Piano Keys and Blood Needles
Levinas sat on the laps of the two women and accepted pieces of tuna. They kept trying to feed her, so she simply opened her mouth and waited. Nom nom— Even though it was just canned tuna, eating it together made it taste better. Her tail wagged so hard it kept smacking the women’s cheeks. This isn’t right when I’m the one being fed. She grabbed her tail with both hands. Hing. A disappointed sound came from behind her.
“……?” Why did she sound disappointed? Levinas turned around. As if she had been waiting for that exact moment, another piece of canned tuna slipped into her mouth. It was delicious, but she felt guilty just receiving food without giving anything back. In return, she dug up some carrots and offered them to the two women.
“Wow, a present?”
“Yes. Our carrots are really tasty.”
It wasn’t a lie. Carrots were the crop Levinas had put the most effort into growing, so they were special—far better than ordinary ones.
“Thank you. I’ll make curry with these.”
“Thank you as well.”
Levinas gave a small bow. After thanking the women, she returned to the guild building. She was about to head straight for the elevator when the sound of a piano reached her ears—thunk, thunk—from the restaurant on the first floor. Drawn by the noise, she walked over.
Thunk-thunk-thunk— Even someone who knew nothing about instruments could tell it was a high-quality grand piano. In front of the open lid, Saebyeok and Levinas were pressing the keys however they pleased.
Thunk-thunk, thunk-thunk— Levinas used only one finger. Saebyeok kept her hands in her pockets and used only her tail. We shouldn’t disturb people while they’re eating. Levinas looked around, but the diners were simply watching the children with warm smiles.
“Kids.”
The moment Saebyeok’s ears and tail perked up, the piano sounds stopped. Levinas’s eyes sparkled as she turned around.
“King! Do you know how to play the piano?!”
“Um… just a little…?”
She knew a few simple songs, though nothing worth showing off.
“Really?! Levinas is super good at piano!”
Levinas tapped two keys with her fingers. Ding-dang-dong— The rhythm and melody were completely off, but she sang without a care in the world.
“Everyone’s hero, the strongest horned rabbit.”
It was the Animal King theme song. Her piano skills were honestly terrible, but her singing was surprisingly beautiful. The moment she finished, Saebyeok and Levinas clapped.
“Wow, that’s amazing.”
“It is?!”
“Yeah. Singing while playing piano is hard, but you just did it like it was nothing.”
Unable to contain her joy at the praise, Levinas threw herself into Levinas’s arms, squishing Saebyeok who was sitting between them.
“King, you try too!”
“Me…?”
“Yeah! Levinas will sing for you!”
“Umm…”
She wasn’t very good. After glancing around, she pressed a single key. Daaang— Her beastkin hearing analyzed the bright, clear note.
“Hmm…”
If she pressed this key, that sound would come out. If she pressed three keys at once… Darang— The exact sound she expected rang out. Her ability to analyze sound was second to none, and combined with her reflexes that let her see the world in slow motion, playing an entire piece wasn’t difficult at all. So my powers work for music too.
She replayed the Animal King theme in her head and began playing while analyzing it in real time.
“Hup!”
Levinas’s eyes widened as she started singing the theme song. The performance was genuinely impressive.
“Wow.”
When the song ended, Saebyeok gently patted both their heads. For some reason, she looked the proudest of all.
“King! What was that?! How are you so good?!”
“I-I don’t know either…”
“As expected of King!”
“Umm…”
It was her playing, yet it felt like she had used some kind of game bug. Embarrassed, she tapped random keys.
“Winter, play something else.”
“O-okay.”
At Saebyeok’s request, she played more pieces. The longer she played, the more she felt her skill improving in real time.
“Whoa! King is a piano genius!”
“You’re really good.”
Clap clap clap— Both children applauded. The praise made her happy and embarrassed at the same time. She lowered her head, swinging her feet that didn’t quite reach the floor.
“S-should we go home now?”
“Yeah! Play again later!”
“…Okay.”
It was embarrassing, but playing piano with the kids had been fun. She hoped they could do it again sometime.
**
Back home, they washed their hands and feet together. While drying off with a towel and drinking water in the kitchen, the living-room lights began flickering on and off.
“Hmm?”
Was the bulb broken? Cup in hand, she stepped into the living room and saw the children playing with the light switch.
Click— When Saebyeok turned the lights off, Levinas came running. Click— When she turned them back on, Levinas froze in a dramatic “rawr” pose. What is this game? It looks fun. Curious, she walked over to Saebyeok.
Click-click— In the alternating light and darkness, Levinas moved and stopped. Because beastkin eyes could see everything even in the dark, she closed her eyes and ears whenever the lights went out. That made the game more exciting.
Click-click— Levinas was halfway across the room, still holding her “rawr” pose.
Click-click— The lights turned off and on again, revealing Han Yeoreum smiling right in front of them.
“……!”
Both Levinas’s and Saebyeok’s ears and tails shot straight up. They were so startled they couldn’t even scream.
“S-sorry. Did I scare you a lot?”
“Yeees… We didn’t know you were home.”
“Hehe, I just stopped by to donate blood. You two were playing so hard you didn’t notice.”
She must have entered right when their eyes and ears were closed. Levinas smoothed down her still-standing ears like a comb.
“Um, why donate blood when we have potions?”
“Adventurer blood is used as an ingredient in potions.”
“Ah… I didn’t know that.”
If potions were made from adventurer blood, couldn’t they just keep drawing blood to make as many as they wanted? Han Yeoreum answered the unspoken question.
“The higher-ranked the adventurer, the better the potion. But high-rank adventurers don’t like donating blood.”
“Why not?”
“Because you can’t enter dungeons for three days after donating. It’s a huge loss.”
“Oh…”
So going into dungeons was more valuable than producing potions. With high demand and low supply, potions naturally became expensive.
“That’s why the law requires adventurers to donate once per quarter.”
“O-once per quarter? Do all adventurers have to?”
“Yeah. Anyone with an adventurer license has to.”
“…Then do I have to donate too?”
Her current body weight was less than half that of an adult woman. If they took the same amount of blood, she might die on the spot.
“…It would be dangerous if Winter donated.”
“R-really?”
“Yeah. There’s no way we could take blood from you.”
Even Han Yeoreum understood. She was relieved she wouldn’t have to donate. Just then, Levinas bounced up from behind Han Yeoreum.
“Yeoreum! Are you getting blood taken?! Did a vampire come?!”
“Yeah. I have to go let the vampire take my blood.”
“Hup…! Levinas will stop them!”
“No, it’s okay. They said they’ll use the blood carefully.”
Carefully? Levinas tilted her head, then suddenly frowned.
“That’s a lie the vampire told you!”
“Oh my, really?”
“Yes! Vampires are liars! Levinas has to watch over you!”
“Watch? Won’t that be scary?”
“It’s fine! Levinas is brave…!”
Even as she said it, Levinas’s body trembled. No one laughed at the courage the child was forcing herself to show.
“Hmm… All right. Watching a blood donation might be educational too.”
So they were going to observe a blood donation in the afternoon. Since she had nothing else to do, she decided to go along.
**
Winter went with the children to watch the blood donation bus. To avoid getting in the way, they peeked over the partition with only their faces showing.
“…Are you a vampire?”
Levinas asked the woman holding the blood bag. The nurse in uniform chuckled at her.
“Yes. I’m a vampire.”
“Hup…!”
Levinas trembled. In the brief silence that followed, the nurse inserted the needle into Han Yeoreum’s arm.
“……!”
The thick, long needle sank deep into her forearm. Winter trembled just like Levinas. Not for any complicated reason—she was simply afraid of needles. Because her body was small, the needle looked even larger in comparison. Her frightened ears drooped.
“Ah.”
Han Yeoreum’s heart dropped when she saw Winter. She had belatedly remembered the trauma the child carried. This was the same kid who had nearly died after being impaled by a horned rabbit. And now she was showing her a scene of a sharp, horn-like needle piercing someone and drawing blood? That had been thoughtless.
Han Yeoreum quickly waved her free hand.
“Winter, look away.”
“……?”
Why should she look away? Winter stood there blinking in confusion. Han Yeoreum assumed she was already panicking.
“Saebyeok, could you take Winter outside? This must be too scary for her.”
“Okay.”
Saebyeok picked Winter up. As she was carried away, Winter’s eyes remained wide and round.
Why are they sending me out?
Winter gave her a puzzled look. Han Yeoreum interpreted it differently.
Why are you showing me something like this?