The Carrot Boat
The boss's wide-area attack came flying in. Moving the stick backward would have dodged it, but Levinas charged forward without a clue. Tap-tap— I pulled the stick back for her. We avoided the water barrage by the narrowest margin.
"We dodged it! King and Levinas dodged the attack!" Levinas bounced in her seat, thrilled. My tail swayed too, showing my delight.
"We do better together than alone."
"Yeah! Levinas is invincible with King around!"
Invincible, huh. She trusted me that much. Her trust always made me happy. For her sake, I focused harder on the game.
"Ah, the boss." The character had already used up all its powerful water bombs in the early stages. We'd have to beat the boss with just the water gun, but that was fine. I could see every sloppy attack coming.
"Uwaaah." Levinas shook the stick left and right as attacks rained down. I moved it for her, and dozens of projectiles skimmed past the character by a hair's breadth.
"You two are weird..." Kwon Arin had wandered over and was watching us play. She couldn't take her eyes off the screen, clearly fascinated by the sight of two people controlling one character.
"Cool, right? Only King and Levinas can do this!"
"Yeah. It really is. This game's pretty hard."
She was right—it was difficult. Dozens of attacks flew in real time. But my senses let me read all of them, and we finally took down the final boss.
"W-We won...!" Levinas froze in her seat, eyes sparkling as if she were still savoring the moment.
"Wow, beastkin reflexes really are something."
"I don't think it's just because she's a beastkin. The kid next to her was struggling a lot."
"Huh? Really?"
I looked around. A crowd had gathered to watch us. People watching others play at the arcade was common enough, so I decided not to make a big deal of it.
"How'd they beat such a hard game alone...?"
"They didn't even know the patterns. Just pure reflexes."
"Hmm..."
Okay, maybe it was a big deal. All the attention was starting to feel embarrassing. I scratched the back of my neck and tapped Levinas's belly where she sat on my lap.
"Levinas, let's put in our names."
"Names?"
"Yeah. Here." A prompt appeared asking for the player's name. Levinas thought for a moment, then typed RCC.
"What's RCC?"
"One rabbit and two cats!"
"Ah." Rabbit and Cat, I guess. I felt oddly proud that she knew English.
"You're good at English, Levinas."
"Yeah! I learned from the Animal King cards!"
"I see." The cards had English on them, and she'd figured it out on her own. Just as I was about to pat her belly in praise, she suddenly turned around. From sitting on my thigh, we ended up in a tight hug.
"King! Thank you!"
"Sure."
"And thank you too, Shadow King!" Levinas reached over and patted Saebyeok's head where she sat in the chair. Saebyeok's tail, which I'd thought was asleep, flicked happily from side to side. It was a nice sight.
While I smiled warmly, Kwon Arin placed a hand on my head.
"So, you two gonna keep playing?"
"No, we're heading home. All that focus made me tired."
My head felt dizzy—probably from using too much mana. I needed to go home and sleep.
"Then I'll walk you back. Let's go together."
"It's fine. It's not that far."
"Nope. If I leave you two behind, I'll get in trouble."
"Ah..." Right. Word getting out that we'd left the kids to play games would be bad. I nodded at Kwon Arin.
"Okay. Let's go home together."
"Good."
Who should I talk to, and how? Han Yeoreum nervously bit her nails. Her feet couldn't stay still, pacing around the living room.
Creak— The front door opened and the three children came in. Han Yeoreum immediately approached them.
"Oh, you're back?"
"Yeah..." Saebyeok's eyes were half-closed. She looked like she'd given up on staying awake, and Han Yeoreum's heart lurched.
"You look exhausted. Did something happen?"
"I'm just a little tired... I want to rest now..."
"Huh...?" Wanting to rest because she was tired. The words felt loaded, and Han Yeoreum swallowed hard.
"I used a lot of mana. That's why I'm tired."
"Ah, right. Mana use does tire you out." Han Yeoreum placed a hand on her chest and let out a relieved sigh. I was overthinking.
"Yeoreum, Levinas is sleepy too."
"Yeah. I need some sleep." Saebyeok and Levinas headed for the bedroom. Levinas naturally clung to Saebyeok like a doll.
"Hehe." After checking on the cute sleeping children, Han Yeoreum returned to the living room and plopped down beside Saebyeok, who was lying face-down on the sofa.
"Hey, Saebyeok."
"Yeah." Saebyeok's tail swayed gently.
Han Yeoreum hesitated before speaking.
"...Did Levinas come from another world?"
Saebyeok's tail stopped dead. She looked up at Han Yeoreum, then sat up properly on the sofa.
"...You found out?"
"Yeah. It just happened."
"I see." Her ears and tail drooped sadly. It hurt to watch, knowing how much Saebyeok cared for Levinas.
"You did it for Levinas, right?"
"...Yeah."
"Thank you. You've done so well."
Han Yeoreum praised her without asking for the reason. Saebyeok's eyes widened in surprise.
"You're not mad?"
"Why would I be mad at you? You worked so hard."
"......" Saebyeok lowered her head. Her fingers fidgeted on her thighs for a long time before she looked up at Han Yeoreum with determined eyes.
"Give me one day."
"You need time?"
"Yeah. My head's a mess right now... I'll tell you after I sort my thoughts."
"Alright. Just don't forget that I'm on your side."
Han Yeoreum pulled the anxious Saebyeok into a tight hug and gently stroked her back. She was just grateful she could share in Saebyeok's pain.
The next morning, Levinas dragged me by the hand toward the tent. Grinning, she grabbed the entrance flap.
"King, guess what's inside?"
"What could it be?"
"The answer is!"
Drumroll— Levinas made the sound effect with her mouth and flung the flap open. The first thing I saw was a giant carrot cut in half.
"A carrot?"
"Yeah! Levinas made a boat out of carrots!"
"Really?" I approached the tent filled with carrots. They'd been hollowed out into a boat shape. It was crude, but it was a real carrot boat.
"Levinas saved it even though she really wanted to eat it!"
"That's amazing."
"Right! Levinas is amazing!" Levinas hopped in place, then stared at Saebyeok. Saebyeok lifted the carrot boat without a word.
"Should we take it to the pond?"
"Yeah! Let's all ride it together at the pond!"
"Okay." Saebyeok ran toward the pond with the boat. It was several times bigger than her, yet she carried it without any trouble.
But will this even float? I didn't know much about boats, so I could only watch Saebyeok with worried eyes.
Splash—! With a cheerful sound, the carrot boat settled on the water. It looked precarious, like it might sink at any moment.
Hmm... This seemed dangerous. I should test it first for safety.
"Just in case, I'll try it first."
"Got it!" Levinas and Saebyeok stepped back. I carefully stepped onto the carrot boat. It rocked, but I steadied myself with my feline beastkin balance and sat down.
"King! How is it?!" Levinas shouted from right in front of me like I was far away. I gave her a thumbs-up.
"As long as we keep our balance, it should be fine."
"Really?!"
"Yeah." But how was I supposed to get the other two on this rickety thing? While I was thinking, the boat started sinking.
Whoosh— Water rushed in over the sides. The added weight made it sink faster.
"Wah, King!"
"Oh no." Water soaked me from the pants up to my tail. The pond wasn't deep, so sinking wasn't dangerous. Only Levinas looked panicked.
"King! Grab Levinas's hand! King!" Levinas reached out to me. She looked so cute that I felt a bit mischievous.
"I'm done for..."
"Kiiing!" Levinas's scream echoed through the entire park. Drawn by the noise, Han Yeoreum and Jung Yuna appeared.
"What happened—!" My eyes met Han Yeoreum's from the sinking boat. Water rose past my waist, chest, and neck. Even as it reached my mouth, I sat still and watched everyone.
Bubbles— Air escaped from my lips.