Chapter 133

Chapter 133: Yeona's First Family Trip

Ji-young's skills had improved considerably from working at the Rift restaurant, with many of the rough edges in her cooking polished away.

She had grown skilled enough to be entrusted with the Rift restaurant even in my absence.

So I handed her the role of temporary head chef for three days.

"What? Chef, you are really leaving me in charge of the restaurant for three days?"

"Yeah. The Sword Saint elder and Ye-rim from the front-of-house staff will back you up, so do your best running things."

"Chef, you trust me?"

"I do."

Ji-young looked genuinely moved.

Then she answered with vigor.

"I will live up to that trust!"

"Good. Start by planning the menu for the three days of sales. Then I will stock up on plenty of ingredients to match."

"Understood! I will keep it as simple as possible."

And so Ji-young began planning the lunch service menus.

Day one: steak and pasta set. Day two: eel rice bowl. Day three: beef bulgogi set meal.

A very safe, straightforward menu lineup.

I prepared generous amounts of ingredients and stored them in the commercial-grade refrigerator.

Although it was not plugged in and did not actually run on electricity, I placed two small Ice Crystals inside as a substitute.

'It actually works better than an electric fridge.'

When I was around, I could simply pull fresh ingredients straight from Acresia.

When I was away, I relied on Ice Crystals like this.

"Then I will head out, trusting you completely."

"Yes, Chef! I will hold down the fort! Have a wonderful time with your family!"

I left the restaurant.

As for the food prices, since I was away, it would not be right to charge full price.

Everything would be sold at half price.

The Hunter customers would probably be even happier getting to eat at a lower price.

With that, I was free to leave on vacation with a clear mind.
***
My wife Ria, our two daughters, and I traveled through a Gate portal to the Rift house.

Rin was bouncing with excitement as she spoke to Yeona, who was seated in her baby sofa.

"Yeona, we are going on a twip today."

Yeona simply smiled brightly at her sister.

"We are going to see the ocean. The ocean is suuuuper wide!"

Come to think of it, I had never taken Rin to the ocean.

I had taken her to lakes and rivers, but never the sea.

We had been so busy with Outpost construction, and it had overlapped with Ria's pregnancy and delivery.

Now that Yeona was in the early stages of her fifth month, she was old enough to take along.

After finishing our preparations for the outing.

I picked up Yeona, placed her in the stroller, and buckled her in.

"Let us go see the ocean, Yeona."

"Papa, Win wants to push Yeona's stwowwer!"

"Go ahead."

Rin was still wearing her beret.

But unlike before, I no longer made her wear a wig and sunglasses on top of it.

By now, many people knew that Rin was a Dryad and that Ria and I had taken her in as our daughter.

'Word spread through the Hunters who visited the Outpost township.'

There had even been a Hunter who went on a talk show and shared the story of seeing Rin.

As a result, many people knew Rin's identity.

So there was no need to make her uncomfortable with a wig or sunglasses.

She wore just the beret to avoid excessive attention.

We left the building and headed for our car at a nearby paid parking lot where we had a monthly pass.

A newly purchased vehicle.

'The C model from Brand R.'

A large five-seat SUV that cost over seven hundred million won fully loaded.

The reason I had bought this car was simple.

Not to show off, but to protect my family in case of an accident by choosing a sturdy vehicle.

I placed Yeona in the baby car seat and fastened the safety harness.

Rin, on the other hand, refused the car seat.

"Win does not need a car seat anymore. I am the big sister."

She was right that she did not need one anymore.

A seatbelt alone was sufficient now.

"All right. But if things get dangerous, you have to protect yourself. Understood?"

"Yesh!"

Rin had learned two defensive abilities from the Adult Dryad.

The first was powerfully summoning Earth Mana to shield her body like a protective barrier.

The second was instantly growing the vine wrapped around her ankle to envelop her entire body.

Once she grew stronger, she would be able to use both simultaneously, the Dryad had said.

'It is fortunate the Adult Dryad has been staying with us for the time being.'

Rin had lost her mother at a young age and had missed learning things she should have been taught.

The Adult Dryad was filling that role, teaching her in place of a mother.

Rin then looked at Yeona and said.

"Yeona, your big sister will pwotect you too!"

A truly reassuring big sister.

"Oong."

Yeona babbled in reply.

And so we set off in the car.

Ria sat in the passenger seat beside me for now.

The reason she sat next to me rather than in the back was to hold my hand.

"My hand is not in the way, right?"

"Not at all. Driving while holding your hand feels wonderful."

My left hand was on the steering wheel, my right hand was holding Ria's.

I was using the autonomous driving feature.

My left hand was only resting lightly on the wheel as a backup.

"Your hands are still like white jade, Ria."

"Only the backs. My palms have calluses."

"That cannot be helped. You hold a sword."

"Still, it would be nicer if they were softer."

"I actually like your hands with those slight calluses better. Calluses are a symbol of hard work."

I drew Ria's hand toward me and kissed the back of it.

Her face flushed.

We still had that newlywed energy.

"Yeona, are Papa and Mama not cute together?"

At Rin's words, Yeona responded.

"Mama, Dada."

She replied by calling out Mama and Dada.

Now in the early stages of her fifth month, Yeona was saying "Mama" and "Dada" with increasing regularity.

To such a Yeona, Rin had lately been saying.

"Yeona, say 'big sister' for me."

She had been asking Yeona to call her big sister.

But the pronunciation seemed too difficult still.

"Oo."

"It is still hard, wight? Say it for me when you get a wittle bigger."

They were both so lovable I could burst.

After a long drive, we arrived at Dongmyeong Beach in Gangneung.

We parked the car, crossed the railroad tracks, and faced the beach.

"Wooow......!"

Rin's jaw dropped as she gazed at the blue ocean and the sandy shore.

Yeona, cradled in Ria's arms, was blinking as she looked at the sea.

Rin said with sparkling eyes.

"So this is the ocean...... The ocean is so pwetty! It wooks wike Yeona's eyes!"

"Hehe! You are right, it does look like our Yeona's blue eyes."

We then strolled along the beach.

Since it was late autumn, swimming was out of the question, so we simply took in the view.

"This must be your first time seeing the Korean sea too, Ria."

"Yeah, I have seen it a few times on TV, but this is the first time in person. I had no idea it was this blue."

"That is why I brought us to the East Sea."

Walking along this quiet beach felt wonderful.

The weather was not particularly cold either, perfect for a beach stroll.

That said, even on a quiet beach, there were some visitors.

"Wait......?! Is that the An Seon-u and Emeria Hunter couple?"

"Hmm? No way...... huh? Actually, it might be."

"It is them! They have babies with them too."

Women's voices carried over.

Of course they would recognize Ria and me.

We were barely disguised with just hats.

Three women who appeared to be college-aged approached.

"Excuse me...... you are Hunter An Seon-u and Hunter Emeria, right?"

"Yes, that is correct."

I could hardly deny it.

"See! I told you!"

"Wow, it really is them. This is amazing. You are both so gorgeous!"

Ria was certainly beautiful, but calling me gorgeous was probably just flattery.

"Thank you."

The women then turned their attention to the children.

"Aww...... they are so adorable."

"How can they be this cute......?"

Our kids were cute, I had to admit.

Even with three women showering attention on her, Rin did not hide behind my leg like she used to.

Frequent visits to the Outpost had gotten her used to people.

"Hehe! Thank you! My wittle sister Yeona is weally cute, right?"

At Rin's words, the women squealed.

"Even the way she talks is adorable......!"

"Yes, your little sister is so pretty."

"She is absolutely precious."

Rin looked pleased that her sister was being praised.

Then they asked for a photo together.

I hesitated for a moment.

'Ria and I are easily found online, but Yeona's and Rin's faces have not been made public yet.'

I had no particular desire to change that.

And Ria was currently holding Yeona.

"I am afraid I cannot include my family in a photo, but I would be happy to take one with you myself."

"That would be great!"

"Thank you!"

So I took a photo with the women.

As we posed, one of them linked her arm with mine and pressed close.

An alarm bell went off in my head.

I glanced sideways at Ria.

Ria was smiling as if nothing was wrong.

And yet, why was I breaking into a cold sweat?

"Thank you!"

The women left.

I turned to Ria.

"Ria...... you are not upset, are you?"

"Hmm? Not at all."

"Oh, okay."

Then why did I keep seeing what looked like mana rippling off Ria?

And why was I drenched in cold sweat?

We set up a parasol and mat on the beach and sat watching the sea.

Rin went off to collect seashells.
***
After spending time at the beach and having a light meal of sandwiches I had prepared in advance.

We visited a beachside cafe for drinks.

Only then did we check into the reserved pool villa.

Our family changed into swimsuits and got into the private heated indoor pool.

"The water is warm, I wove it!"

Rin said, floating on a tube in the water.

Ria nodded in agreement.

"It really is nice here. Good call on the reservation. The indoor pool is spacious too."

"Right? It is a recently built, state-of-the-art pool villa, so it is quite nice."

The pool was the perfect size for the kids to play in.

Not just Rin, but Yeona was also enjoying the water in a baby float tube.

Her expression showed she was clearly having fun.

"Yeona, your big sister will push your tube for you."

"Oo."

The two played together perfectly well on their own.

Ria and I watched our daughters with warm smiles.

I turned my gaze to Ria.

"My dear wife, the bikini looks great on you."

"I worked hard training and trimming any extra weight for today."

"Where was there any extra weight to begin with?"

"There was. Tiny amounts. Anyway...... do not stare so hard. It is embarrassing."

Ria crossed her arms shyly to cover herself.

That only made her look more alluring.

I quickly averted my eyes.

The flirting could wait for late at night, after the kids were asleep.

'Taking vacation time and going on a trip like this feels great.'

The autonomous driving had done most of the work, so I was not particularly tired.

Spending this leisurely, unhurried time with my family felt rejuvenating.

Next time I wanted to visit Jeju Island, and after that, perhaps go abroad.

'Am I really allowed to be this happy?'

Sometimes I feared this might all be a dream.

That when I woke up, I would return to the wretched version of myself from the past.

While lost in such thoughts, Ria linked her arm through my right arm and leaned her head on my shoulder.

"I get anxious sometimes because I am too happy."

So Ria had been thinking the same thing.

"I was just thinking the same."

"Hehe! Great minds think alike."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

We shared a gentle kiss.

"Let us have a barbecue party outside this evening."

"Sounds great!"

"Before the barbecue, I should stop by the Rift house in the evening to bring Bell along. Bell is family too."

Bell had not been registered as a managed entity, so officially, I could not bring her outside the Rift.

Even if I wanted to register her, it would be difficult to register Bell on top of having Rin already registered.

Rin, as a Dryad, had zero aggression as a species.

Fenrir was different.

On that matter, the mother Fenrir had said.

'Fenrir are originally very fierce monsters. As they approach adulthood, they become increasingly aggressive. However, once they reach full maturity, the aggression fades. Like me now. So if Bell becomes aggressive at some point during her growth, please understand. She will never attack family, so rest assured.'

The conclusion was that Fenrir were very fierce monsters.

Social skills and communication ability apparently only developed after reaching full maturity.

Therefore, registering Bell, a Fenrir pup, was not easy even with my connections.

'That is why I cannot take her outdoors, but bringing her to a private indoor setting like this should be fine.'

In any case, I would go get her in the evening.

***

That evening, before the barbecue, I briefly brought Bell along.

While I was at it, I brought Ruina too.

After we all enjoyed the barbecue party together, I sent both of them back to the Rift.

Then Yeona and Rin fell asleep in the bedroom.

Rin had fallen asleep holding Yeona's hand tightly.

"How adorable."

Ria and I watched them for a while, then gently closed the door and slipped out.

Now it was time for just the two of us.