I Became A Married Man in Another World
Chapter 134
134 Pwee? Pwee pwee pwee?
The wick, soaked in oil, flared and flickered as it danced. It felt as though a draft had slipped in. Though the season was spring, the night wind remained chilly.
After pulling the blanket over Dorothy, who was sleeping with her arms and legs spread wide, Riji pulled the cord of the shutters tight.
Unlike their previous room, the shutters here were slightly misaligned. Because of that, while the corners of the wooden shutters bit tightly into each other, other parts remained gapped. A breeze drifted through the cracks. Had it been winter, she wouldn’t have been able to leave it like that; she would have had to cover it with cloth.
The view from the window was also different—instead of the clock tower, it looked out over the vacant lot where the carriages were kept.
Since the room was tucked away at the edge of the second floor, sunlight rarely reached it.
With the influx of guests due to the subjugation team, they hadn’t been able to secure a better room. Still, it seemed they had been given the cleanest of the remaining options.
Returning to the bed, Riji picked up her husband’s leather vest again.
After several days of fighting Magic Beasts and trekking through the mountains, the leather was stained with blood and dust in various places. The bag Juhwan always carried was in the same state.
“….”
For some reason, she felt like she might cry. Riji scrubbed the soiled areas with a brush and wiped others with a cloth that had been soaked and wrung out tight.
The light from the lamp was dim, making some spots hard to see. When she brought the garment closer to her eyes to check, a scent she thought had faded rushed into her nostrils.
‘It’s the smell of death.’
As the thought struck her, her eyes quickly blurred. Riji squeezed them shut. She would let herself cry. She would cry quickly to get the tears out of her system—before her husband returned.
With the onset of spring, the inn had prepared tubs and water behind the building for washing. Given the nature of an inn frequented by adventurers, bathing facilities were a necessity.
Juhwan had gone there to wash up.
Even during the subjugation, he had wiped himself down with wet towels every day, but he was a man who had bathed in heated water daily when they lived in the Cabin.
For Juhwan, who valued cleanliness, living for days without being able to wash away the grime must have been distressing. Even though it was pitch black outside, he had gone out to wash as soon as the crowds thinned. It would still be a while before he returned.
Riji covered her face with both hands and let the tears pour out like a flood.
This time, she had been truly terrified. The undead—something she had never seen before—and the carts piled high with corpses felt like an approaching calamity for the entire world.
News of war reached remote rural villages last. In both her hometown and the village where she had married, Riji had only known of war as a vague concept. Men being taken away, fields going to waste. She had thought that was all war was.
But as one moved toward the borders, there were villages actually swept up in war and Magic Beasts, bearing the scars left by invading enemy soldiers.
There was a vast difference between knowing something vaguely and seeing it with one’s own eyes. Only after seeing it directly did she feel she truly understood the reality of war.
Undead, corpses, war—all of it came rushing in at once, making it feel as if everything around them was threatening her family.
Hiccup, hiccup. A strange sound leaked from her throat because she was crying so hard. Riji hurriedly rubbed her tear-stained hands against her clothes to wipe them.
Juhwan was a strong man.
The most powerful mage of fire and wind in this world.
A healing mage more incredible than a renowned priest, capable of mending tears and breaks in an instant.
But he was also human.
He was not a god.
He was a human who bled when wounded and died if a vital spot was hit.
If someone else was hurt, Juhwan could treat them and save them, but if he was the one hurt, who would treat him? Who would save him? There was no one.
There was no one in this world who could provide healing on Juhwan’s level.
When she thought of that, all that remained was anxiety and fear. She might lose him. That dread clung to the back of her mind like a shadow that wouldn’t let go.
She managed to hide it and smile in front of Juhwan, but the moment she turned away, the fear would crawl back out. No matter how she tried, she couldn’t make it disappear.
Riji was sobbing uncontrollably when she felt something soft touch her and looked up.
Oz was peering at her, letting out a soft pwee sound. He seemed worried.
Riji pulled Oz into her arms.
“…Oz… Oz… grow strong quickly… so that Juhwan doesn’t have to worry… please… grow strong enough so that he doesn’t have to leave Yeonhwa behind to protect us… so that he feels he can take Yeonhwa with him… please… do that….”
He was small. What on earth was she saying to such a small, young thing? She knew it was foolish. And yet, she couldn’t help but plead.
If Oz grew strong, Juhwan would worry that much less. If he felt Riji and Dorothy were safe, Yeonhwa could accompany him to dangerous places. Then Juhwan would be much safer than he was now.
“…I’m sorry for being selfish… but please….”
As Riji whispered through her tears, Oz tilted his head.
“Pwee? Pwee pwee pwee?”
Tilt, tilt. The white rabbit’s face leaned to the right, then back to the left.
And a moment later, Oz’s horn glowed red.
With a snap, the leg of the lamp dish she had placed by the bed broke. Lamp oil began to spill. By a narrow margin, the flame did not go out.
As Riji hurriedly picked up the lamp dish, Oz’s eyes sparkled as if he were triumphant, and he let out a slightly louder sound.
“Pweet!”
Perhaps he had misunderstood Riji’s words. He was still just a baby, and no one truly knew if the young one and Yeonhwa understood human speech. They might just be reacting to the atmosphere and not actually comprehending the words.
‘I’m being foolish.’
As she flustered about, wiping up the lamp oil with a rag, her tears had stopped before she knew it. Since the lamp dish was ruined, she would likely have to pay a bit of money for it.
Riji gazed quietly into Oz’s face.
“…I’m sorry… I said something silly… I’m sorry, Oz….”
But she truly did wish for Oz to grow strong quickly. So that Juhwan could act alongside Yeonhwa without worrying. That was her wish.
Oz made a pwee sound, looking somewhat proud of himself, and then hopped over toward Dorothy.
He wriggled his way under the covers.
Once even the round tail on his bottom had disappeared beneath the blanket, a small sound echoed from within.
Pwee.
The resonance of that sound almost seemed to say, “Don’t worry.” He seemed to be boasting that he was very strong.
Was he comforting her?
Her heart felt a little lighter.
“…Thank you.”
It was about time for her husband to return.
Riji hurried to wipe her face with a towel and felt around her eyes to check if they were swollen.
They might be a little puffy.
Wondering what excuse she should give if he asked, Riji picked up her husband’s vest once more.
Wriggle, wriggle, twitch, twitch, soft, ticklish…
Oz, that tickles. Stop it.
Soft fur moved against her face, then tickled her neck. Oz’s tail brushed her cheek, and a moment later, the soles of her feet felt itchy.
She couldn’t sleep.
Dorothy forced her heavy eyes open and felt around inside the dark blanket.
“Oz, come here. I can’t reach you.”
But he didn’t come. Oz was perched on her legs, making strange grunting sounds as if he were trying to poop.
That woke her up completely.
“Oz, are you pooping? You can’t poop inside the blanket. Mommy will be mad if she finds out.”
As she whispered, covering her mouth with her hand, Oz tapped Dorothy’s legs repeatedly with his paws as if he were annoyed.
She thought it every time, but he was so fast. Oz’s feet were really quick. It was cool.
Oh, but Oz’s horn was sparkling inside the blanket.
“Why are you working so hard?”
When she whispered the question, Oz’s nose twitched. His ears, slightly crumpled inside the blanket, stood up a bit as if asserting something.
“…Um… special training?”
“Pwee.”
Wow, her heart raced. Special training in the middle of the night. She felt like something amazing was about to happen.
Okay, I’ll help.
Dorothy wriggled her body and crawled over to Oz like a grub.
With their heads pressed together, they whispered to each other, and the special training began immediately.
“One, two, three, okay, now. Activate!”
“Pweet!”
“Shh! Be quiet. We’ll wake Mommy and Daddy if we’re not careful.”
Special training under the covers was fun and cool. Sparkling red lights shone like stars inside the blanket. It felt like being inside a land of stars.
Suddenly, she wondered what Oz was bending, but whatever—it didn’t matter what was being bent or broken. What was cool was that the two of them were doing secret special training at this hour.
“Let’s show Daddy the results of our training in the morning.”
“Pwee.”
“Hehe, then he’ll be so surprised.”
She lay her cheek against the straw mattress and giggled. The thought of her mom and dad’s eyes going wide with surprise at the sight of the impressive Dorothy and Oz made her very happy.
After training for a long time, she must have fallen asleep at some point. Oz’s sounds felt a little distant.
Okay, Oz. Big sister Dorothy is going to sleep a little and then get up, so keep working hard. When I wake up in a bit, let’s train together again.
“What on earth happened here?”
Juhwan stared blankly at the room in disbelief.
The chair legs, the lamp stand, even the legs of the bed where Dorothy and Oz had been sleeping—every single leg had been snapped into pieces. Not just one break, but multiple snaps… snap, snap, snap, snap.
The only thing intact were the legs of the bed Juhwan had been sleeping in.
For a moment, he wondered if they had done it to avoid being caught, but no. Oz didn’t have that kind of craftiness. He likely just left them alone so Juhwan wouldn’t wake up and could sleep soundly.
“….”
His desire to be angry faded slightly.
Regardless, if everything had been broken to this extent, Juhwan should have woken up, yet he had slept through it all. This subjugation must have been quite exhausting. Or perhaps he had let his guard down too much because Yeonhwa and Oz were there.
Dorothy seemed to have woken up early for once. Something wriggled under the blanket, and then her hair, sticking out in all directions like soft down, popped out.
Almost simultaneously, Oz’s two white ears appeared. But perhaps because he sensed Juhwan’s exasperation, his ears were drooping.
Briefly, the rabbit’s black eyes looked toward Juhwan.
“Oz.”
Juhwan opened his mouth with a stern voice, but for some reason, Riji walked over to Oz’s side and lowered her head slightly like a child being punished.
“…Riji?”
“….”
Riji and Oz both had dejected faces. He didn’t know why.
Seeing Riji and Oz act strangely, Dorothy seemed to catch the mood. She hesitantly stood on her knees beside Riji and quietly bowed her head.
How strange. For some reason, Juhwan found himself in the position of scolding Riji and the entire family.
Juhwan let out a small breath.
Surely, Oz hadn’t reached a rebellious phase already.
“Oz, you mustn’t break furniture that people use.”
“…Pwee….”
A dejected sound came out softly. It didn’t seem like a rebellious phase. He had likely just misunderstood something or simply didn’t know better. Because he was usually so well-behaved and smart, Juhwan often forgot that the fellow was still a baby.
“Just be careful from now on.”
“…Pwee.”
With Oz’s reply, Riji’s eyebrows also dipped slightly. Though she didn’t say it out loud, she looked as if she were saying, I’m sorry.
He wasn’t sure what was going on. But Oz’s sudden behavior seemed to be linked to Riji as well.
‘Could it be related to how depressed she seemed yesterday?’
He had pretended not to notice because Riji seemed to want to hide it, but she had been very downcast yesterday. She kept smiling when she looked at Juhwan, but he could see the shadows behind it.
“….”
Juhwan didn’t feel great about this situation either. It must have been even harder for Riji.
Juhwan wrapped his arm around Riji’s shoulder and gave a small laugh.
“Anyway, I’m going to get a bit of a scolding from the landlady.”
It would probably cost some money to pay for all of this. Riji seemed to have the same thought. Her expression became even more pitiful.
A short while later, they had to head to the Guild. As they were tidying up and getting ready, Dorothy and Oz slipped away.
Looking down through the window, he saw Dorothy and Oz sitting politely on their knees in front of Yeonhwa.
Yeonhwa scraped the ground with her hoof a bit roughly. Her white mane fluttered. Whether she was actually a bit angry or just trying to look that way, her lips were trembling slightly.
Dorothy and Oz’s heads slumped further forward.
Seeing them like that, the three of them truly looked like siblings who could understand each other.
When Juhwan laughed, Riji came to his side and looked down through the window.
“Yeonhwa really seems like a big sister to those children.”
“Doesn’t she? I was thinking the same thing.”
Juhwan pulled Riji close by her waist and rested his chin on her small head.
“Riji, tell me anything. Whether you have worries or something sad happened, anything is fine. That’s what it means to be a couple—overcoming things together.”
“…I will.”
Riji quietly leaned her head against Juhwan’s chest. For a moment, the two of them watched Yeonhwa, Dorothy, and Oz through the window before leaving the room.
