Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: The Heukrim Market
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No, this man probably saw what Heuk Daewi was doing, lost his mind, and would have left him beyond recovery.
That would have complicated things.
I grabbed my uncle’s sleeve.
He felt left out, didn’t he?
‘Sheesh, he’s not a child.’
He was a regular eight-year-old terror.
For the record, I say eight because he seems mentally younger than Cousin Gyewon.
I shook my head but soothed my uncle anyway.
“Anyway, it's aww sowved now, so it's okay.”
“……”
Heuk Birang turned his head away sharply, his slightly flushed face pouting.
“As if I wasn’t always. I’m better than my eldest brother, you know.”
Heuk Birang grumbled as he stepped back.
“I know how to appreciate the person who treats me, okay? I’m ready to do anything, and well…”
“But someone who can’t go outside isn’t hewpful yet.”
“Ah, damn it! It’s not like I wanted this to happen!”
Well, I understood that.
After all, Heuk Birang couldn’t go out because of the people who picked fights with him over his illness or were jealous of his abilities.
“Wast time, Daddy and Eldest Uncwe hewped a wot. They were so cool.”
“Huh? My eldest brother and *that guy*?”
Why is Eldest Uncle “brother” and Dad “that guy”?
“Why is Daddy ‘that guy’?”
“Well… I could understand if it were my brother, but I doubt that man ever acted like a proper father… Ugh!”
Heuk Birang hastily ducked his head. A gust of wind whipped through the space where he had just been.
“Haha, you missed!”
*Thwack!*
“Keuk…”
“You should watch the back of your head, too.”
Dad said nonchalantly.
‘I knew he was going to get hit…’
That was just how Dad was. He didn’t start fights, but he never backed down from one.
‘Come to think of it, all three brothers seem to have that impatient chihuahua temperament…’
No, that wasn’t right. Eldest Uncle was more mature, like a sly, clever puppy.
I guess only my uncle was the chihuahua.
“Brother, what do you think you’re doing!”
In any case, the explanation was over, and with no time to waste, I tried to leave.
“Hey, hey, wait a minute.”
But Heuk Birang stopped me and spoke in a serious tone.
“Hey, kid. The more I think about it, the more anxious and worried I am about sending you with my second brother. So…”
His expression was grim.
“I’ll sneak out with you.”
I paused. Then, I broke into a wide, bright smile.
“Daddy! Uncwe is saying stwange things, get wid of him!”
“What? Hey, hey, Heuk Biyu! You damn kid! Ugh!”
As if on cue, the wind whipped around Heuk Birang’s body.
“Crazy, you’re crazy! Stop! I said stop… Aaaah! I won’t let you get away with thiiis!”
In an instant, Heuk Birang was sent flying far into the sky.
‘A home run.’
Dad, having gotten rid of him in one fell swoop, landed lightly beside me.
“Too much idle chatter.”
Both my eldest uncle and my dad seemed to treat their problem-child uncle very roughly. Was this how all youngest brothers were treated?
‘The heroine’s father… is he really going to be okay like this…?’
“Let’s go to the market!”
I smiled, even as I had that thought.
“Are we ready to go now?”
“Yep!”
* * *
“Daddy, did you eat today? Did you eat?”
A short while later, we arrived at the main gate of the Heuk family estate.
Gambarin, the restricted area manager, had issued the permit more easily than expected, so leaving the estate wasn’t difficult.
‘Though we did attract a lot of stares.’
It seemed word of what happened in the main building had spread like wildfire. Seeing this, it wouldn’t be long before…
‘Someone from the main family will be coming soon.’
I hummed a little tune.
At the main gate, Dad lifted me into his arms and floated into the air, as if he planned to use his ability.
‘Whoa.’
Thanks to him, I was able to see a panoramic view of the city, something I had never seen in any of my lives.
The scenery shifted with every leap from roof to roof.
It was a magnificent experience.
It wasn’t like riding a roller coaster as before, so I could enjoy the view.
That aside.
“Daddy, why aren’t you answewing? I asked if you ate.”
This man, his silence was basically a confession.
Dad, my uncle, and my eldest uncle all shared the same flaw. These men!
They were patients, but they lacked the basic discipline to be treated!
Regular meals! Quality sleep! No smoking or drinking! Absolute mental stability!
‘I heard Eldest Uncle got caught secretly drinking by Heuk Gyewon…’
And what about my problem-child uncle?
He seemed to be doing better, but he still appeared to suffer from occasional anxiety.
And as for my dad.
‘I can tell now that I’m next to him. He doesn’t eat.’
He had habits that made me wonder how he’d survived at all.
Moreover, skipping meals was something my uncle and eldest uncle were also guilty of, just to different degrees.
At least Eldest Uncle had Heuk Gyewon to make him eat.
Lately, it seemed my cousin had started calling my uncle over to eat as well.
‘If it weren’t for me, wouldn’t Cousin Gyewon be the man of the house? These damn adults!’
Are you guys even adults?!
I glared at my dad with narrowed eyes.
“…I ate.”
“Weally? You’re not wying again and cawwing dwinking water a meal, are you?”
“……”
Hey, mister father!
“Water is not a meal!”
“I see. From today on, we shall name it a meal.”
“Are you kidding me?”
Dad glanced at me, his eyes scanning me up and down.
“You’re skin and bones yourself.”
“That’s because I gwew up without enough food.”
“……”
Dad slowly turned his head away.
Why bring up something you’ll only regret?
“…You nag too much.”
“Then don’t do things that make me nag. You bad patient.”
“……”
We zipped past the rooftops in silence.
“I have a question. The manager of the restricted area.”
“Gambarin?”
“Yes. How did you know his personal information and weaknesses?”
I paused. I had already been asked this by my eldest uncle when I was pressuring Gambarin.
I hadn’t expected to be asked again by my dad. Especially not on the way to the market…
I said nonchalantly.
“Is it a trade secret?”
He cut me off. Drat, I was going to use that line again.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I have no intention of forcing it out of you.”
For some reason, his words sparked an irresistible urge in me.
‘How much would you believe if I told you?’
I looked up at my dad.
Gazing at his well-defined features, I suddenly said.
“Actuawwy, I came fwom anothew wowld.”
“What?”
“And I’ve wived many wives here. So there’s nothing I don’t know. That’s how I knew.”
My dad’s eyes fixed on me.
“If you don’t want to talk about it, just say so.”
“Okay.”
I knew he’d react this way. I grinned.
I had used my life force to treat him so he could improve on his own, but the symptoms of his illness still lingered.
Will he one day forget this day, too?
‘Still, I hope he understands.’
I’ve never once lied to my dad.
* * *
We arrived at the market.
‘Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve been here.’
The scale of it was enormous. I was impressed all over again.
The territory ruled by the Heuk family had many places named in an Eastern style.
The name of the apothecary market was ‘Heukrim’.
‘What’s with that name? It sounds like a forest full of villains from a martial arts story.’
In my first life, I came and went constantly for errands, and in my second, I even worked here due to my voracious appetite for knowledge.
In my third life, I earned my travel funds here.
The Western Continent worshipped dragons as guardian deities and revered fire and earth.
As a result, it was full of earth mages who used weapons from the ground and fire mages who wielded the power of fire.
Among them were those who earned money through street performances.
“Woooow! A fire show.”
“This fire mage is pretty good.”
“You mean the strongman, right?”
Of course, not just anyone on the Western Continent could become a mage, so the majority of people were ordinary.
“We go that way.”
After my untimely death in the first life, I gritted my teeth and studied pharmacology in my second.
“What are we buying?”
“That would be…”
No one was willing to teach me when I didn’t have a proper guardian.
There was a time when I worked for free in the market, gaining experience however I could.
“Today, we’re going to buy something very, very precious.”
But because the family treated me with such contempt, there were things I was able to overhear.
‘Wow, so you’re saying you found that in a market alley?’
‘Wow, so you’re saying you found that in a market alley?’