Chapter 123

As soon as I swallowed the bead, a mysterious warm sensation began swirling around inside my body.

It felt both strange and comforting, like some kind of magical安定感. As I placed my hand over my chest to savor this odd yet pleasant feeling…

Perseus suddenly smirked at me before adding his two cents.

“Try activating Cleaning Magic.”

At his suggestion, I hesitantly raised my hand, though uncertainty lingered in my heart. Since I’d only just begun learning it, everything still felt rather vague and uncertain. But then…

“It’s not a big deal if you fail.”

Deciding to give it a shot, I focused on conjuring up the image of Cleaning Magic within my mind.

“I want to make everything around me spotless.”

While with Light Magic all you had to do was wish for brightness, Cleaning Magic required a much clearer mental picture of exactly how clean you wanted things to be – which admittedly made it a bit tricky. But…

“Could it be… thanks to that bead I ate earlier?”

Somehow, an ideal vision of cleanliness sprang vividly into my mind, allowing me to easily visualize the precise outcome I desired. With this image firmly in place, I opened my eyes wide and unleashed the Cleaning Magic.

In an instant, dust scattered away, shoes and items lying about magically returned to their proper places. Stunned by this miraculous sight, I froze momentarily before breaking out into a radiant smile and looking around at everyone else.

“Waaaah! Haeuni is a genius…! Incredible! Amazing!”

“Yeah yeah, totally amazing!”

“Y-Yes! She really is…”

“Wait, what did Hae-un do? How did she manage that? She’s a real prodigy!”

Like some perfectly choreographed performance, everyone around me erupted into cheers, pulling out all the stops to celebrate my success. Though slightly embarrassed by their over-the-top reactions, I couldn’t help but giggle nervously while rubbing the back of my head. Meanwhile, Perseus seemed more intrigued by something else entirely.

“Wordless incantation, huh.”

Ah, now that he mentioned it, I hadn’t actually spoken the words for Cleaning Magic aloud.

As I debated whether I should try saying them now, Perseus suddenly ruffled my hair affectionately and spoke.

“Grandma Leseia would be so proud of you.”

At the mention of Grandma Leseia’s approval, my tail wagged uncontrollably from side to side. Thinking fondly about when I might see her again, I nodded eagerly.

Perseus then picked me up gently, smiling softly as he explained further.

“You know, there are different types of wordless incantations. The one you used, Hae-un, is called Image-Type Wordless Incantation – the highest level among them all.”

“Image-Type…?”

“That’s right. A form of magic activation where simply picturing something in your mind is enough to bring it to life.”

Hearing these words filled me with pride, causing me to beam even wider. Realizing how susceptible I was to compliments, I absentmindedly fidgeted with my tail while pondering this newfound ability. Just then, Seorin approached me, scratching my head playfully.

“Haeun-ah, could I get a picture of you using that…?”

“No way!” (Absolutely not!)

Ignoring Seorin’s whining protests, I crossed my arms firmly.

*

And so, thanks to this experience, both Chae-a and I were now able to use magic. The only one left was Yuna, whose case required fundamental changes to her constitution first – a process Han Arin estimated would take quite some time.

“At least Yuna doesn’t seem too concerned about success or failure?”

Though somewhat relieved by Yuna’s nonchalant attitude, I still decided to gently pat her head as she practiced mana circulation beside me before turning my attention back to practicing Cleaning Magic.

“They say it’s important to keep using it while you still have a feel for it.”

Determined not to lose this sensation, I continued casting Cleaning Magic repeatedly. During one such session…

Seoa, who had been clinging to me until now, must’ve grown bored and stepped forward to say something.

“Gurrrr… Hungry… Mmm?”

Was she saying she was hungry? Seeking clarification, I glanced over at Chae-a, only to find her fast asleep on the couch after expending too much energy casting continuous spells. Sighing softly, I covered her with a nearby blanket before addressing Seoa.

“Want some snacks?”

“Yesss!”

Since dinner was still hours away, I figured having a couple of treats wouldn’t hurt. Glancing towards our treasure trove of snacks…

Though I’m not entirely sure why, every person or dragon we met always seemed to gift us candy or cookies, resulting in a mountainous pile that showed no signs of diminishing anytime soon. As I contemplated this, I decided to give Seoa the choice.

“Why don’t you pick something you’d like to eat?”

Upon hearing this, Seoa flailed her hands excitedly before giggling gleefully and rushing toward the snack stash. Watching her go, I chuckled softly and followed behind – only to be stopped mid-step when Yuna grabbed my hand firmly.

“Haeuni is still little, so she needs to come with her older sister.”

“…”

Technically speaking, shouldn’t I have gone with Seoa instead?

Though this thought briefly crossed my mind, I decided against pointing it out for fear of losing the argument and instead pretended not to hear anything as we approached the snack collection.

Among the countless options available, one particular bag caught my eye immediately.

“Shrimp Crackers…”

While most people preferred the spicier varieties, I tended to favor the simpler, nuttier flavors. Just as I was considering trying these again after so long…

Seoa noticed where my gaze had landed and grinned happily, holding up the same bag with a cheerful expression.

“Mmm!”

Apparently, she wanted to share these with me. Nodding approvingly, I reached out to grab the bag…

“Chae-a too…”

Suddenly, a groggy voice interrupted us. Turning around, we saw Chae-a stumbling over in a half-asleep state, likely woken up by our food-related chatter.

Not wanting her to miss out completely, I beckoned her over with a nod.

Still mostly asleep, Chae-a wobbled unsteadily before collapsing onto the floor like a cat taking a nap. Concerned, I gently shook her awake.

“Chae-a, if you don’t hurry, we’ll eat them all.”

“Mmm…”

That seemed to do the trick, as Chae-a forced herself upright, rubbing her cheeks vigorously as she spoke.

“Chae-a wants some too!”

Glad to see her awake, I pointed toward the snacks.

“Yeah. What would you like?”

Upon seeing the shrimp crackers in my hand, Chae-a blinked curiously before asking innocently while wiping stray hairs off her chubby cheeks.

“Excuse me, does this really contain flipping shrimp?”

If she was asking whether actual shrimp were included in shrimp crackers… technically yes, though the proportion was incredibly small. Given this fact…

“But it’s not entirely wrong either…”

Deciding to confirm this truth for now, I nodded. However, Chae-a’s attention soon shifted elsewhere as she stared intently at a rectangular box of pastries.

“Papa’s Hand Pie…”

Seeing this label caused her to pause momentarily in confusion, staring blankly at the package. Wanting to clarify that “Papa’s Hand” didn’t mean what she probably thought it did…

“Scary…”

Unfortunately, Yuna beat me to the punch, leaving both younger ones trembling in apparent terror. While they succumbed to their imagined horrors…

Fortunately, lacking such preconceived notions, Seoa remained blissfully unaware and continued smiling brightly as she patted both Chae-a and Yuna comfortingly on the back.

Amidst this growing chaos, Han Arin appeared out of nowhere, quickly assessing the situation.

“Why are the kids acting like this? What happened?”

At this, Chae-a and Yuna instinctively ran over and clung tightly to her. Confused yet amused, Han Arin turned to me for an explanation.

“What’s going on?”

Realizing it was best to reveal the full story, I recounted everything from the shrimp crackers to the Papa’s Hand Pies. Upon hearing this, Han Arin burst out laughing uncontrollably, enthusiastically petting both Chae-a and Yuna’s heads.

“Ahhahaha! So it’s Papa’s hand pie…”

Struggling to contain her laughter for several moments, she finally wiped away her tears and addressed the frightened children.

“Listen, kids. This doesn’t mean actual Papa’s hands are inside. It means it tastes as good as something made by Papa.”

With that, Han Arin grabbed a Papa’s Hand Pie and swiftly tore open the packaging to demonstrate.

“See? Even though it says ‘Papa’s Hand Pie,’ there aren’t any real hands inside. Instead, it contains other ingredients.”

At the mention of “other ingredients,” Chae-a shuddered fearfully.

“Mommy…”

“Don’t worry. There’s no actual hands involved. It’s just flour. Completely normal ingredients.”

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