Wow!

Wow!

Perhaps because Chae-a is a ‘Spirit of Life’.

She tended to be friendly with all living things.

‘For example, animals, plants, and even insects.’

She would form deep friendships regardless of species.

Among them, she was particularly close to insects (ants, earthworms, ladybugs).

‘Chae-a said they were extremely cute.’

I’m not sure, but if Chae-a says so, I guess that’s how it is, I thought while nodding.

Then I returned to the main point.

‘Anyway, for Chae-a, insects are very close friends.’

So when I told her that these insects were ground up and put into strawberry milk, it was bound to be very shocking.

I was wondering what to say to Chae-a, who was blinking with wide eyes next to me.

Contrary to my expectations, Chae-a accepted it rather calmly and nodded.

“I see.”

At first, her reaction seemed uninterested, so I thought she might not have heard properly or misheard.

But that doesn’t seem to be the case.

I see Chae-a putting her hands together and saying, ‘Give me strawberry milk, please!’

‘Is she really okay with this?’

As I watch Chae-a giggling, I find her reaction somewhat strange.

I stroked Chae-a’s head and asked if she was okay.

“Yeah, I’m fine. It can’t be helped…!”

She nodded as if she didn’t mind and giggled.

Seeing this, I was about to ask why she was okay.

But I kept my mouth shut, thinking that if I dug too deep, Chae-a might get hurt.

‘It’s natural, I guess.’

Even if it’s not strawberry milk, we’re already consuming life from various things like fried eggs, pork, fish, and so on.

It would be strange to be shocked by this now.

I thought Chae-a was amazing for having such a mature mindset, so I stroked her head again, and Chae-a smiled brightly.

Anyway, I was about to let it go, thinking that if Chae-a says she’s okay, then she’s okay.

But the Spirit User Uncle, seeing us so nonchalant, seemed rather flustered and repeated what he had said earlier.

“Um… I’m telling you, kids, there were creepy bugs in it? Scary, creepy bugs?”

I was about to nod to indicate that it was okay.

But unlike before, Chae-a seemed to have something she didn’t like about those words.

With a pouty expression, she glared at the Spirit User Uncle and chirped loudly.

“Bugs are friends, so they’re not creepy…!”

Ah, so she was angry because he said they were creepy.

At those words, the Spirit User Uncle blinked his eyes in confusion, as if this wasn’t what he had expected.

Then, probably thinking it was best to stop joking, he awkwardly smiled and tried to soothe Chae-a.

“Th-that’s right, bugs are cute. They’re not creepy at all, just like Chae-a said.”

“Yes! And you shouldn’t say such bad words! If you say things like that, Chae-a gets really angry! Even more than a hungry worm sister!”

“Wormy wormy!”

Chae-a seems extremely angry, continuously whining at the Spirit User Uncle.

I think this is the first time I’ve seen Chae-a get so angry, and I don’t know what to do.

Belatedly, I notice that there’s a strange sound coming from beside me.

‘Wormy wormy…?’

Wondering why such a sound is being made, I look to the side.

I see a worm wriggling its body in Chae-a’s hat pocket.

As I’m staring at this sight with a blank expression, Chae-a glares at the Spirit User Uncle while panting, then crouches down and strongly declares.

“Hate…!”

Due to pronouncing it too strongly, “hate” became “hae”.

I’m flustered seeing Chae-a curled up in a ball on the ground, so I pat her back to comfort her.

But Chae-a seems to have no intention of calming down, staying in that position and covering her face.

‘What should I do?’

As I’m starting to worry that she won’t easily get over this level of sulking.

The Spirit User who greeted us earlier hands us strawberry milk and says.

“Kids, drink this while you talk. And Team Leader, if you tease kids like that, you’ll go bald,”

“Huh?”

“Oh my.”

The Spirit User who was exchanging jokes to cheer up Chae-a.

Ha-eun approached Chae-a, who was lying face down on the floor, and patted her back while speaking.

“Chae-a, Uncle will scold the bad Spirit User Uncle. Let’s stop crying and drink this, okay? It’s really delicious.”

Although Chae-a kept her face buried, seemingly wanting to show that she was still upset.

However, unable to resist the power of strawberry milk, the tail of her squirrel pajamas kept wagging.

Seeing Chae-a like this, I chuckled and picked her up while saying.

“Here, drink it!”

The saying goes that when someone is hesitating, a little push can help them move forward easily.

So I gave Chae-a, who was hesitating, a signal that it was okay to drink the strawberry milk.

Chae-a squirmed and stretched for a moment, then nodded and said.

“Okay…”

It seems she listens to me no matter how sad she is.

I fixed Chae-a’s hair, which had become lion-like, and handed her the strawberry milk.

Chae-a took it with both hands and said to me.

“Thank you…”

Still not fully recovered, Chae-a was wrinkled up and looked very gloomy.

Seeing Chae-a like this broke my heart, so I kept comforting her, trying hard to bring her back to her usual self.

“……!”

I’m not sure if it was my efforts that worked or if the strawberry milk was amazing.

But as soon as Chae-a took a sip of the strawberry milk, she opened her eyes wide and looked at me.

Then, with a very happy expression, she exclaimed to me.

“Wow! This is delicious…! It’s the most delicious thing in the world!”

Strawberry milk seems to have cheered her up.

I was sighing in relief as I watched Chae-a smiling very brightly.

The Spirit User Uncle spoke to Chae-a with an awkward smile.

“I’m sorry about that. My son likes it when I play tricks like that, so I thought Chae-a and Ha-eun would like it too.”

It seems he was trying to get closer to us by playing a somewhat mischievous prank.

I nodded in understanding, knowing how difficult it can be for adults to approach children.

But Chae-a, still seemingly upset, hugged the Spirit User Uncle’s calf and said something.

“It’s bad to say such things to bugs…! If they hear that, the bugs will cry a lot and Chae-a gets sad… So you shouldn’t do it!”

Being the smart Chae-a she is, she explains very logically.

While I was feeling proud thinking how amazing Chae-a is, the Spirit User Uncle next to me spoke.

“Ha-eun? Do you have a moment?”

Wondering why, I turned around.

The Spirit User Uncle was holding a cat in his arms as he spoke to me.

“I have a few questions about Chae-a. I’d appreciate it if you could answer them if possible.”

I nodded at his words and looked at the Spirit User Uncle.

Deciding to avoid answering anything too personal or problematic, I looked ahead.

An unexpected question came.

“Has Chae-a ever tried to return to the spirit realm?”

Spirit realm…? At those words, I blinked and then shook my head.

The uncle made a very serious expression and said, “Is that so?”

As I was hesitating and looking around nervously, wondering if there was a problem, the Spirit User Uncle quickly waved his hand and said.

“No, no, it’s fine. There’s no problem at all.”

Rather, reacting like that makes me feel like there is a problem.

I was thinking about asking Chae-a later why she doesn’t return to the spirit realm.

But then I shook my head, thinking it might be hurtful.

‘I think it’s better to pretend not to know until Chae-a tells me first.’

As I was fidgeting with my fingers, thinking that I didn’t want to do anything that Chae-a might dislike.

The Spirit User Uncle, looking at me, started asking a few more questions.

“Then, do you remember how you first made a contract with Chae-a?”

“Yes…! Chae-a came and made a contract with me.”

“She came to you directly…? Is that so? Then is it true that Chae-a used to be so hungry that she starved before?”

“Yes…”

Noticing that my expression was getting worse with each question, the Spirit User Uncle stopped asking and said to me.

“Come to think of it, Ha-eun, aren’t you drinking strawberry milk? Oh, if you’re not drinking it because of what was said about bugs being in it, you don’t need to worry.”

I tilted my head, wondering what he meant.

The Spirit User Uncle continued with a chuckle.

“They only used bugs in it a really long time ago. I heard they don’t put bugs in it these days. So what that bald uncle said isn’t exactly a lie, but it’s not really true either.”

I see.

Actually, I had just forgotten about not drinking strawberry milk for a while, so I grabbed the cup with both hands and took a sip.

The taste of sweet and tangy strawberry milk with its unique strawberry flavor.

My hand still trembled slightly when lifting the cup due to weak finger strength, but as if reaping the rewards of nightly hard training, I managed to hold on until I finished drinking…!

I proudly showed the Spirit User Uncle that I had drunk it all in one go.

However, the Spirit User Uncle only said, “Looks like it was tasty?” without acknowledging my training progress at all.

‘……’

Seeing such a reaction, I became a bit sulky, and my tail swished around on its own, tapping the floor.

But knowing that effort isn’t always recognized by others, I composed myself and nodded.

‘Anyway, I should do what needs to be done.’

It would be too unconscionable to just answer a few questions and take the furniture.

I decided to clean up the trash scattered around and tidy up the messy items, slightly rolling up my sleeves.

‘Let’s do this…!’

Thinking that Grandma Lecia wouldn’t be disappointed when she came to Lair, I was busily picking up trash while sweating profusely.

Somteol follows me closely from behind and starts to say something eagerly.

“Pii…! Pi!”

Listening closely, it seems he wants to play here too.

I looked back and forth between the spirits huddled together watching me and Somteol, then nodded and smiled brightly.

“Okay! Go ahead and play.”

At those words, Somteol seemed pleased and bounced up and down.

Then he infused my pajamas with an enhancement effect.

Wondering what he had done, I felt that my movement speed had increased.

“Wow.”

I was so amazed by this that I wagged my tail vigorously while marveling.

I decided to move forward to test how quickly I could clean.

Pop pop pop pop.

The popping sound began to echo all around, catching everyone’s attention.

“…?”

Why is this sound coming out?

My mind went blank at this completely unexpected situation, and I froze in place.