89
Chapter 89
I was Jjokkomi's Oppa.
This was an undeniable fact.
Even though I was born later than Jjokkomi, that wasn't exactly important.
If I included my past life's age, I was much older.
My mental age would also be much higher and more mature.
And today, I finally became able to speak.
It was the moment I had been waiting and waiting for.
The time had come to correct this flawed relationship and establish the hierarchy once and for all.
"Kku-o! Stop saying weird things and call me Noona right now!"
"Bear Baby, don't be so stubborn. You really are the younger sibling."
Jjokkomi denied reality.
Beside her, Ailee kept chiming in to support Jjokkomi's claims.
Somehow, I felt like Ailee was being even more annoying.
Please don't interfere in our relationship when you don't know anything.
This is an issue that Jjokkomi and I have to resolve.
Now, then....
Shall we try to make this foolish Jjokkomi, who firmly believes she is the Noona, submit!
Persuasion shouldn't be too difficult.
After all, no one should know the fact that I was born last.
"I heard it from our dead mom. She said she gave birth to you too, and that you were the last one! Kku-o!"
Wait.
You knew?
This is a big problem.
Why did Mother Bear say something so unnecessary?
Didn't she erase all her memories of me the moment she abandoned me?
...There's no way Mother Bear brought it up first.
It seems Jjokkomi persistently asked her about me.
Either way.
The fact that Jjokkomi knew I was born last was a huge disaster.
If things are like this, it'll be hard to persuade her....
In that case, it can't be helped.
I have no choice but to use my ultimate secret technique.
Special move! Rolling on the floor and throwing a tantrum!
Roll roll roll roll bear bear bear!!!
"Gom-gom, gom-gom!"
I am the Oppa!
"Kku-o?"
"Bear Baby has started throwing a tantrum...."
***
I quickly got up from my spot.
As I was rolling around, I started to feel a sense of shame.
Because it felt like a little child with a low mental age was throwing a fit.
Showing this kind of behavior would only push me further away from the position of Oppa.
However, my Action just now was not entirely meaningless.
Because thanks to it, I managed to reach a dramatic agreement with Jjokkomi.
"Oppa."
Jjokkomi called me Oppa.
"Gom-gom."
I called Jjokkomi Noona.
We had compromised to call each other Oppa and Noona.
Putting down my pride to throw a tantrum was worth it.
Well, I was satisfied with just this much.
At least I was being called Oppa now.
Calling Jjokkomi Noona couldn't be helped.
Since Jjokkomi knew I was born last, it was hard to persuade her otherwise.
So, as an Oppa, I had to make this much of a concession. What else could I do?
Sometimes you have to take a step back like this to get what you want.
"Gom-jjang! Call me Noona too!"
Out of nowhere, Fox came over and said to me.
How dare she.
Whack.
I fed her a Bear-Bear Punch to the forehead.
I will absolutely never call you Noona.
"Sniffle...."
Fox looked sullen as she turned and walked away.
Even though walking away just meant staying right nearby.
Oh, for the record.
Even though I could speak now, I didn't reveal the fact that I had memories of my past life to anyone.
Why would I bother bringing that up?
It wasn't like it would bring me any benefit.
Also, since this world didn't seem very welcoming to a Reincarnation like me, I made up my mind to keep any talk of my past life to myself.
I didn't mention it even when sorting out the hierarchy with Jjokkomi.
That was because I judged it wouldn't help at all.
Setting aside whether she would believe my words or not.
I honestly knew it was a stretch to argue that I was the Oppa just because my mental age was higher due to my past life memories.
Ahem, anyway.
For now, I should just keep my past life as exactly that—a past life.
Of course.
That didn't mean I would stay silent about it forever.
If a situation arose where mentioning my past life would be helpful to me, I intended to reveal it without hesitation.
I was merely keeping my mouth shut for now because I judged that revealing it currently would bring no benefit.
***
Night fell.
When everyone fell asleep.
The Puppeteer Doll and I, who could not get any Sleep, sat shoulder-to-shoulder and blankly stared up at the ceiling.
Meanwhile.
"...!"
The Puppeteer Doll suddenly sprang up from its spot.
And, without fail today, it started to show off a dance, bobbing its body to a beat.
It wasn't anything special.
It had been doing this often every night lately.
It was probably just bored since it was the time when everyone else was asleep.
"...!"
But the more I looked, the worse its dancing was.
Why were its dance lines getting weirder by the day?
It was a pity that there was no Development at all.
It truly was a talentless fellow.
No. This wasn't just a lack of talent; it was definitely cursed to be unable to dance.
You'd think its skills would improve even a little bit by dancing every night, but it was actually regressing.
"...! ...!"
Its dancing was unbearable to watch, but I clapped for it anyway.
Since it was dancing so earnestly.
While clapping, I also muttered these words.
"Gom-gom, gom-gom-gom."
You have no talent.
Even though I said that, it wouldn't be hurt.
Because the Puppeteer Doll couldn't understand my words.
Just like how I used to be, it couldn't understand anything unless the other party spoke in a structured language.
No matter what I said, it would just sound like I was saying gom-gom, gom-gom-gom.
Still, unlike the time when neither of us could speak, a window for communication had opened for us.
Because there was one method to convey my words to it.
That method was simply having the ones who could use structured language provide Interpretation for my words.
Ultimately, this was still just a one-way communication where only my words were conveyed.
However, through this method, some degree of communication with the Puppeteer Doll was possible.
If I asked a question, the Puppeteer Doll would answer with its body language.
Like nodding its head, or shaking its head from side to side.
Furthermore, I could observe its reactions or changes in its expressions.
In other words.
Are you perhaps a Reincarnation too?
It meant I could also ask it questions like this.
For now, asking Ailee to provide Interpretation for this would be a bit awkward.
It wouldn't matter to me either way, but I was worried that if the Puppeteer Doll really was a Reincarnation, Ailee's way of looking at it might change.
It might just be needless worrying.
After all, this was Ailee, who had accepted a fellow born as a doll as her own child.
I didn't think her perspective would change just because it was a Reincarnation.
Still, you never know, so I decided to avoid it if possible.
Besides, there was someone suitable to provide Interpretation for my questions.
Little Yellow Dragon, Jjokkomi, Fox.
I just needed to ask one of these three.
It wasn't exactly a secret that I couldn't let anyone find out I was a Reincarnation.
So for now, I decided to take my time thinking about it and choose one of them later to ask for Interpretation.
There was absolutely no rush.
This was a question born from simple curiosity.
Whether the Puppeteer Doll was a Reincarnation or not didn't really matter.
Because even if it was a Reincarnation, nothing would change anyway.
It would just be a pleasant surprise.
I'd be much happier if it was from Earth, but even if it was a Reincarnation, there was a high chance it wasn't from Earth.
***
Time passed and morning dawned.
The Teddy Bear and the Puppeteer Doll began preparing for the festival.
Ailee, Jjokkomi, Tosuni, Little Yellow Dragon, Fox, and Turtle helped prepare for the festival as soon as they woke up.
The Teddy Bear was making food using its skills, the Puppeteer Doll was directing the Fake Dolls to transport monster corpses from the first floor, and the rest were busy setting up the food to look nice.
While festival preparations were in full swing inside the Dungeon.
Outside the Dungeon, not too far from the Portal.
"Ribbit, ribbit."
A frog was walking along, carefully hugging a box to its chest.
Once again, it was to deliver a gift to the Teddy Bear's Dungeon today.
Just as it arrived near the Dungeon's Portal.
"Ri-ribbit?!"
The frog hurriedly hid its body in the bushes.
It was because it witnessed a procession of countless monsters approaching the Portal.
"Wuuooom. It's been a while since we went out in a group like this."
"So exciting! It's a festival!"
"Will our Dungeon be okay? Nothing will happen while we're away, right?"
"I'm worried too. Almost half of us emptied out the Dungeon, after all."
"Two Ancestors are staying behind, so what's there to worry about? One Ancestor is stronger than all of us combined. Ah, excluding the Queen, of course."
"That's right. And the Elders also stayed behind to protect the Dungeon, so don't worry."
"Awooo, awoooo."
With the Crimson Rabbit at the forefront.
A scene of rabbit-type monsters and Mutant monsters entering the Dungeon.
"What is happening right now, ribbit......."
The frog, who was holding its breath and watching the spectacle, belatedly caught sight of a Luna Rabbit.
"Is that the Moon Tribe...?!"
Suddenly, the frog's body froze.
An indescribable terror wrapped around its entire body.
"...I-I need to get a grip. This is no time to be like this, ribbit!"
After trembling in fear, the frog barely managed to collect its senses, threw the box onto the ground, and turned around to start running at full speed.
"I must quickly return and report this to the Master of the Lake, ribbit!"
The frog hurried toward the lake.