The Rat in the Park
It was common for adults to offer alcohol to minors. Sang-ah Yoo had also learned to drink from her father when she was seventeen. The reason was that one should learn from adults in advance to avoid trouble later. Who wouldn't understand a father's desire to drink with his child? At the time, Sang-ah Yoo was a minor, but she learned to drink, swept up in the atmosphere between father and daughter. "Dad! One more!" "No, that's enough..." Alcohol became a good memory for Sang-ah Yoo. She even came to enjoy drinking regularly. That's why she didn't think it was entirely bad for adults to offer alcohol to minors. However, there was such a thing as moderation in the world. At the very least, to offer alcohol, one should be at the age of middle or high school students whose minds had hardened. That was the minimum age one could gloss over with "They're old enough to know everything." But what was Saebyeok's age? Now eight years old. Sang-ah Yoo had believed in Santa at that age. It was an age when one didn't know how the world worked. Forcing alcohol on an eight-year-old Saebyeok, or perhaps even younger. They even laughed at the sight of a child unable to stand properly after getting drunk. If it had happened two years ago, Saebyeok would have been six. People called it the toddler years. Good heavens. They forced alcohol on a toddler? Corporal punishment! That was the conclusion Sang-ah Yoo, who disliked violence, reached.
"He really is a bad person." Sang-ah Yoo stroked Saebyeok's cheek. Even with the gentle touch, Saebyeok only hesitated. It was because the friend who had forced her to drink alcohol wasn't as bad a person as she thought. "Hmm..." He was a good guy when it came to serious matters, despite being playful. She felt sorry for bringing up unnecessary words and making him get cursed at in another world. "What kind of person is he anyway?" "W-well, he's not a bad person, surprisingly." "He's not?" "No. He sometimes bought me delicious things too." Saebyeok defended her friend as much as possible. However, Sang-ah Yoo interpreted Saebyeok's words differently. Buying food for a child staggering from alcohol because it was funny. It was like throwing money at a child, treating them like a clown. It was something only alleyway idlers would do, but Sang-ah Yoo knew. To Saebyeok back then, who had never received human affection, that cruel prank must have seemed like consideration. Was I badmouthing my benefactor? For the first time, Sang-ah Yoo tasted bitterness in alcohol.
"Saebyeok, I'll buy you something delicious too." "Something delicious?" "Yes. I want to be a good friend to you, Saebyeok." Huh? What did that mean? Saebyeok tilted her head. "We're already friends." "Gasp! That's right!" Sang-ah Yoo had lived valuing manners and etiquette. However, perhaps because of the alcohol, her heart was more open than usual. "Then we're best friends." Rub rub rub. Sang-ah Yoo rubbed her cheek against Saebyeok's. Eww. Saebyeok only pretended to resist out of embarrassment. In truth, she was so happy that her tail was wagging. Sang-ah Yoo laughed softly as she watched Saebyeok's wagging tail. Her best friend was such a lovely child.
The next morning. After returning from the dungeon, I wandered around the park with the children. There wasn't anything particular to do, but just playing in the park with the children was enjoyable. "Waaaah!" Levinas ran far away for no reason and came back. It was a run with no purpose, but Levinas laughed gleefully, saying it was fun. Children are always energetic, which is nice. It was a moment when I was receiving positive energy from Levinas. From a distant place, someone's dissatisfied voice could be heard. "Don't they manage the park these days?" "Why?" It was a whispering voice, but I could hear it all. I had been restraining myself from eavesdropping on people's conversations in the park, but I couldn't help but listen to the complaints directed at it. After all, I had been formally appointed as the park manager.
"No, do you know what I saw over there?" "What did you see?" "A rat! I've never seen such a big rat in my life!" A rat appeared in the park? It was my responsibility, with no excuse. I hurriedly ran towards the two women who were talking. "I-I'm sorry..." I apologized to the two women. With my ears and tail drooping, I expressed my apology with all my might. "Huh? What?" The women smiled as if nothing had happened. I could tell they were good people. "Well, I'm in charge of cleaning the park..." "...D-did you hear?" "Yes... I was passing by nearby." The two women's gazes went up to the ears on my head. At the same time, they made expressions as if realizing something. It was common knowledge that beast ears were better than human ones. "What should I do? I'm sorry. It was just between us." "No, no. The rat coming out is my responsibility." "Still, I'm sorry. I know Saebyeok works hard cleaning the park, but I said something unnecessary." Hard work? All I did was pick up a few pieces of trash while collecting empty bottles. I scratched the back of my neck in embarrassment.
"No, I'm the one who's sorry. Do you happen to remember where the rat came from?" "The rat was wandering around in the forest over there." "Yes...! I'll definitely catch it." "Uh, yeah..." After parting with the people who kept apologizing, I went deep into the park with the children. I brought Seol-i along to track the rat. Cats were the best at catching rats. "Seol-i." "Meow!" "We need to catch a rat, can you track it?" "Meow! Meow!" Seol-i ran ahead as if to say to trust only her. We followed behind Seol-i, who was running while sniffing with her nose, along with the children. "Meow...!" Seol-i barked softly and lowered her body. It meant to erase our presence. The children and I, who had beastkin instincts, naturally erased our presence even without being taught. We crouched behind the bushes with the children. Levinas's long ears stuck out of the bushes. "Levinas, ears." "......!" Levinas pressed down on her own ears. The ears that went down covered her eyes. Levinas, whose eyes and ears were completely blocked, sniffed the smell. It seemed like she was smelling the rat right in front of us. "Rat...!" Levinas put her hands on the ground like a four-legged animal. Poof-! Levinas's elastic rabbit ears rose again, and Levinas appeared with horned rabbit eyes. "Catch the rat...! Rat...!" Saebyeok showed an excited appearance. It seemed like the cat's unique instinct had been triggered. With the children in this state, they could easily catch one rat. As if by agreement, we spread out in four directions. The signal for the hunt was my tail. When my tail pointed up to the sky, we all charged towards the rat together.
"Squeak!" Even though the rat was as big as my forearm, its speed was incredibly fast. If I had been human, I wouldn't have even thought of catching up, but now I was different. Thud-! I quickly caught up and kicked the rat. The floating rat bounced off after hitting Levinas's head. Saebyeok charged towards the falling rat. Saebyeok grabbed the rat by the scruff of its neck and shook her head. Making a growling sound like a puppy. The rat's life was cut off in an instant. "You all did well." I took the rat that Saebyeok was holding. I planned to show it to the two women, saying we caught it. "Levinas headed it!" "Yeah. It was really cool." "Meow! Meow!" "Yeah. Seol-i tracked it well too." In fact, I could have done both the hunting and tracking alone, but I deliberately did it with the children. It was to raise the children's value. The result was quite successful. Feeling a sense of accomplishment with the children, we left the park forest.
"Saebyeok." Saebyeok wrapped her tail around me. The tied tail swayed gently. "Yeah." "Are we eating the rat?" "Hmm..." If it had been the old me, I definitely would have eaten it. But do I still have to eat it now? I knew that live rats were bundles of germs. For no reason, I brought the rat right up to my nose and sniffed it. "Kyaaak!" I raised my head at the scream coming from somewhere. Han Yeoreum was convulsing while looking at me from a slightly distant place. "Rat! Rat!" "Yes, I caught a rat that was there..." "Saebyeok! Spit it out quickly!" Spit it out? She must have mistaken me for biting it while smelling it. Startled by the loud voice, I dropped the rat. "This isn't biting..." "Kyaaaak!" Han Yeoreum grabbed me and ran to the pond. The children and Seol-i chased after me. "W-wait..." Han Yeoreum, who had picked me up, jumped into the pond. Without time to stop her, she started splashing water on my face. "Rat, what if you bite a rat, Saebyeok...!" Splash splash-! She splashed water so hard it was difficult to breathe, and rubbed my face vigorously with her hands. Since it was a pond with purification function, my face was washed away with just water. "Ugh..." "W-we need to brush your teeth too!" Scrub scrub- Han Yeoreum rubbed my teeth with her fingers. She rubbed them without caring that my fangs were sharp. "Aww..." It wasn't me who bit it, it was Saebyeok. I looked at Saebyeok with resentful eyes. "S-Saebyeok, you shouldn't bite rats..." Saebyeok, who had been gauging the situation, turned her gaze towards the guild building. Saebyeok, who was always fearless, was trembling. "S-Saebyeok..." Splash-! Before she could even speak, water flew towards her face. We did nothing but wash our faces and brush our teeth for over twenty minutes. "Hoo, hoo..." Han Yeoreum wiped the water from her forehead. Thump thump thump- Her heart was beating like never before. She must really hate rats. I should never touch one again in the future. Still, it was fortunate that the washing was over. Whew. As I sighed, pond water flew towards my face. It was the start of phase 2.