48
Chapter 48
The place I arrived at after following Tosuni.
An injured Flame Bear was collapsed on the ground here.
That Flame Bear was none other than my Noona... no, my younger sister Jjokkomi. I could instantly recognize her just from her appearance now.
"Guh, oooh......."
No, Jjokkomi!
What in the world happened?
Why are you like this here?
Missing one of her front paws.
Jjokkomi was groaning while bleeding profusely.
I frantically paced around her, not knowing what to do.
"Guoh......."
She was losing too much blood.
The intensity of the flames flickering at the tips of Jjokkomi's fur had noticeably weakened.
It seemed like a sign that her life was fading.
Who did this to her?
Who dared to do this to my sister?
Emotions of rage boiled up inside me.
I wanted to find the culprit and get my revenge right this second.
Unlike when Ailee died, I was feeling an intense wave of emotion.
But I tried hard to calm down.
I need to stay calm for now.
Revenge can wait.
Treating Jjokkomi is the top priority right now.
But how do I treat her?
I don't have any healing skills...
I racked my brain trying to think.
Should I cauterize the wound with fire?
Since she's a Flame Bear, her condition might improve if I replenish her fire.
...No, let's not use an uncertain method.
It would be a disaster if it only worsened her condition.
There was only one best option I could take.
To use my Luck Breath.
If I stack multiple instead of just one, it might work out somehow.
After finalizing my thoughts.
Right as I was about to give her the Luck Buff.
"Woooong!!!"
Riiiip-
Tosuni's belly, right next to me, split open vertically.
Then, the pure white cotton filling inside her body was revealed.
Tosuni started pulling the cotton out of her body without hesitation.
What is she doing all of a sudden?
...Ah. Is she trying to stop the bleeding on the severed limb with her cotton?
My guess was correct.
Tosuni tightly bunched up the cotton she pulled from her body.
She then gently pressed that completed wad of cotton against Jjokkomi's bleeding wound.
I should use my Luck Breath too.
With that thought in mind, I was about to transform one of my arms into a Dragon Doll when I paused at a miraculous and surprising sight.
Sssss-
What? The wound is healing?
New flesh was sprouting over Jjokkomi's severed stump.
Her front paw wasn't regenerating, but the wound itself sealed up completely clean.
There was no more bleeding.
"Guoooh...."
"Wooong! Woong!"
What exactly happened?
Does the cotton of the Doll Tribe have healing effects?
No, that couldn't be it.
It must be that Tosuni's cotton is special.
I figured Tosuni must have used a skill that heals others with her cotton.
Tosuni's species name was the Devoted Rabbit Doll.
Looking at her species name, it wouldn't be strange for her to have an ability that heals others by sacrificing her own body.
Anyway.
Thanks to her, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.
You did great, Tosuni!
Tosuni also breathed a sigh of relief after seeing the wound close up.
"Woooong."
Nod.
I expressed my gratitude to Tosuni.
For this, expressing my thanks a hundred times wouldn't be enough.
If it wasn't for Tosuni, things would have gone horribly wrong.
I didn't know when she had smelled Jjokkomi's blood before, but because she remembered the scent of her blood, she was able to find where the injured Jjokkomi was.
But was this really a coincidence?
No matter how well Tosuni could track the scent of blood, she couldn't have smelled Jjokkomi's blood from our shelter. The distance between here and our shelter was quite far, after all. The reason she could smell the blood was because we had kept moving to retrieve the meatball that fell from my arms and rolled away, bringing us near this area. The location where we retrieved the last meatball wasn't too far from here, which was why Tosuni could smell the blood.
No matter how I looked at it, it didn't seem like a coincidence.
Perhaps this was Luck.
And a Great Luck at that.
***
Tosuni's belly was sealed back up.
The split area naturally closed itself together.
It wasn't particularly surprising.
I had witnessed her back naturally sealing up several times after the blood spurting from it stopped.
Jjokkomi's wound was cleanly healed.
She had fallen asleep with a peaceful expression.
I belatedly shot my Luck Breath at Jjokkomi's body.
The wound was already healed, but her condition might improve even faster thanks to the Luck.
"Woong, woooong."
As I was looking at the sleeping Jjokkomi, Tosuni pulled my arm and pointed in a certain direction.
A place full of bushes.
It was likely the direction back to our shelter.
"Wooooong, woong."
Tosuni pointed back and forth between the direction she just showed and Jjokkomi.
I think I know what she means.
You're saying we should move the sleeping Jjokkomi to our shelter, right?
I was planning to do that anyway.
It's not like we can just wait here doing nothing until Jjokkomi wakes up.
It would be dangerous if a powerful enemy were to appear while we were staying in a place like this.
For better safety, moving Jjokkomi to the shelter was the right call.
Heave, ho!
I lifted Jjokkomi up with both hands.
Thanks to growing a lot more than before, I could easily lift the large Jjokkomi.
"Woooong!"
Clap, clap, clap.
While Tosuni was clapping like a seal.
I used my Bloodsucking Enhancement skill to raise my power to the maximum level.
[Lucky Dragon Teddy Bear lv.16]
┗Pw.48 (+11)(+20)
┗Rnk.Superior
Even without the enhancement, I had no problem lifting Jjokkomi.
But I wouldn't be able to move quickly in this state.
Moving slowly is dangerous.
We could be ambushed while we're on the move.
In other words, I increased my power so we could return quickly.
Shall we head back now?
To our comfortable shelter!
I faintly knew the way back.
Since we didn't come as incredibly far as I had thought.
Even if I couldn't remember the way to the rabbits' Dungeon, I could at least remember this much.
Well, if I accidentally get lost, Tosuni will correct me.
As I headed towards the bushes while carrying Jjokkomi like that, Tosuni stuck close to my side with a determined expression. It was as if she was trying to cover me in preparation for an enemy ambush.
***
Tosuni and I returned to our shelter.
Not by the crushed Boxwood.
We stepped through the Portal located next to it and entered the Dungeon.
Because this is our new shelter now.
Right after returning.
I explained the whole situation to Ailee.
Naturally, since I couldn't speak, Tosuni explained it instead.
"Woong, wooooong. Wooong, woooooong!"
"Ah. So that's what happened...."
Ailee nodded her head slightly.
She had a look that said she fully grasped the situation.
It seems Tosuni managed to explain it properly.
Ailee looked at Jjokkomi with worried eyes.
"She must have encountered a strong monster while out hunting... But it's a relief. Even though she lost one of her front paws, she survived thanks to coincidentally running into you two."
I thought the same.
It's unfortunate that she lost a front paw,
but it was a relief that she didn't lose her life.
If Tosuni hadn't found her.
If she had been left there bleeding heavily.
There was a high chance Jjokkomi would have died.
Even if the bleeding wasn't life-threatening, she still wouldn't have survived.
Because Jjokkomi was in a state where she could no longer move.
The unknown monster that injured Jjokkomi would have eventually chased her down, or she would have been targeted by other monsters roaming nearby. Because there's no predator that would pass up such a good opportunity after finding an injured, immobile prey.
Anyway.
Afterwards, we nursed Jjokkomi with utmost devotion.
***
When a little time had passed.
"Guuuu...."
"Huh? It looks like she's regained consciousness!"
Jjokkomi woke up from her sleep.
As soon as she opened her eyes, she lifted her head and looked around.
She seemed to be trying to figure out where she was.
"Guoh...?"
This was an unfamiliar place to Jjokkomi.
However, she wasn't scared.
"Guoh...!"
She was slightly flustered, but seemed relieved to see us around her.
Did her tension dissipate?
Jjokkomi's body went limp.
She dropped her head again and lay flat on the ground.
Shiver.
Jjokkomi started trembling, perhaps feeling a bit cold.
The intensity of the flames flickering at the tips of her fur was still very weak.
Is there no way to increase that firepower again?
It seems like her condition would improve significantly just by returning the flames to their original state.
Hmmm.
Should I try the method I thought of earlier?
Maybe the fire I generate could help.
I didn't want to use an uncertain method.
That's why I didn't give Jjokkomi my fire earlier.
However, the situation is different now.
Because Jjokkomi's mind is currently sound.
She would be able to make a proper judgment herself after seeing the fire I created.
If it helps her, she'll accept it, and if it doesn't, she'll reject it.
With that thought in mind, just in case, I decided to try using my Flame Manipulation skill.
"Guoh?"
When a large flame was generated in my hand, Jjokkomi raised her head abruptly with her eyes sparkling.
And then, sticking her head out.
She quickly gobbled up the fire I made.
"Guoooh."
Fortunately.
The fire I made was helpful to Jjokkomi.
The intensity of the flames flickering on her fur became a bit stronger.
And at the same time,
Growl-!!
A sound like thunder echoed from Jjokkomi's stomach.
Are you hungry, our Jjokkomi?
That's quite a loud signal.
"Flame Bear, eat this."
"Woong, woooong!"
Even before I could take Action.
Ailee and Tosuni tactfully handed Jjokkomi a gourd bowl filled with meatballs and blood.
We couldn't bring back all the meatballs Tosuni had retrieved earlier, but there were quite a few left near the crushed Boxwood. Those meatballs had all been moved to the corner of the Dungeon, and Tosuni quickly brought them over to offer to Jjokkomi. As for the blood, Ailee had scooped it from a jar with a gourd bowl and brought it over.
"Guoooh...!"
Jjokkomi began to frantically fill her stomach.
Munch, munch.
She ravenously chewed and swallowed the meatballs.
Gulp, gulp.
She drank the blood without hesitation.
But is it okay for Jjokkomi to drink blood?
...I don't know. She's drinking it, so it must be fine.
While she was wildly inhaling the blood and meatballs like that.
Suddenly, tears began to form in Jjokkomi's eyes.
"Guuu guoooh... guhuhuhuk."
One drop, two drops.
The tears that were falling little by little suddenly became as fierce as a waterfall.
Even snot was running down her nose.
Gasp, gasp.
Jjokkomi wailing and crying bitterly.
Her crying, mixed with hiccups because she couldn't breathe properly, continued and filled the Dungeon.
"W-woong?"
"Flame Bear, what's wrong? Are you sad because you lost your front paw?"
"...?!"
Flustered, we clung to Jjokkomi and patted her back.
Jjokkomi put down the meatball she was holding,
and barely stopped crying while her shoulders heaved up and down.
She must have calmed down a bit after feeling our warmth as we stuck close to her.
"Woong, wooooong. Wooong?"
"......."
"Woooong, woooong!"
"Guoh, guoooh... guoooooh...."
Tosuni and Jjokkomi's conversation continued.
I'm not really sure what they are talking about.
Looking at the situation, I guessed that Tosuni was roughly asking Jjokkomi why she burst into tears.
Jjokkomi's front paw trembled.
Tears welled up in her eyes again.
"...Guoh, guooooh. Guooooh, guoh."
After she finished saying something.
Jjokkomi started crying bitterly once again.
"What...?"
"...Woong?!"
Ailee and Tosuni's eyes widened after hearing the last thing Jjokkomi said.
Why?
What did Jjokkomi just say?
The Baby Doll and I didn't understand a word, so please give us some Interpretation.
I tugged on Ailee's clothes.
"Ah. Bear Baby, you wouldn't have understood. Well, uh... what the Flame Bear just said was......."
Ailee's expression darkened.
She parted her lips slightly before continuing her words.
"...She said her mom and Oppa, who went out hunting with her today, died."