Chapter 106

Seoa seemed to mistake the food drawn in the fairytale book as real existing food.

She kept touching the pictures with her hands and then tried to feed me.

Her actions were a bit bewildering, and at first, I had no idea what to do, but since I couldn’t keep ignoring her, I pretended to eat it, acting it out for her.

“Mmmmyaa! Crunch!”

She reacted with immense happiness, flailing her hands around.

I smiled softly at Seoa and tried to continue speaking when…

It seemed like Seoa wanted to share the food with Chae-a and Yuna too. She clutched the picture book, which was slightly smaller than her body, and waddled over to them.

“Crunch! Share-share-kae!”

Then she mimed feeding them, just like she did with me, while her eyes sparkled.

Chae-a and Yuna kindly accepted this and each gave their reactions.

“This is Chae-a’s favorite! How’d you know? Seoa is amazing!”

“Of course. Yuna likes it too. It’s delicious.”

When Chae-a and Yuna showered her with compliments, Seoa giggled and plopped down on the floor, flipping open the same scene again.

With a pleading gaze, she stared at us intently.

‘She wants me to read it again, I guess.’

Since Yuna had read it earlier, it felt like my turn now. So I began reading calmly.

“There lived a family. The dad bear was stout, the mom bear was slim, and the baby bear was cute.”

The content flowed out similar to something from a dream I had before.

While I read, recalling something Chae-a had mentioned about interest rates, Seoa watched with shining eyes and told us excitedly,

“Mmmyaa. Food. Baby.”

“Bear mama!”

Each saying different things, yet somehow understanding each other, we were amazed.

‘Teach one thing, learn ten, huh?’

Thinking how incredible her learning ability was, I gently patted her head, and she smiled brightly like a puppy, leaning into my touch.

Finding Seoa’s behavior adorable, I chuckled, when suddenly Chae-a gleefully exclaimed,

“Seoa might be a genius…!”

Was she imitating Seorin’s usual antics?

Chae-a jumped around playfully like Seorin often did, then pulled out chocolates and candies from her pocket and offered them to Seoa.

“Here, have some since you’re such a genius!”

“Mmyaa.”

“Yeah, munch munch!”

Though they were saying different things, somehow they understood each other perfectly. Impressed by this, Yuna suddenly started petting my head and said,

“Haeuni is young too, isn’t that right?”

“…?”

Although I didn’t understand why she said that, seeing her smiling warmly, I nodded.

‘Anyway, the important thing is to read the next part.’

Considering Seoa’s rapid learning ability, I thought if I read a few more books, she might start basic conversations soon. Just as I was about to read further…

“Haeunaaaaa.”

Someone called out my name loudly.

‘It must be Seorin.’

Judging by her voice, she seemed quite exhausted today. To comfort her, I picked up Seoa like a soft little ball of fluff and waddled over to greet her, when a shriek-like sound reached my ears.

“KYAAHHH!”

Not a scream of fear but one of pure joy.

Startled, I blinked repeatedly as Seorin rushed towards us, scooping both me and Seoa up and spinning us around.

“What is this? Are cute babies multiplying?”

I couldn’t hide my confusion at Seorin’s reaction, as it would be natural for anyone to feel puzzled or curious upon encountering a sudden appearance of a small child.

‘Wouldn’t most people ask where you came from, who you are, how you got here…?’

But Seorin completely skipped those questions and only expressed delight at the cuteness, reinforcing my belief that she truly was the protagonist—different from everyone else.

Despite finding her impressive in many ways, as she forced me into an awkward cuddle session…

“Mmyaa!”

Seoa showed affection towards Seorin by flailing her tiny hands.

Whether because Seorin was the protagonist or due to some other reason, I was glad she liked Seoa back. Smiling happily, Seorin rubbed her face against Seoa’s cheeks and exclaimed,

“Wow, so cute!”

After expressing admiration for a while, Seorin suddenly seemed to notice something odd. Looking puzzled, she asked Seoa,

“So, who are you?”

“Mmyaa?”

Finding her asking this now somewhat amusing, I chuckled and explained Seoa’s identity.

“It’s the World Tree…!”

“The World Tree? That seed?”

“Yep!”

Upon hearing my explanation, Seorin appeared shocked, staring silently at Seoa for a moment. Then, after pondering deeply, she made a strange cat-like declaration.

“Cute, so I approve!”

“…?”

Ignoring Seorin’s bizarre statement, I stepped down, as helping Seoa speak was the priority now. As I lifted her up again to return to the fairytale book area…

“Do you want to help, sis?”

Seorin scooped us up once more and confidently strode forward. Definitely stronger due to being a Hunter, I leaned comfortably into her embrace while thinking this. Meanwhile, Seoa giggled happily, seemingly enjoying being held by Seorin.

“Mmyaa, Mama Bear!”

Maybe she thought Seorin was Mama Bear? Feeling the connection, I nodded. In the blink of an eye, we were back in the playroom.

“You were reading a story, right? Want me to read it?”

At this, Chae-a and Yuna reacted first.

“Yes!”

“I like that too.”

Encouraged by their responses, Seorin grinned and sat nearby, picking up the fairytale book from the floor.

“Come here, kiddos!”

Following her call, the four of us scurried over and found our spots. Although Seorin looked happiest among us all, making it a funny point, I decided to focus on listening to her read the story calmly.

*

Just as Seorin was about to read the third story…

“Pinocchio’s nose… long like a worm sister…”

We heard Chae-a mumbling in her sleep. Checking around, I saw Chae-a, Yuna, and Seoa all sound asleep.

‘When did they fall asleep?’

Realizing kids tend to drift off quickly, I went to fetch a blanket for them to rest comfortably. But Seorin stopped me, sitting me down instead, and playfully brought the blanket herself.

After giving her a thankful gesture and preparing to lie down myself…

Seorin, perhaps unwilling to let me sleep yet, picked me up and whispered softly,

“Should we go for a walk, sis?”

She seemed to have something on her mind, so I nodded, indicating I understood. Patting my back, she headed outside.

The Guild’s evening was dim.

Though not pitch-black due to the streetlights surrounding the Guild and the late-night workers, there was still a ghostly atmosphere that stirred psychological fear.

Thus, holding tightly onto Seorin’s hand was inevitable. Clutching her hand, at least 1.5 times larger than mine, I trembled slightly. Seorin noticed and smiled adorably before asking calmly,

“Haeun, do you like it here at the Guild?”

To this question, I gazed steadily at Seorin. Though unsure of her exact intent, having spent much time together, I could roughly grasp why she asked.

‘She’s wondering if bringing me here was the right decision.’

There was a high chance this question stemmed from contemplating whether I’d be better off with the Dragon race in a superior environment. Smiling as brightly as possible, I answered affirmatively.

Seeing my response, Seorin let out a relieved sigh and continued,

“That’s good then.”

My answer seemed to ease Seorin’s worries and conflicts, as her expression visibly improved. Relieved, I smiled back at her when…

Something unusual caught my eye far away.

“A fluffy Somtul…?”

A pristine, fluffy Somtul was bouncing around an empty hallway. Remembering the ghostly Somtul I encountered last time, I felt a jolt of panic.

‘Could it be a ghost?’

Thinking ghosts shouldn’t exist and even if they did, how they managed to fix themselves in space remained a mystery, thus the Somtul I saw couldn’t possibly be a ghost…

Shaken by fear, I rapidly thought nonsensical thoughts when suddenly…

The Somtul floated in the air and started emitting a high-pitched sound,

“Peeeeeeeee?”

It then charged towards me like a ghost. Startled, I tried to run, but Seorin, standing in front, burst into laughter, grabbing the Somtul and petting its head affectionately.

“Fluffy Somtul is cute.”

“Peeeeeeng!?” (You still see me as Somtul!?)

“Even if I don’t understand what you’re saying, you’re cute.”

Realizing supernatural phenomena like ghosts were powerless against great strength and ignorance, I sighed in relief. Suddenly, the Somtul cried out and…

With a loud “POOF!” it exploded and disappeared somewhere.

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