“Discippwe! Then shaaww we go twain togethew?”
“Yeshh!”
Jurim clutched his pounding temple and asked,
“Where exactly are you going all of a sudden?”
“Ah—We’we going to dis pwace!”
Kazuki pulled out a photo he had saved on his phone.
Jurim glanced at the screen, and for a mont, he doubted his eyes. But when he realized where it was, he grimaced.
“There?”
***.
In Korea’s mountain ranges, there were quite a few temples adjacent to field-type dungeons.
A field-type dungeon didn’t involve a spatial rift—rather, it ford where mana thickened in low-traffic areas, mutating local plants and animals into beasts.
Since the monsters that appeared this way were usually low-grade and not much of a threat, the surrounding area often beca a local landmark.
One such place was a temple called Yeonhamsa.
With its beautiful scenery and unique magical conditions, Yeonhamsa was a popular temple stay destination. Today as well, many tourists in monk robes road the grounds.
“Sabbuu!”
Guru, dressed like a little temple acolyte, ca toddling into the main courtyard.
The tourists bead at the adorable sight, and Kazuki pulled a long cloth from his inventory and tied it into a bow around her waist.
“Discippwe! Fowwawd roww!”
“Yeshh!”
Hahp! Fwump! Guru nailed the roll perfectly.
“Yoshi! Good job, discippwe!”
Kazuki confird the ribbon stayed tied even through rough motion and bumped fists with Guru in approval.
“Iyayyy~”
“Yayy~”
They went on to do back rolls, and Guru even hung from Kazuki’s arm while trying to hold her body weight.
“......”
Watching it all from the sidelines, Jurim let out a sigh.
Kazuki already knew about the 99th Floor master, so Guru being S-Rank wasn’t necessarily a secret anymore. But—
'What the hell does this have to do with crafting training?'
It looked more like he was trying to turn her into a Shaolin monk than a crafter.
Jurim folded his arms, visibly displeased. He was starting to worry she’d get hurt playing like that.
Just then, the head monk of Yeonhamsa, Hyeongak, approached him.
“Jurim layman, would you like to change into temple robes as well?”
The monk gave a glance toward Kazuki.
Kazuki had put on the robe provided by the temple, but insisted on wearing it like a samurai—one arm out.
'He’s not a kid, seriously.'
The way he wore it made him look more like a yakuza than a samurai, and the other guests had started keeping their distance, which, honestly, was a plus.
At least no one would dare touch the kid out of fear of him.
“I’m fine. More importantly, I’m sorry for dropping in on short notice.”
“No need to apologize. Thanks to you, this temple is still standing. You’re always welco here.”
Yeonhamsa had a high mana density, aning rare plants and animals thrived—and mana beasts often popped up too.
Because of that, Hyeonak would periodically co here for subjugation missions as part of their social responsibility work.
“We owe you a great debt from last ti. Please don’t hesitate to reach out when you need anything.”
Jurim smiled gently.
Surprised by the shift in Jurim’s deanor, the monk blinked, then returned a benevolent smile.
“On another note, Jurim layman... About the favor Amakusa layman requested... When would be a good ti to attend to it...?”
Jurim’s head snapped up.
“Favor? Kazuki asked for sothing?”
The monk subtly turned his head when he saw Jurim was completely in the dark.
“Hoho... I may have spoken out of turn.”
You’ve got to be kidding ... Jurim recalled the cursed symbol he saw earlier on Kazuki’s thigh during the makeshift strip show.
He didn’t seem like the type to carry that kind of mark around... but clearly it was more serious than he’d assud.
“...No. Please assist us after the child’s asleep.”
“Understood.”
With that agreent, the air grew heavier.
Jurim knew well what Hyeongak was known for.
'So that’s why he ca here.'
No wonder Kazuki had scouted out a training spot so quickly.
The eccentric who used to pop up unpredictably all over the world had shown up in Korea for this reason.
But contrary to the tense air, Kazuki smiled brightly and pointed toward the forest.
“Discippwe! Wet’s go to da woods!”
“Yeshh!”
“Discippwe-chann needs wots of sunshine~ That’s how you gwow big an’ stwong. And this too.”
Kazuki poked gently at the sprout on Guru’s head.
She yelped and imdiately covered it with both hands.
“Ahh! No touchie da spwout! It wiwts!”
“No it doesn’t? It wooks fwesh an’ gween.”
“Hmm?”
Had it gotten a little greener?
As she fiddled with the sprout, Jurim called out to them as they headed toward the woods.
“This whole area is a field-type dungeon, so don’t go too far.”
“Wakawuu~ Daddychann worries too much about Guruchann~”
“Yeshh. Daddy is a wowwywart.”
“Discippwe, wepeat aftuh . Oooh, wowwywart~”
“Oooh~ Wowwywaww~”
The two of them were in perfect sync now, teasing him in harmony. Jurim scowled, while the monk burst into hearty laughter.
Watching them bounce away, Jurim picked up his car keys.
“I’ll step out for a bit. Please watch over those kids for .”
Calling Kazuki one of the kids made the monk laugh again.
“Of course. If you're too busy, we can drive them back to Hyeonak tomorrow.”
“No, it won’t take that long. I just have sothing I need to find.”
“Sothing related to Amakusa layman, perhaps?”
Hyeongak sounded worried that he may have stirred up sothing bigger, but Jurim simply bowed and headed to his car.
***
Chapter Debuff: ‘Paternal Karma’
While Jurim was away—
Guru ran through the woods with Kazuki, chasing rabbits and deer, inspecting lingzhi mushrooms on tree trunks, and finally flopped down together on a patch of grass in an open field.
“Sabbuu! Gwuu wanna see what Sabbuu makes!”
“Alright. What does Guruchan wike?”
“Ummm, dowwy? Ah! Bicicuwwe!”
“Hm, a bike huh. That’s a good one. I’ll make one for you as a keepsake.”
Suddenly, a massive skull like a reef erged from his inventory.
'It wooks wike a dinosauw!'
“Sabbuu, what bone ish dis?”
“Hmm, it’s from sothing cawwed Oonamazu... not suwe what dat’s cawwed in Korean.”
Guru just nodded, satisfied.
Kazuki placed his hands on the skull and activated a skill.
[Activating skill: “Potter of the Star Festival.”]
The Oonamazu skull began to soften, turning into a dough-like substance.
“Woww!”
The dough sparkled like a galaxy, stars twinkling across its surface as it danced and flowed with Kazuki’s movents.
“Bicycles wook wike dis, wight?”
With expert motions, Kazuki sculpted the body of a tricycle.
Even with just a rough mory of the shape, the final form was practically perfect. Guru circled it in awe.
A sleek, wind-resistant fra like the latest high-performance tricycles!
He transford tough materials into soft clay in seconds, then shaped them like a master artist.
'Dis is S-Wank?!'
Ding—!
Her head buzzed with the sting of defeat.
'Gwuu’s wivaww ish too stwong!'
While she was swallowing down the bitter taste of loss, Kazuki looked at a reference photo of a bicycle and said:
“If I make the wheels out of bone, they’ll be too hard and might hurt you. I’ll finish the bike before I leave and give it to you then.”
Guru, now a bit sullen, nodded quietly.
Kazuki cupped both of her chubby cheeks in his hands.
“Samchun wiw make it even bettew. Don’t be sad, Guruchann.”
It wasn’t that she was sad about not getting the bike now, but...
“Oway... Gwuu can wait.”
“Uuuu~ Good giw~”
Guru giggled.
“But Sabbuu, what you wanna make Gwuu twain for?”
“Mana potato! But it’s not wowking weww...”
“Mana potato?”
“Yeshh! Wike a potato dat goes shoooom-shoooom~ wike a magic stwone!”
“Oooh, Guruchann’s imagination is amazing.”
The sincere praise made Guru blink twice.
Even if he was her rival and couldn’t be registered as a caregiver...
'He’s... a good pewson.'
Blushing, Guru pulled out her inventory and spread out her treasures like a traveling rchant: duck tongs, a band-aid-decorated pair of star-shaped sunglasses, a chick drone, her teddy bear suit...
A rival was still a rival, but praise was still praise!
And when soone gave you sothing, you should take it!
TL Note: Sabbuu = Kazuki (as Guru’s master)
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