Chapter 38

Since I had built a new lair, I kinda hoped to sleep there—but thanks to Han Arin and Seorin absolutely refusing, I found myself back in the hospital room with no other choice.

‘Of course, this place isn’t bad either…’

Still, I couldn’t help but feel attached since I’d built the lair piece by piece with my own hands. Lost in thought, I sat on the bed blankly before snapping out of it and vigorously rubbing my cheeks.

“Man, I’m stuffed!”

Realizing that if the guild told me to leave right now, I’d end up sleeping on the cold pavement wrapped in newspapers, I understood complaining about one place being better than another was going too far. So, I pulled my cheeks to snap myself out of it.

“Owwwee…”

It hurt a bit, so I stopped quickly, but nothing clears your head like that. Calming down, I squatted on the bed and stretched out my palms.

‘I gotta make my hands bigger.’

Right now, they’re way too small to even properly hold a pencil. Determined to grip it more skillfully, I stretched my hands as wide as possible when Chae-a, sitting nearby, quietly observed me and asked,

“What’re you doing?”

To which I honestly replied,

“Yeah… trying to grow my hands so I can write.”

At the mention of growing hands, Chae-a’s eyes lit up and she stared at me curiously before asking,

“Then… could you grab a soda can with one hand?”

Soda? Oh, you mean those 355ml cans? Both Chae-a and I have tiny hands, so we always need two hands to drink from them, unlike Seorin who can do it with just one. Clearly, Chae-a was hoping for the same thing.

“Yeah! If your hands get bigger, you can try too!”

Chae-a joined me, stretching her hands beside mine. Watching her, I chuckled and promised that once our hand-stretching was done, we’d use pillows for strength training.

*

The next morning, as soon as the counselor teacher walked in, Chae-a excitedly dashed over and proudly spread her hands out.

She looked up expectantly, waiting for praise, but the counselor blinked confusedly, alternating glances between Chae-a and me.

“Huh? Do you want to do a high-five?”

Chae-a wasn’t showing off her hands for a high-five; the counselor misunderstood. Finding their crossed wires amusing, I giggled softly, but Chae-a shook her head and explained,

“My hands got bigger!”

“Ah, they grew? Let me see. Hmm… they do look slightly bigger.”

“Yup!”

Encouraged by the counselor’s compliment, Chae-a puffed out her chest proudly before turning her gaze toward the door.

“When will the others come!?”

Clearly, she wanted to show everyone her progress. To fulfill her wish, I approached the door, peeking outside to check. But…

“…!”

I accidentally locked eyes with Perseus walking in the distance. It would’ve been fine if it were Han Arin or Seorin, but meeting Perseus’ gaze made me inexplicably flustered. Feeling my face heat up, I quickly pulled my head back inside to compose myself. Just then, Chae-a burst out loudly,

“Ta-daaaan…!”

Full of energy, she shouted—but then realized Perseus (the dragon) wasn’t someone she was super close to yet. She froze stiff before shrinking behind me.

“…”

Embarrassed, she covered her face with both hands and collapsed onto the floor. Knowing exactly how she felt, I patted her back gently. Meanwhile, Perseus knocked lightly on the door and stepped in.

“Sorry to interrupt.”

Always dignified and serious, Perseus paused briefly upon seeing us sprawled all over the floor before awkwardly approaching and asking,

“What are you two doing?”

“Lying down…”

“…”

Apparently not the answer he expected, Perseus knelt down to our level and continued,

“The floor is cold. Wouldn’t lying on the bed be better?”

He had a point. Not wanting to let Chae-a lie on the cold floor, I scooped her up gently, intending to drag her to the bed. But Chae-a suddenly wriggled free and crawled under the bed instead.

“Ack!”

I hadn’t anticipated that. As I lay down to check where she went, Perseus chuckled and said,

“Don’t worry, I’ve got a plan.”

A plan? Curious, I looked up to see him pull out three shiny red bottle caps, placing them on the floor. He then spoke softly,

“Look, these caps seem to belong to no one. How strange.”

Thinking there’s no way Chae-a would fall for such a trick, I was about to explain how smart she is when…

“Really!?”

Chae-a fell for it hook, line, and sinker. Peeking out from under the bed, she eagerly crawled toward the caps, her eyes sparkling.

“Wowwww… these are the prettiest caps I’ve ever seen!”

Grasping them tightly, she gazed at them contentedly before slipping two into my pocket and whispering,

“They’re so pretty. I’ll give one to Hae-un!”

My pocket was slowly becoming her treasure chest. Still, it didn’t bother me much, so I smiled. Perseus watched us fondly before continuing,

“If possible, I’d like to see your lair.”

“… My lair?”

“Yes. There’s something I need to do.”

His words sparked an uneasy feeling. Would he destroy it like the spirit master did? But remembering he gave me the crystal, I decided to trust him and agreed to show him. Tucking my tail nervously, I clutched it tightly while explaining anxiously,

“Please don’t break it…”

Feeling a simple request might not suffice, I held out both hands filled with all the money I’d saved.

“Why are you giving this to me?”

In fantasy novels, people often offer tributes to dragons to gain favor. Thinking the same would work here, I presented my tribute, only to fail miserably. Wondering if the amount was too little, I also added some cookies I’d been hoarding. Perseus gasped, returning everything.

“There seems to be some misunderstanding. You don’t need to give me anything.”

“Do dragons here not like this stuff?”

As I pondered whether to offer him a massage like last time, Perseus ruffled my hair kindly and said,

“I need nothing. Let’s go.”

With that, I nodded and firmly grabbed Chae-a’s hand.

*

“… Here it is.”

Guiding him to the lair despite the lingering anxiety of it getting destroyed, Perseus calmly inspected it before raising his hand and flicking his finger. Suddenly, the air rippled, and a bright blue barrier enveloped the lair.

Startled, I blinked repeatedly as Perseus turned to explain,

“The crystal already creates a barrier around the lair, but it hasn’t fully matured yet, making it weaker.”

So, it had this function too. Running my fingers over the crystal in admiration, Perseus smiled faintly and tapped the barrier he created, saying,

“So, I’ve set up a temporary barrier for now. If anything dangerous happens or there’s a problem, I’ll come immediately.”

Hearing this from Perseus made me trust him completely. Bowing deeply in gratitude, I was lifted into his arms as he examined me closely.

“You’re still too skinny. If I keep letting you stay like this, the elders will scold me. You should gain some weight. And Chae-a too.”

“I’m already this big, so I’m fine!”

“No, you’re not.”

“Yeah! Alright!”

Listening to their conversation, I dangled limply in his grasp as Perseus continued,

“Let’s go eat then.”

Hearing this, I remembered accepting meals twice in a row would make me seem shameless. Wriggling free, I shook my head furiously and insisted,

“No, thank you!”

Perseus looked surprised at my reaction, prompting me to hastily explain,

“I’ll cook for you! I’m good at cooking!”

Though it’s a bit embarrassing to say, I am decent at cooking. Not amazing, but enough to make dishes like steamed eggs, fried rice with egg, and rolled omelets. Hoping to repay his kindness, I offered to cook, but…

“Cooking is still dangerous for you.”

Rejected outright, I slumped in disappointment. Dangling lifelessly in Perseus’ arms, I noticed the spirit master coming to water the plants.

“Hmm? Isn’t that Perseus?”

“I came to set up a barrier.”

“True, leaving it alone would’ve been risky. But why are you taking the kids somewhere?”

“To feed them.”

The two seemed very close, joking and chatting casually. Watching them interact, I found it fascinating and tilted my head curiously. The spirit master then approached me and said,

“By the way, Ha-eun, the flowers and rocks you’ve been tending to aren’t ordinary ones, are they?”

Confused, I tilted my head further as he chuckled and suggested,

“Come visit later to check. You’ll be surprised.”

Wondering what he meant, I nodded vigorously, matching the energetic wagging of my tail.

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