Chapter 76
From pork cutlets with cheese to chicken and fish cutlets.
Despite the name "King Pork Cutlet," the size of the pork cutlets was small, but there was a considerable variety of them.
It felt as though all the pork cutlets in the store had been gathered together.
"Ugh..."
Gyeoul looked down at the food that remained plentiful.
She hadn't eaten more than a few spoonfuls of the piled-up rice, and the depth of the soup in the bowl hadn't decreased by even a centimeter.
Yet, she already felt like she was going to burst, admitting her complete defeat.
"Ugh."
Eating this much food was torture.
Gyeoul sighed deeply and pulled out her wallet from her pocket.
She had no choice but to pay the fine.
"All the money I made from the dungeon today is gone..."
It was a waste.
Thinking about the rent and the money she owed Yeoreum, it was a loss.
"I'm not failing to make money, but it just doesn't accumulate."
Is there no way to make more money?
Gyeoul sighed and opened her wallet.
Inside the coin purse were disorganized bills and coins.
"One hundred thousand won..."
Ten thousand won notes, one thousand won notes, and coins.
She gathered all the money she had to somehow make one hundred thousand won.
Since she hadn't sold the goblin mana stones yet, she was only barely able to gather one hundred thousand won.
"Excuse me..."
Gyeoul raised her hand to pay.
But then, she accidentally pushed her coin purse off the table with her elbow.
Clang-!
Numerous coins spilled onto the floor.
Some of them rolled under the table of a couple who were eating.
"My, my money..."
Gyeoul crawled on the floor to pick up the coins.
People who knew how precious a single coin could be to a child helped her pick them up.
"Here's five hundred won."
"Here, a hundred won."
"Thank you..."
Gyeoul bowed her head in gratitude to those who helped her.
However, with her excellent dynamic vision, Gyeoul knew she hadn't picked up all the coins yet.
Gyeoul crawled on the floor, picking up each dropped coin.
At the end of her destination was the couple eating.
"The, the money..."
Gyeoul fidgeted with her fingers in front of the couple.
She had to go under their table to pick up the money.
"Ah, is it under us?"
"Yes, yes..."
"I'll pick it up for you, just wait a moment?"
"No, it's okay-!"
She couldn't impose on those who were eating because of her mistake.
Gyeoul quickly went under their table.
"Umm..."
"Hmm."
The sight of a poor child crawling under their legs was peculiar.
Even though they had done nothing wrong, they felt strangely guilty.
The man and woman looked at each other with embarrassment.
Even then, Gyeoul was looking around under the table.
Thump-
Gyeoul's tail brushed against the woman's leg back and forth.
Her ears perked up as she rustled against the man's legs.
Thanks to the shorts the couple matched in, they could feel Gyeoul's softness.
Only Gyeoul, focused entirely on finding coins, was unaware.
"Umm..."
"Hmm."
It shouldn't be this way, but it felt strangely pleasant.
Both the man and woman bit their lips simultaneously.
"Ah."
Had she found the coin?
Gyeoul's tail perked up.
The woman could interpret Gyeoul's feelings through the softness felt on her legs.
"Did you find it?"
"Yes. I found ten won."
"Uh, okay."
Crawling under the table, just for ten won,
The woman didn't voice this thought out loud.
After all, to the child, it was truly valuable money.
"Excuse me..."
Gyeoul, after coming out from under the table, gathered the money and approached the counter.
People inside the restaurant watched Gyeoul's back with tense faces, wondering if the owner would really charge the child one hundred thousand won.
"Did you finish eating?"
"No, I couldn't finish..."
"You couldn't finish, huh?"
Restaurant owner Jung Mikyung smiled as she looked back at Gyeoul's seat.
The pork cutlets were still piled up like a mountain.
"Here's the fine... I'm sorry I couldn't finish..."
Gyeoul's ears and tail drooped down.
At this, Jung Mikyung pretended to be shocked.
"Oh my, what was I thinking? That was for adults. I meant to give you the kids' version."
Ho ho ho.
Jung Mikyung laughed awkwardly.
In reality, there was no kids' version.
It was just a lie made up for Gyeoul.
"It's okay. I'm an adult."
A child who hadn't even gone through puberty yet claimed to be an adult.
Maybe they had matured early, considering themselves an adult.
Jung Mikyung quickly waved her hand towards Gyeoul, trying to find an excuse to give the food for free.
"Ah, it's not about age, but about size, size. You're small in height and weight."
"Is that so...?"
Considering height and weight, she did seem more like a kid.
Gyeoul slowly nodded.
"Yes. It's my mistake, so I won't take the money."
Nice, boss.
Only then did people inside the restaurant start to relax and begin their meals again.
"But I should pay..."
"Ah, I also have my pride, I can't take the money. Just go on, go."
Was it the stubbornness of a craftsman?
Gyeoul knew well about their unbreakable pride.
Even if she offered a bundle of money, it would never be accepted.
"Do you want to take the leftovers to go?"
"Can I really?"
"Yes. If you don't take it, it'll just be thrown away anyway."
"Then, packaging too..."
"Ah, okay?"
Restaurant owner Jung Mikyung.
She was a woman who had raised three children on her own.
She knew better than anyone how to handle stubborn children.
<+>
That afternoon, I was massaging Sophia's shoulders as she sat in the massage chair.
"Thanks to you, I could fully enjoy those pork cutlets."
"Yes. I'm glad you enjoyed them."
I had heard that older people have trouble eating fried foods, but Sophia ate well, her tail fluttering.
The digestive abilities of beast-kin might be different from ordinary humans.
"Ah, and I'll also start working from next week."
"Work? What kind of job?"
"Just odd jobs. The guild arranged it for me, and the hourly pay is quite good."
If the guild had arranged the job, it shouldn't be anything strange or dangerous.
For now, I decided to respect her choice.
"If work gets tough or anything..."
Before I could finish my sentence, someone opened the front door and entered the house.
The heavy footsteps clearly belonged to Choi Jinhyuk.
"I'm back."
At the arrival of Choi Jinhyuk, Levinas, who had been sprawled out in the living room, jumped up.
She had been panting from eating too much pork cutlet, but she moved as if she hadn't been the moment someone she was happy to see arrived.
"Are you back?! Are you?!"
Hop-hop-
Levinas jumped as high as Choi Jinhyuk's height.
Her jumping ability was incredible.
"Yeah. I came to show you how to play like an adult."
"Yes! Levinas has been waiting!"
Levinas's gaze turned to the bag hanging on Choi Jinhyuk's back.
He seemed to have brought a lot, holding at least four more bags in his hand.
"Is that a toy?!"
"Yeah."
Choi Jinhyuk placed the bags on the sofa and shook the main bag on his back.
What fell out were countless snacks.
"Wow!"
"Oh..."
Levinas and I opened our eyes wide like horned rabbits, and Sophia shook her head, perhaps surprised to see so many snacks.
Adults usually don't favor children snacking too much.
"Is there a lot of chocolate? Do giants like chocolate?!"
"No, I don't like sweets. I brought it for you guys to eat."
"Wow! It's my chocolate!"
Levinas, sitting on the floor, grabbed a handful of chocolates.
Her hands were so small that she could only hold five in one hand.
It was nice to see Levinas happy, but I was also worried.
There were too many snacks.
"Isn't this too much...?"
"It is."
Choi Jinhyuk said that as he emptied another bag.
It was filled with comic books, all of which were children's comics, presumably for Levinas.
"This is how you spoil someone..."
"It's okay for a day. Adults do it all the time."
Not really.
Sophia and I, the adults who don't, were right here, both of us.
Although I was quite displeased, I decided to go along with Choi Jinhyuk's idea for now.
It reminded me of the Union's advice to also have fun.
"Sophia, you should join us."
"...I shall pass."
"Sometimes you have to play with the kids."
"Hmm..."
After a bit of contemplation, Sophia got up from the massage chair.
She also found Choi Jinhyuk's words to have some merit.
<+>
"Kids, your unni is here."
Yeoreum opened the front door with a smile, her heart already fluttering at the thought of seeing the lovely children.
What conversations would they have today?
Filled with joy, Yeoreum entered the living room, only to witness a shocking scene.
"Hehe."
Gyeoul was lying down, reading an educational comic book.
Levinas, her mouth covered in chocolate, was forcefully feeding chocolate to Sophia.
"Stop, that's enough. I can't eat anymore..."
It looked fun, but to end up like this in just one day.
Why exactly?
As Yeoreum looked around, she noticed Choi Jinhyuk sitting on the sofa.
He was watching the children and Sophia with a serious expression.
"You..."
"Did you just come?"
"Jinhyuk, did you do this...?"
"Yes. It's nice, right?"
It did look nice, just that the aftermath would be annoying to clean up.
As Yeoreum gaped at the children, Gyeoul, who had been reading the comic, muttered to herself.
"I've played enough for a lifetime today..."
Enough for a lifetime.
At that murmur, Yeoreum shuddered.
It sounded as if she wouldn't need to play ever again.
And that thought turned out to be surprisingly accurate.
<+>
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