The Pot Hunt
Winter let out an awkward laugh. "Let's find a pot, hehe." Even though she'd earned the most money, she seemed embarrassed that she could only buy drinks, her pale face flushing red. Those small hands clutching her clothes and her drooping ears looked pitiful. I didn't need any drinks at all. How on earth had I ended up owing this tiny beastkin child?
Shin Seo-yeon could only look around helplessly. That was when Kang Jin-ho, who had been silently watching from afar, approached.
"Don't waste your money. We're having a team dinner after this."
Kang Jin-ho waved his hand, saying there was no need to buy drinks. Shin Seo-yeon knew there was no team dinner, but she wasn't about to let this opportunity slip away.
"Oh, right. We did have a team dinner, didn't we?"
"There was one...?"
"Yeah. We were supposed to eat something nice together after training. Don't you remember?"
"Ah... I didn't know."
Of course she didn't. It was a story I'd just made up on the spot. As Shin Seo-yeon breathed a sigh of relief, Kang Jin-ho was thinking something else entirely.
'I need to do something about this.'
He wanted to tell her the money didn't need to be repaid. But Winter had a pathological dislike of getting anything for free. Was there really no way to convince her properly?
Kang Jin-ho agonized over it again and again.
'The problem is when the debt gets paid off.'
The moment the debt was cleared, she'd try to return to her own world. That world filled with walking corpses. If she could strengthen her water spirit powers, it wouldn't be impossible. Someday, through an opening portal, she would catch the scent of home again.
The answer was to somehow forgive the debt while dragging it out as long as possible. After much deliberation, Kang Jin-ho reached his conclusion.
"...I'll teach you how to pay off the debt quickly later."
"My debt?"
"Yeah. For now, just focus on the dungeon. Don't let your mind wander while we're in there."
"Ah, yes."
She was right—there was no room for stray thoughts in a dungeon. Winter nodded in understanding and adjusted her grip on her bow. For now, clearing the dungeon took top priority.
The boss monster was an ent several times larger than a normal one. Its presence was imposing, but defeating it wasn't difficult. Thanks to the twenty or so trainees attacking it all at once.
"Hmm..."
So this world was no different—quantity was everything. Feeling hollow, she fiddled with an empty glass. It was a water glass at the restaurant they'd come to for the team dinner after defeating the boss.
"You don't look so good."
Master poured water into her glass. She wasn't particularly thirsty, but she accepted it politely with both hands.
"It was very different from what I imagined. There was no tension, I guess..."
"It's because this is training. I picked the easiest dungeon among the Level 3 ones. And there were a lot of people."
"So real combat is much harder?"
"That's right. If you go in thinking it'll be like today, you'll get seriously hurt."
Master must have talked so much that his throat was dry—he downed the water in his cup. Just as he was about to pour more into the empty glass, he covered it with his hand.
"I'll do it."
"Um... okay..."
It felt a little awkward. Maybe because it was such a fancy restaurant. Still holding the glass, I looked around. It was a sashimi restaurant with private rooms, and right on cue, a waiter knocked on the door.
"May I come in?"
At the waiter's appearance, everyone turned to Master. They knew he was the only one who could give permission from his seat. But Master, under everyone's gaze, simply kept drinking water. He shot me a look that clearly said to answer instead.
Being asked to speak on behalf of all these people... wasn't the difficulty level a bit too high? It was burdensome, but since it was Master's order, I decided to open my mouth somehow.
"Y-yes..."
The moment I answered, the door opened. The waiter, apparently knowing it was me who had spoken, gave me a smiling eye. Not knowing what to say, I simply bowed my head. For some reason, a bright smile bloomed on the waiter's face.
"You asked for everything at once, no particular order?"
The cart the waiter pulled in was loaded with high-quality sashimi. The kind you couldn't catch in a pond.
"Wow..."
This was tuna sashimi. Was I really allowed to eat this? I stared at the tuna sashimi without even picking up my chopsticks. Shin Seo-yeon pushed the sashimi toward me.
"Winter got first place in contribution, right? The rule is that the person with the highest contribution takes the first bite."
Was there such a rule among adventurers? I looked up at Master with wide eyes, and he nodded in confirmation.
"Everyone was fighting hard in front while I just comfortably shot arrows from the back, so..."
"That's a skill too."
"U-um..."
If I said anything more, it would just sound like bragging. Without making excuses, I picked up a piece of tuna sashimi and ate it.
"......!"
The taste was so shocking that my ears and tail fur stood on end. The moment I swallowed the tuna, my tail started wagging like crazy.
"Is it good?"
"Yes. It's the second most delicious food I've ever eaten in my life."
"Second? What's the first?"
The first was, of course, the food Han Yeoreum cooked. Not just because of the taste, but because I knew the heart behind it. Of course, I was too embarrassed to say it out loud. I simply savored the sashimi in silence. The sashimi eaten with the adventurers was incredibly delicious.
In front of Winter's tent, Han Yeoreum stood with her arms crossed.
'I should take care of it when I have time.'
The two pots Winter had accidentally broken. She'd thought about buying new ones, dirtying them a little, and giving them to her, but decided against it. Winter's observational skills were improving day by day. Those eyes that went beyond ordinary people would immediately notice they were brand new.
She'd have to carefully pick out some used ones instead. The moment Han Yeoreum made up her mind, Winter approached with her tail wagging.
"What are you doing?"
"Huh? You're back already, Winter?"
"Yes. It ended earlier than I thought."
Winter held out a plastic bag. It contained high-quality sashimi.
"Sashimi?"
"Yes. Master bought it for us."
"Hmm... Then should we eat it together for dinner later? I have something else to do right now."
"Something to do?"
Why would she turn down such precious sashimi? Winter tilted her head.
"Yeah. I need to pick up something from the recycling center."
She didn't say she was looking for pots. If she did, the kind-hearted Winter would stop her, saying there was no need. Thanks to that, Han Yeoreum could only raise another question.
"You pick things up from the recycling center too?"
The incredibly wealthy Han Yeoreum? Winter's eyes widened at the unbelievable fact.
"Well, your big sister can't always use brand new things. If something's usable, of course I use secondhand stuff too."
"...I see?"
Han Yeoreum using secondhand items. It was the biggest shock Winter had received in the past few days.
"Yeah. There's a high chance whatever your big sister needs is at the recycling center. I'll be right back."
Han Yeoreum smiled and started walking backward, and Winter followed her.
"I'll go with you."
"Together?"
"Yes. I want to see if there's anything usable too."
"Uh... shall we?"
Spending time alone with Winter wouldn't be so bad. Even if the location was a recycling center, it was a bit of a downside.
'What does the location matter when I'm with Winter?'
Han Yeoreum headed to the apartment complex's recycling center with Winter. She wanted to talk with her, but seeing Winter seriously rummaging through the recycling center, she held back.
'First, I need to find the pots.'
She crouched down and dug through the pile of trash. Because it was such a large complex, there were so many items piled up that finding the pots was difficult.
"Ugh..."
Something sticky got on her hands. The musty smell made her brows furrow involuntarily.
'Just find the pots, just the pots.'
As she steeled herself and continued searching, someone approached from behind Han Yeoreum. It was a middle-aged woman holding old clothes, and she had been staring at Han Yeoreum's back for a long time.
"...If a young lady like you is already doing this, what does that say?"
"Yes?!"
She'd sensed someone approaching, but she never imagined they had been watching. Startled, Han Yeoreum turned around.
"Isn't that Han Yeoreum...?"
The middle-aged woman who recognized her looked bewildered. She couldn't believe that someone as wealthy as her was digging through a recycling center.
"Ah, hello..."
"What are you doing here?"
"W-well, I was wondering if there were any usable pots..."
Han Yeoreum stopped mid-sentence and pressed her lips shut. She was worried Winter might hear, but fortunately, Winter was completely absorbed in searching.
"Oh my, you're so frugal. Would you like me to give you some pots from my house?"
"C-can I really?!"
"I have plenty of pots. Just wait here for a moment."
"Yes! I'll wait!"
So this was what it felt like to pick up something useful? Somehow, she felt like she understood Winter's feelings a little better.
'I guess I'll just wait.'
Han Yeoreum decided to look at her smartphone until the middle-aged woman returned. As always, it was to read stories about Winter.
'Winter...'
She tapped her phone and accessed the community where the Yeomyeong Guild was frequently mentioned. Since she couldn't read everything, she only checked the popular posts.
Posts that had risen in the real-time popularity rankings. They weren't about Winter—they were about Han Yeoreum.
"Ah..."
She'd shown such an embarrassing side of herself. And yet, somehow, the image was positive. Was this all thanks to Winter? Han Yeoreum could only fidget with her mouth, unsure whether to laugh or cry. For now... she decided to look for more reactions about Winter.