Saebyeok’s tail, which had been drooping, began to wag.

It meant her mood had improved.

I released her from the hug and examined the black mana stone Saebyeok had given me. I had no idea how to use it.

“Saebyeok, how do I use this?”

“Just give it to me.”

Saebyeok opened her mouth wide, as if asking to be fed.

I hesitated, then placed the mana stone in her mouth.

“Are you going to eat it?”

“Yeah. It’s my core.”

“Core…?”

The mana stone was her core? What did that mean? It seemed familiar yet incomprehensible.

“It’s like… a vessel for my memories, mind, and soul.”

“I see…”

So that stone was Saebyeok herself. Perhaps her body moved like a golem. An empty vessel animated by the mana stone inside.

It wasn’t particularly shocking to me. I’d transferred between bodies several times myself. One of those had been Saebyeok’s original body.

“Isn’t it scary for Gyeoul?”

“No, I’m in a similar state. We’re alike, aren’t we?”

“…I guess so.”

Saebyeok patted my head.

In that moment of warmth, zombie-related knowledge suddenly flooded my mind.

“Uh…”

How to kill zombies. How to escape from zombies. A deluge of information poured in.

Yet there were gaping holes between pieces of knowledge. Holes so deep and dark I dared not look into them.

“Saebyeok, this…”

“Yeah?”

“…Never mind.”

Had Saebyeok given me memories through the mana stone? But she’d eaten the stone containing those memories…

My head throbbed with questions. Maybe I’d suddenly recalled forgotten memories in anticipation of zombie survival.

I decided to share the information with everyone before I forgot again.

“Saebyeok, I’m heading to the guild building. Want to come?”

“Nah, I promised to play with Seol.”

“Alright.”

Seol had been alone for three days. It must have been quite boring. I should play with Seol too after finishing work.

Leaving Saebyeok behind, I ran towards the guild building.

—

—

The Yeomyeong Guild headquarters was impossibly vast and tall. It was like an entire city compressed into a single building. Crowded with people, sprawling in size.

I could’ve called to ask for directions, but I had a beast-kin’s nose. I lifted my nose high, tracking Yeoreum’s scent.

Sniffing along, I arrived at the guild’s meeting room. The door was shut tight, so I couldn’t barge in.

‘What should I do?’

I could smell Jung Yu-na inside too. Were they having an important meeting? Barging in would only disrupt them.

As I fidgeted outside, unable to enter, Yeoreum’s voice came from within.

“Is that Gyeoul outside?”

“Yes!”

“What are you doing out there? Come in.”

“Is it okay?”

“Of course.”

With Yeoreum’s permission, I immediately opened the door.

As I rushed towards Yeoreum, my body suddenly floated up.

“Huh?”

My body drifted comfortably before landing on Jung Yu-na’s lap. Yu-na had used magic on me.

“Hey, Yu-na. Gyeoul was coming to me, you know? She was going to sit on my lap.”

“Don’t care.”

The pen Yeoreum was holding snapped in half.

It was a free pen from the guild – were they that fragile?

I picked up a pen from the desk and twisted it around. It didn’t break, just hurt my hand. Even an adult man would struggle to snap it.

“Gyeoul, why were you whining outside like a puppy?”

“Puppy?”

“You were whimpering for us to open the door. Even scratching at it. Just like a real puppy.”

“Uh…”

It wasn’t whimpering, it was fidgeting. And it wasn’t my nails scratching, but my tail. Of course, it wasn’t intentional at all. My tail always seemed to move on its own.

“I can’t take it anymore…!”

Yu-na hugged me tightly. Her affectionate feelings came through clearly.

“I guess you were eager to see us.”

“Yeah. I missed you too.”

Yu-na giggled and nuzzled my face.

Across from us, Yeoreum wore a sour expression.

“For crying out loud.”

“Oh my? Yeoreum, are you getting angry in front of Gyeoul?”

“Wh-when did I get angry?”

“You just said ‘for crying out loud’.”

“I-I meant I was trying not to!”

The snapped pen crumbled to dust in Yeoreum’s grip. Her strength was astounding.

“…Yeoreum, you didn’t get this angry even when I surpassed your adventurer rank?”

“This is more important than adventurer ranks.”

“…That’s true.”

Yu-na nodded. Not knowing why, I nodded along. I just wanted to fit in with the conversation.

“So what were you two up to?”

I asked, looking back and forth between Yu-na and Yeoreum.

There were documents on the desk, but the content was too difficult for me to read. Lots of what looked like contracts.

As I tried to get a better look, Yeoreum brushed the pen dust off her hands.

“Just deciding our future direction.”

“About zombies?”

“Yeah, that too.”

So they were talking about zombies. Then bringing it up now shouldn’t disrupt the flow.

“I’ve had a flood of ideas about zombies.”

“R-really…?”

For some reason, Yeoreum avoided my gaze. I tilted my body sideways, following her line of sight.

“Yes. It’s something I’m really interested in. Can I help?”

“O-of course…! I’d love to hear anything you know.”

“Hmm…”

A tremendous amount of knowledge was surfacing in my mind. I felt like I’d become the world’s top expert in the field.

There was a lot to share, but I decided to start with the basics.

“If you’re hiding from zombies, staying quiet is the most important thing.”

“Sound?”

“Yes. They’re surprisingly sensitive to noise. If you use it well, you can even lure zombies by throwing objects.”

That’s the most fundamental knowledge in zombie fiction. It’s also the most crucial part. I couldn’t emphasize it enough.

“How sensitive are their ears?”

“About the same level as an average person.”

“Only that much?”

Yeoreum jotted down the information I provided with a fresh pen. I was overjoyed that she was taking my words so seriously.

“When moving, you need to watch the ground carefully. If you accidentally step on broken glass while sneaking around, you’re in big trouble.”

“I bet. The zombies might swarm towards the noise.”

“Exactly. My friend stepped on some glass by mistake and the zombies swarmed and… and… huh?”

What was it? My thoughts suddenly came to a stop. Why did my friend’s face just pop into my mind?

I crossed my arms, trying to retrace my memories, but nothing came up. What was that about?

As my brow furrowed, Yu-na started shaking my shoulders vigorously.

“W-wow, Gyeoul’s a real expert!”

“Y-yeah. I r-really like it.”

My head was shaking so fast it made me dizzy. I could barely think straight. I wished she’d stop, but Yu-na kept shaking me relentlessly.

“We’ll have to revise our plans based on what Gyeoul told us.”

“Y-yes.”

“Let’s call it a day for now. We’ll add one thing each day – too much at once gets confusing.”

Yu-na’s words came out like machine gun fire. With my head still spinning, it was hard to respond properly.

“Th-then…”

“Gyeoul, why don’t you go to the dungeon? Arin was looking for someone to go with her.”

“O-okay…”

At my response, Yu-na stood up. She lifted me in her arms and quickly moved towards the door.

“Your mission today is to hunt ten monsters, got it?”

“Yes…”

Yu-na opened the door for me. She even struck a ‘fighting’ pose to cheer me on.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t done much hunting lately. I decided to go on a quick hunt today.

—

—

Near the dungeon, people gathered to buy monster byproducts. Han Seok-won was one of those looking to make a purchase. He had set up a stall near the novice hunting grounds. His goal was to buy horned rabbit meat, which had become difficult to obtain recently.

────

Buying all horned rabbit meat for 15,000 won.

────

The price was 5,000 won above the average of 10,000. Yet hardly anyone came to sell horned rabbit meat.

‘This is driving me crazy.’

Recently, the number of people selling horned rabbit meat had dwindled to a handful. It was a major blow for Seok-won, who ran a restaurant specializing in horned rabbit dishes.

To think people wouldn’t sell even with the added premium. It was all because of that beast-kin child who’d settled in at the Yeomyeong Guild.

‘Of all things, why a horned rabbit?!’

An impossibly lovable child who captured everyone’s attention. It had impacted horned rabbit specialty restaurants to this extent.

How could one beast-kin child stop people from hunting horned rabbits? Thanks to this, the number of customers visiting his restaurant had more than halved. His weekly sales figures were dropping by one digit each week.

“What sins did I commit in my past life…”

Other areas were somewhat okay, he heard. Of all places, he just had to open a restaurant near the Yeomyeong Guild where that child was.

As Seok-won tore at his hair in despair, a familiar child entered his field of vision. It was Gyeoul, friend of the beast-kin child who had brought him such despair.

“You! Yooouuu!”

Seok-won pointed his finger at Gyeoul.

Startled, Gyeoul hid behind Kwon Arin’s back.

Both actions were purely instinctive.

—

4/6 Enjoy the chappy!

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