Chapter 76

“Haa, Hae-un? This name sounds like a pile of food waste, but surprisingly, it’s kinda tasty.”

At the mention of food waste, I shuddered and looked at Han Arin.

I began to suspect that all the kindness she’d shown me until now was just to torment me like this.

I felt a little sad and flailed my legs, trying to escape, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t break free.

“Too harsh…”

I felt like I understood what betrayal felt like when suddenly…

Seorin nearby sighed heavily and spoke up for me.

“It’s not good.”

“Why?”

“Because you mixed things that strongly divide opinions.”

The genuine confusion on her face made me even more awkward.

As I wondered how to explain this, Chae-a happily chimed in while eating with a spoon.

“Super delicious!”

Seeing Chae-a enjoying it so much started to pique my interest a little.

“Maybe it really is tasty…”

Just like how kimchi pizza, sweet ramen, or ice cream with sesame oil can be unexpectedly delicious, maybe there’s a chance this hidden mint pineapple something-or-other ice cream could be good too.

Deciding to give it a try, I took a bite.

*

“Brreee.”

It was… an odd mix.

While the super-sweet dessert wasn’t completely inedible, the unfamiliar flavors had me scrunching up my face.

Han Arin looked worried and asked me if it tasted bad.

After some hesitation about whether to hurt her feelings, Seorin bluntly answered for me.

“It tastes bad.”

“Why?”

“Because you only put things that strongly divide opinions…”

Her genuine lack of understanding made me even more perplexed.

Meanwhile, Chae-a cheerfully declared while eating another spoonful.

“It’s yummy!”

Hearing this, Han Arin smiled brightly, hugged Chae-a, and said smugly to us.

“See? Even Chae-a says it’s good. It’s your loss for not appreciating this special icecream.”

As Han Arin and Chae-a basked in their happiness, Yuna frowned and scolded softly:

“Don’t bully others. Don’t use food to cause pain.”

Even Yuna could tell this felt like teasing through food.

I nodded in agreement when suddenly Chae-a tilted her head in confusion.

“But I ate it! If it were bad, I would’ve immediately collapsed while making ‘wek wek’ noises!”

This seemed to shock Han Arin momentarily.

Her eyes widened as she anxiously questioned Chae-a.

“Have you ever collapsed after eating?”

“Yep, many times! But Chae-a is strong, so I get up right away!”

“G-good…”

Struggling to continue the conversation, Han Arin eventually closed her eyes tightly and decided.

“Well… though this ice cream is special, let’s go eat something safer instead?”

“This was yummy too!”

“I’ll buy you something even better, come here.”

Though I was curious about the ice cream’s fate, I wagged my tail happily knowing I didn’t have to endure that strange dessert anymore.

* * * * *

The investigation into the terror group was progressing smoothly overall,

but capturing the core members referred to as “roots” kept failing,

deepening everyone’s worries.

“While we do have some leads on these roots…”

Their information blocking skills and ability to cut ties were highly advanced,

making most of the gathered intelligence meaningless.

Many believed catching the main group would take several years,

but the Dragon faction presented an opposing view.

[We’ve already identified their true form and are considering how to deal with them.]

Even though Dragons were powerful and many professional hunters were involved,

there was a striking disparity between one side having already identified the enemy

and the other side still struggling to do so.

However, there were reasons for this – money and manpower.

“Hunters individually may be skilled, but their participation has limits.”

Unless they abandoned their main duties to focus solely on this,

balancing their regular work with this investigation proved extremely difficult.

Initially they produced meaningful results,

but over time these findings became increasingly vague.

Thus, leadership of the investigation gradually shifted to the Dragon side,

raising questions about why the association needed to keep Haeuni.

“Couldn’t we just bring Seorin along too?”

If the attachment was to Seorin, then bringing Seorin would solve the problem.

“The hospital room? We could move it entirely then.”

If the attachment was to the room itself, moving the whole room would suffice.

What seemed impossible with normal thinking was easily achievable with their abilities.

“In that case, we should ask Haeuni what she prefers. We can move everything, so there’s no need to stay if she doesn’t want to.”

Perseus considered this briefly before nodding.

While the association claimed to prioritize security,

the Dragon’s security measures were far superior,

so bringing her here might be better.

With that settled, they were about to end the meeting when Elder Dragon Leseia spoke up seriously,

calmly showing a cellphone screen using magic.

“Now that the meeting’s over, let’s look at this. Here’s the calyx Haeuni gave us.”

A photo they’d seen hundreds of times by now.

So familiar they practically had it memorized,

but coming from such an esteemed Dragon and featuring adorable Haeuni,

no one dared comment.

“Not fair! I want to see it too!”

“Grandmother, isn’t this a bit excessive? It’s not fair to hog it all yourself.”

“I’m heading straight to see Haeuni, please prepare accordingly.”

Actually, people did speak up.

Mostly joking jealously… or rather, the genuine anger suggested it was sincere.

Regardless, most comments were simply requests to participate themselves.

“So what exactly is this girl Yuna?”

One question, however, demanded attention.

Mention of Yuna’s name silenced the room.

When it seemed no one would speak, an elder Dragon finally broke the silence.

“She’s the last descendant of the nine-tailed fox who once tried to freeze the entire world into destruction.”

Technically created through experiments, so not a true descendant,

but everyone understood his meaning without correction.

The important points being “destruction” and “last.”

“How on earth did they obtain that bloodline? The nine-tailed foxes were clearly extinct.”

That they had attempted destruction meant they had taken such actions.

Despite the Balance Guardians known as Dragons personally wiping them out,

this terror group somehow acquired their blood and successfully recreated the nine-tailed fox.

“It would be helpful to determine the source. Perseus, is it possible?”

For Dragons, “impossible” doesn’t exist.

With lifespans infinitely longer than humans’,

centuries meant nothing to them.

Even if attempts failed, they could simply try endlessly.

Thus he nodded, agreeing to investigate.

* * * * *

When I came to, it was morning.

I vaguely remembered Han Arin’s bitter smile as she brought out strawberry ice cream,

then soaking in the lukewarm cold bath after pretending to splash around in the bathtub,

and finally dipping into warm water…

The later events grew increasingly hazy.

Apparently, I passed out towards the end,

which amazed me as I blinked awake, trying to process this fact.

Just then, Yuna greeted me.

“Haeuni woke up! You slept well!”

Though more of a compliment than a greeting, it didn’t feel unpleasant,

so I smiled back, causing Yuna to grin as well.

As I stroked her head, Chae-a suddenly emerged from under the blanket,

wriggling out with something in hand.

“Chae-a found treasure!”

Curious about this “treasure,” I looked over to see a black plastic bag fluttering.

Wondering where she’d found it, I tilted my head in confusion.

Chae-a then placed the bag on her head and wriggled around, laughing.

“If you wear this, it becomes pitch dark night… And you can sleep instantly!”

Hearing this, Yuna perked up, wagging her tail vigorously.

Apparently wanting to try it herself, she asked Chae-a.

“Yup! Yuna can too! Since Chae-a is the older sister, I’ll let you have it!”

Surprisingly willingly, Chae-a handed over the black plastic bag to Yuna.

Yuna eagerly placed it over her face, looking even happier as she wagged her tail faster,

raising her hands high and playfully growled.

“Rawr, I’m a puppy!”

Watching her antics, Chae-a and I laughed.

Suddenly startled by this, Somtul shrieked…

“Peep peep!”

And scurried off somewhere.

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