The taste of shabu-shabu, which I was trying for the first time in this life, was shockingly delightful.

The meat, melting in my mouth like snowflakes, was certainly not of an ordinary grade.

“How is it?”

Yeoreum looked at us with expectant eyes, clearly anticipating our reactions.

The first to respond to her was Levinas.

“It’s delicious! But this chili sauce is just too spicy!”

“I agree. It is indeed tasty, but a tad too spicy for my liking.”

“Is it? Is it too spicy for beast-kin?”

Yeoreum glanced at me, a hint of concern in her gaze.

She seemed curious about my opinion.

Perhaps because my body had become younger?

I found it a bit spicy too, but it wasn’t unbearable.

“It’s fine for me.”

“Really? You handle spicy food well, Gyeoul? Should I make it spicier?”

“No, no. If it gets any spicier, that would be too much.”

Any more than this would only bring pain to my tongue.

Perhaps even to my internal organs.

Not being one to enjoy overwhelming spiciness, I unconsciously started picking out only the carrots to eat.

The taste of the homegrown carrots was nothing short of fantastic.

“It seems like the vegetables we’ve grown ourselves have some kind of buff effect.”

“Is that so? I can’t really tell.”

“It’s probably because you’re not used to handling mana.”

That made sense.

I hadn’t been dealing with mana for very long.

Curious to sense any enhanced mana, I closed my eyes, but all I could taste was the carrot.

The uniquely sweet taste of the carrot was truly fantastic.

“Gyeoul, you eat vegetables so well? Usually, people fuss and refuse to eat them.”

I’m not a child, after all.

Throwing a tantrum over not wanting to eat vegetables?

Her comment was so out of the blue that I could only shrug my shoulders in response.

“I don’t really fuss about food.”

“Hm. That’s impressive.”

Yeoreum chuckled and then stood up from her seat.

She picked up the bottle of chili sauce and shook it at us.

“I’ll go to the kitchen for a bit. I think I need to make the sauce less spicy.”

“Okay.”

Still chewing the lingering taste of carrot in my mouth, I watched Yeoreum’s retreating figure.

It was around that time when someone entered through the front door.

‘Huh?’

There were footsteps of two people.

Instinctively perking up my ears, I saw Choi Jinhyuk and Jung Yu-na appear from the direction of the entrance.

“Are you here?”

“Uh, yes.”

“Yeoreum asked us to come over for lunch.”

I see.

We’re all having lunch together.

A sense of unexplained joy made my tail wag slightly.

“Gye, Gyeoul, do you know where Yeoreum is?”

“In the kitchen.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll go and talk with Yeoreum for a bit.”

“Me too…”

The expressions on Choi Jinhyuk and Jung Yu-na were odd.

They seemed somewhat deflated, even their pupils trembling noticeably.

Why are Choi Jinhyuk and Jung Yu-na acting like that?

In the midst of my confusion, the two of them moved towards the kitchen.

I watched the two leave, my tail swaying gently.

The moment they vanished from sight, my tail abruptly stopped.

Despite being a part of my body, it was indeed a peculiar thing.

—

—

Yeoreum was humming a tune in the kitchen.

Jung Yu-na found it painful to have to dampen her spirits.

Should she wait a bit longer before speaking?

She had considered it, but after making a promise to prioritize Gyeoul, she couldn’t break it now.

‘Gyeoul had suffered enough despair and pain.’

“Yeoreum…”

“Oh, you’re here?”

Yeoreum turned around, a smile in her eyes.

But noticing her friends’ grim expressions, she quickly dropped her smile.

“…What’s wrong?”

“Uh, well. There’s something serious.”

“…What is it?”

At that moment, Jung Yu-na cast a soundproofing spell, ensuring that Gyeoul in the living room wouldn’t overhear.

“Gyeoul mentioned being bullied, right? Getting hit on the back of the head, being pushed around.”

“Yeah…”

“It seems it wasn’t just simple bullying.”

“…Of course, it’s bullying.”

There’s nothing simple about bullying.

It can ruin someone’s life.

Yeoreum was disappointed that Jung Yu-na seemed to be taking Gyeoul’s suffering lightly.

“No, think about it. Gyeoul almost died at the hands of a horned rabbit.”

“Yeah.”

“And then, she was physically assaulted by someone stronger than a horned rabbit. Don’t you think it felt like a threat of death to Gyeoul?”

“What…?”

Yeoreum froze in place, shocked, as if struck on the head with a giant iron hammer.

She had to admit she had underestimated the severity of the bullying Gyeoul had endured.

Gyeoul could have died, a fact Yeoreum had failed to fully grasp.

‘Indeed…’

If it had been Gyeoul without mana, even a light shove could have been life-threatening.

Yeoreum felt utterly foolish for not realizing this sooner.

—

—

After finishing our meal, I found myself with nothing to do.

Pondering my options, I decided to visit the dungeon.

“Uh…”

“…Yes?”

“It’s nothing.”

I was about to tell Yeoreum that I was heading to the dungeon, but she seemed unusually serious.

Choi Jinhyuk and Jung Yu-na wore similar expressions.

‘Sophia is… asleep.’

Sophia was nodding off on the sofa, while Levinas sat beside her, watching television.

It seemed best to leave quietly.

I slipped out of the building as silently as possible.

Just as I was about to head to the dungeon after grabbing my gear from the container house, I spotted three familiar figures in the distance.

It was Encia, Argo, and the Master.

“Where are you headed, Gyeoul?”

“I was about to go to the dungeon.”

“Alone?!”

Thud, thud!

Argo, excited, thumped his massive tail on the ground, causing cracks to form on the asphalt.

Master’s brows twitched at the sight.

“I can handle the goblin dungeon on my own now.”

“Even so, it’s still dangerous. Shouldn’t you have someone accompany you?”

“Yes…”

At my response, Encia glanced at the Master.

She was incredibly bold to stand up to such a fearsome person.

“Master Kang Jinho, could we perhaps postpone today’s task? I’m concerned about letting Gyeoul go to the dungeon alone.”

“…Aren’t Yeoreum or the others available?”

Kang Jinho looked down at me with an indifferent gaze, making me feel as though I had done something wrong despite my innocence.

“Yes… They seemed busy, so I sneaked out alone…”

“I see. Then, let’s postpone the task for now.”

Had I caused some disruption with my actions?

In a panic, I hurriedly waved my hands.

“No, it’s okay. I can go alone.”

“That’s not acceptable. Your safety is our top priority, Gyeoul.”

“Right, Boss! Your life is the most important!”

Were they both concerned about me?

Argo’s actions might be fierce, but his heart was warm.

Reluctantly, I nodded my head in agreement.

“Then, if you’ll excuse me…”

“No, it’s not a bother at all.”

“Yes, yes…”

With that, we all moved towards the dungeon together.

The goblin dungeon wasn’t far, so we decided to walk.

As we moved, I glanced back furtively.

Master was following me.

Why was the Yeomyeong Guild Master following me?

I recalled Yeoreum once saying he was the strongest in the world.

Though I was intimidated, I wasn’t in a position to tell the Master what to do.

I just let him follow.

“Today, I’ll hunt ten goblins…”

“I see.”

“We’re almost there…”

“Hmm.”

I tried to initiate a conversation with the Master to ease the atmosphere, but he responded only in short answers.

‘…Is he not much of a talker?’

Or does he just dislike me?

Whatever it was, continuing the conversation was beyond my ability.

I decided to walk quietly towards the dungeon.

“Here we are…”

We had arrived at the goblin dungeon.

Strangely, there weren’t many people around today.

Approaching the dungeon management civil servant Kim Min-jun, I noticed no line at the counter.

“Is Gyeoul here?”

“Yes…”

Maybe because I frequented the goblin dungeon, I was able to have casual conversations with the manager.

I had to stand on tiptoes as the counter was too high.

“Who did you come with today?”

“Today, I came with Encia, Argo, and the Master…”

“The Master?”

“Yes. Over there.”

Kim Min-jun’s gaze followed the direction my finger was pointing.

From a distance, the Master, with his arms crossed, was looking in our direction.

His eyes were so fierce that it seemed as if he was glaring.

“Whoa…!”

Kim Min-jun was shocked as he looked at the Master.

His mouth was agape, seemingly wide enough to fit my fist, though my hands were on the smaller side.

“…’Master’ is what our guild members call me.”

“Ah…”

Right.

I wasn’t officially a guild member.

I cringed at my mistake.

“Just call me ‘mister.'”

“Uh, mister?”

Mister?

Wasn’t that a more disrespectful term?

Hesitating to use such a term, Kim Min-jun let out another astonished gasp.

“Whoa…!”

It looks like he was as intimidated by the Master as I was.

—

2/5 Enjoy the chappy!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep