chapter_0511

511 – Underground Bunker

511 – Underground Bunker

Rolling-

Gaeul, who had rolled into the tire, tumbled down the slope.

When she rolled back around, her face was flushed with surprise.

“Gaeul?”

“Ju-in?”

Wasn’t she supposed to be coming down the slope on the tire?

Why does Gaeul look so startled?

While I was lost in thought, Gaeul’s rolling began to pick up speed.

Roll roll roll-

“Zhuuuuuuuuu!”

The tire rolled down the sledding hill at a suitably fast pace.

Gaeul, inside the tire, rolled along with it.

“Eh…”

With each roll, her eyes darted around in confusion.

Can I stop this with my own strength?

I hurriedly ran toward the direction Gaeul was rolling.

“Gaeul, I’ll catch you!”

“……”

There was no response from Gaeul.

Is she too dizzy to answer?

Just as I reached out my hand toward the tire, Saebyeok blocked my path.

“Gyeoul, I’ll handle this.”

“Oh, okay.”

If it’s strong Saebyeok, she should be able to stop it.

I watched as Gaeul rolled closer to Saebyeok.

The moment the tire containing Gaeul approached Saebyeok,

Thud-!

The tire hit something and bounced high into the air.

“Zhuuuuu!”

The tire with Gaeul soared above my head.

At that moment, a giant soap bubble from Levinas flew toward the tire.

Pop-

The soap bubble caught the rolling tire with Gaeul inside.

We rushed toward Gaeul, who was landing on the soap bubble.

“Gaeul, are you okay?”

“Meow. Gomma.”

Gaeul, who had been wobbling around, bowed to someone who wasn’t us.

It seemed to be her mother, but her eyes were spinning, as if she was confused about who she was looking at.

“Gaeul, this way!”

“Huh?”

Gaeul spun around, searching for my voice.

I caught her and steadied her in place.

“Gaeul, are you okay?”

“Meow…”

She looked dizzy, but her condition didn’t seem too bad.

I waited a moment for Gaeul to collect herself and then said,

“Gaeul, that was really dangerous. You could have gotten hurt.”

“Meow.”

“Right. You shouldn’t do that again, okay? You scared me.”

“Okay. Meow.”

She bowed her head, perhaps realizing her mistake.

Gaeul wasn’t a child who didn’t listen.

With her sincere attitude of remorse, I had nothing more to say.

“Gaeul, but why did you ride the tire?”

“I didn’t know.”

“You didn’t… know?”

“No. I didn’t know it would spin.”

So she didn’t know it would spin around with the tire.

It was dangerous, but at least she learned something this time.

As I patted Gaeul’s head, hoping she wouldn’t do it again, Levinas’s ears perked up.

“I just thought of a great idea!”

“A great idea?”

“Yes! Levinas will create his own game!”

Levinas clenched his fist tightly.

Did he think of some fun game while watching Gaeul on the tire?

When I asked Levinas what the game was, this was his reply.

“Hehe! Just wait and see later!”

**

After playing at the sledding hill, we returned to the shelter to distribute items before heading home.

“Can I study inside, Master…?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Thank you…!”

After dropping Haneul off at the Ggaemmi Guild’s forge, I came out in front of the container.

In front of the container, Levinas began digging into the ground at an incredible speed.

“Levinas, what are you doing?”

“I’m playing!”

Was it a game of digging?

This was a game we usually played, but it could still be considered Levinas’s special game.

As I watched Levinas digging with the other kids, I pointed toward the guild building in the distance and said,

“Hey guys, I’m going to run home for a bit. I left my bow at home, and I feel empty without it.”

“Okay! Got it!”

I returned home to grab my bow and arrows.

In the brief moment it took to bring back my weapons, I couldn’t see where the other kids had gone, except for Gaeul.

“Gaeul, where did everyone go?”

“Digging.”

Gaeul pointed to the hole beneath her feet.

It was the hole Levinas had been digging.

“Huh…?”

Peering into the hole, I couldn’t see the bottom; it seemed to go quite deep.

The sound of digging came from somewhere deep inside the hole.

‘Wow, they dug really deep.’

Had Levinas’s digging skills improved even more?

Kneeling down to look inside the hole, something began to rise up from within.

Pop-

What emerged from the hole was Levinas’s soap bubble filled with dirt.

It seemed he was sending the dug-up dirt out in the soap bubble.

“Looks like everyone is inside. Why didn’t Gaeul go in?”

“I’m waiting.”

Gaeul smiled and pointed at me.

Since it would be hard to find everyone if they were underground, one person stayed behind to wait.

I was grateful for the kids’ consideration.

“Thank you, that’s so like you, Gaeul.”

“Yay!”

Gaeul’s tail wagged happily.

As I watched Gaeul, I looked back into the hole.

“Is it okay to go in here?”

“Yes!”

Gaeul nodded vigorously and squatted down next to me.

Then she shouted toward the hole with enthusiasm.

“Gaeul-ik?!”

“Yes! Come in!”

Levinas’s voice echoed from deep within.

After a moment’s hesitation, Gaeul slid down to sit on the edge of the hole.

“Gaeul, are you sure? Should we go down together?”

“Yes.”

I carefully sat behind Gaeul.

Then, without hesitation, I slid down the hole with Gaeul.

Whoosh-

The slide down the hole with Gaeul was faster than I had expected.

“Zhuin! Zhuuu!”

Startled, Gaeul screamed, and I screamed too as we continued down the endless slide.

“Nyahhh!”

How deep had Levinas dug?

Was it safe down here, with no risk of suffocation or collapse?

Perhaps Levinas’s childlike magic had activated again.

Thinking this, I rode the long slide down into the underground.

“Nyahhh!”

“Zhuin! Zhuuu!”

The underground slide ended just as Gaeul called my name for the fourth time.

At the end of the slide, a fairly spacious underground area appeared.

It wasn’t huge, but it was big enough for me and the five kids to fit.

“Wanga, are you here?!”

In the pitch-black depths of the earth, Levinas’s smartphone shone brightly.

Thanks to that, I could tell who was who.

“Yes. Levinas, what is all this?”

“This is Levinas’s underground playground shelter!”

“Playground shelter?”

“Yes! It’s both a playground and a shelter!”

“I see.”

Indeed.

At this depth, it would withstand a nuclear explosion.

I wasn’t sure what would happen in the event of a collapse, though.

Ahem.

As Levinas proudly puffed out his chest, Gaeul tilted her head.

“Gaeul-ik?”

“Yes! Gaeul’s dog shelter is amazing too! If we combine this shelter with Gaeul’s, it would be invincible!”

“Wow!”

Clap-

Gaeul, with her hands together, sparkled with excitement.

Then she began digging into the ground like Levinas.

“Everyone, dig wider and wider!”

“Okay. I’ll help too.”

Bom and Saebyeok also started digging wider.

They weren’t as fast as Levinas, but they were diligently digging.

‘Hmm…’

It’s nice that the kids are playing.

But isn’t it dangerous to be doing this underground?

I decided to go find an adult to get help with safety concerns.

**

I stepped outside to look for adults who could help.

Bom seemed worried about the safety of the underground shelter too, as she followed me out.

Just then, Hanyeoreum and Jeong Yuna were sitting on a bench, chatting.

“Excuse me.”

I ran over to them with Bom.

The eyes of the two widened in surprise when they saw us.

“Why are Gyeoul and Bom’s clothes so dirty?”

“We’re building a shelter… a bomb shelter.”

“…a bomb shelter?”

“Yes. It’s an incredible bomb shelter that can withstand dragon breath, and we need help.”

Did the term “bomb shelter” pique their curiosity?

Jeong Yuna and Hanyeoreum followed us.

“This is… a tunnel?”

“Yes. You can slide down it like a slide.”

“Hmm… I’m…”

As Jeong Yuna hesitated, Hanyeoreum approached her from behind.

Hehe, with a wicked grin, Hanyeoreum pushed Jeong Yuna’s back.

“Ahhh!”

With a scream, Jeong Yuna disappeared into the tunnel.

The kids must have dug deeper, as the scream echoed for quite a while.

“Cut.”

Tap tap-

Hanyeoreum dusted off her hands as if she had cleaned up.

Bom clapped in admiration at that, and I slowly backed away.

I was worried that I might get pushed toward the tunnel too.

“Hey, guys?”

Hanyeoreum turned to look at us.

Then she flashed a wicked smile.

“Shall I take you down with me?”

“Ah!”

Hanyeoreum picked me up effortlessly.

I tried to pull her cheek to resist, but unlike mine, Hanyeoreum’s cheek was sturdy.

“Thank you for everything, Gyeoul.”

Bom conveyed her condolences as she looked at me.

Then she turned and started running away.

“Catch her, Bom!”

Hanyeoreum, still holding me, began to run toward Bom.

As a Beastman, Bom was fast, but she couldn’t compare to Hanyeoreum, a physical adventurer.

“Bom, come here.”

Just as I got close to Bom, I reached out and grabbed her tail.

Bom, caught by her tail, looked at me with a bewildered expression.

“Gyeoul betrayed me…!”

“I can’t be the only one to suffer.”

Hehe.

I grinned wickedly, just like Hanyeoreum had a moment ago.

Of course, it was all an act.

A word from the author (Author’s note)

Thank you so much for reading today, PIA1747014585384!

Thank you for the comments and recommendations too! They always give me strength…!

Do you know Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?!

There’s a part where they ride a boat into the chocolate waves…!

I wrote Levinas’s tunnel with that feeling in mind…!