Chapter 48

[Author’s note] Critiques and acknowledgments are always welcome! When I post two chapters in a row, the recommendation rate for the previous one tends to drop, which makes me sad ㅠ. I’ll work harder to make it more fun. Hehe. Chapter 48

16. The Old King’s Garden 047 – The Old King’s Garden #2

━You met a Stalker? Oh dear, that could have gone terribly wrong!

A sparrow flapped its wings while perched on my shoulder, hopping up to a branch.

After a few minutes of the sparrow’s relentless scolding, Mao lay flat on the ground, not even managing to look tough.

━W-well, it’s fine. I was swallowed and came back alive after all…

━You were swallowed and came back!? You didn’t just bump into a Stalker!?

The sparrow shrieked in a high-pitched panic.

It was hard to read the bird’s expression, but I imagined if it were human, it would be completely green with shock.

If I were to translate this to a human story, it might be like a dignified heiress of a wealthy family getting kidnapped in an alley and somehow being set free—something like that.

If you weren’t surprised, that would be strange.

And so, the conversation continued with Mao trying to explain himself while getting scolded by the sparrow.

One thing I realized was that every time Mao tried to excuse himself, things only got worse.

The sparrow flew over to Mao’s droopy ears and began to chatter loudly.

━Do you know how much Raohou would scold you for this? This isn’t something that just gets brushed off! Where in the world is that magpie? Wasn’t it supposed to be its turn today?

━I-I don’t know. I haven’t seen him for a few days.

━So that’s why you snuck out? That brat said he had some business in the South and hasn’t returned yet.

━Ugh.

Hearing this, I hiccupped.

Maybe the magpie I had swallowed and digested was trying to make its presence known from within me.

━That, that brat saved me back then…

Poor Mao finished his last words in a barely audible whisper. After that, he zipped it completely.

Meanwhile, the sparrow, which had been chattering away next to Mao, turned its gaze back to me.

━So, you took down a Stalker?

I nodded.

The sparrow zipped around me, giving me a quick once-over from my newly grown horns down to my toes.

━What are you, anyway? I’ve never seen a creature like you around here.

Just as I was about to make some excuse, Mao raised his head energetically and shouted.

━He came running away from the South!

━The South?

The sparrow’s head bobbed oddly as it stared at me.

━You came from the South?

Although it was hard to gauge a bird’s expression, I could see anxiety and wariness written all over its eyes.

━If you could take down a Stalker, then you must be quite something. Anyone who can survive in the South should be able to handle themselves. But why would someone like you come all the way to the West?

The way the sparrow regarded me was no different from an agent facing a spy.

Come to think of it, that might be the right reaction.

It wasn’t like all animals were as dumb as they seemed.

In this bizarre situation I found myself in, I terribly missed Leaf, who I had left in the cave.

‘Leaf isn’t the kind to annoy me…’

Thinking about the reward was making me more eager to head back to the South.

But since I had practically been abducted by Mao, I had no idea how to get back.

Without Leaf, even the Southern forest path could get confusing, let alone this new Western forest I’d never been to.

The sparrow swooped back to land on my head.

━Why are you crossing over to the West now of all times? Are you a Yan-Mite spy? Did that rascal send you to keep an eye on things happening in the West? What was your intention while approaching the lady?

The sparrow bombarded me with an annoying number of questions at once.

Not only was it using my wonderful horns as a perch, but it was also chattering in my ear, which was getting on my nerves.

‘If I’m not careful, I could end up in enemy territory here. Let’s hold on for a bit.’

I swallowed the rising anger bubbling in my stomach and calmly responded.

━What do you mean, approaching? That brat came up to me first. I didn’t even know it was there.

━You mean that brat is your… um, never mind. Is it true, lady? You approached it first?

The sparrow turned its body to look at Mao.

Mao opened his big mouth and gave an awkward smile.

━W-well, it’s just that with white fur, I stood out. I was hiding and watching because I thought it looked cute.

━You can’t just go up to any beast like that! I told you not to judge by appearances.

Ugh, my head was starting to throb, said the sparrow, wobbling atop my horn.

It flitted close to my face and, with its little feet, poked my lips.

━You can’t approach just because it looks nice! Look at these sharp teeth. And what about those claws? This rascal’s claws are—wait, what claws…

Noticing my front claws, the sparrow suddenly fell silent.

It cleared its throat and turned its head away.

━Did you seriously approach the lady first? You actually ran away from the South to the West?

━I-I told you! I had no clue who that brat was or what it was doing! I actually saved it from a crisis, so it should be thanking me!

━Hmm.

━I was dragged here by that brat, claiming it was some kind of compensation for bringing me this far. I’m practically the victim of a kidnapping!

My logically sound counter-arguments made the sparrow stop its noisy chatter and seem deep in thought.

The fact that it wasn’t making awkward bird noises was fulfilling enough for me.

After a good ten seconds of silence, the sparrow finally spoke in a low, solemn voice.

━Lady, you can’t possibly be thinking of making this rascal your great warrior, right?

━W-why would I? I have no idea what you’re talking about!

At that, Lao-Hoo Mao began to tremble dramatically.

Like someone being accused of a crime, he looked suspicious enough for anyone to take notice, and the sparrow sighed heavily.

━Let’s not play dumb, lady. I’ve been serving Raohou and you both for years now…

━Bang!

Then a sudden explosion sounded, like something that could rupture eardrums.

I thought lightning had struck nearby, but it was just the sparrow making a fuss.

━L-Lao-Hoo must be back. I’ll report everything that happened today without missing a detail, so be prepared, lady.

━N-no! If Dad finds out, it’ll be a disaster!

As Mao leapt up, attempting to reach the sparrow, he missed grabbing its wings.

The sparrow fluttered away to wherever it was heading, while Mao vanished somewhere in the vast garden.

‘What the heck is going on? What am I supposed to do now?’

Left alone in the garden, I felt a mix of confusion and absurdity, almost bursting into laughter.

What kind of hospitality was this?

I sat there blankly for about ten minutes, waiting for them to return.

Not knowing what else to do, I decided to explore the garden a bit.

The fresh scent of grass soaked in rain and the aroma of various fruits and vegetables constantly tempted me.

The crunching sound of the grass under my feet tickled my ears.

‘Wow, even among beasts, the rich ones live in completely different places from mine.’

I remembered curling up with Raccoon Leaf in our cramped little wooden house.

I thought having a home gave Leaf a pretty decent life, but it turned out there was an even higher tier above that.

‘This was a completely different world from Yan-Mite, who lived in a cave and surrounded himself with discarded bones.’

If the owner of the Southern region was Yan-Mite, something of a primal dinosaur, then the one in the West must be something much more dignified.

As I inhaled the mouthwatering fruit scents, my stomach rumbled loudly.

Maybe it was because my upset stomach had cleared up from vomiting, or maybe the delicious smells had already started to digest in my mind.

‘There’s so much. Just one should be fine, right?’

I plucked a small tree fruit, reminiscent of a cherry tomato.

As soon as I popped it in my mouth, a sour explosion erupted, almost making me cry and spill my tears.

‘Why is it so sour? Is it not ripe?’

But soon after, the sugariness enveloped my mouth, overshadowing the earlier sourness with its rich sweetness.

【You have gained experience points.】

‘Huh?’

Just from eating someone else’s fruit in their garden, I got experience points.

I widened my eyes and looked around at the fruits and various vegetables growing nearby.

Now it seemed that a delightful meal could turn into a windfall of experience points.

‘With so many around, it shouldn’t be a problem if I pick a few more. After all, I did save Mao and was due for a reward.’

Convincing myself, I started to pluck and munch on the fruits I could see.

The crispy vegetables kept sliding down into my belly.

Isn’t this the perfect opportunity to enjoy delicious food and pump up my experience points?

Even the brightly colored ones that looked a bit suspicious turned out to have surprisingly sweet flavors.

【You have gained experience points.】

I felt like I was at a buffet, trying everything around me that I could reach.

The surprising part was that despite eating quite a lot, I didn’t feel full at all.

I felt so optimistic that I could devour everything in this garden and still want more.

【You have gained experience points.】

As I watched the words popping up in front of me, I suddenly paused and tilted my head.

‘Why isn’t this one giving me experience points?’

I looked at the long purple fruit in my hand, feeling intrigued.

It tasted like a banana and was delicious, yet it never gave me the experience point notification regardless of how many I ate.

Not just the purple banana, but there were others among the fruits and vegetables that didn’t reward any experience points.

‘What could be different? Is there food that doesn’t agree with my system?’

Without any real knowledge, I could only think that way.

The Yan-Mite, who had asked me to k*ll the queen ant, had also not given me Cordyceps because he said it wouldn’t be right for me.

Perhaps it varied by beast, what food was fitting and what wasn’t.

‘But I can’t figure out what’s different just by looking. I guess there’s no choice but to eat everything and find out.’

Just when I was tasting various fruits and thinking this way.

‘Did I eat too much? This feels like it could get me caught. The trees look oddly bare now.’

Name: Alpha White Dog

Species: Magical Beast lv.12

Strength: 37

Agility: 34

Stamina: 37

Skills: 《Omnivore》《Sturdy Claw》《Subsonic》《Stealthy Move》《Dance of Enticement》《Hybridization》《Frenzy》

Before I knew it, I had reached level 12.

Having gained so much experience, leveling up was only natural.

‘To be honest, it feels like I leveled up less than expected, though. Is the experience gained from vegetables less than from hunting down moving creatures?’

It seems there’s a lesser experience bonus with easier-to-obtain plant-based food than with meat.

If not, maybe it’s how the amount of experience needed for the next level has increased, like I thought before.

Now that I had devoured every fruit nearby, I was edging closer to a pond, continuing my feast.

Just as I was starting to tire of the sweet and bland vegetables, I began to look around for more appetizing fruits with better experience points.

‘Wait, didn’t they say Wu Jung-hwa was near the pond?’

Since there was a small pond nearby, I changed my path toward it.

The pond was surrounded by stones like a fence, with beautiful lotus flowers blooming above.

Drops of rain created lovely ripples on the water’s surface as they broke apart.

Beneath the clear surface, colorful fish, whether they were carp or something else, swam around with their mouths agape.

‘Wow, they’ve really made a nice pond. So, is that lotus flower Wu Jung-hwa?’

It looked more mundane than I expected, and I felt a slight pang of disappointment.

But I figured I had to try it to see how magnificent the flower was, so I bent down to pick a lotus.