Healing in the Country Side with a Baby Dragon - CHAPTER 5 (A Small Misunderstanding)

An A-class hunter, Lee Na-yeon, was currently facing the absolute, biggest crisis of her life.

It had started out as a completely normal raid. She had entered the gate with her teammates just like any other day. The hunt proceeded smoothly—so smoothly, in fact, that she was actually starting to feel a bit bored.

Then, the gate suddenly changed.

It was a phenomenon commonly referred to as a "mutated gate"—a disaster of unknown origins that completely warps the terrain and alters the appearing monsters. Of course, predicting these changes is impossible when humanity doesn't even understand why gates and monsters exist in the first place. There are still far too many secrets and mysteries left to be solved.

But for the hunters trapped inside, it isn't an academic mystery; it is a brutal matter of life and death. Every piece of data they had on the terrain, every anticipated attack route—all of it became instantly useless.

While the veteran hunters managed to pull themselves together and adapt, Lee Na-yeon was still far too inexperienced. Panic seized her, and in the chaos, she was separated from her group.

After that, she had to survive entirely alone for more than ten days.

The first few days weren't completely terrible. Armed with her A-class combat prowess and the survival skills drilled into her at the Hunter Academy, she managed to pull through. At one point, she even thought to herself,

'Huh, is this actually easier than I expected?'

But the real nightmare began after that.

Her personal combat rations ran out. She was forced to fight an endless horde of monsters all by herself, trapped in an alien environment completely detached from Earth. The dense forest wrapped around her like a maze, offering no way out. She lived constantly on edge, never knowing when or from where something might pop out to kill her.

Deprived of food and unable to sleep, her stamina quickly deteriorated, and her fighting ability plummeted. To make matters worse, she fell violently ill after blindly drinking wild water and eating random fruits. Eventually, she got lucky and found some actually edible fruits, but even those were now completely gone.

"I feel so dizzy..." she muttered.

Finally, Lee Na-yeon’s physical and mental strength reached their absolute limits. In a gate disaster, those two factors determine whether you live or die. Her raw combat power might have been outstanding, but she simply couldn't withstand the lack of real-world experience and the suffocating psychological pressure any longer.

'To think I'm going to die like this.'

It felt so incredibly unfair. There were still so many things she hadn't done, so much of her life left to live. She couldn't help but think of her sister. How heartbroken would she be if Lee Na-yeon died here?

'I'm going to see Mom and Dad first, Sister. Take your time coming to join us...'

Tears welled in her eyes at the thought of her sister being left entirely alone in the world. Even amidst her sorrow, nausea and dizziness washed over her.

As her consciousness began to fade, one final, random thought popped into her mind.

'Ah... I really want to eat Grandma's soybean paste stew.'

It was a taste she would never experience again.

'No, wait,' she thought faintly- 'when we meet in heaven, I'll just ask her to make a pot for me.'

The exact moment Lee Na-yeon’s body gave out and she collapsed, the ground beneath her feet suddenly gave way. She vanished into thin air.

When she next opened her eyes, she was tumbling directly into the front yard of the house where Seol-ah and I were staying.

Lee Na-yeon gasped, jolted awake by the sharp impact of her backside hitting the dirt. She hurriedly scrambled to take in her surroundings.

"Uh...?"

Where was she?

The first thing to catch her attention was the brilliant blue sea stretching out beyond our low stone wall. Behind the house towered majestic mountains under a crystal-clear sky. Coming straight out of a damp, suffocatingly dark jungle, the sudden openness of the view was a shock to her system.

"So pretty..." she whispered.

Had the sky and the sea always been this beautiful? Just looking at them brought fresh tears to her eyes. Next, her gaze landed on our small house with its bright orange roof. It looked strikingly similar to the countryside house where she had lived with her grandmother as a child.

"There's even a garden..."

She stared blankly at the lush, green vegetables growing in the soil. It was a mirror image of her childhood sanctuary.

As she sat there, completely dazed and looking around, I finally decided to speak up.

"Excuse me?"

My voice cut through the silence.

Lee Na-yeon whipped her head around. I was sitting right there with Seol-ah—who looked prettier than any doll—and both of us were staring intently at this random girl who had just dropped from the sky.

Seeing the two of us sitting peacefully in this serene landscape, Lee Na-yeon apparently jumped to a very swift, very dramatic conclusion.

'Ah. This is the afterlife.'

To be fair, you have to understand the mind of a person who had been lost and starving in a death trap for over ten days.

"Are you... an angel?"

I blinked. 

'What on earth is she talking about?'

If a strange woman suddenly materialized in your front yard and immediately asked if you were an angel, anyone would suspect she had lost her mind. Besides, her outfit was bizarre. She was wearing skin-tight combat gear, heavy armor pieces, and a massive sword strapped to her waist. Her entire appearance was completely battered, covered in dirt and scratches as if she had been dragged through a war zone.

'Is she a hunter? Why is a hunter falling into my yard?'

But the woman wasn't even looking at me. Her wide, trembling eyes were locked entirely on Seol-ah.

"An angel... right?"

She was definitely talking to Seol-ah. Well, if she was addressing Seol-ah, I suppose I could understand the confusion. Anyone who took one look at Seol-ah would think she was an angel. Heck, she practically was one—even if she was technically a dragon.

"I guess she's close enough." I murmured.

"I knew it!" the trespasser whispered, nodding to herself.

'Hmm. Well, she recognized Seol-ah's absolute cuteness right off the bat, so she can't be a bad person.' I reasoned. 

I decided to press charges for trespassing later. And no, it wasn't because I was intimidated by the giant sword on her hip. Absolutely not.

"Who are you?" I asked.

The woman gasped dramatically at the simple question.

'Hey, this is my house, and you're the intruder. Why are you the one acting shocked?'

She muttered something under her breath—something that sounded like, "Ah, so this is how it works. It always starts with a formal evaluation like this." Then she straightened her posture and spoke clearly.

"Hello! My name is Lee Na-yeon. I am twenty-one years old, and I was born in South Korea."

"Right... And how exactly did you get here?"

"Oh, well, the terrain suddenly mutated while my team was clearing a gate. I ended up wandering alone for days, and when I finally opened my eyes, I found myself here."

She was answering my questions surprisingly well. Granted, the story itself was completely absurd—getting lost in a gate and somehow falling out into someone's private residence—but it sounded like she had been through a horrific ordeal. I was just glad she made it out alive.

"You've been through a lot." I said softly, offering a bit of sympathy. "Good job surviving."

"I... I survived? You're telling me... I did a good job...?"

"Yes. You worked hard."

Lee Na-yeon instantly clamped a hand over her mouth, visibly overwhelmed by a simple phrase of comfort. Tears pooled heavily in her eyes.

'Wait, what? Why is she crying?'

Are hunters normally this emotionally fragile, or is this girl just an extreme, textbook 'Feeling' type? Still, seeing her so profoundly moved by my words didn't feel entirely bad.

Swallowing a sob, Lee Na-yeon looked up at me with a choked voice. 

"Where... where am I going next?"

Why was she asking me that? Whether she was going back to her agency or heading home, she had to figure that out herself. But the look on her face was pure, unadulterated terror. She looked like a prisoner standing before a judge, waiting to hear her sentence. She was so pale I thought she might faint right then and there.

'Man, she must be completely exhausted.'

"Why don't you rest for a bit before you leave?" I suggested gently. "You look exhausted."

"Thank you... Thank you so much...!"

She was moved to tears yet again.

'Wow, she really is incredibly sensitive.'

Right at that exact moment, a transparent blue window materialized right in front of my eyes.

[System: The Healing Life of a Beginner Farmer]

[Quest: Help the Tired and Hungry]

[You have encountered a deeply starved and exhausted individual. Please prepare a hearty meal for this poor soul. Who knows? A good deed might bring a wonderful reward.]

A sudden quest, huh? Well, ignoring someone in a clear state of crisis didn't sit right with me anyway.

"Would you like to have some lunch with us?" I asked.

I quickly went inside and set the table. When I brought out the food, In-ayeon stared at the spread and immediately burst out crying again, covering her face.

"S-Soybean paste stew...!"

'Seriously, crying over a simple pot of soybean paste stew? Just how stressed out is this girl?'

But Lee Na-yeon's emotional roller coaster didn't stop there. The absolute second she took her first spoonful of the broth, a single, perfect tear rolled down her cheek.

"Ah... this is exactly the taste."

Watching her from across the table, it was clear she was experiencing some sort of profound revelation. She ate with a level of desperation that only someone who had truly starved could manage.

The deep, rich flavor of the homemade soybean paste carried zero musty aftertaste—it was rustic, yet perfectly refined. To her, it apparently tasted identical to the stew her grandmother used to make. She was practically inhaling the food.

"Here, have some lettuce wraps too." I said, passing over a plate of fresh greens while cradling Seol-ah in my lap.

The vegetables had come straight from our garden. Lee Na-yeon took them reverently. She piled a spoonful of rice, a bit of the thick stew, and wrapped it neatly before taking a massive bite.

"Wow..." a breathless exclamation slipped from her lips.

She looked entirely entranced by a simple leaf of lettuce. Perhaps it truly was the taste of nostalgia. Whatever it was, the meal completely broke down her defenses. She looked at me—a man she likely assumed was a grim reaper or some high-ranking underworld official—and began to pour her heart out.

"My grandmother was an incredible cook," she sobbed, her voice thick with emotion. "But I was such a brat back then... I always complained about the strong smell of the paste in the house. I never realized how hard she worked for me... I'm so, so sorry..."

The more she talked, the harder the tears fell, but her spoon never stopped moving. It was as if she believed that if she didn't finish it right now, she would never get to eat again.

I didn't quite know what to say, so I just sat there, keeping a gentle, reassuring smile on my face. To her, that quiet expression must have looked like the benevolent, all-knowing forgiveness of a deity.

Taking my smile as an invitation to completely bare her soul, she finally let out a loud wail.

"It's just so unfair! I worked so hard to become an A-class hunter, but I never even got to have a boyfriend! All I ever did was train! Waaaaah!"

She burst into ugly, inconsolable crying. At twenty-one years old, she couldn't accept that her life was "ending" over a bowl of stew and lettuce wraps in the purgatory of her own mind. She wept bitterly, her throat tight with sorrow. She tried to swallow her food through the tears, looking entirely like a lost child overwhelmed by the terrifying shadow of death.

Seeing her distress, Seol-ah suddenly stood up from my arms.

My unique little baby dragon—complete with her adorable little horns and tail—plodded over to Lee Na-yeon. She reached out with her tiny hands and gently patted the crying hunter on the back.

"Gugu," Seol-ah cooed softly.

"Ugh... hic... I want to live... Please save me... I'll be so good if I can just live..." Lee Na-yeon wailed, leaning down to hug Seol-ah tightly.

"Bam, bam, bam," Seol-ah squeaked, continuously patting the girl's shoulder to comfort her.

I just watched the scene play out, keeping that same polite, gentle smile plastered on my face. Honestly, at this point, I figured it was best to just let her cry it out and vent all that built-up trauma.

After a long, exhausting crying session, Lee Na-yeon finally wiped her face. She looked entirely at peace, as if she had successfully accepted her fate.

"I'm ready." she said solemnly.

"Alright." I replied.

"Where am I going now? Is it heaven? Or... hell?"

I chuckled softly. 

"I don't think I'm the right person to ask about that."

Her brows furrowed in confusion. If this wasn't judgment day, then what was happening? I simply turned around and pointed toward the edge of the yard, indicating the swirling rift she had originally tumbled out of.

"Your exit is right over there."

In-ayeon stared at the glowing portal.

'Ah, reincarnation.' she concluded. 

'I wonder what I'll be born as next? If possible, I hope I can be reborn as my sister's future child.'

As she walked toward the rift, she suddenly remembered something. She reached into her combat pouch and pulled out a handful of the wild berries she had gathered in the jungle.

"Um... please plant these in your garden. They actually taste really good."

She looked genuinely apologetic that it was all she had to offer. To her, a powerful being like myself clearly had no need for mortal weapons or armor.

Right before she stepped into the light, she turned back one last time, her eyes full of profound awe. 

"But... who are you, really? The Jade Emperor? King Yama? The Grim Reaper?"

She was looking at me with absolute reverence, expecting some grand, mythic title.

I gave her a flat, simple response.

"I'm just a farmer here."

Lee Na-yeon’s eyes widened, completely struck by my words. 

'Wow,' she thought, 'the truly absolute beings really are the most humble.'

She offered me a bright, beautiful smile. Throughout her career as a hunter, she had always believed she needed to be ruthless, rigid, and strong to survive. But seeing me, she realized that true power lay in gentle, effortless humility. She silently vowed that if she ever got the chance, she wanted to live with that kind of grace and leisure.

"Thank you for everything. I hope we meet again someday."

With those final words, Lee Na-yeon stepped directly into the portal. The world around her instantly went pitch black.

'Alright, let's do this next life right.' she resolved internally.

"Ouch!"

A sharp, violent impact rattled her backside yet again.

She opened her eyes slowly, bracing herself for whatever new world she was about to be reincarnated into.

"Lee Na-yeon!!"

But a incredibly familiar voice shattered her expectations.

"Sister...?"

It was her older sister. Her sister sprinted forward, throwing her arms around Lee Na-yeon’s neck, sobbing hysterically with relief. After crying her eyes out for several minutes, her sister pulled back, gripping her shoulders tightly.

"Where on earth have you been?! Do you know how worried I was?!"

Compared to her sister's tear-stained, panicked face, Lee Na-yeon was completely serene. She smiled gently, reaching up to brush a tear from her sister's cheek.

"I just went to heaven for a little bit, Sister. I'm back now."

To her, that place was undoubtedly paradise—a hidden haven tucked between a sprawling ocean, blue skies, and beautiful mountains. A paradise filled with the nostalgic taste of soybean paste stew and crisp lettuce wraps. A heaven watched over by a silver-white angel and a humble, absolute deity who healed her broken spirit.

"What the heck are you talking about?! Lee Na-yeon, snap out of it! Did you hit your head?!"

Lee Na-yeon just kept smiling, whispering quietly to herself so her frantic sister wouldn't hear.

'Thank you, Angel. Thank you, Great One. I will never forget your kindness for the rest of my life.'

Stratingly enough, she realized that the lingering exhaustion in her muscles and the deep psychological trauma weighing down her mind had completely vanished.

Back in the yard, long after Lee Na-yeon had vanished through the gate, I finally relaxed my frozen facial muscles.

My face was practically stiff. I hadn't known how to react to a girl who was suddenly crying, laughing, and giving a dramatic life confession all by herself, so I had just stood there smiling like a mannequin to avoid making things awkward.

I let out a long, exhausted sigh.

'What the heck... that girl was terrifying.'

It was our very first encounter with an outside hunter, and safe to say, there had been some pretty massive misunderstandings.