episode_0215

I watched as he asked a question in a voice that sounded as if he was asking me if I had eaten.

Ari’s eyes look distant for a moment and then return to their original state.

And, as we shared a childhood together, I knew very well how Ari was usually like that.

That’s when you’re asked a question that’s difficult to answer.

Usually in such situations, Ari would show the same thing he showed just before.

“Well… I’ve finally awakened my talent, so I’ll give it a try.”

Therefore, when those words came out of Ari’s mouth, I did not easily believe them.

If he were to challenge himself as a hunter with those thoughts, then there was no reason to show the same attitude he showed just now, and for someone who said that, his skill in handling talent was unusual.

The problem that people like Arina Rahee, who realized what people commonly call manipulative talent, had the most trouble with was the problem of control.

However, in the case of Ari, even though he only recently discovered his talent, he was able to create not only a tail but also cat ears using the shadow he was dealing with…

‘That’s how much effort you put in.’

Of course, it seemed like there was a lot of information about the way the license test was conducted and the written part, but when I think about it, Ari had always been weak in that area.

Anyway, you worked so hard to train your talent, but then you actually say something like that?

That means they want to hide the real reason.

Is it because I suddenly realized that fact?

The first thought that came to my mind was none other than, ‘Is daycare really difficult these days?’

This is just my guess and assumption, but if it’s an issue related to the orphanage, Ari will suddenly say ‘Oppa…!’ Because I was reborn as ‘Oppa…❤️’, I was able to fully explain why I was trying to hide the details.

“Why? Is there any problem at the daycare center?”

So I asked him straight up, and he said, “Is that why it was right?”

Ari, who was lying down with my arm as a pillow and purring like a well-fed cat, shook his shoulder and dropped it.

“Why is this a problem?”

“It’s really not a big deal…”

“I will listen carefully and take it into consideration, so just say something first.”

For a moment, he was struggling with just wriggling his little fingers. Did he think that it was not right to just keep pulling away from me even though I was asking him this seriously?

“Well, I heard that donations have decreased a lot these days… In addition, the project to support graduates’ living expenses that has been going on for several years will end this year…”

Has the amount of donations decreased compared to previous years?

It was quite possible.

Because each person’s wallet situation is always different.

Of course, there are some grateful people who maintain their donations as usual even during difficult times… but isn’t sponsorship essentially something that is done when one has some material means?

So, depending on your wallet or economic situation, the amount of donations you receive may decrease. It is possible, but…

“Support for living expenses for kids going to college and kids who got jobs has stopped?”

“Ugh…”

“What is the reason?”

“I don’t know. We also asked… but they said they couldn’t tell us the details because it was an internal matter.”

“···Really?”

This isn’t right.

In the first place, the living expenses support project just mentioned by Ari was not actually carried out by a government department.

On paper, it is likely to be so, but in reality, it is one of the results of a transaction between me and the Hunter Association.

When I had just graduated from middle school, the orphanage was facing a major crisis.

Every day is a crisis at the orphanage, but that crisis was truly special.

Because the daycare center almost closed.

The story has often come up in the past, but this time, the city must have made up its mind and tried to plow the land where the orphanage is located in order to recycle it.

It was in the midst of this that the association began to secretly approach me, targeting the day when I recorded the highest level of potential in a nationwide physical examination conducted at the end of my third year of middle school.

Because the timing was so odd, I had a lot of doubts at first.

I wondered if he was secretly working behind my back to drag me to that damn gifted education center or something.

However, after finding out through the director, who had considerable connections in the area thanks to being a native of the neighborhood, that was not the case, and the association made an attractive offer, so I left the orphanage and moved to a gifted education center.

And the transfer conditions that were discussed at that time were that the association would take action to prevent the daycare center from closing and that living expenses would be supported for those who got a job or went to college.

In fact, in the latter case, I did not propose it first, but the association suggested it with the intention of winning my favor.

Therefore, it is up to the association to decide whether to cut off support or not…

‘Do you feel like… shit?’

It was obvious why the association decided to withdraw support at the end of this year.

It must have been a waste of money again.

There is nothing that makes a group sicker than lax management, so catching money that is leaking here and there is a natural thing that should be done in a group that grows beyond a certain size… Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but feel something rumbling inside the ship.

No, no matter how much you try…

Was it such a waste that they only provided support of 200,000 won per month instead of supporting all living expenses?

The more I thought about it, the more I felt like my insides were boiling, but I decided to think about that problem later and tackle what was right in front of me first.

“So you want to become a hunter? Do you want to earn something and add to it?”

“Ugh…”

“Haha… How is a guy who can’t even kill a bug because he’s afraid of it supposed to do the job of a hunter?”

“It’s not that bad anymore…?!”

It is completely understandable that Ari wants to contribute to the orphanage in this way.

I also had that feeling at one time, so I can understand… but I couldn’t help but feel a bitter taste lingering in my mouth, as if I had swallowed bitter medicine by mistake.

“Director, sir, don’t you object?”

“Do what I want.”

Really… this is why I’m such a serious idiot…

If the daughter was a moderate idiot, she would have shouted against it because she feared she might get hurt, but the director, like a severe idiot, seemed to have given in to Ari’s will in the end.

“If you do it wrong, you could get seriously hurt.”

“···I know that much, right?”

On my own, I had made a big decision, but the person I liked couldn’t support me and was busy saying negative things, so I was more than just disappointed.

As if it was the duck’s turn after the cat, I pouted my lips and showed my disappointment for a moment, but then Ari opened his mouth slightly and started biting the area around my chest, as if he was going to do this to me if I keep doing it.

“I may still look like a baby in your eyes, but I made this decision after thinking it all through.”

“Yes, I guess so.”

That much I know.

I know that, but I can’t stop worrying because Ari is such a precious person to me.

And now it has become more precious.

“···I can’t do it.”

“Oppa?”

“Ari, why don’t you learn something from me.”

“What are you learning?”

“Exercise and things like that.”

“It doesn’t matter to me, but… weren’t you going up again today?”

That’s true, but…

“Ari, you can come up.”

“My, I…?”

“Ugh.”

“But it’s a place to stay…”

“You can stay in your room.”

When I told him that if things didn’t work out that I could get him a hotel room, Ari shook his head violently with a blank look on his face, saying that was such a waste.

“I’ll just stay in my brother’s room.”

“Ari, you seem to like me for some reason?”

“No, what is that…”

I left Ari, who was muttering something, as if she was a little embarrassed to tell the truth, and this time I turned to look at Rahee.

“Rahee, you too can learn together.”

“···What?”

Aside from the excitement I felt from Ari and I’s temporary cohabitation, which had suddenly come to fruition, the fatigue from the relationship had not yet gone away, so I was enjoying the afterglow by using me as a substitute for a stove. However, in the midst of all that, I was embarrassed to hear an unexpected noise. Was it even absurd?

Rahee frowned slightly and asked back with her expression.

Looking at the expression on his face as if he was saying, “What kind of nonsense is that?”, it seems that he, who is currently on active duty, is thinking that there is something he can learn from me, who is just a junior in military training.

“Don’t do that, just learn it first. It’s hard to learn, right? Once you learn it, it will definitely help you with your hunter job, right?”

“Well… how helpful is it…”

“For reference, it has a significant effect on body care and skin ㅡ”

“···Still! Because there is something called sincerity offered. Let’s learn it first.”

That day, I received two disciples.

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“But where is it?”

“Huh?”

“Where will you teach?”

“What is that…”

Wouldn’t it be okay to do it in my own room?

That’s what I was trying to answer.

Rahee’s voice continued one step ahead of him.

“Why don’t you both stay at my house for a while?”