The opponent was quite a violent child.  
I remembered how painful his kicks were even through the costume I had been wearing.  

He was taller and bulkier than me, but there was no reason to let him push me around.  
After all, I had mana to surpass my physical limits.  

The real problem was our age difference.  
An adult couldn’t use mana against a child, no matter the situation.  
I had to handle this with words somehow, but it was unclear if the boy would listen to someone smaller than him.  

*Let’s just hope he doesn’t resort to violence…*  

Would I have to endure it if he threw punches?  
Without a solid plan, I approached the boy cautiously.  

“Excuse me…”  

“What?”  

His voice was harsh and gruff, laced with irritation.  

“Do you happen to have the Warrior Horned Rabbit card?”  

“Didn’t I tell you I’d trade it for two ten-star cards?”  

“Isn’t two a bit much?”  

“If it’s too much, forget it.”  

He waved dismissively, knowing we were the ones who would be disappointed.  
Despite being young, he had a sharp mind for negotiations.  

“Ugh…”  

Levinas whimpered as she held out the Demon King Eagle card.  
Her small hands trembled as she offered it politely.  

“The Eagle card is really good too…”  

“Then bring another one along with it.”  

“But…”  

“Do you want to get hit?”  

The boy raised his fist threateningly—not to strike, but to intimidate.  
It was more than enough to scare innocent Levinas.  

“Uwah…”  

Terrified, Levinas backed away, and Saebyeok stepped in front of her.  
She bared her sharp teeth at the boy, growling.  

“Saebyeok, stop.”  

“Okay…”  

Her ears and tail drooped immediately, realizing I was scolding her.  
The boy, however, scowled at Saebyeok for daring to growl at him.  

“Do you want to die?!”  

“Ah!”  

The boy shoved me aside and stepped toward Saebyeok.  
Without mana to stabilize myself, I stumbled and fell lightly onto the grass.  

*Thud.*  
Lying on the ground, I thought about how some kids in a world with mana could be excessively violent.  

As I wondered how to handle this aggressive child…  

*Thwack!*  

Someone smacked the boy on the head.  

“Gah!”  

His eyes bulged in shock.  

—

*”Where did that brat go?”*  

Jung Mi-kyung, the owner of the pork cutlet shop, had three sons.  
Her youngest, Kim Woo-sung, was the most stubborn of them all.  

He often talked about the park being the holy ground of animal cards and spent all his time there.  
Naturally, Mi-kyung worried when her son stayed out late.  

He usually played around here.  
Scanning the area, Mi-kyung spotted her son.  

There he was, fists raised, intimidating three beastfolk children.  
One of them was Gyeoul, someone Mi-kyung had spoken to a few times—a child who occasionally visited her shop and had intimidating connections.  

“That little…!”  

Levinas was sniffling, and Saebyeok looked like a frightened cat with her ears drooping.  
Meanwhile, Gyeoul, sprawled on the ground, was trembling slightly.  
Mi-kyung couldn’t believe her son was bullying vulnerable girls.  

“You little brat!”  

*Thwack!*  

“Gah!”  

Her punch landed squarely on Woo-sung’s head.  
Having raised three sons, Mi-kyung’s punches carried some weight.  

“Are you bullying girls now?!”  

“N-no, Mom! It’s not like that!”  

“Don’t make excuses!”  

*Stretch.*  
She grabbed his cheek and pulled hard.  
It was a mother’s way of disciplining her child with love.  

“Aaaaah!”  

Woo-sung screamed as his cheek stretched comically.  
Was it really that painful?  

Curious, I tugged lightly at my own cheek, only for Levinas to do the same to the other side reflexively.  
Unlike Woo-sung, it didn’t hurt at all—likely due to beastfolk’s natural flexibility or the difference in gender.  

“Gyeoul, I’m so sorry. What should I do to make this right?”  

“I-it’s fine. Nothing serious happened.”  

“Really? That brat didn’t cause too much trouble?”  

“Ahhhh!”  

Woo-sung wailed as Mi-kyung scolded him.  

“It wasn’t trouble… We just couldn’t agree on a card trade…”  

“A card?”  

“Yes, the Warrior Horned Rabbit card…”  

Before I could finish, Mi-kyung snatched the card from Woo-sung’s hand.  
Without hesitation, she handed it to me.  

“Take it, Gyeoul. He has more than ten of these.”  

“Th-thank you…”  

Bowing awkwardly, I accepted the card, holding it close to my chest.  

“Do you want any other cards?”  

“N-no, this one is enough…”  

“Not even this tiger card?”  

“No, thank you…”  

Mi-kyung nodded in understanding before dragging Woo-sung away by his ear.  

“Sorry again. I’ll make sure he gets a proper scolding at home.”  

“Please, don’t punish him too harshly.”  

“Aren’t you sweet. Stop by the shop later, and I’ll give you a free pork cutlet.”  

“Y-yes, ma’am…”  

It felt like a storm had passed.  
As I watched Mi-kyung’s retreating figure, I sighed in relief.  

“Yaaaah!”  

Levinas ran over to Woo-sung with the Demon King Eagle card in hand.  
Despite its value, she handed it over without hesitation.  

“Why are you giving this to me?”  

“It’s a trade!”  

After giving him the card, Levinas bolted, not looking back as she fled with a nervous expression.  

Even though she could have received the card for free, Levinas chose to trade.  
I felt proud of her. My kids were truly the best.

—

That evening, back home, I watched the kids play.  

“Take this! Levinas is the Warrior Horned Rabbit!”  

“I’m just a cat.”  

“What?! Cats are the Rabbit’s friends, though!”  

Of course. Cats and rabbits are precious friends.  
Smiling at their antics, I suddenly felt a strange pull from outside the house.  

*Woooong—*  

Something flickered, calling to me from the distance.  
The energy felt familiar, like that of a dungeon portal.  

The location was deep in a part of the park that no one visited.  
Looking around, it seemed I was the only one who could sense it.  

*Am I the only one feeling this?*  
Why could I sense the portal from so far away?  
Puzzled, I slipped out of the house without the kids noticing.  

“This…”  

The scent was familiar.  
Guided by nostalgia, I moved toward the portal.  

*Wooooong—!*  
The fiery, flickering red portal drew me closer.  
Without realizing it, my hand reached out toward it.  

“Gyeoul!”  

“…!”  

A voice snapped me out of it as someone grabbed me from behind.  
I hadn’t even noticed Midsummer approaching.  

“Gyeoul, it’s dangerous.”  

“S-sorry… It smelled familiar…”  

“Familiar?”  

“Yes… It’s… nostalgic, somehow…”  

Even just looking at the portal made my tail wag.  
I had no idea what could be on the other side to make me feel this way.  

Was it something that specifically attracted feline beastfolk?  
Sniffing the air, I found the portal had no discernible scent, yet it stirred feelings of longing.  

“What does it smell like…?”  

Midsummer’s eyes glimmered with mana as she activated her unique skill to analyze the portal.  
Since it was a non-living object, she didn’t need permission to scan it.  

“…!”  

Her body stiffened as she clutched her abdomen tightly.  
The tremors spread through her entire frame.  

“What’s wrong?”  

“Th-that…”  

She fumbled for words before scooping me up in her arms and retreating quickly.  

“Are we just leaving the portal alone?”  

“Yeah. The guild will set up a line around it soon.”  

Midsummer moved faster than usual, holding me tightly as she distanced us from the portal.  
Confused, I peered over her shoulder, unable to take my eyes off it.  

“What kind of dungeon is it?”  

“Uh, well…”  

“If it’s not dangerous, can I come along?”  

“Umm…”  

Midsummer hesitated, clearly avoiding the question.  
What had she learned about the portal?  

Was it a dungeon I wasn’t supposed to know about?  
Disappointed, I rested my chin on her shoulder.  

“For some reason, I really want to go inside…”  

“Are you feeling an urge to just jump in?”  

“Yes… Honestly, even now I want to…”  

I reached out toward the portal, which was now growing smaller in the distance.  

“Just so you know, you absolutely must not go in.”  

“Okay. I’ll do my best to resist.”

“Your best… huh.”  

Back home, Midsummer approached Sophia, whispering something into her ear while covering her mouth.  
It was only after she finished that my ears picked up Sophia’s response.  

“Is that really true?”  

Sophia’s face went pale.  
Midsummer looked equally grim.  

“Yes. What should we do…?”  

“Let’s put Gyeoul to bed first.”  

“…Alright.”  

Midsummer carried me in a princess-style hold to my room.  
Levinas and Saebyeok followed, climbing into bed with me.  

“I’m not sleepy yet!”  

“Hehe, how about we go to bed early just this once? Even if you’re not tired, it’s nice to cuddle.”  

“Okay! I’ll go to bed early today!”  

With both of them snuggling into my arms, I couldn’t move.  

“Gyeoul, let’s sleep early too, okay?”  

“Alright.”  

I was fine just moments ago, but as soon as I lay down with them, my eyes grew heavy.  
What a strange body I had.  

I didn’t know what was happening, but for now, I decided to sleep.  
Through my half-closed eyes, I caught a glimpse of Midsummer biting her lip.  

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep