“So, you’re saying the guild neglected Gyeoul?”

“Y-yes…”

This made no sense. The Dawn Guild, respected by all, had left a child like Gyeoul to fend for herself? Kwon Arin couldn’t wrap her head around it, unsure of what expression to make or how to even react.

“To defend ourselves a little… we thought Gyeoul was an adult.”

“Gyeoul? An adult?”

That couldn’t be right. Gyeoul was a small child, barely reaching chest height. There was nothing about her that would lead someone to mistake her for an adult. Kwon Arin’s brow furrowed.

“Gyeoul was born without mana, which led to… well, what you might call a growth disorder.”

“A growth disorder?”

“Yes. She was actually slightly taller than I am.”

Midsummer, taller than the average woman, could understand why they might have mistaken Gyeoul for an adult if she’d been slightly taller than herself.

“When she couldn’t even catch a single horned rabbit after over a year, we just assumed she was a hopeless adult and gave up.”

“…”

Kwon Arin didn’t know what to say. Even during her own worst times, she’d managed to catch a horned rabbit within a week. They were barely considered monsters, the weakest of all.

“For someone without mana, even catching a horned rabbit is a life-risking task. I didn’t realize that back then…”

*sigh*

Midsummer let out a deep sigh. Prepared for a harsh response, she instead received a straightforward question.

“Did you apologize to Gyeoul? Did she forgive you?”

“Yes, I did.”

“And the guild fixed her body too?”

“Yes, that was a stroke of luck.”

“Oh…”

So it wasn’t a matter of cruelty, but a misunderstanding built on more misunderstandings. Kwon Arin realized she had no reason to feel disappointed in the guild. After all, she might have done the same.

*I’ve been living pretty foolishly myself.*

If it weren’t for Gyeoul, she might still be living that way, finding comfort in thinking there were people worse off than herself.

It was hard for Kwon Arin to believe that this small child had changed her life so profoundly. She resolved to live a bit more responsibly, if only to repay Gyeoul’s kindness.

“If Gyeoul has forgiven you, it’s not my place to say anything.”

“…Thank you.”

“Hmph.”

This atmosphere felt awkward. Kwon Arin scratched her cheek.

*Unnie told me the truth…*

Was this her way of trying to become a better person by not hiding her mistakes? Despite the way she’d been living, she had nothing but good people around her.

Kwon Arin decided she would work harder to repay these people. This was the moment she shed her foolish past.

—

The next morning, I dropped off the harvested vegetables at the tent and wandered over to the park. Wondering what to do, I decided to take a walk around.

“Is that…?”

I spotted Levinas sitting by the pond, legs stretched out, swaying her feet back and forth as she looked up at the sky. She looked as though she were waiting for something.

It was still early morning—she should have been sleeping. I carefully approached and sat down beside her.

“Levinas, what are you doing here?”

“I’m waiting for snow!”

“Snow? You mean the kind that falls from the sky?”

“Yes! Wang-ah, when will the snow come?”

Snow was still months away. It was almost summer, so it would be a long wait.

I felt bad about having to tell her, but I figured it was better to manage her expectations.

“It’ll be quite a while before it snows.”

“It will? Even if I wait like this, it won’t come?”

“Nope.”

“Oh… Levinas wanted to make an ice human…”

An ice human? Did she mean a snowman? Just as I pondered this, Levinas flopped down on the grass. With nothing better to do, I lay down beside her.

“So, you want to make a snowman?”

Turning my head, I looked into her eyes.

“What’s a snowman?”

“It’s a person made by shaping snow.”

“Yes! That’s it! Levinas wants to make a human out of cold ice!”

An ice human… Maybe they called snowmen ice humans in this world? Not knowing for sure, I stayed silent.

*So, she’s never made one before…*

Knowing her background, I felt a pang of sadness.

“Have you never made a snowman before?”

“Nope! Has Wang-ah made one?”

“No, I haven’t either. I didn’t have the time to.”

Back then, playing was a luxury. Just lying here talking with Levinas felt like a miracle.

“Levinas and Wang-ah are just alike! Adults wouldn’t let me make one either!”

“What awful adults.”

“That’s why Levinas switched sides!”

Levinas took my arm and lay her head on it like a pillow. Her tail, now nestled between my legs, swayed gently, tickling my thighs.

“I’m glad we’re on the same side.”

“Me too!”

It was such a peaceful moment. If we could stay like this forever, I’d have no regrets. We lay there looking up at the clear sky, and soon, Jung Yuna approached us.

“What are you two doing?”

“A magician!”

Jung Yuna stood by our feet, and my tail instinctively wrapped around her ankle.

“Are you just hanging out?”

“No! We wanted to play, but there’s no ice, so we couldn’t!”

“Ice? What did you want to do with ice?”

Jung Yuna conjured a small ball of ice in her hand, but Levinas didn’t seem particularly interested.

“Levinas wanted to make an ice human, but there’s no ice, so she couldn’t!”

“Ah, so you couldn’t play?”

“Correct!”

Levinas raised her hand in the air, forming a big circle with her fingers, like in an animal card animation.

“Hmm… How about waiting here for a moment? I’ll make you an ice human.”

“Really?!”

“Of course. I’m a magician, remember?”

Her tone was confident, as if it were the easiest thing in the world. Jung Yuna was indeed an impressive magician—she could probably make snow fall if she wanted.

“Then Levinas will wait quietly with Wang-ah!”

“Alright, I’ll be back soon.”

Jung Yuna walked away, and my tail reluctantly unwrapped from her ankle. We continued gazing up at the sky, waiting.

The peace made me feel drowsy. Levinas seemed to feel the same, as her eyes began to droop.

*Maybe I’ll nap until she gets back…*

I watched Levinas as she drifted off, and then slowly closed my eyes.

—

*Thud!*

The ground trembled. The loud sound jolted me awake, and I looked around.

*Thud!*

Something massive was approaching carefully, trying not to make too much noise. I turned in the direction of the sound, only to be stunned by what I saw.

“…!”

A huge, cold figure was coming toward us. I quickly scooped up Levinas in my arms.

“What’s happening…?”

In my arms, Levinas rubbed her eyes, slowly waking up. Another loud *thud* made her shudder.

“Eek!”

The enormous creature kept moving toward us—a giant being covered entirely in ice.

My first thought was to get Levinas to safety, but just as I was about to turn and run, I saw Jung Yuna emerge from behind the icy monster.

“Did I keep you waiting?”

“M-magician!”

Levinas, face pale with fear, called out to Jung Yuna. Jung Yuna, however, simply watched us with a bemused expression.

“Did I scare you?”

She placed a hand on the monster’s body, and it lowered its head, ceasing all movement, like a machine with its power cut off.

“D-did you make this?”

“Yes. You said you wanted to make an ice human, so I built an ice golem.”

Did she confuse “ice human” with an ice golem? Taking a step back from the golem’s intimidating presence, I muttered softly.

“I-it was a snowman…”

“A snowman?”

“Yes… you roll snow into balls to make it…”

“Oh.”

Jung Yuna froze, standing as still as the golem she had created. After a pause, she sighed and spoke again.

“So… an ice human is a snowman?”

“Yes… exactly.”

“Sorry, I thought you meant an ice golem when you said that.”

Apparently, “snowman” was still called “snowman” even here. It seemed “ice human” was a unique term Levinas had come up with.

It wasn’t Jung Yuna’s fault. Kids often had their own way of naming things that adults couldn’t understand. There was no reason for her to apologize.

“No need to apologize. The golem is amazing.”

“Thank you.”

Jung Yuna chuckled, pulling the golem back a bit to give us some space, showing her consideration for our reaction.

“Magician! Is that really a human made of ice?!”

“Yes. I didn’t know you meant a snowman, so I made a full ice golem.”

“Gasp!”

Levinas reached out her hand toward the golem from my arms. Knowing she wanted a closer look, I carried her over to it.

Levinas touched the surface of the golem, and her hand trembled.

“It’s cold!”

“Yes, it’s made of ice.”

Levinas, curious, stuck out her tongue and licked

 the golem’s surface. Since it didn’t look dirty, I let her be.

*Lick, lick*

She licked from bottom to top several times until she suddenly froze, her tongue still pressed against the ice.

Was something wrong? I turned to check her expression.

“M-my tongue… is stuck…”

Levinas’s tongue had frozen onto the golem’s icy surface. As she tried to pull her head back, her pink tongue stretched, firmly attached to the ice.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep