Since Bae Jinsu was dispatched, watching the sparring matches with Little Pepper has become the highlight of my day.
It’s probably even more fun because it’s a literal clash of fiery swords—an explosive showdown with sparks flying everywhere.
‘Still, Little Pepper is lasting much longer than before.’
I thought I should praise Little Pepper for all his hard work during our break, but a pungent scallion scent kept pricking my nose, breaking my focus.
It was the smell coming from the new Guardian, Pa-rongee.
He always tries to stick close, so I end up hauling Pa-rongee around like an inseparable shadow.
‘It’s a relief he’s light, but that scallion smell is a bit sharp.’
Still, since he’s been attached to me the whole time I worked the fields, he now feels like a part of my own body.
Ding~
[You sense that the Guardian ‘Little Pepper’—with whom you have lived like family along with ‘Bae Jinsu’—is currently in Sympathy.]
[You are in Sympathy with ‘Bae Jinsu’.]
[A great achievement! Even without words, your hearts are as one!]
[Your unique ability ‘Sympathy’ grows even stronger.]
‘Huh?! All of a sudden?’
Allows you to share your heart and communicate with living beings other than yourself.
Affinity with the species you have Sympathy with increases to a minimum level.
*Yudae: Enables communication between those in Sympathy, connecting their minds.
*Resonation: Establishes a bond of trust between targets affected by Yudae.
*Sharing: Allows you to share some stats or skills with those you’re in Sympathy with.
‘Th-this is amazing!’
The Sharing ability has been newly added to the Sympathy skill.
The attack skill I’d always wished for!
Because I’m a non-combat-type superhuman, I’ve always relied on others to protect me when danger or special abilities were needed.
Especially during that recent assault by strangers.
If Minjun and the Hunters hadn’t been there, I would have been helpless.
‘If I could borrow the power of Guardians, maybe I could become the Hunter I’ve dreamed of!’
But if it’s someone I’m in Sympathy with, could I perhaps borrow abilities from a person, not just a Guardian?
If so, I might even be able to use the spirit-handling powers of Elves, the skills of Minjun and Jinsu, or even the abilities of the fishfolk.
‘Uh… Does that make me a broken character, or a jack-of-all-trades?
Who cares.
It’s better to have something than nothing, and the more I have, the more useful it’ll be!
It’s all thanks to Jinsu, who’s diligently fulfilling his promise to teach Little Pepper.
Is this what Jinsu meant by Sword Dialogue?
Though they can’t speak to each other, they exchanged countless sword blows and thus communicated their true intentions and feelings.
Eventually, they reached a Sympathy of their own, without me as a mediator.
“Hey! Hyung! Little Pepper’s acting weird!”
“What’s wrong?!”
Jinsu’s urgent shout pulled me out of my thoughts, and I rushed to Little Pepper.
Jinsu stood helplessly beside Little Pepper, who was now shining with a brilliant red light.
He was kneeling with the Pepper Sword stuck in the ground, surrounded by a golden glow, reminiscent of Ddakkongi’s awakening.
“Awakening! I think he’s awakening! Ddakkongi awakened like this too!”
“Awakening?!”
I reached out, just like I did with Ddakkongi.
[Guardian ‘Little Pepper’ is currently awakening. Estimated time remaining: 13h:57m:42s]
“It really is an awakening. Ddakkongi awakened after personally defeating one of those B-Grade Hunters during the last attack.”
Unlike Ddakkongi, who awakened after overpowering a B-Grade Hunter alone, Little Pepper awakened after countless matches with Jinsu.
It seems that once a certain ‘experience’ threshold is met, awakening occurs.
‘Ddakkongi leveled up through hunting, and Little Pepper leveled up through training. If that’s the case…
If Pa-rongee gains experience in any way, could he awaken too?
He’s still sleeping with his eyes closed, clinging to my clothes without moving.
‘He’s got a long way to go. He’s only just been born.’
I brought a blanket from the house and covered Little Pepper.
“Ddakkongi awakened underground, but if he does it outside like this, it’s worrying.”
Jinsu, suddenly jobless, and I went back into the house together.
- You’re back. Try this.
Sensing our presence, Kasia came out of the kitchen and handed us some tea.
I hadn’t seen her, so she’d been inside all along.
“Oh! Suddenly, I can understand what Kasia is saying!”
“That’s probably because you’re in Sympathy with me. Kasia, what’s this tea?”
Because Jinsu is in Sympathy with Little Pepper, and Little Pepper is in Sympathy with me, Jinsu can now converse with Kasia thanks to the Yudae skill.
- It’s Ainmosni. I thought you wouldn’t drink it unless I brewed it myself, so I made it for you.
“Oh! What about me?”
- This isn’t for you, the one who falls asleep the moment your head touches anything.
I was touched by Kasia’s care, but my mouth dropped open at the sight of the kitchen in shambles behind her.
“Um, well… Thanks, but… Did a war break out in the kitchen or something?”
- War? Nothing happened. Ainmosni is just a hard plant to prepare.
Kasia, despite turning her usually clean kitchen into a disaster zone, didn’t seem bothered at all.
Does she not even think about keeping the kitchen clean?
Oh, dear.
Jinsu glanced at the kitchen and, seemingly choosing not to comment, coughed awkwardly and quietly retreated to his room.
‘She made it herself for me, so I can’t complain. I’ll just let it go…’
“Kasia, I’ll enjoy the tea. Thank you.”
- Think nothing of it. Oh, and make sure to hold your breath when you drink.
It was a warning similar to the one she gave when we went to Eliya to get Ainmosni.
Given how exhausted I was, I had already considered drinking it again.
Remembering how I slept so deeply in Eliya after drinking it, I really wanted to inhale its scent, but this time, I decided to heed Kasia’s advice.
Plugging my nose like I was diving underwater, I took a sip of the tea.
With my nose pinched, I couldn’t smell much, but instead, the warmth as the tea slid down my throat felt even more vivid.
A tingling sensation followed where the tea passed, and I could feel a subtle surge of vitality.
“Haah. That hits the spot.”
- Drink it slowly.
Is the effect stronger when brewed as tea?
Feeling unusually refreshed for the first time in ages, I downed the rest in one go.
Gulp, gulp!
- Eh? Didn’t I tell you to drink it slowly!
Energy surged through my body.
At the same time, my head and eyelids grew heavy, and a wave of drowsiness crashed over me.
The urge to collapse and fall asleep right where I stood was overwhelming.
I didn’t even manage to reply to Kasia before I hurried to my room and collapsed onto the bed.
- No Elf ever drinks that much of such strong tea at once… How reckless.
With Kasia’s exasperated voice as the last thing I heard, my consciousness flickered out.
“Urrraaagh!”
Maybe I’d slept too long; my back ached so much that I let out a howl without realizing it.
But I didn’t feel any fatigue—my whole body felt light.
“Kasia~ Where are you~”
Even making a racket like this, she didn’t come to tease me?
Where did she go?
She wasn’t in her room, the bathroom, or the kitchen.
Even the black cat that never left the sofa was nowhere to be seen today.
“Where did everyone go? Did they all go out?”
Grrr~
My stomach rumbled like crazy, making me realize just how long I’d slept.
After washing up lightly in the bathroom, I checked the mirror and realized not everyone had vanished.
Just like before he fell asleep, Pa-rongee was dozing on my shoulder.
“Hmm? Did you sleep with me?”
I patted his forehead gently, then walked out to the living room.
‘Did everyone head out?’
Thinking how diligent everyone was, I headed for the front door, intending to go outside.
Flash! Flash!
“I’m out! I’m out!”
Blinded by a sudden glare, I shielded my eyes with one arm and quickly shut the door.
‘What the—? Are they playing a prank on me?’
Before stepping out again, I lifted the blinds a little to check outside through the window.
Instead of Kasia and Jinsu, there were dozens of unfamiliar people with cameras gathered outside.
‘What’s going on? Reporters? Why are they here?’
A hundred thoughts raced through my head in an instant.
Maybe the source of the auctioned goods was revealed, or perhaps someone leaked the supplier for the high-end agricultural produce.
‘What should I do… I can’t put off tending the fields.’
These crops are precious to me, and my Sympathy with them has helped raise their grade.
Skipping even one day could lower their quality.
“Whew! Hoo.”
After a deep breath to steel myself, I slowly opened the front door.
“He’s out again!”
“Do Minho! Please look over here!”
“Is it true that Elves live here?!”
“Is this really the love nest where you live alone with an Elf maiden? So jealous!”
“Is it true that you’re a superhuman who can talk to other races?!”
“Please answer us!”
Questions bombarded me from every direction, leaving me dazed.
They immediately sensed my confusion and pressed harder, showing their experience as pros.
“What brings you all here?! Please don’t step on the field!”
There were reporters trampling the field, so I shouted, but my words were soon drowned out by their voices.
At that moment, one reporter, pushed out of the crowd, stepped on a peanut stem during the scuffle.
No, not my peanuts!
“Don’t step there!!”
Gasp! I startled even myself with how loud I yelled.
Did I always have such a booming voice?
Time seemed to freeze as silence fell.
“I’ll answer all your questions, just please come this way and don’t trample the field.”
Only then did they notice the field beneath their feet, and one by one they moved to the yard.
“Ahem. Are you really Do Minho?”
“Yes, that’s me.”
“Is it true that Elves live here?”
“Elves have not moved in yet.”
“Then do you acknowledge that they will be living here?”
“They will not be living here.”
“There are rumors that an Elf maiden is living here! Please clarify!”
The questions kept coming, endlessly.
They all had one thing in common.
Apparently, someone had simultaneously leaked information to multiple people about the Elves’ relocation, causing a swarm of reporters to rush over.
“Why did you stay inside for two whole days before coming out? Why didn’t you answer sooner?”
Shockingly, they’d already been here for two days covering the story.
‘Two days…? Wasn’t I asleep for just one?’
I took out my smartphone and checked the date.
It turned out I’d been asleep for three whole days.
“No way…”
“What’s unbelievable? Are you hiding the Elves?”
The reporters kept exchanging questions among themselves, peppering me with relentless queries.
At that moment, black vans started lining up, and Hunters poured out from inside.
“Step back. Do Minho is an important figure of the Association of Superhumans. Please step back.”
“Isn’t that Park Janghyeon the Hunter?”
“It is!”
Not only did regular Hunters from the Association of Superhumans show up in force, but the spearman from Domo Minjun’s party, Park Janghyeon, appeared and quieted the crowd.
“Oh!”
“The people have a right to know!”
But the fervor didn’t cool down.
“Yes, I’ll explain everything.”
“Please tell us now!”
“Just one place. We’ll conduct an exclusive interview there. Anyone interested, please come this way.”
At Park Janghyeon’s words, the reporters glanced around, then hurried after him.
“Let’s go by car.”
One of the Hunters who’d stepped out of the black van guided us to the vehicle.
- You’ve done well.
“Hyung! I was really worried about you!”
Inside the car, Kasia and Jinsu—who’d both been missing—were waiting for me.
“What happened?”
“Reporters started gathering one by one two days ago. So I took Kasia and evacuated to the Association for a while.”
- It’s not like we abandoned you! You didn’t respond at all when we tried to shake you awake, so we had no choice.
Kasia, perhaps still bothered by leaving me behind, rushed to explain herself.
I patted Kasia’s shoulder, telling her she did the right thing.
- Ah, from now on, I’ll stay with you!
Kasia, feeling very apologetic, blushed and sat tightly pressed next to me.
It wasn’t something to feel so guilty about, though.
After a moment, once things settled, Park Janghyeon opened the car door and got in.
“You’ve been through a lot. I heard you slept for three days—aren’t you hungry?”
Ah, right. I was hungry, wasn’t I?
Once I realized it, the hunger came back with a vengeance.
I’d been so preoccupied with everything that I’d forgotten all about it.
“Uh, yeah. I’m really hungry.”
“Everything’s sorted now, so let’s head back home.”
There were still some reporters left, but the Hunters formed a wide perimeter to keep them away from the house.
- If Jinsu hadn’t taken me out, things could have been bad.
If the reporters had found out an Elf really lived here, who knows what they would have done.
Since they couldn’t communicate, things would have gotten increasingly aggressive, and that could have been dangerous for Kasia.
“Jinsu, thanks. Thanks to you, everything ended without any trouble. But what happened, exactly?”
Park Janghyeon, walking ahead, answered in his place.
“Anonymous packages were sent to each broadcasting station. They contained the address here, information about the Elves, and data about the agricultural products sold at the auction.”
One name flashed through my mind immediately.
Yeongjin Jeon.
Or perhaps someone even higher up.
The only ones who knew this location were Kanghun and Junhyeok Lee, but Junhyeok Lee is dead and Kanghun is in custody at the Association of Superhumans for interrogation.
If they shared the location with Yeongjin Jeon as soon as they found out, it makes sense.
We didn’t tell anyone else.
“Unfortunately, we couldn’t find any more clues. Since it was delivered by express, it’s hard to trace the sender.”
Feeling guilty, Park Janghyeon tried to hide his expression as we all headed back home together.