We achieved our first goal of erasing Saebyeok's fear.
Just as I was thinking we should be satisfied with this and head back, Yeoreum called out to us.
"Little ones, we shouldn't stay here too long. Shall we go now?"
"Okay."
I thought everyone would answer at the sa ti, but I was the only one who responded to Yeoreum.
The children were too focused on doodling on the researcher's body.
Scribble scribble-
Levinas and Gaeul had moved beyond the woman's face, drawing on her arms and clothes.
The researcher woman had beco a human canvas.
"Levinas, is that a snake on her arm?"
"No! It's not a snake, it's a dragon! There are lots of people with dragons on their arms in the alley!"
"O-oh, I see..."
So it was a dragon tattoo.
I thought it was a snake since she started with the body.
Now that the head was drawn, it did look like a dragon.
"Levinas is going to draw a carp on the other arm!"
"Okay. But let's do that later. We need to go now."
"Okay! Got it!"
Levinas started packing up the drawing supplies she had brought.
Gaeul also crouched down, picking up the pens scattered on the floor with her small hands.
It was nice to see them cleaning up the ss they had made.
"Your sister has so other things to do. Want to head out first?"
"Okay. We'll see you at ho later."
Bye-bye.
After waving goodbye to Yeoreum, we left the room.
The children's faces showed a confidence different from before.
"Were you all not scared?"
"Um... Levinas was a little scared, but endured because she tornted Dark King!"
"Gaeul not scared."
Wow.
The children were brave.
I wondered how Saebyeok felt.
Looking to the side, I saw Saebyeok watching us with slightly curved eyes.
I could tell Saebyeok was happy from her gently swaying tail.
"Saebyeok, are you feeling much better now?"
"Yeah. I'm invincible when I'm with my family."
Saebyeok quoted sothing Levinas had said before.
She really did look happier.
"Let's scold her more later."
"All together?"
"Yeah. All together."
"Sounds good."
Pat pat.
Saebyeok stroked my head.
I was grinning at the affectionate touch when I realized sothing strange.
'Wait a minute.'
Shouldn't I be the one patting her?
It felt odd, but I decided to let it be.
Saebyeok's touch felt nice.
Saebyeok must have been happy patting too.
**
The room after the children left.
Yeoreum silently watched the researcher woman.
She glared fiercely, then relaxed her expression and let out a deep sigh.
'What should I do?'
She knew the woman was bad, but she had co to turn herself in.
Yeoreum wasn't sure how to treat her.
Getting angry now would be aningless.
If she hurt the woman's feelings before getting any information, they might not be able to extract what they needed.
"Haah..."
Yeoreum kept sighing heavily.
Still, thanks to the children's doodles, her heart felt lighter.
"......"
The two won remained silent for a while.
The lab employee just stared at the floor, while Yeoreum looked around aimlessly.
After about ten minutes of quiet waiting, Kang Jinho appeared, opening the door.
"Why does she look like that?"
"Ah... The kids said they were making her not scary and doodled all over her body."
"Hmm..."
Kang Jinho's furrowed brow relaxed at the ntion of the children.
Then, as if nothing had happened, he stood in front of the lab employee.
"So, why did you co to the guild?"
"...To turn myself in."
"Turn yourself in."
The woman looked up at Kang Jinho's murmur.
Despite the woman's sunken eyes, Kang Jinho's gaze remained unwavering.
"I've compiled everything about what the organization does and where. So..."
"You want help?"
"......"
The woman nodded.
It didn't feel like a lie, but Kang Jinho and Yeoreum weren't about to believe her so easily.
"After staying quiet for years, why now?"
"It took ti to figure out the organization..."
"Hmm."
Is it the truth?
Or a prepared excuse?
The woman bit her lip under Kang Jinho's indifferent gaze.
"Don't treat like I'm the sa as those bastards... The reason I stayed in the organization was..."
"Right now, we can't believe anything you say. It all sounds like excuses."
"......"
"But, if things get resolved well thanks to you..."
Kang Jinho deliberately left the sentence unfinished.
He needed to leave room for various possibilities.
"We'll hear the details later."
With those words, Kang Jinho left the room.
Yeoreum frowned as she watched the woman stare at the floor again.
"You, why do you act like such a victim? You joined that awful organization of your own will, didn't you?"
"...Joining Lotus wasn't my choice."
"R-really?"
Was she kidnapped or sothing?
Yeoreum scratched her cheek, feeling awkward.
"I was born in Lotus. Every action was restricted."
"Hmm..."
So she was born and raised there.
Through her conversation with the woman, Yeoreum learned that Lotus was quite an old organization.
"It's hard to imagine what happens in that place."
"No, I know. They bury people alive when things go wrong, right?"
"How...?"
The woman showed surprise for the first ti.
I thought her emotions had dried up, but so were still there.
Yeoreum felt oddly relieved.
"We rescued a child who was in your organization."
Yeoreum didn't reveal who that child was.
It was a very basic asure for protection.
"Let's end our conversation here for today. You'll have to wait here until we call for you again."
Click-
The woman stared at Yeoreum's back as she left the room.
She thought about the 'child' Yeoreum had ntioned.
'Beast-kin...?'
There were only four beast-kin children in Yeomyeong.
But those children looked too happy and peaceful.
Children who had been through experints in the lab couldn't have such happy daily lives.
They should have been broken beyond comparison.
Like herself.
'It can't be...'
It's not those children.
She hadn't heard anything about capturing beast-kin children.
There must be other labs she didn't know about, but still...
"......"
The woman looked down at the handcuffs on her wrists.
An inexplicable anxiety kept squeezing her heart.
'No way.'
It couldn't be.
The woman shook her head quickly, trying to rid herself of the uneasy feelings.
The empty room felt just like her heart.
**
I returned to the tent with the children.
There, Sophia was playing with Seol.
"ow ow!"
"Yes, you like this, don't you."
Rub rub.
Sophia rubbed Seol's belly as the cat lay on its back.
Gasp.
Seeing this, Gaeul lay down next to Seol, exposing her belly.
"Hmm?"
"Huh..."
Gaeul lifted her shirt slightly, showing her soft belly.
It seed she wanted to be petted like Seol.
Sophia hesitated for a mont, then rubbed Gaeul's belly.
"You're back."
"Yes, we're back."
Sophia looked over and the children.
Seeing everyone's good expressions, a smile spread across Sophia's face too.
"Looks like things went well."
"Yes. We got our revenge."
"Revenge?"
Sophia flinched in surprise.
The word 'revenge' itself was shocking.
"We doodled all over her face and body."
"That must have been... amusing."
"Yes. Thanks to that, she's not scary at all anymore."
"That's a very wise revenge."
Sophia patted my head, saying we did well.
Unable to resist the pleasant touch, I rubbed my ear against Sophia's cheek.
Whenever I left my pheromones on family mbers like this, I felt an inexplicable sense of elation.
"At this rate, other beast-kin might mistake for a feline beast-kin."
"A cat beast-kin?"
"Yes, your scent is all over ."
"...Is it uncomfortable?"
I stopped rubbing my ear and looked up at Sophia.
What I saw was Sophia's eye-smile.
"I'm just joking."
"Okay."
That's right.
There's no way Sophia would be uncomfortable with .
I started rubbing my ear against Sophia's body again.
"Sophia, I really like rubbing my ear like this. Sotis my body moves on its own before I realize it. Is this related to so kind of instinct?"
"That's just..."
As Sophia was thinking, Levinas, who had been playing with Seol, shouted loudly.
"That's because King is a king!"
"Because I'm a king?"
"Yeah! Kings leave their scent on everyone!"
Leaving my scent because I'm a king.
I couldn't understand what she ant at all.
I felt I needed to ask for more details.
"What do you an?"
"King leaving scent is like marking territory! It's like a warning saying 'This is mine, don't touch!'"
"Uh...?"
Is that so?
From the perspective of a predator's wild nature or instinct, it might be like that.
Animals leaving their scent did have the aning of marking territory.
"Sophia, I guess I've been rubbing my ear because of my wild nature all this ti."
"No, this is just..."
"Just...?"
"Affection... No, it's nothing."
Pat pat.
Sophia stroked my head again.
I reflexively grinned at the pleasant touch.
---
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