a demon, it'd rot on touch; nothing like it here.
"Not quite home, but... gotta try the flavors from afar."