Knock!

Knock!

 

We finished all our preparations to go ask Perseus about my tail.

While I’m feeling excited and wondering what kind of answer Perseus will give,

Seo-rin looks at me and smiles softly before saying something.

“I’ve already contacted A-rin unnie, so she’ll be here soon. I’d like to go with you, but I have a mission, so I don’t think I can go together today.”

Seo-rin, seemingly very disappointed that she can’t go with us, whines a bit and hugs us tightly.

Then she sighs deeply and says,

“But I guess I have to work hard to feed Ha-eun, Chae-a, and Yuna… Babies, don’t cry without your unnie, okay?”

“Okay! We won’t cry!”

“……”

Seo-rin looked a bit hurt by Chae-a’s honest words, but

She smiled brightly at Chae-a’s following words.

“Because Chae-a will follow Seo-rin unnie too! So we won’t cry!”

“Chae-a…”

Seo-rin picks up Chae-a and rubs her cheeks happily, then makes a gloomy face and shakes her head.

Then she stretches and says while leading the kids,

“Let’s go then.”

With those words, we left the house.

*

After parting with Seo-rin.

We headed to Perseus’s lair where he was staying, along with Han A-rin.

As I was marveling at how splendid it always looks, Perseus greeted us with a smile.

 

“Come quickly.”

Instead of “welcome,” it seemed he meant for us to hurry inside.

 

He flung open the door, giving us a look that suggested he wanted us to enter quickly.

I hesitated at Perseus’s behavior, then quickened my pace and went inside.

 

“Han A-rin, you don’t need to come, so you can go.”

“What are you saying.”

 

We – myself, Chae-a, and Yu-na – left the two bickering and went inside.

Then we looked around at the furniture inside while chatting.

 

“Chae-a likes Ha-eun’s lair better. It’s warm and small!”

“That’s right. I also like baby Ha-eun’s lair better.”

 

“……?”

That’s a compliment, right?

 

As I tilted my head, hearing something that seemed like a compliment but also not quite,

Perseus and Han A-rin walked in, each saying:

 

“Then I’ll guide you to the reception room, so follow me.”

“Kids, the furniture here is dirty, so don’t touch it. Icky, icky.”

 

A strange tension was unfolding.

I wasn’t sure if the two of them got along well or poorly.

 

From the front, a golem that looked like a butler approached and spoke to us.

 

“I will guide you, young ladies. Please come this way.”

Chae-a was the first to react to those words.

She seemed to find the golem quite impressive, as she clung to its leg with sparkling eyes and exclaimed.

“Woooow, it’s amazing.”

I’m not sure what exactly is amazing.

I guess she’s reacting like that because the large, impressive human-shaped golem is extraordinary.

‘It is certainly impressive.’

As I was thinking how fascinating it was, looking like a grandfather butler that might appear in dramas or comics.

Yuna, who was next to me, grabbed my hand tightly and said.

“We shouldn’t get lost, so I’ll hold your hand, sister. Okay?”

There was no way we’d get lost just following the butler.

But Yuna seemed worried about leaving me alone, so she held my hand firmly as we walked forward.

As I watched Yuna’s behavior with an awkward smile, the butler pointed to an antique-looking reception room and said.

“This is the place. I’ll help you with the seating, so please come this way.”

It’s antique-looking, but it’s somewhat peculiar that cute dolls are placed here and there.

As I was thinking that they might have decorated it specially for our arrival.

Chae-a, who was next to me, whispered in a small voice.

“Uncle must like dolls too…! Chae-a likes them too!”

It seems Chae-a thought Perseus likes dolls, so he placed lots of dolls around.

As I was giggling and nodding at Chae-a’s words.

Perseus sat down in the front seat and spoke to us.

“So, what is it that you want to ask?”

To that question, Yuna answered nonchalantly.

“Ha-eun’s tail has disappeared.”

“…?”

After hearing Yuna’s question, Perseus looked a bit dazed, then shook his head and said.

“I’d like you to explain in more detail.”

“Ha-eun’s tail moves like this and moves on its own. It seems alive.”

With this additional explanation, Perseus seemed to understand the intent of the question and chuckled as he spoke.

“So in other words, Ha-eun’s tail moves on its own, and you don’t know why, right?”

“That’s right.”

Perseus kept chuckling as if something was so funny, and when he couldn’t hold it anymore, he covered his face with his hands and asked again.

“Ahem, is there any problem with it?”

To that question, I shook my head and said.

“There’s no problem, but it keeps running away, or if not, it sways here and there on its own.”

Hearing my answer, Perseus burst into laughter and said to us.

“Ahem… J-just wait a moment. Heh, I need to tell the elders about this.”

Seeing him laugh, it doesn’t seem to be a serious problem.

But it’s a bit annoying that he’s just laughing without any explanation.

As I was pouting my lips while looking at Perseus, he fiddled with his phone and then said to me.

“To get to the conclusion first, there’s no problem. Rather, it would be correct to say that you’re going through a normal growth process.”

It seems that other hatchlings also go through this process, given that it’s described as a normal growth process.

As I was nodding my head, thinking that I might have heard about this before, or maybe not.

Han A-rin makes a puzzled expression and asks a new question.

“Then why does it move on its own?”

“It may seem like it’s moving on its own, but in reality, it’s not moving arbitrarily. It would be more accurate to say that it’s expressing Ha-eun’s true feelings.”

My true feelings…?

I glanced discreetly at the silly, stupid tail fluttering behind me.

As I was wondering about it, not feeling like it represented my true feelings at all.

Suddenly, the naughty tail lightly bonks my head and hides behind the sofa.

“…?”

Feeling very wronged by this situation, I looked around.

Han A-rin suddenly burst into laughter, and after laughing for a while, she wiped her tears with the back of her hand and said.

“Ah… Thanks to Ha-eun, I think my lifespan has increased.”

“……”

I don’t know if it’s because I feel so wronged, but my lips keep trying to pout.

While I’m using superhuman patience to calm myself down.

Chae-a patted my head with her palm and said.

“Pain, go away! Shall Chae-a blow on it?”

Then she blew on it and smiled brightly.

“All better!”

Thanks to Chae-a, my feeling of being wronged dissipated a bit, and my sulkiness disappeared.

Thinking about this, I put my lips back in, trying to act more mature, when.

Perseus stopped laughing and began to tell a story.

“Dragons generally have a lot of mana spread in their horns, dragon heart, and tail. That’s why hatchlings who are not yet familiar with mana control tend to have difficulty controlling these at will.”

Ah, so that’s why it moves on its own.

I nodded, thinking I understood roughly.

Perseus gently patted my head and continued speaking.

“As a result, the horns and tail that should normally be hidden even in human form are inevitably exposed when you’re a hatchling.”

Perseus showed that he didn’t have visible horns and tail, then continued.

“So there’s no need to worry too much. This is a natural process, and it can actually help you become more familiar with mana control, so you can just leave it be.”

So to summarize.

The tail reflects my true feelings.

And the reason it’s moving on its own is because my mana control is immature, so it’s just moving randomly.

‘So that’s why they said the tail moving on its own disappears when you grow up.’

Just as I was thinking I understood why this stupid, silly tail was moving on its own and was about to punish it with some nibbling,

the tail pokes my head and starts to run away.

“……”

After glaring at the tail swishing away quickly, I turn my head.

The tail, seemingly feeling sorry for constantly teasing me, slowly approaches and snuggles up to me.

Seeing this as my chance, I hug the tail and start my revenge by nibbling on it, when Perseus adds one more thing while watching me.

“From what I’ve observed, Ha-eun, your tail seems to have a particularly strong tendency to move on its own. It’s probably because you have a great innate magical talent.”

This might be good news.

Perhaps because of my high expectations for magic, I feel a bit happier hearing that my magical talent is great.

The tail biting me also seemed to be in a good mood and tried to wag, but I kept biting it gently to calm it down.

“Anyway, try to get along well. It’s part of your body after all, and it will be the first to help you when you’re in danger.”

It did seem to help me in various ways when I needed it, so I felt better and let go of the tail.

The tail poked my cheek.

“Meow!”

I was so surprised that a strange sound came out.

I felt embarrassed for making such a sound in front of others, so I tried to grab the tail to get revenge.

But the quick-witted tail bent to the right and escaped.

“……”

I couldn’t let it get away like this, so I turned my body to try and catch the tail.

But because the silly tail kept avoiding my grasp, I ended up just spinning in circles in the same spot.

It feels like I’m about to catch it but can’t, so I keep trying.

Just as I was about to spin faster to see who would win.

“Hehe.”

I noticed Han A-rin laughing and filming me from the side.

Seeing that, I couldn’t bear the embarrassment, so I lay face down on the floor and covered my blushing face.

The tail started patting my back to comfort me.