To clear the dungeon, they had to appease the souls trapped within. The first step was understanding what the souls wanted.

“Their grudge must be intense…”

This dungeon, hidden for years, had finally revealed itself. That meant these souls had waited, enduring endless patience, just to voice their grievances.

Most Grudge Dungeons were like this—lingering for months or years until the moment to express their pain arrived, manifesting as a dungeon.

“Maybe it’s no coincidence I ended up here…”

Everyone in their party was a guardian of Gyeoul. It couldn’t have been mere chance.

With a heavy heart, Yeoreum pulled out her phone.

───  
**Jung Yu-na**  
*Yeoreum, I’ll be at the playground with the kids.*  
───  

Upon leaving the dungeon, Yeoreum saw the message and headed toward the playground where the children were.

How would she face Gyeoul? Should she smile as if nothing had happened?

Yeoreum exhaled a sigh, but her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar child’s shriek.

“Aaahhh!”

“…!”

It was Gyeoul’s voice, and she wasn’t the type to scream easily. Why now? Yeoreum sprinted toward the source without finishing her thought.

“Aaaah!”

There, in the middle of the playground, Gyeoul was running away with her arms raised in mock fear.

Before Yeoreum could even identify who was “chasing” her, she stepped in front of Gyeoul, blocking her.

“Gyeoul, hide behind me!”

“Huh…?”

“I’ll protect you!”

Yeoreum drew her sword, focusing on the area around the swings. There, her friend, Jung Yu-na, was shrieking just as Gyeoul had been.

“Ahhh!”

Someone was chasing Jung Yu-na, running adorably, tiny steps pattering behind her.

“Oh.”

It was Levinas. Were they just playing all along? Yeoreum, forgetting to sheathe her sword, found herself frozen in place, stuck in an awkward pose.

“Stop right there!”

Levinas, who had been chasing Jung Yu-na, suddenly changed direction and darted toward Yeoreum, arms outstretched like a cute little mummy.

“Oh.”

This wasn’t the time to just stand by. If Levinas ran into her, she might accidentally get hurt by the sword.

Yeoreum tossed her sword into an empty patch of ground, realizing she couldn’t take the time to sheath it with Levinas approaching so quickly. As a swordsman, she’d vowed to always treat her sword with care, but honestly, the children were more important.

“Yeoreum caught!”

No sooner had she tossed the sword than Levinas threw her arms around Yeoreum. Were they really just playing tag?

Yeoreum exaggeratedly raised her arms in a dramatic gesture, similar to how Gyeoul had done earlier while running away.

“Argh… big sis is caught…!”

“Hehe, when you get caught, you have to hug the catcher!”

“Wait, is that the rule?”

“Yep! Now hug me back!”

If that was the rule, she had no choice. Yeoreum embraced Levinas, all the while keeping an eye on Gyeoul.

Gyeoul, curious as ever, had raised her ears and tail, reaching toward the discarded sword.

“Gyeoul, don’t touch that; you’ll cut yourself.”

“Okay.”

At Yeoreum’s warning, Gyeoul withdrew her hand, settling down like a cat as she examined the sword’s blade from a distance.

“Is she curious about the weapon?”

Her posture reminded Yeoreum of a cat curling its paws under itself. Smiling softly, Yeoreum approached Gyeoul with her party.

“Gyeoul-nim, are you interested in swords by any chance?”

“No, I prefer bows.”

“Oh… I see.”

Encia’s ears and tail drooped, disappointed. As a sword-user, she felt a little dejected that her queen wasn’t interested in swords.

“But it’s the weapon Encia gave me.”

“Ah, I see.”

At this, Encia’s tail perked up again, wagging energetically, which Gyeoul mirrored with her own tail.

“Wait, did you clear the dungeon already?”

“No, we haven’t finished it yet,” Yeoreum answered on behalf of the group.

“Then how did you get out?”

“Sometimes there are dungeons like that.”

Yeoreum offered a small smile and patted Gyeoul’s head, though the haunting images from the dungeon lingered in her mind.

“Dungeons are really mysterious, aren’t they?”

“Yes. Now, I’ll go back to the guild to figure out the conditions to clear it. Do you want to keep playing, Gyeoul?”

“No, I’d like to go back with you.”

“Alright, let’s head back together.”

As soon as Gyeoul stood up, Levinas grabbed her tail, apparently wanting to play a tail-grabbing game. In response, Gyeoul reached for Argo’s tail.

The cool, smooth scales of Argo’s lizard-like tail felt nice to the touch, though she felt a little guilty for disrupting his attempts to keep his tail still.

—

Later that afternoon.

I was sitting on a bench at home, waiting for Levinas. Though I had planned to go back to the dungeon, everyone insisted that I take a break for the day.

Where had Levinas gone, anyway? She said she was going to get something.

As I swung my legs back and forth out of boredom, I spotted her running toward me, waving something in her hand.

“Majesty!”

In her hand was Sophia’s staff. I couldn’t help but feel a pang of alarm, imagining Sophia having to move without it.

“Levinas, you shouldn’t have taken that…”

“Why not?”

“She can’t walk without it.”

“Huh?”

Levinas looked genuinely surprised. Did she not understand why elderly people used canes?

Living in the forest her whole life, there was a lot she didn’t know. I figured this was a good time to explain.

“Her legs don’t support her well, so she uses the staff to help.”

“Is… is that so…?”

Levinas leaned on the staff, releasing her legs completely and tumbling forward without any resistance.

“Levinas!”

She had tried to mimic my explanation so eagerly that she toppled forward immediately. I’d underestimated her curiosity.

Kneeling beside her, I checked to see if she was alright.

“Ugh… Majesty lied to me…”

Although her face was a bit dusty, she didn’t seem seriously hurt. I wiped the dirt from her teary eyes.

“It wasn’t a lie. You only had to release one leg, but you let go of both, which is why you fell.”

“Just one?”

“Yep. Here, let me show you.”

It’s part of an adult’s duty to teach children basic things like this. I took the staff and, like Sophia, leaned on it as I walked.

“Wow! Majesty’s like a shark! Majesty became a shark!”

“Yes, I’m using the staff like a leg to move around.”

*Tock, tock.* Levinas watched in awe as I walked, her eyes sparkling. Without bothering to brush off the dust, she ran up to me.

“Majesty, let’s play shark!”

“Play shark?”

“Yes! Let’s pretend to be a shark!”

Playing at being Sophia, who had trouble walking, seemed a bit disrespectful, didn’t it?

After a moment’s hesitation, I decided to go along. Levinas wasn’t trying to mock her; she just wanted to imitate someone she admired.

“Alright, but who’s going to be Sophia?”

“You’re better at it, so you can go first!”

“Alright.”

Imitating Sophia, huh? I just had to copy her actions and words.

“Oh my, oh my…”

I tapped my back, leaned on the staff, and slowly made my way toward the bench where I’d been sitting.

“Wow! It’s a real shark! Shark, where are you going?!”

“Oh, my knees ache. I’m going to rest.”

Slowly, I shuffled over to the bench, and Levinas followed, stepping carefully alongside me.

“Shark, let’s be friends from now on, okay?”

“…”

From now on? Was Levinas still holding onto her past disagreements with Sophia? I silently nodded at her.

“Are we friends now, Shark?”

“No, that’s not right.”

“We’re not friends…?”

A hint of anxiety appeared in Levinas’s eyes, so I patted her head.

“You’ve been friends with Sophia from the start. Saying you’re friends now doesn’t quite make sense.”

“Oh, really? Even though Levinas was mean?”

“Of course.”

A radiant smile bloomed on Levinas’s face, like a flower in full bloom.

Her smile was always a joy to see. Just then, as I patted her head, I saw Sophia approaching us with Yusanga supporting her.

“You little rascals.”

“Shark!”

Levinas ran toward Sophia, who sighed heavily as she embraced Levinas and patted her head, despite raising her fist moments before.

“You rascal, why did you take my staff?”

“I wanted to play with your favorite thing!”

“What made you think it’s my favorite?”

“You always carry it around, so I thought it must be fun.”

It was such an adorable thought that I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Gyeoul, you’re in trouble too.”

“Yes…”

Right, I’d been playing with the staff as well. I clasped my hands politely in front of me.

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I carry it out of necessity, nothing more.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes

, the thing I like the most is…”

“What is it…?”

Levinas and I perked our ears up at the same time, eager to hear. But Sophia only cleared her throat, her words trailing off.

“So, what were you doing with the staff?”

“We were playing Sophia.”

“Playing Sophia?”

Sophia and Jung Yu-na looked at us, puzzled. Feeling embarrassed, I scratched my neck.

“I just really like Sophia, so… I was playing pretend, imitating someone I admire…”

“Hmm… well, then, let’s see it.”

Was she asking me to imitate her?

I found myself frozen in place. It was rather embarrassing to mimic someone’s actions in front of them.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep