Let's Camp! It's a Promise!
Guild Master returned at lunchtime. By then, he'd already taken five calls and hosted over ten visitors. He lived a far busier life than I'd ever imagined.
"Everything go all right?"
"Um… I didn't do that great, but I tried my best."
"Then you did great."
Guild Master walked over and handed me some chocolate. There was so much that I'd probably have to share it with the kids. I unwrapped one piece and, before popping it into my mouth, reported what had happened.
"A lot of people came looking for you. I told them to call back later since you weren't here."
"Good job. Nothing else unusual?"
"Oh. Some guild members came for signatures on dungeon entry permits. They said it was fine if I signed them— is that okay?"
"It's fine. Anyone can handle that."
If even Guild Master said so, then it really must be all right. Only then did I put the chocolate in my mouth.
Delicious.
The balance of bitter and sweet was perfect. Maybe my heightened senses made it feel almost euphoric. My tail swayed gently.
Chocolate used to be something I could never even dream of tasting— a luxury far beyond my reach. All of this was thanks to Guild Master's protection.
"Good work. Go on inside, eat, and rest."
"Okay."
Even though it wasn't necessary, Guild Master rode the elevator up with me. Gruff as he was, he always looked after his own people.
We said goodbye at the door, and I stepped inside.
"Huh…?"
A delicious smell drifted from the living room. But even better than the food was the warm, familiar scent of family.
I dashed down the hallway and into the living room. My eyes widened at the feast spread across the table.
"King's here!"
Levinas, already seated at the table, waved her fork in the air. I naturally took the empty seat beside her.
"There's so much food."
"Yeah. Master bought it because he said you worked hard."
Han Yeoreum scooped food onto my plate. There were lots of the sashimi dishes I liked. All I'd done was watch the desk for a few hours in the morning, yet this was the spread I got. Being in the top guild really did come with generous pay.
"So, how was work today?"
"Um… My body wasn't tired, but it still felt exhausting somehow."
"That's how it is when you're dealing with people. Especially when it's your first time."
"Yeah. Maybe it's harder because it's new."
There was no physical fatigue, but I found myself rubbing my shoulders out of habit— a leftover from my human days, maybe.
"Winter, do your shoulders hurt?"
"No, I'm just stretching them."
"Hehe, you learned that from Sofia, didn't you?"
"That's…"
Come to think of it, Sofia did pat her shoulders a lot. Our gazes naturally turned toward her. Feeling the weight of everyone's stares, Sofia cleared her throat.
"Ahem… Why are you copying something like that?"
"She must've liked it."
"…Then I suppose it can't be helped."
Sofia reached across the table and gently patted my head. Levinas and Saebyeok immediately leaned forward, offering their heads as well.
"These little ones are bothering an elder."
Even as she grumbled, Sofia was smiling. She carefully patted each child in turn.
It was a peaceful, pleasant lunch.
Levinas's eyes were glued to the television.
—I Am a Wild Person—
It was a show about people living in nature.
"Whoa…"
People living as wildly as beastkin. Levinas's beastkin instincts stirred in her chest.
Isn't there anything else?
While flipping channels, Levinas stumbled upon a camping broadcast. People pitching tents, gathering around campfires, laughing with friends. To a beastkin, it looked like pure romance.
I want to do that too…!
Levinas looked around for Winter. Winter was curled up on Han Yeoreum's lap, breathing softly in sleep.
"King…!"
Levinas whispered just loud enough not to wake her. Even though there was no point if Winter didn't wake up, Levinas didn't seem to care.
"King…! Let's go camping in the wild with Levinas tomorrow…!"
"Camping?"
Instead of the sleeping Winter, Han Yeoreum answered. Her hand was gently stroking Winter's cheek.
"Yeah…! Levinas wants to go camping…!"
"The show looked fun, huh?"
"Yeah…! Levinas is going camping with King…! King's basically a genius at living in the wild…!"
Levinas whispered into Han Yeoreum's ear, then looked down at Winter's hand. The lightly curled fingers had loosened a little. Levinas slipped her pinky finger inside.
"King…! It's a promise to go camping tomorrow…!"
Winter's hand gently squeezed the finger Levinas had offered. It was pure instinct from her young body.
"Gasp!"
I want to do that too.
Han Yeoreum fidgeted restlessly, her hands twitching.
"L-Levinas, I want to go too, unni."
"You mean camping…?"
"Y-yeah. Can I make a promise with Winter too?"
"Yeah…! Let's all go camping together…!"
Levinas shook the captured finger up and down. She was surprisingly strong— enough to twist Han Yeoreum's wrist.
Once the finger was released, Winter's hand naturally opened again. This time, palm up.
Thump, thump—
Why was my heart racing so much over something so small?
Han Yeoreum took a deep breath and placed her index finger on Winter's open palm. Like a Venus flytrap catching prey, Winter's hand slowly closed around it. The child's small hand could barely wrap around one adult finger.
Han Yeoreum let out an involuntary sound.
"Wow…"
It was soft. Warm, too, thanks to a child's naturally higher body temperature. It was an indescribable cuteness— so intense it almost felt destructive.
"Nngh…"
Han Yeoreum barely managed to swallow the scream that threatened to escape. She didn't want to wake Winter.
"Yeoreum, are you hurt somewhere?"
"Yeah… Unni's heart hurts…"
"Gasp…! Wait right there…!"
Levinas ran into the room and came back holding a paper cup. She'd turned it into a makeshift string telephone. She pressed one end against Han Yeoreum's chest, near her heart, and held the other end to her rabbit ears.
Thump, thump—
It was a heartbeat that shouldn't have been audible, but to a horned rabbit beastkin, it was clear as day.
"Yeoreum's heart is beating really fast…!"
"You can hear it?"
"Yeah…!"
"Wow, I can't hear anything at all."
Just how good were beastkin ears? Winter could apparently hear bugs crawling hundreds of meters away if she focused. It was a sense I'd never understand in my lifetime.
Curious, Han Yeoreum brought the paper cup to her mouth.
"Hello, can you hear me?"
She spoke with her mouth fully inside the cup so she wouldn't wake Winter. At that exact moment, Levinas held her own cup right up to Winter's ear. She just wanted the sleeping king to hear the heartbeat too— it was that fascinating.
"……?"
The sound right beside her ear made Winter open her eyes. She started to rub them, then noticed the finger she was holding and tilted her head in confusion.
Whose finger is this?
Winter looked up at the finger's owner with half-lidded eyes.
Oh, it's Han Yeoreum. Then it's fine.
Still groggy, Winter didn't think much of it and drifted back to sleep.
"Phew…"
I thought I'd woken her up for sure.
Han Yeoreum patted her chest in relief.
"Winter really does have good ears."
"Yeah…! So we have to talk super small like Levinas…!"
"Got it…!"
Han Yeoreum spoke in a tiny but energetic voice, just like Levinas. The two of them looked at each other and giggled like children, bonded by some shared feeling.
Meanwhile, Winter just kept breathing softly in her sleep.
The next morning.
I rubbed my eyes and woke up. For some reason, Saebyeok and Levinas were staring at me with sparkling eyes.
"U-uh…?"
The kids woke up really early.
I stretched while looking at them.
"King! Camping!"
"Camping?"
"Yeah! We promised yesterday!"
"Oh, right."
If the kids wanted to go, then we'd go. There was no reason to refuse.
"King's a camping genius, so you have to teach us really well, okay?!"
"Me?"
I finally understood why they'd been waiting for me to wake up. Since I'd lived outside, they probably thought I was great at camping.
I didn't want to disappoint them, but the truth was, I wasn't very good at it either. What I'd done wasn't leisure— it was survival. The two were completely different.
"I'm not that great at it either, but I'll try my best."
"Yeah…!"
Levinas nodded so hard her ears bounced. She didn't show it, but Saebyeok's tail had started wagging too.
I guess we can just do what we did when we lived in the tent?
Even the shelter we'd built to hide from wild boars would probably be fun for the kids. I'd teach them everything I knew.
"But are we the only three going camping?"
"No! We decided to go with everyone!"
"That's a relief."
Setting up camp took a lot of hands. Even washing a single dish meant hiking to the valley. More people would make everything easier.
I mentally listed out what we'd need to do.
"For camping… there's a mountain I know. Want to go there?"
"A mountain?"
"Yeah. It's the place where something scary happened to Levinas last time, though…"
"Gasp! Levinas thinks that's great!"
I checked Levinas's expression. Far from being scared, she looked excited.
"You sure you're okay with that?"
"Yeah! That was the happiest Levinas has ever been!"
"Ah…"
Probably because everyone had come to save her. If it was a good memory now, then the camping spot was decided.
It would be the mountain where I'd once lived.