The Hat's Curse

Levinas played with the doll head, sending her hat flying through the air. Her cheerful humming was so adorable that I kept at it for a long time. "Hat, Levinas is sorry...!"

When I saw Levinas drop to her knees in despair, I wondered if it was finally time to stop. Just then, Arin approached us with her hands tucked in her pockets. "What are you two doing?"

"I was trying to put a hat on Levinas." "Didn't look like it was staying on." "Yeah, it wasn't."

I placed the hat on Levinas's head one last time. I had thought her despairing beastkin ears would stay down, but the hat popped right off as usual.

"Why can't Levinas wear a hat...! Levinas must be cursed by hats!"

Thump, thump. Levinas lightly tapped the paved path with her fist, careful not to hurt herself. It was time to tell her the truth. Holding the hat, I crouched down beside her.

"Levinas, it's because of your ears." "Ears...?" "Yeah. Your ears keep bouncing the hat off."

I pointed to my own ears and demonstrated by repeatedly flattening and releasing them so they sprang up. Thanks to how used I'd gotten to this body, I could do things like that now.

"...So Levinas's bouncy ears are what fling the hat away?" "Yeah. The hat doesn't hate you."

Levinas's eyes went wide like a horned rabbit's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as she pressed down hard on her ears. Boing—the rabbit ears sprang right back up the moment she let go.

"This can't be...! It was Levinas's ears that hated the hat...!"

Despair washed over Levinas's face as the truth sank in. Arin crouched down beside her. "What if we just cut a hole in the hat?"

"A hole?" "Yeah. Make ear holes so you can pull them through, like the tail hole in clothes." Arin pointed at the tail swaying behind me. It gave a soft flick in response.

"Then Levinas could wear a hat too...?" "Probably. Can I have the hat?"

When Arin reached for it, I quickly stopped her. The hat belonged to someone else—we couldn't just poke holes in it. "This fell from the sky. We have to return it to its owner." "Right. It's my colleague's hat. The wind blew it away."

"Colleague?" A short distance from our bench stood a woman, looking shy. Her face was noticeably flushed. 'Is she the owner?'

I used my keen sense of smell on the hat. The same shampoo scent came from both the woman and the hat. "You can find the owner by smell...?" "Yes. My nose is pretty good." "That's impressive."

Arin, who had been sniffing the hat, turned toward the woman called her colleague. Embarrassed by all the attention, the woman rolled her eyes left and right.

"Hey, is it okay if I poke a hole in this hat? I'll buy you a new one later." "Uh, y-yeah. It's an honor... hehe..."

An honor? I wasn't sure what she meant, but the shy smile on her face made it clear it wasn't anything bad. "Got it? We have permission." "Yes." "Then..."

Thud, thud—Arin drove her sword straight through the hat without hesitation. I worried it might be too rough, but she had pierced it exactly where Levinas's ears would go. The fabric was a little frayed, but it wasn't bad.

"Give me Levinas's head." "Okay! Take Levinas's head!" Levinas offered her head to Arin by lowering it onto her stomach.

"Hold it up a little." "Okay!" Arin guided Levinas's ears through the new holes. The ears that poked through perked up proudly.

"How does it feel?" "Huk...! The hat isn't flying away...!" "Because we pulled your ears out." "Waaah!"

Levinas bounced up and down like a horned rabbit. Everyone smiled at the sight of the child so purely happy—Arin, the people watching from afar, and me. I was grateful that only kind people surrounded me.

**

"Ahem." Levinas, now wearing the hat, squared her shoulders and marched forward. She headed straight for the guild cafe that sold dandelion tea.

Tok, tok—watching Levinas's back sway side to side with each step, I glanced toward the cafe. Saebyeok was already waiting there, her gaze fixed on a large doll costume.

"Saebyeok, what are you doing?" "This doll costume looks like Winter." It was a white cat mascot costume. The tail did look a bit like mine.

"Why a doll costume?" "They made it to promote the cafe, but I borrowed it for a bit." "The doll costume?" "Yeah. Let's use doll costumes to promote when we sell vegetables too."

Doll costume promotion. The vegetables sold fine even without one, but I kept that thought to myself. I didn't want to dismiss Saebyeok's efforts for us.

"Then I'll wear the doll costume. Can you two handle selling the vegetables?" "Okay." "Levinas likes it too!"

Saebyeok and Levinas both nodded. I led them to a cafe table so we could make promotional posters.

I sketched the promotional text on paper from the cafe using crayons. I only gave them the basic layout—the words and drawings were left to the kids. The hearts and emoticons made it a little hard to read at a glance, but it was something they had worked hard on. There was no reason to change it.

"Wang, what do you think?" "It turned out really well." At my thumbs-up, Levinas beamed. I was glad I could give her all these new experiences.

"Today we'll sell as much as the vegetable boss horn-rabbit!" "Yeah. Let's do our best."

With the poster ready, it was time to put our plan into action. I looked between Saebyeok and Levinas. "I'll wear the costume." "Wang will?" "Yeah."

I knew mascot work was exhausting. I couldn't make the kids do something that tiring. "I'll go around and bring people over. Can you two manage the sales by yourselves?"

"Wow, it'll be hard without Wang, but Levinas will do her best...!" Levinas looked determined too. Feeling oddly proud, I picked up the doll costume.

'It's pretty big.' Made for an adult, it was still wearable even for someone as short as me. The real problem was that the eye and breathing holes were way too high up—I couldn't see anything in front of me.

Of course, not being able to see wasn't much of a danger. I could tell everything apart by sound and smell alone. "Wang! The cat clothes look cool!" "R-really?"

To Levinas it wasn't cute—it was cool. Embarrassed, I tried to scratch my cheek, only to remember the costume was in the way. 'Hmm. I'll scratch it later.' First, promotion.

Holding the poster the kids made, I waddled outside. The awkward doll costume forced me to walk like that.

**

Han Yeoreum returned home and took a short rest. Sitting in her chair, she stretched and picked up the coffee she had prepared earlier. 'I wonder what the kids are up to.'

Sipping her coffee, she looked out the window at the park and noticed something strange near the pond. Someone in a cat costume was surrounded by a group of children. One mischievous boy kicked the person wearing the costume.

'That is...?' Han Yeoreum focused mana into her eyes. Using her enhanced vision, she read the poster in the mascot's hands.

They were promoting a vegetable stand. Promotion and street vending were strictly forbidden ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in the park to protect citizens' rest. A ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thoughtless rule-breaker. Han Yeoreum's brows furrowed, her peaceful break ruined.

"Haa..." Everyone else was probably busy, so she'd have to handle it herself. Han Yeoreum took the elevator down to the park. 'Where are they?'

Thud—! Thud—! The sound of kicks drew her attention. In the distance, a mischievous boy was kicking the cat mascot. "Wahaha!"

It was just a boy that age fooling around. The mascot didn't say a word, only trembling its hands. "Stop it." Han Yeoreum placed a hand on the boy's head. Startled, he backed away, stuck out his tongue, and ran off.

"Little brat..." There were always kids like that. Sigh. Han Yeoreum exhaled and approached the cat costume. "Excuse me. Are you all right?"

Perhaps startled from being bullied, the mascot didn't respond. Han Yeoreum gave it a moment before continuing. "You can't promote here. It's a nuisance to people trying to rest."

Han Yeoreum frowned as she looked at the eye holes in the doll costume. But the inside was completely empty. No one was there. "······?"

Why was there no one inside? Was the person short? Han Yeoreum stepped closer and peered through the eye holes. 'That is...?'

White ears pressed flat. The owner of those ears looked up. Pure, childlike eyes trembled with fear. "S-sorry... I won't do it anymore..."

"Winter...?" Why was Winter wearing a doll costume? More importantly—what had she just said to Winter? In ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the shocking moment, Han Yeoreum froze completely, like a stone statue, unable to move at all.