I released the first part of chapter 1 on August 17, 2015. Less than a year later, I’ve finished translating everything except the Author’s Note. Hard to believe I’m already done, basically. Thank you for sticking with me, the terrible Korean translator with a penchant for lolis and being a complete twat.
I’m going to go on hiatus for a while. I’m about to start college (I’m a freshman) and hopefully the Korean language classes I’ll be taking there will help me to become better at the language.
……I think I really was just sleepy. I immediately came to my senses after opening my eyes and seeing the familiar ceiling. I sat up and looked around me.
Where's Rangii?
She's not here.
"……Oi."
There's no way Rangii wouldn't be my side if I fell asleep like I died. The only reason why is…… No, no way. There's no way. Absolutely not.
"Have you woken up, Master?"
When I felt like screaming, Saehee entered through the sliding doors with moonlight shining behind her. Before I ask her about calling me master, the first thing I need to ask is,
"Where's Rangii? Where did Rangii go?"
Was Rangii okay. If she went while I was unconscious and did that…… no. There's no way Rangii would ignore what I said! But Saehee. Why're you smiling like you're so happy? Your Master is missing!
"Is the Mistress not sleeping beside Master?"
I looked to my side. No one's there.
"Are you joking around?"
"……Please excuse me for a moment."
Saehee grabbed my blanket and pulled it straight down. I was wearing nothing but my underwear, and curled around my calf was a small Rangii. But why is she naked? Why is she sleeping there?
She frowned and went "uuuung," maybe because she got cold after the blanket disappeared. As I pet her head and put the blanket back over her, she was sleeping with a comfortable look on her face. I was surprised after thinking to myself you need to sleep with clothes on.
This brat, she shrank while I was out of it. No, no. It feels strange to say it like this. Rangii was back to her original form.
Wait, what? Huuuuuuh?
I was about to ask Saehee about Rangii's change when I noticed Saehee was staring at a certain place.
"……You are surprisingly robust."
It took me two seconds to realize what she was saying.
"Wha, what are you saying?!"
I took care not to cover Rangii's face and raised the blanket to cover my waist.
"I saw it for a moment while I was healing you. Why are you so embarrassed? This is why you are a virgin."
"Don't screw around!"
"Understood, Master."
I felt like an idiot after I got confused at her elegant response. But isn't getting confused like that what it means to be human?
"More importantly, why did Rangii get smaller?
Saehee narrowed her eyes.
"What are you saying, Master? Do you already have dementia?"
"Have you ever seen a 17 year old with dementia?"
"Then why are you like this? Have you suffered a brain injury?"
"Don't change the subject and answer."
"My measurements are……"
"No, but I didn't have any thoughts of asking you about that?"
I'm not so sure about that if a busty woman like Jeongmi-noona had asked, though.
"You know why Rangii grew, right?"
"What are you saying?"
I had to say something I didn't want to because Saehee kept feigning ignorance.
"Didn't you swear your body and soul to me?"
Saehee smiled.
"Yes. I was aware."
That's why she was calling me Master. I should ignore my title since it's not a big deal.
"So what happened? Is it because she tried to break the seal?"
"It is not."
Saehee shook her head.
"The Mistress grew mentally, and thus her physical body grew as well. Because the Mistress' spiritual body is formed from her mentality."
So you mean mental age=physical age? Then she really was a kid, in both body and mind? So because her mind grew from what happened, her body grew a little too?
"Then why did she get smaller again?"
"Although I do not know everything, but one can hypothesize that puberty is an age in which one is neither a child nor an adult."
Puberty doesn't normally happen to people who're over four thousand years old.
"Without a doubt, this will not be a problem for the Mistress."
"Good. Then with that aside……"
The next important thing.
"Is Narae okay? Have her injuries gotten better?"
"Her wounds healed after I massaged her breasts several times so I sent her home."
"……Hey."
Doesn't it seem like you occasionally casually say things that I can't understand? Saehee opened her mouth after I looked at her imploringly for further explanation.
"Normally after a Bear Clan woman awoken her power, massaging her breasts will heal such small wounds easily."
……How can such an erotic clan exist? That'll stimulate all kinds of feelings in a teenage boy.
"Of course, as a side effect breast milk will……"
"That's enough. I don't want to hear about that any more, nor do I want to know more."
"I believe Narae would make a good nanny. The Mistress and I have small breasts, so making such an amount would be……"
"Heydammitifyoudon'tstopthendoyouwantmetokillyou?"
"I thought that this would be something you wanted to here."
"Well it's not."
I should change the subject. Because I feel like if this topic continues, then I'll become her toy. I should bring up what I wanted to talk about the moment I saw her.
"Anyway, why didn't you show up in Rangii's cave when you were there too?"
"What are you saying?"
"The, uh, Bear Clan members that attacked us used shukuchi to get there."
When I heard that, I thought that something was strange. Why didn't Saehee follow me after sending me there?
"You said I couldn't handle the stress of the shukuchi so you sent me using a different method. And you didn't show yourself even after I calmed down Rangii. There's no way you couldn't do something the Bear Clan could do even after getting hurt by Rangii, and there was also no way you wouldn't come to the cave when Rangii was in danger. So that must mean you did go to Rangii's cave, but you kept yourself hidden."
"So what is it you want to say, Master?"
Saehee's white teeth were shining clearly from the darkness.
"Why did you do that? Ah, I'm saying this beforehand, but I'm not telling you to justify yourself. I'm just curious. About why you did that."
Saehee's smile widened even more.
"It seems you have finally begun to think, Master."
It sounds like you said I don't normally use my head. Although I can't deny that.
"As a reward for growing a little, I will not tell you the lie I prepared that I could not come because of Narae-nim's medical treatment."
I heard before that when a fox digs its den, it makes two holes. I guess she's dug about nine of them?
"My tardiness in appearing before the Master and Mistress was a…… gamble of sorts. Yes. Even to me, the clan's actions were a gamble. The situation had already progressed to something I could not lay a hand in, and the best path for my lady was for Master to stop her. If I had stayed by Master's side, I thought that you would not have gone to such lengths. And the outcome was beneficial for Master and the Mistress. The gamble was a success."
……I remembered what Rangii said. That what Saehee is always good for Rangii. That aside, you don't plan on hiding anything, right?
"……You were watching since the beginning, weren't you?"
"What are you saying?"
"Speak truthfully."
"But what are you saying?"
I gave up on getting an answer. Finding out when she got there isn't important. But I asked her something I was curious about.
"Did you know everything would turn out like this?"
"What are you saying?"
The same answer as just before. But there was a smile playing on her lips. Whether that was an affirmative smile or if she was denying it, I couldn’t even guess.
Whatever. I didn't really want to know anyway.
"But why is my body like this?"
Back when I caught a glimpse of Rangii's naked body, I saw my body was black and blue as if I was bruised. It doesn't hurt, but I am worried. Because even back then, I didn't feel any pain.
"Although you survived despite getting hit by the mistress, please endure at least that much."
Her lips rose immediately after she said that and,
"Deciding that is between her and me. Pff."
"Hey……"
"Ah, for me to be so rude. Although I only heard this from the head of the Bear Clan, even I would laugh after seeing such a scene."
You probably did see it.
"Anyway, although you did not die from the mistress' strike, instead you broke three ribs, your skull, collarbone, and arms. There was a fracture in your femur, internal bleeding, ruptured colon, a disorder in your nervous system, and……"
"No, please stop there."
If you continue, then I won't be able to tell if I'm alive or a ghost.
"But how am I alive?"
"Magic."
Ah, is that so? So that's why I'm totally fine even after having three ribs, my skull, collarbone, and arms broken, a fracture in my femur, with internal bleeding, a ruptured colon, and all these serious injuries. I shouldn't question it. Because these people don't make any sense to begin with.
But even though I went through so much messed up stuff because of them, I don't hate them. After all, doesn't looking at such a cute, sleeping Rangii make everything feel like it was nothing?
"Magic sure is useful."
"The mistress and I will be of help to Master as well."
"You two already are."
I rubbed Rangii's head.
"It's enough just to have Rangii by my side."
Rangii's tail wagged smoothly.
"Do you mean I'll be glad. Happy. Joyful? You say such embarrassing things so easily."
"Hey, get the hell out."
Maybe it was because I was a little loud.
"Uu—ung."
Rangii flinched and shook a little.
"Sung…… hoon?"
If left like this she might wake up, so I rubbed her head and spoke.
"It's still night time so sleep some more."
I spoke beforehand, but it had the opposite effect.
"Sunghoon!!"
She bolted up as if she hadn't been asleep just a moment ago. There was nowhere safe to look after Rangii suddenly got up and the blanket slid down, so I looked away. There's something dangerous at eye level. If I move my eyes even a little, no, why am I paying so much attention to that?
"Sunghoon—!!"
But because of her wavering voice, I had no choice but to turn my head back round. I can see Rangii's face. Her huge amber pupils were looking everywhere, and there were transparent tears on her cheek as she cried. For now, I blocked Rangii's hands as she tried to hug me and,
"Owie!"
I hit her on the head.
Bewildered, she sat down and cradled her head with her arms; she looked at me with eyes that showed she couldn't even guess as to why I hit her.
"Uu—uu. Why'd you hit me all of a sudden?"
Look.
"You don't know?"
"I don't!"
I was going to hit her on the head again, but after I saw that her eyes were filled with unhappy tears and that thought went back into my head.
"Because you messed up."
"What did I do wrong?"
Seeing as how Saehee looked totally relaxed when I said that, it seems like she already noticed.
"Didn't I tell you? I hate that Narae got hurt because of me."
Rangii must've thought that that was a totally unrelated topic because she put her finger on her lips and thought hard, but then she had a sudden look of surprise on her face. Do you get it now?
"Yeah. But did you think I wouldn't get angry what you did for me?"
The tiger known as Rangii, the one that struck fear into the hearts of the Bear Tribe, was before my eyes, looking unbelievably ashamed. I watched as she clenched her fists and got down to her knees, and I grabbed Rangii's hand.
"But that's all settled with that hit back then. Now I need to be punished for what I did wrong."
"Eh?"
I used Rangii's hand to hit me on the head. It didn't hurt. Rangii quickly released her fist.
"I'm sorry, Rangii. I'm sorry I said something so harsh to you, so I'm really sorry."
"N, no! You didn't do anything wrong, Sunghoon! I never thought you said anything harsh!"
Rangii panicked and shook her head. It looks like she really think that. But I'm determined to be punished for what I did wrong. I need to be.
Because this is the only way I can measure the distance between Rangii and me.
"No. I'm determined to be punished for what I did wrong."
"But there's no need……"
I cut off whatever she was about to say.
"What if I have to do whatever you wish as punishment?"
"To…… eh? My wish?"
She's quick to react.
"Yeah. Whatever you want that I can do. I'll do anything you want."
"—Unyak."
She's worrying. This brat's worrying. She's worrying if she should agree that I did something wrong and speak her wish, or if she should continue to say I didn't do anything wrong and pass this.
"Th, there's no helping it."
She fell to the temptation.
"Then kiss me. That's my wish."
Rangii spoke as she blushed profusely. After hearing that small wish, all I could do was laugh.
"Wh, why are you doing that? Is something funny?"
"Ah, sorry. Rangii. I definitely said I'll do whatever I can do, right?
But for that to be her wish. That's so like Rangii.
She thought about it again and realized what I was thinking as her tail stood on end.
"Cancel that kiss, cancel!!"
Rangii was freaking out, but even as she was so agitated, I stuck my tongue out at Rangii.
"I can't do that."
"U—nyak! How does that make sense?!"
"Adults have to teach kids to think before they make a wish."
"Uu……"
Rangii drooped her ears and sat with her arms wrapped around her legs. Yeah. She's still a kid. I'm still a kid too, but I'm more of an adult than her.
"What? Do you not want me to kiss you?"
This was a kind of test. It was a test to determine how to treat Rangii based on what kind of wish she made.
And the result of that test is that Rangii's just a little kid. Shit, what did I hope for? I should have noticed that she was back in her small form again.
"Th, that's not what I meant, but……"
Rangii started mumbling by the end of her sentence and looked forlorn. What's the point? That ship's already sailed.
While Rangii had her head bowed and was whining, on her round cheek, I went,
Kiss—,
And kissed her.
Rangii was surprised and looked up at me.
"There, I've fulfilled your wish. And now my punishment is over."
"Why'd you kiss me on the cheek?!"
"You didn't say where I had to kiss you."
"Uu—uu! So mean! Sunghoon's a meanie! Meanieeeeeee!!"
Rangii hit me on the chest with her two adorable hands. So that it didn't hurt me.
There's still this much distance between us. Right now we have this kind of relationship. This amount of distance between Rangii and me is good. I should keep this distance between us until Rangii becomes a little more of an adult.
Because Rangii is still Rangii.
And who knows. If Rangii changes into her adult form, then she might become my perfect type with a rocking body?
"……Even if the world were to start anew, that would never happen."
Shut up.