Achoo–!

Achoo–!

Sophia sneezed repeatedly without a pause, which caused her eyes to be brimming with tears.

It was over a minute later when she finally stopped sneezing.

“Are, are you okay?”

“Khhh—”

Sophia nodded her head and wiped the corners of her mouth, her face was filled with dissatisfaction.

“Drinking water too quickly isn’t good for you.”

“You think it was because of that, huh?”

Squish–

Sophia tugged at my cheek, but strangely, perhaps due to respect to her old age, I didn’t mind.

“Then what is it?”

“It’s because of the pond water. Who in the world drinks pond water?”

She looked at me as if I lacked basic common sense.

As someone who heard that the pond water was extremely clean, I felt unfairly judged.

“I heard this pond water is clean enough to drink.”

“And so, did the guild people tell you to drink from the pond?”

“No, no, they did say to fetch water from the guild building but…”

Though I had permission, the thought of entering that fearsome space on my own was out of the question.

People apologized, saying they were sorry, but I still couldn’t fully trust them.

“It seems I need to start by teaching you some basic common sense.”

“Oh…”

Being treated as someone lacking in common sense was frustrating, but I couldn’t argue since it wasn’t entirely false.

I have been in this world for nearly eight years, but I didn’t even know about the existence of ‘beast-kin’.

“Let’s start with teaching you the important elements of mana and its attributes. Follow along closely.”

“Yes…”

Well, whatever, learning the common knowledge of this world wouldn’t hurt.

I planned to study hard to at least reach the level of an average person.

—

✧✧✧✧✧

—

Thud–! Thud–!

I dug into the grassy patch next to the tent with an expensive planting spade that I had bought for five thousand won from a nearby general store.

“So, you mean, I’ll start to feel mana instinctively?”

“Exactly. You’ll come to know it as naturally as breathing.”

“I see….”

Maybe the reason time seemed to slow down in urgent situations was because I used mana instinctively.

I tried to use mana again, inhaling sharply and exerting force, but time didn’t seem to slow down.

I awkwardly scratched the back of my head.

“However, relying solely on instinct is not enough. Beast-kin are not mere animals.”

“I see.”

Thud–! Thud–!

I continued to stab the soil with the spade while responding.

The high-quality soil was dug up deeply and easily.

“Come to think of it, what are you doing?”

“I’m making a garden. This time, I’m going to grow cabbages too.”

“…Is that so.”

Sophia approached me, leaning on her staff.

She poked the ground with the blunt end of her staff, creating perfect holes for planting seeds.

“Oh.”

Was Sophia willing to help?

Just as I reached for the seed pouch tied around my waist, I heard a familiar set of footsteps from behind.

“Gyeoul, Elder Sophia.”

It was Han Yeoreum’s voice.

Both Sophia and I turned to look at her.

“Don’t call me elder.”

“Then what should I call you?”

“Just call me Sophia.”

Sophia grumbled and jabbed the ground with her stick, and then I planted seeds into the holes she made.

Yeoreum approached us.

“Gyeoul, thanks to you, something good happened to the guild.”

“Something good?”

“Yes. We’ve started interacting with the beast-kin of the Korean Peninsula.”

Why was this thanks to me?

I rolled my eyes, unable to understand.

“…Is that really good?”

“Yes, it’s really good. I want to give something back for what you’ve done. Do you need anything?”

“Uh…”

Caught off guard, I glanced at Sophia.

But she was busy planting seeds.

“It’s not for free. It’s to thank you for what you’ve done well.”

“Then, then…”

“Then?”

“Could you just buy me a hamburger…?”

I said, eyeing the girl cautiously.

I was worried I might be asking for too much.

“Hey, Gyeoul. You can ask for something bigger.”

“Something bigger?”

“Yes. A hamburger isn’t really enough to balance it out.”

Was interacting with the beast-kin that significant?

I hesitated and then showed two fingers.

“Then, how about two?”

“Two? Can you even eat two hamburgers, Gyeoul?”

“No. One is for Grandma Soph—for her.”

Sophia twitched at the sound of ‘grandma’.