Chapter 31 of 100
Chapter 31. New Family Members Are Born.
8 min read1,914 words
Chapter 31. New Family Members Are Born.
"Why won't the tower open?!"
A man in his fifties with black hair and a hearty face was furious as he looked at the portal that wouldn't activate.
It had been ten years and three days since his granddaughter Aileen's last seizure, yet the portal remained unchanged.
"Lord of the House, please calm down."
A man in his thirties with the same black hair, but with a handsome and kind face, spoke to the older man.
"Do I look calm now?! I can't see our Aileen!"
"Father, please maintain your dignity. The other dragons are watching."
Anton, who had been preparing precious medicines to treat Aileen and waiting behind with dozens of dragons from the Pretania family, spoke quietly.
The two were Kaiser Pretania, the head of the Pretania family, and Anton Pretania, Kaiser's son and Aileen's father.
"All of them are our Pretania family's dragons! They're all worried about Aileen too."
"Aileen has the blood of our Pretania family. She will overcome her seizures well."
Anton spoke coldly, as if talking about someone else.
"Anton, Aileen is your daughter. I can't blame you for showing your concern."
Kaiser was frustrated and saddened by Anton's cold treatment of Aileen, his daughter, in front of the other dragons of the family.
The dragons of the Pretania family were making many sacrifices to save the hatchling Aileen.
The tower's management area was originally a place where the dragons of the Pretania family took turns to gather strength.
The overflowing mana in the tower's management area made the dragons stronger just by being there, but the Pretania dragons gave up that privilege entirely for Aileen.
Moreover, the Pretania dragons were running around in all directions to find the medicinal materials needed to treat Aileen.
Anton couldn't show his concern for his daughter because of the guilt he felt for the many sacrifices the dragons were making for Aileen.
The fact that the tower wasn't opening and they had to wait for days made his guilt even greater.
However, he couldn't send them away either. Every time Aileen had a seizure, dozens of dragons had to infuse mana to balance her physical condition along with the medicine.
'Has something good happened to Aileen's dragon heart?'
If so, it would be a relief, but...
Anton was happy that the portal wasn't opening, but he couldn't be happy seeing the dragons waiting behind.
"Let's wait here until the tower opens."
"Yes!"
Kaiser, who gave the order, looked at the portal again.
"Is our granddaughter eating well?"
Kaiser, unaware that Aileen had recently become interested in gourmet food, was worried about his granddaughter.
***
In the bountiful cherry tomato field, flowers suddenly started blooming rapidly on the cherry tomato vines.
And
Buzz.
The honeybees approached the newly blooming flowers and sucked the nectar.
"So this is how it increases the harvest by 50%."
Sejun thought it might give an additional 50% of the harvest as an item, but it was different from what he expected.
Because flowers bloomed intermittently on the vines, Sejun had to pick the cherry tomatoes one by one in the bountiful field, but he had no complaints because each flower would soon turn into a cherry tomato.
After finishing the cherry tomato harvest,
"Theo, you're reinstated as the representative for the next week."
Sejun said to Theo, who was sitting at the head of his bed before going to sleep.
Since he had drawn an incredible item, the Straw Hat of the Earth Saint Patrick, this level of benefit was natural. Honestly, he wanted to extend the period, but he held back, thinking it might lose its effect later.
"Really?! You're making me the representative for a whole week?!"
Theo, who didn't know he had a golden touch, was surprised.
Roar.
While Theo was moved, Sejun had already fallen asleep.
Swoosh.
Theo, who had been sitting at Sejun's head, got up and lay on Sejun's stomach.
And
Purr.
Feeling the stability from Sejun's stomach moving up and down, Theo soon fell asleep.
Just as the cave was quiet and everyone was sleeping,
Squeal!!!
The scream of the wife rabbit echoed through the cave. Her labor had started.
Squeal!!!
Sejun, who had experienced this before, wasn't as surprised,
"What... What's happening?!"
Huh?!
Huh?!
But Theo and the baby rabbits were not.
"It's okay. The babies are coming now."
Sejun, sitting up, called out to Theo and the rabbits to calm them down.
Huh...
Huh...
The baby rabbits, holding onto Sejun's legs, looked anxiously at the rabbit couple's cave.
And
Shiver.
Theo, trembling and crouching between Sejun's legs, was really a coward.
After about an hour,
Squeal.
Squeal.
The cries of the newborn baby rabbits could be heard from the rabbit couple's cave.
Squeak!
The husband rabbit ran out of the cave, announcing the birth of the new rabbits.
However,
Roar.
Purr.
Purr.
Sejun, Theo, and the rabbit, who had been waiting, had fallen asleep, leaning on each other.
On the 179th day of the ordeal, at dawn, new cave family members were born.
***
Early morning.
Roar!
The baby bear stuck its head out of the cave ceiling hole, announcing its arrival, and its cry echoed through the cave.
At the same time,
Squeal!
Squeal!
The cries of the baby rabbits from the rabbit couple's cave responded.
Roar?
The baby bear, hearing the unfamiliar sound for the first time, tilted its head.
Squeak!!!
The husband rabbit, who had just put the baby rabbits to sleep and finally fallen asleep, shouted in anger.
"Shh!"
Sejun, who had woken up, put his finger to his lips to quiet the baby bear.
Sejun added a mark to the wall and quietly prepared breakfast. The rabbits also moved quietly, glancing at the rabbit couple's cave.
Sejun chose two sturdy carrots and two leeks and placed them in front of the rabbit couple's cave.
Then came breakfast. Everyone, not having slept well, mechanically put food in their mouths and chewed with tired faces.
"Let's work now."
Thump!
The five white rabbits, shouting in unison, picked up their farming tools and went to the field.
Thump!
The black rabbit, knowing that there were not enough hands, also came out to help.
And
"Let's go."
Sejun got up, holding Theo.
"Huh? What do you mean? Where are we going?"
Theo, held in Sejun's hand, asked in confusion.
"Remember last time? When I cut the cherry tomato vines, you picked the tomatoes and put them in the basket. It might be difficult for the other rabbits, but it's too easy for our representative Theo. Right, Theo?"
Sejun said, putting Theo down next to the cherry tomato field.
"Of course! It's too easy for the representative Theo!"
Encouraged by Sejun, Theo was unexpectedly put to work in the field.
Although the rabbit couple was absent, Sejun's increased stats sped up the work, and with the black rabbit and Theo joining in, they finished all the morning tasks.
In the middle, Theo, wanting to show the authority of the representative, took out his claws and neatly cut the leeks, surprising Sejun. As a result, Theo also took on the task of cutting leeks.
At lunchtime, they put food in front of the rabbit couple's cave and all went up to the surface to eat together. The food Sejun had left in front of the rabbit couple's cave earlier had disappeared, taken at some point.
Lunchtime was very quiet and peaceful.
After giving the baby bear three jars of honey as dessert, Sejun also took a break, drinking coffee.
Naturally, Theo and the black rabbit climbed onto Sejun's lap, and the baby bear, held in Sejun's arms, started to take a nap.
***
On the 181st day of the ordeal. It had been two days since the baby rabbits were born.
And tomorrow was the 7th Blue Moon since Sejun's ordeal began. Perhaps because of the Blue Moon that would appear at midnight, the mother Crimson Giant Bear did not bring the baby bear.
Thanks to this, Sejun and the rabbits were able to wake up on time for the first time in a while.
"Ah!"
Sejun got up, put Theo, who was sleeping on his stomach, to the side, and was about to make a mark on the cave wall when
Squeak!
Squeal!
The rabbit couple came out of the cave, leaving their sleeping baby rabbits, and greeted the morning.
And
Thump!
Thump!
The rabbits, now older brothers and sisters, came out of their caves and greeted as well.
"Good morning."
Today, both Sejun and the rabbits were in a hurry to finish their work as soon as possible to prepare for the Blue Moon.
"Representative Theo, wake up."
"Mmm... I want to sleep more."
Sejun put Theo in front of the leeks and
Snap.
Started harvesting by cutting the cherry tomato vines in the field.
[You have harvested 8 ripe magical cherry tomatoes simultaneously.]
[Your job experience has increased slightly.]
[Your Harvesting skill level 4 proficiency has increased slightly.]
[Your Harvesting skill level 4 proficiency has increased by an additional 5% due to the effect of level 1 proficiency increase.]
[You have gained 160 experience points.]
"I'll show the authority of the representative!"
Snap.
Theo, who had woken up, took out his claws and cut the leeks, showing off his abilities to the scythe rabbit and the cart rabbit.
The day passed quickly.
In the evening, the rabbits went into the cave and blocked the entrance, and the honeybees also blocked the entrance to the hive to prepare for the Blue Moon.
And
"Representative Theo, what are you doing?"
"I'm going to hide in here to avoid the Blue Moon."
Theo started to squeeze his body into the basket. The basket had more functions than he thought.
"Representative Theo, take this too."
Sejun gave Theo the cocoon of the queen honeybee as a precaution.
Soon, the Blue Moon began.
Roar!
The roar of the Crimson Giant Bear could be heard.
"Is the mother Crimson Giant Bear and the baby bear okay?"
While Sejun was worried about the Crimson Giant Bear,
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Something was approaching the cave.
"What is it?"
Snap.
Sejun, tense, held a dagger in his hand.
As a precaution, he quickly put in earplugs and ate 10 D-grade magical cherry tomatoes at once, increasing his mana by 2.
Roar!
A monster roared above the cave. It was a roar he had never heard before.
"!"
Sejun barely regained his consciousness, which was fading.
Fortunately, the monster, after causing a commotion above the cave, ran in the direction of another monster's roar.
"Phew."
Sejun, relieved, relaxed his tense body when
Swoosh.
The trees in the bountiful cherry tomato field began to glow blue. The blue light flowed into the cherry tomatoes, turning them blue.
"How many are there?"
Even a rough count was over 10. The cherry tomatoes, infused with the energy of the Blue Moon, were also bountiful.
While Sejun was happily looking at the cherry tomatoes,
Swoosh.
The other fields also began to glow blue.
"Huh? Over there..."
It was the cornfield, which he had been waiting to harvest, hoping for the kernels to fill. The blue light on the corn leaves was infusing the corn.
Hooray!!!
Sejun, unable to shout because the Blue Moon hadn't ended, raised his hands to the sky, expressing his uncontrollable excitement.
On the 182nd day of the ordeal. This morning, it's corn!