Growing Well

Growing Well

Before Han A-rin left for a distant place, there was one thing she urged us to do, which was:

“Adults don’t ask children for help. So if adults ask for help, you should say ‘No,’ okay?”

 

It was a message to ignore adults’ requests for help.

When I first heard this, I didn’t think much of it because it didn’t seem particularly wrong.

 

However, there were two points I had momentarily overlooked.

‘First, this isn’t our original world, and’

 

Second, Chae-a isn’t an ordinary baby but a spirit.

‘In other words, while in the original world, adults would never have a reason to ask children for help,’

 

I thought that here, they might genuinely need help related to Chae-a’s special ability (life creation).

So, as I blinked my eyes watching the very flustered Researcher Jung Jae-hyun,

 

Chae-a, as if to confirm her kill, once again expressed her refusal.

“Yeah! No!”

 

“… R-Really? Then I guess there’s no choice.”

“But Chae-a wants to do it…!”

“?”

Faced with those words that were completely incomprehensible, expressing both dislike and desire, Researcher Jung Jae-hyun wore a blank expression.

Then he looked alternately at me and the counselor with eyes seeking help.

Feeling that this couldn’t go on, I grabbed Chae-a’s hand and said.

“Then shall I help you?”

“Yeah! But I was told not to…!”

Chae-a whispered to me, seemingly wanting to keep her promise with Han A-rin as much as possible, expressing her determination to definitely keep the promise.

Seeing this, I was pondering what to do when.

The counselor offered a solution that was simpler than expected.

“Then Chae-a, instead of helping, how about going to play? A-rin said not to help, but she didn’t say not to play together, right?”

At those words, Chae-a’s eyes sparkled as if she had realized something.

Then, with a triumphant look, she grabbed Researcher Jung Jae-hyun’s finger and said.

“Yeah, then. Let’s go!”

“Oh, oh? Sh-Should we?”

Thinking that his extremely flustered appearance was somehow funny, I giggled.

* * *

As the counselor had promised us earlier.

She followed us to the lab as a guardian, watching over us.

I was so grateful for this that I kept smiling at her whenever our eyes met to express my thanks, when suddenly a question popped into my mind.

‘Come to think of it, didn’t they say only authorized people could enter the lab?’

However, I was a bit puzzled to see the counselor entering the inner part of the laboratory as if it were natural, without even asking for permission.

‘Perhaps they were invited by the research team, so they just let it slide?’

Or maybe the counselor’s identity was guaranteed, so they didn’t need to verify anything?

I wasn’t sure, but I was glad they were able to enter without any problems as I walked alongside the counselor.

Ahead of us, Jung Jae-hyun, who was walking with Chae-a, looked down and spoke to Chae-a.

“This time, what I want to request from Chae-a is to check if plants that only grow in dungeons can be grown on Earth as well.”

Upon hearing this, Chae-a seemed to recall what she had told me in the morning about ‘wanting to farm’.

She looked at me with an incredibly joyful expression.

Roughly guessing, I thought it might mean they wanted to farm here and take the ingredients, so I tilted my head in confusion.

‘Will it work?’

Realistically thinking, if they’re asking Chae-a for help, it must be a biological specimen with extremely low chances of success.

Besides, even if it succeeded, all activities conducted inside the laboratory were treated as confidential.

So it was questionable whether they could take crops grown here outside.

‘So it seems impossible.’

Seeing Chae-a so happy, I couldn’t bring myself to tell her the truth and had to keep my mouth shut.

‘I’ll have to tell Chae-a later that she can grow new plants in the vegetable garden inside the lair.’

I was wondering if that would cheer her up when.

The researcher uncle showed us cracked seeds with a bitter smile.

“Strangely, seeds brought from inside the dungeon crack like this the moment they come outside. So I was wondering if Chae-a could possibly revive them. Chae-a, do you think you could bring these back to life?”

To this question, Chae-a stared at them blankly for a moment before responding very confidently.

“Woong!”

Is it possible to revive them?

I was looking at Chae-a, thinking she was amazing, when Chae-a reached out her hand towards the seeds.

She gently rubbed them and said.

“Wake up…!”

It wasn’t a particularly special action, but the moment Chae-a’s wish was conveyed to the seeds, they began to wriggle.

Immediately, small sprouts popped out and their leaves swayed gently.

The researcher Jung Jae-hyun’s expression became complicated as it was resolved too easily.

But Chae-a seemed somewhat excited at the thought that she might be able to get food ingredients.

“It looks delicious…!”

She was actually declaring that she would eat it.

I was patting Chae-a’s head to show that she did well, when

The counselor looked at this and said with surprise.

“If this is possible, we could grow crops inside the dungeon too.”

“Yes, yes. We’ll need to check if the composition is the same, if it’s edible, if continuous cultivation is possible… but for now, this alone has shown the possibility. It’s an amazing achievement.”

“Hmm. That’s good.”

The two of them were having a conversation about how amazing Chae-a’s action was.

I was looking up blankly while listening to this.

Chae-a grabbed my hand beside me and whispered softly.

“Then… Chae-a wants to eat strawberries and Korean melons… and onions…!”

Ha-eun seemed to want to harvest strawberries, melons, and onions from the seed she had brought to life.

When I heard this, I was about to say it was impossible.

But thinking it would be better to protect her innocence, I nodded and said.

“Yeah. I got it.”

“I’m so excited…!”

Chae-a fidgeted with her fingers while looking down.

Then she tilted her head and asked me a question.

“So… can I come tomorrow?! Or tomorrow after sleeping tonight?!”

Unable to remember the word for “day after tomorrow,” she expressed her excitement by saying “tomorrow’s tomorrow.”

As I was hesitating, wondering what to do while looking at Chae-a.

The counselor, who seemed to have been listening to our conversation, smiled and continued speaking.

“I don’t think they’ll all grow by tomorrow… Chae-a, do you want to eat strawberries and melons?”

To this question, Chae-a nodded and said.

“Yes! And I need them to make food.”

“Food?”

“I want to give it to the unnies when they come…!”

“Oh my.”

The counselor, finding Chae-a adorable, ruffled her hair while praising her.

Then she said to Chae-a.

“Then shall I buy the ingredients for you? That way you can cook right away.”

“It’s okay…! I’ll raise it with Ha-eun!”

“Really?”

“Yeah!”

After Chae-a confidently declared that she would raise it herself and cook it herself.

Now, as if she wants to go back, she picks me up and tries to drag me out.

I think it wouldn’t be bad to leave like this, so I’m being pulled along by Chae-a, when Researcher Jung Jae-hyun stops us, looking very flustered.

“Huh? I prepared snacks for Ha-eun and Chae-a, don’t you want them?”

Chae-a stops in her tracks at the mention of snacks.

Then she carefully puts me down and whispers to me.

“Then shall we just eat the snacks and go…?”

It seems that Chae-a, who loves eating, can’t give up on snacks.

I nod towards Chae-a, and she gets very excited, shaking her body as she says.

“Great…!”

Watching this, I smile broadly and move forward with Chae-a to receive the snacks.

* * *

Anyway, after that, we were able to receive a few more things besides snacks.

The first was a small cushion.

The second was a watering can.

And the third was a small bowl to put snacks in.

When we received these gifts, Chae-a was especially happy.

The reason was that by getting a small cushion, Somteol could also sit on a cushion with us.

They said it was because they had a watering can, which allowed them to farm.

I was blinking my eyes while listening to Chae-a singing an unidentifiable song with her fluffy hair in front of me.

A counselor standing nearby looked at the land at the edge of the area and made a suggestion.

“Ha-eun, how about farming here?”

Hearing those words, I stared blankly at the place the counselor pointed to.

It seemed the counselor had put a lot of thought into suggesting a place for us to farm.

There was a water faucet very close by, and they showed us a place with good sunlight and ventilation.

I liked that suggestion, so I nodded my head vigorously and thanked them as politely as possible.

“Thank you very much…!”

“It’s nothing. I enjoy thinking about these things too.”

Thinking that was fortunate, I smiled and chuckled.

Then I came to my senses and looked down at the ground.

‘To be honest, it seems impossible to farm, harvest crops, and cook them.’

But I thought it would be good to give Chae-a the experience of growing plants, so I decided to proceed with it for now.

I called Chae-a and the fluffy one who were chirping and singing in front.

When I called, they both came running to me with bright smiles.

I greeted them calmly like an adult and told them what needed to be done.

“Now we’re going to farm. So first… we need to plant seeds and water them.”

At those words, Chae-a smiled brightly and rummaged through her pocket.

She took out some fruit seeds she had brought from somewhere and said.

“Here! Apple seeds…!”

“…?”

I wonder where she got these from?

Since I couldn’t bring myself to say no, I decided to plant them, digging a small hole in the ground below and planting them.

Chae-a was overjoyed and patted the soil with her hands.

“Grow well and strong!”

“Wiggle wiggle!”

As if responding to those words, an earthworm seemed to speak.

Then it fell into the soil and disappeared inside.

As I was staring at this, wondering if it was okay, Chae-a giggled and said to me.

“Now we have to dance…!”

“Dance?”

“Yeah. So it grows faster!”

Although I wasn’t sure, I wanted to do as Chae-a wished, so I nodded.

Chae-a began to perform a dance routine in front of me that she must have learned somewhere.

It was quite embarrassing to dance like this in front of the counselor, but since I couldn’t back out now, I awkwardly followed along.

 

Unexpectedly, the seed planted in the ground began to sprout and grow rapidly.