Beep?

Beep?

At the mention of going bald, Chae-a covered her head with both hands and trembled.

Then she crumpled up and clung to my back.

While I was trying my best to comfort Chae-a, who was hiding behind me, to keep her from crying, Han A-rin spoke quickly with a bewildered expression.

“Just kidding, just kidding. You won’t go bald from hitting your head.”

At those words, Chae-a slowly poked her face out and looked up at Han A-rin while sniffling.

Then she soon grinned and looked at me and Han A-rin.

With her tear-stained face, she giggled and started whispering.

“Then it’s okay. Chae-a’s head is hard, so it doesn’t hurt at all!”

“Really? Our Chae-a is amazing, isn’t she?”

“Yeah. So I can do it one more time!”

“…?”

She was so happy to be praised that she declared she would do the impossible thing again.

As I looked at Chae-a like that, I thought she might really hit her head on the phone again if I left her alone.

So I shook my head quickly and spoke honestly.

“If Chae-a hurts, it hurts my heart… So you shouldn’t do it again, okay?”

The moment I said I was sad, Chae-a straightened up, then quickly nodded and hugged me.

It seemed she felt sorry, so I patted her head and told her it was okay.

After comforting Chae-a for a while, I decided to get back to my main task and looked at my phone.

“So… Can you help me decorate the lair?”

[Seo-rinSeo-rin – Oh no ㅠㅠㅠ What about Chae-a’s forehead. I’ll help as much as I can if there’s anything I can do!]

[SquirrelIsCute – Of course ㅎㅎ]

[RealManSpecial – Real men are especially interested in interior design and decorating.]

Everyone is so kind that they readily offer to help.

I was so grateful that I bowed repeatedly to thank them.

She told me the second reason for turning on the broadcast.

“And if you have any furniture you’re throwing away… or furniture you don’t need, you can just use me however you want. I’d be grateful if you give me work and share with me!”

(And if you have any furniture you’re throwing away… or furniture you don’t need, you can just use me however you want, so I’d be grateful if you give me work and then share with me!)

Feeling very sorry for having to make such a request, I crouched down and lay as if bowing.

Everyone instead says it’s fine and that they have a lot of work (?) for me to do.

I know all of those are goodwill, so I feel a bit sorry and tightly hug my tail, when Han A-rin chimes in from the side.

“Then Ha-eun, do you want to help unnie first? Ha-eun has something she needs help with.”

“Yes!”

I’m glad the first request came faster than I expected.

Wondering what kind of request it will be, I look up at Han A-rin with an excited expression.

Han A-rin laughs and tells me confidently.

“Give unnie a kiss on the cheek.”

“……”

Even so, that’s a bit too embarrassing…!

I struggle to calm my twitching and crumpling tail while conflicted.

As I’m shaking my head to indicate no, Chae-a next to me steps forward to defend me again and says.

“Then Chae-a will do it!”

It’s so admirable how she always steps up to help me.

I was about to pat Chae-a’s head and praise her.

When Chae-a suddenly jumps forward and bites Han A-rin’s cheek with a “nom nom nom”.

“Huh?”

Rather than a kiss, it might be more accurate to say she grabbed and stretched us.

I’m giggling because I find it somewhat funny, when a chat message appears that seems to genuinely need my help.

 

[AnimalLover – Ha-eun, could you possibly help with that animal healing thing?]

Curious about the mention of animal healing, I stare at it blankly.

 

AnimalLover viewer shared an interesting story.

[AnimalLover – I recently found an animal in a dungeon that looks like cotton fluff. It won’t eat at all and doesn’t seem to want its wounds treated, so I thought maybe Ha-eun, who’s good with animals, might be different.]

 

Actually, Chae-a was better with animals than me, but there was no need to mention this fact right now, so I nodded.

The AnimalLover viewer showed great relief and told me where to come.

 

I nodded, memorizing this and indicating that I would go there right away.

 

Just in case, I was on my way to the place AnimalLover had told me about, carrying the flower I had placed in my lair.

There was no particular reason for this.

 

I just thought that if my healing effect didn’t work, it would be good if the animal could at least get some regenerative effect from having this nearby.

As I was carefully moving along, grunting while carrying a flowerpot as big as my body,

 

Han A-rin, who was following behind, speaks to me in a worried voice.

“Are you sure it’s okay if I don’t carry it for you?”

 

To be honest, I can’t even say it’s not hard as a white lie.

But since this is my job, and I don’t want to burden Han A-rin, I politely refused by shaking my head.

 

“It’s okay. This is my job, so it’s right that I do it.”

(“It’s okay. This is my job, so it’s right that I do it.”)

 

“R-really? But I still wish you’d let me carry it for you.”

 

I groaned and shook my head.

Han A-rin followed me with a guilty expression, as if she had become a criminal.

Anyway, back to the main point, the place I’m heading to is the research lab.

According to Han A-rin, it’s a place where they research items or living beings that come from dungeons, gates, and towers.

Besides this, they also do product development, performance testing, and improvements.

‘So the research institute has strict security, and normally it would be impossible to enter.’

But the viewer who requested help must have a high position in the research institute.

Permission was granted more easily than expected, and we were able to enter the research institute.

As we went inside, the first things we saw were.

Modern research facilities, unidentified plants growing here and there, and countless researchers.

‘Plants…?’

As I was wondering if it was okay for such things to grow here.

I noticed a man in a white coat approaching me with a smile.

“Ah, Ha-eun, you’re here?”

It seemed this person was the animal-loving viewer.

I bowed my waist to greet him, and he smiled brightly as he spoke to me.

“Call me Uncle Jaehyun.”

“Yes!”

“Well then, let’s cut to the chase. Do you see that white ball of fur over there? I’d like you to treat that little one.”

Hearing this, I looked at the white ball of fur in the distance.

Ha-eun was wagging her tail wildly, intrigued by the cute appearance that looked like a ball of yarn.

Han A-rin patted Ha-eun’s head and spoke.

“Before we start, I have something to check. It’s not dangerous, is it?”

“Of course not. If it were dangerous, I wouldn’t have asked Ha-eun in the first place.”

“That’s a relief then… But what is that creature? I feel like I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

If someone else had said this, it might have seemed somewhat arrogant.

But since the speaker was Han A-rin, a top-ranked hunter, it was more of a reasonable question than arrogance.

He looked at Han A-rin and smiled awkwardly.

“We’re still in the process of confirming. The detailed research results aren’t out yet, so it’s hard to say exactly what it is.”

“It’s hard to say? Yet you’ve entrusted Ha-eun with this task?”

At her chilling voice, he quickly waved his hands and explained.

“We’ve already done dozens of safety checks, so it’s fine. Plus, we have safety personnel on standby for any unforeseen circumstances, and we plan to equip it with protective gear…”

From all the explanations, it seemed like they had made plenty of preparations.

Hearing this, Han A-rin’s face softened as her worries eased a bit, and she said to him.

“Well then, I’ll proceed by observing from the side.”

“I’d be grateful if you did.”

They seemed to have reached an agreement as they nodded to each other.

Ha-eun blinked at the two of them, then looked at the fluffy creature crouching and trembling in the distance.

‘It looks like it’s sad about something.’

Ha-eun wasn’t sure if it was because of its behavior, or if she could actually sense the feelings of that ball of fur.

For some reason, I keep having the urge to approach and comfort it.

But since I can’t break safety rules and act on my own, I’m just sticking to the glass window, staring at the ball of fur.

“Beep!?”

Suddenly, the ball of fur shakes its fur vigorously.

It quickly runs towards me and starts licking the glass window frantically as if trying to lick me.

‘Huh?’

It’s reacting as if it’s meeting a long-lost family member.

As I watch the ball of fur’s reaction, I make one request to Uncle Jaehyun.

“Can I go inside?”

After pondering my question for a moment, he hands me some nearby safety equipment and says.

“If you wear this?”

It feels less like it was made for children and more like existing equipment that was reduced in size.

Because of that, it feels more like the equipment is placed on me rather than worn.

But there doesn’t seem to be any major problem, as everyone just says it looks cute.

“Then I think Han A-rin, three security personnel, and Ha-eun can enter like this.”

As I’m looking at the ball of fur still frantically licking the glass window and feeling somewhat excited.

Chae-a, who has become puffy like me after putting on the safety equipment, struggles to speak to me from behind.

“It’s cotton fur…!”

“Cotton fur?”

“Yeah!”

After hearing that, looking at the ball of fur, it certainly seems fitting to call it Somteol.

Wondering if Chae-a might know the true identity of Somteol, I asked her about it.

Chae-a replied to me with a very confident expression.

“It’s soft and cute!”

“Ah, I see.”

That means she doesn’t really know.

I gazed at Somteol, whose eyes were twinkling brightly, and then followed the researcher uncle’s guidance to move further inside.