Sowol Inn - Chapter 20

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 20
So Wol hummed tunelessly, as if he hadn’t noticed a thing.
He patted Lili’s back while counting silently to himself.
One.
Two.
Three…
…ten.
By the time he reached ten, the sharp gaze that had been boring into him vanished like a lie.
Not long after, the croaking of frogs that had stopped began again.
Croak. Croak.
Only then did So Wol open his mouth softly.
“Baekya.”
A familiar presence stirred from deeper within the inn.
“Go and see who it is.”
“All right.”
Creak.
The inn door opened quietly and closed again.
Soon Baekya’s presence dissolved into the night air.
Only then did So Wol descend from the roof.
Lili, cradled in his arms, had fallen fast asleep.
He carried her inside the inn and laid her in the Cradle.
Then he sat before the Long Bench and waited for Baekya.
Baekya returned half a Double Hour later.
He hung his sword on the bench behind him and shook his head with a dejected face.
“Nothing.”
“I see. You’ve done well.”
So Wol, answering with those words, reached over and stroked Baekya’s head once.
Yet the unease did not fade easily.
If Baekya had found no trace, then the intruder was no ordinary ruffian.
So Wol irritably scratched his head, then picked up the Cradle.
Despite the gruff expression, his footsteps up the stairs were careful and measured.
Creak. Creak.
Holding his breath lest Lili wake, he opened the door and set the Cradle down right beside the bed.
Lili slept on, oblivious to the world.
So Wol straightened the rumpled blanket over her and moved toward the window.
When he opened it, cool night air rushed in.
He gazed quietly into the darkness beyond the window.
There were no particular signs of presence.
Even when he extended his Qi Sensing, it was the same.
Frowning, So Wol closed the window again.
He decided to look around the area again once daylight came.
So Wol removed his outer robe and lay down on the bed, his hand reaching unconsciously toward the pillow.
He fumbled at empty air, caught himself, and withdrew his arm with a hollow laugh.
……
It had been more than ten years since he’d set down his sword.
Yet whenever his heart grew restless, he found himself reaching for the blade without thinking.
“Habits are truly frightening things.”
So Wol smacked his lips and rearranged his pillow.
Sleep would not come, but for tomorrow’s business he needed to rest, even for a while.
He exhaled and forced his eyes shut.
* * *
Tap. Tap.
The sound of water droplets falling from the tip of a stalactite echoed through the air.
Beneath it lay the ragged breathing of someone struggling.
So Wol looked down at a boy sprawled across the Cave floor.
Lips drained of all color, a sickly blue.
A wound turned black with decay.
He would not have seemed out of place dead by tomorrow.
Observing the boy with dispassionate eyes, So Wol spoke.
“This one—I’ll take him with me.”
Bewilderment flashed across Gyogwan’s face.
“Sir? Master, this one is a Defective Product. He can’t even run a simple errand without bungling it—what use could you possibly have for bringing such a fool…….”
“What does it matter if he’s defective? Stop wasting my time and take him to my room.”
“……Yes. I understand.”
Gyogwan answered readily enough, though his brow darkened with displeasure.
So Wol was just about to object to that insolent tone
when something soft slapped against his cheek.
“……What?”
So Wol opened his eyes, brow furrowed.
“Ooh!”
Baekya stood looking down at him, Lili cradled in her arms.
The moment Lili saw So Wol’s eyes open, her small hands fluttered with delight.
Her tiny palm slapped against So Wol’s cheek again.
Smack.
So Wol suddenly realized he’d been dreaming.
“Were you dreaming, brother?”
“……Yes. I was.”
So Wol slowly pushed himself upright, his shoulders stiff and aching from sleep.
“Lili found you.”
“Found me? You’re the one who brought her here.”
“No. Lili wanted to go to you.”
“All right, then. Let’s say that’s true.”
So Wol shrugged.
He couldn’t tell if she actually understood him or merely believed she did.
Baekya lifted Lili high, speaking with obvious pride.
“Brother, Lili can Crawl.”
“She can what?”
“Lili can Crawl.”
With that, she set the child down on the floor.
“Yonseok, when you put Lili down on the ground…….”
So Wol’s words trailed away.
Lili was already pushing herself forward with her belly, crawling toward him.
One span. Then another.
The child crawled determinedly to So Wol and seized his pant leg in her small fist.
“Ah!”
“There now. So you’ve learned to crawl on your own. I won’t have to carry you around all day anymore.”
So Wol chuckled and hoisted Lili into his arms.
Lili grinned and fluttered her hands with glee.
Her palms were so grimy they looked as though she’d thrust them straight into the hearth.
“……What’s all this?”
He examined Lili with sudden alarm.
The child’s sleeves were caked with dust, and dark smudges marked her knees.
Lili, oblivious to her own state, beamed up at him cheerfully.
“Oh.”
So Wol glanced back and forth between her blackened palms and knees, then let out a long sigh.
Perhaps it really would be easier to keep carrying her.
“……All right. Let’s get you washed first.”
He rose to his feet with a weary air.
* * *
After all the commotion, it was already time to open the Inn for business.
So Wol swept the front room floor with a tired expression.
He’d spent the morning heating bath water and washing the child, then changing her clothes—he was completely exhausted.
Unaware or uncaring of his efforts, Lili lay contentedly in her Cradle, her small limbs fluttering about.
“Are you happy, Yonseok?”
“Aw!”
“Good. That’s all that matters.”
So Wol tapped Lili’s newly clean cheek and looked around the front room.
Now that the child was beginning to crawl, he noticed things he’d overlooked before.
The Inn wasn’t dirty, exactly. It was cleaner than most inns, in fact.
But no amount of sweeping and scrubbing the Inn’s floor each day could make it clean enough for a newborn to crawl across.
So Wol gazed at the floor, then crouched down and swept his fingertips across the wooden planks.
In places, the surface felt rough.
“A splinter could be troublesome.”
The child needed a safe space to crawl—somewhere without hazard.
As So Wol deliberated over what to lay down, he recalled the fur hide stored in the warehouse.
The leather was thick enough that it would make a soft cushion when spread across the floor.
He’d taken only a few steps toward the warehouse when—
“Ehhh……”
Behind him came the sound of whimpering almost at once.
So Wol halted and turned around.
Lili stood with arms outstretched, eyes glistening with tears.
So Wol immediately returned and scooped her up.
Then Lili, as if she hadn’t just been crying, reached up and patted his cheek.
So Wol let out a hollow laugh and glanced toward Baekya.
“Baekya. Will you fetch a few fur hides from the warehouse?”
“Sure.”
While Baekya was gone, So Wol shoved the table and chairs in the corner of the main room to one side, clearing space.
Baekya returned quickly and spread the fur hides across the floor.
The thick leather covered the wooden planks in plush comfort.
As So Wol pressed the hide with his palm to test it, Baekya suddenly appeared carrying a long bench.
“Baekya. What are you doing with that?”
“A fence.”
“A fence?”
“Yeah. So Lili doesn’t crawl out.”
Baekya tilted the long bench on its side and positioned it against the edge of the fur hide.
When one wasn’t enough, he brought another.
Once he’d sealed all the gaps, a respectable enclosure had taken shape around the perimeter of the hide.
It bore an unmistakable resemblance to a chicken coop.
……
So Wol sensed something was amiss, but decided not to dwell on it.
The appearance hardly mattered.
It was clean, cushioned, and free from any risk of Lili getting hurt.
“This should do.”
He set Lili down in the center of the fur hide.
Curious about the unfamiliar texture, Lili plucked at the fur with both hands.
“Ooh?”
Then she began rolling back and forth across it.
She seemed to like the fur hide immensely.
When So Wol stepped back a few paces, Lili lifted her head for a moment.
But once she confirmed he was in sight, she returned to fumbling with the fur.
This arrangement would be sufficient—he could check on her between tasks while tending the inn.
More than anything, he was relieved not to have to carry her in his arms all day long.
So Wol finally set his mind at ease and began preparing for the day’s service.
He wiped down the table.
He counted out the change in the drawer.
He laid out the bowls and spoons neatly.
How much time had passed?
At some point, Lili’s babbling had stopped.
Struck by the silence, So Wol paused mid-wipe and looked back.
Baekya had his head thrown all the way back, staring upward.
So Wol followed his gaze and slowly lifted his own head.
On the wall.
Lili was pressed flat against it, limbs splayed.
……
Am I still half-asleep?
So Wol rubbed his eyes hard and looked up at the wall again.
Nothing had changed.
“……Baekya.”
“Yeah?”
“Why is Lili climbing the wall?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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