[Chapter 131]
[Summer Vacation Under the Lamp]
Somehow, the protagonist of the end-of-semester party ended up being Choi Ga-in rather than Eunha.
That day, Choi Ga-in, who appeared as the party was ending, drew people's attention and revealed a flower said to be one-of-a-kind in this world.
[I'm Fine!]
The bracelet called Moon's Blessing, which was unclear whether it was an accessory or a flower.
The bracelet emitting a soft light like moonlight was enough to be deeply imprinted in people's minds.
"Hmm..."
It was the final ingredient for the elixir that Eunha had been waiting for.
So he was glad as if it was his own achievement when she boasted about Moon's Blessing.
But he couldn't be completely happy.
"Now what should I do from here..."
The most ideal way to obtain Moon's Blessing would be for her to just discover it, and for him to acquire it.
Moon's Blessing was an elixir that belonged to the person who plucked the flower.
It wouldn't belong to anyone else until the owner died.
If forcibly removed, it would just die.
Moon's Blessing is an elixir that assimilates with the owner and copies species information.
When combined with the elixir ingredients, it becomes a medicine that can even heal missing body parts.
But Choi Ga-in obtained it...
Eunha couldn't help but click his tongue.
Things got a bit complicated.
In the end, to obtain Moon's Blessing, he would have to either kill Choi Ga-in without anyone knowing, or put her in a state near death.
The former was quite difficult against a Galaxy Group direct descendant, while the latter was relatively easier.
The problem was—
[—I'm Fine!]
"Hah..."
The problem was that he first needed to gain Choi Ga-in's goodwill.
He had to suppress his annoyance seeing her reply come immediately after he sent a message.
The interval between replies was that short.
"Does she have nothing else to do...? It's not like she spends all day just chatting..."
He deliberately set her Fine Talk notifications to make sound.
He had to deeply consider whether to change the settings back to silent.
At least until the vacation... Damn it...
I guess I can't do this. I should set it to silent.
It seems he'll have to wait for the right timing to get his hands on Moon's Blessing, probably in the second semester.
Since advance preparations were needed.
Having thought that far, Eunha soon changed her notifications to silent.
"Oppa, did something make you angry? Who have you been chatting with since yesterday that's making you so irritated?"
Just then, Eun-ae, who had been watching a drama, tilted her head and asked.
She pouted with a suspicious look on her face.
Seeing his little sister's face asking for attention, Eunha couldn't help but soften his mood.
"There's this kid. A kid who's bothering me..."
"Who on earth is it that your phone keeps going 'I'm Fine, I'm Fine!' since yesterday?"
"That's why I just changed it to silent now. Sorry, was it very noisy?"
"It's not just the noise, but you keep getting irritated..."
Eun-ae retorted in a sulky voice.
Eunha's face relaxed seeing her worry about him.
And there was one more person here worrying about Eunha—
"—Hyung! Who's bothering you? Should I go teach them a lesson?"
Avenir, 1st grade elementary school, 8 years old.
The little boy sitting next to Eun-ae said this while watching the drama without understanding its content.
Eunha burst out laughing seeing Avenir clench his fists.
"No, it's okay. I'm happy just with your thoughts. Thank you."
How could this tiny child possibly teach anyone a lesson?
Eunha waved his hands.
Meanwhile, Jin Parang, who had just been competing with Eun-ae over the remote control, was still unconscious.
"...u...ah...u...eu...u..."
Avenir had aimed for a vital point.
Fortunately, he didn't die.
The wolf's body was tough.
"By the way, it should be about time they arrive..."
Meanwhile, Eunha checked the clock.
The hour hand was pointing towards 1 o'clock.
It was almost time for lunch.
For that, his mother, grandmother, and Julieta were currently preparing lunch in the kitchen.
Bruno was also bustling about.
They had decided to all have lunch together for the first time in a while, except for his father.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
"Ah, looks like they're here."
Eunha got up from the sofa.
Eunha headed towards the front door with happy steps, bringing his siblings, and then—
"—What? Were you waiting for me to come!?"
"Welcome, noona."
Eun-a, who entered after opening the door, hugged Eunha with a bright smile.
He expressed his joy at meeting his sister after a long time while being hugged by her.
He hadn't seen her in a while since she was so busy with work at Regulus Clan.
Moreover—
"—Welcome, noona too."
"Hello. ...Have you been well?"
Eun-a had brought Yeonhwa along.
It was Eunha who had called her.
Anyway, Eunha greeted Yeonhwa who was behind Eun-a's shoulder while still being hugged by Eun-a.
Ryu Yeonhwa answered with a gentle smile.
☆
The reason Eunha called Ryu Yeonhwa was to create the sword he had been putting off.
He decided to use the spear he received from her at the graduation ceremony as material for the new sword he was making this time.
Haesu hyung said Yeonhwa noona's internal mana was needed to melt that spear.
Ryu Yeonhwa's spear was already imbued with her mana.
If he forcibly tried to use it as material, there was a risk the newly made sword wouldn't accept Eunha's internal mana.
So Byeok Haesu told him to come with Ryu Yeonhwa when making the sword.
"Eun-a said you really like bulgogi, so we prepared it this time. Would you like to try some?"
"Ah... thank you. ...It's delicious."
So Eunha was planning to make an appointment with Yeonhwa and visit Haesu's workshop.
But then, when Eun-a heard the news, she said it would be rude to just ask Yeonhwa for a favor and invited her to lunch.
"We didn't prepare much, but please enjoy. I ended up just making what we usually eat at home since I had to prepare in a hurry. Next time you come, I'll prepare something much more delicious than this."
"Mom, what do you mean you didn't prepare much? This is..."
"Oh my, what are you saying?"
"..."
Eunha had planned to have a simple lunch at home.
But when his mother heard Yeonhwa was coming, she enlisted grandmother and Julieta's help to prepare a veritable feast.
While saying she didn't go to much trouble.
When Eunha spoke up in disbelief, his mother momentarily gave him a cold look and shut him up.
"No... there's so much. And it's really delicious. I can see why Eun-a likes the food you and grandmother make."
"Oh my, how sweetly you speak. There was a reason Eun-a always praises you."
"No, it's really delicious..."
"Yeonhwa, is there anything else you want to eat? If it's not enough, I'll bring more right away. Make yourself at home and eat comfortably."
"No, this is enough for me..."
"Why are you pressuring the child while telling her to eat comfortably? If you keep this up, she might end up really calling you mother-in-law and show her true..."
"Mom, be quiet."
"Hehe."
"Yes, Yeonhwa. You make me look old calling me mother-in-law. You can just call me mother."
Even grandmother can't say anything.
Eunha, who grasped the atmosphere at the table, decided to quietly eat his meal.
Ryu Yeonhwa sitting across from him seemed to be constantly sending requests for help, but Eunha could only offer silent prayers.
Please bear with it a little, noona.
Our mom is just happy that our noona brought a friend home after a long time.
As far as Eunha knew, Yeonhwa was not someone who ate a lot.
Yet she was eating rice while thanking his mother every time she put side dishes on top of her rice.
She looked pitiful.
Surely the rice must be going into her nose rather than her mouth.
But even Eunha, and even Eun-a, didn't dare try to stop their mother.
"—Unni, this is delicious."
"Ah... thank you."
Moreover, even Eun-ae put food on top of her rice.
At this, her eyes sparkled at Eun-ae's gesture of goodwill.
"Little Eun-a..."
Ryu Yeonhwa muttered softly.
Eunha, the only one who heard her muttering, chuckled while trying to hold back laughter.
It was so amusing to see Ryu Yeonhwa look at Eun-a once, then look at Eun-ae.
It was then.
"—Noona, why is your hair blue? It's so cool..."
Ever since he first met Ryu Yeonhwa.
Avenir, who had been unable to take his eyes off her, showed curiosity.
Her hair seemed fascinating to him.
His face looked like he wanted to touch her hair if he was right next to her.
"...This? Well... I'm not sure..."
Ryu Yeonhwa touched her hair sheepishly.
Even if she explained that internal mana had altered her body, the young boy probably wouldn't understand well.
Perhaps making that judgment, she tucked her short hair behind her ear and said:
"—I'm curious too. Why is your hair yellow? Your eyes are such a pretty green too."
"...Huh?"
Ryu Yeonhwa asked playfully.
Eunha was surprised to see this side of her that was unlike her.
He discovered an aspect of her he hadn't seen before.
It seemed she really liked children, as she had said earlier.
Meanwhile, Avenir—
"—Uh... yeah... Why is my hair yellow? And my eyes are green too..."
Avenir's eyes shook.
He was greatly flustered, as if he had realized some secret about his birth.
"Oh, Mom!"
In the end, Avenir requested an answer.
Julieta smiled at her son's adorable behavior and—
"—Well, I wonder why?"
"Mom doesn't know either?"
"No, of course Mom knows! But I'm not going to tell you~"
"That's not fair! Tell me!"
Julieta teased Avenir.
Bruno raised the corners of his mouth as he watched his wife and son play.
The others also burst into laughter at the sight of the two.
Soon Avenir laughed along with everyone else, not knowing what was what.
The only one who didn't laugh was—
"—Hey, my hair is blue too, so am I not cool? Hah..."
It was Jin Parang with blue hair, who had only just come to his senses when it was time for lunch.
Unfortunately, no one responded to Jin Parang's grumbling.
☆
The long lunch passed.
If mother urged her to eat a hearty lunch, grandmother peeled fruit for her to eat.
"...Noona, are you really okay?"
"...It's delicious, so much."
Of course, Ryu Yeonhwa put every piece of fruit grandmother offered into her mouth.
Even Eunha was worried now.
But Ryu Yeonhwa shook her head and emptied all the plates.
...Mom and grandmother seem determined to fatten this noona up.
Eunha inwardly stuck out his tongue.
It was scary how mother and grandmother seemed intent on turning Ryu Yeonhwa into a pig.
This won't do.
At this rate, we won't be able to leave the house.
Now Julieta was bringing out hwatu cards, saying they should play.
Avenir seemed about to bring out yut sticks and ask to play together.
In the kitchen, it sounded like mother was preparing something else.
"Noona, let's get up now."
"Ah... Shall we?"
Eunha decided to leave the house with Ryu Yeonhwa at this point.
Her face seemed to relax.
When Eunha patted the back of her hand, she got up following him.
"Mom, we're going now!"
"Mother, grandmother. And aunt, uncle. Next time I'll treat you..."
"Oh! Wait a minute! We're coming too!"
Yeonhwa bowed her head politely.
Meanwhile, Eunha grabbed her spear and took her wrist.
But just then, Eun-a who had been in the room shouted loudly.
Soon there was a clattering sound and the No sisters came out having changed clothes.
"We're coming too! We're going the same way for part of it anyway."
"Unni, let's go together!"
"Okay, sure."
Eun-ae grabbed Yeonhwa's wrist.
Naturally, Eunha was separated.
Then Ryu Yeonhwa firmly held Eun-ae's hand that clung to her familiarly.
Come to think of it, Eun-ae said she was going to Seohyun's house today.
Eunha recalled something he had forgotten as he watched Eun-ae chattering away, completely capturing Yeonhwa's attention.
Previously, Eunha had agreed to receive seedlings of the plant Eun-ae wanted from Sirius' greenhouse as repayment from Han Seoyeon.
The Eunranghwa, known to grow only in Sirius' greenhouse domestically, was said to be a very finicky plant.
So Eun-ae concluded she would first grow Eunranghwa seeds there, then bring them home after they had grown to some extent.
"But are you going too, noona?"
"I haven't seen Seoyeon in a while either... Eun-ae likes Seohyun but strangely finds Seoyeon difficult."
"I guess that's true."
"So I'm going along too."
Eun-ae, who had only been thinking about it and putting it off, finally decided to go meet Han Seoyeon today, taking Eun-a along.
Eunha nodded.
By now, the family had come out to the entrance to see them off.
"Then I'll be back around dinner time after going to Haesu hyung's workshop with Yeonhwa noona..."
Eunha tried to tell his mother he'd be back around dinner time.
Just then, Jin Parang, who had hurriedly changed out of his pajamas, came running down the hallway.
"No Eunha! Why are you trying to make a new weapon by yourself? I should go along and ask Haesu hyung to make me a new weapon too. Let's go together!"
"Hyung, just use what you've been using..."
Jin Parang shouted.
Eunha clicked his tongue at Parang's childish attitude.
Eunha was about to tell him off to just stay home and watch the house, when—
"—Aduel?"
"Yes!!"
Julieta suddenly called Avenir while waving to Eunha.
Avenir laughed excitedly and manifested his internal mana to stomp hard on Parang's tail.
"--!!"
Jin Parang spat out some words.
It seemed he was in too much pain to even scream properly.
But surprisingly, no one paid any attention to Parang.
Hyung, just stay home and watch the house.
And why are you making such a fuss over getting your tail stepped on?
It's someone else's business anyway.
Eunha left behind Jin Parang, who had collapsed on the floor and was Trembling