The Story of Becoming a Married Man in Another World

029 Dorothy’s Enormous Task

Dad built a fence around the house. It’s still small, but soon the fence will grow. We’ll have a home like rabbits!

“….”

—

Huh, that’s strange. We already have a house. Why is he building a fence?

Dorothy tilted her head. Something feels off. She doesn’t understand why her dad is building a fence. She’ll have to ask him when he gets back.

But that’s not the important thing. Dorothy has something very, very important to do. She has to feed the rabbit, clean its poop, feed it again, play with it, clean its poop again, oh, and give it water. Anyway, she has to do all that for the rabbit.

Her dad stammered as he spoke to Dorothy. The rabbit will have more rabbits, and those rabbits will have more rabbits, and those rabbits will have even more rabbits. And soon, the fence will be filled with rabbits.

If Dorothy feeds them diligently, the rabbits will multiply. Then we’ll be rich. We’ll be incredibly, incredibly rich and have a ton of meat. We’ll be rabbit meat millionaires.

Dorothy has never tasted it, but Lizzy said rabbit meat is incredibly delicious. Lizzy hasn’t tasted it either, but she heard it from someone. It might be tastier than wolf meat.

Dorothy quietly watched the baby rabbit sleep. The baby rabbit still sleeps all the time. Sometimes it opens its eyes, but then it goes back to sleep. It can’t move yet.

Her dad said it would take a little more time before the baby rabbit can move. It’s too hurt to move right now. Poor thing. It must be bored. Sleeping all day must be incredibly boring.

Before, its bones were visible, but now they aren’t. Lizzy’s mom said new flesh has grown. Is it magic? Flesh growing like that, it’s really amazing. It seems like a magic rabbit.

“Rabbit, wake up quickly. Aren’t you bored? Dorothy will play with you.”

She spoke softly, but the baby rabbit didn’t wake up. She’s bored. Should she wake it up?

As she was thinking that, Lizzy, who was busy getting ready to leave, suddenly spoke from behind.

“Dorothy, that’s not for eating.”

Huh? Is mom stupid? The baby rabbit isn’t for eating, so why would she say that? She widened her eyes, and Lizzy came closer to wipe her mouth. Drool had dripped down to her chin.

Seeing Lizzy’s face reminded her of something she had forgotten.

“Oh! Rabbit food!”

This isn’t the time to be doing this. She has to feed the rabbit. Today is the day of the peddler? Peddler? Anyway, she has to go there. The village chief lady came yesterday and said it had arrived. So we have to go to the village. We have to go to the peddler.

“Mom, Dorothy is going to feed the rabbit!”

Dorothy jumped up and ran outside. She has to feed the rabbits so they won’t be hungry while they’re away.

Dorothy gathered the leaves that had fallen while her dad was cutting bamboo and went to the rabbit house.

When she opened the bamboo door and went inside, the rabbit was sitting quietly in the corner. Its ears and nose kept twitching.

“Rabbit! Eat your food! Dorothy is busy today, so you have to eat alone and be good. Got it?”

She told the rabbit and neatly gathered the bamboo leaves in one place. When she gathered the scattered bamboo leaves in one place, there was more rabbit food. The rabbit would be happy too. More food is always good.

“Is it magic? There’s more food now.”

She was surprised belatedly. It seems like Dorothy can use magic too. She’ll have to brag to her dad when he comes back. Dad, Dorothy can use magic too. Maybe she can use magic on wolf meat too….

“Exciting!”

*

In the small village, a peddler’s cart comes once or twice a month, or at intervals of a few months. In the village where Lizzy lived, the peddler came about once a month.

In a village far from the city where it’s not easy to get things, the day the peddler comes is very important.

If you can’t get what you need when the peddler is there, you’ll have to make do with what you have until the next opportunity comes.

—

—

If it’s something you can live without, it’s fine, but if you can’t buy something essential like salt, it would be a disaster.

“….”

Lizzy had already picked up and put down the wolf fur several times, lost in thought.

Peddlers not only sell goods but also buy them. They often trade goods rather than money, but if you have good items, you can get a lot from the peddlers.

She had never sold anything before, but furs and leathers were especially favored by peddlers. Whether the quality was good or bad, they were always popular.

Lizzy gently stroked the wolf skin with her hand.

At first, she made some mistakes, but after learning how to handle the leather from Gus, she properly treated it again. She wasn’t sure, but it seemed to be of decent quality. It felt a bit wasteful to sell it to a peddler coming to such a village.

Moreover, this was the first thing Joo-hwan had hunted. She wanted to keep it if possible. Joo-hwan told her to sell it, but she still didn’t feel like it.

‘But there are so many things to buy.’

She wanted to buy more clothes for Joo-hwan and he needed shoes. Shoes were especially important when walking in the mountains.

She also wanted to buy a pot and a water container.

Additionally, it would be good to have another knife or axe for Joo-hwan.

She needed to buy things for Dorothy in advance too. Children’s bodies grow so quickly.

For some reason, the village chief gave her more fabric and goods, but she felt uneasy about receiving things from him or the village. It seemed like they wanted to tie Joo-hwan down, and she didn’t like it.

Her husband seemed to think it was okay for the sake of living, but he wasn’t someone who should be tied down to such a small village. Lizzy herself was an ignorant village woman, but she thought he could fly higher.

‘They want to tie down someone like him to this barren mountain.’

Of course, the biggest chain tying him down was herself. Lizzy sighed gloomily and slapped her cheeks with both hands. She didn’t want to receive anything from the village if possible. She didn’t want to burden her husband any further.

Lizzy sighed softly and looked at the rabbit fur beside her. One rabbit fur wouldn’t be enough. She tried to improve the quality of the fur as much as possible, but there were still too many things to buy.

Lizzy hesitated for a moment but sighed again and took out the scissors. She tied her hair together with a piece of fabric.

A woman’s hair sells for a good price. She heard it was used to make wigs or hair ornaments for nobles.

Lizzy’s golden hair was especially well-regarded. She had been asked several times by peddlers to sell her hair. Since living with Joo-hwan, her hair had become even more beautiful, so it would sell for a good price.

As she gripped the scissors, tears welled up slightly.

Joo-hwan often gently stroked her hair. He didn’t say it, but he liked her hair. Probably quite a lot.

“….”

One of the reasons he liked her was disappearing.

Snip, as her hair was cut, tears trickled down. It’s okay. She had grown her hair for times like this. Besides, hair grows back. She thought that, but her heart still felt sad.

She tidied up her hair and prepared to go out, putting the rabbit fur in a cloth bag.

Then she checked the necessary items once more. She carefully thought about what she absolutely had to buy and what would be nice to have but wasn’t essential.

“Daddy!”

Dorothy’s voice was heard from outside. It seemed Joo-hwan, who had gone hunting early in the morning, had returned. Dorothy’s excited voice could be heard.

—

—

“It’s a rabbit! Dorothy has another rabbit!”

She seems very happy. When Lizzy went outside, Joo-hwan was putting two rabbits into the cage.

Dorothy was once again wandering around collecting bamboo leaves. She always drops more than half of what she gathers in her hands, but she is still diligent.

“Welcome back.”

When Lizzy spoke, Joo-hwan’s movements suddenly froze. His eyes widened.

From a little distance away, Dorothy, who was picking up bamboo leaves, dropped all the leaves she was holding in her hands and shouted.

“Mom! Your hair is gone!”

Dorothy seemed flustered. She ran to Lizzy and started circling around, checking the ground here and there. It seemed she was looking for the hair. Lizzy had never cut her hair, but Dorothy must have cut her own hair before, so why was she reacting like this?

“I cut my hair.”

“…Why!”

Dorothy seemed angry. To the child’s eyes, Lizzy’s shiny hair must have looked very beautiful. In the end, she even started to cry a little, saying the hair was pitiful.

Joo-hwan seemed to have guessed what was going on. He, who had been frozen for a moment, came closer and patted the back of her neck, which had become chilly.

“Sorry.”

Joo-hwan said in a small voice.

He’s a strange person. Why would he be sorry for something like this? This kind of thing was common around her. It always happened. Many women grew their hair to sell it. It was just a means of making a living, and it wasn’t something a man should feel sorry about.

But his words were so kind that she somehow felt tears welling up. Not because she was sad, but because she was happy, joyful, and her heart felt warm.

She should have said it was okay, but her throat choked up, and she couldn’t speak for a moment. Her husband hugged her and patted her short hair several times.

Children are quick to change. Just a moment ago, Dorothy was crying, saying the hair was pitiful, but suddenly she said,

“I’ll feed the rabbits.”

The child picked up the leaves she had dropped and headed to the rabbit cage. With every step she took, bamboo leaves fell, leaving a trail. Seeing the leaves scattered outside, it seemed easy to tell where the child had wandered. Somehow, it made her smile.

After that, they hurriedly prepared to go to the village.

Lizzy put on the old coat she had worn when she came to this village and dressed the child in a double-layered quilted coat.

The coat, made generously for future use, was much larger than the child’s body. Dorothy seemed happy with the coat, with its long sleeves rolled up several times, and twirled around in place to show it off to Joo-hwan.

The outer fabric of the child’s coat was new, but the inside was quilted with old clothes. Seeing the worn fabric on the folded-up part made Lizzy’s heart ache a little.

If they lined it with rabbit fur, it would be warm, but they couldn’t afford it now. Maybe later, when the rabbits had more babies, they could do that.

Joo-hwan carried a wooden frame on his back, preparing for when he would bring things back.

Dorothy went to the rabbit cage and reported to the rabbits that she would be going to the village for a while. She was earnestly explaining to the rabbits, who couldn’t understand.

But she seemed to have misunderstood the word “peddler” and kept saying “hengsaeng.” When Lizzy corrected her pronunciation, Joo-hwan, who was next to her, also quietly followed. Maybe her husband had also misunderstood it as “hengsaeng.”

As they went down the mountain, Dorothy kept showing interest in the frame. Joo-hwan lowered his body and put her on top of it. Dorothy was thrilled. Wasn’t she afraid of falling? It made her heart flutter with anxiety.

Holding hands with her husband, they walked down the mountain path, while the child was noisy on the frame. Occasionally, birds cawed loudly as if telling her to be quiet.

—

—

“Mom! Mom! You should ride too!”

Maybe because Dorothy was so insistent. Juhwan also suggested it to her. He even stopped walking and placed the carrier in front of her.

She was scared, but Dorothy was too noisy. And just a little, she was curious about the view from the carrier.

Pretending to be reluctant, she placed her bottom on the carrier, and Juhwan lifted his body. As the carrier rose, her view suddenly became higher.

“Ahhhhh!”

A scream came out involuntarily. Dorothy giggled. She could also hear a bit of Juhwan’s laughter.

Eventually, Lizzy got off the carrier and walked beside Juhwan again.

As the pleasant mountain path ended and they approached the village, Lizzy’s heart began to sink little by little. She was worried about hearing something about the fight Juhwan had with the village men before. She felt uneasy. Her heart felt heavy as if a stone was placed on it.

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