episode_0004

There was a time when I helped my mother remove fat from leather.

But it was my first time peeling rawhide with my own hands.

Fortunately, there were no holes in the leather, but I was tempted to push it out with force, and as a result, the leather stretched.

Even though I messed up, my father doesn’t say anything.

“I’m sorry. I ruined it.”

“It’s okay. No one is good at it from the beginning.”

It was somehow possible to remove the entire body.

But it was really difficult to touch the leg area.

My father cut off this part of the leg.

At first, I thought it was because I cut the leather wrong.

I heard that female rabbit legs are sold as amulets.

‘Is this the famous Rabbitfoot?’

Somehow I was able to take comfort in that.

The night in the mountains comes very suddenly and is dark.

I thought I had plenty of time, but when I got home, the sky was purple.

“Daddy’s here?!”

“Did you have a good time~?”

“No! I have to go down again to pick up my mom!”

After stopping by the house to meet my mother, my father went down to the village without even taking a breath.

‘That’s ridiculous stamina.’

Of course, it is true that there is a difference, but there is still a degree.

If my father were to compete in an ironman race, wouldn’t he easily take first place?

He carried all my belongings for me when I was exhausted.

Even so, he did not get tired.

‘It’s gotten a lot darker.’

Normally, it would have been time for my father and mother to return.

In other words, you were later than usual.

It was a little chilly in the evening, perhaps because of the rain, but it was too hot right now.

“How was it?”

“Father, it’s no joke. No matter how much we flew or crawled, we could never catch up with our father.”

The rabbit’s bloody fat clings to my hands and still smells fishy.

I scrubbed my hands with the banu until the grease was gone and washed my body.

Damian hesitantly approached me.

“Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Yes. I need to prepare leather smoking.”

“I’ll help you.”

Stella waddled over in a cute way, but Damian didn’t seem to like her at all.

“Go and do something else.”

“I hate it~!”

“They said we should do it together.”

“That’s right!”

…There’s blood on the towel. I need to wash it before it hardens.

After wiping my body with a towel, I used a little soap to wash the towel and clothes and hung them on the clothesline.

Now it’s time to smoke the leather that my father requested.

Damien took out the tinder and flint and skillfully started a fire.

Stella threw dirt and branches together to put out the fire.

“Hehe!”

“Hey! It’s so wet it’s hard to light a fire!”

“Really? Should I do it if it’s hard?”

“That’s it! I will do it!”

It is said that when you smoke leather, soot sticks to it and it doesn’t look good, but it also removes hard-to-catch mites and makes it harder for them to appear in the future.

I made a low fire and threw in a lot of live wood kindling, which produced strong smoke, to distribute the smoke evenly.

While I was washing up and making a fire, the sky became quite dark and I could see stars.

I feel like I am getting healthier just by breathing.

‘want to go home.’

I miss clean nature for a day or two, but I miss home.

“City – Ibaal…”

“Well, what does Shibaal mean?”

I desperately rolled my eyes to avoid Damian’s gaze.

“······Is it just breathing?”

“Oppa, you’ve been saying strange things lately…”

While saying that, Stella and Damien lay down next to me and looked at the sky.

I held their hands.

Because I couldn’t answer the question.

─Simply happy.

That’s why I don’t know if it’s right for me to stay in this house.

I thought maybe I was lazy.

The more I look at their smiling faces, the more I can’t say anything.

In my heart, I want to chat comfortably with the two of them, eat together, laugh, and fall asleep.

Now almost 14 years.

My parents on Earth are already at the age of preparing for their 70th birthday party.

How great would it be if you could stay here for just a few days for sightseeing?

I’m sure your mother recovered from cancer, right?

Then you will go hiking again like before.

I want to see you again─ I’m sorry…

Hinge whine.

“──────?!!!”

The hair stood up.

Goosebumps appear all over my body.

‘The door, the door is open!’

I immediately covered Stella and Damien’s mouths.

And he warned me with his eyes.

Something opened the door.

What do we do? If we look back too quickly, they’ll notice and run away or attack us! Are you a thief? In the mountains? Why at this night?! Why does the first outsider I see have to be a thief?! Should I fight back? Should I just pretend not to know? Should I run away?

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First, I calmed down.

‘It’s small, but there’s no way you haven’t seen me lighting a fire.’

If you are a bear, there is no need to lower your footsteps.

If it’s a tiger, it may not make any footsteps.

However, a tiger is something that does not leave its territory.

My father said.

It is said that he once sprinkled an alchemist’s elixir around the house that created an odor that carnivores disliked.

‘They said there are 5 years left for the effect to be fully realized.’

To prevent the cold wind from entering the door, I closed the door and locked it before leaving.

The sound of the hinge was heard when the door was opened after the hook was released.

Animals can’t do that. Mountains are places that ordinary people are afraid of.

There’s no way he’s from the village.

Then it’s just Ain.

The good news was that the other side kept the ‘line’.

If it hadn’t been like that, they would have attacked and killed us from the beginning.

‘You can’t attack me head on.’

In other words, we must also keep good.

Still, I couldn’t stay still.

There are no banks in places where this infrastructure is poor.

Thanks to this, there is money in the house that the two of you have saved throughout your life.

Demihumans also live together with humans.

They also spend money.

If I run away from here, I may not be able to pay my taxes.

If so, you will not be able to receive essential supplies such as salt.

The thief may leave the house while you wait for your parents.

I must do what I can, assuming it is safe.

‘When I leave the house, I just check my appearance.’

That made the most sense.

I moved away from the flames to avoid making any noise, took a low crawling posture, and covered my eyes as if I were using a telescope to adapt to the dark.

I exhaled very slowly in case it was a kobold.

They can even detect the smell and sound of your breath.

Fortunately, since I washed it right away, there won’t be any sweat smell.

Would the soap smell be stronger? I rubbed my body against the dirt pile out of anxiety.

It rains and the wet dirt sticks to the body.

Slurp- Slurp─

Damien looked at me and started following me.

‘don’t do it. ‘Go and protect Stella.’

I stopped Damien, placed my chest on the floor, and took a slow breath.

I was out of breath, but not to the point where I couldn’t hold it in.

The firewood, which was a small fire, soon died down and went out.

It was difficult to hear the sounds inside the house due to the sound of insects and owls.

I kept looking at the door, but no matter how long I waited, the thief did not come out of the house.

I feel like it’s been more than ten minutes. At times like this, time passes late, so it was probably about five minutes.

It still takes ten more minutes for my father to return.

I thought I was thinking too much, but my instincts were crying out to the point where I was almost convinced that I shouldn’t wait like this.

It crawled like an animal on all fours, raising itself on tiptoes and using its palms to make no sound.

When I reached the house, I carefully moved forward, placing my foot on the ground, and slowly raised my body, leaning my hands on the wall.

This was to avoid being caught by moving body vision.

Unfortunately, there were no glass cabinets around the house and the windows were made of wood, so it was not easy to peek inside.

My father must have made a mistake in the architectural design, and the windows were not sliding windows. It was a casement window, something you only see in cities, and thanks to that, I don’t know how many bugs came in through the cracks in the window.

That was fortunate for now.

Even if you open the hinged window, it doesn’t make a lot of sound.

I opened the door just a little and looked inside.

The house was dark because the fire was not turned on.

Where is the thief? The thief── was found. It’s hairy! The body size is similar to mine or a little smaller. It looked like a baby kobold or a ramrat.

Wow! Wood-duk!

It was eating up all the food we had to eat.

Fortunately, the most expensive honey was sealed so it didn’t smell, so fortunately I didn’t touch it.

I quietly closed the window and blocked the door with my body to prevent escape.

‘Why on earth do you sit in someone else’s house and eat like that?’

This is the mountain owner’s territory!

Just then I saw my father coming back.

When my father saw me, he motioned to my mother and came next to me as quietly as a cat.

And he speaks only with the shape of his mouth.

‘what’s the matter.’

‘There’s a thief inside.’

My father nods slightly.

At the same time, a well-honed dagger slips out of his belt without a sound.

‘But I think it’s a ramrat or a baby kobold.’

My father’s expression was dark.

He soon took out another dagger from his belt and handed it to me.

It was a sharp dagger I had never seen before.

Did you buy a new one?

Of course, from my father’s perspective, it’s a dagger, but to me, it’s a fairly long sword.

‘Please protect my mother and younger siblings.’

…There’s nothing I can do.

Clutching the knife, he quietly crawled towards his mother. My mother, who was watching from afar, seemed to sense that something was unusual, and was looking at me anxiously.

As I quietly approached my mother, she, who was looking at my father with anxious eyes, approached me.

“···What’s going on?”

His voice is trembling and full of anxiety.

“Something came into the house. I’m not human.”

My mother’s complexion turned blue.

My father must have been waiting for me to arrive next to my mother, but he made eye contact with me and entered the house like a ghost.

It was an agility unbefitting his size.

Kyaaah!!!

“──────?!”

It was a cry that made one’s body stand on end, like a tiger howling.

Is that the roar of the little guy I saw?!

‘I must have looked at it wrong!’

My father probably told me to stay by my mother’s side for my mother and I’s safety, but I couldn’t stay still.

That thing inside is a wild beast!

‘I just received it from my parents! ‘Something has to be done!’

I rushed straight towards the house. My father—just stood there, staring blankly at the thief.

······What on earth is that?

I stood next to my father and looked around the house.

What was there was neither a kobold hatchling nor a ramrat.

“Kuuu.

Not a kobold, not a wolf, not a ramrat.

It resembled a person, but was not a person at all.

A thick, outstretched tail. Vivid patterns and colorful eyes. Rather than the thick, strong teeth of a wolf, the sharp, long fangs and ears unique to the cat family are used for biting.

‘Suin?’

I could tell at a glance.

That’s the mountain owner’s child.

“Father, didn’t you say that Ain, like a human, has strong maternal love and will throw a fit if you touch it?”

My father remained silent and looked at the food ingredients thrown on the floor.

‘Root vegetables? ‘Does Terup eat vegetables?’

“Honey. What happened?”

My mother’s voice as she approached me was still full of anxiety.

As the number of people increased, the baby terup seemed to get scared.

He took a step backwards and, ironically, ran towards his father, who was the most dangerous, and to be exact, towards the door behind his father.

Puck—!

“Kyaaaagh───?!!”

When the father kicks Terup, the baby Terup flies away.

Wow!

Terup, who was kicked and twisted, turned the entire house upside down, looking for a place to escape. It was to the point where I was nervous.

Terup, who tried to run away by passing his father several times, was kicked by his father and flew into the house screaming.

“Honey! Stop it!”

So much so that my mother, who was worse than me, tried to stop me.

In the end, Terup just hid in the stove hole and growled.

It was clear that he was just hungry.

“···Shouldn’t you have just let him go?”

“That’s it… That’s what it was…”

My father wasn’t even listening to me.

It’s not even in focus.

“Honey, please talk to me. You are the child of the mountain owner who regularly offered offerings, right?”

My father looked for something around the table, then looked at me.

“Oh, I used the flint.”

Damian held out a flint and a quill.

My father, who started a fire with his hand, picked up a fallen candle, lit it, and extinguished it by squeezing the lit tinder with his hand.

“First, turn on the lights at home.”

My father locked all the doors and windows, and I went around the house to light a fire. My mother was still standing there with an anxious expression on her face, but she soon started helping me tidy up the house.

Except for the stove.

“The mountain owner is dead.”

“What’s the problem?”

“This is a very big problem.”

It was my first time seeing my father so stiff.

“The mountains… especially the southern mountains are said to be a place where all kinds of demi-humans and beasts live.”

“The mountain owner is sensitive to territory, so if there is a dangerous animal or human being on the mountain, he will do whatever it takes to chase it away.”

“Even more so if you have children.”

“That’s why it was safe for us to live here.”

My mother sat down on my bed, far from the stove, and looked up at my father.

Perhaps because I walked for quite a long time today, my legs hurt, so I sat down on a chair and looked up at my father.

“In other words, the mountain owner is dead and we are in danger?”

“The owner of the mountain is a person who is very kind to his children.”

I glanced at the stove and saw Terup glaring at my father, the light reflected in his pupils quite impressive.

Normally, eyes reflect green or red, but this one’s eyes are blue.

“The mountain owner died from something. A pack of wolves, a dragonia, an ogre… it’s probably one of these.”

It’s a scary story.

Still, my father’s voice is so silent that it doesn’t feel real.

The words that came out of his mouth were just as unrealistic.

Ogres are huge monsters that have thick skin like ancient placoderms and can destroy a house with just one fist.

Just yesterday I heard a story about a hundred vigilantes who went into the forest to subdue an ogre and all disappeared.

Dragonia speaks well, but only to a certain extent. Those who are known to have dragon blood are said to have hearts as cold as ice and can use magic. So much so that his nickname is ‘Blue Blood Wizard’.

Wolves are a pack of crazy butchers.

You don’t have to mess with the dragonia, but they come in groups. And kill them all. No matter who came, it was the worst.

There may be some exaggeration in what my father said, but it was true that the situation was not good.

“I feel so sorry for you.”

Stella smiled fiercely, rested her chin, and said a few words to Terup.

Terup glanced at Stella, then glared at his father again. Maybe my throat hurt, but I couldn’t purr anymore.

“But why is he cold?”

The owner of the mountain is Ain, and according to his mother, they are a ‘coexistence’.

In other words, they are not enemies.

My father sighed deeply.

“Dad is a human too. It was so sudden that I couldn’t understand the situation. Mountain owners do not leave alone any animals that make their children feel threatened. In that case, it is better to kill and abandon it.”

“There is nothing I can’t say in front of a child!”

My mother is scolding me.

Of course, this is a cruel but understandable statement.

However, I had to change the topic because I felt like my father would really kill Terub if we continued to talk about this topic.

“And how did you know that the mountain owner was dead?”

“Someone ate only the meat from the food I put out yesterday.”

It was ironic.

They put it out there for you to eat, right?

“I have been offering food for a long time since I was young, but yesterday was the first time. At first I thought you ate it. But I didn’t think I was that hungry.”

When my father looked at me, something clicked.

I used to eat a lot, but in a world without such stimulation, there is nothing better than gourmet food!

“No, why am I there── Sigh······.”

My father and mother’s expressions became a little more relaxed.

“If the mountain owner’s child touches human food, it may have been quite some time since the mountain owner died.”

Damian pointed to Terub.

“So, what do you plan on doing about that?”

“Any carnivore that doesn’t know how to hunt will end badly. I should send it to you comfortably.”

“Kill me? Is it Ain?”

Damian looked up at his father as if he was reluctant.

This was because Terub’s appearance was too similar to that of a human.

So much so that I jumped over the valley of uneasiness.

On the outside, he was the same age as Stella.

There was no point in calling him a prisoner.

Animal ears and tail. Sharp nails and feet that look like they are standing on tiptoe. Arms as long as legs.

Except for the animal-like body extremities and fangs, it is actually human.

Plus, they know how to speak and even use the same currency.

‘He’s just a kid.’

If they had said they would kill me, I would have come forward and refused.

Terub was still very scared.

It shouldn’t happen like this, when someone puts an end to someone else’s life based on their own standards.

We have no rights in the first place.

However, in order to receive compensation, hasn’t our family already received the favor of the mountain owner?

Whether the terub goes out and starves to death or is eaten, it depends on what the terub does after it goes out. That Terub doesn’t want that either, and we don’t have the right to decide that.

“They don’t know how to speak or hunt yet, and the mountain owner isn’t even that close to humans.”

“Don’t you know how to speak?”

“That’s why it’s even more like that.”

‘What’s more?’

I couldn’t understand.

A well-ground dagger looks particularly cool.

It was clear that he was planning to kill me.

“···My mother said that before. The owner of the mountain gave me a gift.”

My father’s expression became confused, and he turned to my mother.

It seems like it was a lie.

But it turned out better.

“But you said you’ve never eaten the food your father served?”

“Rian. Dad means…”

“We also have to pay back what we received.”

I’m really sorry for my early rebellion.

Even if I spew out nonsense like this, you will still accept me because I am a teenager, right?

My father was about to say something, made eye contact with me, and then swallowed it again.

“Okay. So, what are we going to do?”

I had to make a compromise that my father could understand.

“First, fill my stomach and let me go. After that, you will take care of it yourself.”

“Phew······.”

My father sighed deeply and put the dagger in its sheath.

“Baby, do you have any leftover meat from today’s sale?”

Mother shakes her head.

Then, he glanced at the purring Terup with eyes filled with caution and pity.

“We only have three rabbits to eat today?”

My father also glanced at Terup and sat down on the bed.

“Rian, I will do as you say. Then, you take that guy out of the stove.”