Chapter 4
While everyone was asleep, I quietly slipped out of the house.
My destination was Cheongwang Mountain, located behind our village.
There was a clear reason for going there in the middle of the night.
“If I want to recover my divine power, the best way is to go directly into nature.”
So I secretly left home and quietly walked along the road, making sure no one noticed me.
“Still… it’s so dark I can’t see anything.”
Unlike the city, the countryside at night was incredibly dark.
Streetlights were few and far between, and it was easier to count the houses with lights still on because everyone went to bed so early.
Only the sound of insects, announcing the approach of autumn, echoed through the silence.
I chanted inwardly.
Night Vision.
Using a tiny bit of divine power, my surroundings brightened, and the outline of the mountain became clear.
It was one of the most useful abilities that required very little divine power.
Back in that other world, I had wandered around day and night, so it was practically an essential skill.
As I took off my shoes and climbed the mountain barefoot, my divine power slowly began to recover.
Still, I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed.
“This place doesn’t have as much natural energy as I expected.”
Compared to the city, there was certainly more.
But it wasn’t enough to satisfy me.
The nearby villages had already weakened the mountain’s spiritual energy.
Where humans gathered, nature was damaged, and the natural energy it contained diminished.
That truth never changed, whether it was this world or the other one.
Though it was probably even worse here.
“Well, it can’t be helped. No point complaining. I’ll just do my best with what I’ve got.”
Soon, a mountain stream appeared before me.
The moment I stepped into the water, the icy cold sent chills through my entire body.
I quickly took off my clothes until I was wearing only my underwear and slowly entered the stream.
When the water reached my thighs, my whole body began to tremble.
“D-Damn… it’s c-c-cold!”
But there was no better way to restore divine power than this.
Water represented nature itself.
Natural energy flowed most abundantly through water, and absorbing that energy was how I recovered my divine power.
Countless experiences had already proven it.
So I just had to endure.
“J-Just… w-wait… a l-little… I-I’ll… give… you all… a better life…”
…I swear!
I’ll buy toys and dolls for my little nieces!
I’ll even pay for taekwondo classes and cram school!
And my sister won’t have to work so hard on the farm anymore.
I’ll make enough so she can finally live a little more comfortably…!
“Woooop… blurp… blurp…”
I submerged my head completely beneath the water and focused on absorbing the natural energy filling the stream.
The energy I absorbed transformed into divine power inside my body.
Then I released part of it back into nature.
That was to avoid disrupting nature’s balance.
If I absorbed everything, the stream’s spiritual energy would dry up, causing severe damage to nature.
Balance was what truly mattered.
Not too much.
Just a little at a time.
And…
It looked like I’d have to keep doing this for quite a long while.
“Whew… it’s freezing…”
Shivering, I climbed out of the stream and used the little divine power I’d recovered to instantly dry myself.
As I put my clothes back on, I realized I’d have to keep repeating this in the future.
Just thinking about it made me feel exhausted already.
“Still… once I increase the size of my divine power enough, it’ll start growing twice as fast after that. I just have to endure until then.”
I wanted to find a place where nature was much richer and train properly.
But for now, I couldn’t leave here.
“I should head home. What time is it?”
I pulled my old cellphone from my pocket.
It was almost five in the morning.
That meant I had spent four whole hours struggling in that freezing stream.
Yet surprisingly, my body felt refreshed.
Even after staying awake all night, I wasn’t sleepy at all.
Both my body and mind felt completely energized.
Just as I turned around—
“Hm?”
I heard a strange sound nearby.
Splash.
Splash.
Someone was kicking water.
At this hour?
Deep in the mountains?
I wondered what kind of crazy person would be swimming before dawn, so I carefully approached the sound.
“…A puppy?”
A small brown puppy was happily splashing around near the edge of the stream.
Its short little legs paddled through the water while its tail wagged wildly.
Every now and then, it dipped its face underwater before popping back up again.
It looked like it was having the time of its life.
…That’s adorable.
Who knew a tiny puppy playing in the water could be this cute?
That almost felt unfair.
I completely forgot about going home as I watched it.
Then—
“…”
“…”
Sensing my gaze, the puppy turned its head.
Our eyes met.
Its wagging tail slowly froze in place.
Its eyes grew wider and wider.
I cautiously raised one hand.
“H-Hi…”
Before I could even finish the word, the puppy frantically paddled its tiny legs and tried to escape to the other side of the stream.
Unfortunately, the stream was much wider—and deeper—than it had expected.
After several failed attempts, it gave up and returned to the shore.
Then it slowly backed away, keeping its guard up.
“Hmm.”
Was it a wild dog?
Seeing it alone in the mountains, maybe it was a stray.
Where’s its mother?
I released a little divine power and searched the area.
There wasn’t another life force nearby with a similar presence.
That made it much more likely the puppy had been abandoned.
Should I catch it and contact an animal shelter?
But shelters aren’t always better.
If nobody adopted it…
Its end would probably be euthanasia.
Life as a stray was harsh.
But I wasn’t sure the shelter’s ending was any better.
“…Tsk.”
I’ll leave it alone for now.
If a pack of wild dogs forms and starts threatening the village, then I’ll deal with it.
Right now, it hasn’t harmed anyone.
After making up my mind, I turned away from the puppy, which was still watching me cautiously.
Hmm.
It’s coming.
It’s following me.
Thanks to my heightened hearing from divine power, I could clearly hear tiny footsteps getting closer.
I casually glanced back.
The puppy, which had been secretly following me from a distance, hurriedly hid behind a tree.
“Hmm…”
Even if there weren’t many predators left in these mountains, a puppy that young wouldn’t survive alone very easily.
Well…
Maybe this was fate.
I decided to take the puppy home and turned around.
The puppy, peeking out from behind the tree, flinched in surprise.
But it didn’t run away.
Hehe. Just watch.
I’ll show you the skills I learned while befriending all kinds of magical beasts in the other world!
I crouched down and placed one hand on the ground.
Then—
“There, there~ Come here, Tofu. Let’s have some fun together. I’m not dangerous~ Come on now~”
I wiggled my fingers while speaking in a soft, high-pitched voice.
My posture completely showed that I had no hostile intentions.
No animal had ever resisted this Animal-Charming Pose.
Maybe being friendly with animals was one of the Goddess of Abundance’s divine blessings.
Divine power made things like this possible.
“Good puppy~ Come here~”
The puppy watched me for a moment.
Then, as if sensing something, its lowered tail slowly began to wag.
A second later, it transformed into a full-speed helicopter tail.
Heh. I knew it.
You want to be friends with me too.
The puppy walked all the way over until it reached my fingertips and began sniffing my hand.
Its nose is cold and wet.
Looks healthy enough.
Even though it had been playing in freezing water, it showed no signs of catching a cold.
No runny nose.
No shivering.
It happily rubbed itself against my hand while making content little rumbling sounds.
Perfect.
I’ve won it over.
Now all that’s left is to gently pet it—
CHOMP!
“…Chomp?”
A very strange sound effect.
A sharp pain shot through my finger, instantly dragging me from my sweet fantasy back into cruel reality.
The puppy had clamped down on my finger.
It shook its head wildly for a moment before suddenly letting go and sprinting away.
“…”
Yeah.
Wild dogs weren’t meant to be taken home.
If I brought such a violent puppy back, my little nieces could get hurt too.
I had absolutely no intention of forcing home a puppy that clearly didn’t want to come.
“H-Hmph… It’s too late to regret it now… ngh…”
These tears are because my finger hurts.
They’re definitely not because that stupid little mutt rejected me.
Definitely not.
And so, my unexpected meeting with Tofu ended with my first heartbreak.
* * *
“Hm? The village hall?”
While eating breakfast, I tilted my head at my sister’s words.
“Yeah. The village hall. After you drop the kids off at kindergarten, come over.”
“Why all of a sudden?”
Whenever people gathered at the village hall, it usually meant the village chief and the elderly residents were holding a meeting.
I’d hardly ever attended one.
After all, my sister was the head of our household.
“There’s a meeting about repairing the typhoon damage.”
“Then there’s no reason for me to go, is there?”
“I want you to come say hello to everyone. They should see that you’re out of the hospital and doing fine.”
Well…
It probably wasn’t a bad idea to show my face after such a long time.
“Uncle… ahhh~”
“Okay. Ahhh~”
Jiwoo sat tightly beside me, opening her mouth like a baby bird while I fed her.
Meanwhile, Jia was eating perfectly well on her own.
But she kept glaring at both Jiwoo and me.
Her expression clearly showed two things.
She was unhappy that Jiwoo had stolen the seat beside me…
And jealous that Jiwoo was getting all my attention.
“So… where did you go before dawn?”
“Cough! Cough! W-What?”
I nearly choked.
Jiwoo immediately jumped up and gently patted my back with her tiny hand.
Jia silently handed me a cup of water.
…Why did it feel like the kids were taking care of me?
After finally catching my breath, I answered my sister.
“B-Before dawn? Ah… I couldn’t sleep, so I just walked around the village for a bit. Why?”
“Why? Because you only got discharged from the hospital yesterday. Think about your health.”
“I was thinking about my health. I was just getting some exercise with a walk. Don’t worry so much.”
“I wouldn’t worry if you stopped giving me reasons to. Anyway, stop wandering around after the meeting. Go straight home and get some proper rest. Got it?”
“…Got it.”
It seemed that staying quiet in front of my older sister’s scolding was simply the fate of every younger brother.
The two little girls watched the scene with great interest.
Then they quietly placed extra side dishes onto my rice, trying to comfort me.
…Wait.
Don’t tell me…
Even these two think their uncle is a little hopeless?
