“Uh…”

I came home with Levinas, who was stiff as if she had committed a crime.

Her terrified, fearful expression made me feel sorry for her.

“Levinas, you don’t say anything, okay? Understand?”

“Yes…”

I took Levinas, who was dragging her feet, by the hand and led her into the living room.

In the living room, Yeoreum, Jung Yu-na, and Choi Jinhyuk were having a conversation.

“Just let him go?”

“Yes. It seems like that guy Park Min-kyu…”

Park Min-kyu?

Did they just mention Park Min-kyu?

I carefully moved towards the living room.

“Oh, Gyeoul…”

Yeoreum stopped mid-sentence and tightly shut her mouth.

She looked surprised at the sight of me and Levinas looking dejected.

It was a few seconds later that she started to speak again.

“Gyeoul, what happened?”

“Just a little worried.”

“About what?”

It wasn’t easy to bring up that I had been scammed by a bad person.

It seemed better to lead Yeoreum to figure it out on her own.

“I recently made an investment?”

“In, investment?”

“Yes, I was told I could make a lot of money…”

Yeoreum raised her eyebrows and turned around.

Towards the place where Jung Yu-na and Choi Jinhyuk were.

They exchanged glances and then simultaneously turned their gaze towards me.

“Gyeoul knows how to invest?”

I shuddered at Yeoreum’s question, just like I had when I asked Levinas.

Wondering what to say to her, I decided to answer just like Levinas did.

“No, I don’t really know about investing…”

It would seem strange to invest without knowing how.

I just fiddled with my fingers unnecessarily.

“Where did you invest?”

“I received a message saying I could make a lot of money.”

I took out the smartphone that Levinas had given me from my pocket.

I showed everyone the screen with the message, “We’ll increase your money.”

“…Huh?”

Yeoreum, Jung Yu-na, and Choi Jinhyuk all froze in their seats as they looked at the smartphone.

I knew what they were thinking, but I acted as if I didn’t know anything.

I had to lie for Levinas.

The fact that I had to deceive everyone didn’t sit well with me.

“Gyeoul, that…”

“Ah.”

Yeoreum opened her mouth wide, and Jung Yu-na grabbed her head in shock.

Choi Jinhyuk was rubbing his face dry, his eyes tightly closed.

I was a bit embarrassed, but I was able to reassure Levinas.

For now, that was enough for me.

—

—

‘Gyeoul has been scammed…’

Yeoreum raised her hand over her head.

Even though Gyeoul was mature, at heart, she was still a child.

As an adult, she should have taken more care.

She mistakenly thought Gyeoul was so mature that she could handle things on her own.

“Gyeoul, how much did you invest?”

“One million won.”

“One million won…”

Thankfully, it wasn’t a huge amount of money.

Of course, she knew that even that was a significant amount for Gyeoul.

She wondered what expression Gyeoul had upon finding out she had been swindled out of one million won.

Yeoreum didn’t even want to imagine that sight.

‘Tsk.’

She felt a surge of anger towards the scammer but didn’t show it.

Showing anger would only scare the kids.

Pretending like it was no big deal was the priority for now.

“Gyeoul, it looks like you might have been scammed.”

“Sc, scammed?”

“Yes. It’s highly likely that they won’t return the money.”

“Oh no.”

Despite the revelation of being scammed, Gyeoul’s reaction was surprisingly calm.

Instead, it was Levinas beside her who was trembling.

‘Huh?’

Why is she still so calm?

Yeoreum was puzzled but decided to comfort Gyeoul first.

It could be that she was numb because the sense of loss was so great.

“This isn’t your fault at all, Gyeoul, so don’t worry too much, okay?”

“Will I, not get scolded?”

“Why would I scold you, Gyeoul? It’s the scammer who did wrong.”

She was a child who worked hard every day to make money.

There was no adult in the world who would scold a child for being scammed.

“I thought I was going to get a spanking.”

“No way, I would never hit Gyeoul no matter what happens! Understand?!”

“Yes, yes…”

Is it the normal to think one should be hit if they do something wrong?

Yeoreum, who knew through videos what kind of life Gyeoul had lived, could only feel bitterness.

“Gyeoul is still young and lacks experience in the world. It’s not your fault, so let’s not talk about being hit, okay?”

“Yes…”

Young and lacking in worldly experience.

Gyeoul bowed her head at that statement.

She wasn’t young or lacking in experience, but now she was in a situation where she had made a mistake.

Gyeoul decided to just accept it.

“Of course, and even if you make a mistake, you will absolutely not be hit.”

“Even if I make a mistake, I won’t be hit?”

Strange.

Isn’t it natural to be hit if you do something wrong?

Both Gyeoul and Levinas tilted their heads in confusion.

“If Yeoreum hits you guys, tell me. I won’t let her get away with it.”

Choi Jinhyuk showed his fist to everyone.

At that, Yeoreum waved her hands in a fluster.

“No, I would never hit the kids…”

Yeoreum glanced at Gyeoul and Levinas while playfully hitting Choi Jinhyuk’s shoulder.

That’s when Jung Yu-na spoke up.

“I’ll try to track down the culprit.”

Jung Yu-na raised her hand over Gyeoul’s head.

Gyeoul’s ears perked up at the gentle and soft touch.

“I’m an expert at these kinds of things.”

“Really?”

“Yes. You can track them by the mana generated when sending the message.”

“Aha…”

So, in this world, the internet operates on mana.

Gyeoul learned another new piece of common knowledge.

“The culprit will definitely be found, so Gyeoul, don’t worry too much and stretch your legs out. Got it?”

“Yes…”

I didn’t think it would be possible to get the money back, but could the culprit really be caught?

Gyeoul felt a sense of anticipation but decided to remain passive, like a child who had done something wrong.

It was all for Levinas.

—

—

A day, and then two days passed.

Despite some time having passed, Levinas hadn’t still hadn’t regained her energy.

She only nibbled on her favorite carrots and even refused chocolate.

It was quite pitiful to see her, usually so lively, acting so withdrawn.

“Levinas.”

“Yes…”

Levinas was sitting on a bench near the pond.

Unpicked empty bottles were scattered around her, her head hanging low.

“You should pick up the bottles. The park will get dirty if Levinas doesn’t pick them up.”

“Yes…”

Levinas nodded but did not pick up the bottles.

How great must her sense of loss be to even neglect precious empty bottles?

Worried, I sat down beside her.

“It’s all in the past. Why are you like this?”

“Because Levinas is pathetic…”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m no help and only make mistakes…”

Levinas not being helpful?

That’s nonsense.

I firmly tapped Levinas’s thigh to reassure her.

“How much help have you been to me?”

“Levinas was helpful?”

“Yes. The atmosphere at home has been much better because of Levinas.”

“Really…?”

She looked puzzled.

I opened the pouch tied around my waist towards Levinas.

“Sophia is always serious, and I’m not exactly lively either.”

“Yes. Both of you are on the quiet side.”

“Yes. So, the atmosphere at home used to be quite gloomy. But since Levinas came, the house has been filled with life, and I really liked that.”

“Is that so?”

Exactly.

Thanks to Levinas’s unique liveliness, each day became more fun.

It was a different kind of happiness compared to when I was living a lonely life.

“And this.”

I took out a bundle of money from my pouch.

One hundred ten-thousand-won bills.

It was the entire amount that Levinas had been scammed out of.

“What’s this?”

“We caught the culprit today and got the money back. This is yours, Levinas.”

“Wow…!”

Levinas received the bundle of bills and held it up to the sunlight.

It somehow felt like I was looking at my past self.

“Got the money back and didn’t get scolded, and thanks to Levinas, we caught a really bad criminal, right?”

“Thanks to Levinas?!”

“Yes. Thanks to you, other people won’t be harmed anymore.”

Perhaps my words lifted her spirits.

Levinas’s shoulders, which had been drooping, perked up.

It was the lively appearance of Levinas that I was used to.

“Levinas was a big help?!”

“A huge help.”

“Wow!”

Levinas jumped up from the bench, bursting with energy.

Seeing her look so happy made my tail wag on its own.

“But this is all a secret.”

“Why a secret?”

“Because it’s we said it was my fault. So we shouldn’t tell people about it, okay?”

“Uh, yes…!”

She nodded vigorously.

Levinas nodded her head so hard it seemed as if afterimages were created.

“Then shall we pick up the empty bottles now? The park has gotten quite dirty.”

“Yes! Levinas will pick up the bottles!”

Levinas ran off and started picking up empty bottles one by one.

I watched her back with a bittersweet smile.

In reality, the culprit hadn’t been caught yet, and the one million won I gave her was my own money.

Looks like I’ll be eating dandelions for about a month.

It’ll be a poor month, but I felt good.

Because I could see Levinas happy.

‘This is enough, what more do I need.’

I wish we could all live like this forever.

Feeling my tail wag, I chased after Levinas.

Today, I intended to pick up every empty bottle in the park.

—

4/5 Enjoy the chappy!

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