Sticky egg and flour clung to my body. Of the three of us who had been playing, I was the dirtiest. This was because I had taken the brunt of the egg and flour hits rather than throwing them at Levinas or Saebyeok.

“Oh my, you kids,” Sophia exclaimed, walking briskly towards us with her cane. Behind her, Midsummer hurried over in short strides.

“Gyeoul, why are you covered like this?” she asked.

“The school over there was having a festival, and they were playing by throwing flour and eggs at each other,” I explained.

“Oh… so you were playing at the festival?” Midsummer asked as she brushed some flour off my hair, causing me to sneeze as the powder scattered.

“Yes. I asked if we could take some of the flour and eggs in exchange for getting hit,” I said, showing her the water bottle strapped to my waist. It was full of broken eggshells, but I had managed to collect plenty of egg inside. I had also stuffed my bag full of flour.

“Oh… that makes me sad,” Midsummer muttered.

“Why…?” I tilted my head, puzzled by her reaction. As I did, Levinas jumped forward.

“Shark! We’re food now!” she shouted.

“Food?”

“Yes! Levinas is practically fried already!” she said, waving her arms up and down. The movement sent more flour flying, and Sophia sneezed again.

“Who are you planning to be eaten by?” Sophia asked, exasperated.

“The shark!”

“Oh dear.”

Sophia sighed and pointed her cane towards the pond.

“Go wash up over there,” she instructed.

“Yes, ma’am.”

We went down to the pond without resistance. The moment the flour touched the water, the stickiness became even more pronounced.

“Whoa.”

How am I going to wash all this off? I thought as I tried to scrub my arms, when Sophia carefully made her way down to the pond.

“Come here,” she said.

“Huh? Sophia, don’t you—”

I was about to ask if she disliked going into the pond when she grabbed the back of my neck, making it impossible to finish my question.

“Urk.”

Sophia pressed my face close to the water’s surface and splashed water over me, scrubbing my face thoroughly with her small hands. For some reason, I couldn’t resist at all.

“Oh dear, your face is covered in flour,” she said.

“Urgh.”

Something felt strange. The moment Sophia grabbed my neck, all the strength in my body seemed to vanish, leaving me unable to move. Did she use some kind of magic? I could only grimace as she continued washing my face with relentless determination.

“Dark King, look! The shark is the strongest in our house! Even the King can’t resist the shark…” Levinas shouted.

“Yeah…”

Though I couldn’t see Levinas and Saebyeok’s faces, I knew they were scared. They must have realized instinctively that they were next in line.

“Sophia, wouldn’t it be better to ask Yuna to clean them up with magic? It’ll take ages to wash them like this,” Hanyeoreum suggested.

“…Is that possible?” Sophia asked.

“Yes. She’s not busy since I cleared the dungeon.”

“Then please do,” Sophia said, glancing at Levinas and Saebyeok. Levinas, startled, scrambled to climb out of the pond.

“Aah…!”

Levinas struggled to get out, flailing her legs as she tried. Saebyeok, noticing her struggle, pushed her from behind.

“Levinas won’t wash with splashes! She’ll wait for magic!” Levinas declared.

“Yeah, let’s use magic instead,” I agreed.

“Yes!”

I followed Levinas out of the pond, and Saebyeok gracefully leapt out with an impressive jump that defied the resistance of the water.

“Wait here while I go get Yuna, okay?” Midsummer said.

“Okay.”

Midsummer walked off with the eggs and flour I’d gathered. I wasn’t sure why she was taking them, but I let her go.

As Midsummer’s figure disappeared into the distance, Levinas tugged on my sleeve.

“King, don’t you smell something delicious?”

“Yeah, I do.”

The park was full of people enjoying food, but this smell was richer and stronger than usual. Just the scent made my mouth water.

Can we go check it out for just a moment? We glanced at Sophia simultaneously.

“…It seems nearby. Go ahead and take a look,” she said.

“Yes!”

Levinas and I ran towards the source of the smell, with Saebyeok following a beat behind us and Sophia trailing slowly after. Even without turning around, I could tell from the sounds of their footsteps.

“King! Over there!”

“Yeah.”

People were bustling about, preparing something. A banner hung between two trees, reading, *“Pet Treat-Making Contest.”*

“Pet treats?”

Not food for humans? But the smell was so good. I blinked, then made my way to the contest area.

—

Midsummer looked down at the water bottle in her hand. Inside, egg yolks, whites, and bits of shell were all mixed together.

“Eggshells could be dangerous,” she thought. Concerns about hygiene and salmonella crossed her mind. She felt sorry for Gyeoul, who had worked so hard to collect it, but it seemed necessary to replace the contents with fresh eggs secretly. The children’s safety was most important.

“Sorry, Gyeoul,” Midsummer whispered to herself. She decided she’d have to be the “bad sister” for Gyeoul’s sake.

—

At the pet treat-making contest, there were dogs, horned rabbits, and even cats.

“They’re making food for animals, not people,” I said.

“Yeah! But can’t we eat it too?” Levinas asked.

“Um… maybe?”

We were half-beast, after all. Surely, there would be something we could enjoy.

I approached the judges with Levinas and Saebyeok.

“Oh!” I gasped.

It was Yusanga. Why was she a judge here? My tail wagged as I made my way over to her.

“Hello, Gyeoul! And who’s behind you…?” Yusanga asked, her eyes wide as they fell on Saebyeok, whom she hadn’t seen before.

“That’s Saebyeok,” I explained.

“Yes, I’ve heard about Saebyeok. Nice to meet you,” Yusanga said with a smile, directing her greeting towards Saebyeok.

Saebyeok gave a small nod, her tail wagging furiously despite her neutral expression.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“There are regular events in the park. This time, it’s a pet treat-making contest,” Yusanga said.

“Pet treats?”

“Yes. I’m a judge for this event,” she said with a playful grin, placing her hands on her hips.

“So the animals eat the treats?” I asked.

“Yes. I just judge how much they enjoy the food,” Yusanga replied, pointing to the area full of various animals.

“Oh, I see,” I said.

Yusanga smiled and ruffled my hair, flour dusting her hand, though she didn’t seem to care.

“By the way…” I started to ask if we could try any of the treats when Levinas stamped her feet.

“King! Big problem!”

“What…?”

“There’s carrot treats over there!”

“Ah, those must be for the horned rabbits.”

Raising a horned rabbit as a pet? That’s impressive. I looked in the direction Levinas pointed and was surprised to see that the owner was an ordinary-looking girl.

“Levinas wants carrot treats too!”

“Those are for horned rabbits,” I reminded her.

“But Levinas is a horned rabbit too!” she said, showing me the small horn on her forehead. It was smaller than a true horned rabbit’s but still sharp.

“Well…”

Carrots were the base, so it should be safe for her to eat.

“But make sure to ask for permission first, okay?”

“Got it! Levinas will ask!” Levinas ran to the table with the carrot treats, and we followed.

“Excuse me, can Levinas have a carrot too?” she asked.

“Huh…?” the girl responded.

“Levinas is a horned rabbit too…” Levinas said, looking up with hopeful, sparkling eyes.

“Um, sure. Want to try this?” the girl said, offering her a carrot stick with some seasoning.

“Nom,” Levinas bit into the carrot stick, nibbling along until she reached the girl’s fingers.

“Eek!” The girl’s face turned red as she quickly pulled her hand back. I rushed over to Levinas, worried.

“Levinas, you can’t bite people’s hands.”

“Levinas didn’t bite…?”

“Really?”

“Yeah. She stopped before the fingers.”

Why did the girl react like that, then? I tilted my head, puzzled.

“How was the carrot?” I asked.

“It was the best carrot Levinas has ever had!” she said, jumping higher than usual.

“It must have been really good,” I said.

“Yes! Levinas wants to be a pet from now on!”

“You can’t do that.”

“Aww…”

Levinas’s shoulders slumped, and I glanced around. If a half-beast like Levinas could enjoy these

 treats, surely I could try a cat treat too. Saving on food expenses while helping judge would benefit everyone.

“I smell fish.”

That had to be cat food, right? I turned to the source and saw Saebyeok staring at a fish dish, drooling.

Even with her fierce expression unchanged, it was clear she wanted to try it. The man making the cat treats seemed nervous as he watched her, unsure of what to do.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep