<CHAPTER 6>

The moment Dubu spotted me lying in front of the front gate, he sprang to his feet and barked loudly.

How on earth did he find his way here?

Pushing the question aside, I took another look at him.

He was just as adorable as ever.

“N-No. Don’t get excited.”

Hmph.

Our relationship was already over.

You’re the one who abandoned me.

I deliberately ignored Dubu and walked into the house.

Of course…

I left the front gate wide open.

“It’s not like I left it open on purpose. If you want to come in, then come. If not, don’t.”

Despite my words, I lingered in the yard, stealing glances toward the gate.

Dubu cautiously stretched one paw past the entrance…

…then quickly pulled it back again.

The little rascal was a master at toying with people’s hearts.

Well, I’m not just going to let you win.

I hurried over to the vegetable patch and picked several cucumbers.

“Hehe. Let’s see if you can resist these.”

Squatting a short distance away, I waved one of the cucumbers at him.

Using a cucumber instead of dog food or treats to lure in a puppy?

Anyone watching would probably think I’d lost my mind.

But I was completely confident.

“I might not have had any human friends in that world…

…but I had plenty of animal friends.”

Divine power was essentially concentrated natural energy.

A form of life force.

Animals instinctively knew that consuming it strengthened their bodies.

That was why whenever a spiritual herb overflowing with natural energy appeared…

…both humans and beasts would rush toward it without hesitation.

“Want a bite, Dubu?”

The instant I held out the cucumber…

…his tail began wagging so furiously it looked ready to fly off.

Every trace of caution disappeared.

He bounded through the gate.

He charged toward me with enough enthusiasm to bite not only the cucumber but my fingers as well.

Thankfully…

…my fingers survived.

While he was distracted, I quietly ordered the Children of the Earth to close the gate behind him.

Dubu devoured the cucumber in moments.

Then he looked up at me with sparkling eyes that clearly begged for more.

“Was it really that good? Want another?”

Laughing, I handed him several more cucumbers.

His tail whipped back and forth as he happily crunched away.

“Haha… you little glutton.”

Crunch.

Crunch, crunch.

“You really enjoy those.”

Munch.

“…You’re eating way too much.”

By the time he had polished off more than half the cucumbers, his belly had swollen into a perfect little ball.

At this point, he could have rolled around instead of walking.

Completely satisfied, he flopped onto his side.

“Haha. Was it really that delicious?”

I gently rubbed his plump stomach.

He let out a contented rumble.

“Just how many cucumbers fit inside that tiny belly? And all that divine power…”

Then…

Something felt strange.

The divine power within crops normally disappeared the instant it was absorbed as nourishment.

But inside Dubu’s body—

The divine power wasn’t dispersing.

It was gathering together in one place…

…as though it possessed a will of its own.

“No… why is this happening?”

I could hardly believe what I was seeing.

Divine power was a gift possessed only by those chosen by the gods.

My sister and my nieces had eaten cucumbers infused with divine power as well.

Yet none of it accumulated inside them.

Until now…

No living creature had ever separated divine power from ordinary nutrients and stored it within its body like Dubu.

“What… are you?”

—

It was utterly exhausted.

It had run for an incredibly long distance without rest.

It searched desperately for a new place to settle.

It sought help from those it knew.

But everywhere, the answer was the same.

There was no longer anywhere safe to raise the child.

Its worries only deepened…

Yet its feet still carried it back to the child.

It couldn’t allow itself to show weakness.

“…?”

The moment it reached the small cave…

It could no longer sense the child’s presence.

Its face instantly turned pale.

It rushed into the cave.

Then dashed back outside to search the surroundings.

The child was gone.

The child who meant everything in the world…

…had vanished.

After frantically following every trace…

It finally discovered a single clue.

Without hesitation, it sprinted toward the village below the mountain.

Its body, which had been running on four legs…

…shifted into two.

Its fur transformed into long black hair fluttering in the wind.

Its hands and feet became slender.

Its body grew weaker…

Yet instinct told it this form was the best one for now.

Panting heavily…

It raced down the mountain path.

Toward where the child had gone.

Toward the scent of the child.

Toward the village where humans lived.

—

“Choco! Paw!”

Jia held out her hand in front of Dubu, pleading earnestly.

“It’s not a paw. It’s a hand? No… actually, for dogs it’s definitely a paw.”

I couldn’t help correcting her.

“Uncle! Strawberry’s tail is wagging so hard! Doesn’t it hurt?”

Jiwoo looked worried.

He seemed to think wagging that much had to be painful.

“No. He’s wagging it because he’s happy.”

More importantly…

“It’s not Choco or Strawberry. His name is Dubu.”

My nieces’ naming sense left me speechless.

Why was every name some kind of food?

Just then, my sister chimed in.

“I think Peanut is even cuter.”

Must run in the family…

“It’s not Choco, Strawberry, or Peanut.

It’s Dubu.

Dubu.”

“By the way, where did this puppy come from?”

“I have no idea. When I got back from the village hall, he was waiting in front of the gate.”

“Oh my.”

She stared at Dubu with obvious fascination.

“But… are you sure we can keep him?”

I had hoped Jia and Jiwoo would love him.

But if my sister objected…

There would be nothing I could do.

She was the head of the household.

Sensing the concern in my voice, she set down her chopsticks and answered casually.

“I don’t mind having a pet. Peanut—I mean, whatever his name is—is adorable, and the kids already love him.”

“It’s Dubu…”

“I’ve always wanted to raise a dog, but we never had the circumstances for it. Neither of us did.”

“Yeah… that’s true.”

My sister and I had loved animals ever since we were children.

But we couldn’t keep pets at the orphanage.

Even after leaving, we lived in tiny one-room apartments.

There simply wasn’t room.

After settling in Cheongun Village, life became overwhelmingly busy.

One thing after another happened.

Neither of us ever had the chance to think about getting a pet.

“More importantly… having him around is much better than leaving Jia and Jiwoo home by themselves.”

I was here too.

But I’d be busier from now on.

Naturally, I’d have less time to spend with the kids.

If they at least had a little friend by their side…

Maybe they wouldn’t feel so lonely.

“The kids already adore him. How could I possibly say no? You planned this from the beginning, didn’t you?”

“Ahem… I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.”

She’d hit the nail on the head.

I knew that once the children met Dubu…

Half the battle was already won.

Avoiding my sister’s sharp gaze, I secretly observed her instead.

She doesn’t accumulate divine power either.

She casually ate slices of cucumber.

The divine power was absorbed…

But none of it remained inside her body.

It simply became nourishment and quickly dispersed.

But that little guy…

I looked toward Dubu, who was happily playing with Jia and Jiwoo.

To everyone else…

He looked completely ordinary.

But I alone could clearly see the glow of divine power surrounding him.

…Is that really divine power?

The light had changed.

It was as though the divine power had been transformed into something entirely different inside him.

Normally…

Divine power had no color.

It was pure white.

But the energy inside Dubu now shimmered with a soft green hue.

Like fresh spring grass.

It even carried the crisp fragrance of nature.

Don’t tell me…

He’s not actually a dog…?

Just as that thought crossed my mind—

“So why are you suddenly fixing the greenhouse?”

My sister’s question snapped me back to reality.

“It looks awful. And… I figured I’d start helping with the farm.”

“What? You?”

“Yeah. This year’s harvest is basically ruined. Besides the cherry tomatoes we’ve been growing, I thought we should start considering other crops.”

The typhoon had completely destroyed this year’s harvest.

That meant it was time to start planning for next season.

We could continue growing cherry tomatoes.

But there was nothing wrong with experimenting with something new.

How much divine power should I use to produce noticeable effects?

Would it improve flavor? Health? Or something else entirely?

How much divine power should each crop contain?

Which soil produced the best results?

How should they be cultivated for maximum efficiency?

My divine power wasn’t infinite.

Eventually…

I’d need other people’s help.

I had to consider every possibility and find the best approach.

“You really don’t have to do farm work.”

My sister let out a quiet sigh.

But I didn’t answer.

She had always wanted me to find a respectable career instead of farming.

A respectable job…

Personally…

Helping my sister and spending time with my nieces already felt like more than enough.

In any case, she knew how stubborn I could be.

Perhaps because of everything that had happened recently…

She decided not to lecture me any further.

“Anyway, starting tomorrow—”

Yip! Yip!

“I’ll help clear out the greenhouse—”

Yip! Yip! Yip!

“I’ll he—”

Whine… Whine…

“…What’s wrong with Dubu?”

He had been happily playing with the children just moments ago.

Now he was struggling desperately to escape Jia’s arms.

“Maybe he wants to go out into the yard?”

“Maybe.”

A stray dog probably found staying indoors a little suffocating.

The moment he slipped free from Jia’s embrace…

He sprinted to the living room window.

Then scratched furiously at the glass with his tiny paws.

“Well… letting him run around the yard should be fine.”

“Yay! Uncle! I wanna run with Choco too!”

“I wanna play tag with Strawberry!”

“Sure, sure. Let’s all play tag with Dubu.”

Moments like these really made me appreciate having a house with a yard.

Carrying Dubu in my arms, I walked outside with the children.

The instant I gently set him down…

He dashed straight toward the vegetable garden as if his life depended on it.

Silly guy.

There’s nothing left there for you to eat.

I leisurely followed behind Jia and Jiwoo as they chased after him.

Then—

“U-Uncle!”

“Waaah! Unclllle!”

The children suddenly burst into tears and ran back toward me.

Did something happen to Dubu?

Jiwoo clung tightly to my leg, trembling.

Jia pointed past the stone wall with a shaking finger.

“A ghost! O-Over there! A ghost!”

What is she talking about—?

The moment I turned my head—

“…Please…

Give…

…my child back.”

A woman with long black hair hanging wildly around her face stared at me with hollow, lifeless eyes as she whispered those words.

…

Since when did ghosts start appearing around here?