Chapter 36

This time, luckily, we managed to stop the Spirit Master from causing destruction.

I shielded the flowers and pebbles precious friends had given me with both hands and called out to the Spirit Master once more.

“Uncle, no breaking things…!”

At my words, the Spirit Master chuckled awkwardly and said,

“Sorry… I’ll ask next time, promise.”

“…Nyeh!”

Though it was a bit late, I was relieved he would at least ask from now on.

With a sigh of relief, I explained what this was.

“These were gifts from my friends, so no breaking them.”

(These are gifts from my friends, you can’t break them.)

Upon hearing this, the Spirit Master gave an uneasy laugh and replied,

“Is that so? But that flower will wilt if left like that. How about I bring some water?”

Hearing this, I glanced at the flower.

To be honest, even if water was brought, it probably wouldn’t last more than a few days before wilting…

But since it was a present, I wanted it to last as long as possible, so I nodded.

At my nod, the Spirit Master snapped his fingers and summoned a blue turtle.

Pointing at the flower, he told it, “Give it water.”

Zororo…

The turtle grinned happily and began spraying water from its mouth onto the flower.

Normally, the water would just flow away and soak the ground, but…

“Maybe because it’s from a Spirit Beast…”

The water that spilled beside the flower rose back up and wrapped around it, ensuring not a single drop went to waste as it revitalized the flower.

“Amazing…”

It felt exactly like Earth in some ways, but moments like this made it clear we were in a different world.

As I stared in wonder, the Spirit Master continued petting the turtle’s shell and added,

“I’ll come by once a day to water it for you. I’ll do my best to keep it from wilting.”

Would that really be okay?

Seorin had mentioned he was incredibly busy, and I worried if I was being too much trouble, but…

I didn’t want the gift from my friends to wilt, so I hesitated.

After pondering briefly, I decided it would be right to repay him somehow if he insisted.

Bowing deeply, I said,

“Thank you very much! If there’s ever anything I can help with, please let me know…!”

“Shoulder massage?”

“…Huh?”

I blinked in confusion, unsure if that was appropriate.

The Spirit Master, rubbing his own shoulders, replied,

“Well, my son never does it, so I thought I’d try asking my daughter.”

I wanted to protest, but it felt awkward, so I just closed my mouth and nodded.

He chuckled and said,

“If you don’t want to, it’s fine. It was just a joke.”

Despite calling it a joke, his sincerity came through.

Slightly embarrassed but determined, I agreed to give him a massage.

“I’ll do it!”

As soon as I said that, Seorin shouted, “Me too, me too!”

In the blink of an eye, the number of people I had to massage doubled.

Confused by this situation, I blinked when Chae-a confidently stepped forward and declared,

“Chae-a is good at massages too!”

Seorin teased her, laughing,

“Really? You’re good at massages?”

“Yeah! I massaged a puppy!”

Puppy massage…?

It sounded soft and warm, like something fluffy.

Thinking I should try it sometime, I smiled. Meanwhile, Seorin praised Chae-a excessively and patted her head.

“You’re amazing, Chae-a!”

“Yeah, Chae-a is amazing!”

Chae-a giggled joyfully and jumped around before suddenly lunging at Seorin and starting to rub her shoes.

“What, what are you doing?”

“Massaging!”

“Eh?”

Apparently, Seorin meant shoulder massages, not shoe massages.

Finding Chae-a’s actions adorable, I laughed. Nearby, the Spirit Master stretched in an exaggerated manner and muttered into thin air,

“My shoulders are stiff. Someone should massage me.”

Unable to ignore his obvious hint, I reluctantly moved behind him and prepared to massage his shoulders.

Trying my hardest, I kneaded his shoulders, but…

“So firm…”

Either due to my weak strength or his tense muscles, they felt rock-solid and impossible to work on.

Having no other choice, I clenched my fists and started pounding his shoulders randomly.

Tuk tuk tuk tuk…

My punches felt more like light taps than actual hits.

Feeling strangely insulted by my lack of strength, I tried harder, but…

Tuk! Tuk!

The sound got slightly louder, but it remained mere tapping.

While wondering what to do, the Spirit Master smiled contentedly and said,

“Hae-un’s massage is great. Here’s your allowance.”

“But… isn’t this because you watered the flower? That’s enough already.”

“Nope nope. It’s common courtesy for adults to give kids allowances after receiving massages. Keep it.”

With that, he reached over and slipped money into the hood of my animal pajamas.

I fidgeted, feeling the money accumulating inside my hood, when the Spirit Master stretched again and said,

“Well, I’ll be going now. Let me know if anything comes up.”

“Nyeh! Thank you very much.”

“It’s nothing.”

Even though he had broken or damaged parts of my lair before, I still thought of him as a kind person as I wagged my tail happily.

From behind, Seorin, who was getting a massage from Chae-a, called out to me,

“Hae-un, what are you doing? Come here.”

She gestured for me to become her favorite plushie as usual, spreading her arms wide.

Though a little shy, I hugged her without hesitation since it was such a familiar action.

Seorin hugged me back gently and whispered,

“If you feel any pain or discomfort, tell me immediately, okay?”

Since I felt perfectly fine, I nodded curiously.

She then rubbed her cheek against mine affectionately and said,

“Seriously, what would I do without Hae-un and Chae-a?”

“That’s not true. Seorin could manage without us.”

“No way. I couldn’t live without Hae-un.”

Judging by how clingy she was today, something must have troubled her.

Deciding it was best to comfort her, I patted her shoulder while she held me.

Nearby, Chae-a watched us silently for a moment before speaking seriously,

“Chae-a also wants to go on adventures.”

“Why?”

“Yeah. To play with ants, butterflies, and Kamangi…”

Though Chae-a seemed calm, she clearly missed the bugs and Kamangi who had left.

Seeing this, I nodded and suggested,

“Then let’s go to the park nearby instead… Sound good?”

“Yeah!”

Since Han Arin had warned us not to wander far, we decided to ask her permission first before heading to the nearby park.

*

“Whaaat? Did the little ones come to see their big sister?”

Near the playroom, we entered Han Arin’s office where many hunters greeted us warmly.

Though the attention made me a little shy, I reminded myself it was important to act mature and nodded confidently.

“Yeah!”

“Really? Oh my goodness, I’m so touched I might cry.”

Han Arin dramatically pretended to cry, but…

Chae-a, seeing this, hugged her and exclaimed,

“Don’t cry! If you cry, we’ll throw rocks and tell you to go away!”

“…Eh?”

Her shocking statement froze Han Arin in place.

I was equally stunned and could only stare blankly at Chae-a.

She tilted her head at our reaction and asked innocently,

“Are you okay now? Yeah! Then you don’t need to leave!”

Seeing Han Arin stop her fake crying, Chae-a smiled brightly and ran off somewhere.

Watching this, I felt a pang of sadness and fell into thought.

‘Could this be something she experienced while coming to meet me?’

When she mentioned picking up random things to eat, it must have been during that time.

Her cheerful demeanor made my heart ache.

I resolved to do my best to ensure Chae-a never had to go through that again when…

“Let’s go for a walk!?”

Chae-a returned, grabbing both Han Arin’s and my hands, eager to go out.

Unable to refuse, Han Arin chuckled awkwardly and nodded.

“Alright, let’s take a short walk then.”

“Yeah!”

Chae-a, thrilled to play outside with us, sang some unknown tune while tightly holding our hands.

Finding her cuteness irresistible, I giggled.

Han Arin then lifted us both and turned to the hunters around her.

“We’ll be back shortly, so please finish up for us.”

“Okay.”

The surrounding hunters nodded, seemingly disappointed but understanding.

Han Arin smiled softly at them and led us outside.

*

The fresh, crisp air greeted us as we stepped outside.

The warm sunlight made me feel relaxed as I basked in its warmth.

Beside me, Chae-a gently tugged on my hand and whispered,

“Hae-un, look over there!”

Following her gaze, I saw someone playing frisbee with a dog.

Finding the sight of the cute dog fetching the frisbee mesmerizing, I watched quietly when…

Chae-a leaned in seriously and whispered,

“Chae-a can do that too.”

“Hmm?”

“I mean, Chae-a will get that frisbee and get praised…”

With that, she dashed off with determination.

I tried to stop her, extending my hand, but she was already far away.

“Get it!”

Far away, I heard Chae-a’s voice.

She successfully retrieved the frisbee and happily ran toward the adult who had thrown it, laughing alongside the dog.