Hueee

Hueee

 

Perhaps because the place where I received the award earlier was somewhat bleak.

The festive scene outside looked even more vibrant and lively, reminiscent of a festival.

As I stared blankly at the sight, in stark contrast to earlier, one of the elders waved at me and called out.

 

“Oh, our little one worked hard. Come here and have something delicious?”

 

At those words, I approached as if in a trance.

Midway, I barely managed to gather my senses and rubbed my cheeks.

There was no particular reason, I was just too embarrassed to show my twin-tailed hairstyle.

 

‘I might collapse from embarrassment!’

 

In reality, my face felt beyond hot, as if it was burning.

I wanted to hide my face behind a mouse hole or my tail.

But if I did that, Han A-rin would likely pick me up and say things like ‘It’s okay, you’re super cute’ while showing me off(?) here and there.

So I acted as nonchalant as possible as I approached the elders.

 

“Oh my, Ha-eun has twin tails!”

“Oh my, who did she take after to be this pretty?” 

“Of course, she takes after me. Isn’t that right, Ha-eun?” 

 

As soon as I get close, many elders gather around me and start praising me. 

While I’m feeling happy but also a bit embarrassed about it, hugging my tail and grinning sheepishly. 

Chae-a, who was following closely behind, spoke up with a proud expression, boasting about me. 

 

“That’s right…! Ha-eun is the cutest in the world! She’s so pretty like this, and really amazing!” 

 

Every time Chae-a compliments me, I feel somewhat embarrassed. 

Still, since she’s doing it for me, I try to smile and fidget while feeling shy. 

An elder gently strokes my hair and speaks to me. 

 

“Ha-eun, who is the cutest, prettiest, and most amazing in the world. This grandmother has prepared some food for you, won’t you eat it?” 

 

I feel like I might faint from embarrassment…! 

I nod my head while whimpering, and the elder carefully picks me up and says. 

 

“Oh my, look how light you are. Ha-eun, is the association not feeding you?” 

 

Why do the elders always say I’ve gotten thinner every time we meet? 

I mean, I am on the slim side… but it’s a bit strange to hear the same thing repeatedly. 

I blink my eyes and quickly shake my head, but the elder, seeing my response, speaks to me with a voice full of concern. 

 

“Is that so? Still, you seem too thin… This won’t do. I should go to the association myself and have a word with them…” 

“I-It’s okay.” 

“Really? Oh, our baby has such a kind heart too. Who did you take after to be this pretty?” 

“Grandmother…”

“You say I look like you? Hoho, really? Look at this, Ha-eun takes after me.” 

 

In fact, I had been calling the Elder Dragons grandfather and grandmother. 

However, judging by their appearance, they looked to be in their mid-20s to early 30s. 

So it felt a bit awkward to call them grandfather and grandmother. 

 

That’s why I initially thought it might be more appropriate to call them big sister or big brother, but I got the feeling that the Elders preferred being called grandmother and grandfather. 

So for now, I was calling them grandfather and grandmother. 

 

While I was dangling and swaying in the Elder’s hands, going “hueh”. 

Yuna was waving her hand at me from below, wagging her tail. 

Thinking that she might be waving because I looked lonely hanging there alone, I was waving back when Han A-rin, who was next to me, spoke to me. 

 

“Oh, I forgot to show you the gift. Here, Ha-eun, this is a gift from the central government to thank you.” 

 

Hearing that, I looked at what Han A-rin was holding out, and I saw a small wand. 

With a thought of ‘could it be’, I reached out to take it. 

Han A-rin smiled brightly and said to me playfully. 

 

“Ha-eun has now become an official magician, huh?” 

 

As I was sparkling my eyes, thinking I never dreamed I would get a magic wand like this. 

Han A-rin added an explanation of how amazing this wand was. 

 

“That wand is made from the World Tree’s branch, cut from the branch with the highest mana content among all the branches of the World Tree.” 

“…?” 

“Moreover, they gathered S-rank mana stones, condensed them, and put them inside, so it’s evaluated as the wand with the best mana sensitivity among all existing wands.” 

 

I don’t know much about this field… but just hearing Han A-rin’s explanation, I can feel how amazing this is. 

As I was blinking my eyes, wondering if it’s really okay to give me something this incredible.

The elders standing nearby smiled warmly and chimed in. 

 

“Not to brag, but this old man put in some effort.” 

“No, Ha-eun, this old lady put in even more effort.” 

“Oh, you old folks just said you wanted Ha-eun to get something nice, but now you’re taking all the credit. That’s why Ha-eun doesn’t give you flower-cup hands.” 

“……?” 

 

What on earth could flower-cup hands mean to the elders…? 

As I was blinking blankly, wondering about this. 

Seo-a, who was below, suddenly trembled and made a ‘pyaak!’ sound as she clung to Chae-a. 

 

The sound was so loud that everyone’s attention turned to Seo-a. 

Seeing this, Seo-a mumbled ‘… scary’ and buried her face in Chae-a’s back. 

 

‘What could be scary?’ 

 

As I was fidgeting, not knowing what to think. 

Seo-rin awkwardly smiled and explained why Seo-a was scared. 

 

“Well… Seo-a is also a World Tree, so she might be scared because we said we cut a branch from the World Tree to make a staff.” 

 

At those words, the elders, Seo-rin, and I all looked at each other with shocked expressions. 

Of course, it was a huge shock because it was something we hadn’t considered at all. 

 

While we were seriously contemplating how to comfort Seo-a, exchanging glances. 

Chae-a solved the situation more easily than expected by patting Seo-a’s head. 

 

“It’s okay! The branches will grow back, so Seo-a will be fine too!” 

“Really? Yay!” 

 

To me, it seemed like an even more cruel story, but.

Seo-a reacted as if it was okay with Chae-a’s words and smiled with a “hehe.” 

I was watching carefully, wondering if this was really okay, and then shrugged my shoulders. 

 

‘I don’t know…!’ 

 

If Seo-a says it’s okay, then it must be okay. 

However, just as I was about to return this staff to Han A-rin because it had become a bit awkward to use, 

Seo-a came running towards me and said something. 

 

“Good!” 

 

Not knowing what was good, I tilted my head and watched. 

Chae-a, who was next to me, interpreted Seo-a’s words. 

 

“Yeah. Seo-a says it’s good for Ha-eun to use that staff!” 

 

At those words, I stared at Seo-a blankly, showing a slightly bewildered expression. 

If I were Seo-a, I would have felt a great aversion and refused to use it, but she was showing a reaction that it was okay to use. 

So I hesitated, unable to easily say I understood, but. 

 

“Don’t worry.” 

 

Seo-a looked at me with a proud smile like Chae-a, as if telling me not to worry. 

I was a bit surprised by Seo-a’s reaction, which seemed more mature than mine, but soon told her I understood and gripped the staff tightly again. 

 

‘I should cherish it.’ 

 

I gently stroked it and smiled brightly. 

 

* 

 

After the staff incident(?), we officially went around greeting the elders. 

Every time I encountered the elders, I repeatedly experienced the embarrassing situation of seeing the letter I had written again.

What should I say? I felt dizzy, as if others were proudly showing my diary full of embarrassing memories. 

 

‘Uhhh…’ 

 

Lately, I feel like I’m losing my mind and becoming more scatterbrained in many situations. 

While I was floundering and being pushed around, one of the elders made a request to me. 

 

“Ha-eun, won’t you do a flower pose for this old man too?” 

 

At those words, the surrounding elders began to protest, glaring at the elder who made the request to me. 

 

“Ha-eun- Didn’t we agree not to do anything that violates the treaty, Renen?” 

“If I were 100 years younger, I would have gotten rid of that scoundrel.” 

“Huh. The principles (not) of the martial arts world (not) have hit rock bottom!” 

 

I’m a bit flustered as strange words keep popping up. 

I felt like the elders were fighting because of me, so I thought it would be good to stop them. I hurriedly opened my mouth to calm the elders. 

 

“I’ll do it for the other grandpas and grandmas too…! You shouldn’t fight…!” 

 

I must have spoken too hastily, as my pronunciation was badly slurred. 

I thought my face would explode from my swaying twin tails and slurred pronunciation. 

But if I hung my head low here, all my shouting would have been meaningless, so I kept my head up high, pretending to be okay as best as I could. 

 

As I trembled and observed the situation… 

The elders gathered around me with very pleased expressions, all saying, “Shall we?” 

 

“Hehe…?” 

 

At that moment, I realized I had fallen into a trap. 

But the elders, being skilled power players, had no intention of letting me go, quickly lining up and talking.

 

“Ha-eun, I heard these days people take something called ‘selfies’. Would this old lady be able to do it too?” 

“Ye…?” 

“Oh my, our granddaughter is so pretty. Thank you, now look this way and do a beauty check, won’t you?” 

“Be-beauty check…?” 

“That’s right, well done. I’ll post it on Insta, so come check it out later.” 

“?!?!?” 

 

I really don’t understand. 

Thinking I was filled with nothing but confusion, I ended up losing my mind…!