LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 224
Chapter 224: My Younger Brother (2)
Mucci’s eyes widened at Yuri’s brief greeting.
“R-Really? Is this the Cradle? You mean the mainland of the Cradle?!”
“Yeah.”
“How did I get here…?”
“What’s with the ‘how’? I brought you here while you were out.”
“Wh-what? Did I sleep that long? I didn’t sleep much, though?!”
“Not much? You slept for seven straight hours.”
“S-Seven hours?”
Mucci’s mouth fell open.
No wonder his body felt so refreshed.
He thought he had only briefly closed his eyes, but he had truly slept as if he had passed out.
Then, realizing something was off, he asked.
“But, can you normally get from the Forest of Beginnings to the Cradle’s mainland in seven hours?”
“No.”
“…Then how?”
“Others can’t, but I can.”
“……?”
Mucci had a string of question marks above his head.
The more answers he received, the less he understood.
Then, Mucci finally realized the most crucial fact.
“Ah! My test! Th-Then, what… happened with my test?”
“What test?”
“The survival test….”
“Oh, that? You obviously failed.”
“……?!”
“…Just kidding. Ah, look at this guy, about to cry again.”
Seeing Mucci’s shocked face and teary eyes, Yuri clicked his tongue.
‘This kid’s gotten bigger, but he’s still the same inside, huh?’
With Mucci on the verge of tears at every little thing, it was hard to even joke around.
Yuri sighed and lightly waved his hand.
“It’s all sorted, so don’t worry.”
“…Really?”
Mucci asked, his eyes filled with disbelief, and Yuri shook a branch again.
Thunk.
“Whoa!”
Something dark hit Mucci’s forehead again and fell.
“Eat that before I hit you again.”
“……?”
Mucci looked down at the three neatly fallen lumps in front of him.
‘What is this…?’
At first, he thought it was just burnt firewood, but on closer inspection, it was something else.
Mucci picked up the cold piece that had first struck his forehead and split it in half.
Sshk-.
It gently parted to reveal a yellow interior, something well-roasted: Tosaba.
“Oh….”
Golden and perfectly roasted, steaming Tosaba was in front of him, and the hunger he had forgotten returned with full force.
Growl—.
“F-Food?!”
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten properly after days of suffering.
Mucci instinctively blew on the well-cooked Tosaba and took a big bite.
And the taste…?
‘Thi-This is insane!’
It was truly heavenly.
Watching Mucci, tears streaming down his face in delight, Yuri chuckled as memories of the past came flooding back.
“I roasted it thinking about the old days… How is it, good, right?”
“It’s amazing!”
“I used to make a lot of people cry in the Forest of Beginnings with that. Ha… Tosaba was the best when I sold it in the Forest of Beginnings….”
“……?”
It was clearly a nostalgic statement.
But hearing this, Mucci could only tilt his head in confusion.
‘…Usually, in these cases, wouldn’t you say it was best when eaten in the Forest of Beginnings?’
…So why the ‘sold’ part at the beginning?
“Making points back then was pretty lucrative. I miss those days….”
“Pardon?”
“Never mind, kid. Just shut up and eat.”
Apparently, Yuri’s memories of the Forest of Beginnings were of a different nature than his own.
But those questions quickly faded with the sweet, roasted flavor of Tosaba filling his mouth.
As Mucci devoured the Tosaba in front of him, Yuri continued to pull more out of the campfire.
Thud, thud—thud—.
How many Tosabas had Mucci eaten now? About ten?
Yuri stood up.
“That’s enough. Let’s go. Get up.”
“Where to?”
Mucci, chewing with charcoal smudged all over his mouth and hands, looked disappointed as Yuri gave a sly smile.
“Just follow me. If you behave, I’ll give you more tasty food.”
“Really?!”
Even after eating nearly ten Tosabas, it was still nowhere near enough for someone Mucci’s size.
The mere mention of ‘delicious food’ made his large, innocent eyes sparkle like starlight.
Seeing the clear, shining eyes, Yuri nodded.
“Sure thing! I’ll give you something really delicious! Just follow me and do exactly as I say, and I’ll feed you plenty!”
“Let’s go now!”
Mucci leapt to his feet with an excited face.
If Ralph had seen him, he would have raged, telling Yuri not to lure his innocent grandson like that.
‘But what can I do? If you’re unhappy, come to the Cradle yourself, Senior of the Sixth Generation.’
Yuri snickered to himself.
After extinguishing the campfire, he started running with Mucci.
“You should be warmed up now, right? Time to pick up the pace. It might get tough, but keep up. Gotta earn that tasty food, right?”
“Yep!”
“Hmph!”
“Yes!”
Mucci laughed brightly.
But that cheerfulness didn’t take long to turn into agony.
“Huff, huff… Wh-When does this….”
“We’re almost there.”
“Th-That’s what you said an hour ago….”
“Hey, we’re really almost there.”
“How much… longer….”
“Just four more hours to go.”
The run had started at the northernmost edge of the Cradle.
They’d already been running for two hours, but with another four hours to go, Mucci’s face turned pale.
“C-Can’t we take a short break…?”
“We’re barely making it on time, you little shit! What break? Move your legs!”
“But I’m not… good at running….”
“If you’ve got the energy to whine, use it to move your legs, idiot!”
Yuri’s face was that of a devil as he prodded Mucci’s butt with a knife.
“Ughhh….”
Mucci’s cries echoed across the mainland of the Cradle.
* * *
It was now just minutes away from the end of the year.
Click—.
A small match flared to life in the darkness.
Ssss-.
Then the sound of a deep inhale.
Soon the match went out, and a red dot appeared in its place.
Whoosh—.
The sound of an exhalation echoed faintly in the dark.
Thump—thump—.
A strange thudding noise came from outside.
It was drawing closer.
“…Hmm?”
Two eyes glowed in the darkness, following the sound.
Then suddenly—
Bang—.
The door burst open with a loud noise, revealing a giant shadow silhouetted against the light.
Coco nearly dropped the cigar she was holding at the sight of the figure, which hardly looked human.
But.
“What the hell! You come all the way here just to collapse, you asshole!”
The giant shadow was actually a person carrying someone on their back.
And seeing that the person was someone she knew well, Coco quickly regained her composure.
“Goddamn it, you’re huge! And why are your legs so damn long?”
She scrunched her face at Yuri, who was grumbling as he walked in.
“Doors are meant to be opened by hand, not kicked in.”
“As you can see, I had no hands free.”
With that, Yuri threw the person he was carrying onto the ground.
Thud—.
Mucci landed heavily on the floor, sprawled out.
“Hungry….”
Fortunately, he wasn’t dead, as he continued to writhe, clutching his stomach.
Meanwhile, Yuri, after closing the door, waved at Coco.
“Hey Coco, long time no see!”
“…….”
Sssss-.
Coco took a deep drag from her cigar and exhaled, looking at Yuri with indifferent eyes.
“What brings you here?”
“What brings me? I have some business.”
“What business?”
“Today… and at this hour, what else could I be here for?”
Yuri flashed a wide smile.
“I’m here for the special sale.”
The Special Sale Shop.
A unique shop that opened for just 10 minutes at midnight on January 1st to welcome the New Year.
Yuri had returned to the Cradle’s mainland with that in mind.
But Coco still looked unconvinced.
“The special sale? You’re mistaken, aren’t you? The second-year special sale isn’t here. In about five minutes, you won’t be able to use this shop.”
Once the New Year arrived, Yuri would be a second-year cadet and would naturally lose access to the first-year shop.
Yuri nodded at her observation.
“Of course, I know that.”
“Then why come here?”
“The special sale will be used by this guy.”
Yuri pointed to Mucci, who was still writhing on the floor.
“Hungry….”
Coco tilted her head in confusion.
“That guy? Isn’t he your friend?”
“Nope.”
“Not your friend?”
“This kid’s a newcomer.”
“Wherever you got the wig from, I’m not buying that kind of lie….”
Coco didn’t seem convinced, so Yuri nudged Mucci with his foot.
“Hey, get up.”
“I’m hungry….”
“Come on, get up! You’ve barely run, and now you’re acting like this?!”
“But, Yuri hyung….”
“Hmph!”
“…Senior, I’m so hungry. When do I get the tasty food?”
Mucci mumbled as he sluggishly got up, and Coco
’s eyes widened.
She murmured in disbelief.
“He’s talking…?”
Yuri’s friend.
In other words, the cadet called Poppy was known throughout the Cradle for only ever saying one thing: ‘I’m hungry.’
But now, the boy, who appeared to be Poppy, was saying something other than ‘I’m hungry.’
“Wasn’t that… a wig?”
Looking closely, the brown hair wasn’t a wig but seemed to be his real hair.
Mucci noticed Coco’s surprise and got up, bowing his head politely.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I was so hungry I lost my senses. I’m Mucci Schnell.”
At such a courteous introduction, Coco blinked.
“Schnell? Are you related to Ralph Schnell…?”
“He’s my grandfather.”
“I see.”
It didn’t take long for Coco to realize where that absurdly large build, which could be mistaken for a Yumzok, originated from.
She’d been briefed.
That the grandson of the renowned Ralph Schnell had joined the 51st Generation.
She just hadn’t expected to meet that grandson here.
Seeing Coco’s surprise, Yuri grinned smugly.
“Once again, the one using the special sale isn’t me; it’s that guy. I’m just here to watch.”
“…But you’re going to use the points from your account for the special sale, right?”
“Of course, I’m just lending them. Right, Mucci? You’ll pay me back someday, right?”
Yuri glanced back, asking Mucci, who looked at him with bewildered eyes.
“Huh?”
But.
“Hmph!”
Yuri glared, and Mucci quickly nodded.
“Y-Yes! Hehe.”
“You heard that?”
Yuri patted Mucci’s back.
‘He might be ridiculously naive, but he’s not without sense.’
Indeed, he was a useful person to exploit.
As Yuri smiled contentedly, Coco checked her watch and sighed.
“Honestly, your tricks….”
Yuri’s actions were certainly unorthodox, but there was no rule against what he was doing.
Moreover, who would have thought of bringing a first-year candidate to buy from the special sale items?
Pulling off such a ridiculous plan and succeeding deserved recognition.
Huff—.
Coco chuckled and blew out smoke.
“A guy who’s seen the first-year special sale not once, but twice… you’ll be the first in Cradle’s history.”
With that, she pulled on the golden rope, just like she did a year ago.
Clatter—.
The usual display shelves moved aside, revealing the special sale shelves.
Coco immediately checked the time.
“Exactly ten minutes.”
This meant that it was now officially January 1st, the New Year, and that Yuri had become a second-year cadet.
But instead of dwelling on his new status, Yuri was too busy inspecting the items in front of him.
‘Nothing special stands out… but they’re definitely cheap. At this price, it’s practically a giveaway!’
The special sale shop, which opened for just ten minutes at midnight on January 1st, appeared for each year group.
But among them, the first-year special sale was several times cheaper than those of other years.
It was worth giving up the second-year special sale to come here, Yuri thought.
‘Nice!’
With a satisfied smile, Yuri pointed with his finger.
“That one, that one, and the one over there… Oh, and the one at the far end too.”
Yuri quickly moved his fingers, selecting items.
But to say he was choosing would be inaccurate; he was practically sweeping the shelves clean.
It was faster to exclude what he wasn’t buying.
Coco stared at him, and Yuri quickly shifted his gaze to Mucci.
“…Is what you should say, Mucci.”
With a bright smile that was more of a threat, Yuri prompted Mucci, who answered glumly.
“…He said so.”
“Hmph!”
“Y-Yes, please give me those.”
Mucci wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, but he understood one thing clearly.
Right now, he just needed to do what Yuri told him to.
“Oh, I almost missed that one. I’ll take that too… Say it, Mucci.”
“…I’ll take that one too.”
Yuri enthusiastically picked items while Mucci, with tired eyes, nodded along beside him.
Finally, Coco sighed.
“…Why don’t you just say you want everything except what you won’t buy?”
“Shall I?”
Grinning widely, Yuri nodded.
After happily sweeping through the special sale items for a while, the first-year special sale display was now empty.
Looking at the pile of items stacked in one corner, Yuri smiled contentedly.
‘Even after buying all this, it’s only 15 million points.’
Among the items were even two high-grade elixirs.
Yet the total was just 15 million points.
An incredible discount, it was practically a steal.
Of course, to Mucci, who was only a first-year cadet, this sum felt like an insurmountable amount.
“Hehehe.”
On the other hand, Yuri struggled to hold back the laughter that kept escaping at the thought of his good fortune.
Finally managing to straighten his face, Yuri spoke with a serious and tense look.
“Alright, bring that out too.”
“That?”
Coco repeated, and Yuri’s eyes flashed with a blue light.
As if he had lived solely for this moment, he spoke clearly, with the determination of a final battle.
“The Lucky Draw Box.”
Coco, realizing what he was getting at, looked astounded.
“You can’t be serious….”
“Hehe.”
Yuri’s eyes gleamed with madness as he chuckled.
“I wouldn’t have gone through all this trouble just for the special sale.”
No, bringing Mucci wasn’t just for the special sale; this was the real reason.
He hadn’t forgotten what Coco had told him in the past.
[Why so surprised? The first-year box is a million points, but the others cost even more.]
The cheapest way to get a Lucky Draw Box at this time of year.
It was simple.
‘Mucci, I’m counting on you!’
Bring a first-year candidate to do the drawing in his place.