Click—

  Harlyn and Jukig stepped into the house.

  Both of them lowered their heads, not saying a word.

  …

  “I’ll go cook!”

  “I’ll go clean the floor!”

  The two of them immediately scattered in opposite directions—

  Jukig rushed straight into the kitchen, fumbling through a pile of cooking tools.

  Harlyn ran to the end of the bed and grabbed a dry cloth.

  She then hurried toward the kitchen—

  They bumped into each other.

  …

  “Ahem—let me grab something behind you.” Jukig scratched his head and stepped aside.

  “I—I need to wash the cloth…”

  Harlyn didn’t dare look up as she slipped past him the other way.

  ***

  “Wow, Harlyn changed the meat today?” Jukig exclaimed.

  “GoGo meat, even!”

  He pursed his lips, glancing toward Harlyn—

  as if the words were only meant to break the silence.

  Harlyn was crawling across the floor, wiping it clean.

  She quickly lifted her head.

  “Y-Yes!”

  “So, does Harlyn know what dish this part of GoGo can make?”

  Jukig raised a brow, smiling.

  “Soup!”

  “Impressive. You even know that?” he chuckled.

  “Mmp!”

  Harlyn nodded firmly.

  …

  At that moment,

  a small bag on the counter caught Jukig’s attention.

  “You also bought candy?”

  “I did…” she nodded lightly.

  “Hah—so you know how to save money now? What were you planning to buy with the leftover bronze?”

  Jukig leaned one arm against the counter, bending down to look at her with an expectant expression.

  “I—I spent it all on candy…” Harlyn pressed her lips together.

  “Huh??!”

  Jukig’s eyes widened.

  “This better be gold!!!”

  Harlyn quickly dropped the cloth.

  “N-No, that’s not it!”

  Her hands waved frantically.

  “I bought five bags! Each one was only two bronze—!”

  Only then did Jukig finally let out a relieved sigh.

  “So the other bags… you gave them to those kids, right?”

  “Mmp! Mmp!”

  She nodded repeatedly.

  Jukig tilted his head back with a dramatic sigh.

  “And you didn’t even leave a bag for me…”

  He glanced sideways, waiting for Harlyn’s reaction.

  “I—I’m sorry…”

  She lowered her head, hands clasped together in front of her stomach.

  “Hey—hey—I’m joking!”

  “Honestly… I don’t even like candy anyway…”

  Jukig scratched his head awkwardly.

  “Those things hurt my teeth…”

  Hearing that, Harlyn lowered her gaze again and continued wiping the floor.

  But her face still carried a trace of guilt.

  ***

  Jukig was stirring the pot of soup.

  He lifted the spoon.

  Slurp—

  “Jukig, how are you this good at cooking?”

  he whispered to himself with a smug grin.

  “Uncle…”

  Harlyn’s quiet voice made him jump.

  He quickly turned around.

  “Huh, what is it—”

  His words slowly trailed off.

  In front of him, Harlyn stood with a piece of candy held high toward him.

  “Ahhh~” she hummed softly.

  Jukig didn’t hesitate.

  He bent down and opened his mouth so Harlyn could feed him.

  “Is it good, Uncle?”

  She tilted her head slightly.

  “Mmm…”

  Jukig rolled the candy around in his mouth.

  “Mmm!”

  “I know this flavor—”

  He raised a finger.

  “This candy is from the Northern lands!”

  “How did you know?!”

  Harlyn’s eyes sparkled.

  “Hah!”

  He clicked his tongue.

  “Your father, your mother, and I travelled to quite a lot of places, you know.”

  Suddenly—

  Jukig quickly covered his mouth, as if he had said something he shouldn’t.

  “My mom…? Dad…?”

  “Where did they travel to…?” Harlyn gently tugged at Jukig’s pants as she spoke.

  “Ah, well—about that…”

  “Why don’t you go sit on the bed and play for a bit? Uncle’s busy cooking…”

  “Oh—!”

  Jukig lifted a spoonful of soup and blew on it.

  “Harlyn, taste tonight’s dinner!”

  Seeing that, Harlyn didn’t ask any more questions.

  Slurp.

  “Is it good?”

  “It’s good…”

  Harlyn only responded with a small, sad nod before stepping out of the kitchen.

  Seeing that, Jukig lowered his head slightly in guilt.

  “That bag of candy—I only need one piece.”

  “Make sure you finish the rest, Harlyn. That’s enough for me.”

  Harlyn nodded slightly in respond.

  ***

  Shhk…

  Shhk…

  The soup pot and two bowls were already empty, now sitting on the counter.

  Shhk…

  Shhk.

  Jukig sat on the floor with one knee raised, scraping a small piece of wood with the carving knife Harlyn had bought for him.

  The chisel rested beside his thigh.

  Harlyn sat cross-legged on the bed, reading her spellbook.

  Other than the sound of wood being carved…

  the room was very quiet.

  Shhk.

  “Uncle…?”

  Harlyn’s voice made Jukig’s hands froze.

  “I… I want to know more about my mom and dad…”

  “I promise I won’t cry!”

  She quickly set the book down and leaned forward, pressing both hands on the bed.

  Jukig pressed his lips together—

  not answering.

  Seeing that, Harlyn lowered her gaze.

  She slowly crawled back and picked up her book again.

  …

  “Fern was also our hometown…” Jukig said softly.

  Harlyn instantly turned her head.

  “We lost our parents when we were young, too…”

  “And your mother… she had to take care of me.”

  “Of…”

  “everything…”

  Jukig finally looked up at Harlyn, who was listening carefully.

  “Your mother worked in the fields for very little pay.”

  “Because she was still too young…

  and couldn’t work as much as the adults.”

  “How much did she get?!” Harlyn asked quickly.

  “From morning until evening…

  20 bronze…”

  Harlyn’s breathing seemed to falter when she heard that.

  She glanced at the bag of candy beside her.

  And I…

  Spent ten bronze… on these five bags…

  Jukig noticed.

  He noticed her gaze.

  “It’s alright, Harlyn. I earns plenty from wood carving.”

  “Don’t think too much about it.”

  Then he chuckled.

  “I knew telling this story was a mistake…”

  Harlyn quickly looked away from the candy bag.

  “I’m sorry…

  Could you keep telling the story, Uncle?”

  “There’s nothing you need to apologize for…”

  “I’m the one who should apologize for making Harlyn listen to stories like this…”

  Jukig glanced away.

  Harlyn pushed the candy bag aside, climbed down from the bed, and sat in front of him.

  “Please keep going!”

  Her eyes were full of excitement.

  After a short moment, Jukig continued.

  “Not only did she work in the fields… when she came home, she still had to cook, wash clothes, and even bathe me…”

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  “Just like how Harlyn used to take care of her mother all by herself.”

  Jukig turned back to her with a proud smile.

  “But…”

  His gaze lowered.

  “I wasn’t as capable as Harlyn.”

  “It wasn’t until I got a little older that I finally learned how to clean the floor… wash clothes…”

  “And…”

  “Cooking.”

  He glanced toward the pot sitting on the counter.

  “The reason I cook this well is thanks to your mother.”

  Harlyn followed his gaze.

  “And that book…”

  Jukig looked toward the bed.

  Harlyn followed his eyes again.

  “That spellbook is the last thing your grandmother left for your mother.”

  “Whenever she had free time, your mother would take it out and study it.”

  “At that time, she was the only person in the village who knew magic.”

  He smiled at Harlyn.

  She was listening so intently that she had even forgotten to close her mouth.

  “Because your mother knew magic, we didn’t have to worry so much about money anymore.”

  “Then once I grew a bit…”

  “I felt…”

  “completely useless.”

  …

  “And even now, I still am…”

  Hearing that, Harlyn quickly shook her head.

  “You’re not useless!”

  She jumped forward and wrapped her arms around Jukig, hugging him tightly.

  “You’re the best uncle ever!”

  Jukig froze for a moment.

  He swallowed.

  “Back then…”

  “I was very jealous.”

  Harlyn looked up at him.

  “Seeing your mother able to draw everyone’s attention in the village…”

  “While I stayed home all day, cooking and cleaning… and…”

  “Nothing remarkable.”

  “So…”

  He looked down at Harlyn.

  “I wanted to change.

  I wanted to become better.

  I wanted to be as capable as your mother.”

  He gently held Harlyn by the shoulders and lifted her back so she could sit in front of him again.

  “From that point on, I started learning how to use a sword from the hunters who lived nearby.”

  Jukig chuckled softly.

  “And every time your mother came home from work, the two of us would duel in the yard.”

  ***

  “Sister, get ready!”

  A young boy—

  No.

  It was Jukig when he was little.

  Standing in front of him was a younger Meryl.

  “I won’t go easy on you!” Meryl teased.

  ***

  Harlyn fell into deep thought.

  My mom and my uncle already knew so much when they were young…

  Then what about my father?

  He must have been really strong too!

  And also—how did they meet…?

  “Could you continue, Uncle?”

  Jukig puffed his lips, thinking.

  “Alright. So one day—”

  “I was sixteen by then, and your mother was twenty-four.” He raised one finger toward the ceiling as he spoke.

  “A girl came to the village. Her name was Aliner.”

  “Aliner…? I’ve never heard that name before.”

  Harlyn tilted her head slightly.

  “Was she close with you and Mom?”

  Jukig nodded.

  “Aliner…”

  ***

  “Greetings to all the people of Fern Village.”

  A young girl with light pink hair—around the same age Jukig and Meryl were back then.

  She bowed politely, one hand over her stomach while the other was raised high.

  “I’ve come here to recruit companions for my adventurer party!”

  “We will provide both lodging and food.”

  Among the crowd of villagers gathered around to watch—

  Jukig was carrying Meryl on his shoulders.

  “Sis, can you see anything?”

  “Yes, yes! I can see clearly!”

  Meryl craned her neck, trying to see through the crowd.

  “We are currently looking for a mage and a swordsman,” Aliner continued.

  Murmurs spread among the villagers.

  “Tsk, just a little girl.”

  “That small and she already wants to be an adventurer?”

  “Careful—she might be tricking people and kidnapping them!”

  ***

  “Among that crowd full of doubt, your mother and I stepped forward.”

  Harlyn’s eyes lit up.

  “Woaaah…!”

  “We traveled with Aliner in a carriage to the royal capital of Talumnor.”

  “And that’s where…”

  Harlyn tried to sit still, but she couldn’t stop bouncing slightly.

  “That’s where we met Hale.”

  “Dad!”

  “What was my dad like back then? Was he strong? How did Mom and Dad fall in love?!”

  Faced with Harlyn’s barrage of questions, Jukig scratched his head, unsure which one to answer first.

  “Ah… let’s see…”

  “Your father… when we first met him…”

  “He looked pretty scary.”

  “Scary?” Harlyn asked quietly.

  Jukig nodded, lips puffed slightly.

  “Back then, Hale was like a starving beast.”

  “The only things your father cared about were money… and becoming famous.”

  ***

  Meryl, Jukig, and Aliner stepped into an adventurer guild.

  The place was… chaotic.

  At one table, two men were arm-wrestling—

  one of them had his arm snapped during the match, yet he was still laughing like nothing happened.

  On the other side, someone was thrown hard against a wall.

  Amid all that chaos, one table was drinking together.

  A young man suddenly stood up, raising a mug of beer high.

  “Live like there’s no tomorrow!”

  “That’s Hale…” Aliner sighed.

  “I’m sorry you have to see this, but you can trust him. He’s actually a very kind person.”

  At that moment—

  Hale noticed them.

  He staggered forward, still holding his mug of beer.

  “This is… Jukig…?”

  He poked a finger into Jukig’s chest, mumbling dreamily.

  Then he turned to Meryl.

  “Ohhh…~”

  His whole body loosened.

  His eyes couldn’t leave Meryl’s face.

  “Heh…~”

  “Heh, heh…~”

  Like he was hypnotized—

  the look on his face was almost…

  exactly like a pervert.

  SMACK!

  Meryl slapped Hale hard across the face.

  The entire adventurer guild immediately went silent.

  Hale slowly turned back toward Meryl.

  His eyes were wide—

  like he wanted to devour her whole.

  Seeing that, Meryl immediately shot back.

  “That’s your fault! Who told you to get so close?!”

  But—

  “Heh…—heh…”

  Still that same dazed, hypnotized expression on Hale’s face.

  ***

  A chill ran down Harlyn’s spine.

  Back then… my dad…

  Was he really that creepy…?

  Jukig burst out laughing.

  “Scared yet? Hale was pretty terrifying! Even I was scared of him back then!”

  Harlyn shook her head.

  “But Dad still loved Mom and me the most in the world!”

  “Hah.”

  Jukig grinned.

  He pinched Harlyn’s cheek.

  “When you love someone, you just can’t hate them, huh?”

  Harlyn puffed her cheeks and nodded.

  Jukig continued.

  “Back then, Hale and Meryl were known as a power couple.”

  “Power couple?”

  “Yeah. A power couple!”

  “They worked together so perfectly that people thought they were using some kind of mind-linking magic.”

  “Oh—right!”

  The look on Jukig’s face made Harlyn smile too.

  She waited eagerly.

  “Back then, your parents even had their own nicknames.”

  “What were they?!”

  “Your father was known as Meat Head, and your mother was Beast’s Roar.”

  “Huh…? Why were they called that?” Harlyn asked, still smiling in confusion.

  “Your dad never listened to anyone. He was always charging ahead by himself!”

  “But once your mom came along, she was the only one who could knock some sense into him with her scolding.”

  Harlyn giggled.

  …

  The bright smile on Jukig’s face slowly faded—

  leaving only a softer one behind.

  His voice lowered.

  “I respected your father more than anyone.”

  “I always dreamed of becoming someone like him…”

  “A strong… protective… and cheerful person.”

  His smile slowly disappeared.

  “But…”

  “Every celebration has its ending.”

  Harlyn blinked at the sudden shift in his tone.

  She bounced slightly, worried.

  “The mission we were given that day—”

  “—was to clear out a goblin cave.”

  Harlyn swallowed.

  She stopped bouncing and sat neatly, listening carefully.

  “There’s a saying people often repeat…”

  “To destroy a goblin lair, the king must be killed.”

  Harlyn froze.

  Those words.

  Her uncle’s expression.

  …

  Hale’s expression.

  His voice…

  Everything pulled Harlyn back to that moment.

  She sat there, motionless.

  …

  “Harlyn?”

  …

  Jukig moved closer.

  “Harlyn…?” he said again.

  “Huh—?”

  Harlyn blinked and turned toward him.

  Seeing her like that, Jukig sighed.

  “Maybe we should finish the story another day.”

  “No—”

  Only now did Harlyn seem to wake up.

  “No, please keep going!”

  Jukig raised a brow.

  “Promise you won’t cry?”

  “I promise!”

  “Pinky swear.”

  He lifted his pinkie finger.

  …

  Harlyn slowly raised hers.

  Her finger hesitated in the air—

  …

  Finally, Jukig hooked it first and smiled.

  “You promised, remember that!”

  “Mmmp!” Harlyn nodded firmly.

  ***

  “WHAAAAA…!!!”

  Harlyn was crying miserably.

  Meanwhile Jukig—

  was frantically trying to calm her down.

  “I already told you your mom’s leg was healed afterward! Harlyn, you’re going to wake the neighbor next door,” he said while using his sleeve to wipe away her tears.

  “You promised! You said you wouldn’t cry!” he pointed at Harlyn’s face.

  “WHAAAAA…!!!”

  Jukig laughed bitterly.

  His hands lifted as if to do something—

  but instead, they just waved awkwardly in the air.

  Those two hands showed exactly how lost he felt.

  Then—

  Jukig pulled Harlyn tightly into his arms.

  “Shh… shh…”

  “I know… it’s my fault.”

  “I shouldn’t have told that story…”

  As he spoke, he gently stroked Harlyn’s hair.

  …

  Harlyn’s sobbing slowly softened, though quiet sniffles still slipped through the fabric of Jukig’s shirt.

  Noticing that, Jukig continued.

  “After that…”

  “we realized something.”

  Harlyn still buried her face in his chest, but the crying faded as she listened.

  Only a few sniffles remained.

  “It wasn’t worth it.”

  “That kind of work… wasn’t worth it.”

  “We already had enough money to live peacefully a long time ago, but…”

  “we kept forcing ourselves back into it.”

  “We forgot why we started in the first place.”

  Jukig rested his chin on top of Harlyn’s head, still holding her close.

  “After one final group meeting, we decided to go our separate ways… to follow our own dreams.”

  “Your father and mother moved back to Fern Village. They used the money they earned to buy that house…”

  “The house you’ve always been protecting.”

  At that moment—

  Harlyn finally hugged Jukig back.

  “As for me, I used my share of the money to live on my own… and bought this house,” Jukig continued.

  Harlyn lifted her head.

  Tears still clung to the corners of her eyes.

  “What about Miss Aliner?”

  “Ah—she kept traveling. Looking for a new party.”

  “She wasn’t afraid of what happened?”

  “Of course she was. But…”

  “That didn’t stop her from exploring. From moving forward.”

  Jukig glanced aside, thinking.

  “Everyone has their own perspective on the world they live in, Harlyn.”

  “Each person carries their own kind of beauty.”

  His eyes returned to Harlyn—

  this time with a warm smile.