chapter_0572

572 – How Long Has It Been Since I Ate an Orange

572 – How Long Has It Been Since I Ate an Orange

The self-destructing Levinas charged at the novice adventurers.

They wouldn’t explode as long as they weren’t killed, but if they weren’t killed, they would keep attacking relentlessly.

As those creatures surged in like a receding tide, the adventurers began to panic.

“Wh-what should we do…?!”

“Let’s retreat for now! Don’t aim your weapons there…!”

An adventurer who looked like a swordsman swung his weapon at the self-destructing Levinas charging at him.

The Levinas died in a way that felt almost absurdly easy, but that was just the beginning.

Woooooong-!

The Levinas’s mana began to gather and expand.

An adventurer nearby seemed flustered by the swarm of Levinas and sat down in place.

He could have slowed down time and used a rope arrow to save his allies, but he decided to use a different tactic here.

He would receive help from a Divine Beast that could easily block the explosion.

“Gubugi!”

Kwahng-!

At the same time as my shout, the Levinas exploded.

I was able to see a shield enveloping the adventurers just before the explosion.

Bang! Bang-! Kwahng-!

The explosion of the Levinas caught nearby Levinas in its blast, killing them, and those dead Levinas exploded as well.

After a rather lengthy chain reaction of explosions, the adventurers who hadn’t managed to escape emerged unscathed.

“Ha…! Hah…!”

“……!”

One adventurer caught in the explosion exhaled heavily, while another just gaped.

My tail stood on end as I watched.

It was a relief that none of them had fainted.

“Is everyone okay…?”

“Y-yeah… Thanks to you, we survived.”

“Gyeoul called Gubugi, so we made it.”

“Hehe…”

Gubugi was a Divine Beast that could read the intent to attack from opponents.

Even if I hadn’t shouted, it would have used the shield.

As I scratched my cheek in embarrassment, I felt an immense number of Levinas approaching us.

“Uh, more Levinas are coming…”

“W-where?”

“Over there…”

The sound of Levinas’s footsteps echoed through the thick trees and bushes.

Before long, they began to reveal themselves, and the adventurers were horrified at the endless tide of them.

“W-what’s with all these?!”

“Did we let in too many…?”

“That can’t be it…!”

We had no idea why so many self-destructing Levinas were appearing.

The whims of the dungeon were unpredictable.

Still, the fortunate thing was that we had figured out how to deal with the Levinas.

“Gubugi!”

I called out to Gubugi and shot an arrow at the leading self-destructing Levinas.

If I could kill just one, it would trigger a chain explosion that would take out all of them.

Thwack-!

The arrow struck the self-destructing Levinas right in the center of its forehead, causing it to fall.

Confirming that the Levinas was dead, I charged straight at it.

Woooooong-!

As I got closer to the dead creature, my body turned red, signaling the impending explosion.

Fortunately, I was faster in running away than the speed at which it was about to explode.

“Yah!”

I unconsciously mimicked Levinas’s battle cry.

Maybe it was because I shouted, but I felt like I could run even faster.

Kwahng-!

I darted through the explosions of the Levinas at high speed.

What started as one Levinas explosion turned into a chain reaction, devastating the surrounding area.

“Nyah!”

Even though I knew I wouldn’t get hurt thanks to Gubugi, the explosions were still quite terrifying.

So, I let out a scream without realizing it.

**

The self-destructing Levinas could be hunted down just by running quickly.

It was a monster with tremendous destructive power, yet it ended in a way that felt almost anticlimactic.

‘Is this why combinations are important?’

No matter how strong you are, if you only have the same type, it’s easy to counter.

I was glad that my companions and I had a balanced composition.

As I finished the hunt and was about to head home, I had to stop momentarily due to the approaching adventurers.

“Gyeoul, thank you. Thanks to you, it ended without any issues.”

“Gyeoul is really strong.”

“Yeah…”

I felt my face flush at the many expressions of gratitude from the adventurers.

But I didn’t dislike it, so my tail wagged happily.

“Hehe.”

It felt good when people expressed their thanks.

With a joyful heart, I entered the house again with my Divine Beasts.

“Wanga!”

The first to welcome me home was Levinas.

Levinas had a mischievous expression on his face.

“Wanga! Do you know what a tail flying in the sky is?!”

“A flying tail… Gaeul?”

There was a time when Gaeul flew with her tail.

Mentioning that, Levinas’s eyes widened like a Horned Rabbit.

“Gasp…! Matta…!”

“Is that the answer?”

“Yeah…! Originally, there was another answer, but that’s also correct…!”

“Oh really? What was the original?”

“It was a nightingale!”

A nightingale.

A tail flying in the sky is indeed correct.

I nodded lightly.

Then Levinas covered his mouth and began to giggle.

“Isn’t Wanga laughing?”

“Um… Unfortunately, it didn’t make me laugh.”

“Really?!”

Levinas took out his smartphone from his pocket.

I wondered what he was doing, but he was asking Sunny for another joke.

“Gasp!”

Had he discovered something good?

As soon as he entered the living room, Levinas spoke while looking at his smartphone.

“Levinas has eaten an orange for how long an orange!”

“Ugh.”

Someone burst into laughter at the pun that is commonly referred to as a dad joke.

When I turned to the side, I saw Sophia covering her mouth with her hand.

“Ahem, ahem.”

Embarrassed by laughing at something trivial, Sophia cleared her throat.

Her cheeks were flushed red.

“Shark! Is this funny?!”

“It’s… not bad…”

“Should Levinas tell more?!”

“No, that’s enough…”

“If you eat a banana, is it a banana for Levinas?!”

“Ugh.”

Sophia squeezed her eyes shut, trying to hold back her laughter.

It seemed that our Sophia had no immunity to dad jokes.

After all, Sophia was older.

Is it any wonder she would like such jokes?

Watching Sophia struggle to contain her laughter made me feel happy too.

“Shark, should I tell more?!”

“Th-that’s enough…”

Just as Sophia waved her hands to say stop, the front door of the house opened.

“Eeeh…”

Gaeul’s siren-like sound of disappointment.

What could have made Gaeul sound the siren?

I realized the reason as I saw Gaeul entering the living room.

“Gaeul, did your clothes tear?”

“Ugh…”

Gaeul weakly nodded her head.

Bomi approached Gaeul’s side.

“While playing tag with Gaeul, she got caught on a tree and tore it.”

“I see. You didn’t get hurt, right?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

“Well, that’s good.”

Clothes are consumables, unlike people.

There was no reason to be particularly sad if they tore.

As I patted Gaeul’s back, Haneul, who had been watching us, dashed toward the living room drawer.

What Haneul pulled out from the drawer was a round cookie tin.

The cookie picture drawn on the tin looked quite delicious.

Was Haneul planning to cheer Gaeul up with cookies?

I watched Haneul’s actions with anticipation.

“Cookie dot!”

“Ugh…”

Levinas also showed interest in the cookies, and Gaeul’s tail began to wag cautiously.

I hoped Gaeul would eat the delicious cookies and feel better when Haneul opened the cookie tin.

“Oh.”

“Huh?!”

Shockingly, what was inside the cookie tin was not cookies but a sewing kit.

Gaeul made a blank expression at the unexpected item.

“Is it ripe?”

“No, this is a sewing kit.”

“……!”

Was she shocked because she thought it was a delicious cookie but found a sewing kit instead?

Gaeul sprawled out on the floor.

“Gaeul, Haneul will sew it for you…!”

Haneul began to sew Gaeul’s torn clothes with the sewing kit.

I thought I was somewhat good at sewing, but Haneul’s skills were beyond my expectations.

“Wow.”

Haneul threaded the needle with pretty flowers and lemon shapes.

Her sewing skills were astonishing enough to make my eyes widen.

“Gaeul, your clothes look prettier now!”

“Cool…!”

Gaeul smiled happily as if to say when did this happen.

She seemed particularly fond of the lemon, poking it with her finger.

“Levinas too! Will Levinas do this too?!”

“Do it for me too.”

“Yeah…!”

The children brought their cherished clothes, and Haneul sewed pretty patterns onto them.

Watching Haneul sew, I realized something.

I could feel the traits of a grandmother in our Haneul.

She likes red ginseng candy and hides a sewing kit in the cookie tin.

Isn’t this completely the kind-hearted grandmother?!

After pondering for a moment, I decided to conduct an experiment.

“Haneul, Haneul.”

“Yes?”

“How long has it been since you ate an orange?”

The ultimate dad joke that made Sophia laugh.

Confidently delivering the joke, I observed Haneul’s reaction.

“…An orange?”

Haneul tilted her head, looking at me.

It seemed that this didn’t quite resonate with her.

“Oh, no…”

Was this type of joke not effective?

After all, this was a dad joke, not a grandmother joke.

I felt embarrassed for no reason.

At that moment, as I awkwardly chuckled at Haneul, I heard a sound from Sophia trying to hold back her laughter.

Naturally, our gazes turned to Sophia.

Except for one person, Gaeul.

“Ripe.”

“Yeah?”

“Ripe.”

Gaeul reached into the portal.

What she pulled out was nothing other than a beautifully ripe orange.

“Ripe orange.”

With a smile, Gaeul handed me the orange.

Was she giving it to me because I mentioned it had been a long time since I ate an orange?

Our Gaeul’s kind heart made me smile involuntarily.

A word from the author (Author’s note)

Thank you so much for reading today, PIA1747014585384!

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

Mundeong isn’t a dad, so he doesn’t find it funny at all~

Mundeong is young~~

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Thank you for the 10 coins, eternalyg!

Thank you for the 10 coins, 4444Woo!

Thank you for the 50 coins, ChangLikes!