The enhanced sense of smell seemed like it would be incredibly useful in real situations. I could distinguish dozens of different scents at once.

I’d have to put this to use in a dungeon later. As I made up my mind, Levinas looked up at me in wonder.

“Wow, Wang-ah, there must be so many rich people in the world!”

“Why do you think that?”

“Levinas has never seen so much food thrown away before!”

I had never seen so much discarded food either. Since this was a department store that only the wealthy frequented, people’s extravagance was intense.

Maybe this department store was still too luxurious a place for us. I gently patted Levinas’s shoulder.

“Let’s go somewhere else, Levinas. If we stay here, the smell will stick to us.”

“Okay! Let’s go explore another place!”

As we turned to leave, I caught sight of a woman standing by the entrance, looking right at us. She had a cart with a food waste bin on it—she seemed to be the person in charge of this area.

“Kids, you really shouldn’t be playing here. It’s dangerous.”

“S-sorry…”

My apology came out instinctively. I knew it was rude to trespass into a workplace.

“Are we…are we going to get scolded?” Levinas, standing next to me, asked nervously, glancing at the woman. It seemed she understood that we’d done something wrong.

“No, you’re not in trouble… Are you two hungry, by any chance?”

“Yes, we came to the department store to buy something to eat.”

I pulled out the 6,000 won from my pocket to show her, letting her know we were paying customers.

“Hmm… You probably can’t buy anything here with that much.”

“W-well… actually, I have another 2,000 won…” Levinas showed her 2,000 won, but the woman just shook her head.

“The cheapest food here starts at 12,000 won, so it’ll be hard for you two to get anything to eat together.”

This place was just too expensive. Even the cheapest food here was far beyond what we could afford. It felt like the place itself was mocking me, telling me I didn’t belong.

“I’m sorry… We’ll just leave…”

I looked up at her, silently pleading for her to let us go, but she didn’t seem ready to make us leave.

“Hey, I’ve got plenty of food. Would you like some?”

“Food…?”

“Yes, I work at a place with lots of food. You can have as much as you want.”

She worked at the food waste area. It was very likely that the “food” she was talking about was, in fact, the waste in the bins.

‘This is bad!’

Telling us to just pick out whatever we wanted to eat? Even in my toughest times, I’d only done that a few times out of desperation.

Was she saying this to punish us? I clasped my hands together, apologizing earnestly.

“I’m sorry…”

“…For what?”

“For coming in without permission…”

I bowed to her, showing my remorse, but she just looked at me with an expression that showed she wasn’t all that bothered.

“Well, you’re not supposed to be here, but it’s not a big deal.”

“R-really…?”

“Yes. But wouldn’t you rather eat something delicious?”

The woman once again mentioned food, as if pushing me to eat from the waste bins. Any glimmer of hope I’d felt evaporated like dust.

Food waste tastes terrible. It’s the worst thing ever. With my shoulders slumped, I reached toward the bin. Maybe if I made a show of regretfully eating the food, Levinas, who was still young, would forgive me.

“Hold on…!”

Before I could grab any of the mixed-up food, the woman caught my wrist. My ears and tail perked up in surprise.

Why was she grabbing my arm all of a sudden? I looked up at her in confusion, eyes wide.

“Why…?”

“You shouldn’t touch that. It’s dirty.”

“But… don’t we have to eat it…?”

“W-what?”

The woman took a moment to respond, glancing around awkwardly.

“Wait, you thought I wanted you to eat that…?”

“Isn’t that what you meant?”

“Of course not! I meant real food, something actually tasty!”

“Oh…?”

So she wasn’t telling us to eat food waste. I blinked in surprise, still processing her words. Levinas’s stomach growled beside me.

The woman, Min Chaewon, brought us back to the buffet. Although she was just a part-timer and had no authority to give food away, she could still buy us a meal with her own money.

The buffet was expensive, so it would cost her about three days’ worth of work, but she didn’t mind. Just seeing the kids eat until they were full would be enough to make her happy.

‘Honestly, unbelievable.’

How had they lived their lives if they so readily considered eating food waste? Min Chaewon had grown up modestly but with enough, so she couldn’t even imagine such a life.

“Alright, kids, this is where I work. Eat as much as you want until you’re full, okay?”

“W-well, we don’t have any money…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it…”

Before she could finish speaking, the buffet manager, Choi Kyung-seok, came over. He’d noticed how long she’d been gone after taking out the food waste and was about to reprimand her.

“Min Chaewon.”

“Yes?!”

“What were you—” He stopped mid-sentence, looking down at the two kids gazing up at him in their ragged clothes.

“I’m sorry. The kids looked so hungry, so I thought I’d buy them something.”

“Buy for them…?”

Did she really think she needed to buy food for these kids? They might look poor, but they were VVIP members of the department store.

As someone well-connected within the store, Choi Kyung-seok was aware that every time the Yeomyeong Guild shopped at the store, points were accumulated under “a certain child’s” name.

He’d heard that the points alone amounted to hundreds of millions of won. The child in front of him was more than just a VVIP member—they were essentially the store’s top patron.

‘I should treat them with the utmost respect.’

Straightening his uniform, Choi Kyung-seok positioned himself in front of the children with the most respectful stance he could muster.

“Welcome, esteemed VVIP members. I am Choi Kyung-seok, the buffet manager.”

“VVIP? Wang-ah, what’s a VVIP?”

“It’s supposed to be something really important, but… I’m not a VVIP…?”

Gyeoul tilted her head in confusion. Choi Kyung-seok quickly realized she had no idea about her status.

‘So the guild didn’t tell her.’

They were under the protection of the Yeomyeong Guild, yet strangely impoverished. There must be a reason for this. Choi Kyung-seok decided to keep the fact that the guild purchased things in her name a secret.

“Didn’t you come to our store the other day?”

“Yes, but…”

That hadn’t been with my own money. Winter swallowed her words awkwardly.

“That day, Han Gyeoul, you became a VVIP member of our department store.”

“Oh…”

It was true that she’d come with Han Yeoreum. Maybe she’d been granted VVIP status because she was part of the group. Gyeoul nodded, accepting it.

“As a VVIP member, you can dine here once a month for free.”

“R-really? Can Levinas come too…?”

“Yes, of course.”

Gyeoul’s tail began to sway with delight at the thought of a free buffet meal. Levinas, delighted by Gyeoul’s reaction, leaped up and grabbed her tail.

“Wow! Foodie really gave us so much food!”

“F-foodie?”

“Yes! It’s called ‘foodie’ because it has a lot of food!”

Choi Kyung-seok simply listened quietly to the conversation between Levinas and Min Chaewon. Whatever it meant, Min Chaewon had certainly helped the situation.

Knowing that she aspired to become a full-time department store employee, he decided that recommending her for a position would be the right move. She clearly knew how to keep the VVIP customers happy.

After a full meal at the buffet, we were led to a lounge. With Levinas in tow, several staff members brought out plush toys for us. I had no idea why they insisted on handing one to me too, but I held onto it, chalking it up to the VVIP treatment.

‘This is incredible.’

This VVIP status really did come with amazing perks. I owed it all to Han Yeoreum. I’d have to be especially nice to her when I got home.

“Wang-ah, can’t we just live here?”

“No, we can’t. This isn’t treatment we’re getting because of our own abilities.”

It was thanks to Han Yeoreum’s influence that we received this VVIP treatment. It felt right to make this a one-time thing. Levinas seemed to understand and didn’t press the matter further.

“Yeah! Actually, I like being at home with everyone!”

“Really?”

“Yep! And I like the dolls we have at home better!”

It was nice to hear her say that. Just as I was smiling at Levinas, the lounge door opened, and a familiar woman walked in.

“Winter?”

“Oh.”

It was Han Yeoreum. My

 tail wagged happily at the sight of her.

“Wow, Gyeoul and Levinas, hanging out in a place like this?”

“Yes. They said I became a VVIP last time when we bought all those things. The department store treated us so well.”

“Really?”

“They even gave us snacks and played with toys with us.”

The staff in formal suits had played with Levinas and her toys. Judging by the blush on their faces, they hadn’t seemed forced.

“They took really good care of you, huh?”

“Yes, I thought at first I’d have to eat food waste, but it turned out to be a misunderstanding.”

“F-food waste?”

“Yes. It’s really terrible-tasting.”

Ugh. Just thinking about it made me shudder. My ears and tail drooped.

Han Yeoreum’s face turned pale, probably also recalling the awful taste of food waste. It truly was the worst kind of “food.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep