I’m scared…

I’m scared…

 

As I swallow the bead, an unidentified warm sensation swirls inside my body.

It feels strange but also somewhat calming, so I place my hand on my chest to feel it.

Perseus looks at me like that and smirks before adding.

 

“Try to manifest the cleaning magic once.”

 

At this suggestion, I hesitantly raised my hand.

I hadn’t learned it long ago, so some things were ambiguous, and I wasn’t sure if it was accurate, so I was hesitant to use it.

 

‘It doesn’t matter if I fail.’

 

Deciding to just try it, I began to visualize the cleaning magic in my mind.

 

‘I want to make the surroundings clean.’

 

In the case of light magic, I only had to kindle the desire for brightness.

But for cleaning magic, I had to precisely imagine how it should be cleaned, which was a bit difficult.

 

‘Maybe because of the bead I just ate.’

 

Somehow, an ideal cleanliness quickly came to mind, and I could draw a specific image.

With this in mind, I immediately opened my eyes wide and manifested the cleaning magic.

 

The moment I used the magic, the dust around flew away, and the scattered shoes and objects found their proper places.

I was so surprised by this sight that I froze, but soon I smiled brightly and looked at the people around me.

 

“Wow! Ha-eun is a genius…! Amazing! So cool!”

“It’s nothing. You’re cool.”

“Awesome! So good…!”

“What’s with Ha-eun? How did you do that? You’re a real genius…!” 

 

As if it was all planned. 

Seeing everyone cheering and making a fuss next to me makes me feel a bit embarrassed. 

While I’m awkwardly laughing and grinning, Perseus seems more interested in something other than the success of the cleaning magic, and remarks in admiration. 

 

“Silent casting, huh.” 

 

Ah, come to think of it, I didn’t say the words “cleaning magic” out loud. 

As I was wondering if I should say it belatedly, Perseus quickly patted my head and said. 

 

“Lady Lecia would be very pleased if she saw this.” 

 

The moment I hear that Lady Lecia would like it, my tail suddenly starts wagging from side to side. 

As I nod my head, thinking that I want to see Lady Lecia after a long time. 

Perseus lifts me up, smiles gently, and tells me. 

 

“There are different types of silent casting. The one you used, Ha-eun, is called image-type silent casting, which is considered the highest level.” 

“Image-type…?” 

“Yes. It’s a type of silent casting where you can manifest magic just by imagining it.” 

 

Hearing those words, I can’t help but feel good and grin. 

As I’m thinking that I seem to be weak to compliments and fidgeting with my tail, Seo-rin vigorously rubs my head and says. 

 

“Ha-eun, in that sense, just one photo…” 

“No way…!” 

 

I cross my arms, pretending not to notice Seo-rin whining beside me. 

 

* 

 

And so, both Chae-a and I became able to use magic.

The only one left was Yuna… In Yuna’s case, Han A-rin said it would take quite a long time since we had to start with the basic work of changing her constitution. 

 

‘If there’s any consolation, it’s that Yuna seems to be without much thought?’ 

 

It seemed somewhat fortunate that she was just quietly doing it without worrying too much about success or failure. 

After patting Yuna’s head as she clung to my side circulating mana, I decided to continue practicing the cleaning magic. 

 

‘They said it’s most important to keep using it when you’ve got the hang of it.’ 

 

So while I was repeatedly using the cleaning magic to not forget it. 

Seo-a, who had been clinging to me, seemed to get bored and stepped forward to say something. 

 

“Growl. Nyam… Myamya?” 

 

Is she saying she’s hungry? 

I looked at Chae-a blankly, thinking it would be nice to have a detailed interpretation, but. 

Chae-a was asleep on the sofa, probably due to using fast-moving magic consecutively. 

Seeing this, I carefully covered Chae-a with a nearby blanket, then asked Seo-a. 

 

“Wanna eat?” 

“Myam!” 

 

Since there was still a long time until dinner. 

Thinking it would be okay to eat a snack or two, I looked at the snack treasure chest where snacks were piled up. 

 

For some reason, everyone I met, whether people or dragons, always gave me snacks or candies, so I was looking at the mountain of snacks still piled up. 

While patting Seo-a’s head, I decided to give her a choice. 

 

“Then choose what you wanna eat…!” 

 

At my words, Seo-a flapped her hands showing her happiness, then giggled and ran towards the snack chest.

I watched Seo-a with a grin and was about to follow her when Yuna, who was behind me, grabbed my hand tightly and said. 

 

“Ha-eun is a baby, so she needs to go with her big sister.” 

“…?” 

 

By that logic, shouldn’t I have gone with Seo-a? 

The question briefly crossed my mind, but feeling like mentioning it would mean losing, I pretended not to hear and moved towards the snack storage. 

 

The snack storage was filled with numerous snacks. 

Among them, the one that particularly caught my eye was a snack called Shrimp Kkeuangla. 

 

‘That tastes good…’ 

 

Although more people like spicy flavors, I preferred the plain taste, maybe because I liked nutty flavors more than stimulating ones. 

Just as I was contemplating whether to eat this after a long time. 

Seo-a noticed my gaze and, with a bright smile, picked up the snack I was looking at and said. 

 

“Myam-ya!” 

 

It seemed she wanted to share this with me. 

I gently patted Seo-a’s head and was about to grab it when. 

 

“Chae-a too…” 

 

I noticed Chae-a, who had just woken up, approaching with a drowsy face. 

It seemed she had woken up hearing us talk about eating in her sleep. 

I nodded and gestured to Chae-a, signaling her to come over. 

 

Chae-a, still not fully awake, staggered while giggling. 

Then, she suddenly lay down on the floor like a cat and fell asleep right there. 

I carefully shook Chae-a to wake her up and said.

 

“If Chae-a doesn’t wake up, will we all become muggles?” 

“Hah…!” 

 

As if that was absolutely unacceptable, Chae-a forcibly raised her body. 

Rubbing her cheeks with both hands, she said. 

 

“Chae-a is here!” 

 

I’m glad she woke up. 

Looking at Chae-a, I pointed at the snacks. 

 

“Yeah. Is there anything you want to eat?” 

 

At my question, Chae-a blinked her eyes while looking at the shrimp crackers in my hand. 

Rubbing the hair stuck to her chubby cheeks with the back of her hand, she asked me a question. 

 

“Hey. Does this have flapping shrimp inside?” 

 

If she’s asking whether there are shrimp in the shrimp crackers, the correct answer would be yes. 

The problem was that the proportion was very low, so it was a bit ambiguous to nod immediately. 

 

‘But it’s not exactly wrong either.’ 

 

As I nodded to indicate that it was correct, Chae-a turned her gaze to the square snack box and started to make a serious expression. 

Wondering why, I looked at the snack and noticed. 

 

[Daddy’s Hand Pie] 

 

A snack box with a somewhat shocking name caught my eye. 

 

“Daddy’s hand…” 

 

Chae-a seemed confused by this, staring blankly at it.

I tried to quickly explain that “daddy’s hand” didn’t mean what they thought, but… 

 

“I’m scared.” 

 

Because Yuna spoke first, I lost the chance to clarify. 

 

“……” 

 

Just like that, the little ones fell into fear in an instant. 

Especially Chae-a, who had realized the secret of “daddy’s hand pie,” as if she had discovered a truth that shouldn’t exist in this world. 

She fell into a universal fear (not really) and lay face down on the floor, whimpering. 

In Yuna’s case, she clung to me, her tail trembling, showing her helplessness (not really). 

 

“Myam?” 

 

In this land full of fear (not really), Seo-a fortunately didn’t have to face the universal fear because she lacked the relevant knowledge. 

She alone giggled and patted Chae-a and Yuna’s backs in turn, trying to comfort them. 

As chaos spread and everyone seemed to be in distress, Han A-rin suddenly appeared and asked us a question. 

 

“What’s wrong with the little ones? Did something happen?” 

 

At those words, Chae-a and Yuna, seemingly deciding they couldn’t take it anymore, ran to Han A-rin and clung to her. 

Han A-rin, while clearly enjoying it, showed a confused expression and asked me the reason. 

 

“What’s really going on?” 

 

Seeing this, I thought it would be best to tell the truth. I explained how the flow started from “shrimp kkeung” and led to “daddy’s hand pie.” 

As soon as Han A-rin heard this, she burst into laughter and vigorously patted Chae-a and Yuna’s heads. 

 

“Hahaha! Daddy’s hand, so daddy’s… pfft!” 

 

Unable to stop laughing, she continued for a while. 

Then, slowly wiping away her tears, she spoke to the little ones.

 

“Ah… kids, this doesn’t mean that dad’s hand is actually in it. It means it’s as delicious as if dad made it.” 

 

With those final words, Han A-rin took out the ‘Dad’s Hand Pie’, quickly unwrapped it, and told us, 

 

“Look. Even though it says ‘Dad’s Hand Pie’, it’s not actually dad’s hand inside, but something else.” 

 

At the mention of ‘something else’, Chae-a trembled and said, 

 

“Mommy…” 

“Yes, it’s mom’s hand insi… No, that’s not it. It’s flour inside. Not human hands.” 

 

Despite Han A-rin’s explanation, Chae-a and Yuna were still shaking and looking around nervously. 

I smiled at the sight.