Chapter 76: The Pleasure of Living (2)
tpM61SCIf you are human, you inevitably live a hard life.2Iwh
FdLlVKHEven if someone appears to be at the very top, even if they are rich and seem unconcerned about money, even if they look like they have everything.tVmT
jnt1cEvery person carries their own hardships, which is why they need some way to ease their heart while living.umFi
6hhlbdDThat is why the small pleasures of life exist. Otherwise, humanity would never have developed “entertainment.”bzbvHsz
6ABhjnIn that sense, before falling into the Forest of Four Seasons, my pleasures were pretty ordinary.VxPhQci
FFYW4TiWorking all day and then playing a game with a friend after getting off work.GjT
pYd8xYOr gathering together on a day off to have some drinks.R4o
51XBecause of various circumstances, I couldn’t attend university, but even so, I still had those small pleasures.qRVFWx
tft7qu“Fuuu……”lxZux
MOtJUjAnd now, after ending up here again.1ntcK
xZiLI think from today onward, my pleasure in life will be smoking—in other words, tobacco.mMKNYS3
YQcQdAs I took a deep drag, a refreshing aroma penetrated deep into my lungs.TvdDg
m5qvAs if it were putting an end to an exhausting day, the smoke slowly rose and calmed my mind.0YMCRI
AHjXgN‘…So good.’8MIB5oa
6gTE6bI didn’t smoke the cigar all the way to the end.UQ3I
erQABecause I had promised my late father that I would never smoke in my entire life.fscrBYe
Wq5But this hellish environment ended up breaking even that promise.0ArfGM3
wHIug6LStill, it wasn’t bad. At least my mind felt at peace.pNd
lHSG‘Father, up there in heaven. Please forgive this disobedient son for failing to keep his promise.’lvtk
yfi4Just this once, please understand. I’m truly living a very hard life.v9Q
mqcGMaybe because I was smoking something I had never tried before, I was getting sentimental.Kxm
HoQ3UaI let out a small laugh.7umy
gehNa8m‘Life really is bitter.’i3S
hj1If I also had alcohol, it would be perfect. But I held myself back.bYDttH
zrFaNI felt that if I started drinking too, I’d end up becoming an alcoholic on DwarfPassingBy’s level.ZFtg8iI
d4OXBesides, I still had things to do, so alcohol had to remain a secondary priority.rTg
couJAnd above all, if I got drunk and something attacked me, I’d be finished. Smoking was better.TwQgm
43dnj‘First I should trade with the dwarf.’26nK
BuYI opened the wooden box the cigars came in. I needed to use the ashtray.7mi9X6H
5l9qAfter lightly tapping the cigar over the ashtray, I cut off the tip with the dagger.7POM
A5j2Cigars aren’t something you use only once.9tlbG
1TPOt1qI have a friend obsessed with tobacco, so I at least knew things like that.pIeD2
v42xA‘Never thought what he taught me would end up being useful.’LRX4rzM
ZJ6bWell, useful is useful.DYb
04cWith my mind much clearer than before, I connected to the gallery though not immediately.9jOXG
xHogfEnBecause first I had to deal with the crabs writhing inside the backpack.90Cfop3
Rh44ucIf you insert the dagger into the crab’s mouth and twist it like a key, it dies.aSZKV
iaPPFPIf I traded after that, there shouldn’t be any problems.kashl5t
h1MiQ‘There wasn’t any issue with the fish because I cut off their heads, but with crabs, will this work?’FKV
WndtAccording to the gallery’s rules, living creatures cannot be traded.S23xng8
OHbcbqThat’s why until now I delivered the fish already partially prepared.Ib3BYY
gN5JIBut even if you force open their mouths, crabs take a while to die.gVC4
wK5pBjJust in case, it seemed better to open their mouths first and put them in a container.V4YSau
bTNk9aIf I left them in a bucket of water, the innards would come out through the mouth and they would be easier to prepare.QEUZ8
SHPysKrCrack!pSwUJ
iEeMlLI forcefully twisted the crab’s mouth using the dagger.IJmSbJ
aejAs soon as I confirmed something brown was starting to come out of its mouth, I threw it into the container.dipX
ZkHU1I repeated the exact same process with the other crab.W78
9EQPgP‘While they spit out blood and guts, I should ask the dwarf something.’hRKI
JJprWhat was I going to ask him?hZXP
eqY2VvGAs I said before, I wanted to know how to properly care for a sword.uAzai
jpDUAfter all, he was a blacksmith. And a dwarf on top of that.tHaPZ
gVP2DSOHe was bound to have plenty of useful advice.5gNzd
nV2xAI glanced at the container where the crabs were before connecting to the gallery.4A7N4
PUG0Title) Dwarf. Send me the trade in 20 minutes.Tmw
J2ODGqrWildGrillsXf3
94u(Photo of the crabs inside the container)UmTtn
BNipZdThese guys are going to take a while to die. In the meantime, give me some advice on taking care of a sword.ecqGH1
WFJol8ㄴDwarfPassingBy) Ok. Though there’s no special secret to it either. With good oil, paper, and a whetstone, everything’s basically done hahaha.5eeBpDI
o1LㄴWildGrills) Can’t you just give me all of that?vZXGP
TQ2DkㄴDwarfPassingBy) Not the whetstone because I need it myself, but I’ll give you a cheap version. Though that sword of yours is a legendary sword, so it probably maintains itself anyway.7gZ8
o0mxcaㄴHeavenlyDemon) What nonsense are you saying? My sword was forged with eternal iron, so it will never rust.N1MN
y60ㄴWildGrills) Ooooh;;kfPr8KJ
zTfWJRㄴDwarfPassingBy) That’s only half true, so don’t get too confident. Precisely because it’s eternal iron, you need to take even better care of it.Nkb
NKgf4ㄴWildGrills) So it really can rust?Nc0U
ZqeghSVㄴDwarfPassingBy) Rust isn’t the problem. The problem is that if it breaks, repairing it is practically impossible. Even I would have to suffer for several days to fix it.w27tA3x
F6PㄴWildGrills) I’ll have to treat it like it’s my girlfriend;;y9sm1f
Qp0dCfㄴHeavenlyDemon) Though it wounds my pride, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to ask that guy for help. The blacksmith who forged that sword has already returned to dust.HY2I
0ykDG1Of course I was going to take care of it.sv31e
R1yr3rMNot doing so would be stupidity.ptoUfU
CUIifAfter finishing with Heavenly Demon’s sword, I moved on to ask about my next piece of equipment.AxMT
pI9Not the golden shield, but the adamantite shield or whatever it was called. The one SunForEver gave me.Fv8H
CuP8gCvㄴWildGrills) Then how should I take care of the shield?qBg9
ehwqttㄴDwarfPassingBy) Don’t take care of the shield. Doing that is a waste of time. Structurally, shields are meant to break sooner or later.KK1dw
VnmㄴWildGrills) Even if it has adamantite or whatever?3dPzqJ
cE0ㄴDwarfPassingBy) Then the day that shield breaks, you die too;;fK3Pajr
yOUbGunㄴSunForEver) He’s saying exactly the same thing I told you. Engrave those words into your head.jB1R
Iv5cㄴWildGrills) Yeah.7hCWjhq
gNYUAfter that, I asked in detail about other things I constantly used.DC4
8QGnsZGThe crossbow, the axe, the arrows, and so on.dBwTxC
WGDvThough the answer for almost everything was the same as long as I oiled them properly, they wouldn’t break.UPUjO
TZStThe crossbow was the only different one, because the string had to be replaced from time to time.NxGyOe
oMfEThough he said he could do it himself.hdh4m
YZsㄴWildGrills) Can’t I replace it myself?0RT4
SoAn4ㄴDwarfPassingBy) Stop talking nonsense and leave it to a professional.zNh
qAQuㄴWildGrills) Ok;;vRp9
icphAnd so we kept talking until the 20 minutes passed.bDXu
pekNwlQI looked at the container where the crabs were.RVI
lBLNh79They weren’t moving at all.bk8c
K1MIt seemed they had already expelled all the blood and viscera.mKtukv
7mirNow all that remained was to trade them.LBkKh
ZyixhXT[WildGrills has registered an item for trade.]CLj5X
6vRMtP[WildGrills: Here. These are the two crabs you wanted. Prepare them and eat them right away.]yIxGMGl
butgS9k[DwarfPassingBy: First I’m going to have them with alcohol hahaha. Wait a moment.]p9Av
EzXD[DwarfPassingBy has registered an item for trade.]l2F
U1mnf[DwarfPassingBy: These are maintenance tools and oil. It’s veeeeery high-quality oil, so don’t waste it.]K5nz
JPjTbY[WildGrills: Ok.]31y
FDgKCrk[DwarfPassingBy: By the way, does eating crab also cause fever or something like that?]9raDqpx
dVUN[WildGrills: Nah. That doesn’t happen.]SdYZ1V
cpUwThe trade with the dwarf ended quickly.lBx
bd5H9I checked the items that arrived through the trade.mTtfJ
Y81pCGLast time they came inside a normal wooden box, but this time they were stored inside a toolbox.3zmhidX
8CXThough the whetstones came separately.4w2YWpx
TcJydAnd there were several different types too.rtU5Zv
w2mq‘This one literally looks like a millstone standing upright.’HRtI
G1dOne worked by spinning, while the other had a rectangular shape.qdTiGJ
HePbwKI think it’ll be better to leave these things outside the cave instead of bringing them inside.bvX
sVvf2l2If the sharpening sounds wake Wonmo up, it’ll be pretty annoying.HaH
4rjEf‘And why is there so much of this oil?’OiU
wD244And it wasn’t even inside an ordinary bottle.LqG2d
ZcuIt literally looked like a liquor bottle.9BE0L
6zmzSeeing that thick oil inside a brown alcohol bottle reminded me of something.7Ak9ut
M5ga‘This feels just like when my mom stored soy sauce in Coca-Cola bottles.’qdejM
DCJ9hPkIt was exactly that kind of feeling.1LJCAa
TS8I don’t know if all dwarves are like this or if only DwarfPassingBy is out of his mind.jRpp
AZfC06rStill, he gave me quite a lot, so I had no reason to complain.FNa7hBo
40VoFrAfter that, I checked the oiled paper.EMyIxU
qxrLooking closely, it didn’t seem like oiled paper at all, just regular paper.VmJ
hr7mVHe probably gave it to me so I could apply the oil myself.7Ay
6UrbxN6‘Should I try it?’4IlFvw
BWTESince I had received it, I decided to maintain the Sword of Heavenly Demon.6Exoh3
WvWT0hIt’s not like I had anything better to do anyway.J0WqiW
AUazOFollowing the dwarf’s instructions, I slowly began cleaning the Sword of Heavenly Demon.Z04LusR
IirZThe sword of Heavenly Demon was a legendary sword capable of cutting through flesh, leather, and even bone effortlessly.kH9t
zcQwwiBut no matter how legendary it was, the user was still a novice, so it was dirty all over.PmS3
gWoGDlAnd on top of that, I had defeated a Guardian in the morning and a pack of otters at noon.lEHUzR
HICg6‘And I didn’t maintain it after killing Mad Dog either.’BufZF
oxMFkiThat was why the Sword of Heavenly Demon was pretty filthy.1OBG
5igIf Heavenly Demon saw this, she would probably explode in rage.mi1
czUm6Putting those useless thoughts aside, I began cleaning the blood and residue stuck to the blade.ktO2qBY
sCUtvCFirst I had to apply oil to the sword, then gently wipe it using the paper.Mzu
zXkYng“Ah, that hurts!”dw3VvpI
hipbOnly to end up cutting my hand along with the paper.dut
PoIThe moment the paper touched the blade, it split cleanly apart.l15
GNM5I silently looked at my finger, from which tiny drops of blood had started dripping, and went to get the elixir.yzPl
epXb5S‘I definitely need to be extremely careful with the edge.’j4PG6
sc9KIf I’m careless, I could even cut off my whole hand.qQendiv
RwnBDAnd that was while wearing the World Tree gloves.67r
ndeUThanks to that, I got to confirm the regenerative abilities of the gloves, but I also realized just how absurdly broken the Sword of Heavenly Demon was.nRwFTs
Hwywj‘I seriously have to treat it like it’s my girlfriend.’zCnfy4
AgY3oAnd not just any girlfriend, but an extremely difficult one.l63uB
17wH7KuNot even the K2 I used during military service was this delicate.Zf7PWF
C7pI put all my effort into maintaining the Sword of Heavenly Demon.GxU
9s3dThe edge was so absurd that cleaning the sword was difficult, but somehow I managed in the end.NKh99
97JThough I had to sacrifice piles of paper in the process.DWobjf2
iK5812g‘I guess I’ll get used to it little by little.’u5e
0LZI leaned the Sword of Heavenly Demon against the cave wall.Oiv
BYqlgAccording to the dwarf, the ideal thing was to keep it somewhere ventilated and free of moisture.mOSw
ynN‘I should oil the rest of the tools too.’tr56F6q
WkdlZuUThe shield, the dagger, the shovel, the axe, and the rest.RAeptub
8RLSSu3I applied oil to everything that could receive maintenance.ZEKY
ps0Someone might ask why I don’t simply buy new tools.DT3
Hn6yNBut the point was to prevent them from breaking exactly when I needed them the most.O22g
WDi2iGR‘And now that I’m done…’ituKwV
Dm8NbI slowly turned my head to look at Sloth.RV4dZ0
4iVKF7Sloth still had that signature relaxed expression on his face.4lbC
gb0l1Swish—3v3QG
5U2When he noticed me staring at him, he tilted his head.fgQ0E
136xb1Even that movement was desperately slow.Z5zD
VITX8But my attention was on something else.0fewMs
VtYX“Sloth.”9WnXq5e
onm“…….”QIp
nQleG“Do you want me to maintain your claws?”MCc5mKK
efYSloth’s monstrous claws needed maintenance.N0d8
FUiqAnd it wasn’t a joke. I was being completely serious.a82pRH
m6K0opI owed my life several times over to those claws.CDVTgA
TrBE“Come here. It’ll be good for you too.”ISm
KEw“…….”ea7VLh
hwviZSloth looked at me suspiciously for a moment, but then slowly approached.oDh2DXz
cIKxmX9While he came closer, I prepared the oil and paper.iYnVYl
y6e0Z‘Wait. For claws, should I file them before oiling them?’9b7p
TZ2I never had pets, so I had no idea.it1
nV3XoAKAnd probably nobody in the world had ever maintained a sloth’s claws before.C0nnV
7nJj5zWhile thinking about it, my gaze fell on the whetstones.aGGd
R6loSloth’s claws were sturdy enough to cut metal barrels.VsR9so
dfH67Maybe a whetstone would be enough?OOH
EiGRuG‘…No, impossible.’YpNRIKk
g6GskThe size difference was way too big.y2oR9i
cyhIdAnd besides, Sloth’s claws were too close together.HZQa4cZ
d7SAfter thinking about it for quite a while, I decided to ask the gallery.Yvjjg
mlgO8zsAfter all, there were all kinds of people there. Surely someone would know about claw maintenance.157
7gIfECTitle) Does anyone know how to take care of animal claws?Ogmx
Ti4wsZWildGrillsSxcmFri
JTf(Photo of Sloth’s monstrous claws)zC3
CpiAwI want to maintain his claws. Does anyone know what tools I should use?KZ664
hj5ㄴHeavenlyDemon) What monstrous claws. Maintaining them seems like a good idea.Q9sEOs5
K8QPㄴWildGrills) Right now he’s my main combat force, so maintenance is mandatory.fcDkExl
XmUㄴSwordmaster) Is Sloth that strong?cWquJE8
D6AㄴWildGrills) He’s unbelievably fast. I can barely follow him with my eyes;;4vSxR0
eUQn4ㄴI never thought I’d see someone maintaining a sloth’s claws hahaha.qor
zEm06ㄴDo sloth claws really look that terrifying?NSd
9KjJTxㄴWell, they have to climb trees, so I guess it makes sense.GWD
pzrㄴDwarfPassingBy) Don’t ask me. I take care of tools, not animals.WhKequ
cLTqㄴWildGrills) What a shame.h0vwA
Q877KGBㄴSunForEver) Are you planning to cut the claws or sharpen them?0xXC
hP8gBU8ㄴWildGrills) Sharpen them. I want to make them even sharper than they are now.WWOikME
ICJ2ㄴSunForEver) Then I can help you a little. I personally maintain my pet lion’s claws.jeZ9So
JOsYAUㄴWildGrills) You have a lion?;;FjJlAD
TsmㄴSunForEver) What about it? They’re trendy in Setan. Though from my point of view, you raising a sloth is even weirder.GUr9
KZDrㄴThat’s true too.LKi
iZpgHtIㄴLions are still cats in the end hahaha.BJkKpwo
TPHㄴDo lions also like boxes?9jQGHhN
DUqDㄴI think tigers do.eNlIyN
fB1FThis time it was SunForEver who gave me advice.r1eb1S
mQInAccording to him, the method of caring for claws varied depending on the type of animal.86nMEq
Z4r36GBeasts like lions or tigers had blood vessels connected to their claws, so you had to be careful.u8Q4
KG8aOn the other hand, sloths didn’t have that problem, so I could work comfortably.H2c5Z
moJ4ㄴSunForEver) If the claws are too close together, just use sandpaper. It’ll be more convenient.lOaTA7
2Ji4PJoㄴWildGrills) Don’t I need special tools?6Opf
7IzaㄴSunForEver) You won’t be able to do it with tools. Use sandpaper.y1Ce
XP4i5bIn the end, I used sandpaper to maintain Sloth’s claws.xe7Su
RirH2y8It seemed he also understood that I was maintaining them, because he calmly offered me his hands.gLY
ajYIE8‘Though calling them hands when they’re claws feels strange.’oeFdr
98ijnIFBut they were the claws that had saved my life several times, so I worked carefully.elEQ
tzTAnd to finish, I cleaned them thoroughly using paper soaked in oil.q8PssK
csp6H6Sloth silently observed his claws, now shinier and sharper than before.VoQLd
et0pCaSince all his expressions were practically the same, I couldn’t tell whether he liked them or not.2lF0
igY6CFK“Did you like it?”irGpliz
XN3D“…….”yGjm1
K1C5RjNod, nod—JXrDKv
eHR8MAEven the way he nodded was absurdly slow.bAGaXYK
OOBCM5 7Vjy2v
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