Chapter 180
Once the situation had more or less settled down...
Selien, Balk, and Suhyeok entered the rabbit couple's house.
"It's humble, but please come in!"
"Honey, I think we should serve everyone some carrot tea!"
"All right. I'll go prepare it in the kitchen."
"I'll help!"
The rabbit couple disappeared into the kitchen.
Only the three of them remained at the table.
Suhyeok looked around the interior and found himself unexpectedly surprised by how large the house was.
I didn't think it'd be this spacious from the outside.
Did they use some kind of spatial magic?
From the exterior...
It looked barely large enough for one person to fit inside.
Even the door was so small that Suhyeok had needed to bend over just to enter.
When the rabbit couple suggested having tea at their home to celebrate Selien and Balk making peace...
Suhyeok had assumed he'd have to endure sitting uncomfortably in a tiny room.
But instead...
"This place is really big."
Selien looked around in amazement.
"It's my first time visiting the rabbit couple's house."
"Actually, now that I think about it..."
"It's my first time entering anyone else's home besides my own."
"What about you?"
"Same here."
Balk nodded.
"I spend day and night hammering away in my workshop."
"When would I ever have time to visit anyone?"
"Still..."
"This really is spacious."
"It might even be bigger than my place."
Just as Balk said...
The interior was larger than an ordinary human house.
For such a small rabbit couple...
It was enormous.
Even the furniture was large enough for Suhyeok to use without difficulty.
I can ask about that later.
For now....
Suhyeok leaned as far back in his chair as possible with a deeply uncomfortable expression.
"Um, Lord Suhyeok?"
"I have some questions about those fruits."
Selien's eyes sparkled intensely.
"How exactly did you control the energy?"
"And does it change depending on climate conditions or soil quality?"
"I'd also like to know how you infused the life energy!"
"And also──"
The questions poured out endlessly.
She became so excited while talking that she eventually slammed her hands on the table and stood up.
Once she started...
There was no stopping her.
Even when Suhyeok tried answering each question as carefully as possible...
She showed no sign of running out of things to ask.
Looking exhausted...
Suhyeok glanced to the side.
But Balk was staring at him with just as much anticipation.
"So you're seriously saying that's an Ego Sword...?"
"Th-The legendary Ego Sword that only exists in stories...?!"
"Yes."
Suhyeok had already answered that after Balk first became curious.
Yet the Dwarf remained just as excited.
"Then did my uncle make that too...?"
"Dolkin provided the workshop."
"But I made it myself."
"Either way..."
"It's true that he helped me a lot."
The moment Suhyeok said Dolkin had helped him a lot...
Balk's mouth stretched into a huge grin.
"As expected of my uncle!"
"Kuhahaha!"
"I actually started learning blacksmithing because I admired him back when he was living as a Climber two hundred years ago."
"And now you're telling me he helped with an Ego Sword?"
"How could I not be moved?!"
"Hahahahaha!"
"I understand you're happy."
Suhyeok frowned.
"But I'd appreciate it if you'd stop making that face."
Then he paused.
"Hold on."
"Did you just say two hundred years ago?"
"Then how old are you?"
Balk cleared his throat proudly.
"Ahem."
"I'm two hundred and forty-five this year."
"A Dwarf in the prime of his youth."
"Ahem."
"..."
Suhyeok couldn't answer.
He was too shocked.
Balk looked like he'd lived for at least five hundred years.
And yet...
He was only two hundred and forty-five?
Maybe this was how Seong Hosu had felt the first time he learned Bong Taesu's age.
Suhyeok could still remember the expression on Hosu's face at the previous banquet...
He'd been too stunned to speak for quite some time.
And was it just Suhyeok...
Or did Balk's manner of speaking sound strangely similar to Bong Taesu's too?
Suhyeok slowly turned his head.
Selien looked just as shocked by Balk's age.
No.
Even more shocked than Suhyeok.
"Y-You're only two hundred and forty-five...?"
"N-No."
"With that face?!"
"Seriously?!"
"You're not two thousand four hundred and fifty?!"
She covered her mouth in disbelief.
"Did you eat something wrong when you were young?"
"How else could someone age this badly...?"
Balk didn't seem affected at all.
He was too busy thinking about the Ego Sword.
Then...
Seong-a appeared after hearing the conversation.
"Dad!"
Suhyeok hadn't seen her properly in a while.
Only now did he notice.
She had grown taller again.
Her Rank had increased too.
Apparently...
She had grown even more in that short period.
"...Could you maybe stop throwing yourself at me like this?"
"Why?"
"Nooo."
"It's been a while."
"I want to hug you more."
Despite Suhyeok's protest...
Seong-a kept clinging to him.
Even though she looked much more grown-up now...
At times like this...
She was still unmistakably a child.
Suhyeok eventually gave up.
She'll stop once she gets tired of it.
Then...
Thud.
"...?"
Balk suddenly slid down from his chair and dropped to the floor.
Suhyeok and Seong-a stared at him.
What was he doing all of a sudden──
"To think I'd see a grown Ego Sword with my own eyes...."
Balk began crying.
"I could die right here without regrets...."
"Sob...!"
With an overwhelmed expression...
He began bowing to Seong-a as though she were a goddess.
Again.
And again.
And again.
He showed no sign of stopping.
Suhyeok's head started aching.
"Here it is!"
"The rabbit couple's famous carrot tea you've all been waiting for!"
"Sorry for the wait."
"Please have a refreshing cup."
"We just ground the carrots, so it should be fresh and delicious."
A cup of carrot tea was placed in front of each person.
Carrots and tea didn't sound like a combination that should work.
Still...
The rabbit couple had clearly put effort into it.
So Suhyeok took a sip.
He froze.
Then looked down at the tea in genuine surprise.
"...It's good."
"Probably the best tea I've had recently."
The mild richness of the carrot blended perfectly with its natural sweetness.
It seemed they'd added honey too...
Making the sweetness even more pleasant.
"Kuh!"
"Refreshing!"
Balk gulped it down.
"This is always delicious!"
"As expected from the rabbit couple!"
Suhyeok wasn't the only one enjoying it.
Balk and Selien drank like they'd been starving.
Balk in particular...
Maybe because he'd just been crying...
Was gulping cup after cup.
"Haha!"
"Thank you for the compliment!"
"My wife and I worked really hard to grow these carrots."
"Of course they're delicious!"
"Right, honey?"
"Hehe."
"That too."
"But carrots naturally taste better around this time of year."
"You happened to visit during the perfect season."
Once the atmosphere had calmed down somewhat...
Balk put down his third cup of carrot tea.
