The Story of Becoming a Married Man in Another World

026 The Rabbit and Dorothy

When he was living on Earth, there was nothing he particularly wanted to do. The hope of being able to create a family gradually faded, and he lived each day mechanically.

But now, touching these bows and arrows, he felt strange. It was somehow different from when he was working.

Maybe it was because he had the family he had wished for. So his mindset had changed.

Someday, will I be able to make these bows and arrows too? Thinking that, something small rose from the bottom of his heart.

While looking at the bows and arrows, he suddenly saw a few wooden plaques near the container holding the iron tips.

“!”

It was different from what he saw when he first came to this world. The units of numbers were larger, and there were a few more characters written. It was probably an order form. Items, quantities, and amounts were written on it.

‘If something like this is here, maybe.’

Juhwan hurriedly picked up the wooden plaque and approached Gus.

“This!”

Juhwan, in an excited state, pointed to the characters on the wooden plaque and said.

“Gus, do you know? Do you know this? I want to learn. Gus, teach me. This, this.”

“Huh?”

Gus’s eyes widened. He looked at the wooden plaque and then back at Juhwan, as if finding it a bit strange. He seemed to quickly understand that Juhwan wanted to learn the characters. Gus asked.

“### Want to learn?”

“Want. A lot, a lot, want.”

Juhwan’s reaction might be rare. Perhaps many commoners thought that characters were completely unnecessary. Judging by Gus’s reaction, that might be the case.

Lizzie didn’t even know how to write numbers. She seemed to have trouble with counting itself. But she didn’t seem to want to learn numbers or characters.

Gus scratched his white hair and nodded.

“Well, okay.”

Gus gestured for him to wait a moment and headed to the corner. He rummaged through a box filled with miscellaneous items.

Where was it, he muttered something like that while rummaging through this box and that box, and then he exclaimed, “Oh,” as he picked something up.

—

—

Clatter, clatter, the sound of wooden pieces colliding echoed softly.

“###. Here, take it. With this #####.”

“….”

What Gus handed over was a bundle of small wooden pieces with holes drilled in them, tied together. It seemed to be an old item, with worn corners. The wooden tags had become glossy from frequent handling.

Juhwan stared intently at the wooden tags tied with a long string.

Each piece of wood had a single character on it, resembling the alphabet. Some characters had dots like German letters, and some looked a bit strange.

Pointing at the characters on the wooden pieces with his finger, Juhwan spoke.

“Now, this, teach me, please.”

“….”

Gus smirked as if Juhwan was a strange fellow. But he didn’t refuse Juhwan’s request and began to read the characters on the wooden tags.

Juhwan fetched a piece of charcoal nearby and started writing the pronunciations on the back of the wooden tags as Gus dictated.

He couldn’t remember everything right away. He wasn’t that smart. Writing it down in Hangul and repeatedly reading and learning it would be the best approach.

Seeing Juhwan writing in Hangul, Gus’s eyes widened. He stared at the Hangul in amazement. Tilting his head curiously, Gus didn’t ask any questions. He probably just thought it was a foreign script.

The script of this country had 29 characters in total.

But there were about twenty more wooden tags. They probably contained the most basic words.

Understanding the meaning of the words or combining the characters was secondary. As long as he knew the pronunciation, he could ask Riji. Juhwan asked Gus again, and Gus dictated the pronunciations, which Juhwan wrote on the back of the wooden tags.

The task of writing the pronunciations was quickly finished. It didn’t take much time since he was just writing in Hangul. Juhwan wanted to learn the meanings of the words if Gus had time, but Gus stood up as if to signal the end.

Gus went to the workbench and gestured for Juhwan to come over.

As Juhwan approached, Gus took out a bow that had been standing against the wall.

It was bigger and thicker than the others. It had no signs of wear or scratches, giving off the impression of being newly made.

“This is your bow##. ### such a bow##fits##body##.”

Gus said as he handed over the bow. There were some words Juhwan couldn’t understand, but he got the gist of it. It probably meant that this bow suited Juhwan’s large frame and that he should use it from now on.

The bow Juhwan had received before was much smaller compared to this one. The other bows seemed to be sized for Gus, most of them shorter than what Juhwan used. Only a few were bigger than the others.

He didn’t know if Gus made new bows for everyone.

But it seemed that Gus personally made bows that fit the bodies of some of the rangers.

That’s why there were a few bows that didn’t match Gus’s size.

The bow Gus had first given to Juhwan was probably made to fit someone else’s body.

Juhwan stared blankly at the bow. Was it okay to accept this? The wooden tags with characters on them probably weren’t cheap or common items either. And now, this bow on top of that.

He had already received a lot from Gus. Even if it was a decision made by the village and Gus might have gained something from it, the fact that he had received so much from Gus didn’t change.

Sensing Juhwan’s hesitation, Gus forcibly placed the bow in Juhwan’s hand.

—

—

“This bow is your bow.”

Although it wasn’t decorated or painted, the cross-section of the bow was smooth. It seemed to be more meticulously crafted than the bow he had received earlier.

The middle part of the bow was concave like a helicopter’s propeller, wrapped in leather to prevent slipping.

Both ends of the bow were also wrapped in leather, which seemed to have been treated with something. It felt firm to the touch. The bowstring was tied and hung on that part. When the bow was drawn, the string would catch on the bulging part.

It was definitely a more refined item than the previous bow.

Juhwan held the bow upright and bowed his head.

“Thank you, Gus, thank you.”

“You will become a good hunter.”

Gus smiled warmly. He must have meant that Juhwan would become a good hunter.

Gus gave Juhwan three leather bags filled with arrows. It seemed he had prepared them in advance.

One bag contained arrows made only of bamboo, another had arrows with iron tips, and the third had arrows with stone tips.

“A person… hunt alone.”

If there were many words he didn’t understand, Gus would repeat them several times. Juhwan focused as much as possible, guessing and interpreting Gus’s words. He confirmed them several times to make sure he understood correctly.

It seemed Gus wouldn’t be coming to Juhwan’s house for a few days. He was telling Juhwan that he would have to hunt alone during that time.

Nodding in understanding, Juhwan repeated Gus’s words, combining the words and phrases he had just learned.

Gus patted Juhwan’s shoulder as if to say he did well.

After thanking Gus once more for the bow, Juhwan left the warehouse.

Gus seemed to have something to do. He stayed in the warehouse.

Clatter, clatter. The bundle of wooden plaques in his hand made a clear sound as they collided. He wanted to learn the letters as soon as possible and teach them to Lizzy and Dorothy. Knowing the letters would increase the things they could do in the future. It would be a great help to Dorothy.

A rabbit wriggled at his waist. The pouch swayed. Imagining the rabbit giving birth to babies, and those babies giving birth to more babies, made his steps quicken unconsciously.

*

What a strange man. Why would he want to learn letters, and what would he use them for? And with such a joyful expression.

Gus recalled Juhwan’s face and involuntarily smiled bitterly.

He hadn’t thrown away the wooden plaques, but he had forgotten about them for a long time. If it weren’t for Juhwan, he would have continued to forget.

The wooden plaques were something he had bought in his youth, for the time when he would achieve great deeds and be employed by a noble. He had been advised that it was good to know letters if he wanted to work under a noble. He was in his mid-teens at that time.

The wooden plaques were items used to teach the children of merchants. He had bought them when they were put out for disposal after long use.

After buying the wooden plaques, Gus sought a teacher to teach him.

In big cities, there were people who would read or write letters for you. Gus’s teacher was one of those people. The wooden plaques were expensive, but learning letters from the teacher cost even more.

It took a lot of time to learn. Learning the letters, writing them as they were, and memorizing the words were not easy. He would forget them as soon as he turned around.

It was something he had learned with great difficulty, but now he only used it to read the wooden plaques he received when ordering iron tips.

—

—

Even if one cannot read the letters, there is someone who reads the order plaques for a small fee.

There was no advantage in knowing the letters. It was just a waste of time and money spent learning.

Gus shook his head vigorously, recalling the wooden plaque that held his hopes. Don’t think about it. It’s already a thing of the past.

From today, he has to wander around the mountains for a few days to find traces of goblins. They must be living somewhere in a village, but he still hasn’t found their residence.

‘I need to go deeper into the mountains.’

Just as most animals enter their breeding season in spring, goblin activity also becomes active around that time. The period just before spring, when food is scarce during the winter, was also the time when the abduction of women, which had been minimally suppressed, increased rapidly.

‘I must not find them too late.’

He has to gauge the scale to some extent. If the village has not yet formed, or if it is very small even if it has formed, it can wait until next spring.

But if the village has already formed and is large-scale, it is best to find and deal with them just before spring, when they are about to invade the village with their eyes on the women.

He can call adventurers, and he and Juhwan can join them.

Juhwan is learning to hunt very quickly. Although he is still clumsy, he will be able to do his part if he cooperates with the adventurers.

Juhwan’s archery skills are still far from perfect, but the bow made for him this time increases its power. The wood used is elastic and strong enough to withstand Juhwan’s brute strength. His brute strength will sufficiently compensate for the lack of accuracy.

Gus hurriedly packed his belongings to stay in the mountains for a few days and went out. No matter how familiar a hunter is, the forest at night is dangerous. He has to go to the mountain and settle down before nightfall.

As he walked with a limp, the injured part throbbed unusually. Damn goblins. Gus clenched his mouth tightly. The hatred grows day by day as the wound throbs.

“….”

I’ll kill them all. I will definitely kill them all.

*

Scritch, scritch, scritch. The scissors cut the cloth. No, they cut the cloth before it becomes clothes.

Dorothy swallowed hard.

Lizzy was sitting next to the furnace, cutting a fabric she had never seen before to Dorothy’s size.

“Is this for me?”

“Yes.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“When will it be finished?”

“….”

Lizzy put down the large scissors and looked at Dorothy’s face. She wasn’t angry for interrupting her work. She was smiling.

“Dorothy, do you know how many times you’ve asked already?”

“…I don’t know?”

“It seems like it’s definitely more than ten times.”

—

“…Don’t you know?”

Lizzy laughed and then cut the fabric one last time before putting the scissors in the box. She threaded the needle and started sewing the clothes.

Dorothy stood close in front of her, quietly watching Lizzy sew. That would become her own clothes. It was a pretty fabric she had never seen before.

“Is this mine?”

Dorothy asked, and Lizzy giggled.

“Dorothy, this is really yours.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

She was happy. The clothes she was wearing now were brought by a village lady long before Lizzy came. It seemed that she had received them because the clothes she had been wearing before had become too small to wear. The lady had said thank you, thank you, many times.

But the new clothes had holes in them. They weren’t pretty either. There was something stained on the part where the buttocks were, and it smelled strange.

She had been wearing these clothes until Lizzy came. Ah, she remembered now. When she met Lizzy, the loose clothes had become tight.

After Lizzy washed them, they no longer smelled, but there were still holes. The one hole had become as many as Lizzy had said, three.

The side was torn. Lizzy had sewn it up, but it tore again. Lizzy always had a sad face whenever she saw these clothes.

“Is it mine? New clothes?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Hearing Lizzy’s answer made her happy. Yes, that’s right. Yes, that’s right. She wanted to hear it over and over again. So she kept asking, but she wondered if Lizzy would get angry.

Just as she was about to ask again if it was hers, she heard the sound of the door rattling.

Lizzy suddenly lifted her head and moved Dorothy’s clothes aside. Lizzy hurriedly got up. She untied and retied the ribbon in her hair as she approached the door.

Dorothy also jumped up. She was a little late, but she was faster. Dorothy ran past Lizzy, hitting the floor with her soles.

The door opened, and her father came in. Not Joo-hwan. It was her father.

“Dad!”

She ran and spread her arms wide, and her father grabbed her by the side and lifted her up. Her father held Dorothy with one arm and hugged her to his side. Dorothy hugged her father’s neck and shouted loudly.

“Dad! New clothes. Dorothy’s new clothes.”

“Oh.”

Her father was smiling, but, ah, yes, her father wasn’t good with words. He probably didn’t know what new clothes were. Dorothy was excited to tell him about the new clothes, but suddenly she lowered her head. Something touched the soles of her feet.

Huh? Huh? Huh? The pocket is moving!

That’s strange. Why is the pocket moving?

“Dad, is it magic? Pocket magic?”

She looked at her father’s face in surprise. Her father could make fire with his fingers. He had suddenly become able to do that, so maybe he had also gained the magic to make pockets move.

Her father smiled and tried to untie the pocket with one hand. Her father was very strong and brave, but a bit foolish. He couldn’t untie the ribbon with one hand. Lizzy approached, laughing, gave him a kiss, and helped him untie the ribbon.

—

Ah! Dorothy, a kiss too!

Just as she was about to pucker her lips, Dorothy looked at something peeking out of her pocket. Oh, oh, what is that?

“Rabbit?”

It was Lizzy’s voice. Lizzy was startled and saw the rabbit’s ears sticking out of the pocket.

The ears twitched, wiggled. Twitched this way and that.

“It’s, it’s moving.”

Dorothy’s eyes widened.

The rabbit is moving. Why? The rabbit should be limp, why is it moving? Was the rabbit supposed to move? The rabbit her father had was always limp…

For some reason, drool suddenly trickled down.

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