Chapter 61
"Adults shouldn't meddle in children's games."
I regretted it the moment I said those words.
"Kyahahaha!"
"Hey! Baek Ha-min!"
They had clearly been fighting seriously until the beginning, but at some point, the magic beast subjugation took a backseat and the two children were throwing mud at each other.
Watching the children with my arms crossed, I squeezed my eyes shut. I tried to calm the mud crashing like waves with splish-splashes, but I couldn't handle it.
Both Baek Kyeong-min and Baek Ha-min were so excited that the affected mud and plants started shaking wildly on their own. And because of that, the ground suddenly collapsed beneath my feet, and innocent me ended up falling into the swamp with a splash.
"Are you alright?"
"…Do I look alright?"
Completely soaked, I took a seat on the palm of the rock golem Baek Eun-seong had made and was shaking off the mud when I saw my drenched pants and frowned. The sensation of wet cloth clinging to my legs was truly the worst.
Looking around for somewhere to wash up, I first untied the knot of the proudly shining cloak.
Baek Eun-seong had said the cloak was specially treated so dirt wouldn't stick to it, but if even the cloak got dirty, my mood would hit rock bottom, so I took it off and hung it on the golem's arm. Then I called out to Baek Kyeong-min and Baek Ha-min who were running around the swamp.
"Kyah! Don't do that!"
But the two children, who seemed to have completely forgotten where they were and what they had come to do, didn't listen no matter how much I called and kept playing absentmindedly. Watching them for a moment, I opened the skill window and used 'Celestial Command'.
[Baek Kyeong-min! Baek Ha-min! Get over here right now!?]
Frozen by my shout, the children trudged toward me. Even then, the two who had been panting and laughing only pressed their lips tightly shut and glanced nervously after meeting my eyes.
Silently examining Baek Kyeong-min and Baek Ha-min, I let out a deep sigh. The children were literally covered in mud from head to toe. Even if they had been dipped in chocolate fondue and pulled out, it would be cleaner than this.
Since it wasn't just anyone but the Vice Guild Master and the next Guild Master who had entered a dungeon together, there would be quite a few people waiting outside, and I couldn't show them looking like this. I'm fine and Baek Eun-seong is fine, but the children are a mess? That's exactly the kind of situation that invites gossip.
Since they wouldn't dare touch Baek Eun-seong, they might turn their arrows on me and say things like 'Seong Do-hyeon who exploited young hunters' or something. I pressed my forehead and looked back at Baek Eun-seong.
"Do you want to go, or should I?"
"I will stay and watch."
"Alright then."
I walked along the path Baek Eun-seong created and headed toward the pond I had noticed earlier. Only after arriving there did I release 'Celestial Command'.
"Uncle…."
Only then did Baek Ha-min start glancing at me nervously, and Baek Kyeong-min approached hesitantly and handed over a small crystal.
"…Um, this is from Ji-yul earlier…."
I stared down at the grayish crystal for a moment before throwing it into the pond. With a splash, the pond that had been full of muddy water transformed into clear water that looked drinkable right away.
"Come here."
When I gestured, Baek Ha-min shuffled over and stood with his arms spread. I splish-splashed to shake off as much mud as possible, then stripped the ruined clothes and cleaned the child's body.
Baek Kyeong-min took off his clothes on his own, squatted down, and started washing. Then he took out the clothes he had brought, changed into them, and fixed his hair with capable hands. Just like that, he became neat and tidy as if nothing had happened, just like at the beginning.
Of course, only Baek Kyeong-min.
I looked at Baek Ha-min, who was shivering in his bare skin, and sighed. Now I even have to pack spare clothes for this little kid.
"Ha-min… is sorry…."
"No, I was first,"
"Enough. As long as you had fun playing, that's what matters."
"Hehe."
"So, who caught more?"
"Huh?"
"Hmm."
The children looked at each other and burst into laughter. Yeah, at that age, you just play without worrying about such things. Listening to their breathless laughter, I threw Baek Ha-min's clothes into the pond.
I washed off as much mud as possible in the water and repeatedly splish-splashed to shake off the moisture, but the once pure white clothes had already taken on a beige tint. On top of that, for some reason, the buttocks and back areas were severely torn.
Just in case, I rummaged through the auxiliary bag, but it was full of only food. I couldn't exactly make clothes out of ramen packets for him to wear, so I had no choice but to take off my clothes and put the short-sleeved shirt I was wearing underneath on Baek Ha-min.
"Let's ask your uncle if he brought any clothes."
"Mm."
Perhaps sleep was catching up to them now, Baek Ha-min and Baek Kyeong-min yawned widely. The moment I turned around to gather the two children and return to Baek Eun-seong, the ground suddenly shook violently.
Sensing a massive presence, I snapped my head up. Vividly shining cyan eyes were watching me.
* * *
Meanwhile, while Do-hyeon was scrubbing Ha-min clean, Eun-seong was sitting on the golem watching the core. The pink eyes that should have been shining clearly while on guard against magic beasts were somewhat hazy and unfocused.
Chin in hand, Eun-seong recalled once again the sight of Do-hyeon walking toward him, which he had thought about several times already.
The confident gait, the fingertips snatching the stacked bracelets, the black hair swaying as the cloak was removed, and the golden eyes shining brilliantly within.
In a world where everyone was on his brother's side, the only person who had taken his side.
He should have felt good, but his mind was complicated with an indescribable feeling. Eun-seong roughly rubbed his twitching lips with his fingertips, then flopped down on the golem and muttered.
"It's strange."
Yes, it was strange. At some point, he started feeling strange whenever he saw Do-hyeon. Like now, a ticklish and strange feeling that made it impossible to stay still. Lying flat on his back staring at the ceiling, Eun-seong took a deep breath and shot up.
"Where did he go?"
He thought he might be able to define this emotion if he saw Do-hyeon. Looking around, he saw Do-hyeon washing the children. There he is—relief and urgency rushed in at the same time. He wanted to run over there, wanted to call out to him.
"Is it a dungeon side effect?"
Tilting his head in confusion, Eun-seong lowered his body deeply at a suddenly intruding unfamiliar sensation and entered a defensive stance. Immediately after, the core twitched and the ground rippled along with it.
Since it was a swamp rather than solid ground, he couldn't react as sensitively as Kyeong-min, but anywhere that belonged to the earth was Eun-seong's domain. Before the toad could even reveal its cyan eyes, Eun-seong created mud golems and scattered them around.
After that, Eun-seong, who had preciously hugged Do-hyeon's cloak to his chest to keep it from getting wet, controlled the golems to push the toad toward the back of the dungeon. So that bodily fluids or mud wouldn't splatter and dirty the cloak.
No, should he just crush it to death so that wouldn't happen.
It was that moment when the pondering Eun-seong created a giant stone.
"Hey! Move!"
He saw Do-hyeon running toward him while shouting. But he couldn't move aside as told. Because the upper body of the running Do-hyeon was….
"You're not moving!?"
…bare-chested.
Hurriedly lowering his eyes, Eun-seong shook his head vigorously to erase the afterimage hovering before his eyes. And when he raised his head, he saw Do-hyeon running toward the toad wearing only pants.
What on earth is that person!
Without even time to click his tongue, Eun-seong chased after Do-hyeon and spread the cloak, embracing him like capturing a wild animal.
"What! Why!"
"Put on clothes first."
"I don't need them?"
Ugh, I'm in a rush here. Despite grumbling, Do-hyeon tied the cloak around himself at Eun-seong's firm attitude. Eun-seong had to avert his gaze several times to avoid seeing the body shining pale white beneath the draped fabric.
He's thin.
I need to change his diet.
Repeating only those thoughts, Eun-seong chased after the running Do-hyeon and opened his mouth.
"How can a person be so reckless? What are you going to do if you get hurt with your bare body?"
"Shut up."
Stopping his sprint, Do-hyeon spread his arms wide and clapped his hands together with a smack! A moment later, the toad's eyeballs spun around and it fell over, revealing its white belly.
"What? Reckless?"
Snorting at Eun-seong, Do-hyeon reached out his arm to the running Ha-min. Ha-min was wearing the oversized short-sleeved shirt like a dress.
Ah, he gave his clothes to Ha-min, so he was bare-chested.
Eun-seong forcibly turned his gaze away to avoid watching Do-hyeon putting on the techwear he had taken off.
"Hey."
"Yes."
"What's wrong, is your neck broken?"
"Ah, no."
Forcibly raising the corners of his mouth while still unable to turn his head away, Eun-seong's eyes widened. For some reason, instead of the swamp-covered dungeon, he saw home.
He had no idea when they had returned, he was completely out of it.
"Are you sick somewhere? Why have you been so out of it since earlier?"
"I'm fine."
Answering reflexively, Eun-seong went up to his room without even hearing Choi Jae-geun's question about whether he wanted to eat. Lying on the bed, Eun-seong closed his eyes. He jolted up several times at the phantoms flickering before his eyes.
He had barely fallen asleep when his eyes snapped open as if struck by lightning.
He heard footsteps coming up to the second floor. Light but not heavy. The footsteps of Seong Do-hyeon, walking straight down a determined path without hesitation.
Do-hyeon knocked lightly and opened the door.
"Baek Eun-seong, still sleeping?"