chapter_0538

538 – Hiding the Ball

538 – Hiding the Ball

“Wo~ Woo~”

Levinas, who had been jeering at the air, glanced back at me.

Perhaps because he was engaging in such a mischievous act, his expression didn’t look good.

It was as if he was asking if it was okay to continue doing this.

“Um…”

I never thought Levinas would take jeering as an act of jeering.

As I remained silent, feeling flustered, Levinas began jeering at the air again.

“Wo…”

Someone passed in front of Levinas, who was flailing his arms while jeering.

Startled, Levinas stopped jeering, then resumed after the person had passed.

“Juin, milk?”

Noticing something odd about Levinas jeering, Gaeul tilted her head while pointing at him.

It seemed she didn’t understand the concept of jeering at all.

“That’s jeering…”

“Hek…?”

Gaeul, sticking out her tongue, approached Levinas.

Then she began jeering at the air in the same way.

“Wo… Woyuk…! Woyuk…!”

“…Milk?”

“Ah…! I’ll bring it to you…!”

Haneul brought a cup of milk from the guild building.

Gulp gulp—

Gaeul downed the milk in one go and started to giggle.

“Woyuk! Woyuk!”

“Gaeul, milk and jeering are different.”

“Huh?”

“Jeering is when you tease or criticize someone.”

“Huh?!”

With white milk smeared around her mouth, Gaeul looked back at Levinas.

It was hard to believe that kind Levinas would criticize people.

“Wow, Wanga, I don’t think Levinas can jeer… I’m sorry we can’t do it together…”

Seeing Gaeul’s surprised expression, Levinas’s ears drooped.

I decided to reveal the truth to lighten Levinas’s mood.

“Levinas, jeering isn’t what a jeering event is about. Jeering and a jeering event are different.”

“…Different?”

“Yeah. It’s like a boat and a boat floating on the sea; they are the same word but have different meanings.”

Tap tap—

I tapped the table as if to prove my point.

At that, Levinas’s drooping ears perked up again.

“Wow…! Is that how it is…?!”

“Yeah. A jeering event is more like a gathering to strengthen friendships.”

“Event! Levinas likes events! Levinas wants to have a jeering event again!”

With renewed energy, Levinas jumped up from his seat.

Thanks to that, Gaeul started giggling again.

“Then I’ll take care of organizing the jeering event.”

Bomi entered serious mode and took out her laptop from her bag.

Tap tap—

She seemed to be typing something, then looked up at me again.

“Gyeoul, what exactly do we do at the jeering event?”

“Um… maybe share delicious food and play games…?”

“Computer games?”

“No, not computer games, but something like a sports day. Let’s give a prize to the winner.”

“Good idea. What should the prize be?”

That’s a good question.

If we have a sports day, we need prizes, but what should they be?

For a moment, Saebyeok pondered and then provided a solution.

“How about everyone participating in the jeering event brings a prize? That way, it won’t be a burden.”

“Oh, that works. Everyone brings something that could be a prize.”

It would also be fun to see what everyone brings.

Thanks to Saebyeok, we could resolve the issue of prizes.

“Then shall we decide what kind of races we’ll have? I’ll go ask if there are any participants for the jeering event.”

“Okay! Ara-tah!”

The kids gathered together to decide what races to have.

Ant racing, scavenger hunts, and more.

As various types of races emerged, I moved to the Master’s room.

**

As always, the guard knocked and opened the door to the Master’s room.

The Master seemed to be enjoying a leisurely moment, looking out the window.

“Sir, sir.”

I approached the Master and gave him a light hug.

I intended just to hug him, but the Master lifted me up.

So we just looked out the window together.

“What’s going on?”

“Well, we’re having a jeering event this time. Would you like to join us, Master?”

“Sure.”

“Huh?”

The Master expressed his willingness to participate without a moment’s hesitation.

It was a joyful thing that the Master would join the jeering event.

“But there’s a condition for participating.”

“Condition?”

“Yes. We’ll also have a sports day during the jeering event, so you need to bring a prize for the sports day.”

“How about tea? Would that be okay?”

“Yes, that would work.”

I wondered if the Master would bring an expensive, high-quality tea, not just anyone else.

I had never even tasted high-quality tea myself.

I started to get curious about the flavor.

“But it can’t be too expensive.”

“Then something moderately priced.”

“Okay.”

If we keep stacking up prizes one by one, it should turn into a decent competition.

As I was feeling satisfied alone, the Master set me down again.

“So, where will the jeering event be held?”

“Um… I was thinking of just having it at our park.”

“Who’s participating in the jeering event?”

“Only you so far, Master. You’re the first to be asked.”

“First.”

Swish—

The Master patted my head.

Even though he always had a blank expression, he looked quite pleased.

“I’m going to go ask other people now.”

“Okay, let me know when the schedule is set.”

“Yes.”

I left the Master’s room and set out to find others.

I visited various people in the Dawn Guild, from adventurers to guild office staff.

Everyone expressed their willingness to participate.

‘I need to invite everyone I know.’

I called everyone saved on my smartphone.

From guild masters to the head of the Magician Association, and even those I met while working as an adventurer.

Surprisingly, they all expressed their willingness to join.

“Wow.”

I thought only a few would come, but everyone was willing to participate.

With the scale getting larger, I decided to prepare for the jeering event even more diligently.

**

After asking people about their willingness to participate, I returned to the Ggaemmi Guild.

The kids seemed to have decided on all the races for the jeering event, as they were playing in front of the guild.

“Ikku.”

“Are you throwing again?”

“Hek…!”

Gaeul brought a baseball to Bomi.

As Bomi threw the baseball, Gaeul ran to retrieve it.

Gaeul’s tail was wagging wildly as she brought the ball back.

Playing catch is indeed fun.

It stimulates the instincts of the Beastmen.

I watched Gaeul and Bomi playing catch from a distance.

“Ikku!”

They kept throwing and retrieving the ball.

As Bomi threw the ball, a mischievous smile appeared on her face.

“Are you going to throw?”

“Hek…!”

“Yap!”

Bomi pretended to throw the ball while hiding it behind her back.

Gaeul, unaware of this, dashed toward the direction where she thought the ball had flown.

Hehehe.

Leaving Bomi’s laughter behind, Gaeul searched for the ball.

She checked the grass and looked between the bushes, but she couldn’t find it.

“Huh…?”

With the ball missing, Gaeul’s tail lost its movement.

She lay flat on the ground and lifted her heels to look up into the trees, but still couldn’t find the ball.

“………”

Gaeul’s expression began to darken.

The disappointment of not finding the ball and the sadness of possibly losing it started to engulf her.

“Gaeul.”

“………”

“Gaeul, actually, I had the ball.”

Bomi, perhaps not intending to torment Gaeul, revealed the baseball she had hidden behind her back.

At that, Gaeul’s eyes widened, and she started clapping.

“Milk?!”

“You just have to pretend to throw it while hiding it behind you. Surprised, right?”

Bomi demonstrated how she did it to Gaeul.

Thinking it was quite a sophisticated technique, Gaeul was impressed.

“Ikku, you can’t do it?”

“Yeah. If you do it like this, they won’t find it. Do you want to try it too?”

“Yes!”

The two of them were having a great time playing together.

But where did the other kids go?

I approached Gaeul, who was practicing throwing and hiding the ball.

“Hey, kids.”

“Juin!”

Gaeul, holding the baseball, ran up to me.

Her eyes were filled with anticipation.

“Juin, Gaeul wants to play.”

“Play? Is this the throwing game?”

“Hek…!”

Gaeul pretended to throw the ball.

Was she trying to use the throwing and hiding technique she learned from Bomi?

I had been watching from behind, but I decided to pretend not to know for Gaeul’s sake.

“Are you going to throw it, Gaeul?”

“Yes.”

Gaeul pulled her arm back, holding the ball, and threw it with all her might.

The thrown ball flew reasonably well and landed on the grass.

“Huh?”

I thought she would hide it, but she just threw it.

Could it be that she was just throwing it for the first few times?

Was she trying to catch me off guard?

To think Gaeul could think that far.

I felt a deep sense of emotion welling up from within.

Wudududu—

Gaeul ran toward the ball faster than I could.

Then she plopped down on the ball as if nothing had happened.

It seemed like her way of hiding the ball.

“Ggaemmi.”

Gaeul blew a puff of air at an ant crawling on the ground.

Was she imitating Levinas, who couldn’t whistle?

Our Gaeul has even started to feign innocence.

It was a tremendous development, but she still wasn’t perfect.

“I saw Gaeul sitting on the ball.”

“Huh?!”

Did she think I wouldn’t notice?

Gaeul opened her eyes wide and pulled the ball out from under her legs.

Just then, Bomi, who had been watching our game, came over and picked up the ball.

“Gaeul, you just have to pretend to throw it.”

“Uwe?”

“Like this.”

Bomi held the ball tightly and swung her arm.

Then the ball was hidden behind her back.

“Hek…”

Watching this, Gaeul received the ball and swung her arm toward the air.

Whoosh—

The ball Gaeul threw flew far away.

Seeing the ball fly, Gaeul shook her head firmly.

“Not at all.”

Is it difficult to pretend to throw the ball?

After all, she has the ball but isn’t throwing it.

It must be tough for Gaeul, who loves throwing.

Author’s Note (Author’s Afterword)

Thank you so much for reading today, PIA1747014585384!

Thank you for the comments and recommendations as well! They always give me strength!

Pretending is indeed a difficult task…!

───

Thank you for the 50 coins, Changlovingperson!