Chapter 47

46. Whirlwind Cave

The next day, Taeju started moving busily from early morning. Not only did he need to harvest the crops in the garden, but he also had to pick the tree fruits.

"The leaves have all grown now. If we wait a few more days, the fruits will ripen too."

The withered trees in the garden were almost gone. Taeju, feeling proud as he looked out the window, suddenly sighed as he turned his head. The bedroom was in the same mess as it was last night.

Whether it was housework or garden work, if he wasn't diligent, things would quickly become a mess. Especially when Taesan swept through the cabin, nothing remained intact.

"I should have known to call myself a gardener, not a garden owner."

After reflecting on the meaning of the word "gardener" once more, Taeju decided to tackle the backlog of tasks. Taeju, wearing an apron from the box, started by tidying up the bedroom.

First, he sent the cash to his real-world account via the mailbox. He was amazed that there were no issues with the deposit, regardless of the method used.

"It feels like some magic is at work. As long as it's convenient, I don't mind."

He set aside items like dolls and umbrellas to take back to the real world. Fortunately, he had drawn a magic broom, which was a great help.

At first, he had hoped it would have a flying spell like a witch's broom. Although the broom's description showed it didn't, the spell it did have was satisfying.

'Automatic sweeping, huh? It's practically a robot vacuum.'

Of course, it only gathered the trash in one place, so he had to keep the cabin door open while sweeping. Even so, it was a significant help. Just mopping the floor after the broom swept was enough. The broom, though rough and unrefined, was quite to his liking.

He decided to wear the furry pajamas when riding the hot air balloon. He lacked the courage to wear the yellow and pink pajamas in the real world, but now he had a use for them. In fact, he had planned to sell them at the store but decided to keep them after seeing the warmth spell on them.

It was the courage he could muster because there was no one else in the garden. If someone saw him swinging a collection tool while wearing yellow fabric with pink flowers, he would be too embarrassed to show his face.

After finishing tidying the bedroom, Taeju went to the living room. Although he had organized the contents of the shooting star last night, the shell was still there, making the living room a mess. In fact, "mess" was a kind word; it was more like a disaster.

"Argh. Taesan. You little brat."

For days, he had been eyeing the sofa, and finally, he burst the cushions. White stuffing from the large hole in the sofa cushion was scattered throughout the living room.

Seeing this, Taeju hurried to the kitchen. He checked the highest shelf of the kitchen cabinet and sighed in relief. His favorite teapot was safely in its place. It seemed Taesan hadn't touched the cabinet.

Taesan had learned how to open the cabinet after watching Taeju take out the dried meat. He would climb onto the sink, use his front paws to open the cabinet, and take out the dried meat to eat. Taeju had praised him for being clever when he first saw this.

That was the problem. After that, Taesan became a lawless being. He would open cabinets and drawers, rummaging through everything. As a result, Taeju had to replace his teapot and cups several times.

"Whirlwind Cave construction right. Pyramid construction right. Does that mean the materials are already prepared?"

The construction rights were different from the recipes sold at the store. For recipes, you had to buy the necessary materials separately. In contrast, construction rights were items that could be used just by tearing them.

"Great. You can just use them. Maybe I'm just lucky."

After tidying everything up, Taeju filled a large basket with the shooting star shells and walked around the garden, burying them in the ground. Taesan, watching Taeju, enthusiastically dug holes here and there. Taeju placed a shooting star shell in each hole Taesan dug and covered them.

*

Hee and Taeju were discussing where to build the two construction rights. The Whirlwind Cave was about the same size as the Slime Cave, so it could be placed on one side of the maze.

The problem was the pyramid. According to the description, it was twice the size of the cabin. Although there were many empty spaces in the garden, there was no place that suited the pyramid. The area with a pile of rocks was slightly better, but it still didn't fit well.

"Should we decorate a corner to look like a desert?"

"Desert?"

"Yeah, we could decorate it with sand and cacti."

"A desert needs water."

"Water, right. It would be better to have water rather than just a dry feeling."

Taeju and Hee decided to create a desert area in the garden and buy decorations that would fit. The store still had many decorations available. They selected water-based decorations, such as fountains, waterfalls, and streams. Among them, Taeju was particularly drawn to a swimming pool.

"A personal swimming pool. It feels luxurious."

The swimming pool was designed with a circular flower bed in the center, surrounded by five flower-shaped pools.

Planting colorful cacti in the center and around the pools would look nice. Hee explained, and Taeju chose the cacti to plant in the flower bed.

Although his DP was almost depleted, he was satisfied with the result. The swimming pool in the barren area gave a refreshing feel.

"Should we build the pyramid too?"

When Taeju tore the pyramid construction right, a holographic pyramid appeared in the air. After moving it to the desired location and pressing the construction button, a 'bang' sound was heard, and the pyramid appeared.

"Wow. Not only for collection, but it's also a building for adventures."

"Taeju, an adventure?"

"No. It says the difficulty is advanced. It might be a bit too much for us."

"Yeah, Taeju. We're beginners."

"Oh, beginners. Novice adventurers."

This pyramid, like the Slime Cave, seemed to have a completely different space inside. Taeju decided to plant the cacti later and headed to the maze to build the Whirlwind Cave.

The maze still had quite a few empty spaces. He wanted to cast a spell that would change the paths at regular intervals, but the scroll was too expensive. If he had cast the spell, Taesan and Dandan would still be playing in the maze, but recently, they hadn't.

Taesan was jumping around on the pile of rocks, and Dandan was watering the trees. Dandan was very interested in the recovery of the trees. He carried a watering can every day to take care of them. Perhaps because he couldn't play with Dandan, Taesan's mischief had become worse.

"Let's build it here."

"Here, Whirlwind Cave."

The Whirlwind Cave was a place where the wind spirit resided and helped visitors. It had various means of flight, allowing visitors without flying abilities to easily reach the top of the cave.

"Hee, what does the wind spirit like?"

"Hmm? Ice crystals."

Taeju filled a basket from the cabin with ice crystals. Ice crystals were often used to make herbal tea or cold drinks, similar to ice in the real world.

'Should I take Zephir and leave Taesan and Dandan behind?'

*

"Hee. Let's go, cough!"

Just as Taeju was about to enter the cave with Hee and Zephir, Taesan, who had been hiding around the corner of the maze, rushed at him at a terrifying speed and clung to his back. Taeju, pushed by Taesan's strength, rolled into the cave.

"Taesan! You really are a troublemaker."

"Taesan, you shouldn't do that."

"Hee."

Although the entrance was violent, everyone was safely inside the cave. The cave was quite cool. Taeju wanted to explore the cave more than scold the misbehaving tiger. He adjusted Taesan, who was clinging to his back, and prepared to enter the cave.

"Zephir, please cast a protection shield."

"Neigh."

Zephir's protection shield enveloped Taeju and Taesan. After receiving the golden shield, they walked deeper into the cave. As they passed through the tunnel and entered a place with a blue glow, a long, vertically formed cave appeared.

"Wow. Hee, do you see those balloon-like things?"

"Yeah. They're balloon jellyfish."

"I think we can jump and step on them."

Inside the Whirlwind Cave, besides the wind spirit, there were balloon jellyfish and dandelion-like plants floating. You could grab or step on them to move.

♬~♪♩~♬

Wind spirits gathered around Taeju and his party. The wind spirit looked like a girl wearing a cap and a knee-length dress. The wind spirit would give seeds to people who were about to fall from the top or help them step on the balloon jellyfish.

Taeju handed the ice crystals to the gathered wind spirits through Hee. He had brought the ice crystals not only to ask for help in case of emergencies but also because he remembered the spirits he saw when decorating the garden. He had hoped the wind spirits might be cute, and they were. As expected, the wind spirits were very cute. Moreover, they liked the ice crystals, as Hee had said, and made a laughter like a song. It was worth bringing them.

"Please take care of us."

At the top of the Whirlwind Cave, a tree with white branches grows. Eating the fruit from this tree allows you to fly in the sky for one hour. Taeju planned to fill a small basket with the fruit today. With this fruit, he thought he could safely land if he accidentally fell from the hot air balloon.

"One, two, three."

Taeju, holding Taesan with one hand, made a big jump to grab a seed. He had brought shoes with a jumping skill to enter the cave. Thanks to this, he easily grabbed the seed.

"Meow."

Taesan, scared, dug his claws into Taeju's shoulder. Taeju felt a sharp pain but focused on ascending.

After climbing for a while, he saw a balloon jellyfish passing by and let go of the seed. He stepped on the jellyfish and took a short break.

"This is really fun. A bit scary, but fun."

"Hee is also having fun. Taeju, you still need to be careful."

"Yeah, I know."

While Taeju was resting on the jellyfish, a wind spirit brought a seed. The spirit held out the seed in front of Taeju, making a cute gesture. Taeju, amused by the spirit's adorable appearance, laughed and grabbed the seed.

The spirit, happy that Taeju had grabbed the seed, let out a clear laugh. As Taeju climbed with the seed, the spirit circled around, cheering him on, and ascended to the top with him.

"We're here. Where can I step?"

"Hee, here."

Hee pointed to a place where a vine was hanging down. The vine was entangled with the white-branched tree. Taeju tried stepping on the vine Hee pointed to. It felt sturdy and strong enough to support his weight.

Although it was a bit inconvenient to hold Taesan with one arm, it wasn't a problem to pick the fruit.

"Taesan, you seem to have regained your energy. Phew."

Taesan, who had regained his energy, was hanging from Taeju's arm, and his tail was interfering with Taeju's hand. Every time Taeju picked a fruit and put it in the basket, Taesan's tail would tap his hand, almost causing him to drop the fruit.

"Even at a time like this, you're still being mischievous. You're impossible."

Although it was better than being scared, Taesan was truly a troublesome troublemaker.

After moving from vine to vine and picking fruit for a while, the basket was almost full. A quick look showed that the basket was filled with fruits the size of plums.

"We can eat these to go down."

"Yeah."

The fruit was more sour than sweet. The strong sourness, like a lemon, made Taeju's senses come alive. His mouth watered, and he slowly stepped off the vine.

Taeju's body softly paused in mid-air.

"Wow. We can really fly."

"Meow."

Taesan let out a scared cry. Taeju stroked Taesan's back with his free hand. Taesan's face was buried in Taeju's shoulder, making him feel ticklish, but he endured and flew toward the exit in the middle of the cave.

Wind spirits flew around him, showing him the direction to go.

"Thank you."

The spirits seemed to understand Taeju's gratitude and greeted him with a song-like response.

Exploring the Whirlwind Cave was a truly enjoyable experience. Taeju came out of the cave with a satisfied look. When he put Taesan down, Taesan quickly ran around the maze and disappeared.

"Wow. What a traitor. We explored together, but he just left."

"Hee."

Even without the task of picking fruit, Taeju thought he would often visit the Whirlwind Cave. It was fun to fly while holding onto seeds, and the wind spirits were cute. Even Zephir's expression, which he had sneakily observed, didn't seem bad.

"It was fun. Hee, let's come back later."

"Sure