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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: The Loyal Retainer, Choi Dol-soe
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It was early Sunday morning, while everyone was still asleep.
Lee Su-bin was bustling about on her own, trimming, chopping, stir-frying, boiling, and deftly mixing ingredients...
She was in the middle of passionately preparing breakfast.
“Hoo, hoo—.”
Just as Su-bin was about to taste a spoonful of the bubbling stew to check the seasoning.
“Her Highness Subin, you are truly diligent.”
Startled by the voice that suddenly came from behind her, Su-bin muttered, "Oh, my," and turned around.
Her gaze landed on someone dressed head to toe in a 'blue tracksuit' from some sports brand...
and wearing a 'monocle' that didn't match his outfit in the slightest. It was Crabslie.
“Eoreushin, you're up already?”
“Yes. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“It's alright, I'm almost finished.”
After tasting the stew, Su-bin nodded a few times in satisfaction and asked.
“I suppose Kang-jun is still sleeping.”
At her words, Crabslie shook his head and replied.
“No, the Jugun does not sleep at all.”
“What?”
“A very long time ago, when the Jugun invaded a dimension called the 'Demon World,' he was afflicted with an unbreakable curse...”
Hearing this, Su-bin thought to herself, *Here we go again...* and played along by asking casually.
“What kind of curse was it?”
Crabslie added with a bitter smile.
“He was cursed to suffer 'harrowing nightmares' every time he fell asleep. We sought out renowned sorcerers, priests, and sages, but nothing worked.”
“So Kang-jun can never sleep again?”
“No, he does sleep occasionally, once every few years. Even for the Jugun, he must sleep at least one day every few years.”
Then, Crabslie added, "However," and fiddled with his monocle as he continued.
“That is only possible when a high-ranking '*succubus*' who can freely manipulate the content of dreams is by his side.”
Su-bin gave a vague nod and, for a moment, muttered in a completely soulless tone, "Wow, I see..."
“Eoreushin, I'm sorry, but breakfast is almost ready. Could you please wake up Kang-jun and Seol-i?”
At that, Crabslie bowed his head deeply and added.
“Yes, I shall obey your command.”
As she scooped freshly cooked rice into a bowl, Su-bin glanced up and began to stare at Crabslie's retreating back.
*I'm worried. I hope Eoreushin gets better soon...*
Su-bin's eyes were practically overflowing with a mixture of pity and sympathy.
Before long, the whole family had gathered at the dining table.
“Here, say 'ah.'”
At Kang-jun's words, Seol-i turned her head away sharply and replied.
“Seol-i don't wanna eat.”
“Just a little...”
“No, don't wanna.”
As Seol-i puffed out her cheeks, Su-bin gave an awkward smile and replied.
“I made a special black sesame baby food today, but it seems like Seol-i doesn't like it at all.”
At that, Kang-jun scratched his head for a moment.
A passage from 'The Encyclopedia of Child Rearing,' a book he had been poring over whenever he had free time lately, came to mind.
[ If a child doesn't want to eat, do not force them. ]
What was the next part?
[ To help the child become interested in the act of eating, why not suggest it in the form of a 'game'? ]
Kang-jun muttered, "That's right," then looked at Seol-i and spoke in a gentle tone.
“Then how about a contest with me?”
Seol-i responded immediately to his words.
“A contesht?”
A slight smile touched Kang-jun's lips as he continued.
“To put it simply, we'll compete to see who can eat better. It's not about who eats the fastest or the most, but about who chews and swallows their food properly.”
Seol-i gripped her baby spoon tightly in her tiny, fern-like hand and replied.
“Seol-i will do it!”
Watching this unfold silently, Su-bin couldn't help but smile warmly.
*Wow, he's already like a seasoned father.*
But just as Seol-i, with a shaky hand, brought a spoonful of baby food to her mouth and popped it in...
“Too slow.”
Kang-jun, who was watching Seol-i, gave a sly grin.
Then, he began to slowly trace back his past memories.
In the past, with the body of an ordinary human, he had been dropped into the middle of a dense forest on the Anux Continent, a place teeming with all sorts of monsters.
How had he, who had struggled just to survive, managed to obtain such immense power and rise to become an absolute being?
*It was all thanks to my mindset of giving my all, even when hunting a single rabbit...*
He had no intention of going easy or holding back in this competition just because she was his daughter, or because she was a three-year-old.
He believed that was the proper courtesy (禮) to show his opponent.
Suddenly, as if possessed by a ravenous ghost, Kang-jun began to devour his meal at a rapid pace.
He shoveled rice, side dishes, and soup into his mouth and began to chew ferociously, like a shredder.
Then, with his mouth full of food, he even managed to mumble something with great difficulty.
“Sholly to shay, but at that shpeed, you could die and be leborn a hundred timesh and shtill never beat your father.”
Seol-i, who had been staring blankly at this spectacle, sensed her defeat and put down her spoon.
For a moment, her tiny shoulders began to tremble slowly.
“Hwaaaaaaaaaah—!”
She finally burst into tears, and Su-bin, while comforting her, scolded Kang-jun.
“Kang-jun! Why are you making the baby cry?”
Only then did Kang-jun swallow the food in his mouth and reply in a calm tone.
“Regrettably, I had no particular intention of making her cry.”
“Hah, anyone could see you were determined to make her cry.”
At that, Kang-jun shrugged once, then looked at his daughter, Seol-i, and spoke in a caring tone.
“If you feel it's unfair,”
“become stronger.”
Just as Su-bin, at a loss for words, was about to scold him again, she let out a deep sigh. "Haaah."
Crabslie suddenly pulled a notebook and pen from his tracksuit pocket and began scribbling something, muttering to himself.
“This morning, during the *morning meal*, the Hwangje requested a 'meal contest' with the Gongju-mama. The Gongju-mama, seeming intrigued, immediately accepted the challenge. However, regrettably, the Hwangje used his full strength to defeat the Gongju-mama, who is but a mere three-year-old girl...”
Kang-jun's gaze snapped over to him with a sharp glare, causing Crabslie to suck in a sharp breath, "Heup," and clamp his mouth shut.
Just as the situation was settling into a lull.
“Su-bin, I have something to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“I'm going out today.”
At that, Su-bin's eyes widened as she asked.
“S-Suddenly?”
She naturally put down her spoon and rambled.
“Well, it's my day off, so I can look after Seol-i. I guess it's okay for you to go out, but...”
“Then may I ask you to do that?”
“Kang-jun, you must have felt cooped up staying inside all the time, huh? I understand how you feel, but I still think it might be too much for you to go out alone.”
Just then, Crabslie replied, "Hahaha, it will be fine," and added in a deep, dignified voice with an infinitely benevolent smile.
“Because I shall accompany him.”
Su-bin, on the other hand, was even more horrified by his words.
“Whaat? Y-Y-You too, Eoreushin...?”
It was because her worries had instantly doubled.
After breakfast, Kang-jun had finished getting ready to go out and was carelessly slipping on his sneakers.
“Kang-jun, wait a minute.”
Su-bin handed him a neatly folded piece of paper and said.
“Kang-jun, I wrote down my phone number on this paper. If you get lost or can't find your way home, make sure to call me. Or, you can find a nearby police station and ask the officers for help.”
“Understood.”
“Don't skip meals. If you get hungry, buy something to eat. Don't go too far, and make sure to come home before it gets dark.”
After she finished speaking, Su-bin opened her old wallet and pressed a few ten-thousand-won bills into his hand.
“Be safe.”
“Alright.”
After the two of them left the shabby villa's entrance...
Su-bin needlessly rubbed one of her arms and muttered.
“Will they really be okay...?”
Although her brother had been trapped inside a Gate for the past three years, his condition was improving day by day.
She also thought that her overprotectiveness might actually hinder his readjustment to society.
For these various reasons, she had allowed him to go out, but she couldn't help but worry.
*Right, he's not a child. Nothing will happen.*
Meanwhile, the two of them, contrary to Su-bin's fears...
were heading smoothly toward their 'destination.'
Inside the moving town bus.
Kang-jun, who was sitting with his arms crossed and an expressionless face, suddenly spoke.
“I have given it some thought. For you to engage in smooth economic activities from now on, it seems you will need a new name and identity.”
“A name, you say?”
“Yes. I have personally devised a new name that fits the sentiments of this place. From this moment on, you are no longer 'Shartia von de Crabslie,' but...”
As Kang-jun trailed off, Crabslie swallowed dryly. *Gulp.*
*To think the day would come when I would be granted a new name by the Hwangje...*
Just as anticipation began to bubble up in a corner of his heart.
“Choi. Dol. Soe.”
“Pardon?”
“Choi Dol-soe, I said.”
Kang-jun furrowed his brow slightly and asked.
“What? Don't tell me you don't like it.”
“It's not that...”
“Then why that look on your face?”
Kang-jun, having asked in an aggressive tone, casually added an explanation.
“You don't understand yet. This name, 'Dol-soe,' has been passed down through generations only to the most loyal of retainers.”
“Is that so?”
“'Dol' means rock, and 'soe' means steel. It signifies that you possess a loyalty as solid as rock and steel.”
At those words, color returned to Crabslie's face, and Kang-jun looked at him and spoke again.
“Well, regardless of the name's meaning, if you dislike it that much...”
Crabslie immediately waved his hands frantically and replied.
“Not at all! How could this servant dare to judge the value of a name bestowed by the Hwangje?”
Kang-jun nodded at his words and replied softly.
“Good. I'm glad you like it.”
In truth, it was a name he had come up with carelessly, without much thought.
When he decided to give him a new name, 'Dol-soe' and 'Poochie' came to mind, and since Dol-soe seemed better than Poochie, he just went with it.
*That's right. Poochie would have been too cruel, no matter how you look at it.*
As for the surname (姓), he considered the most common ones: 'Kim,' 'Lee,' 'Park,' and 'Choi.'
He wrote the four surnames on a piece of paper, rolled a ballpoint pen over it, and chose the one where it stopped.
Just then, the bus they were on arrived near Guro Digital Complex Station...
“Dol-soe, we're here. Let's get off.”
At that, Crabslie, who had become Choi Dol-soe overnight, tilted his head slightly and asked.
“Jugun, I apologize for my impertinence, but may I ask our destination...?”
Kang-jun stood up abruptly from his seat first and replied.
“Today, we are going to a Gate.”
