The first prize was a free pass.
To receive the pass, I had to take a picture while holding a large panel.
"King, you need to make a cooler face!"
"L-like this?"
I furrowed my brow and tried to make fierce eyes like Levinas.
Levinas seed startled for a mont, but then nodded approvingly.
"That's it! That's the expression!"
"Okay."
I took the picture with the expression Levinas taught and received the pass.
A female student in a school uniform and a woman who looked like a teacher gave the free pass necklace.
"Well, it's better that Gyeoul gets it anyway."
"Gyeoul, with the free pass everything's free, so you should co to the festival every day, okay?"
The two won patted my head.
Even though we were strangers, their touch was kind, and my tail wagged.
"Yes. I'll co every day."
"Good, enjoy the festival."
"Okay."
Bye-bye.
I waved to the shooting range staff and went out to find other activities.
As we looked around various stalls, the students running them expressed surprise at the necklace around my neck.
"Wow, Gyeoul got a free pass?"
"Yes... I won this."
"That's amazing, you have to get a perfect score to get that."
"Hehe..."
Strangers approached , calling my na familiarly.
I was used to it now, so apart from a slight flinch, I didn't feel particularly strange about it.
"Hey, Gyeoul's always been good at shooting stuff."
"I know, right?"
"Gyeoul, want to eat this tanghulu? It's free since you have the pass."
A female student handed so sugar-coated strawberries.
It looked sweet just by looking at it.
"Um, is it okay if I share this with my family?"
"Of course. With the free pass, you can do whatever you want."
"Wow..."
It really was a free pass.
I took the tanghulu from the female student and ran towards the children.
"Let's each eat one of these."
"Is that fruit covered in sugar?!"
"Yeah. They call it tanghulu."
"Carrots would taste good like this too!"
Crunch crunch-
The children each took a bite of the tanghulu.
We continued walking around the festival grounds, looking for more things to do.
"Have this."
"Oh my, is Gyeoul treating us?"
"Thank you. I'll enjoy it."
Using the free pass, I bought snacks for Yeoreum.
I bought lemonade for Choi Jinhyuk, and cotton candy for the Master and Jeffrey.
"Is it tasty?"
"Yes."
I used the free pass to buy snacks for everyone, but sohow most of them ended up in my and the children's mouths.
It was because everyone kept feeding us the snacks they received.
Munch munch-
I looked around while eating the cotton candy the Master was tearing off for .
I was searching for other activities.
"Oh, the Yeomyeong children are here too."
"Wow... Kang Jinho and Jeffrey are here too."
Passersby watched the children with fond eyes, but one person was watching us with an uneasy gaze.
This person wasn't just passing by, but kept following us and watching.
"...?"
The one following us was a middle-aged man.
He was secretly following us and showing signs of anxiety, like biting his lips.
What's going on?
Why is he following us?
I couldn't properly enjoy the festival and focused my attention on the middle-aged man.
I was preparing for any possible situation.
Noticing that I found sothing strange, the Master tapped my head.
"It's the principal."
"The principal?"
Why is the principal following us?
As I tilted my head in confusion, the Master gestured towards the person called the principal.
Not realizing we had noticed him, he ca running over in a flustered state.
"What's the matter?"
"Ha, haha, it's nothing. I just wanted to say hello, but you seed to be enjoying the festival, so I missed the timing."
"Hmm."
"How, how are you enjoying the festival?"
"Thanks to you."
When the Master nodded, the principal's face brightened.
It seed he had been watching the Master's reactions.
'I understand that well.'
I used to watch the Master's reactions a lot at first too.
After realizing the Master was a good person, I rarely did that anymore.
"I'm sorry for disturbing your festival. You seem to be enjoying it, so I'll be going now."
The principal bowed his head and left, almost as if he was running away.
The Master must really be scary.
I hoped the misunderstanding would be cleared up soday.
**
During the break ti at the classroom cafe.
Yoon Chaerin was sitting in a chair, taking a rest.
Today was really busy.
Was it similar to the level of sales at the guild?
As Yoon Chaerin was massaging her shoulders and resting, there was a knock.
Knock knock knock-
The door of the classroom cafe opened with the knock.
The person who appeared behind the opened door was Jang Gil-su, the principal of Yeomyeong High School.
"...Yoon Chaerin student?"
"Ah... yes."
The principal, who she had never spoken to since entering the school, had co looking for her.
Yoon Chaerin stood up awkwardly from her chair.
"I heard that Yoon Chaerin student invited the Yeomyeong Guild people. Is that right?"
"Yes..."
In reality, she had only invited the children, but it was hard to say no.
After all, it had started with her invitation.
"I see."
Ahem ahem.
Jang Gil-su straightened his collar.
Then, in the kindest voice possible, he continued speaking.
"In the future, if you're going to invite guild mbers, I'd appreciate it if you'd let the teachers know first."
"Yes... I'm sorry..."
"No need to be sorry."
Haha.
Jang Gil-su left the classroom with a friendly smile.
Making sure to add a "Please do this for " as he left.
And the next day.
Gyeoul and the children ca to the festival again.
This ti, Chae Juyeon, the master of the Sacred Guild, and Park Taesan ca along.
"Ch-Chaerin student...?"
Of course, Principal Jang Gil-su ca running.
He must have run in a hurry, as sweat was beading on his forehead.
Yoon Chaerin couldn't say anything as she looked at Jang Gil-su.
"Chaerin student, the principal would like to revise what he said. We'd like to know not only when Yeomyeong Guild mbers visit, but also when mbers from other guilds visit."
"Well..."
"Um... is there any dissatisfaction or..."
"No, no! It's not like that...!"
Yoon Chaerin quickly waved her hands.
Before a big misunderstanding could happen, she decided to explain properly.
"Gyeoul is close with many important people in the adventurer world. I think they co because they want to play with her."
"The child knows many important people?"
"Yes... Like the head of the Wizards' Association, or the masters from the guild etings..."
With each of Gyeoul's "friends" that ca out of Yoon Chaerin's mouth, Jang Gil-su's face grew paler.
For Jang Gil-su, who wanted to spend his later years in peace, each person was like a bomb.
"I see... I understand... Thank you for letting know..."
Jang Gil-su nodded weakly and left the classroom.
He left with drooping shoulders, trudging along.
"Yoon Chaerin was really scary after all."
"What kind of guts did Cho Yuchan have to bully Chaerin?"
"He probably didn't know how scary she was."
Yoon Chaerin could hear her friends giggling nearby.
She knew it was half joking, but for the naturally timid Yoon Chaerin, it was just bewildering.
Sohow, it felt like she was being treated strangely.
**
The next day.
I participated in the festival with the children the following day as well.
However, since the guild mbers including the Master were busy, we went with different people each day.
On the last day, we went with Sophia, Encia, and Argo.
Going just with beast-kin like this made feel a stronger sense of belonging, which felt even better.
"King! Are we going to the festival again today?!"
"Festival!"
The festival ended yesterday, though.
The children didn't seem to know the festival had ended and were begging to go again today.
I felt burdened about telling the children that the festival was over.
"Um... well, the festival is over now, what should we do?"
"It's over?!"
"Over...?!"
Levinas and Gaeul's eyes widened.
Were they disappointed that the festival was over?
I was worried, but the children were as cheerful as always.
"Then today is King's festival!"
"Master festival!"
Levinas danced, lifting her shoulders up and down one at a ti.
Gaeul tried to follow this dance, but it seed a bit difficult for her, so she just lifted and lowered both shoulders at the sa ti.
"My festival?"
"Yeah! For Levinas, every day with King is a festival!"
"Gaeul too."
I see.
For the children, ordinary daily life was as fun as a festival.
It felt like I had gained a big realization.
"By the way, kids, where did Saebyeok go?"
"Dark King went outside! Should we go look for her?!"
"Yeah."
I moved with the children to find Saebyeok.
I could sense the pheromones I had left on Saebyeok coming from outside the park.
'What's going on?'
Saebyeok wasn't the type to go far away alone without saying anything.
Worried, I followed Saebyeok's trail.
Saebyeok was quite far from the guild, but thanks to the beast-kin's fast movent speed, we were able to catch up quickly.
"Saebyeok?"
"Yeah."
Saebyeok didn't turn around even though we had arrived.
She was peeking out from an alley entrance, watching soone.
What could have caught Saebyeok's attention like this?
I crouched down below Saebyeok and poked my head out into the alley.
"Saebyeok, what are you doing?"
"Tailing."
"Tailing...?"
At the end of the alley Saebyeok was pointing at, soone was walking.
They were wearing a hood, so I couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman.
"Who is that?"
"...Bad woman."
Crunch.
The stone wall Saebyeok was gripping crumbled.
This was the first ti I'd seen Saebyeok so angry, and I was surprised into silence.
The children seed very startled too, standing awkwardly.
"Is she very bad?"
"Yeah. She's from the lab, you know."
The lab.
I recalled Saebyeok's past that I had heard about before.
I hadn't heard the details, but I knew sothing bad had happened in the lab.
'So suddenly?'
If she was a woman from the lab, she must be a really bad person.
Should I go back and tell everyone?
As I was briefly considering this,
The woman turned around.
We hid quickly with our beast-kin reflexes.
Gasp.
We were all covering our mouths, and my heart was pounding.
It felt like we had gotten into a dangerous situation.
---
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