Wishes and Hugs at the Fountain
Touching our kid, huh? Tok—Jeong Yuna placed a coin on top of my nose. I lifted my head naturally so the coin wouldn’t fall. My body slipped into a cat’s instinctive posture, probably to keep my balance. My lips even puckered forward a little. As always, beastkin physical abilities were truly impressive.
“I gave you the coin, so you’ll grant Winter’s wish, right?” Jeong Yuna pressed her fingertip against my lips. The coin dropped into the tub like I was a button.
“Actually, I can’t really grant wishes… I can only listen to them…”
“Oh, just listen? But my wish is something Winter can actually make come true.”
Something I could grant? Like a favor? I fished the sinking coin out of the tub and asked, “What’s the wish?”
“A big hug from Winter.”
“A hug?”
“Yeah. I’m heading into a dungeon tomorrow, so I want to get some energy from you first.”
Family hugs brought psychological comfort. It made sense to seek that before entering a dangerous place.
“But I’m all wet. What should we do?” My loose clothes clung to me, soaked through. If we hugged like this, Jeong Yuna would definitely get drenched too.
“It’s fine. I get to hug you, so who cares?”
“Um… okay…”
I held the coin out to her again. She didn’t take it, only raised an eyebrow.
“Why are you giving it back?”
“I can give you a hug anytime, even without a wish.”
“Oh my, is that so?”
“Yes. We can’t buy or sell hugs with money between us.”
We weren’t strangers, after all. You couldn’t put a price on affection.
“Ah… sorry. I wasn’t thinking. We’re family, after all.”
Family. The word coming from Jeong Yuna’s mouth made me smile. It felt good knowing she saw me that way.
“Yeah. Since we’re family, you can ask for a hug whenever you want.”
The moment I stretched up to slip the coin into her pocket, she suddenly pulled me into a tight hug.
“Seriously, why are you so cute?”
My face got squished into something soft. Warm hands rested on my back. My tail, heavy with water, shook tap-tap-tap. Levinas and Saebyeok, who had been nearby, definitely got splashed. Sorry. But it won’t stop. Since they’re beastkin too, the kids will understand, right?
While I apologized in my head, the hug grew tighter. I felt like one of Levinas’s dolls. Firm, yet soft enough that it didn’t feel suffocating.
“Mmm…! Charging complete!”
Jeong Yuna loosened her arms slightly, then rubbed her cheek against mine. I thought her cheek felt squishy, but it turned out to be mine.
“Hehe, did I hug you too hard?”
She stepped back and placed a hand on my head. Only then did I notice her soaked clothes.
“What about your clothes?”
“This much? I can dry it with magic in a snap.”
Oh. Right. Magic. For some reason, that made me feel a little envious.
“I wish I could use magic too.”
“You can.”
“Beastkin usually can’t learn magic unless it’s a special case. We’re specialized for physical abilities…”
There were beastkin who could use magic. Levinas was one of them. I glanced at her without meaning to.
“Do you need to learn it? You’ve got me.”
You’ve got me. What did that mean? I just blinked, unsure.
“If you need magic, just say so. I’ll cast any spell for you.”
“R-really?”
“Of course. We’re family. This much is what family does for each other.”
“Ah…”
If that’s the case, I should do whatever I can too. Even if all I could offer was hugs. It still felt like Jeong Yuna was getting the short end of the deal. Feeling guilty, I scratched the back of my head when Levinas suddenly jumped into the tub with a splash.
“Levinas too!”
“Levinas too?”
“Yeah! Levinas wants one too!”
Levinas poked her head out of the tub beside me. She was in the same cat-like pose, and my swaying tail kept tapping her back.
“Of course I’ll cast magic for Levinas too.”
“No! Not magic, a hug!”
“Oh, a hug?”
Jeong Yuna laughed softly and spread her arms wide. She hugged both Levinas and me at the same time.
“Heeheehee.”
Levinas giggled in her arms while Saebyeok came running, demanding a hug too. Jeong Yuna’s arms must have been wide enough, because she managed to hold all three of us.
“Whew, with this much energy, the dungeon won’t be scary at all.”
“Still, please be careful.”
“Yeah. Thanks. I’ve got prep to do, so I’ll head out now.”
Jeong Yuna waved and walked away. I watched her retreating figure for a long while before turning to the kids.
“Now…”
Time to switch. Before I could finish, Han Yeoreum came running from afar, calling my name.
“Gyeoul! Gyeoul-ah!”
The skilled adventurer was panting as she ran over. There wasn’t a trace of mana on her. Maybe she’d been training without using magic.
“What’s wrong?”
“H-here—huff—I heard if I come here, I get a hug.”
Huff, huff. She looked exhausted from running without mana.
“Um… okay.”
I hugged her along with the kids. Han Yeoreum’s face lit up with satisfaction.
“I came during training, so I’ll head back. See you later?”
“Okay…”
After that, lots of people stopped by the fountain. Most of the people I knew came at least once. They asked for hugs or head pats. The Guild Master, who arrived late, even wished for chocolate. Of course, I didn’t take a single coin. Their wishes were too small to charge for.
Thanks to that, Levinas didn’t earn a single coin, but she kept giggling anyway.
“Next fountain is the King of Darkness!”
“…Yeah.”
Saebyeok, now inside the tub, flicked water with her tail. The splash reached surprisingly far.
“What an amazing fountain!”
Levinas dipped her hand in and sprayed water even farther. The kids laughed happily, and I found myself laughing along with them.
**
After cleaning up the fountain, I sat on a nearby bench. Saebyeok trotted over and flopped across my lap, belly up, with her legs and upper body still on the bench. I patted her back gently. Purring, she looked toward where the fountain had been and spoke.
“…Making money with the fountain is hard.”
“Yeah. But we learned a lot, didn’t we?”
“Yeah. It was good practice.”
“Then that’s enough.”
I knew it too. A fountain of that level wouldn’t bring in many coins. Still, we’d gone through with it for the kids’ sake. Planning a business and trying it out—failure or not, it was valuable experience for them.
“Let’s try something else next time.”
“…Yeah.”
Saebyeok’s black tail rose right in front of my face. I grabbed it for no reason when Levinas came running from afar.
“Your Majesty! Big trouble!”
She was holding a sparkling card in her hand. The mark of a top-tier card.
“Wow, a ten-star card?”
“Yeah! It’s the Demon King Eagle card!”
Clack—Levinas held it out. But she didn’t look happy at all. Maybe it was connected to whatever “big trouble” she mentioned.
“You pulled a good card, so why is it trouble?”
“Someone in front of Levinas pulled an even better card!”
“A better card?”
“Yeah…! They pulled the Warrior Horned Rabbit card…!”
The Warrior Horned Rabbit card. I’d heard of it from Levinas before. A two-star card, far below the Demon King Eagle she’d pulled. But Levinas didn’t judge cards by value. She cared more about affection than performance.
“You must’ve been jealous.”
“Yeah! So Levinas asked to trade!”
“…But they wouldn’t?”
“Wah…! They said they’d trade if I gave them two ten-star cards…!”
What a jerk. Saebyeok must’ve thought the same, because her usually blank face twisted into a scowl.
“What do we do?! Levinas can’t give up her Everyone’s Friend card…!”
Everyone’s Friend card. Covered in drawings of every animal, it was Levinas’s most treasured card. I’d heard rumors it was extremely rare and traded for huge sums. Had someone approached her after learning she had it? Taking advantage of a clueless kid like that made even me, who rarely got angry, feel annoyed.
“Um… should we go ask together?”
“Your Majesty, be careful! The other person isn’t someone to mess with!”
“That bad…?”
“Yeah…! They’re a really scary human…! They pick fights for no reason…!”
Someone bullying Levinas in the park? That shouldn’t happen. Who could it be? Bullying our kid. My clenched fists tightened. I probably couldn’t yell at them, but I was going to tell them to stop.
“Where are they?”
“This way!”
Following Levinas’s lead, I headed toward the person with the Warrior Horned Rabbit card. Waiting there was a boy I’d met once before. I didn’t recognize his face, but I remembered his voice and presence. Back when I was wearing the mascot costume, he was the mischievous kid who kept attacking me from all sides.