Healing in the Country Side with a Baby Dragon - CHAPTER 16 (Nurungji, Siru and Seolgi)

We have a new family member.

Well, actually, there are three of them. They look exactly like ordinary puppies, but they are actually three S-class hell guards.

“Kkiing—”

Then again, no matter how you look at them, they don't look like guard dogs of hell at all.

First, we set up a separate corner in the bedroom to give them a place to stay. The first night we came back from the hospital, I was incredibly anxious. Once night fell, they frequently started to whine and cry. It was only after I reached out to let them know someone was there that they finally quieted down.

After a day or two, the three brothers began to recover rapidly.

“Haam—”

“Ugh, ugh.”

Watching them huddled together and sleeping soundly has already become a part of my daily routine. 

Man, those guys can sleep.

“Bya—”

Seol-ah lay down right next to them, intently observing the puppies and clearly wondering why the three brothers were so cute. She whined along with them, looking utterly apologetic that she couldn't touch them yet because their wounds hadn't fully healed.

It was a literal scene of cute things looking at cute things.

‘This is the absolute best.’

This is what true healing feels like.

“Great Master! Are the puppies okay?”

“Are they sleeping well?”

The earth fairies also questioned me whenever they saw me, clearly curious about our new family members. Because of their interest, I often showed the pups off by carrying them on my shoulders. Every time I did, I couldn’t help but admire them and enjoy the moment.

Eventually, the fairies gathered together with Seol-ah just to look at the puppies. I absolutely couldn't resist the sight.

*Click, click.*

It was only after I snapped a whole bunch of pictures with my camera that I felt a bit satisfied.

A few days later.

“Hello.”

“Oh, you’re here! I assume nothing happened in the meantime?”

When we walked into the animal hospital, Ham Sa-rang greeted us warmly. But the moment she looked down at the three brothers, her eyes widened in shock.

“The kids are recovering remarkably fast.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes! I thought it would take about a month for them to pull through, but they’ve already mostly recovered.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Even for a fast recovery, this is way too quick.”

“Maybe it’s because they're young? They’ve been eating and sleeping incredibly well lately.”

Well, they aren't ordinary dogs, after all. They are S-class hellhounds. Everything about them is bound to be different, starting with their resilience.

Of course, that’s a truth I can never reveal to anyone else.

“I think it’s because you are so incredibly considerate, Dr. Bam.”

“Oh my, is that how it looks?”

Ham Sa-rang couldn’t hold back her laughter at my subtle lip service and waved her hand dismissively. Before I knew it, all her doubts had completely vanished. This lady is definitely weak to compliments.

“We will start their vaccinations next week.”

“All right.”

“Are you planning to keep raising them?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Then I’ll need to register the kids as well.”

I recalled reading an article a while back mentioning that they implant recognition microchips in dogs these days.

“I should do that. Do you need anything from me?”

“Nothing else. Just their names? I think it’s time to name them.”

Suddenly, system holographic windows popped up in front of me.

[Healing Life of a Newbie Farmer]

[Name the three brothers.]

[We have a new family! Give the puppies cute names. They will definitely repay you!]

“Yes, I’ll come back next time with some pretty names.”

“Have a safe trip back. Seol-ah, take care too!”

“Hello—”

Seol-ah, who had grown quite close to Ham Sa-rang, bowed her head politely, and we left the animal hospital together.

On the way home, the three brothers sniffed around frantically and scratched at their transport box. They seemed highly curious about the outside world.

As soon as we got home, I let the puppies out onto the floor. Just as Ham Sa-rang had said, they had completely recovered their health, showing none of the weakness they had on their first day.

The shaggy, yellow-haired fellow began to strut across the floor with his ears and tail held high. His gait was confident; he seemed entirely fearless.

“Sniff, sniff, sniff.”

Meanwhile, the guy with the black spots on his head and back was cautiously sniffing around his surroundings. Is he the careful type?

The last one, a flawless, pure white puppy, let out a massive yawn as he sprawled out right on the spot. He clearly has a lazy personality.

It was fascinating how all three brothers already possessed such distinct personalities. I decided to let them do whatever they wanted for a moment.

“Hey, guys.”

I called out to the three brothers. Surprisingly, the pups—who had all been doing their own things—came rushing right over to stand in front of me. Even the sleeping one woke up instantly and started waddling over unsteadily. Despite their completely different personalities, it seemed they definitely recognized me as their master.

The little creatures sat huddled tightly together.

“Ouch.”

Seol-ah plopped down right next to the three brothers and looked up at me. Now, under the weight of all these pouring gazes, I made my announcement.

“I’m going to give you your names.”

Let’s think—what would be good? They are the guard dogs of hell, and there are three of them.

“Ker, Ber, and Ros.”

How about naming them after the mythical three-headed hellhound? When you combine all three, they become Cerberus.

“What do you think of Ker, Ber, and Ros?”

To be fair, I held back a lot here. Originally, I wanted to name them Cerberus, Fenrir, and Garm after legendary mythological canines. I felt like I compromised heavily with "Ker-Ber-Ros."

However...

“Pheung—”

“Haam—”

Yellow snorted loudly to show his utter disdain, and Whitey let out another massive yawn. Spotty, the one in the middle, was the only one who showed a subtle rejection by quietly turning his eyes away.

No, seriously, do normal puppies sigh like that?

“Bye—”

Seol-ah also formed an 'X' with her arms because she didn't like the names either. Why does nobody appreciate my naming sense?

Feeling a little dejected, I went back to the drawing board. Should I just name them exactly based on how they look?

First of all, the yellow, shaggy one has a very warm personality.

“Nurungji.”

It brought to mind the image of crispy, savory scorched rice.

The spotted one looked like he had patches scattered across his back.

“Siru.”

He reminded me of a siru rice cake.

The last white one seemed so innocent and harmless.

“Seolgi.”

Like a snow-white baekseolgi rice cake—it was perfect.

This time, the puppies' eyes sparkled with delight, and Seol-ah smiled brightly, looking thoroughly satisfied.

“Nurungji, Siru, and Seolgi.”

“Nurungji— Siru— Seolgi—”

Seol-ah repeated the names slowly, and the three brothers wagged their tails furiously.

[Names have been given!]

[You have given the puppies cute names! Even the three guard dogs of Hell are deeply satisfied.]

Still, I couldn’t help but wonder if it was truly fitting for literal hellhounds to be named after traditional Korean rice snacks.

“Nurungji.”

“Heh heh heh heh.”

“Siru.”

“Sniff, sniff, sniff.”

“Seolgi.”

But what could I do when they loved it so much? Nurungji panted happily with his tongue sticking out, Siru was too busy sniffing Seol-ah’s scent to notice anything else, and Seolgi had already fallen fast asleep right between Seol-ah’s legs.

Ugh. I bit my lip in slight regret. If only everything had gone according to my original grand plan...

‘The rare wisdom and life-filled garden of the SSS-class dimensional dragon, Kraus Eimann von Einter III, is guarded by three legendary beasts: Cerberus, Fenrir, and Garm.’

What a magnificent phrase. Doesn't it sound like an epic myth?

But reality had other plans.

New friends—Nurungji, Siru, and Seolgi—have joined the farm where Baek Jin-sol and Baek Seol-ah live and cultivate happiness!

It had completely transformed into a cozy fairy tale. Still, seeing Seol-ah smiling so radiantly made it impossible to feel truly disappointed.

“Seol-ah, do you want to play with Nurungji, Siru, and Seolgi for a bit? Dad has to go out.”

“Hello!”

“In that case, I'll make sure to come right back!”

“Hello!”

The place I headed to after loading my truck with golden bell tomatoes was So-yoon's house. After Kim Sang-do offered to help me with sales last time, he had taken over the packaging and delivery. Thanks to him, my workload had become significantly easier.

On the way to So-yoon’s place, I suddenly heard a frantic voice.

“Oh my! Oh my goodness!”

I quickly turned my head toward the sound.

“Huh? Grandma Kim?”

It was a familiar face. On my very first day returning to the countryside, she was the one who had generously gifted me homemade gochujang and doenjang. I remembered her clearly because it was so delicious. Since then, I had been eating incredibly well thanks to the side dishes she frequently brought over.

She looked completely panicked, signaling that something urgent was happening. I rushed over to check.

“Hyung-seok! Hyung-seok, come to your senses! Hey, Hyung-seok!”

A man was lying unconscious on a steep slope on the side of the road. Just as Grandma Kim was about to scramble down the dangerous incline, I stopped her.

“Grandma! I’ll go down.”

I jumped down the slope ahead of her.

“Hey, hey!”

First, I needed to check his consciousness. I called out to him urgently.

“Ugh...”

A man who looked roughly my age groaned. His face and body were completely covered in dirt.

“Are you okay? Can you hear me?”

“Yes... I’m okay.”

The man eventually came to his senses, nodding with blank, vacant eyes.

“Nothing seems broken. Oh... actually, I don’t know about my lower body. My upper body is fine, though.”

“Excuse me?”

When someone says their upper body is fine but they aren't sure about their lower body, what does that mean? Then, I spotted a pair of crutches lying a short distance away. It looked like his legs were severely impaired.

“Can you please grab those crutches for me? I’ll try to get up somehow.”

“No. This slope is too steep. Let me move you first.”

I scooped the man up and carried him up the slope. I would have never imagined doing this in the past, but ever since I started wearing the bracelet I received from the dwarf Baldur, my strength had increased dramatically. Lifting an entire adult male was well within my capabilities now. Afterward, I went back down to grab his crutches.

“You foolish punk! I told you not to go out alone! Why did you sneak out?! Why do you keep doing this?!”

“...”

The old woman began swatting the man's back. As his grandmother cried and hit him, the man simply stared down at the ground with empty, lifeless eyes. I handed over the crutches.

“Thank you. Thank you so much, young man.”

“...Thank you.”

The grandmother repeatedly expressed her profound gratitude, and the man bowed his head as well. However, the way he stood so precariously on his feet looked incredibly unsettling. He didn’t seem to be in any condition to use crutches safely.

“Get in my truck. I’ll drive you home.”

Ultimately, I coaxed both of them into the vehicle.

“What about the hospital? Are you absolutely sure you don’t need to go?”

“Should we? At least a quick hospital visit—”

“No, I’m fine.”

I tried to steer toward the hospital just in case, but the man immediately refused.

“Hyung-seok, let’s please go to the hospital instead. What if you severely injured something else?”

“I know my own body. And besides, it’s already a complete mess anyway.”

His tone implied there was no point in worrying about further injuries. His final words cast a heavy silence over the car, and his grandmother fell completely quiet.

When we arrived at their house, I helped them out of the truck and carried the man inside. The wheelchair sitting in the yard gave me a clear idea of his condition. It seemed he had fallen after trying to force himself to walk outside with just his crutches. His grandmother had likely forbidden it, but he had insisted anyway.

“Thank you so much. We survived today entirely because of you. Here, please take this.”

“No, Grandma, you don’t have to give me this much.”

“No, I insist. I’m just so grateful. Please, take it.”

She came out carrying an enormous bounty of fresh vegetables and various side dishes in both hands, forcing them into my arms.

As I walked out the front gate, I caught a glimpse through the open front door of the grandmother tenderly patting her grandson's back as he sat with his head bowed. Right before the door closed completely, I saw a single tear drip from the man’s chin.

Even though I walked away with a mountain of gifts, my heart still felt incredibly heavy.

“Hello, Uncle!”

“How have you been, So-yoon?”

“Great!”

So-yoon was the first to greet me warmly when I arrived. When I looked at her face, even the faint white marks that had remained previously were completely gone. Her bright smile looked exceptionally beautiful today.

“Where is Seol-ah?”

“She’s resting at home with our new puppies.”

“Puppies? Really?!”

So-yoon’s eyes instantly grew as large as lightbulbs.

“Yeah, so make sure to come over and see them next time.”

“Thank you!”

When I told her she could visit, So-yoon began jumping up and down with pure joy.

“Oh, you got a puppy?”

“Yes, I somehow ended up raising them.”

“Oh! Can I come see them too?”

“Whenever you like.”

Hearing Kim Sang-do’s question, Park Ji-soo shot him a sour look, recalling how he had promised to take it easy after drinking too much makgeolli last time.

“Are you planning on drinking again?”

“No, honey! I genuinely just want to go see the puppies.”

It looked like he had been thoroughly grounded after getting caught drinking last time. He gave an awkward laugh under his wife's sharp glare.

“Fine, just don’t drink too much.”

With Park Ji-soo’s begrudging permission, Kim Sang-do and So-yoon held hands and cheered happily. Park Ji-soo watched the two of them for a moment before turning back to me with a puzzled expression.

“Did something happen? Your expression looks a bit gloomy.”

I guess my emotions were written clearly all over my face.

“Do you happen to know Grandma Kim’s grandson down the road?”

“Oh, Hyung-seok?”

When I recounted what had just occurred on the slope, Kim Sang-do and Park Ji-soo exchanged meaningful glances, instantly recognizing the situation.

“I heard he used to be a hunter.” Kim Sang-do explained. 

“He had a terrible accident on the job and came back completely paralyzed from the waist down. To make matters worse, he was kicked out of his guild without a single cent of compensation. It’s an absolute tragedy.”

“He was originally from this village.” Park Ji-soo added. 

“His parents passed away when he was young, so he went up to Seoul to become a hunter to support himself and his grandmother.”

It seemed there were incredibly unfortunate circumstances behind his condition.

“You seem to know them quite well.” I noted.

“We’ve been helping them sell their homemade gochujang and doenjang because we're deeply worried about their living expenses and mounting medical bills.”

Ah, so that’s why she had so much of it to share.

“I see. Well, I should get going.”

“Please, take care.”

“Take care, Jin-sol.”

“Goodbye, Uncle!”

On the way back, after waving goodbye to So-yoon, I couldn't stop thinking about the man’s face. That hollow expression, those empty eyes, his trembling hands, and his slumped shoulders...

‘That is truly awful.’

It was incredibly unfortunate, but there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. It was a tragedy beyond ordinary human help. Still, it was a relief that they could at least scratch together a living thanks to Kim Sang-do’s assistance.

I pushed our door open and walked inside.

“Blah, blah!”

Seol-ah greeted me with a radiant smile, and the three brothers quickly wagged their tails against the floor. The moment I saw that bright, innocent smile, the heavy cloud over my mind instantly evaporated.

“Seol-ah, do you want to go play in the garden together?”

“Bam!”

I picked Seol-ah up in my arms and headed out to our fragrant vegetable garden, seeking a little bit of peaceful healing. But the moment we stepped outside, I froze.

“Huh? What in the world is this?”

Greeting me right in the middle of the plot was a massive, glowing apple tree.

“The Great Master has arrived! We are all dead!”

“Eek, hide right now!”

Beyond the screaming, fleeing earth fairies, a familiar system notification materialized in front of my eyes.

[The Apple Tree of Life has taken root in your garden.]

[Apple of Life]

[Greatly increases natural healing power.]

A stunning revelation flashed through my mind.

'An Apple of Life that grants immense natural healing...?’

Could this miraculous tree be the universe's way of paying me back for all the delicious soybean paste and red pepper paste Grandma Kim had given me?