Going Outside

Going Outside

 

 

The moment I saw the little black spirits, I became so happy that my tail started wagging furiously.

I’m not sure if it’s because I haven’t seen them in so long or because I confirmed that the little black spirits were doing well.

Anyway, as I was thinking how incredibly happy I was with my eyes shining, the little black spirits came down to greet us.

“Hewwo!”

I was so happy that my tongue got more twisted than usual.

By now, I wasn’t very embarrassed by this level of twisting.

But when I realized that everyone around was staring at me, I became a little shy and started to shrink, but the little black spirits clung to me, expressing their affection.

“Meung!”

“Meung-meu-meung!”

As I was vigorously petting the little black spirits and telling them how glad I was to see them.

Seo-rin, who had followed behind, cheered while watching me.

“Ha-eun! Don’t tell me you came all this way because of me? How, I think I’m going to cry from emotion. I really don’t know what to do.”

Then she hugged both me and Chae-a at the same time, rubbing her cheeks against us randomly.

During this process, Chae-a seemed to be in a good mood and laughed cheerfully, and I also felt somewhat joyful and was giggling.

Seo-rin hugs us tightly and stands up, speaking with a somewhat serious expression.

“This won’t do. Today, I’m going to kidnap Ha-eun and Chae-a and then… Ah!”

Just as Seo-rin was getting carried away.

Han A-rin, who was behind us, seemed to think this wouldn’t do. She carefully put us down using magic.

She poked Seo-rin’s cheek, who was making a fuss, and said.

“You’ll scare the little ones.”

Seo-rin was just trying to welcome us enthusiastically, not trying to scare us.

She quickly gathered her wits and apologized to us.

I smiled back at Seo-rin to show it was okay, and she sighed in relief before continuing.

“Did you do well while I was gone? It was really tough for me.”

If you only heard this sentence, it would sound like we were reunited after being apart for at least a few days.

In reality, we met again in less than a day, so there wasn’t really anything to be tough about.

“I missed you.”

I don’t know if it’s because my body has become younger, but I’ve become extremely vulnerable to separation.

I honestly expressed my true feelings, showing my embarrassment.

Seo-rin found my behavior utterly adorable and smiled foolishly.

Then, as she was hugging me like a comfort doll, Chae-a spoke to us with a very shocked expression.

“It’s bwoken…”

She must have been so shocked that her pronunciation was as slurred as mine.

Wondering why, I glanced to the side and saw a shattered sandwich.

“……”

Due to the appearance of the black cats and Seo-rin, I forgot I was holding a sandwich, which seems to have caused this disaster.

I was blankly blinking while looking at the completely squashed sandwich.

Seo-rin patted my head, picked up the sandwich, and said.

“No need to worry too much. Your sister actually prefers it squashed.”

Even so, I felt I couldn’t give this to Seo-rin, so I shook my head and said ‘I’ll give you a new one’, but.

Seo-rin didn’t seem to have any intention of listening to me.

She unwrapped the paper packaging and quickly took a bite of the sandwich.

“I don’t know who made this, but it’s really delicious. Could Ha-eun and Chae-a have made it?”

At that question, Chae-a giggled and nodded.

Then she rummaged in her pocket and pulled out some flower petals.

“Here’s this too!”

“Huh?”

“It’s delicious if you eat it on top!”

Chae-a somewhat proudly explained how to eat it, then looked at Seo-rin with sparkling eyes.

Seo-rin looked flustered by that gaze and glanced at the counselor and me.

I was wondering what to do about that look, so I grabbed Chae-a’s hand and persuaded her not to make Seo-rin eat the flower petals.

“How about giving them to the black cats instead of Seo-rin?”

At those words, Chae-a glanced at the black cats and said with a bright smile.

“Good!”

With that, Chae-a took out all the flower petals from her pocket and offered them to the black cats.

The black creatures made a sound like “meong?” in confusion at such behavior.

Soon they started making “meong meong” sounds as if laughing, then ran away somewhere.

“Ah.”

Chae-a stood there looking dejected as she watched the black creatures.

Then she started picking up the flower petals again and stuffing them into her pocket.

I stood there blankly, wondering what exactly Chae-a’s pocket was, while watching this scene.

Nearby, the counselor teacher held out a tray and said to the hunters who had been watching us.

“Please take one each. These are sandwiches made by Ha-eun and Chae-a.”

At those words, everyone’s eyes sparkled as they turned their gaze, and they all rushed to grab a sandwich.

Thinking it was good that we made them since everyone seemed quite hungry, I was giggling when.

The hunters, holding the sandwiches to their chests, suddenly took out their wallets.

“Here, payment for the sandwiches.”

They stuffed bills randomly into my pocket and ran away.

I tried to say it was okay and chased after the hunters with the money from my pocket, but.

No matter how fast I ran, I couldn’t catch up, so I eventually gave up halfway and plopped down on the ground.

‘This feels too apologetic.’

I looked at the many bills stuffed in my pocket, thinking I should return them, and fidgeted anxiously.

Then, feeling it wasn’t right, I was about to ask Han A-rin to return this money, but.

“Huh? It’s okay, it’s okay. Hunters have a habit of giving money for cute things.”

A somewhat difficult to understand response came back.

I blinked in confusion, and Han A-rin playfully smiled while telling me a somewhat cruel truth.

“Well, since being a hunter is considered a ‘3D job’, they tend to be at a disadvantage in the marriage market. That’s why there are so many unmarried bachelors and spinsters…”

In the middle of speaking.

Realizing that this kind of talk might not be appropriate for me, she trailed off and closed her mouth.

Then, with an awkward smile, she quickly got to the point.

“That’s why the uncles and aunts tend to like children. So, Ha-eun, don’t feel too burdened and accept the pocket money they give you.”

Since that was that and this was this, I was blinking when.

The counselor approached me, chuckled, and suggested a solution.

“If it’s hard to accept because you feel sorry, how about using that money to buy something delicious for the uncles and aunts later? They’d all be happy with that.”

Hearing those words, I thought it might be better that way, so I reluctantly nodded.

It was too late to return it now anyway.

As I was trudging back to where I was originally, feeling a bit gloomy for not achieving the goal I had set out to accomplish.

Seo-rin came to me with a suggestion.

“Ha-eun, would you like to go somewhere fun tomorrow?”

At the mention of going out, my curiosity was piqued, and my tail started wagging faster.

There was no particular reason, but since coming to this world, I had only been to two places: the laboratory and the association.

‘Oh, of course, I’ve been to restaurants and clothing stores near the association, but.’

Since those were literally nearby.

It was essentially no different from not leaving the association.

So, the idea of going out to play sounded very exciting.

I can’t even think about calming my tail, which is now wagging very quickly, as I urgently ask Seo-rin,

“Really? Where to?”

 

Hearing me, Han A-rin and the counselor nearby let out small sighs.

Then, with stern expressions, they start muttering something.

 

“It seems Ha-eun really wanted to go outside badly, even though she didn’t show it.”

“Yes. I thought she was fine because she looked cheerful… Ah, it’s my mistake.”

 

The two exchange self-reproaching words as they converse.

I wanted to tell them that there was no need for that, but

 

As Seo-rin picked me up and headed towards the association entrance, I couldn’t even open my mouth, let alone say it was a misunderstanding.

While I was wondering how to clear up this misunderstanding,

 

Seo-rin points outside with her finger and tells me,

“There’s an amusement park over there, and there’s a huge bathhouse there. Oh, and there’s a library over there.”

 

I become a bit interested at the mention of a huge bathhouse.

Wondering how big it must be for Seo-rin to use the adjective “huge,” I blink my eyes.

 

Seo-rin smiles slightly and tells me,

“We probably can’t visit all places tomorrow. But I think we can stop by one or two places. Let’s go to where Ha-eun wants to go tomorrow.”

 

At those words, I was about to nod, but

I hesitated and shook my head because of one problem that came to mind.

 

“Aren’t there still bad people? Won’t it be dangerous?”

(Aren’t there still bad people? Won’t it be dangerous?)

 

Seo-rin struck a pose emphasizing her muscles (though there was no change) and showed off her strength to me.

She smiled proudly and said to me.

“Don’t worry. No matter what happens, I’ll protect you.”

As someone who knows that Seo-rin is the protagonist of this world, it was a very believable statement.

But I was still a bit worried about being a burden.

The counselor and Han A-rin behind me waved their hands and hurriedly said.

“It’s okay, Ha-eun. The teacher heard that the bad people have all been caught by hunters, so it’s safe now.”

“I’ll go with you too, so you don’t need to worry too much.”

I was thinking it should be fine if they say that much.

Chae-a, who was holding Han A-rin’s hand below, proudly said to me.

“That’s right…! Ha-eun will be fine because Chae-a will protect you. Chae-a is amazing, so I can do it like this!”

“Meung!”

I was grateful for everyone saying they would protect me.

But I wondered for a moment if I should be the one protecting Chae-a instead.

I was embarrassed but grateful for everyone’s kindness, so I buried my face in my tail and said thank you.