Chapter 2
-Cock-a-doodle-doo!
As always, a rooster's cry rang out across the village.
Isabel rubbed her sleepy eyes and sat up.
When she opened the window wide, the cool morning air seeped into the room.
Smelling the dew that had gathered overnight and listening to the sparrows chirping on the roof had become part of her morning routine.
A morning just like any other.
That was why she liked it even more.
Isabel rested her arms on the windowsill and looked down over the village for a moment.
A short walk down that road led to a small square, and beyond the square stood a well.
A little farther down was Uncle Hans's forge, and beside it was Uncle Bob's potato field.
It was a familiar landscape she had run through countless times since childhood.
"…Huh."
She suddenly turned her head.
In one corner of the room, she spotted a little boy curled up on the bedding spread across the floor, hugging it tightly.
It was Rowoon.
"…Goodness."
He was fascinating every time she looked at him.
He had jet-black hair and such refined features that it was hard to believe he was the same age as his peers.
As long as he was asleep, he really did look like a young nobleman, but the moment he opened his mouth…
"Mmm…"
Rowoon tossed and turned.
"Master Yi…."
"……"
"Gank, please…."
There he goes again.
At first, she wondered if those were perhaps names.
Some days, it was Master Yi.
Other days, it was jungle diff.
But what on earth was jungle diff?
She couldn't understand a word he was saying, yet he alone would mutter with complete seriousness.
Sometimes, he would even get angry or laugh all by himself.
Once, he started flailing his hands in the air in his sleep, and when she was startled and woke him up…
'A dragon flew over.'
That was the only strange thing he said before falling asleep again.
"…He's busy even in his dreams."
As if there were dragons in this world.
A quiet laugh escaped her.
She could laugh like this now, but it had been different when she first met him.
His eyes had seemed to have seen far too much for a nine-year-old.
But now, even if she lightly pinched his cheek…
"……Mmm."
He merely furrowed his brow before burrowing back under the bedding.
"…Hmph."
Isabel's lips curled up for no particular reason.
She felt oddly proud that this house seemed to have become a home for Rowoon, too.
Isabel lightly tapped Rowoon's cheek and left the room.
"Good morning."
"Did you sleep well?"
"Yes."
Isabel answered briefly as she set plates on the table one by one.
In the middle of the kitchen, her father was stirring a large pot.
-Burble burble.
The sound of tomatoes softening and bursting filled the air.
The scent of finely chopped onions, herbs, and meat filled the house.
"The food is almost ready."
Her father said as he stirred the stew once with a wooden ladle.
"Go wake Rowoon soon, too."
"Yes."
After answering briefly, Isabel looked over the table.
There were three wooden plates, three spoons, and a basket to hold the bread.
Come to think of it, Uncle Hans had brought over a whole basket of tomatoes yesterday.
"He said the tomato harvest was good this year."
"So we're having tomato stew today?"
"Yep."
Her father nodded with a smile.
"Uncle Hans picked out the biggest ones especially because Rowoon eats so well."
"…I figured as much."
Every villager doted on Rowoon far too much.
At first, they had all worried because the family had taken in a strange child, but now they had grown close enough to press snacks into his hands whenever they passed by and ask whether he had eaten.
They had even started quietly competing over who would take him home and feed him dinner first.
"…Maybe it's because he eats so much."
When she muttered that to herself, her father burst out laughing.
"Children that age are supposed to eat well."
"…But Rowoon eats a lot."
"That he does."
The two of them looked at each other and laughed.
Isabel took off her apron, hung it over a chair, and headed back to the room.
Just as she had expected.
The moment she opened the door, Rowoon was sleeping in exactly the same position as before.
No, it was slightly different.
This time, he was hugging the bedding even more tightly.
"…"
Isabel stood there and watched him for a moment.
"…Rowoon."
She called softly.
"…"
No response.
"Rowoon."
He was still off in dreamland.
"…Hey! Lee Rowoon!"
It was no use.
Good grief.
Isabel sighed and finally grabbed the edge of the bedding with a practiced hand.
And then.
Whoosh.
"…!!"
The bedding vanished in an instant, and Rowoon shot upright in surprise.
"Enemy!"
He shouted something strange in his sleep and glanced around, but the moment his eyes met Isabel's, he froze.
"…Sis."
"Yes."
"…This is a violation of human rights."
"You're still not fully awake."
"Five more minutes."
"No."
"Three minutes."
"No."
"Thirty seconds."
"No."
"..."
Rowoon stared blankly into the air for a while before letting out a deep sigh.
"…The world is so harsh."
"If you don't want to eat, you can sleep longer."
The instant she said that, Rowoon sprang out of bed as if he had been launched.
"I'm up. I'll wash my face and come out. I won't be picky today, either."
"…Have you ever been picky?"
"…I don't think so?"
"Right."
"Then let's go eat."
Isabel chuckled and left the room first.
She heard footsteps trudging along behind her.
"Sis."
"Yes?"
"What's for breakfast today?"
"Tomato stew."
"…"
Rowoon's pace noticeably quickened.
"You like it?"
"A little."
"A little?"
"…A lot."
In the end, she couldn't hold back her laughter.
As expected, Rowoon was incredibly simple when it came to food.
***
"You know today is the day Uncle Bob harvests his potatoes, right?"
They were about to leave the house after eating a hearty breakfast and giving it time to settle when Isabel called out to him from behind.
"You can't run off again like last time, okay?"
"When did I ever run off?"
“We're harvesting together today, so don't even think about running away, okay?”
It was unfair.
Running away?
I had only gone to do a little supervising.
Would it kill her to use a nicer expression?
"Supervising?"
"Yes.”
"Supervising whom?"
"……Birds or wild boars…?"
"…"
"I had to check whether they were stealing the potatoes."
"…And?"
"They never showed up, so I took a break.”
"…That's what you call running away."
It was seriously unfair.
Anyway.
When they left the house, the cool morning air brushed against their faces.
Perhaps because of the dew that had fallen overnight, the moist scent of earth rose from the dirt road.
Mmm~
Peaceful.
At the tower, the first thing we did every morning was check our equipment.
At the same time, I would think, Who's going to die today? Where will a monster jump out from?
Those were the only things on my mind……
But I don't need to worry about that now.
"Rowoon!"
The children playing in the square waved the moment they saw me.
"Good morning!"
"...Good morning."
"Are you digging potatoes today?"
"..."
Word had already gotten around?
How on earth did the village's information network work?
"Hang in there!"
"…I wasn't planning to."
"Huh?"
"It's nothing."
The children giggled and went back to running across the dirt.
The corners of my mouth rose for no particular reason.
Kids that age were supposed to play like that.
At the tower, I had seen children running away far more often than I had seen them playing.
Ah.
Come to think of it, I'm that age now too, aren't I?
Ahem.
Once we left the village, a wide field spread out before us.
The wheat rippled like waves in the wind, and a few sheep grazed peacefully nearby.
I suddenly stopped walking.
"…?"
"Why?"
"That sheep."
"Hmm?"
"It looks delicious."
“…….”
Isabel looked at me as if I were hopeless.
"Don't you think it's cute?"
"It can be both."
"What?"
"It can be cute and delicious at the same time."
"…You scare me sometimes."
Why?
Did I say something wrong?
People on Earth looked for cute desserts even more than delicious ones, I'm telling you.
After walking a little farther, the potato field spread out before us.
…Good grief.
It was huge as hell.
Even though it was still early morning, the field was already packed with people.
Some carried sacks while others brought hoes. Even the uncle from the house behind us had already started digging potatoes.
"Rowoon!"
I turned my head at the familiar voice.
Uncle Bob was waving as he straightened his back.
"Yarhan morning."
"...?"
"…It means good morning."
"Ho ho ho!"
Uncle Bob laughed loudly without the slightest suspicion.
"So there was a greeting like that, too."
No, there wasn't.
I awkwardly looked away.
The people in this village were too innocent.
They believed anything I said.
At this rate, I was going to get myself into serious trouble someday.
"Here."
Uncle Bob handed me two hand hoes.
"Start over there today."
His finger moved slowly.
"All the way to over there."
I slowly turned my head in the direction he pointed.
Hmm.
Hmmm.
This potato field, seriously.
It was huge as hell.
"This is a total black company."
"…Black?"
Ah.
"It's nothing."
They wouldn't understand even if I explained it.
I merely swallowed a sigh to myself.
Then.
"All right!"
Isabel rolled up her sleeves and smiled brightly.
"I'll take from here to here!"
Then her finger pointed toward me.
"Rowoon, you take from there to there!"
Hey.
Wait. Time out.
I pointed back and forth at both sides with my finger.
No matter how I looked at it, she had divided it right down the middle.
"You want us to split it half and half…?"
"Yep!"
Isabel flashed a bright thumbs-up.
"I'm nine years old, you know?"
"Yep!"
"…"
"But you're a boy!"
You filthy pink-haired brat.
I knew you were trouble from the moment I saw that pink hair.
This is child abuse.
Should I just pretend to work for a bit, then slip away to do some supervising?
This time, the birds might actually steal the potatoes!
All right, it was a perfectly rational plan.
I slung the hoe over my shoulder and walked into the potato field with the most reluctant expression in the world.
notes op=final, edited for natural phrasing and corrected several draft/source alignment issues; no accidental adjacent repetitions remained. Kept neutral/name-based narration where applicable and retained established title format.