Chapter 28: Counseling
by fnovelpia
Now that they had a clear plan to help the girl, it was time to act.
What they needed was appropriate support from those around them.
The fewer people who knew the truth, the better, but the Guild Master and Instructor Yang couldn’t stay by the girl’s side all the time.
“We’ll need to coordinate with at least the child’s guardian and team leaders or above.”
Though they weren’t entirely reliable, the sisters currently watching over the girl were also among the potential helpers he’d considered.
“Aaah! Why is the door locked?! Open up! The drinks are going to melt!”
He’d only meant to talk with the sisters for a moment, but it seemed the drinks they’d ordered had already arrived.
Han Yuyeon was timidly banging on the door, unable to break through the telekinetic lock.
“Haah…”
Who would believe she was a 24-year-old adult?
The Guild Master’s head throbbed at the thought of revealing such an important secret to people like this.
He swallowed the sigh rising in his throat and picked up the drink bag a security guard had brought.
As he opened the door and entered…
“Ooh… hohohoho, is our little one tired?”
Unlike her sister raging at the door, he’d thought the team leader would be properly watching the child, but…
“Y-your hands are lewd…!”
“My, aren’t you clever. Where did you learn such words? Won’t you let me touch your cheeks and head a little?”
“Y-your thoughts are lewd too…!”
Han Dayeon was hugging the child tightly, constantly stroking her blue hair or stretching her soft cheeks.
She was doing things that would’ve gotten her arrested if done to another adult, grinning as if thoroughly enjoying herself.
Ah.
I must have hired the wrong people.
If I die, Chungseong Guild will be ruined like this.
The Guild Master regretted his decisions belatedly.
Would he have wanted to carry that small child around like luggage?
He’d been minimizing contact, worried about making the girl uncomfortable or triggering trauma…
Seeing the girl’s flushed cheeks and bright smile, despite her protests about sin and dislike, made his anger flare.
She must feel more comfortable with the sisters, being the same gender.
So this wasn’t jealousy.
“Uwaaah…!”
“How is your hair so silky? Are you actually a water spirit, our little one?”
He was just responsibly intervening before things went too far, since the child seemed too uncomfortable.
“Both of you, come with me. We need to talk.”
His voice was cold, as if addressing criminals.
An icy silence fell.
Only the girl, who had never experienced the Guild Master’s anger, tilted her head in confusion.
Huh? Why does the Guild Master look so upset?
“Guild Master… would you… like this?”
She shyly offered a jelly candy she’d received as a service item at the phone store.
It was a deliciously tangy and sweet jelly that would wake you right up.
She’d been saving it to share with the monks, but maybe this would improve the Guild Master’s mood?
“Save it and eat it yourself.”
Anyone could easily read the girl’s thoughts.
Though she tried hard to act, her reluctance was obvious as she held out the jelly, sighing heavily as if it pained her.
The problem was when the Guild Master declined.
“…It’s delicious. Just try it once!”
Ah! The Guild Master must be really angry!
The girl desperately pushed the jelly forward.
She bowed her head deeply, holding up the single jelly with both hands like an offering.
It looked like taking candy from a child who’d excitedly run out yelling, “I’m gonna eat tteokbokki!”
Even the sisters watching thought, “Wow, Guild Master, you’re trash…”
Only then did the Guild Master’s stiff expression soften slightly as he quickly accepted the jelly.
It had looked so big in the girl’s hands, but in the Guild Master’s it was barely the size of a fingertip.
It didn’t even register on his palate, but-
“It’s tasty. Thank you.”
Only after the Guild Master responded, half sincere and half acting, did the girl show a silly grin.
So when someone’s angry, you should feed them sweets!
She came to a small misunderstanding.
The girl had unintentionally defused the Guild Master’s anger.
‘This… is my chance!’
Han Yuyeon, who had been frozen while taking drinks from the carrier, suddenly sprang into action.
Setting aside our mistakes for now.
We’re already addicted to this small, cute child and can’t go back to how things were before.
Even if we get kicked out, we’re taking the girl with us!
My sister’s had enough fun on her own anyway!
Phew.
It’s okay to receive one thank you even if we die, right?
“These are all for you to drink, so have whatever you want. You can just taste them and throw them away if you don’t like them, don’t hold back.”
She casually brushed her bright red short hair behind her ear, trying to appear nonchalant.
She set down the drink carrier in front of the girl as if she’d just picked it up along the way.
Slosh- The colorful drinks swayed in their clear plastic cups.
Gulp.
The girl unconsciously swallowed the saliva flooding her mouth at the sweet smell permeating the plastic.
Is this… heaven? How can there be so many delicious things on earth?!
Why have the monks been eating such plain food all this time?!
There must be factional conflicts among the heretics too!
As if mesmerized, the girl stared blankly at the drinks, engaging in a fierce internal battle with her gluttony.
W-when did I start caring about how food tastes!
Before moving to Mia’s body, she’d been surviving on IV fluids, let alone food.
She’d sacrificed not only her large and small intestines, but even part of her stomach as payment for wishes.
She couldn’t just give in to such luxurious food!
Yeah!
If she was eating with the monks, that would be different!
“Luxury and waste are sins!”
The girl firmly refused, putting her hands on her hips.
Wow, is she really the same species as us?
How can such an adorable creature exist?
Her cute resistance made even Han Yuyeon, Han Dayeon, and the Guild Master flinch.
No matter how much she puffed up her little body and snorted, her personality had already been figured out.
“Is that so? If you won’t eat them, we have no choice. We’ll have to throw them all away.”
Extremes often meet.
Though Han Yuyeon had only shown her foolish side to the girl so far, she was famous for her reckless personality.
As if she was about to pour out the drinks right then and there, she stood up holding them-
“Ah! N-no! I’ll, I’ll try my best to drink them!”
The girl also jumped up, stretching out both arms.
“…Pfft.”
But no matter how much she stretched, she was still tiny.
She couldn’t reach even when Han Yuyeon just slightly raised her hand.
Panicking, the girl completely forgot the “act cool” lessons she’d learned in the cult.
“If, if we waste them, we’ll go to hell! Hurry and give them here!”
Hop, hop-
She was so focused on trying to get the drinks back that she didn’t even notice her pronunciation slurring.
Of course she was desperate.
The Han sisters were kind people who had treated her nicely from the start.
These drinks were bought out of goodwill too.
She couldn’t let such nice people go to hell for wasting food.
Should she make a wish…?
What started as a joke had somehow led to the girl starting to cry.
“I-I’ll try my best to drink it all…”
Uh, oh?
Han Yuyeon belatedly panicked.
She was often called a jerk, but thinking she’d made this small, cute child cry with her prank filled her with intense self-loathing.
Even Han Dayeon, who usually smoothed things over by calling her sister “trash,” had…
“How can you call yourself human?”
Distanced herself, implying she had nothing to do with this.
“Huh? Um…”
“…We’ll need to have a long counseling session today.”
“Ack! A-anything but that…!”
He couldn’t hold back his harsh words after silently watching the girl play happily like a child her age.
Finally, a teardrop fell on the girl’s flushed cheek.
“Uwaaah! I-I’m sorry! It was just a joke! Here! Drink it a… I mean! If there’s any left, my sister and I will drink it, okay? You can just taste it if you want?”
Han Yuyeon hurriedly set the drinks in front of the girl, her hands shaking.
She knelt down on both knees, bowing her head as if she’d thrown away all her pride.
But.
“…It’s okay. Delicious things should be shared.”
The girl who took the drink carefully pierced the lid with a straw and gently brought it to Han Yuyeon’s lips.
It was such a natural act of consideration.
A mature action completely opposite to someone who had just bullied a child half their size.
“I… I’m really trash, aren’t I…?”
Han Yuyeon’s eyes trembled as she realized this, her mouth hanging open.
However, no one here was on her side.
“Why are you giving that good-for-nothing the drink! Come here, let’s drink together with big sister!”
If anything, Han Dayeon was jealous that her damn sister had received the girl’s first drink, her fingers twitching.
“Haah… Both of you, that’s enough. Follow me.”
If he left them like this, it would take all day…
No, it might only be resolved when the girl became an adult and left home to get married.
“Now.”
In the end, the Guild Master had to use his telekinesis to drag the sisters out, leaving the girl alone.
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