Eat The World Tree

I returned to the dormitory with Jin Dallae and Shiba.

I didn’t have any pressing matters, but I felt lethargic and wanted to rest.

It was nice to spend some time with Shiba after a while.

Anyway, today, I planned to just lie down and relax.

To prevent any scandals, I avoided curious eyes and escorted Jin Dallae to her room. Arriving at her door, she gave me a tight hug with a happy smile.

“Now again… you’ll be busy, won’t you?”

“Yeah. There’s the forest keeper selection coming up soon… I need to prepare for that too.”

Jin Dallae nodded as if she understood. Shiba was sticking closely by my leg.

She lovingly stroked Shiba’s head and then squatted down to meet Shiba’s eye level.

“…”

“Will you listen to mom well?”

“…Beep.”

Shiba cheekily turned her head away as she responded.

“Hehe, so cute… Shiheon, if you have troubles, make sure to tell me.”

“Hmm? Using informal speech now?”

“Trying to increase it bit by bit. It’s starting to feel a bit more… natural.”

Blushing, Jin Dallae slowly moved her face closer, then closed her eyes and our lips met.

A brief exchange of affection that lasted less than a minute.

-Smack.

Soon after, Jin Dallae pulled her tongue back from inside my mouth and smirked at me.

“Beep!”

While I was still dazed by the kiss, Shiba suddenly pinched my leg.

“Ouch!”

Surprisingly strong for a child.

“Dad no!”

Shiba hit Jin Dallae’s thigh repeatedly, increasing the distance between Jin Dallae and me. Shiba’s desperate cry had us looking at each other and giggling.

“Guess I should go. Shiba doesn’t like it.”

“Pfft. Take good care of our daughter… And don’t disappear all of a sudden like before.”

“Got it. If I have to go somewhere, I’ll make arrangements.”

“Okay… If you want to see me, just contact me. Don’t just neglect me. I’m not that easy.”

One last hug. I deliberately ignored Shiba’s saddened face.

Jin Dallae entered the dorm with a content expression. I then picked up Shiba and headed to my room.

-Beep beep beep beep. Slide!

Several pairs of shoes that weren’t there when I left were now at the entrance.

Did Cheondo come?

As I headed towards my room, it wasn’t Cheondo but Baekdo who was sitting on the bed, legs crossed, reading a comic magazine.

“……”

Baekdo simply nodded at me and then returned her gaze to the magazine.

This was the first time I had seen her since then, and her demeanor was still brusque.

I rolled my eyes and scanned Baekdo from top to bottom.

Dolphin shorts that nearly revealed her underwear. Below, her thighs stretched out.

Her white toes wiggled towards me.

“…What are you looking at?”

Had my gaze been too obvious? Baekdo sharply retorted and scoffed.

‘…Look at this person.’

She used to be somewhat decent when younger.

Had she changed after I became lovers with Hwangdo?

Her attitude had certainly grown rougher.

“…Dad.”

“Hmm?”

“TV!”

Pointing at the television, Shiba tugged at my trousers.

-Press.

Baekdo, still engrossed in her magazine, lazily extended her arm to turn on the TV with the remote.

It was a rerun of a dramatic afternoon soap opera.

Shiba cheerfully ran to the bed and lay down, his eyes glued to the TV.

“Shiba, you need to wash your hands first.”

“……”

She didn’t listen to me anymore.

I walked towards the bed where Shiba was sitting and picked up Shiba’s indoor clothes that were hanging on the bedside chair.

“But why is a child watching such dramas already? Let’s change your clothes first. Alright, hurray!”

“Yip!”

With both hands raised high!

-Flump.

After removing her top, I used everyday magic on Shiba, who had gotten dirty from exercising in the morning,

-Hum!

The dirt and dust washed away, revealing her baby-soft skin underneath.

Hopefully, knowing the convenience of magic won’t lead to bad habits.

After safely changing and dressing Shiba, she became engrossed in the world inside the TV once again.

“…What’s so fun about this.”

Leaving Shiba in front of the TV, I stretched out comfortably at the edge of the bed.

Then, exactly next to me, Baekdo’s face came close.

“When did the child start watching TV? It feels like just a few days ago she was still doing puzzles.”

“…Not long ago.”

Baekdo answered gruffly.

She pulled the magazine she was reading even closer, as if trying to exclude me from her field of vision.

Seeing her ignore me to this extent kindled some obstinacy in me.

“Aha, so this is why Shiba learned to speak so quickly?”

“…”

“What are you reading? Comics? What’s gotten into someone who hates this stuff?”

“…”

I teasingly poked her waist with my finger while talking persistently.

“Yikes…!”

Startled, Baekdo dropped the comic magazine.

The pages she was looking at flipped completely back to the cover without stopping at any bookmarks.

With her ears turning red, Baekdo finally looked at me with eyes wide open.

-Bang!

An immediate retaliation.

“Ouch!”

I got a good hit on the top of my head.

See the ruthlessness of this Baekdo.

Tears trickled as I saw four stars dancing before my eyes.

-Dancing stars…

It must have been a vital spot. I felt no strength in my body.

I slumped down on the bed, completely drained.

“…See, why provoke me? You get into trouble when you suddenly provoke me!”

“That really hurts.”

Baekdo, uncharacteristically worried, must have really meant that hit.

“Sorry… Is your skull okay?”

Baekdo gently stroked my head with her hand, which bore a scar on the palm.

It’s lucky she didn’t break any laws unintentionally.

If it had been a week earlier, I might have been killed or crippled and had to use my powers.

I shook my head a few times to clear the ringing in my ears and looked at Baekdo again.

“…So why are you ignoring me all of a sudden?”

“Shut up. You don’t know anything.”

“We’re about to part ways. Have you already forgotten about leaving with a smile?”

That was it.

Before I went to the retreat, I had a conversation with a drunken and disheveled Baekdo.

It wasn’t a physical fight, but it was a violent one.

After thoroughly beating me up, Baekdo said she felt the same way.

I thought our relationship had improved, but after the retreat, her personality worsened even more.

“…Third-rate disciple.”

Baekdo, reassured that I was unharmed, sighed and spoke to me.

“Yes.”

“Really… Ha. Alright. Both are asleep, so it should be fine.”

“What’s that about? What happened?”

“It’s all your fault!”

Baekdo pressed down hard on my forehead.

“You like Hwangdo, don’t you?”

The same thing Cheondo said.

Knowing they cared for each other, I nonchalantly nodded.

“I do like her.”

“…No. You don’t actually like Hwangdo.”

What was this supposed to mean?

Baekdo, having stated this decisively, furrowed her brows deeply and sighed heavily.

-Beep, beep~

While watching the drama, Shiba was between the two of us.

With the blanket off, we sat on the mattress against the wall and looked at each other.

“What nonsense are you talking about? Saying I don’t like her.”

“…If you really liked my sister… then that incident shouldn’t have happened!”

That incident?

Ah.

“Aha. That time when I was drunk and I touched your lump-”

-Clang!

“Ouch!”

This time, the attack was controlled.

“Hey, hey, hey! What are you saying in front of the child! Yes, that’s right, that’s the thing!”

“So I deliberately said ‘lump’… Why is that?”

“It doesn’t make sense to be with one woman and touch another!”

Baekdo raised her voice, clearly furious.

Thinking to myself that this person is also part of my past, suddenly that thought occurred to me.

“Ah… that thing.”

“Sleazy. Lewd. You said you weren’t cheating, but all that was as hollow as a peach pit.”

“Cheating?”

I couldn’t have said anything before, but now I could.

“I tried to be like you at first. Ah, if only the ladies would let me be.”

Not exactly an incorrect statement.

Just delivered with a hint of mischief.

Baekdo’s expression was more than just furrowed; it resembled that of someone looking at the scum of society.

A gaze filled with more disdain than when I first met Jin Dallae.

“Disgusting. Break up.”

“That’s up to Hwangdo.”

“Ugh, just break up! I can’t let my sister be with a parasite like you!”

“What can I do if your sister likes me!”

The bickering went back and forth.

Every time I saw Baekdo, it made my mouth itch because I couldn’t scratch it enough from the inside.

Eventually, overwhelmed by disgust, Baekdo threw the first punch.

Her bare foot hit my solar plexus, sending me straight under the bed.

I reached out, pulled Baekdo by the shoulder, and we both tumbled down together.

“Cough, why are you so angry?”

Baekdo, controlling her strength, pummeled me from a mounted position.

As I frantically blocked her punches, they seemed to get faster as she grew more agitated.

Still, I was able to block them now.

After being hit for a while, I suddenly remembered something Hwangdo had once said to me.

“…Could it be.”

At my words, Baekdo stopped her punches.

“Because the master likes me?”

As ridiculously as possible.

“Because you feel awkward about me dating Hwangdo-”

That was the last thing I said.

Baekdo’s face turned fierce, and she blushed furiously as she unleashed her anger.

“What, what, what? This crazy bastard!”

Punches rained down on me.

“Beep, beep~ beep? Daddy?”

Shiba, who was reciting the drama’s ending song, looked at us disdainfully and then turned her head back to the TV.

“…Beep.”

“Why does your face look like that?”

“I got beat up.”

Cheondo looked at me with disdain and clicked her tongue.

“…Sigh. Really clumsy. Isn’t it a bit troubling to just leave you after you get beaten like that?”

“It’s not just a bit troubling… please take Baekdo with you. Every time we meet, it ends with flying fists. Your top disciple might end up dead soon.”

Cheondo gently stroked my swollen cheek, then playfully tugged at it.

-Stretch.

“Ah, ahhh.”

As I let out a pained groan, Cheondo chuckled.

“Do what you can… My schedule has moved up. I’m leaving tomorrow.”

“…Really?”

I hadn’t expected her to move up her schedule just because I suggested taking Baekdo away.

Cheondo picked up my cellphone from the table, entered a new number into it, and handed it back to me.

“It’s a different phone number. Contact me on this one later… The phone I’m using now will be disposed of.”

“…You’re even hiding your number?”

“Yes. That’s how things are with Spring Peach Blossom. Just in case, I’ll also give you Roshi’s and P’s contacts.”

Tap, tap. The contact list grew.

Suddenly, as if she remembered, Cheondo pulled out my bankbook from her clothes and handed it to me.

“Oh, and… sorry for taking it without asking. I’ve transferred some money. Use it to supplement your living expenses.”

“Eh? You didn’t have to do that….”

“I don’t have any use for money anyway. It’s better for you, who’s spending actively.”

Looking at the bankbook, the amount was astonishing.

While I had saved up a decent amount myself, this much could easily help start a company with just a small loan.

“Wasn’t Spring Peach Blossom’s activity supposed to be about making money?”

Cheondo shrugged at my question.

“The contract with the association dictates otherwise. There are things that need to be done.”

The association.

Hunter Association…

I wonder how much Byeol knew about this.

As soon as I heard Cheondo’s story, I immediately harbored a question in my mind.

“There’s a lot to do indeed… but I guess it mostly revolves around subduing Flower or punishing terrorists.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Don’t worry too much. You’ll have to handle the Forest Keeper Selection on your own, but… if you follow my instructions, there shouldn’t be any major issues.”

Cheondo shrugged and gave me a kind smile, the kind a mentor might give.

“Did you get that?”

“…Yes.”

-Ding-dong!

Just then, my phone chimed.

I wrapped up the conversation with Cheondo and took out my phone to look at the screen.

-Dancing is ongoing: Shiheon, can you talk now? I wanted to discuss what we talked about last time.

Byeol had just contacted me.

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