Troubled

Troubled

 

I looked at Chae-a standing next to me with an expression that said ‘I did well, right?’ and hesitated.

I held Chae-a’s hand tightly and shook my head.

“You can follow the Spirit User Uncle too!”

At those words, Chae-a tilted her head as if she didn’t quite understand.

But whatever it was, she seemed to think my words were right, nodding and smiling brightly.

I looked at Chae-a like that, then bowed my head to the Spirit User Uncle as a sign of apology.

“I’m sorry…”

In response to my apology, the Spirit User Uncle seemed rather flustered and waved his hands.

Then he quickly picked us both up and started changing the subject.

“The important thing is churros. Have you kids ever eaten churros?”

“Chae-a knows churros! I ate ones that fell on the ground.”

“What?”

“The ants liked them too!”

“……”

It seems Chae-a is talking about the time when she was picking up and eating various things.

While coming to meet me, due to insufficient mana supply.

I patted Chae-a’s head to show that she had been through a lot, and Chae-a, though not fully understanding, looked happy that I was patting her head and said to me.

“Chae-a is amazing…! I know a place where lots of churros fall like this!”

“Really? Wow.”

While I was clapping my hands to show how amazing it was to see Chae-a so proud of herself.

The Spirit User Uncle spoke to us with a very bitter expression.

“If you want churros, I’ll buy them for you. From now on, don’t eat things that have fallen on the ground, just tell me if you want to eat something. Okay?”

Hearing that, Chae-a stared blankly at the Spirit User Uncle, then tilted her head and said.

“Then can I eat with the ant?”

“Yes!”

In front of the Spirit User Uncle’s puzzled gaze.

An ant that was hiding in Chae-a’s arms jumped out and waved its hand in greeting.

“Ant ant!”

“……?”

The Spirit User Uncle, seemingly unable to accept this situation, stared at the ant with a blank expression.

The ant wiggled its body, danced a little, and then went back into Chae-a’s arms, hiding itself again.

“We have to share because it’s a friend!”

“O-okay? Do that then.”

It’s a bit funny that he’s showing a reaction similar to a test supervisor.

I covered my mouth with my hand and giggled, then turned my gaze to look at the electronic scoreboard.

‘Looks like Seo-rin is doing well.’

The people visible in the distance are either about to be eliminated, surrounded by golems, or have already been eliminated.

But Seo-rin is beyond relaxed, as if it’s nothing, knocking down golems with just a flick of her finger.

Just as I was thinking how amazing the overwhelming difference in power was.

The Spirit User Uncle approaches the churros vendor and orders three churros.

“This place is famous for its churros. I always buy churros here whenever there’s an exam.”

“Wow. Uncle, you’re amazing!”

“Really? Do you want to eat one more?”

“The ant said it’s okay!”

“R-Really?”

As I absentmindedly listen to the conversation coming from beside me, three churros appear at an incredibly fast speed.

I’m receiving the churros packed in a small brown paper box, my eyes sparkling.

The uncle, seeing us like this, smiles and continues speaking.

“Keep one and give it to Seo-rin later. Understood?”

“Yes!”

“You answer so well, how lovely. My son… sigh.”

I wonder if he has a son?

As I’m thinking I’d like to meet him later, blowing on the hot churros.

Suddenly, a cold wind blows strongly from far away.

Along with that wind, the phrase ‘The test has ended’ appears on the electronic display board.

It quickly changes to ‘Congratulations on a perfect score’ and the sound of fireworks exploding can be heard.

 

As I’m grinning at the festival-like atmosphere.

Chae-a suddenly shivers, hunches down, and speaks to us in a small voice.

“I’m scared…”

Since it’s the first time I’ve seen Chae-a this scared, I’m momentarily flustered and don’t know what to do.

Thinking it would be good to take care of Chae-a as an adult, I cover her ears with my hands and try my best to calm her down.

The Spirit User Uncle, watching this, seems to have realized that this whole situation is because of the fireworks sound.

Ha-eun quickly moved to a place where the sound of fireworks couldn’t be heard.

*

“Chae-a was so scared that she cried like this… She sobbed because she was sad.”

A few minutes after entering the soundproof preliminary exam room.

Chae-a, seemingly free from fear now, hugged my tail tightly and poured out her sadness about how upset she had been earlier.

As I was patting Chae-a’s head to comfort her, someone entered the exam room.

“Ha-eun, Chae-a. Your sister is here… Chae-a, what’s wrong?”

Looking to the side, I see Han A-rin’s somewhat stiff expression.

Han A-rin rushed to Chae-a to check on her condition, then asked the Spirit User Uncle about the situation.

“Did something happen to Chae-a?”

“The fireworks sound was loud, so she got startled and cried.”

“Ah… She must have been really surprised.”

Han A-rin wiped Chae-a’s face with a handkerchief and spent a while calming her down.

Then she turned her gaze and looked at me intently.

“Is Ha-eun okay?”

I nodded, and Han A-rin let out a sigh of relief and said to me.

“Really? Our Ha-eun is so brave, not getting startled by the fireworks sound.”

Not sure how to react, I awkwardly smiled.

Chae-a waved her hands and urgently said to Han A-rin.

“Chae-a is brave too…!”

“That’s right, Chae-a is brave too.”

“Yes!”

Chae-a spent a long time explaining how brave she was.

Finally, she proudly showed off her newly made ant friend.

“So I have a friend now!”

“Ant ant!”

“Uh…? Umm.”

Han A-rin blinked while looking at the ant waving its front antennae.

She then looked at the Spirit User Uncle, unable to hide her bewilderment.

But the Spirit User Uncle just shook his head, seemingly at a loss for words.

I was giggling because the situation was somewhat funny.

Han A-rin stared intently at the ant and, as if discovering something strange, spoke to the Spirit User Uncle.

“This ant… it’s an ant, but it has a lot of mana? Not just a lot, but an abnormal amount? Isn’t this almost at the level of a D-rank hunter?”

“Now that you mention it, you’re right. An ant at D-rank hunter level… that’s extremely unusual.”

“At this level, it might be worth researching…”

The two of them gradually delved into technical discussions I couldn’t understand, exchanging all sorts of information.

While I couldn’t grasp the details of what they were saying, I could tell that the ant Chae-a had was special.

‘Chae-a is amazing.’

I was thinking how incredible it was that someone so young could accomplish such remarkable things.

Chae-a, still with red eyes, nose, and cheeks, giggled and clung to me, whispering something.

“All the black ones disappeared! I think they went out to play!”

Come to think of it, I don’t see the little black ones around.

I looked around the area thinking they might be nearby, but it seems they’ve gone far away as I can’t see them anywhere.

‘I hope they’re okay?’

Considering how people were surprised and called them bugs earlier, I’m worried that some might misunderstand them.

As I’m nodding my head, hoping the little black ones aren’t hurt,

Han A-rin, who was in the middle of a conversation, seems to have come to her senses and stands up to speak to us.

“Oh right. I came to pick up the kids, I almost forgot for a moment.”

Then, carefully holding my and Chae-a’s hands, she spoke to the Spirit User Uncle.

“Let’s continue the rest of the conversation later.”

“Alright. I’ll do some research in the meantime.”

It seems the ant that Chae-a discovered was an extraordinary insect beyond imagination.

Thinking it would be good to tell Chae-a about this later, I’m following Han A-rin when

I belatedly realized that I left the churros behind.

‘I forgot about them while trying to comfort Chae-a.’

As I keep thinking about the churros that keep lingering in my mind,

I decided to eat them again when I get the chance and moved on with a gloomy step.

*

“Seo-rin! Please share your thoughts on being the first to achieve a perfect score!”

“Where does your secret to strength come from? Please tell us about your training methods and routines!”

“Have you decided on your future plans? If so, please give us an interview!”

The place where Seo-rin was standing was filled with numerous people.

Here’s the English translation:

Most of them were holding recorders or notepads, and from what I could hear, it seemed they had gathered to interview Seo-rin.

I thought I shouldn’t interfere with Seo-rin’s interview, so I was hugging my tail and nibbling on it when someone suddenly screamed.

“It’s Ha-eun!”

The reporter who shouted as if they had discovered a golden goblin.

Quickly approached me, held out a microphone, and asked me something.

“Hello. I’m Han Yuri, a reporter from Grand Hunter Newspaper. Would an interview be possible?”

An interview!

It was the first time in my life someone had asked me for an interview, so I nodded.

The reporter, with a very excited face, said to me.

“What’s your favorite candy?”

It seemed too simple to be called an interview.

It was a bit different from the interview I had imagined, but I thought it would be best to answer properly.

I told them my favorite candy flavor.

“I like… peach.”

“Peach? How about grape?”

“Grape is yucky.”

“You have excellent taste. Next question. Between Chae-a and Ha-eun, who is the older sister? According to public opinion, many people think Chae-a is the older one. What do you think about this?”

The questions came out so quickly that I felt overwhelmed.

As I felt my mind going blank for a moment and blinked my eyes,

Han A-rin, who was nearby, covered me with her hand and spoke in a calm voice.

“Interview, difficult.”

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

Whether it was due to Han A-rin’s influence or the reporter’s good nature, I’m not sure.

The reporter quickly apologized for their mistake and stepped back.

I was feeling relieved that the strange pressure on me had disappeared, when Han A-rin picked me up and said.

“Ha-eun, from now on, if you don’t like something, you should say so, okay?”

“Yes…”

“Good. If you encounter another situation you don’t like, just follow after me.”

Han A-rin looked at me and opened her mouth wide, speaking one word at a time as if telling me to repeat after her.

“Me? This? I don’t like it?”

Oh, this sounds familiar.

As I was thinking about where I had heard this before, I repeated after Han A-rin.