A New Home in Yeomyeong Park
To move, I needed to pack up the house first. There was a ton of stuff to haul, so I decided to drag out the handcart for the first time in ages. But where was my handcart? I glanced around and spotted one just the right size behind the tent.
It was the one I used all the time for moving or scavenging scrap. "The handcart...?" The girl traced her fingertip along it. Orange rust smeared onto her skin.
"I pulled it out to move the stuff. Looks like it'll take about five trips back and forth."
"Y-You're doing it... yourself?"
"Yeah. There's just so much."
The shelter, the grill, and all sorts of big items. No need to push too hard—we'd take it slow, one piece at a time.
First things first, what to do with the piggy bank. Bills and coins stuffed full. How could I transport it safely on my own? As I pondered alone, the girl wheeled the handcart over to my side.
"Gyeowol, are you taking everything here? Why not just the essentials?"
"The essentials?"
Was there anything here that wasn't essential? As I checked each item, the girl picked up a dented tin pot.
"This pot's got a hole in the bottom. Can't use it."
"N-No, that's not true! I use this...!" I snatched the pot from her hands in a panic. How dare she try to toss my precious pot. I hid it behind my back.
"So it has a purpose, huh?"
"Yeah. I use it to store tomatoes and stuff."
"Ah... storage container. Got it." The girl nodded and picked up a nearby rock from the pile I'd stacked up thinking it might come in handy someday.
"Gotta take that too..."
"Sure. Gyeowol, want me to call in a moving truck?"
"No, it's fine. I can handle it alone."
Figures. As the girl muttered to herself, two beastkin shuffled over.
"Boss! Leave the heavy stuff to this body!"
"I'll help too. Together, we'll finish in no time."
"Th-That..."
She'd apologized, but I hadn't heard much about these two beastkin. Lingering distrust left me frozen, unsure what to do. The girl took charge anyway.
"Alright, let's all pitch in?"
"Sounds good!"
"We'll move the heavy stuff to the side of the guild first."
Before I could even agree, the two beastkin started sorting the luggage. I was a bit worried, but aside from the piggy bank, there wasn't much worth stealing anyway. I let it slide. Something more important needed my attention right now.
I tugged cautiously at the girl's hem. "Um..."
"Yeah?"
"C-Can't we fish near the guild...?"
Catching loaches was my one and only hobby. The thought of losing it made me wistful.
"Why? You like fishing?"
"Yeah. It's fun."
Just watching dozens of loaches wriggling in the trap made me happy. It helped with daily life too. Hard to find a more perfect hobby.
"Hmm... Want me to make it so you can fish?"
"Is that even possible...?"
"Yeah. There's a big pond in the guild's backyard. Throw in a few items, and you could raise freshwater and saltwater fish together."
A few items? She said it so casually, like dropping hundreds or thousands of won wasn't a big deal. Flustered, I waved my hands frantically.
"No, it's okay. I was just saying."
"Nah, I was gonna raise some ornamental fish anyway."
"...Really?"
"Yeah. Just ask you to keep the population in check when they multiply."
"Ah, got it."
Makes sense. The guild wouldn't waste millions on items just for me. In exchange for controlling the ornamental fish numbers, I could catch a few to eat. A perfect mutual benefit for the guild and me.
Ideal.
I'd secured land in the city. A pond for fishing too. Now it was really just a matter of moving.
"Guess I'll get back to packing?"
"Yeah. I'll help."
And so we all sorted the luggage together. With so many hands, it went faster than expected.
At the top floor of Yeomyeong Guild HQ, Guild Master Kang Jin-ho stood gazing down below, coffee mug in hand.
What the hell is that...?
The guild's backyard. In that rest area for locals and guild members alike, a kid was pitching a tent. Tying ropes to trees and connecting the tattered fabric—her movements were anything but amateur. No wasted motion, like she'd done it a thousand times.
The problem was, why was this kid setting up a tent in the guild's backyard?
Can't she just live in the building?
Kang Jin-ho's dilemma didn't last. He knew the kid hated freeloading. She'd have refused an offer to move in first. His guild member Han Yeoreum must have tried her best too. He decided not to reprimand her on that front.
Something else worried him more—the stares from the people around her.
This is bad.
Kang Jin-ho expanded his senses across the guild grounds. Most guild members were peeking at the girl from their spots. The guild folks weren't an issue, but the civilian visitors were.
"Mommy! Kitty over there!"
"Oh, my...?"
A young beastkin girl, not even in puberty yet, living in a crumbling tent in the guild backyard. Even if malicious complaints poured in, they couldn't argue.
"Hmph."
It was all the guild's karma. Kang Jin-ho accepted the situation. Better for the kid to be in plain sight, even if it meant taking heat. For now, he'd just watch.
Yeomyeong Park's backyard had dense woods. I pitched my tent in the most secluded corner of the thicket.
"Whoa."
A house in the middle of the city. I was thrilled, but no time to relax. Packing wasn't done.
I secretly stashed the piggy bank in a spot only I knew and set it at the tent's edge. The campfire took ages since I had to ensure it wouldn't catch.
"Boss! Where to put the meat grill?!"
"Over here."
"This broken mirror?"
"Mirror goes inside the tent!"
Maybe because we all worked together. The move was progressing quicker than I'd thought.
"Boss! I'll grab more heavy stuff!"
"I'll be back too."
The wolf girl gripped the rickety handcart. Felt bad making them do all the work.
"W-Wait. I'll come with."
"It's fine. Dividing tasks makes it faster."
"O-Okay..."
Why were they helping me? No idea, but maybe they weren't as bad as I'd thought.
We'll finish earlier than expected.
You repay help received. What could I do for them? As I mulled it over, footsteps crunched from the nearby thicket. Someone emerged.
"Huh?"
The girl? She'd gone to check items for the pond—back already? I naturally turned toward the sound and froze.
Another unfamiliar beastkin stood there.
"Whale...?"
Blue hair, whale tail. She looked young, but older than me.
"Oi, it's a shark, you rascal."
"Sh-Shark?"
"Aye."
The girl approached, leaning on her cane. The sudden contact scared me, but she looked weak, so I didn't run.
"Wh-What does the shark want with me...?"
"Hmmm... First, let me take a look around."
She circled me, cane tapping, scanning left, right, up, down. The prolonged scrutiny felt awful.
"Who are you?"
"I am Sophia."
"Sophia?"
"Indeed. Elder of the beastkin."
Ahem. Sophia cleared her throat and tapped the ground with her cane. The crisp sound cleared my head somehow.
"What's a beastkin elder?"
"Think of me as the educator for the heir to the throne. For now, show respect—I'm still higher."
"Heir to the throne...?"
There was mana and monsters, sure, but this was South Korea? Why bring up kings in a democracy? I just blinked in confusion.
"Definitely wild-raised..."
Sophia eyed my tent, tapping it with her cane, prodding the battered pot.
"D-Don't! The pot'll dent more."
"Isn't it already dented?"
"Y-Yeah, but I don't want it more dented."
A little dent was usable; too much wasn't. Normal folks wouldn't get it.
"Hmmm..."
She set her cane aside and perched on a nearby chair, hands atop it like an old woman. Why act elderly when she looked young? Odd, but not my concern now.
"Um, this is my spot now..."
"Wilderness..."
Ignoring me, she closed her eyes on the chair, tapping her cane thoughtfully. She opened them after a long while.
"Not just some poor kid, are you...?"