Chapter 38: The Precious Child

At the most miserable hour of 5 AM, with just an hour left before office workers’ bedtime, the temple was as bright as day due to the girl’s collapse, and all hell broke loose.

“Aaaah! W-why is the child like this?!”

Han Dayeon, dragged out of bed, poured her ability into the girl in a half-asleep state.

Oh?

Come to think of it, isn’t Monk Jamyeong also a recovery type?

Ah?

Right. Why was I just watching?

I’m trash who can’t even properly take care of one child!

What’s the point of living, I should go die!

Monk Jamyeong, who had been in a panic, fell into self-loathing.

Oh no! Head monk! If you die by smashing your head against the Buddha statue, you’ll be on the news!

Besides, even doctors don’t operate on their own family members!

Mistakes can happen due to tension that wouldn’t normally happen!

The monks who had belatedly rushed in grabbed Monk Jamyeong and tried to persuade him.

Huh? What’s this?

Are you saying I have a bad relationship with our baby?

Ah, no, that’s not what we meant…

Han Dayeon, offended by those words, stepped back slightly after finishing her examination of the girl.

“Everyone be quiet! So, is the child alright?”

My goodness, they say there’s no old man who really wants to die even when he says he should.

Throughout the chaotic situation, Monk Jamyeong, who had been staring at the back of Han Dayeon’s head waiting for the examination results, urgently raised his voice.

Only then did the air settle calmly.

Everyone swallowed dryly in unison, listening intently to Han Dayeon’s voice.

“Um…”

Her sleepy, slightly hoarse voice sounded dazed.

What’s this? Is she not fully awake either?

Or is she not telling us the results because of that little scratch?

“She’s just sleeping. Her health is fine.”

But Han Dayeon’s pronunciation was too clear for that.

Did we hear wrong? The child collapsed but she’s fine?

As such doubts persisted, as if to support Han Dayeon…

“Snore…”

At the soft snoring sound, everyone silently nodded.

Ah, she really is just sleeping.

It’s amazing she didn’t wake up with all this commotion.

Everyone, quickly turn off the lights and shut up!

It was such an anticlimactic ending that their brief panic seemed ridiculous.

It’s fortunate the child isn’t sick, but…

“But Guild Master, why is the child like this? I definitely took her to her room.”

At Han Dayeon’s sleepy question, the Guild Master belatedly recalled the girl’s confession.

With unfocused eyes staring into space and a silly grin.

She had said, ‘I stayed up all night…’

Her mumbling voice had sounded just like confessing a sin.

Why did the girl’s words seem like she was proudly boasting, “How was that? I did well, right?”

The Guild Master shook his head as he stared at the girl’s sleeping face.

It seems staying up all night discussing the move has made her lose her mind.

That good child wouldn’t stick out her tongue and say “Nope, I’m not going to sleep~” like other kids.

So what’s important is why the girl stayed up all night.

Why on earth?

She must have been tired after eating and doing so much yesterday.

He couldn’t understand why she’d stay up until she collapsed, and then come to tell him about it.

Anger welled up at this behavior that was incomprehensible by normal standards.

“Haah… Let’s take her to bed for now.”

How many people’s hearts did she drop in this short time?

This time, no matter how cute the child was, he couldn’t let it slide without scolding her.

Above all, sleep is very important at her age.

Not only for growth, but also for skin, intelligence, and even personality development.

“Maybe she couldn’t sleep because she was excited about going to investigate the contamination with you, Guild Master?”

“We’ll know the truth when we ask her directly.”

Everyone except Han Yuyeon, who hadn’t shown up during this commotion, belatedly sighed in relief.

About nine hours later.

3 PM.

The sun had risen high and was slowly beginning to set.

It was that time when even the most dedicated shut-ins think, “Ah, this is too much, I’ll die if I keep living like this,” when it’s too late to go back to sleep but too early to do anything else.

That’s when the girl finally stirred.

She must have tossed and turned a lot in her sleep, as her blue hair was tangled and messy. Even the sparrows seemed to shake their heads, as if saying, “We can’t sleep here!”

Her yellow eyes opened groggily and rolled around-

“…! G-Guild Master?!”

She discovered the Guild Master sitting in seiza position in a corner of the room, staring intently at her.

It felt chilling.

His sharp gaze pierced right through her!

“If you’re cold, cover yourself with the blanket.”

“Ah!”

The chill must be because she slept with the window open.

Of course the Guild Master wouldn’t look at her so fiercely!

Hehe- The girl smiled awkwardly and hugged the blanket.

As she pulled the fluffy cotton blanket up to her chin, the sparrow family that had been dozing on her chest flew up with a chirp of alarm.

“Aaah!! S-sorry!”

Since she had fallen asleep at her usual wake-up time, even the animals that couldn’t speak seemed to have been worried about her health.

Not only that.

It was now 3 PM.

This meant she had missed not only breakfast but lunch as well while sleeping!

And this was the girl who was already much smaller than others her age.

Skipping even one meal could have such a bad effect on growth.

She just smiled awkwardly, not even seeming hungry.

Probably because of memories of not eating properly in the cult, she couldn’t even bring herself to say she was hungry.

“Haah…”

The girl’s shoulders flinched at the Guild Master’s reflexive sigh.

Right.

It’s strange to scold such a small child just for staying up late.

So the Guild Master silently took out toast and a drink he had stored in his inventory.

Thanks to the inventory’s preservation function, steam was still rising from the toast, and the lemonade was chilled, ice cubes clinking.

He remembered the girl liked lemonade and had bought this lunch menu early this morning.

Sugar sprinkled on top of the golden brown toasted bread.

Sauce and cheese slightly melted from the heat, with a thick egg patty and ham on top.

It looks delicious just by looking at it!

It smells even more delicious!

The girl unconsciously swallowed her saliva.

Ugh… gluttony is a sin…

How can these heretics make so much delicious-looking food!

Gulp, gulp, slurp…

As hunger belatedly hit her, she unknowingly gazed at the toast with fervent eyes.

If she wanted to eat it so badly, she should just eat it.

It was sad that she was still so cautious.

The Guild Master handed the toast and drink to the girl.

He couldn’t help but smile as he watched her reach out as if mesmerized.

“It’s yours, so eat it.”

“Thank you…! I’ll eat well!”

The girl didn’t refuse.

After all, she could pay for it by earning money from investigating the Gate contamination.

Besides, hadn’t Mia told her?

No matter what, don’t skip meals!

So, though feeling shameless and embarrassed, she immediately bit into the toast.

As she opened her small mouth as wide as possible to take a bite, sauce dripped down.

The girl was busy chewing with sauce and cheese smeared around her mouth.

Her cheeks turned red, and her eyes widened like a raccoon tasting cotton candy for the first time.

“Mm! Mmmm!!”

It’s delicious!

It’s as delicious as it looked, as it smelled!

When it started to feel a bit greasy, she took a sip of lemonade – it was heaven.

Ah!

H-heaven?!

What a heretical thought!

It’s a mistake!

Yeah! Of course it’s not quite as good as heaven!

Because I’ll go to heaven someday!

The girl hurriedly devoured the toast, making anyone watching her feel hungry.

The sad thing was that due to her small size, even one piece of toast made her feel full.

At this rate, when would she ever grow taller or gain weight?

As Monk Jamyeong worried, an abundant life in the city was essential for the girl’s growth.

But that was for later.

Slurp slurp slurp!

After finishing her drink, the girl sucked on the melted ice cubes with her straw.

The Guild Master had been holding back from scolding her while she ate to avoid upsetting her stomach.

But despite his feelings, he needed to correct her bad habits for her own good.

The Guild Master, who had been watching silently, spoke in a low voice.

“You promised to go to sleep, but was there a special reason you stayed up all night?”

Only then did it hit her.

“Oh…”

As the girl opened her mouth and averted her gaze, the straw she had been busily sucking fell to the bottom of the cup.

So she knows she did something wrong, huh?

This was the same girl who had been so confident after melting a villain with acid, so this reaction was enough.

While the girl hesitated, unable to lie…

“Even between close friends, you shouldn’t break promises. Not only will the other person be disappointed, but they’ll also waste time waiting for you.”

The Guild Master held out a clock for the girl to see.

“What time is it now?”

The girl, who couldn’t bring herself to look up and only raised her eyes slightly, answered timidly.

“3:24… PM…”

“We were planning to check the Gate contamination site in the morning, so we’ve wasted at least 5 hours.”

“Ah…”

Guilt welled up inside her.

Ugh…

The Guild Master and everyone are being so considerate of me.

I’m trash for breaking my promise just to talk with Mia…!

The girl’s head, which had been slowly lowering, was now almost touching the floor.

She seems quite flexible for a child.

The Guild Master remained calm despite her gloomy reaction.

This child has many emotional scars.

Of course, he had no intention of pushing her too hard over something like this.

“So this is your punishment. For a while, don’t think about missions and stay in your room to reflect on what you did wrong.”

So the punishment he came up with was none other than being grounded!

“T-then! The money…!”

“If you want to earn money, become an adult. Grown-ups don’t make mistakes like this. When I think you’ve grown up, I’ll give you a new mission.”

This was a special measure he thought of while watching the girl who hardly seemed to grow.

If he just said, “Eat a lot! Sleep well! Play!” she obviously wouldn’t listen.

So he took this opportunity to frame it as a punishment.

Even if she was grounded, he planned to allow her to go out with a guardian or walk around the temple and guild grounds.

“Yes… I’m sorry…”

“Good. So rest well in your room today. Even if you’re not sleepy, go to bed at the right time.”

“Yes…”

However, there was something that neither the Guild Master nor the monks had considered, no matter how much they discussed.

Click- After the Guild Master left and she was alone, the girl clenched her fists tightly.

A punishment is a punishment.

She intended to follow the Guild Master’s words without complaint.

But…

Still, she couldn’t stand being in debt!

With sufficient sugar intake, the girl’s small brain was working just fine.

She already understood adults’ circumstances well.

She knew that at this rate, the Guild Master might quietly erase her debt!

So she decided!

I’m not a little kid, so I’ll take responsibility!

If I show them how great I can be on my own, they’ll all think of me differently!

The girl began to look for an opportunity to go out alone to “work”.

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