As soon as I opened my eyes in the morning, I checked the time.
It was the moment when Ddakkongi’s awakening should be complete.
I was so curious to see it that I could barely sleep, so I hurriedly dashed outside.
“Ddakkongi!! Are you awake?!”
When I reached the field, the same peanut helmet from yesterday was still buried in the soil.
Then, perhaps sensing my presence, it started to twitch.
“Hurry and come out. Let me see your face!”
Ddakkongi didn’t come out of the ground, only poking its head out and looking at Minho.
Unlike usual, it hesitated and wavered shyly.
(…I-I’m embarrassed.)
“What’s there to be embarrassed about with me~? Come on, let’s see our all-grown Ddakkongi!”
What’s up with this reaction?
After much coaxing, I finally managed to get Ddakkongi to come out.
Whereas before, it had been a tiny, chubby baby peanut barely reaching my knees, after awakening, it had grown into a childlike figure reaching my waist.
“You’ve grown so well~ You’re really cute, you know?”
It was so adorable that I couldn’t help but touch and stroke it here and there, and before I knew it, Ddakkongi was smiling brightly and clinging to me.
Truly the perfect example of a glow-up.
If I were on social media, I’d want to fill my feed with pictures of Ddakkongi.
Minjun paced in front of his desk, letting out a sigh.
He clearly didn’t like the current situation.
The Superhuman Association President had given Minjun a command.
He wanted Minjun, his own younger brother, to uncover the true backers of those who attacked Minho.
When he was part of a guild, he never had to worry about anything other than dungeon closing, but now that he’d left the guild and joined the Association, there were plenty of miscellaneous tasks outside dungeons.
‘Yeongjin Jeon, and those “superiors” or whatever. I can’t find any information about them anywhere. It’s as if they never existed in the first place…’
Even for Dark Hunters who operate in the shadows, there should be records of them receiving a rank upon awakening from the Association of Superhumans.
Unless their identities weren’t registered in the government system…
‘Wait a minute. No identity? Then it’d be even harder to find them.’
Tap, tap, tap.
With a deeply troubled expression, Minjun tapped his desk rhythmically.
‘Is there no way…?’
After much contemplation, two methods came to mind.
The first: the Auction House. Even Dark Hunters working underground have no choice but to use it.
The Black Market.
But that wasn’t going to be easy.
The managers there valued trust above all.
They would never hand over information so easily.
If so, then the second method.
Find Yeongjin Jeon first, not the “superiors”.
And then, trace the connection to reach the “superiors”.
That’s why Minjun decided he needed to interrogate Kanghun further.
Yeongjin Jeon was Kanghun’s direct superior.
So Kanghun was the first link in the chain.
This is where it starts.
‘No matter how much you threaten, you’ll never learn anything about the “superiors.” You saw it, didn’t you? The guy who died under a Curse.’
Minjun had tried asking Kanghun about the “superiors” just in case, but of course, he got no answer.
He’d seen Junhyeok Lee die, his body turning purple right before his eyes.
“Then what about Yeongjin Jeon? You know you won’t be released until they’re caught anyway. The only way is to cooperate as much as possible to help catch them.”
After a moment of hesitation, Kanghun opened up more easily than expected.
“I can tell you that bastard’s location. But you won’t find anyone there. I couldn’t contact anyone while I was locked up. Do you think a guy who trusts no one would just wait around?”
That much, Minjun had expected.
But with so few clues, all he could do was proceed step by step.
Using the information from Kanghun, he investigated the building where they’d stayed…
“There was no one there, only traces showing they’d stayed. All the important clues or evidence seem to have been destroyed or taken.”
A dead end, as expected.
At least he was able to find the body of the Gangwon Branch Manager in the basement and return it to the bereaved family, so there was that.
‘Thorough.’
The Association of Superhumans had a Search Division full of veteran superhumans for investigations.
But even after dispatching them, nothing came up.
Back to square one.
The thing afflicting Kanghun looked like a Curse, so the Association’s Healers were useless.
What’s more, the same symptoms weren’t recorded anywhere else in the world.
‘Since it’s definitely a Curse, I’ll have to ask my brother for help…’
Porti, the plant that purifies Curses.
If he could feed Porti to suppress or remove the Curse, he could get information from Kanghun.
Minjun called Minho.
“Bro, it’s me. The remaining Porti… What? There’s not a single one left? Ha… Never mind. It’s fine.”
He’d assumed Minho would definitely have Porti, but apparently, he had none.
Everything had been taken by Kanghan Group for research, so they’d have to be replanted.
Minho said he’d send over a few roots he’d set aside, but Minjun declined.
If he’d set them aside, it must have been for something important.
‘If they sensed they were being tracked, they’d go even deeper into hiding…’
He decided to think things through carefully.
With Kanghun and Junhyeok Lee, his reliable subordinates, both gone.
On top of that, he was a wanted man in the Association, so his actions would be limited.
‘Then what would that bastard do now?’
The most obvious move would be to lie low until things cooled down.
If not that, then rescuing his other henchmen.
If it turned into a long-term fight, it would eventually lead to a meeting with the “superiors”.
If the story played out that way, it would actually be quite convenient.
Especially if, during their actions to arrange a meeting, they slipped up and got caught.
But what if he went after his brother out of spite?
That would be dangerous.
Even though Minho was a superhuman, he was non-combat, just a Farmer of Eliya.
But Yeongjin Jeon’s estimated combat power was above that of an A-rank Hunter.
No match at all.
Now Minjun understood why the President had put him in charge of this job.
If he left it to someone else, their priority would be catching Yeongjin Jeon, not the safety of the victim.
Realizing this, Minjun grew anxious.
He called over Bae Jinsu, who’d been on standby at the Association.
“Jinsu, you said you wanted to repay my brother, right?”
“Yeah. Is there even a way I can do that?”
“There is. I want you to go to Chilcheon-ri for a while.”
“The captain’s busy with something else, so I’ve got time. But what’s the job?”
Minjun explained the gist of the current situation to Bae Jinsu.
“Aah~ I don’t get all that complicated stuff, but basically, I just need to protect Minho, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Alright, boss. I’m on it.”
Once again, Minjun realized it was best to keep things simple with Bae Jinsu, so he just gave him the key points.
“If there’s an attack, it’ll be a direct one.”
“Boss! I’m an A-rank rookie too, you know. Don’t underestimate me~”
Minjun now had average stats in the S-rank range, but Bae Jinsu wasn’t far behind.
He’d also eaten Eggs and Gochu given to him by Minho.
If Minho harvested just peanuts, Minjun’s whole party would be full of S-rank talent.
“When will you leave?”
“I’ll go right now, of course.”
“Got your things?”
Bae Jinsu tapped his sword sheath and headed out.
Watching him, Minjun let out a small chuckle.
If we’re talking about simplicity, no one could beat that guy.
Shortly after Bae Jinsu left with just his favorite sword in hand, a courier arrived for Minjun.
“Huh? A delivery?”
The sender: Do Minho.
“Hm?”
Inside, along with a small note, were three roots of Porti.
What’s more, the Porti were in perfect condition, with petals, leaves, and roots all intact.
[Don’t worry about me. Use it where it’s needed.]
My eyes instantly shot wide open.
I glanced at my smartphone—it was already five in the morning.
I’d barely managed to fall asleep around three… so I’d slept for about two hours.
‘And even then, I struggled for four hours before I could even doze off.’
I pressed my eyes with both hands, massaging them.
Maybe because I was so sleep-deprived, my mind was foggy and my eyes ached.
Five in the morning—almost sunrise, but still too early to do anything, and too late to sleep more.
What an excruciatingly ambiguous time to wake up.
‘Get yourself together.’
I dragged my heavy body to the living room to drink some water.
All of this started after that day—I’ve had insomnia ever since.
Every time I lay down, eyes closed, I’d jolt awake with the fear of being attacked.
And even when I did fall asleep, I’d dream of that day, jolting awake in terror.
I couldn’t afford to slack off in my daily work just because I wasn’t sleeping, so I forced myself to endure, but it was getting worse by the day.
‘The sleeping pills aren’t working anymore.’
For the first few days, the pills helped me get by, but as I developed a tolerance, the insomnia just got worse, driving me to seek Porti.
It happened to be harvest day for the farm produce.
“Minho-nim, you don’t look well. Is something wrong?”
Sang-hyun, who’d become my personal secretary after we met at the Auction House and through Kanghan Group.
He immediately noticed—my face must have looked terrible.
“I’m alright. I just haven’t been sleeping well lately. Ah, I’ll set aside five Porti roots here.”
“Yes, understood. If you need anything, please tell me. I am your personal secretary, after all.”
Even as he collected the produce, Sang-hyun kept glancing back, worried.
I forced a smile to reassure him.
But unfortunately, Porti has no effect on controlling insomnia.
-Are you really alright…? Your dark circles are nearly down to your chin.
Even Sang-hyun, who hadn’t seen me in a while, seemed worried; how much more so must Kasia, who watched me every day, be?
At that moment, Kasia suddenly exclaimed as if she’d remembered something.
- Ah! I can’t believe I forgot this. Minho, how about coming with me to Eliya?
“Eliya? Ah, it is about time to check how the migration prep is going.”
- No, not that. Elves sometimes can’t sleep either. When that happens, there’s a plant we eat.
“There is?”
Honestly, I was reaching my limits.
My mind and body were so frail that I never knew when I might collapse.
I kept zoning out for no reason, and just a moment ago I’d started nodding off even as I moved.
‘I want to go right away, but I can’t go empty-handed.’
I could still picture the elves frantically holding a beef party.
They must have been craving meat after being vegetarians for so long.
“How about we stop by the market first?”
Hm? Why? We need to go treat your insomnia first.
“I was taught never to visit someone’s home empty-handed.”
Kasia seemed touched, seeing how much I thought of the elves.
My third trip to Eliya.
Surely, the Guards wouldn’t point their spears at me again, would they?
With gifts from the market to give the elves, I entered the Portal of Elia.
Before I knew it, I’d passed through the now-familiar underground cave and arrived at Kasia’s house.
-Oh! Minho-nim, it’s been a while.
- What are those behind you? Is that meat, perhaps?
Outside Kasia’s house, two Guards were posted.
They said they were on watch in case other earthlings tried to sneak in.
When they saw the boxes loaded on the cart, their faces lit up.
“It is meat. Today, I brought all sorts of meat, not just beef.”
- Ohhh…! Wonderful. I’ll inform the Chieftain that Minho-nim has arrived.
The mood and response were definitely different from before.
It meant I’d built a good image with them.
Kasia stopped him, saying it wasn’t necessary to report to the Chieftain.
- We’re not here for a visit. We’re here to gather ‘Ainmosni’.
- Ainmosni? Who can’t sleep? Come to think of it…
Their attention, distracted by the meat, finally turned to my face.
- It’s been quite some time, hasn’t it? Ainmosni is the best when you can’t sleep. You won’t be disappointed.
I asked if they had any Ainmosni, but the Guards shook their heads.
- Elves usually don’t harvest and store it in advance.
Because plants are everywhere and they prefer freshness, they only gather it as needed.
Probably because their storage methods haven’t advanced.
“Last time, I came with someone named Kari Nu to get Forti Seeds. It’s nice to come with you today.”
-Y-you’re happy to come with me?
“Of course. That person was difficult to deal with.”
For some reason, Kasia’s steps grew lighter, and she walked with a spring in her stride.
The place where Ainmosni grew was much farther than the Porti Field.
But walking through nature, feeling the fresh breeze, and treading on the soft grass, I felt my mind clearing.
My exhausted body and soul felt almost purified.
But when were we going to get there?
“Where is it, anyway? Are you sure we can walk there?”
- Shh! We have to be quiet from here on.
Suddenly, Kasia started speaking in a whisper.
I’d nearly forgotten, but the warning before we left came to mind.
Absolute silence was required at Ainmosni’s habitat.
Partly because monsters appeared in the area.
But even fierce monsters would calm down and fall asleep after eating Ainmosni, so unless you wanted to wake sleeping monsters, you had to keep quiet.
Snore~ snore~
Snooze, snooze.
As we went a bit deeper, I could hear the regular breathing of sleeping creatures in the tranquil wilderness.
“What if they wake up…?”
- It would be chaos. How would you feel if someone woke you up from a deep sleep?
Makes sense.
In my own ultra-sensitive state, if someone woke me up after I finally managed to sleep, my emotions would be on the verge of exploding.
A few steps later, Kasia bent down and snapped off a plant.
It looked strange but somehow familiar.
-This is Ainmosni.
In Kasia’s hand was a plant with celery-like stalks and lettuce-like leaves.
Instead of pulling it up by the roots, she snapped the thick stem.
“We should collect some with the roots too. Maybe we can plant them later.”
There was a tradition not to disturb Ainmosni’s roots, but… well, since we’d be leaving, it should be fine.
I’m not the only one suffering from insomnia, so if it works well, it would be good to cultivate it.
A lot of people have sleep disorders due to stress and bad habits.
Maybe because of the pollen, my nose started to itch and I absentmindedly reached up to scratch it.
- Ah! Don’t touch your nose!
“Cough!”
My heart pounded so hard it felt like it would burst.
At the same time, my consciousness faded, and Kasia’s voice grew more and more distant.
Thud.