<The Demon Lord of the Swordsmanship Family Chapter 69>
“Heeheehee.”
These days, Park Bom feels like she’s flying through the sky.
Why? Because in just three nights, she’ll become ‘Eonni’ (Older sister)!
She’s thrilled!
“Eonni! Eonni…!”
I’m going to become an older sister now.
Park Bom repeatedly checks the clock.
Her father had taught her that when the small hand goes around twice, a day has passed, but no matter how intently she stared, it wouldn’t move.
Even when her eyes turned red, the hour hand didn’t budge.
“Hing…”
She’s disappointed.
Maybe it’s because she’s a pig. The thin needle beside it moved incredibly fast…
Though disappointed, Park Bom clenches her teeth and remains spirited. In the past, she might have shed a tear.
Not anymore. Now, Bom is going to be an older sister.
“Dad said so. If I get a younger sibling, Bom has to protect them, just like how Dad protects me…”
Certainly, Park Ki-hyuk hadn’t meant it with much depth. Why would he burden such a young daughter? He had merely advised lightly that she should clean the cat’s litter box well and play with the new sibling.
But the smart Park Bom felt a sense of responsibility for life from her father’s words.
“Because I’m an older sister, I need to try harder.”
That day, Bom decided to try harder.
To grow big like Dad, she ate well.
“Bom, you’re leaving vegetables again?”
“…I’ll eat them last.”
To become tough like Dad, she stopped crying.
“Our daughter, how many times did you cry today?”
“Not once.”
“Really?”
“Really!!”
Her speech became clear and distinct.
She made friends too. A girl named Lim Hyun-ji, who always greeted her first.
“Bom hi!”
“Hyun-ji hello.”
Being a girl of few words who enjoyed being alone, Bom had an aura of mana and bloodline power that subtly surrounded her, preventing other children from easily approaching.
The first person to reach out to Bom was Lim Hyun-ji.
“Bom-ah, look here, look here. Ta-dah! Your day to become an older sister. I’ve starred it.”
“…That star is strange. It should be like this. A star should have six points.”
“Huh? Isn’t five points a star?”
“No, that’s fake.”
“You’re right. Bom-ah, you’re smart today! You’ll be an excellent older sister.”
“Thank you. Hyun-ji is smart too.”
The thoughtful Bom and always positive Lim Hyun-ji quickly became friends and are now the best of friends.
A few days ago, they even visited Hyun-ji’s house. Bom was unfamiliar with her first visit to a friend’s house, but there was one satisfying thing.
The tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) that Hyun-ji’s mom made was very delicious.
“Oops! Mom told me to ask. Bom-ah, could I invite you to my birthday party?”
“Birth… what’s that?”
“They say it’s a celebration of your birthday. It’s my first time, so I don’t know much. Hehe. But we’ll eat delicious things, right?”
“Tteokbokki too?”
“Tteokbokki too!”
“Uh… but, by that time Bom will be an older sister and will be busy… can I bring my younger sibling too?”
“Of course! I have Min-ju and Min-jeong too. I played with them yesterday. Hmm, older sisters are busy, right? Huh? Bom’s face is turning red. Why’s it red?”
“I’m an older sister. I like older sisters. Eonni…”
For the taciturn Park Bom, eating tasteless spinach,
For Park Bom, who used to cry easily,
Becoming an older sister, having a younger sibling, was like a miraculous change in the world.
After a few days of checking the clock and praying for the fat hand to move faster.
Finally, Saturday arrived.
With unusually clear skies today, Park Bom was facing a dazzling miracle akin to the sun in the sky.
“Wow!”
“Wow!”
Bom looked at the cats with a beaming smile. Her big eyes were filled with hearts.
She must really like them.
“Do you like them that much?”
“Yes!”
I petted Bom’s head as she expressed her love with her whole body, jumping around.
Does this child know where we are?
The place where we’re standing is an animal shelter. In other words, these cats here were once abandoned or strays.
That’s why the cats I see are all wary of us.
There’s one hiding its body and watching carefully, another growling and protecting its friend, and each of them has raised their hackles in their own way.
But our daughter seems to find even the growling cats adorable. Her eyes are so full of love that it’s not just wet—it’s overflowing and spilling down her cheeks.
“Hello, guys. My name is Park Bom. Park Ji Ki Hyuk. Dad’s daughter. Nice to meet you.”
She waves into the cage, even though they can’t understand her.
“Mom! Mom! Can’t I go inside?”
“Hmm, don’t you think we should ask?”
“Then let’s ask! Bom wants to go inside quickly. Hurry!”
Bom leads the way, walking proudly as if she’s determined to get in there.
Sorry, but…
“Bom-ah.”
“Yes?”
“That’s not the place. Let’s go over there. That’s right.”
Good, not awkward at all.
With a silly smile, I entered the main building. As expected, many people were looking around. Or, maybe it was just because I entered holding Bom, and everyone was staring at us.
The director running this place loves cats so much that if you want to adopt one, you must have a confirmed identity.
That’s why there was an investigation. And this is the result.
Receiving everyone’s attention, I approached someone who looked like a staff member.
“Eh, ehh, Mr. Park Ki-hyuk… Is that right? Yes, it is.”
The staff member asked to confirm my identity but seemed embarrassed midway and gave a sheepish laugh.
“This way please. The director is waiting.”
He probably doesn’t know everything, but usually, regular people don’t need to go all the way to the director to adopt a pet. It must be because this side is prominent. Most places like this are run by donations, after all.
Walking around the building, Bom, who had been clinging to my arm, asked.
“Dad, can I go inside now?”
“Did you mean that place earlier?”
“Yes, Bom wants to give food to the younger siblings inside.”
“Hmm…”
I scratched my head. This seemed tough…
And my prediction was correct. Facing Director Uncle with a soft belly and a kind face, Bom said she wanted to go inside the cage, and the director smiled ambiguously before replying,
“Princess, do you want to go inside the cats’ house?”
“Yes! But I’m not a princess, I’m Bom. Park Bom.”
“Ah, Bom-ah. Uncle thought you were a princess because you’re so pretty like one.”
“Heehee.”
“But Bom-ah, sorry, but you can’t just go inside the cats’ house. It’s their home, after all. If you disturbed them while they’re sleeping or resting, it wouldn’t be good, right? You wouldn’t like it if someone bothered you when you wanted to be alone, would you?”
“…That’s true.”
“But if you really want to go inside, you’ll have to work. Clean, do laundry, wash their bowls, and bathe the kittens. Can you do it?”
“I can do it!!”
“Ho ho. Then I’ll talk about it for you.”
Indeed, Director Uncle showed his expertise with children. His skills in handling kids were top-notch. After all, how many children must have asked him the same question?
After calming Bom down, the Director extended his hand to me with a composed expression.
“Sorry for the late greeting. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Kim Sang-pil, the director of this shelter.”
“That’s fine. It’s for our daughter. Nice to meet you, I’m Park Ki-hyuk.”
We enjoyed a cup of tea while conversing.
How many animals are abandoned each year? And what happens to those abandoned animals?
The director expressed the pitiful and regrettable realities, and I silently nodded.
As I mentioned before, this place runs on donations. From their perspective, someone like me, who seems prominent, would support them. This meeting was arranged for that purpose.
Frankly speaking, though this began with quite an obvious intention…
“I understand. I will personally sponsor it.”
Isn’t it a good thing? It purifies the soul.
In a world where most people overly pursue their own desires, there aren’t many people who can be this dedicated to others… no, not even humans, but animals.
A person like this deserves support.
My willing answer made the director bow deeply in gratitude instead.
“Thank you so much. Truly, thank you.”
The sight of an elderly person bowing repeatedly to me could seem humble.
But personally, I found this appearance admirable.
A lifetime of service, humbling oneself to serve more, and finding joy in being able to serve more.
A person who can love others selflessly.
As someone who has only recently met his family and come to dimly understand the meaning of love, this unconditional love seemed incredibly admirable.
*
After finishing the brief conversation, we went to meet the cat we would adopt.
Of course, there’s work to be done before that.
Didn’t we see a lot of volunteers on the way here?
People who came because they felt sorry for abandoned animals, not because they were paid. If we simply adopt a pet and leave without helping, it’d be pretty inconsiderate.
Since we’re already here, let’s do a thorough cleaning.
Oh, before that…
“Bom, do you want to see your younger sibling first? Dad will help out here for a bit.”
“Bomie wants to help too!!”
“If so, how about Bom washes the bowls that the little ones eat from? Can you do it?”
“Yes!”
Even though this is a barn with dozens of animals, where everything from urine to feces is unimaginably dirty, it seemed a bit too much to show such a young child.
After sending Bom off, the first thing I did was give a bath.
I carefully led the cats into the bathroom and confirmed everyone was there.
“Are we all here? The number seems right.”
The bath started.
The moment the door closed, ‘snap’, I flicked my finger.
Water Ball.
A shower of water poured from the sky.
Of course, very gently. Carefully.
The suddenly soaked cats screamed in a chorus. The temperamental ones even ran toward me.
“Hold on a bit. I’ll clean you thoroughly.”
The next magic:
Clean.
One Clean spell would’ve been enough, but these cats haven’t had much human contact, so they must be dirtier than expected.
So I first sprinkled water with Water Ball, then used Clean for synergy effect.
After wiping away all the dirt, the final touch was a double-casting of Warm (a spell to maintain body temperature) and Wind (a spell to make wind), sending a warm breeze.
And it’s done.
Look, here are the fluffy cats.
So clean that their hidden beauty has blossomed.
Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle…
“Then, should I do the puppies next?”
After bathing the dogs in the same way, doing it a few times, the bathing is finally over.
The next step is cleaning.
There’s something to do first here too.
“Excuse me? You want me to leave?”
“Yes, I’ll do it, so please rest inside.”
“No, I’ll help. It’s too wide here to do it alone.”
“I’m fine with being alone. Please don’t feel sorry. I mean, I really prefer being alone.”
Even though I insisted not to feel sorry, they seemed apologetic. They kept looking back at me while leaving. Saturday, a time for playing, yet they were all volunteering, their souls quite pure.
Their appearance pleased me, so I decided to give an extra gift.
I opened the food delivery app. Glancing briefly, there seemed to be around 20 people, so ordering 30 servings should be fine. Normally, people eat 1.5 servings, right? I ordered pizza and chicken.
Now, let’s do the cleaning. I took a broom, a dustpan, and other cleaning tools.
“Hey, you guys.”
I summoned the Skeletons.
Clank, tearing through space as they appeared, the Skeletons grabbed the cleaning tools and swiftly swept the barn clean.
They cleared the waste, removed the bad smell, dusted, and finally, used the universal cleaning magic, Clean.
Jazzam, it’s instantly spotless.
“Doing this reminds me of old times.”
Bathing and cleaning were all things I did a lot back when I was at the orphanage in my previous life. As they say, everything becomes a memory with time… I smiled faintly thinking about those days.
After this, I did the laundry, changed the wire mesh and replaced the lamps among other physically demanding tasks.
When there was no work left for the people working here for some time, I had finished and went to see our Bom.
“Our Bom looks quite happy. She hasn’t come to look for Dad even once.”
Our Bom, who normally calls for Dad every half an hour, has been here for almost an hour without looking for me.
It kind of bothers me. It feels like something has been taken away.
With a silly thought in mind, I went to the room where the kittens were.
“Meow~!”
As soon as I opened the door, the first thing I saw was kittens, their eyes just opened, wobbling on the floor. They’re still unsteady on their limbs, dangerously unbalanced.
I quickly caught a kitten that was about to fall in front of me and placed it gently on a soft spot before looking for Bom.
Actually, there was no need to look.
There was Bom, crouched in the corner of the room. But something seemed off. Why was she crying?
“Sniff, sniff.”
Her tears were flowing, seemingly from some deep sorrow.
Concerned about what might have happened, I rushed over.
“Bom-a, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
“Dad-a, sniff.”
Bom clung to my legs and pointed inside the enclosure with her finger.
“They’re asking to be saved. They keep saying ‘save’ with ‘words’, but there’s nothing Bom can do.”
Did I hear that correctly?
The kitten inside is asking to be saved?
As I comforted the sobbing Bom and crouched to look into the small enclosure, I understood what Bom meant by “say.”
“Meow, nyaow…”
– Save me. Save me. Save me…
The black cat inside the enclosure is emitting telepathic thoughts, desperately crying out that it doesn’t want to d*e.
“…Caught between life and d*ath.”
The cat, lying here, is teetering between life and d*ath.
Burning its last spark of life, it pleads for salvation.
“Don’t worry.”
Dad will save you.
A hexagram floated above the small black cat.
As the hexagram flipped and emitted a pure white radiance…
Apocalypse (滅亡: Destruction)
Reverse (反轉: Reversal)
Alive (誕生: Birth)
The black cat’s harsh breathing gradually, gradually calms.
And then…
Meowww…
– …Thank you.
Thus, another life arrived at our side.
Berrie.
The name of the new family member.
