Chapter 29

Whether I was flustered or not, whether Eve grabbed my tail and pulled or not, Karin kept circling around me, sniffing my scent repeatedly.

“How long has it been since I last smelled the fragrance of a maiden! My goodness, it’s so fragrant! This Karin must truly be the luckiest among the unicorns of the Light Realm!”

“Hey, Eve, what’s this?! What’s going on?!”

I screamed as I struggled to push Karin away, who was trying to hug me with her front hooves.

In the end, neither I nor Eve could stop Karin.

Eventually, I sat on the sofa, and Karin sat at my feet, rubbing her head against my calves. I demanded an explanation from Eve.

“I don’t know. She didn’t react like this when she first proposed a contract to me.”

“Well, you’re a man, aren’t you?”

I was a man too. Though no one knew except Keru.

Eve shouted, sounding deeply wronged.

“Hey, Karin. And speak properly, you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Strictly speaking, I’m a maiden too! So why is she only overreacting to her?!”

Are you seriously getting angry about that? Isn’t your focus a bit off?

“No, no. Not at all.”

What?

“Hey, Eve, don’t tell me…”

“Ah, no! Mother-Body, what if you start thinking that too? I was originally a man, and even now, my heart is still a man! I absolutely don’t like men or have ever slept with a man… Anyway, nothing like that ever happened!”

Eve’s face turned bright red as she frantically tried to explain, but honestly, seeing her like that, anyone would misunderstand.

“That’s not what I’m saying, Eve.”

“Then what?!”

“You’re only half a maiden.”

At those words, Eve froze stiff. She did the same with Kabe, and now with Karin. I’m starting to feel a bit sorry for her.

“Here, look at this Mother-Body. I, Karin, as a member of the prestigious unicorn race of the Light Realm, have strict judgment criteria. Based on that, let me say this.”

What does prestige even mean in the Light Realm? It’s absurd that a unicorn who shoves her horn into a woman’s butt is considered prestigious. And why is she applying strict judgment criteria to identify maidens?

“I, a unicorn, am a race that has protected maidens for generations. This innate sense of smell can detect the subtle peach fragrance that only maidens emit more sensitively than anyone else!”

She really sounds like a pervert.

It’s not bad if a person smells like peaches, but coming from a unicorn who proudly declares she only protects maidens, it just sounds perverted.

“Moreover, the firmness of the buttocks that push against my horn! This is undeniable proof of a maiden!”

With those words, Karin suddenly stood up and looked at me again. I quickly covered my butt, fearing she might shove her horn into it again.

And by the way, I was a man. Did Keru handle it so perfectly that even a unicorn couldn’t tell? That bastard Keru, why can’t he be this thorough with other tasks?

But nothing like her horn stabbing my butt happened again. Karin just stood there like a statue, staring at me with eyes that seemed to emit flames.

“This Mother-Body, who perfectly satisfies all my strict criteria, is indeed a maiden herself! Truly the one fit to contract with me, Karin…!”

“You crazy bastard!”

Eve’s fist, unable to hold back any longer, struck Karin’s face. I knew this would happen.

“Listening to you, you really don’t hold back with the sexual harassment even in broad daylight, huh? Are you crazy? Are you insane?!”

Karin, who had been knocked down by the punch, lay sprawled out, enduring Eve’s harsh beating.

I didn’t feel like stopping her.

I just watched the scene.

I no longer understand the standards of good and evil in this world.

—

“Anyway, today you’ll go with Karin. Learning magic operation methods or combat techniques from Karin will probably be better. Keru only handled paperwork, so he probably didn’t explain how to fight, right?”

That’s true. I learned how to tear out chunks of magic power and fight with it from Keru, but that was all.

“Yeah. I guess Keru isn’t really skilled in combat. He said he was a combat specialist, though…”

“Pfft!”

Karin, who had been lying down groaning, snorted. That bastard. Even if he’s like that, Keru is my mascot. Are you mocking him?

“Keru must have gone crazy from only eating ink. The true combat specialist is me.”

A cat-turned-leopard and a unicorn boasting about being combat specialists.

“I’m an expert in magic-based combat. I’ll train you well, so don’t worry.”

“Eve.”

“Yeah.”

“Isn’t the combat style different between a horse and a person?”

“Just learn magic operation. You don’t have any unique spells anyway. If you can’t use anything, you’ll have to rely on your body to charge in.”

“Right…”

I’m really not confident. As if understanding my worries, Eve smiled faintly.

“Trust me. She may seem like this, but she’s really good at teaching magic operation. I learned from her in the beginning too.”

“Okay. Got it. I’ll trust you. Anyway, Karin, please take care of me. I don’t have much time, but teach me well.”

“Don’t worry.”

“Mother-Body, I’ll come to the hotel tomorrow evening. I’ll let you know what you need to prepare then, so wait at the hotel.”

“Okay, got it.”

After some small talk, I returned to the hotel with Karin, who had transformed into a horse-shaped brooch for easy carrying, and attached her to my collar as a decoration.

—

“Mom!”

“Oh, my daughter. Were you having fun?”

“Yeah, Keru kept playing with me.”

Keru was leaning against the display case in the room.

Even as I entered, he only glanced at me without much reaction.

It seemed he had been busy playing with the kid, so I opened the fridge and took out a can of tuna for cats that I had prepared earlier, then approached Keru.

“Keru, thanks for looking after Kabe.”

“It’s nothing. Did you have a good trip? Wait… I sense Karin’s energy…?”

“Ah, right.”

I took the brooch off my collar and placed it on the floor, and soon a dazzling golden light burst forth.

Karin, who had revealed herself, energetically shook her body.

“We’ve arrived, I see! This dark energy… Oh, Keru. You’ve evolved. Long time no see…”

“Moo moo moo!”

Karin’s words were cut short.

Kabe rushed over, grabbed Karin’s neck, climbed onto her back, and started pretending to ride her.

But Kabe, cows go “moo,” horses go “neigh.”

“Wh-what is this?!”

Karin’s voice was full of panic, but I had to introduce them anyway.

“This is my daughter. Her name is Kaberia. Also called Kabe. Kabe, this is Karin.”

“Karin? Karin? What a pretty name! Karin, I’m Kabe!”

“I-I’m Karin, not Karin…! Can you get off me?!”

“Now, now, Kabe, Karin’s having a hard time. Let’s get down, okay?”

After helping Kabe down from Karin, who had been clinging to her neck, Karin finally caught her breath.

“How can you have a daughter?! I was certain you were a maiden!”

“I thought you’d think that.”

I would have to explain, but it’s not something to discuss in front of Kabe. I can’t say in front of my daughter that she’s not my biological child and that I created her somehow.

“No, I can’t believe it…!”

“Then just believe it, Karin. That’s why you’re unpopular.”

Keru, who had been lying down, suddenly sat up. I’ve seen some strange things today.

Keru scratched the side of his head with his hind leg.

“Keru, you bastard, we haven’t seen each other in a long time, and you dare to say such things? You begged and pleaded not to be erased because you couldn’t find the Mother-Body, didn’t you?!”

Those words seemed to hit a nerve. Keru’s expression stiffened, and he growled lowly.

“Karin, if you’re going to expose someone’s dark past, you should be prepared to have yours exposed too, right?”

“What dark past do I have?! I stand tall under the heavens!”

Keru snorted upon hearing that. I, who had become a spectator, held Kabe and listened to the conversation with great interest.

“You, when you were scolded for why it took so long for the first magical girl to appear, I know what you said.”

“Wh-what?!”

Karin was startled. Oh, there’s something here.

“「What can I do if there are no maidens that fit my taste?」”

I burst out laughing at Keru’s imitation of Karin’s voice. So the reason she went through the trouble of turning men into women to create magical girls was for such a trivial reason.

If Eve hears this, she’ll tear Karin apart.

“And then you came to Eve because you were told you’d have your horn pulled out if you didn’t make a magical girl contract within three days. Did you think I wouldn’t know?”

“How do you know that…?”

Anyway, if this continues, it’ll never end.

“Alright, that’s enough. Keru and Karin already know each other, so that’s fine. This is my daughter, Kabe. Just in case, if anyone harms Kabe even a little…”

With a slight smile, I added,

“I’ll tell Eve.”

I got promises from both of them.

“Kabe, is Aunt Dusik still not here?”

“Nope.”

“Really? Keru, have you heard from Dusik?”

“Not yet.”

Lately, she’s been staying late for night self-study. She usually comes home right after school, but today she seems a bit late. Looking at the clock, it’s already 7 PM, and I don’t know her school schedule…

My phone vibrated in my pocket, and when I took it out, it was an unknown number. Maybe it’s the salesman instinct still in me, but I answered it even though I didn’t recognize the number.

“This is Yoon-Woo.”

– Hello, this is Officer Lee Gyu-ho from Samsung Police Station.

Police station?

“Ah, yes. What’s the matter…?”

Eve said she handled the building explosion. The contract termination was all confirmed. What’s left? What’s going on?

– Are you the guardian of Kwak Dusik?

“Huh? Ah, yes, that’s me.”

– There’s been an assault case, and we’d like you to come to the station.

“I’ll be right there. Samsung Police Station, right?”

– Yes, call me when you arrive at the main building on the first floor, and I’ll come down.

As soon as I hung up, I put on the shawl I had taken off. Grabbing my wallet and a pouch with various items, I entrusted Kabe to Keru and hurried out of the hotel.

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