LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 129
“So… I’m off then.”
After pulling off a grand escapade, Haneul was finally able to leave the cave the following day, just as the sun was about to set.
She needed to catch some sleep after that wild night of fun, after all.
“See you!”
I waved her off adequately, though her staggering steps suggested she was barely hanging on. In a sad twist, she ended up fainting right before leaving.
I thought she could have enjoyed herself a bit more… but alas, even she couldn’t handle it.
‘But hey, I think I lasted longer than Chaerin did.’
Comparing ourselves made me feel a bit like trash, but hey, we both had our fun, so it’s a win-win, right?
Anyway, with this, I could wrap up this bout of rampage smoothly.
It was time for me to return to my normal life.
To be honest, I wanted to take a break.
These past few weeks had been a whirlwind.
After defeating Andras, I had my spear break unexpectedly, then there was that altar popping up after I registered as an adventurer to fix it.
To test out my new spear, I ended up on a mission where I ran into an old childhood friend who happened to be worshipping demons.
Looking back, a lot had happened.
‘…Speaking of which, I should probably visit the orphanage too.’
I needed to ask how the kid managed to leave the orphanage and get wrapped up with Lemegaton and what life was like there.
But for now, I decided to put that off.
Who knew when another demon might pop up? I didn’t want to hustle too hard.
Eventually, they’d show up again, and by then, I’d have to scramble.
At least I needed to check if demons were my true origin.
Anyway, I was taking a break for a while.
With that in mind, I started tackling the household chores that had piled up.
The first couple of days were spent just cleaning out the storage.
“There’s an overwhelming amount of stuff here…”
Between the rewards from the Knights and the by-products from defeating Otherworlders, I had more to sort through than I expected.
Some of it had even been sold off as rewards for those Otherworlders who helped me last time, yet I still had heaps left.
So, I spent two days tossing out trash and figuring out what to sell and what to keep.
The week that followed was dedicated to cleaning up the cave and its surroundings, just sweeping and wiping off dust.
Maybe it was because of the forest being in the center, but dust collected quickly. Honestly, it didn’t need to take a week, but taking it slow stretched it out.
Dust, after all, just piles back up regardless.
That was around the time a guest dropped by.
“Hey there! Long time no see!”
It was none other than Yoo Chaerin, the one who had ruthlessly sold Haneul off to me.
Seeing her with a bag of bread, it looked like she had come just for a visit.
She comfortably sat down on a cushion and opened her mouth.
“Wow, the cave looks cleaner than ever today! What’s the occasion?”
“I’ve always cleaned. I just had a bit more time lately, so I’m doing a thorough job.”
I said this while tying up a garbage bag filled with dust.
This would get disposed of later at the goblin settlement; they’d handle it for me.
Then I asked her, “But what’s the occasion for your visit?”
Chaerin seemed to hesitate for a moment.
But just for a moment, then she cautiously asked me, “Um… I was just wondering how you handled last week’s rampage.”
“Haha.”
Hearing her, I chuckled slightly.
She seemed curious about how I was doing after she had sold her sister and bailed out.
I took a somewhat sarcastic tone and replied, “Well, thanks to who, I had some unique experiences.”
Chaerin flinched a bit at that remark.
Just to clarify, I wasn’t actually mad; I was actually quite grateful.
After all, if it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have had that unique experience, would I?
But it did sting a little.
Here I was, trying to play nice and she pulled a move like that to get away.
Though, I pretty much went wild without caring about her stamina, I still felt a bit blue.
So, I decided to poke some fun at her since she could take it in stride.
I openly declared, ‘Your sister was amazing!’ in front of her.
“The synergy was fantastic.”
She flinched.
“So I’m thinking of just hanging out with your editor for a while. Turns out, she’s got surprisingly good stamina.”
Flinch.
Every word I spoke made her squirm like she was being pricked by a needle, something deep inside her poking at her.
Feeling the urgency, she suddenly began to take off her coat.
It looked like she was trying an act of seduction, which was totally pointless.
Then she said to me, “Um… speaking of which, how about we try something right now? I’ve been wanting to come over for a while but the timing just hasn’t worked out. Hehe…”
Honestly, I thought that was a forced line just to break the awkward tension.
But it wasn’t that; she meant it.
I noticed her violet eyes lingering on my arm and collarbone, calculating an increase in intimacy.
It was one of those little habits she would do when she had certain desires bubbling up.
She didn’t just come over for small talk; there was a need she wanted to satisfy too.
Not like I wasn’t aware of her cravings, being a ‘woman’ and all, but I had zero intentions of rewarding someone who bailed out when help was needed.
I continued sweeping the floor and said lightly, “Sorry, I cleared out last week, so… it’d be tough.”
“……”
“It’s also a bit chilly…”
Quick-witted Chaerin caught on to the implication of my words immediately.
She looked at me, half in despair, and exclaimed, “No wayyy…!”
So I had a bit of fun teasing her before I sent her off.
‘19 mode’ was on hold for the time being.
*
Well, I had a little incident but all in all, I continued with my daily life.
Taking care of household chores, welcoming the occasional guest here and there.
I didn’t have to worry about the Knights barging in, so my life suddenly felt remarkably laid-back.
Thinking back, had I ever had such peace in my life?
Recalling the days I hid and worried about when my life would be threatened made me realize how surprisingly calm I had become.
The ecosystem cleanup that I thought would take ages was wrapped up in just a few days.
Admittedly, I had left things unattended for a while, resulting in lots of lurking monsters around, but they hardly posed any threat to me now.
Now that the Mountain Lord Tiger had only its skin left, I wouldn’t have to concern myself with monsters much anymore.
Thanks to that, I had been enjoying nearly two months of peaceful living. Naturally, I had also managed to survive two more rampages in that time.
“Ah~”
In any case, I found myself facing a rather minor but frustrating problem due to the excessive peace…
“What should I do today…?”
It was none other than the unbearable boredom that struck me.
In this forest, my options mostly boiled down to hunting, cleaning, or cooking. And honestly, none of those sounded particularly fun.
At least when guests arrived, the time would fly by, but those events didn’t happen every day.
In short, there was plenty of time to feel bored.
“……”
Times like this made me miss modern luxuries.
From simple snacks to magazines and electronic devices; compared to this quiet cave, my old 6-pyeong studio might’ve been cramped, but at least it had everything I needed.
Even lounging in a cozy bed scrolling through my phone felt dull back then, yet somehow, I longed for that time.
I cautiously suspected it was homesickness.
Even though I had lived here for 20 years, I hadn’t planted my roots here entirely. Honestly, my experiences here haven’t been all that pleasant.
So, when I found myself alone, I often fell into bouts of nostalgia.
It was while I sat there idly lost in thought that someone suddenly called out.
“Hey, you there?”
“?”
Suddenly, someone intruded into my forest.
Feeling particularly bored, I eagerly got up to greet the guest.
This time, it was someone I hadn’t seen in a while.
It was none other than Shin Hanbyeol.
Thinking back, she hadn’t shown up during the altar battle either.
In a way, this was nearly a couple of months since I had last seen her.
I welcomed her with excitement and asked, “Welcome! What brings you here?”
For a moment, her sharp gaze wrinkled in confusion. I wondered if I had said something wrong, but, nope.
She seemed to be in a bind just because she had nothing particular to say.
“…I just came by.”
“Ahh.”
Upon hearing that, I nodded in understanding.
Sure, she could just want to drop by.
Not all of my guests had to have a reason for visiting, right?
After all, Yoo Chaerin and Im Haneul often popped by whenever they felt bored, so why couldn’t Hanbyeol do the same?
Though I was a bit curious as to why the top-ranked fighter would trek all the way to this remote forest, I decided not to dwell on it deeply.
Just when I was starting to feel down, this was a stroke of good fortune.
I made sure to welcome her warmly, eager to distract myself from how terribly bored I had been.
Actually, it was half of a complaint disguised as conversation, but she listened to my woes with genuine interest.
“Hmm… is that so?”
After considering my words for a moment, she proposed, “If you’re that bored, why not head out to the arena?”
The suggestion was so unexpected that my head tilted sideways in confusion.
I asked her back, “…the arena?”
That sounded vaguely familiar.