Neatly arranged boxes sat behind the booth.

As I was selecting a few, Chae Juyeon and Yeoreum approached.

“Gyeoul, you don’t need to sleep outside. Master will find a room for you somehow.”

“That’s right, and if it comes down to it, I’ll sleep outside instead.”

The box I was carrying was so large I couldn’t see in front of me.

Somehow, using my other senses, I managed to set it down near the fish-shaped bread machine.

“I really don’t mind sleeping outside.”

“But I do.”

“Hmm…”

I understood why they were worried.

But sleeping outside wasn’t actually difficult for me, so their concern was perplexing.

I had to try to convince them somehow.

I started stacking the boxes I’d brought in two layers.

It was nice that I didn’t need to use as many boxes thanks to my smaller size and stature.

“Look at this. I can just sleep like this, no problem.”

I lay down on the stacked boxes, stretching out my arms and legs.

My head ached without a pillow, but compared to the past, this was practically hotel quality.

However, Yeoreum wasn’t pleased and spoke firmly.

“Absolutely not. Do you want to make your sister cry?”

“No… I’m sorry…”

If she was saying “absolutely not,” it was best not to push it.

I got up from the boxes, watching her reaction carefully.

“Gyeoul, I’m not angry. I’m just worried about you. Sleeping outside is dangerous. What if wild boars come out at night?”

Grrrr.

Yeoreum bared her claws.

It was the same pose I used when practicing my wild side.

She seemed to be imitating a wild boar, but boars don’t go “grrrr.”

“I don’t think wild boars will come out here.”

“Well… they might, right…?”

Might?

Was that doubt rather than certainty?

I looked around at Yeoreum’s words.

We were in a stadium in the heart of the city.

It wasn’t exactly wild boar territory.

“Don’t worry. Wild boars don’t come out in places like this.”

“Really?”

“Yes. The wild boars I know of only come out near mountains.”

Wild boars mainly lived in the mountains.

There was no reason for them to be in a city like this.

As I patted Yeoreum reassuringly, Chae Juyeon picked me up from behind.

“Gyeoul, wild boars have come out in this neighborhood before.”

“R-really?”

“Yes. Master hasn’t seen them personally, but Master’s grandfather saw them once.”

I couldn’t believe it.

Wild boars in the city?

I could handle anything else, but wild boars were a different story.

“W-wild boars are really dangerous…”

“Right? So why don’t we all sleep at Master’s house tonight?”

“At Master’s house?”

“Yes. It’s nearby. Let’s all go sleep there together.”

An invitation from the Sacred Guild Master?

There was no real reason to refuse.

We’d invited her over many times too.

“Okay. Sounds good.”

I nodded and let out a yawn.

Drowsiness was starting to overtake me.

“Sleepy?”

“Yes. But I can hold out.”

It wouldn’t be polite to fall asleep before even getting to her house.

I was rubbing my eyes, trying to stay awake somehow.

Pat pat-

Master gently patted my back.

Her touch was so warm that sleepiness began to wash over me.

“If you’re sleepy, you can sleep in Master’s arms. I don’t mind.”

“B-but…”

Wouldn’t that be too much of an inconvenience?

I shouldn’t fall asleep, but I was so tired.

I nodded off repeatedly before finally succumbing to sleep, burying my face in Chae Juyeon’s embrace.

In the hazy state just before falling asleep, I could hear Chae Juyeon and Yeoreum’s conversation.

“Master, do wild boars really come out here?”

“Yes. Grandfather said he saw them when he was young.”

“…That was ages ago, wasn’t it?”

“Yes. But it’s not a lie.”

I see.

So it wasn’t a lie, wild boars really did come out here.

Just before falling asleep, I muttered one last thing.

“Wild boars… scary…”

It seemed I’d blurted out nonsense in my sleepy state.

—

—

“Wild boars…”

I mumbled about wild boars as I opened my eyes.

It was dark in front of me, and something soft was blocking my view.

What could it be?

I carefully raised my upper body.

What I saw was Chae Juyeon and the children sleeping beside her.

Ah, I see.

So I slept with Master last night.

After yawning, I lay on my stomach on the bed and stretched.

Stretching out fully like a cat felt the most refreshing.

It must be because I’m a feline beast-kin.

“Mrrp.”

After stretching, I looked at Chae Juyeon again.

In the brief moment I’d looked away, Chae Juyeon had woken up.

“Gyeoul, are you awake?”

“Ah, yes.”

Did I wake her?

I rubbed my eyes and examined Chae Juyeon.

Saebyeok was curled up asleep on her stomach.

Purr purr purr-

She was making happy sounds in her sleep.

It was a lovely sight, but I worried it might be inconvenient.

“Saebyeok, you shouldn’t sleep there.”

I reached out to pick up Saebyeok.

Chae Juyeon looked alarmed.

“Gyeoul, it’s okay with Master…”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Let’s not wake her and let her sleep a bit longer.”

“Okay.”

If she was fine with it, I had no reason to interfere.

With nothing to do, I sat on the bed, wiggling my toes.

My tail, seeming bored, swished around on its own, tapping the bed.

“Gyeoul, if you’re bored, why don’t you look around the house?”

“Is that okay?”

“Yes. I’ll… Master will get up in a little bit.”

Chae Juyeon had Saebyeok on her stomach and Levinas clinging to her leg as they slept.

It certainly looked difficult for her to move right now.

“Alright, I’ll go out first then.”

“Okay, see you in a bit?”

After exchanging greetings with Chae Juyeon, I slipped out of the bedroom.

The living room I saw was quite spacious.

“Wow…”

This was a luxury home.

It was wide enough to have a running race in here.

This would be fun to explore.

Just as I was about to take a step, I heard a noise from outside the house.

Crash-!

Thud-!

“Ugh…”

The sound of something breaking and a woman’s groan.

Despite the distance, I could hear everything clearly.

My ears, already perked up from the impressive size of the house, caught every sound.

What’s going on?

It sounded like there had been an accident.

The woman’s pained groans were too concerning to ignore.

Deciding to postpone my house tour, I rushed out the front door.

‘It seems to be coming from over there.’

The sound was coming from the neighboring house.

Even though it was next door, it was quite far away.

Looking around, it appeared to be a high-end residential area.

“Nngh.”

A woman’s groan could be heard from beyond the wall.

However, the wall was too high for me to see over.

Hop-

I jumped up to peek over the wall.

In that split second as my eyes rose above the wall, I caught a glimpse of the inside.

A woman collapsed on the marble floor, clutching her knee, surrounded by an overturned table and shattered glasses.

It looked like she had fallen along with the table.

‘What should I do?’

Can she get up on her own?

As I continued hopping to look over the wall, my eyes met the woman’s.

“What are you?”

“……”

I’ve been spotted.

What do I do now?

I hid behind the wall, holding my breath.

I stayed like that for quite a while.

—

—

Momoa.

She was not in a good mood.

The broken teacup and her scraped knee.

The accumulation of misfortunes had put her on edge.

“Ugh…”

It was early morning.

Too early to call for the housekeeper.

But Momoa didn’t want to leave broken teacups in her sanctuary.

I have to clean this up myself?

She was irritated but didn’t furrow her brow for fear of wrinkles.

I should treat the wound first.

As she tried to get up, groaning, something strange caught her eye.

Hop hop-

A child was jumping outside the wall.

With each jump, she could see eyes looking at her.

‘A beast-kin?’

Did it come to check because of the breaking sound?

As soon as their eyes met, it hid.

Intrigued, Momoa called out to the child hiding behind the wall.

“What are you?”

“……”

The child answered with silence.

But Momoa knew there was a beast-kin child holding its breath behind the wall.

“Aren’t you going to answer? I can see your ears sticking out from behind the wall, you know?”

“R-really?”

A surprised child’s voice came from behind the wall.

It was the most adorable voice Momoa had ever heard.

“I’m lying. I can’t actually see them.”

“……”

The wall was high enough that even an adult man couldn’t peek over it.

There was no way the child’s ears could be visible.

It was Momoa’s lie to lure the child out.

“The gate is open, so why don’t you come in?”

“O-okay…”

Pitter-patter-

With small footsteps, the gate opened.

The child that appeared was wearing quite shabby clothes.

“Why are you dressed like that? Are you a beggar?”

“W-well, sort of…”

“Hmm…”

Momoa rarely left her house.

She didn’t use the internet much either, so she didn’t know who Gyeoul was.

“Why were you peeking into someone else’s house?”

“I thought someone might be hurt…”

Gyeoul’s gaze moved to Momoa’s knee.

Blood was seeping from the scraped wound.

It looked quite painful.

“Yes, as you can see, I scraped my knee.”

“Oh no… What should we do? Should I put some medicine on it?”

“Do you have medicine?”

“Yes. If you chew this herb and apply it to the wound, it helps.”

The herb Gyeoul produced was unfamiliar to Momoa.

She thought it was some folk remedy used by a child without money.

“…No thanks. Instead of medicine, could you clean up the broken teacups? I’ll compensate you.”

“Y-yes, of course…”

Gyeoul crouched down in front of the glass shards.

Just as those small, delicate hands were about to touch the glass, Momoa grabbed Gyeoul’s wrist.

“…I’ll pick them up myself.”

“But you’re hurt. I’ll clean up the glass for you.”

“…Hmph.”

This little thing, worrying about others.

You’ll probably cry if you cut your hand on the glass.

Momoa grumbled quietly.

It seemed she’d have to clean up the glass shards herself.

This was a first, but it was better than making the little one cry.

—

5/6 Enjoy the chappy!

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep