The Story of Becoming a Married Man in Another World

023 A Rabbit Close to a Kangaroo

Thud, thud, the sound of round logs splitting and falling to the ground echoed.

For the past few days, whenever he had time, Juhwan had been cutting down large trees nearby and piling them up in one place. And in these awkward leftover moments, he would cut them into smaller pieces and store them as firewood in the warehouse.

Previously, he didn’t know what kind of trees he was cutting down, but now, thanks to Gus’s teachings, he could choose the right trees for firewood. He could tell by looking at the bark.

At first glance, they all seemed to have the same color and texture, but each tree’s bark was different.

Some were smooth, some looked like chewy fish cakes, and some looked pitiful, like a drought-cracked rice field. Just as people’s faces with eyes, noses, and mouths all looked different, trees also looked different, something Gus had taught him for the first time.

However, he had no way of knowing if they were oak trees. Maybe he wouldn’t know until the season when acorns appeared.

The sky, which had been gray until a moment ago, had brightened. Juhwan wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand and put the axe down.

It was about time for Dorothy to wake up. Teaching the child who hated brushing her teeth to use a wooden toothbrush was Juhwan’s job.

While doing everything else with Lizzy, Dorothy would run away like a mouse when it came to brushing her teeth. She seemed to hate it immensely.

But for some reason, when Juhwan brushed his teeth, Dorothy would come over and mimic him. Seeing this, Lizzy asked Juhwan to watch over the child.

Juhwan remembered Lizzy gesturing and miming to make up for the lack of understanding and smiled.

‘She was cute.’

Lizzy, holding a wooden toothbrush and mimicking brushing her teeth, looked like a child. Moreover, she seemed embarrassed by her own actions while pretending to brush her teeth.

Next to her, Dorothy, mimicking Lizzy’s actions because of him, was also cute.

While waiting for the child to come out, Juhwan started his daily magic training.

It was called training, but it was just standing still, thinking there was something near his navel, and trying to turn that something around.

At first, he tried to sit properly and meditate in a plausible pose, but soon realized it wasn’t necessary. No matter how much time passed, he couldn’t feel anything. Nothing moved. He just thought about it. Still, it seemed to have some effect, so he kept doing it, but sometimes he wondered if there was a more correct way.

Moreover, while he could now easily heal bruises and other injuries, he couldn’t produce even a fingernail-sized flame. It seemed like it would never happen. Maybe meditation only worked for healing magic.

—

Juhwan let out a small sigh, thinking about turning something in his lower abdomen three times before opening his palm. As usual, he stared at his palm and muttered to himself.

‘Fire.’

Of course, nothing came out. He wasn’t disappointed anymore because he didn’t expect it to work. Still, he muttered once more in his mind.

‘Fire Storm.’

Suddenly, he thought that Dorothy would be very happy if fire came out.

Healing magic is modest. When using magic, there is no light or loud sound effects. It just quietly makes bruises disappear or eczema on the fingertips vanish.

Perhaps because of this, it doesn’t really feel like magic. Lizzie seemed to think it was amazing, but Dorothy had no interest in it.

Lizzie seemed to be explaining something about magic, but Dorothy just responded with a “hmm” or tilted her head. If there’s nothing visible, a child won’t be impressed.

Feeling slightly disappointed as he looked at his still unresponsive palm, he was about to lower his hand when the door slightly opened.

Dorothy came out, rubbing her eyes sleepily. It’s a pity. If fire had come out, he would have shown it to her.

At that moment, he suddenly felt something pop in his palm, and a small flame appeared.

It was small. Very small. A flame slightly larger than a matchstick’s flame was attached to his fingertip. It looked like his finger had become a lighter. He felt happy to be able to use fire magic, but at the same time, he felt slightly disappointed.

“….”

At least he wouldn’t need a flint anymore. Well, that’s good.

“Pa?”

A strange sound came from Dorothy’s mouth. Her half-closed eyes gradually widened and became as round as a full moon.

“Dad! Magic##fire####!”

Realizing the identity of the flame belatedly, Dorothy shouted loudly. The child, who had rushed forward, brought her face close to the small flame as if she was about to put her nose into it.

“Dorothy, what if it burns you?”

As he hurriedly pulled his finger back, Dorothy, excited, grabbed his arm with her small hands and shouted inside.

“Lizzie! Mom! Mom! Fire###! Dad##magic##!”

There was a sound of footsteps, and Lizzie came out from inside, looking flustered.

Seeing the small flame hanging from Juhwan’s fingertip, she widened her eyes. With a shocked expression, she covered her mouth with her hand and, excited, started to spill out words like magic and fire.

Lizzie and Dorothy quickly said something with Juhwan’s finger in the middle.

“….”

In a world without proper medical facilities or even decent doctors, healing magic seemed more amazing than a small flame, but maybe he was wrong.

Because Lizzie and Dorothy were happy, he wanted to make the flame a little bigger, but the flame on his finger only grew to the size of a lighter’s maximum output. That too, only after he sent a lot of mental energy.

He wasn’t sure if it was because healing magic suited him better or if fire magic was just difficult to use. Maybe it was simply because Juhwan himself could more easily use what he wanted more. Perhaps it was because he thought healing magic was more urgent than fire.

Anyway, it was fortunate that he could use both. It would be nice if he could make a campfire-sized flame in the future.

Lizzie and Dorothy were happy with his small flame for a while, but soon went back to their tasks. Lizzie to do housework, and Dorothy, out of the blue, to check on the meat.

—

Juhwan, left alone, stared blankly at the fire on his finger.

“….”

How do I put out this fire? Even if I think to myself to extinguish it, it doesn’t go out.

Extinguish, off, vanish, muttering like that, Juhwan sighed and waved his hand as if to put out a match. Fine, I’ll just live until it goes out.

“….”

It went out.

The magic of this world is a bit strange. I can’t figure out where the switch is.

Juhwan waited for Dorothy to come out to brush her teeth, but she didn’t come. Maybe she fell asleep again, or maybe she ran away because she didn’t want to brush her teeth.

When Juhwan went inside the house, Dorothy was quietly looking inside the meat barrel with the lid open. She had a somewhat sad expression.

Wondering why, he approached her, and Dorothy slightly lifted her head to look at him.

“The meat is getting smaller.”

“….”

It seems she’s sad because the amount of meat is gradually decreasing. Lizzy, who was busy working nearby, giggled.

Whether she heard it or not, Dorothy lowered her head again and looked into the meat barrel. Like a tragic actress, tears welled up in an instant.

Sorry, Dad will definitely catch rabbit meat today.

‘Let’s cheer up.’

*

Gus came when the birds were chirping loudly and wandering around the mountain. He looked the same as usual. Worn-out hunter’s clothes and a leather bag. The only difference was that he had a bow and a quiver. Usually, he only carried a knife.

“Bring the bow, let’s hunt.”

Gus pointed to his bow and said to Juhwan.

To communicate with people, you don’t need to know much. If you know a few commonly used words, you can roughly understand the meaning. Juhwan nodded to Gus.

Until now, Juhwan had never used a bow when going to the mountain with Gus. He only shot at trees with the two arrows Gus gave him at home. He seemed to have some talent, as he now hits the target every time when shooting from close range.

Yesterday, Gus corrected Juhwan’s archery posture and praised him, thinking he was now ready.

“Okay, got it, bow, bring.”

Juhwan replied using the words he knew, then went inside the house. As Gus taught him, he laid the two arrows flat instead of standing them up. It seems that’s how arrows should be managed.

Juhwan took out the long bow that was leaning against one wall, slung it over his back, and hung the bamboo quiver at his waist.

As he put the arrows into the quiver, Lizzy, who had been waiting, ran over and handed him a leather bag. Inside the bag were semi-dried squid-like dried meat and a water bottle.

The rope that used to take up most of the bag’s space was no longer there. Juhwan didn’t say anything, but it seems Lizzy realized that a hunter doesn’t need a rope.

Dorothy, who had been sad about the decreasing meat, also ran over and stood next to Lizzy.

“Dad! Come back safely.”

—

—

Dorothy shouted energetically, as if she had forgotten the sadness of the meat.

“Yes, be a good child.”

“Yes! Dorothy is a good child!”

“Yes.”

Every day, she learns new words. What was a good child yesterday becomes a good child today. Lizzie didn’t interrupt this short morning greeting time. The greeting Joo-hwan gives to Dorothy when he goes hunting is taught by Dorothy.

Dorothy seems quite happy to be a teacher, and she seems to be thinking every day about teaching him new words. The result is a series of good child, good child, pretty child, which is probably a reflection of Dorothy’s desires.

When Joo-hwan placed his hand on the child’s head and patted it, Dorothy pushed her head like a cat. After rubbing her head against Joo-hwan’s palm several times, Dorothy stepped back.

After greeting the child, it was Lizzie’s turn.

“Be careful.”

“Lizzie, you too, be careful.”

Speaking slowly and clearly to avoid mistakes, Lizzie smiled as if she had done well. If the pronunciation was wrong, she would correct it immediately. Thanks to her, his speech improved a lot.

When he lightly kissed Lizzie’s lips, Dorothy, who was next to him, also pouted her lips. She looked like an octopus. When Joo-hwan bent down and lightly kissed the protruding lips, for some reason, the smell of meat wafted from the child’s mouth. This little rascal must have secretly eaten some.

When he glanced at Lizzie’s face, she shrugged as if she already knew. It seemed this wasn’t the first time. Maybe she secretly eats when Joo-hwan isn’t around. The meat disappearing so quickly might be because of Dorothy.

After greeting Lizzie and Dorothy once more, Joo-hwan went outside.

*

The place where the snare was set was deep in the mountains, far from home. It took a long time to walk there.

Before leaving the house, Gus took a few arrows from the bamboo quiver and handed them to Joo-hwan.

What Joo-hwan had were arrows without tips, but what Gus gave him had long metal tips.

But it was strange. Usually, the tips used for hunting are arrow-shaped. In fact, the arrowheads Gus had were shaped like that.

When Joo-hwan made a puzzled expression, Gus grinned. He didn’t seem to have any intention of explaining. Gus just kept walking.

Even on the way to the place where the snare was set, Gus’s education continued. He gestured to ask if the wood they passed by could be used for firewood, and sometimes he stopped to look for rabbit droppings.

When they found rabbit droppings, which looked like round clumps of mud, Gus would once again survey the surrounding terrain. Remember, remember, he would say, and then he would look for the droppings of other animals, not rabbits. Just as humans chase rabbits, carnivores also hunt the same animals.

Because they spent time like that, a considerable amount of time had passed by the time they reached the place where the snare was set.

As is usually the case in the mountains, it was quiet all around. Only the sound of birds could be heard occasionally. So he thought they wouldn’t catch a rabbit this time either. It was too quiet all around.

That’s why he was surprised when he stood at a distance where he could see the snare. There was an animal caught in the snare that was quite large and ferocious for a rabbit.

The rabbits Joo-hwan knew had round faces and slightly short, round ears, cute animals, but what was caught in the snare looked completely different.

Judging by its large, long ears, it might be a rabbit. But those ears were strange. They didn’t look like rabbit ears. They were too long and bizarre. The ears were wrong.

The face was the same. It had no round feeling at all, it looked like a gangster kangaroo. It felt much closer to a kangaroo than a rabbit.

The legs were also long and thin, completely different from the plump pet rabbits.

Overall, it looked like a rabbit that had evolved into a monster, but anyway, that wasn’t a rabbit.

—

—

‘Is it because this is another world?’

Still, he thought it might be a bit of a relief. He didn’t think he would hesitate at all to kill.

───────────────