The Iron Tree
The tree had grown. Winter’s body trembled, shrinking in on itself. Her white ears flattened against her head, broadcasting her fear, while both hands clutched the tail pressed tight against her belly. The child everyone found unbearably precious was radiating terror with her entire being. Moved by the sight, Yu Sang-ah and the adventurer across from her drew in sharp breaths.
“I should put the mana stone away first.” Yu Sang-ah slipped the Blue Liger’s mana stone into her pocket. Every time her fingers brushed it, Winter flinched. It felt like watching someone handle a corpse without a second thought. That was the impression Winter got.
“I’m sorry. You must have been so scared.”
“N-no. I’m the one who should be sorry…”
Why was a child who had done nothing wrong apologizing? Yu Sang-ah patted Winter’s stomach to soothe her.
“Of all things, it had to be a feline mana stone.”
“Yes. I know in my head that it’s not the same, but the mana it gives off is just too similar to mine…”
Winter knew only inexperienced young beastkin would make that mistake. She had lived as a beastkin for less than a year, after all. She placed a hand over her pounding chest.
“When Winter is around, we’ll send feline mana stones to a different desk.”
“I-I’m sorry. It’s because of me…”
“It’s fine. This is how we look out for each other. If I ever need help, you’ll return the favor, right?”
“Yes…”
Yu Sang-ah really was a good person. Winter’s tail, which had been frozen in fear, began to sway gently.
“Winter, come here.”
Tap, tap— Sofia, finished with her calculations, patted the seat beside her. Winter slid off Yu Sang-ah’s lap at once, as if she had been waiting for the invitation.
“Mm…” Yu Sang-ah felt a pang of disappointment. She had wanted Winter to stay a little longer. Still, family came first. She decided not to be jealous and simply be content with having had Winter on her lap at all.
“Will you sit next to Sofia?”
“Yes, come sit.”
“Okay.”
Winter settled beside Sofia. Because both of them were small, they could sit pressed comfortably against each other.
“Were you very startled?”
“A little.”
“Don’t be too embarrassed. Every beastkin goes through this.”
The warmth of Sofia’s body and the kindness in her words wrapped around Winter like a blanket. Winter curled her tail around Sofia’s waist. Usually it moved on its own, but this time it was deliberate. Noticing, Sofia simply smiled with her eyes.
After the field trip ended, Sofia returned home to rest. I still had things to do, so I wandered through the park. I glanced around naturally, wondering if I knew anyone, and perked my ears to listen.
“Hehe.”
Han Yeoreum’s laughter drifted from somewhere up ahead. I followed the sound without thinking.
“Who’s a good boy?”
When I found her, I witnessed quite the scene. Han Yeoreum was crouched in front of a leashed puppy, gently petting its head. The one holding the leash was none other than Choi Jin-hyuk.
‘So he’s raising it.’
The puppy had lovely golden fur. Standing on two legs, it would probably tower over me. I watched from right behind them as Han Yeoreum played with the puppy.
“Aww, you’re so cute.”
The puppy seemed to understand it was being loved—its tail wagged energetically. My own tail started wagging along with it.
Whoosh— Choi Jin-hyuk noticed the movement and glanced sideways. With a short “Oh,” he rolled his eyes down toward Han Yeoreum.
“Han Yeoreum.”
“What?”
She stood up and turned toward me. The smile on her face slowly stiffened.
“Were you playing with the puppy?”
“Uh, yeah… When did you get here, Winter…?”
“I just arrived.”
The big dog looked gentle. I wondered if I could pet it too. My fingers fidgeted unconsciously. Han Yeoreum waved me over.
“W-Winter, it’s not what you think! The dog is second—cats are first…!”
“Oh… Okay.”
Why was she suddenly acting like this? I just blinked in confusion.
“I’m not cheating on you with the dog! You absolutely cannot misunderstand!”
“R-right… I won’t…”
Cheating with a dog? I had no idea what she meant, so I simply nodded.
“Heh, hehe…”
Han Yeoreum came closer and placed her hands on my cheeks. Just like she had with the puppy moments ago, she began stroking and gently squishing my face.
“Um…”
“Ah, sorry. I got flustered.”
“…I see.”
Everyone had their own reasons. I decided not to ask.
“What were you doing here?”
“Just taking the puppy for a walk.”
The leashed dog stuck out its tongue and gave me an affectionate look. I found myself wanting to join them.
“Can I come too?”
“Sure. Is that okay with you?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Well, it’s a dog and a cat…”
Her gaze drifted up to the top of my head—specifically, to my perked ears. She was worried because my beastkin half was feline. I wanted to tell her I wasn’t a real cat, but the words stuck in my throat. I didn’t actually know how cats and dogs got along among beastkin.
“Would it be dangerous?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t really know about these things either.”
“Hmm…”
After a moment’s hesitation, I held out my hand to the puppy. It wagged its tail and licked my fingers.
“Looks like it’s fine.”
“Yeah.”
At this rate, walking together should be no problem. I was grateful Han Yeoreum had worried on my behalf.
Holding the dog’s leash, we strolled through the park. The puppy had been well trained—it didn’t pull ahead and simply trotted along beside me.
“Oh my.”
Click—
“Wow.”
Click—
Han Yeoreum kept making strange sounds of delight while taking pictures of me. It was so embarrassing that I couldn’t even look straight ahead. I could only sneak glances at her walking beside me.
“Um…”
“Ah, sorry. I got a little too excited. I just wanted to make memories with you.”
“Memories?”
“Yeah. Scenes of you walking with a dog are pretty rare.”
“I suppose so.”
If she wanted memories, I couldn’t really refuse. I reached out and tugged on Han Yeoreum’s wrist, the one holding her phone.
“Let’s take a picture together.”
“O-okay…!”
We took photos together, and even pulled Choi Jin-hyuk in for a few. Han Yeoreum hugged the phone containing our pictures tightly to her chest.
“Winter, can I post the ones we just took on my personal SNS?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
“Hehe, thank you so much.”
Han Yeoreum tapped away at her screen. I couldn’t see it because of her height, but I knew she was uploading our photos. She really liked taking pictures with me, didn’t she? My tail wagged happily at the thought. I decided I should let her take even more pictures from now on.
Just then, a cat’s meow came from nearby.
“Meow.”
This park really did have a lot of wild animals. I naturally turned my head toward the sound.
“Meow.”
A cat was lying on the ground, resting. From its meows I could tell it was peaceful, though it was slightly wary of the dog I was holding.
“Winter, what did the cat say?”
“Hmm…?”
“Ah… You can’t understand it…?”
“No. I’m not a real cat, after all…”
I had feline traits, but that didn’t mean I could communicate with actual cats. Maybe Han Yeoreum had been expecting more from my beastkin side.
“I was hoping your beastkin half might help somehow.”
She looked disappointed. It must have been a letdown to learn I couldn’t actually talk to animals. To make her feel better, I shared what little I could sense.
“I can’t talk to it, but I can tell what kind of state it’s in.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Right now it’s saying it’s scared of the dog, so it doesn’t want us to come closer. It’s tired and wants us to go away on our own.”
“…Isn’t that basically talking?”
“…Huh?”
Was it? Conversation wasn’t only about words. Maybe, just like Han Yeoreum said, I really could communicate with cats after all.
‘Goodness.’
Me, able to talk to cats. It was a surprisingly fun and useful ability. Maybe I should practice it a bit more?
As I looked at the cat, Levinas and Saebyeok came running toward us from a distance.
“King, something big happened!”
Thud, thud, thud— The two children raced over like cats on the hunt. Our eyes naturally turned to them.
“What’s wrong?”
“The seed grew! But something weird came out!”
“Already…?”
Levinas had the plant-growth ability, but it had never grown this fast before. We all ran in the direction she pointed. When we arrived near the container, a gray tree I had never seen before stood there. Its surface felt as hard as steel when I touched it.
“What is this…?”
An iron tree? What on earth…?
The steel-like fruits hanging from its branches were equally strange.
“Oh my god.”
Han Yeoreum and Choi Jin-hyuk stared up at the tree with shocked expressions. Their hands, reaching out to touch it, trembled.
“Is this Winter’s tree…?”
“Yeah! This is King’s tree!”
Levinas answered in my place. It felt awkward to have the tree she had received and grown be called mine.
“This is a strengthening agent…”
“A strengthening agent?”
“Y-yeah… You apply it to weapons. Between the dandelion tea and this, your buffing power is no joke, Winter…?”
What exactly was a strengthening agent? Since I had no idea, I simply looked up at the tree.
“This is really valuable.”
“We should call the Guild Master.”
“Yeah.”
I still didn’t know what it was, but it seemed like a good thing. At the very least, it looked nice as decoration. That was a relief.