Chapter 32: Meeting the Parents?

The sisters called it Operation: Meeting the Parents.

It was a plan to get permission to move the girl’s residence and have her join Chungseong Guild.

It started with a bribery offensive.

“…No way!”

Unfortunately, they were stopped in their tracks by the girl’s fierce opposition before they could even begin.

It wasn’t a case of “I’m going to hog all the delicious and good things for myself!”

The reason for the girl’s opposition was quite the opposite.

“Y-you’ve already bought me so much, I can’t trouble you any further…!”

The girl’s expression as she said this was more determined than ever.

She had realized something while arguing with Mia.

Ah… I’ve fallen into pride.

I’ve been acting like I’m something special because everyone’s been treating me so well.

Who knows how much bad karma I’ve accumulated from this mistake.

If I could, I should return Mia’s body and die as soon as possible…

Even if I die now, could I go to heaven?

…Probably not.

I haven’t used my ability for anyone else like I did in the cult.

And I haven’t even beaten any ‘real’ demons.

The girl looked around and took out the white handkerchief she’d received from the monk.

She tried to use the handkerchief to clean the dusty floor, but then.

Ah! No matter what, it hurts my heart to dirty something the monk gave me like this.

She put the handkerchief back in her pocket and tried to sweep the floor with her long hair instead.

“What… are you doing now?”

Even though the stiff-faced Guild Master hurriedly stopped her actions with telekinesis, the girl was confident.

“He who does not work, neither shall he eat! That’s what the Almighty God said!”

Uh.

…By any chance, isn’t the book compiling those words of the Almighty God called the Bible?

Han Dayeon hurriedly covered her mouth before she could question it.

After all, it was quite a famous quote.

“For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.”

It seemed that the cult, being a mix of all sorts of gods, had included content similar to the Bible.

“So I need to work for the monks’ share too. Buying delicious things comes after that!”

The girl’s stern expression suggested there was no room for compromise.

It was somewhat fortunate that she considered using her wishes for personal gain a sin.

The Guild Master swallowed a deep sigh inwardly.

Oh, no.

Until now, he’d managed to naturally buy her tanghulu and even an Opal phone.

Why did she have to come to her senses now of all times?

If it were other people, they’d probably be like “Ah~ We’ve sucked the Guild Master’s money dry~” and disappear after enjoying the benefits, but the other party was ‘that’ girl.

She’d insisted on giving him a bag of poisonous mushrooms as thanks even when he said no repayment was necessary.

She’d gotten a small storage room for herself, saying she’d rather be homeless than receive special treatment different from the monks.

Wasn’t her stubbornness on a level that even Monk Jamyeong would have to yield to?

The poisonous mushrooms she’d received as a gift that day were still occupying a freezer compartment because he couldn’t bring himself to eat or throw them away.

What should he do about this?

If she acts like this now, forget persuading the monks, even bringing the child to the guild would be a problem.

This time, even he couldn’t think of a way around it.

“Let me go…!”

The girl’s hair rippled like waves as she struggled hard despite being restrained by telekinesis.

“Haah… Who on earth taught you to clean the floor with your hair?”

“Huh? There’s no problem if you clean and then cut it, right? Even brooms are made by cutting grass hair.”

That’s technically correct, but.

Rather than watching her tiny body labor in an attempt to repay, it would be better to just adopt the girl and pass on the unnecessarily accumulated money to her.

Hmm. That’s quite a good idea.

The Guild Master filed away “adopting the girl” in a corner of his mind and tried to seek the sisters’ opinions.

-“The kid can’t accept kindness without giving something in return. Think of some way.”

But.

“Our little one is pretty, so it’s okay! Pretty people are supposed to be treated like this!”

Did that even pass through her brain before coming out of her mouth?

As Han Yuyeon said this with a grin,

“That’s arrogance! Being ugly might cause discomfort to others, but it’s not a sin. There’s nowhere that says you don’t have to work if you’re pretty!”

“Uh…”

The innocent ugly people took a hit.

Han Yuyeon was completely taken aback.

Even she, as reckless as she was, had never personally attacked someone!

“Apologize to the ugly people!”

“I… I have to apologize?”

“Yes!”

W-why is this my fault?

Sis, say something!

Han Yuyeon uncharacteristically made a wronged expression and even pretended to cry, but the girl only briefly closed her eyes, her heart softening a little.

Han Dayeon just chuckled as if finding it funny.

“C-crying won’t change anything!”

Instead, the girl scolded her.

So she apologized.

“I’m sorry…”

“Hehe. Be careful from now on.”

Afterward, Han Dayeon seemed to have come up with a more ingenious method, learning from her sister’s failure.

“You say you just received without doing anything. But you’ve been playing with me all this time, right? That’s the repayment.”

At first, for a very brief moment, even the girl tilted her head.

Huh? I guess I did work, since I could barely breathe while being hugged by the sister…

Then, the sister bought me drinks in exchange for hugging me!

She seemed to be persuaded for a moment, but unfortunately, the girl had seen a lot by now.

“Ah! A-are you proposing prostitution right now?!”

“……Huh?!”

“I’ve seen it before! They said buying a woman’s time is illegal!”

The girl immediately recalled what she’d seen on the internet.

What was it again?

Called a call girl and mom showed up?

It was only part of a site, but the content was so shocking that she remembered the comic.

The girl’s face turned red as she hurriedly covered her chest and tried to back away.

However, being held by telekinesis, she ended up showing her embarrassed appearance to everyone.

“Heh…”

Han Dayeon unknowingly opened her mouth and drooled at the cute sight.

What’s this? So cute.

Seriously, what is this? Unbelievably cute!

How can such a pure child exist?

I wonder if I can swap family registers with Han Yuyeon?

If this girl were my sister, I could play with her all day!

Han Dayeon being entranced by the girl was her downfall.

Playing without compensation is just playing.

But the moment compensation enters the picture, it’s not play anymore, it’s selling your time and becomes work.

And prostitution is illegal in Korea!

The girl, having sorted out her thoughts belatedly, glared at Han Dayeon and shouted:

“Prostitution is bad! T-take care of your body…!”

Take care of your body…!

Take care…!

Please…!

Her muffled voice echoed through the quiet hallway.

“…Trash.”

Han Yuyeon didn’t miss the opportunity to add a comment.

“Hey! If you’re like that too, what does that make me!”

Han Dayeon waved her hands in panic and hurriedly turned to look at the Guild Master, but.

The man she thought would take her side quietly suggested:

“…If you need a psychological evaluation for sexual preferences or something, let me know. I’ll support it as part of our welfare program.”

“E-even you, Guild Master?!”

Grumble-

Han Dayeon, total defeat!

Han Dayeon, who almost got socially buried by the girl’s single shout, sank without a chance to explain.

She couldn’t even meet the girl’s eyes.

“A-am I trash…?”

She crouched in a corner of the hallway, reminiscing about her fleeting past.

“Haah.”

They say two heads are better than one, but.

Isn’t this just a thick blank paper?

Sure, 1+1 equals 2, but these sisters are…

“But… maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if I could play with our little one…?”

“Sis, are you crazy?”

Hmm, no matter how you look at it, it’s nothing more than 0+0.

In the end, the Guild Master came up with a new method instead of relying on the sisters’ help.

When they were sightseeing at Gyeongbokgung Palace, she was easily distracted by new things.

She was so excited that even he, confident in his mental strength, momentarily lost his grip at times.

So why not try that again this time?

Virtual reality?

There are many interesting things, but a lot needs to be adjusted for the girl.

Therefore, the virtual reality experience was postponed.

But it’s also difficult to take her sightseeing in the city during this busy evening time.

I guess I have no choice but to mix in a little lie.

The Guild Master extremely disliked deceiving people, but for the girl’s sake, it couldn’t be helped.

“Alright. Then I’ll formally request a job from you.”

At the Guild Master’s words, the girl, who had been struggling to break free from the telekinesis, suddenly lifted her head.

Finally!

The Guild Master has acknowledged me!

“I can do anything! I can do well at anything except bringing dead people back to life… and killing innocent people!”

The girl really was confident she could do anything.

The orders that came down from the cult usually fell into two categories.

One was to eliminate enemies who had fallen to demons and were targeting the cult.

This was manageable.

She just had to go out with the cult’s judges and kill humans possessed by demons.

The problem was the second category, granting wishes on behalf of those who had fallen into misfortune.

For small wishes, she had to offer fingernails, blood, hair, and such as payment.

For big wishes, she had to sacrifice organs or parts of her body.

Since this body belonged to Mia, she couldn’t grant big wishes like before.

Therefore, she was prepared to grant small wishes.

The Guild Master, when he first met the girl, wouldn’t have noticed the subtle tone, but.

‘Hah, I don’t know if we can let her be independent like this.’

He knew that the girl’s boasting wasn’t just empty words.

She really meant she could do ‘anything’.

In reality, with the girl’s summoning ability, she could probably accomplish most things.

“First, let’s talk as we go to the temple. What I want to entrust to you is a contamination survey of Bukhansan.”

After some thought, the Guild Master came up with a request that the girl couldn’t accomplish with her abilities.

-“Order food and drinks so we can take them right away.”

He naturally included bribes to offer the monks.

Meanwhile, Mia’s efforts to somehow soothe the girl’s heart…

[Hey… will you talk to me when we get home?]

‘Hmph.’

Were ignored.

—