anwhile, in the peaceful cabin.
Gio was examining his new family mber.
“ls this little one fully grown?”
“Pyaarrr.”
“How cute.”
It was a cuteness that brought peace to the mind.
As it flopped down and waved its four paws, Gio gently grasped Anticat's two front paws. Earth cats usually hate having their paws held, but Anticat didn't seem to mind much.
Like playing with a newborn baby, he lightly held the front paws and waved them around a few tis.
“Purrrr…”
“Doesn't seem to dislike it.”
“ow.”
“A cat is still a cat.”
“Mmung.”
“lt's extrely cold.”
Anticat's body was cool, like touching a stalactite in a remote cave.
“Honey, you're the complete opposite.”
“Coo r?”
“You're warm.”
Perhaps because it evolved from Lulupu juice that grew under sunlight and moonlight, Honey's tiny body was exceptionally warm. It seed to have gotten even warr recently thanks to receiving abundant affection from the Sun God.
“lt seems like it'll be hard to stick with Honey when it's this cold…”
Though he wasn't sure if there was any scientific basis, doesn't one sotis think that if they grab naturally cold-blooded creatures like fish or frogs with human hands, it might burn them?
“Tell if it's uncomfortable for to touch you, little one.”
“……”
“You're eerily quiet. Good girl, good girl. Very clever.”
It doesn't seem to be uncomfortable.
“Looks like you understand what I'm saying too.”
That was quite remarkable.
'The way it sparkles like a gem… it's like so kind of identity.'
Anticat's body was like that of a few months-old kitten. Its physique contained a dense sparkle, like a well-cut diamond.
Perhaps because of that, unlike the completely transparent Honey, it appeared opaque.
“lmpressive.”
“M i ew. - ”
“You can even glow on your own, how clever.”
Honey stared intently at Gio from the side.
“……”
“…Of course, you're clever too, Honey.”
“Coong.”
“Oh, you're so cute.”
“Corr.”
Raising kids sure is tough.
“By the way, what does our youngest eat to grow?”
From what he'd roughly confird, it seed to live by sucking life force-and seed like they were treated as a kind of ghost on Earth, but if ghosts were this cute, it might not be so bad to have life force sucked once in a while. 𝘙Å𐌽ŐＢĚś
“l might need to make a cat tower soon…1 do have quite a knack for making hide-and-seek tunnels.”
“Pyaa rr.”
“There are plenty of tall, rugged trees around here that would be good for climbing, but Anticat will need its own territory inside the house too. If it takes after cats, it'll be just as sensitive about its territory.”
“Miaw.”
“Since the youngest used to live in 'Gem's Water Vein', it might be fun to make a similar environnt. I could make a hide-and-seek house like a dark ant tunnel, and put so gems inside… that might work well.”
Now it was ti to give it a na.
“Spa rkl e…”
“……”
“…Deja vu?”
It was a similar reaction to when he first thought of the word 'Golden' for Honey's na. A response that seed to ask 'Are you serious, human?'
Gio tried to be a bit more creative.
“……”
After a mont of silence, he muttered softly.
“Da na?”
Among Korean nas, it has the aning of'soone who always goes ahead', but that's not actually why he thought of the na 'Dana'.
“1”
And shortening it further to 'daa' or 'dai' seed too unconscionable.
“So I modified it a bit to Dana, what do you think?”
“M mu ng. - ”
“I'm glad you like it.”
He passed the test.
“Phew.”
Gio dedicated this honour to na-givers around the world. Naming truly was no easy task.
“Now let's go prepare dinner.”
“Coooorrrrr.”
“l got hungry from trying to co up with a na.”
He also needed to finish up the bone broth.
“Fortunately, it seems Student Cha Ara liked the taste too.”
Earth bone broth requires a lot of attention to detail. The initial preparation process was similar, but after that ca the careful work of controlling the heat and removing impurities as they rose.
“The very first bone broth that cos out is too greasy to eat as is. When I made it at ho, I'd find ways to use it since it was a sha to throw away, but it doesn't change the fact that bone broth from Earth cows is trou bleso.”
“eng?”
“Yes, that's how it is.”
Even though she seed to understand words, Anticat Dana-still not fully adapted-slumped onto Gio's shoulder as if to say, 'I don't get any of this.' Despite its unexpected weight, the sight was quite amusing.
In contrast, Honey-aware that Gio enjoyed cooking-listened calmly. A true gourt knows the origins of the food they eat and savours it more profoundly. Honey and Gio embodied this perfectly
“ln that sense, Treehorn Deer bone broth is extrely independent, you see.”
If one just leaves it on low heat for 3 days, the bones and cartilage will dissolve without needing to skim off any impurities.
“Strictly speaking, there's really nothing to waste with the Treehorn Deer.”
“Cooorrr.”
Honey, who had devoured all the innards except for a few intestines, nodded in vehent agreent. Wagging its tail feathers cheerfully, it glanced back at Gio from Dana on his shoulder.
“……”
“……?”
Noticing Honey's thoughtful expression-as if it had just rembered sothing-Gio soon caught on to what it ant.
“…Ah.”
Co to think of it, there was that jewel heart obtained when butchering the Treehorn Deer back then.
“l forgot I was going to check on that.”
“Coocoocoo…”
“lf you finish all your food today without any issues, I'll give it to you, Honey.”
Gio, who could even create gems himself, did not covet the jewel heart. Despite clearly being part of a dead body, it sohow felt like it was still alive, which made him feel a bit strange.
“But if it seems like eating this will upset your stomach, Dad will keep it safe.”
“Coo.”
Honey didn't throw a tantrum beyond that point. Gio felt pleased.
“Such a good boy.”
He rejoiced in having a sincere and kind son. Though Gio himself was not exactly a virtuous person, he thought it was a great blessing to have t only such good families throughout his life.
Gio skillfully adjusted Dana's posture which was slumping, and said:
“Actually, the bone broth itself was completed when I gave Student Cha Ara the rice made with it. Still, since it's better to have it concentrated if we want to store it in the ice storage and eat it over ti-I simred it a bit longer to thicken it. After all, we can always add water later when needed.”
“Coorrrrrrr.”
“Yes, you've waited for a long ti too. I can still vividly rember you pacing in front of the fire, eager to eat. You showed great patience. Seeing such strong willpower, you'll surely grow into a big bird soday.”
Honey, who originally liked liquid-form food, must have found the long wait quite harsh. Gio acknowledged and praised Honey's patience, then approached the cauldron where the bone broth was still simring.
“Oh….”
The sweet and savoury aroma rushed out when the lid was opened.
“Nice.”
“Corcorrcorr….”
“lt must be hot now.”
“Coong.”
“lf you insist, I'll scoop so for you.”
Honey, who had safely withstood the Sun God's touch multiple tis, naturally had no issue with soup simred a bit longer with firewood. Gio tried to scoop the soup into a small bowl to give to Honey.
-And then Gio finally saw it.
“Honey.”
“Coor.”
“lt would be good for my mind and body for you to co out.”
Honey had plunged headfirst into the cauldron.
“Coongcoongcoong….”
“l don't want to eat broth that my son has been stewed in. This isn't a scene from Greek or Roman mythology, what kind of human scum are you trying to turn into?”
In that short ti, Honey had expanded from the size of a sparrow to that of a pigeon. If they went to the animal hospital like this, it's clear he'd hear that Honey is severely obese and that the guardian needs to pay more attention.
“lt's already concentrated so the flavour should be even stronger, what on earth are you doing?”
“Coongcoongcoongcoong….”
“Eating too much salt isn't good for your health. Dad can make it tastier, so let's try to calm down a little.”
Honey grumbled but crawled out of the cauldron.
“…….”
“…You too?”
“Aeong.”
Perhaps inspired by her brother's audacity to crawl into the cauldron anyti, anywhere to taste its contents. Dana, who had been slumped over his shoulder like a sli with no motivation, plopped down beside the cauldron.
'lt might be a bit hot for Dana, who has a low body temperature.'
Gio scooped a shallow portion of the broth and cooled it as much as possible before handing it to Dana.
- A661 A…….”
Slurp.
- A661 A…….”
“Oh.”
Gio nodded at the sight of its body softly glowing without a sound.
'Looks like it's pleased.'
Though not as talkative as Honey, it appeared to express its mood through the glow of its body.
Feeling the pride of being both a father and a chef, Gio prepared the al heartily.
“We have rice left over from when Student Cha Ara was here, so let's eat that.”
“Corr.”
“ang.”
Dana, who had shown little interest in food before, seed to have had so realization after tasting the bone broth. It was quite amusing to see it following Honey around and ddling with the al preparations.
“As expected, nothing works as well as delicious food for kids….”
Gio scraped out the rice cooked with bone broth.
After scooping out all the fluffy rice grains, he neatly scraped off the nurungji left at the bottom. Thanks to the oil from the bone broth used to cook the rice, it ca off very cleanly.
“Who wants nurungji?”
When Gio asked, rolling the nurungji into balls to make a simple snack, both creatures responded.
“Corrrrr. Corrrrrrr.”
“Mang, myaak, aak… ungmangmangmang.”
“…Let's split it.”
Though there were plenty of murmurs, could there be a choice as tilessly wise as solomon's? Gio neatly split the nurungji rice ball in half. At that point, the two companion creatures finally stopped muttering.
Taking advantage of their distraction with the nurungji rice ball, Gio finished preparing the al.
“For the bone broth rice, I should try making one grilled rice ball.”
Even if he said this, it didn't an he would truly grill just one.
“For side dishes, grilled eggplant with soybean paste… and maybe simr a soup?”
Gio headed to the backyard he called his vegetable garden but considered a monster field.
The pea plant vines still seed to have a firm consciousness.
“…….”
Enough to greet him.
“…This is getting ridiculous.”
Rustle.
“Yes, nice to et you. Lovely weather, isn't it?”
“…….”
“Thank you for guarding the garden again today.”
Having received Gio's greeting, the vines calmly settle back down.
'… Though pretending to be normal pea vines at this point doesn't make it look normal anymore.'
But Gio decided to respect the pea plant vine's privacy. He naturally overlooked the fact that ordinary bean stems couldn't move.
Anyway, Gio picked four eggplants and assorted vegetables from the garden. After washing them thoroughly, he sliced the eggplants to a moderate thickness and salted them, peeled a radish and chopped it into chunks, and shelled and washed the peas.
“…Still, adding jerky seems a bit much.”
Gio brought out so sausages.
“Honey, you don't like spicy stuff, right?”
“Coorrrrrrrrrr.”
“Thought so.”
It was a mildly seasoned sausage.
“Aeng?”
“Well, we'll test your spicy tolerance another ti. Since I'm only making one soup, adding spicy sausage would an Honey can't eat it.”
“uk.”
“I'II grill so spicy sausage for you later.”
Though it might be an unfamiliar combination to Koreans, adding sausage to soup and boiling it together can be surprisingly tasty. Of course, using pink sausages or ham like spam where you can't even see the shape of the at particles might be a bit awkward…
“Shall we peel it now then?”
Gio prepared the sausages.
By slightly cutting off the end of the casing mbrane and gently pushing it out with the back of the knife, the at bits filling the sausage ca out intact.
During this ti, the spices had infused properly, giving off a deep aroma, and Gio sliced the inner flesh and casing mbrane into appropriate sizes.
“Now, just need to throw everything in.”
He added a bit of water to the concentrated bone broth, then placed radish, peas, and the prepared sausages on top.
The peas grown in the monster field were plump but smaller compared to others, and the sausages were already sufficient to eat raw, so they would be ready to eat once the radish was cooked.
“And next….”
He lightly grilled the rice balls and made a sauce with ingredients like fruit syrup, soybean paste, and soy sauce. After coating the eggplants with the sauce and placing them in the wood-fired oven, by the ti the soup was roughly finished, the rest of the dishes had also finished cooking.
“Let's eat.”
“Corrrrrrr.”
“Aeeoook, mmngmangmangmangmang….”
Gio had never heard Dana cry this long before. It was heartwarming to see her love al tis so much. Kids were the cutest when eating.
“Dad will go offer tribute to the Sun God and co back, so go ahead and start eating first.”
“eaang.”
“Corr.”
Gio headed straight to the 2nd-floor artwork storage room. Several landscape paintings hung there. Gio walked directly to the 'Breathing Sea'.
As expected, the Sun God was extrely pleased, and …
“…….”
Gave a gift.
“…What is this? A certificate?”
“”
“Then shouldn't I not receive it? It wasn't originally mine to begin with.”
“”
“…Yes, I understand.”
Though unsure what it was, it didn't seem harmful, so Gio decided to gratefully accept it.
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