Vain rich people wanted more luxury goods, and exceptional adventurers sought better equipment.

Humans desire things that match their status.

So, it wasn’t particularly strange that I, at the bottom of the social pyramid, wanted a handcart.

Even finding a usable pot would make my day.

A nearly new handcart was practically my dream car.

“Grrr…”

I looked down at the ground and pulled the cart with all my might.

Dragging the cart was hard, but it was a pleasant kind of difficulty.

One step.

Then another step.

Struggling forward, I had to stop because someone blocked my way.

“Hello, Gyeoul?”

It was Chae Juyeon, the Sacred Guild Master.

She stood right next to another Guild Master.

My tail wagged happily at the sight of their familiar faces.

“Hello.”

“Hi. What are you up to, Gyeoul?”

Chae Juyeon looked back and forth between me and those behind me.

The people in the cart looked puzzled.

“I got this new handcart. Just trying it out.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. What brings you here, Master?”

Chae Juyeon gave a sheepish smile in response to my question.

She was hesitant to share something.

“Well… there has been a dungeon break recently.”

Dungeon break.

A phenomenon where monsters inside a dungeon escape to the outside.

“Isn’t that really dangerous?”

“Yes. That’s why our guild members are tracking them. Specter-type monsters are our specialty at the Sacred Guild.”

Specters?

Are there ghosts in this world too?

It was new information to me, and my eyes widened in surprise.

“Is it dangerous?”

“Yes. It reads people’s traumas and shows them as nightmares.”

“Wow…”

So, it attacks the mind.

That might be even more dangerous for the people of this world, who have strong bodies.

Unlike their robust bodies, their mental strength was similar to that of people from my world.

“But you don’t need to worry too much.”

“Why?”

“We’ve set up a barrier. It can’t escape, and as soon as it uses magic, nearby guild members will notice and rush over.”

“Ah…”

I thought I wouldn’t be able to collect scrap metal because of the specter.

But there was no need to be too scared after all.

“Can I still collect scrap metal then?”

“Well… it should be okay but…”

Chae Juyeon shifted her gaze to Kang Jinho beside her.

After exchanging a look with her, he cautiously nodded.

“We should stick together just in case.”

“But wouldn’t that be bothering you…”

“We have to patrol anyway. Might as well do it together.”

“Ah… Okay.”

If it was for patrol, it was fine to accompany them.

I nodded and looked back.

“Do you want to collect scrap metal together?”

“Sorry, I’m supposed to go to the dungeon today.”

“I see.”

It was a bit disappointing.

It would have been nice to go together.

Well, there are other people.

Today, I decided to collect scrap metal with the Masters and the kids.

—

—

Lately, a trend has emerged in the Yeomyeong Guild’s local community.

People were leaving empty bottles in places where they were easy to pick up.

Though it was essentially littering, nobody stopped them.

Not the police, not the citizens, nor anyone from the Yeomyeong Guild.

This was all to help the beast-kin children of the guild.

“Levinas picked up a bottle!”

“Me too.”

“I got one too.”

The children, clutching the bottles, showed bright smiles.

Their wagging tails made the nearby citizens silently cheer.

‘Gyeoul picked up my bottle!’

It’s a life achievement.

I should brag about this on the internet.

Someone rapidly typed on their smartphone screen.

Of course, they only posted text, not photos of the children.

“Hey, are we going to become rich from this?”

“Yeah. There’s been a weirdly high number of empty bottles lately.”

There were dozens of bottles piled in the handcart.

There was no need to collect scrap metal, just the bottles were enough to sustain them.

It was good that the children could earn some money.

Just as the citizens were feeling relieved, Kang Jinho appeared with a small glass bottle.

It was smaller than a canned drink, a tonic glass bottle.

“Can we sell this?”

“No, they won’t buy something this small.”

“Hmm…”

Kang Jinho frowned as he looked down at the glass bottle, wondering why they wouldn’t buy it even though it was a glass bottle.

He wanted to throw the bottle away but kept it in his hand.

He couldn’t just litter carelessly.

As a Guild Master, he had to set an example for the children and the citizens.

‘I’ve never picked up a bottle before…’

Had there ever been a time when he was this unhelpful?

Kang Jinho was in shock.

Behind him, Chae Juyeon approached with her hand outstretched.

In her hand, there were lots of broken glass pieces.

“Gyeoul!”

“Yes?”

“Look, I picked up a lot of bottle pieces!”

“Uh, um…”

It was nice that she picked them up, but they won’t buy broken pieces.

Gyeoul made an awkward face, and Kang Jinho spoke up in her stead.

“Chae Juyeon.”

“Yes?”

“Broken bottles are a bit…”

“Oh, they won’t buy them…?”

Chae Juyeon looked genuinely confused.

She had never in her life picked up something to sell.

Being from an upper-class background, she didn’t know how to sell empty bottles.

“W-well…”

Gyeoul hesitated and glanced at Chae Juyeon.

The nearby citizens sighed inwardly.

‘Ah.’

‘Poor Gyeoul.’

After all, they were people at the pinnacle.

The concept of picking up trash to sell must be foreign to them.

Still, there was something charming about seeing these two Masters, people everyone looked up to, lacking in this regard.

They had humbled themselves for the sake of the children.

‘The guild takes really good care of the children.’

The citizens felt relieved seeing the two Masters mingling with the kids.

The Masters were unaware that their reputation was improving in real-time.

“Should I teach you how to pick up scrap metal…?”

“Yes.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

“Okay…”

Gyeoul scratched her cheek, feeling awkward.

Teaching the Guild Masters, who stood at the apex, how to pick up scrap metal was an odd situation.

But she decided not to fuss over it too much. It was fun to be with the Masters, after all.

Maybe the Masters too…

—

—

It was when we were all collecting things to sell together.

-Sob…

A woman’s sobbing could be heard from somewhere.

It was a very faint sound, audible only to my ears.

Had she encountered some trouble?

I wanted to alert people of the situation, but our Masters were nowhere to be seen, probably off collecting scrap metal.

Chae Juyeon was fiddling with something that looked like a barrier.

The two kids, tired from collecting bottles, were sleeping in the handcart.

I had to go check it out by myself.

‘This way.’

A secluded alleyway.

A woman was sobbing beside a lonely utility pole.

The utility pole was covered in trash, making it hard to see the woman clearly.

“Excuse me…”

What could have made her cry so sadly?

As I approached the woman, I had to stop in my tracks.

A translucent gray body.

She didn’t look like an ordinary person.

Naturally, the existence of ‘specters’ that Chae Juyeon mentioned came to mind.

Could this be one of those specters?

The moment I began to back away, the creature slowly lifted its head.

“……!”

Its eyes were pitch black, lacking any whites.

It looked like a ghost from a horror movie.

What is that?

Chills ran down my spine, and my ears and tail stood on end.

As I turned to run away, my body was bound by the dark red mana emanating from the creature.

Its mana was slowly seeping into my head.

Was this what they meant by specters showing traumas as nightmares?

I twisted and turned, trying to resist, but I couldn’t move at all.

“Grr…”

My head was dizzy, and I felt nauseous.

Is this a side effect of something?

The moment I frowned, I could hear someone running towards me.

“Gyeoul!”

It was Chae Juyeon’s voice.

Had she sensed the specter’s mana and come to help?

As I felt relieved and focused on the specter in front of me, it started to act strangely.

“Screaaak!”

The specter clawed at its own head, spewing out agony.

Its ear-splitting scream was like that of a woman undergoing horrors.

What was that all about?

Was it some kind of attack pattern?

While I watched it puzzledly.

Whoosh-!

The specter’s body began to disintegrate into light.

Like I was watching a ghost being purified.

“Huh…?”

As if nothing had happened, my head cleared up.

Where the specter had been, only a red orb remained.

I knew that it was the specter’s mana stone.

‘What?’

Why did it suddenly die after reading my memories?

Confused, I picked up the red mana stone, feeling its ominous aura.

“Gyeoul…?”

I turned around at Chae Juyeon’s voice.

Her pupils were trembling violently as she stood frozen.

“The specter died on its own.”

I showed the mana stone to Chae Juyeon.

But for some reason, she just stared down at the mana stone with a stiff expression.

—

3/5 Enjoy the chappy!

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