I Became A Married Man in Another World
Chapter 110
Having done it once before, the rabbit hutch he built this time was a bit more presentable.
Since he had bought hinges in advance, the door opened and closed properly, and he drove the wooden posts deep into the earth to prevent the rabbits from digging their way out.
In all things, practice makes perfect. Even though he had built it himself, the hutch looked surprisingly good, leaving him feeling quite proud. At this rate, he felt like he could knock out an entire house in no time.
However, there were still countless other things to do. For Juhwan, as well as Riji and Dorothy, the days since moving into the mountains had passed in a blur of activity.
They repaired the leaking roof and patched holes in the wooden walls by overlaying them with fresh timber.
Whenever Juhwan worked on such tasks, Riji would craft a canvas cover for the roof or cut and sew fabric to hang on the walls like curtains to block the wind.
Dorothy followed her mother and father around, running errands whenever they worked. Surprisingly, the child had quite a lot to do. Juhwan worried she might dislike the labor, but instead, she seemed proud to be helping and didn’t utter a single complaint.
Instead, after every task, she would run to Oz and Yeonhwa and boast under the guise of a grumble, saying, “Dorothy is working so hard!”
Oz and Yeonhwa likely didn’t have a moment’s peace, being subjected to the child’s boasting every single day.
Every day, Juhwan felled a few trees near the house, splitting them into piles for firewood and materials for a new storehouse. Whether for construction or fuel, the wood had to be seasoned for a certain period regardless.
The original storehouse wasn’t very large. To stockpile various supplies, they needed a bigger one. He hadn’t started on it yet, but he planned to begin once he had gathered enough lumber.
He wanted to expand the house as well, but that would have to wait until spring brought warmer weather. Tearing down a wall in this season would turn the interior into a Siberian wasteland, and they would freeze to death. For now, all he could do was diligently gather materials for the expansion.
While repairing the house, he discovered something new. It seemed his father had originally wanted to build a hearth in the cabin. There were traces where thick layers of clay had been placed at the base of one side of the house.
Seeing several thin flat stones nearby, it seemed he might have intended to build a gudeul—a traditional floor heating system—in part of the house.
However, for a man who struggled just to build a simple cabin, constructing a gudeul would have been a daunting task. Perhaps he didn’t even fully understand the structure of one.
If he had just tried to shove a fire pit in there to make something like a floor heater or a fireplace, it was a relief he had failed. With his father’s skills, the house likely would have burned to the ground.
“….”
Waking up in the pitch-black dawn, he would have a simple breakfast with Riji just before daybreak.
Juhwan sipped a soup made of flour, salt, and a few dried vegetables, gazing quietly at Riji.
In the dawn light, before the world fully stirred, Riji looked even fairer and more delicate. He found himself thinking she looked like a fairy.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Just because. You’re beautiful. I was thinking you look like a fairy.”
“….”
Riji’s face turned bright red in an instant.
Juhwan cherished this time immensely. He loved the sweet nights and the bustling days, but the silence of the dawn they shared while the child slept felt special. It felt as though only he and Riji existed in the world.
Watching Riji’s crimson face, Juhwan smiled broadly.
‘Ah, this is nice.’
It was so good it was almost unbearable.
After finishing his meal, Juhwan dressed in light layers with a vest and gathered his bow and arrows. An axe and a small knife were securely fastened to the belt Riji had made for him. He buckled it tightly around his waist.
Riji handed him a leather canteen filled with herb-infused water and looked up at him. Her eyes sparkled in the dim light. Her small lips twitched before a slender voice escaped them.
“Please be careful.”
“I will. I’ll be back.”
After a light kiss at the door, Juhwan left the house.
Since he would return by midday, he didn’t prepare a separate lunch.
When he returned, he would eat lunch with Riji and the child, sharing stories of what he saw while hunting or what had happened at home.
Afterward, he would fetch water, repair the house, fell trees, or do whatever else was necessary for their life.
When night fell and the child went to sleep, they would share a glass of wine and have time to themselves. That was the end of the day. And when they woke again, it was dawn.
This had been their daily routine almost every day since coming to the mountain. It was a monotonous but peaceful, gentle, and comforting time.
As Juhwan headed into the forest from the cabin, his gaze fell upon the small mountain path leading away from the house.
Come to think of it, it would be best to widen that road a bit before spring arrived. As it was, the carriage could only barely pass through; by summer, the undergrowth would likely choke the path entirely.
While the outside world was in turmoil from the aftermath of a long war and new anxieties, the mountains felt like a world apart, draped in silence. Since it was a forest inhabited by Magic Beasts, few people ever came here; perhaps this place alone would remain quiet even if war broke out.
In fact, if the road were even slightly blocked by bushes, this area wouldn’t be easily visible from the outside. It would be completely hidden from the rest of the world. That narrow path felt like a mystical gate separating this place from the outside.
“….”
A mountain life where self-sufficiency was possible with just a few supplies, protected by Yeonhwa and Oz, who were stronger than hundreds of soldiers. In a way, this place was far safer and more abundant than a large city guarded by an army.
Oz was undergoing his own bit of training and would grow stronger, and when the season of blossoms and fruit arrived, they could dry fruit and gather honey from beehives. If they stockpiled enough salt, this place might truly remain unaffected by the outside world even if war occurred.
‘If I build an emergency cabin deeper in the mountains and find a few caves to preserve food for a long time…’
Selfish thoughts began to sprout and multiply.
It seemed that when humans gain something precious and find happiness, they don’t necessarily become more generous and virtuous; instead, they can become narrow-minded and selfish.
Or perhaps it was just him. It felt as though whatever scrap of humanity had been clinging to a corner of his heart had been tossed away to Santa.
He moved on with a bitter smile. Entering deeper into the forest, he checked the marks he had carved into the trees and continued walking.
The exploration of the area around the house was ongoing. He was expanding his reach slowly, like a snail, bit by bit.
Yesterday, he had discovered an area where bamboo grew. He had been worried because his arrows were running low, so it was a relief.
Bamboo, which could be used as arrows after being lightly charred and sharpened, was currently the easiest weapon for Juhwan to utilize.
Handling Wind Magic required a delicate distribution of focus, unlike fire, demanding a different kind of concentration. However, once he caught the knack of it while using Mana Detection, mastering it was quick.
It was a sensation similar to learning to ride a bicycle. Once you find your balance and start rolling, you no longer worry about falling over.
Now, even without a bow, he could fire arrows at close range.
In some ways, arrows propelled by Wind Magic might be far more useful than a sword or an axe.
Juhwan picked up two bamboo arrows he had roughly carved and infused them with mana. He hadn’t even attached fletching yet. He had simply smoothed the surface.
He wrapped those arrows in wind and let them fly.
The two arrows flew slowly enough to be seen, but as Juhwan poured more power into them, they accelerated at the last moment and thudded into a distant tree.
Upon closer inspection, the bamboo arrows—which didn’t even have metal tips—had sunk nearly halfway into the tree. They wouldn’t budge even when pulled by hand. Thanks to the mana-infused wind enveloping the bamboo surface, the arrows were completely undamaged.
A smirk played on Juhwan’s lips. For now, his limit was three or so at a time, but with more practice, the number of arrows he could use at once would increase.
When he lived in the village, there was no suitable place to practice by scattering mana.
He had been hesitant, fearing he might make a mistake. Here, he could use it to his heart’s content without worrying about harming people or buildings. His skills were growing by leaps and bounds every day.
He felt that if he continued like this, he might soon surpass Yeonhwa’s abilities. He, who had been an ordinary human, was changing into something else entirely. It was a strange feeling.
“….”
Juhwan, who had been walking while occasionally checking the ground, stopped.
He saw the large footprints he had first discovered near the house again.
When he touched them with his finger, the edges crumbled. Unlike before, it meant these were recent.
Juhwan gripped a few arrows in his hand and scanned his surroundings.
He found the footprints again a short distance away. Searching the area thoroughly, he found fresh droppings. He had never seen this type before, but given their size, they likely belonged to the owner of the tracks.
Juhwan decided to pause his general exploration and track the owner of the footprints.
Predators with territories roam much larger areas than one might think to catch prey. He didn’t know what kind of beast it was, but the droppings confirmed it was a carnivore. The smell was incredibly pungent.
The larger the body, the more food it required. Generally, larger animals required larger territories.
The cabin was undoubtedly included in this creature’s hunting grounds. The fact that footprints had been found near the house made that certain. It had visited that house at least within the last few months.
‘I have to catch it.’
He spread his mana as far as possible, conducting a detailed search. The large animal was not nearby.
There were several spots where leaves were crushed and scattered, indicating where the creature had stepped on fallen foliage.
He would find a footprint, and if he lost the trail, he would scour the surrounding area. The pursuit continued until it was nearly lunchtime.
In the process, Juhwan noticed something strange. As he tracked the footprints deeper into the forest, the composition of the surrounding trees changed.
Juhwan was no tree expert. To be honest, he couldn’t distinguish much beyond ginkgo or pine trees. He only recognized fruit trees once they bore fruit. He was the kind of person who couldn’t tell a cherry blossom from a plum blossom.
However, he knew roughly what tropical trees looked like.
And he also knew that tropical trees did not live in a forest where everything froze solid in the middle of winter.
He looked at the trees around him. Several trees that looked like palms were growing high into the sky, mixed in with the others. It didn’t seem like the climate had changed. The temperature was similar to elsewhere.
But when he touched the ground, there was a faint, inexplicable warmth. Not just the trees, but the soil itself was strange.
‘Should I try climbing a tree?’
He wasn’t confident in his tree-climbing skills, but to get a clear view of the surroundings, seeing from a high vantage point was best.
‘It might be possible using the wind…’
Recalling how the Red Sword party had climbed trees, he untied the rope he had kept coiled around his waist.
If he used the rope against the tree for support, he might be able to climb. He could use Wind Magic to make his own weight somewhat lighter.
He busied himself with preparations and faced the tallest tree as if to embrace it. A sigh escaped him involuntarily.
Juhwan shrouded his small knife in mana. He used it to notch the tree, creating footholds as he climbed bit by bit.
Each time he ascended, he leaned his upper body back, tightening the rope that loosely bound him to the tree.
He hadn’t even reached halfway up, but beads of sweat were already hanging from his forehead. It couldn’t have been that long, yet it felt like hours had passed. His hands were damp with nervous sweat.
After climbing for a long time, the surrounding trees began to appear below him. He still had to go higher to reach the top. But looking down at the ground made him dizzy. Going any higher was impossible. He felt a sudden surge of fear, thinking of what would happen to Riji and Dorothy if he fell from here.
Juhwan used the wind to make his body as light as possible and turned his gaze to the surroundings. Stretching into the distance, the dry winter trees unfolded gently along the slope of the forest.
Most of it was a typical winter forest landscape. Unlike the steep mountains of Korea, this place consisted of massive mountains and hills connected by gentle slopes, like shallow mounds. Some areas were practically flat.
Centering around a point in the distance, tropical trees radiated outward. It wasn’t just a few trees mixed in like here; that spot was densely packed with tropical vegetation.
‘Is there something over there?’
The area with the tropical trees was quite far away. It was too far to reach in one go. In the vast forest, it was distant enough to ignore, thinking of it as a separate region unrelated to this place.
‘But the fact that it influences even a place like this…’
He felt an uneasy premonition.
After staring at that spot for a moment, he lowered his gaze. His eyes came to rest on a spot diagonally down from the tree.
It was a cave. Some branches were piled near the entrance. And something hidden by the trees was approaching it.
