Chapter 81: A Magic Spell |
Watching Kim Cheonsu and Han Seori wobble towards me, I was having anxious thoughts, but then my jelly started to bubble.
Why is it bubbling, you ask? It’s funny… no, it’s amusing.
For one thing, Kim Cheonsu was hilarious to anyone who saw him.
Isn’t he wobbling around in a big costume?
Wasn’t the word “wobbling” invented for that appearance?
Honestly, if a slightly younger kid did that, I would’ve thought it was cute, but unfortunately, Kim Cheonsu is a full-grown adult male.
I couldn’t help but laugh.
Next to Kim Cheonsu, who was wobbling around in a reindeer costume, Han Seori was rubbing her arms with a Santa hat pulled down.
Considering their hierarchical relationship, their outfits really couldn’t be more perfect.
Seeing that the two people’s faces weren’t looking too good as they got closer, it stiffened up.
Not stiff from being frozen in the cold, but stiff with tension.
But it couldn’t be helped.
The fact that their expressions weren’t good meant that the reason Han Seori had looked at me meaningfully would be revealed.
And even if they didn’t say it, I could guess what it was.
It would be fighting that huge thing.
Hmm.
I don’t know.
At first, I thought they were out of their minds, but while warming up from the bonfire, I wondered if it might be possible.
To be exact, it’s not confidence that it’s possible, but more like wondering if this might be an experience you can’t have anywhere else.
It would definitely be an experience you can’t have anywhere else.
Maybe the cold has gotten to me.
Maybe it’s better to fight after being warm rather than continuing to be exposed to this cold?
In the meantime, the two people approached me and plopped down by the bonfire.
The two, who were warming themselves with melted faces, slowly spoke as if telling me to listen.
“It doesn’t seem to be… working, does it?”
“Unfortunately not.”
“Then this too…”
As Kim Cheonsu muttered while sniffling, Han Seori glanced at me and replied in a low voice.
“Let’s watch a little longer, just in case. We still have some leeway…”
“Asking for support elsewhere… would still be difficult, right?”
“Then there would be no reason for coming all the way here…”
“Right… yes.”
At Han Seori’s reply, Kim Cheonsu looked at me with a complicated expression and got up from his spot.
“Let’s eat something first… that will warm us up…”
“Okay.”
Soon, Kim Cheonsu started preparing a meal. Han Seori took something out from inside her clothes and fiddled with it.
I also sat next to them and observed what Kim Cheonsu was doing.
You ask, why am I not helping?
I didn’t really feel the need to.
To begin with, you have to be similar in size to help each other out.
If there’s this much of a height difference, I’d only be a hindrance rather than a help.
Isn’t this why adults say that staying still is helping?
Getting scolded for trying to help when I didn’t need to wasn’t my style.
Then what about Han Seori?
If I shift my gaze towards her fiddling with something, I can sense her feeling a little embarrassed.
Right.
She got kicked out yesterday for trying to help Kim Cheonsu with food.
I thought the reason she was surprised to see me making ramen was because she couldn’t cook herself.
I didn’t see exactly what happened to get her kicked out… but considering that Kim Cheonsu, who seems to like Han Seori, chased her away…
I wonder if she’s really bad at cooking.
For a man to chase away a woman he likes…
Just how bad is she at cooking?
I shifted my gaze to Han Seori.
Then, I could clearly see her fiddling with something with an intelligent face.
She looks like she’d be good at anything… but it seems there are unexpected things she’s not good at, too.
Come to think of it, there are times when she seems a bit… silly.
Well… having this level of flaws is what makes someone seem human, isn’t it?
If someone is too perfect, you can’t feel affection for them.
And the fact that Han Seori is bad at cooking makes me feel a little… just a tiny bit good.
This means that I’m better at cooking than Han Seori, who was a doctor at that age.
Somehow, my jelly shoulders feel like they’re puffing up with pride.
As I was feeling a bit smug, Kim Cheonsu, who had been making food behind me, casually put food down in front of me.
I wonder if it includes portions for the other slimes, too, as the amount is quite large.
The guy who casually put down the food turns his body with an expression that says it wasn’t made for you.
Even if a man does that, it only feels bad…
“Let’s eat.”
“Ah… thank you. I want to help…”
“It’s really okay. Actually, cooking is my hobby.”
“Oh… I heard that men who cook are popular these days… that’s nice.”
“Is, is that so?”
Hmm.
Watching Kim Cheonsu grinning foolishly…
I felt kind of annoyed.
I stopped thinking about how to prank him.
No matter his intentions, he prepared food for me, so I shouldn’t do such a mean thing.
Just… because I feel annoyed.
Well… if there was a reason, maybe it would be a different story.
Before I knew it, the slimes, sensing it was mealtime, flocked around me.
The other kids are fine, but that Sosik guy is only quick when it comes to eating, which is irksome.
Is it weird that I’m feeling this way?
Who knows.
I can’t really tell since there’s no one to compare to.
Anyway.
The food that Kim Cheonsu made, which I presume is a stew, was quite tasty.
Since I didn’t have any taste buds, I just shoved it into my body, and it was very flavorful.
I emptied the bowl while sharing with the jelly guys.
Anyway.
It seemed like today would pass without incident.
I shouldn’t have thought that.
Didn’t I already know that?
Nothing will happen.
When this war is over, I’ll propose to her.
I desperately hoped nothing would happen.
The same thoughts.
Honestly, thinking about what’s happening now, it may not be a simple cliché.
Like how they say, there’s no smoke without fire.
Honestly, I don’t like that expression, but once things turn out this way, I think it’s only natural to think there’s something there.
“Wh, where is the way to the control room?”
“I don’t know…”
“Ugh…”
I saw Han Seori and Kim Cheonsu with blank faces in my field of vision.
It seemed like they got lost after being suddenly chased out.
On that cold night (probably night) when nothing seemed likely to happen…
The facility we were in started shaking heavily.
*Rumble rumble rumble!*
At the huge noise that seemed like an earthquake had occurred, even I, who was lying down using Jungsik as a pillow, had no choice but to get up startled.
Naturally, Kim Cheonsu and Han Seori also came stumbling out of the tent in a fluster.
And at the same time, the two people came out of the tent…
Something appeared in the space we were in.
And it didn’t just appear.
It appeared through the ceiling, left a hole in the floor, and disappeared.
*Rumble rumble rumble!*
The floor is shaking.
Even a child could predict what was about to happen.
“Run, run! D-Don’t scatter! That way!”
We ran in the direction Han Seori pointed.
Grabbing the arm of Sosik, who still hadn’t grasped the situation, checking if the other jellies were following.
After running like that for a while…
That unidentified thing suddenly fell silent.
Only then could my group catch our breath.
Maybe because there was a huge hole in the ceiling.
The surroundings seemed to have gotten a bit colder.
As if proving that, the breath coming out of Han Seori and Kim Cheonsu’s mouths is very thick.
It almost looks like the steam will freeze and fall to the floor.
I looked around, feeling concerned.
Because I had thoroughly looked around each corner while retrieving the fan, the structure of this facility was still relatively clear in my head.
But maybe because of that vibration earlier… the surroundings were a huge mess.
Rather than this place being weak, it seems to be due to it being abandoned for a long time.
Well, I’m not too sure about the details.
Since I’m not the one who made this place.
First…
Han Seori said we need to go to the control room, right?
After looking around, I roughly guessed the location of the control room. I approached Han Seori and tugged on her sleeve.
“Phew… why so suddenly… huh? What is it?”
Han Seori, whose nose tip and cheeks have turned bright red, looks at me with a puzzled face.
I silently (I can’t talk anyway) pointed to the corridor leading to the control room.
Then Han Seori exclaimed softly and muttered.
“Is this the way to the control room by any chance?”
When I nodded my slightly stiffened jelly, both Han Seori and Kim Cheonsu got dumbfounded looks on their faces.
“As the Doctor said, she really might be a genius.”
“You didn’t believe that?”
Ahem.
Rather than praising me, wouldn’t it be better to get to the control room quickly?
Feeling a bit embarrassed, I tugged on the two people’s sleeves and started walking.
The jelly guys, especially Sosik, seemed to have realized that something had happened and were obediently following along.
Seeing how they are good at getting food and stuff like that… they doesn’t seem to lack survival instincts.
*Rumble rumble.*
Then…
A small vibration reverberated through the entire facility.
It didn’t seem to be heading this way, so sighs of relief could be heard from all directions.
I saw the two people’s faces turning pale and then red repeatedly.
We seemed to need to hurry.
The human body seems to be more fragile than I thought.
I hoped we wouldn’t run into that thing on the way-
I stopped thinking.
Doubting if I lacked learning ability.
Slowly heading to the control room…
Maybe because of the thought I just had…
I kept feeling uneasy.
