Before Sophia finished getting ready and returned, I led Levinas deeper into the park.

Although the guild park was technically a no-alcohol zone, there was one spot where drinking was allowed. The secluded forest area, hidden from people’s eyes, was perfect for collecting empty bottles.

"Can these really turn into money?!"

"Yeah."

Levinas picked up an empty beer bottle. She wrinkled her nose, seemingly bothered by the strong alcohol smell lingering around the bottle’s mouth.

"How does this turn into money?!"

"You just take it to the convenience store, and they’ll give you cash for it."

"A convenience store! Levinas knows about those! Only rich people go there!"

Hopping excitedly, Levinas sprinted toward the convenience store’s direction. Being a horned rabbit beast-kin, her speed outpaced mine.

‘Is her collar going to be alright?’

It won’t explode, but if she gets too far, it might start beeping.  
I anxiously kept an eye on the direction of the store, waiting, when Levinas came rushing back toward me.

"Money…! I got money…!"

Levinas ran up to me and opened her clenched fist. In her small hand were a 100-won coin and two 10-won coins.

"Did you already sell the bottle?"

"Yep! This is the first time in my life I’ve ever earned money! Why did they give me money for a bottle?!"

Excited about earning her first money, Levinas jumped up and down.  
I felt a wave of nostalgia. I remembered feeling like that when I sold my first bottle in this world. The system was the same, and at least it meant you wouldn’t starve to death.

"…Empty bottles can be cleaned and reused. That’s why they pay you for them."

"Ohhh!"

She must have wanted to sell more bottles, because her gaze shifted toward a man drinking with his friends. However, the beer bottle in his hand was still more than half full.

"I want to sell that one too!"

"That one has an owner. You can’t sell it until they leave it behind."

The man might sell the bottle himself.  
There was no need to covet something that still had an owner.

"So I can’t sell that one?"

"No, you can only sell things that don’t have owners."

"Aww…"

Clearly disappointed, Levinas slumped her shoulders.  
At that moment, the man gulped down the rest of his beer in one go.

Gulp, gulp—

He downed the remaining beer, and for a moment, I worried he might get alcohol poisoning. Then he rolled the empty bottle into the nearby bushes.

"Hah, today the drinks are going down easy…"

"Yeah… if we leave the empties here, someone will come and pick them up, right?"

His friend, also holding an empty bottle, rolled it into the bushes.  
Before the bottles even stopped rolling, Levinas dashed over and grabbed them.

"Bottles! Levinas picked up two bottles!"

"Uh, yeah. Lucky break."

Wait.  
Didn’t something feel off about that?  
As I observed the men drinking, Sophia approached us, leaning on her cane.

"So this is where you were. It’s about time we head back."

"Okay…"

I responded and glanced at Levinas. I was still thinking about what to do when she spoke first.

"Levinas wants to pick up more bottles! But I have a favor to ask!"

"A favor?"

"Yeah! There aren’t enough bottles in the park! I want to pick up bottles outside too!"

"Ah…"

Was she asking me to remove her collar so she could go outside and collect bottles?  
Since it wasn’t something I could do, I looked at Sophia.

"…Just make sure you’re back by the end of the day."

"Yay!"

Levinas hopped off like a horned rabbit, darting away somewhere. The thought that I had somehow helped her made me feel surprisingly good.

---

Outside the park, Levinas wandered around the city, diligently collecting bottles.  
Using her beast-kin’s keen sense of smell, she followed the scent of alcohol and continued on her way.

She picked up one bottle, then another.  
As she began to enjoy the thrill of earning money, she came across a cylindrical trash can.

"Bottle!"

Digging through the dirty trash wasn’t difficult for Levinas. After all, she had never been taught about cleanliness.

Today, she had set a goal to sell at least ten bottles.  
Humming a tune she’d never learned, she pushed her upper body into the trash can, which reached up to her chest.

"It’s all sticky!"

And the trash can was too big for her.  
Levinas’s legs floated off the ground as she leaned further in.  
At that moment, someone tapped on her foot.

"Hey, little one…?"

"Huh?"

Levinas’s legs kicked back and forth as she tried to figure out who was behind her.

Thud, thud, thud!  
Unknowingly, she kicked the person.

"Hold on, wait a second. I’ll help you out…"

Someone grabbed her ankles and pulled her out.  
Levinas finally saw who had called her.

It was a man and a woman in blue uniforms.  
Levinas recognized them as police officers, a fact she had learned recently.

"Levinas didn’t do anything to get arrested…"

"No, we’re not here to arrest you. We just want to know why you’re digging through the trash."

Seeing a little girl in dirty clothes digging through a trash can wasn’t something the police could easily ignore.

"Levinas is collecting bottles to sell!"

"Bottles?"

"Yeah! I’m going to sell bottles and become the richest person in the world!"

After proudly stating her goal, Levinas tried to shove her body back into the trash can.  
The two officers hurriedly stopped her.

"Hey, Levinas, do you have anyone looking after you?"

"Looking after me? What does that mean?"

"A guardian. Someone who lives with you."

Someone who lives with her.  
Levinas thought about the people from her beast-kin village but shook her head.  
She wasn’t living with them anymore.

"Levinas lives with the king!"

"The king?"

"Yeah! The king is the one who leads everyone! They’re not exactly on my side, but they’re still an amazing person!"

"I-I see…"

Did she mean the leader of a group of street kids?  
But were there really street kids in this city?  
The two officers exchanged puzzled looks.

"Yeah, even the scary shark with the cane listens to the king. The king is the mighty ruler of all the beasts!"

A scary shark with a cane and a king who wasn’t on her side.  
The officers wondered if this was just a metaphor only a child would come up with.

"Do the shark and the king ever hurt you, Levinas?"

"Well… the shark is a little scary, but the king doesn’t hurt me."

"Really? So the king is a good person?"

A good person.  
Levinas nodded eagerly, thinking about the king who had gone to buy a mattress.  
Even if she got a new bed, she planned to sleep with the king.

"The king is a good person! They always hug me when we sleep! It’s the first time in my life anyone’s ever hugged me!"

"I-is that so…?"

"Yeah… but sometimes I sleep with the shark too…"

Because the bed was too small.  
Levinas sighed softly.

"Officer, do you think this could be…?"

"Hmm…"

The two officers swallowed hard.  
It might sound like affectionate words on the surface, but from a police perspective, it wasn’t.  
As officers, they had to be prepared for the worst possible scenario—a crime.

"Levinas, are the shark and the king adults?"

"Yeah. The shark is an adult, and the king is… an adult, I guess?"

Now that she thought about it, Levinas realized she didn’t know the king’s age.  
She tilted her head in confusion.

"So, are the shark and the king family?"

"No, we’re not family."

"Oh no…"

An adult with no blood relation was holding a child while they slept.  
The officers instinctively sensed something horrifying.

"Do the shark and the king ever touch your body without permission…?"

"Officer Kim, stop."

"Huh?"

"Stop asking the child. Let’s check this out ourselves."

Ah.  
The officer must have been worried about traumatizing the child.  
Officer Kim nodded in understanding.

"Levinas, do you know where the king and the scary shark are right now?"

"Yep! They went to buy a mattress from that furniture store over there!"

There was only one furniture store nearby.  
Sergeant Choi radioed one of the officers stationed near the store.

---

I was at the furniture store with Sophia, examining mattresses.  
As I pressed down on one, testing its softness, a policeman approached us.

"A shark with a cane… and the king of beasts…?"

"Huh?"

The policeman looked at me and Sophia, studying us carefully.  
After glancing back and forth a few times, he picked up the radio attached to his chest.

"Sir, I think I’ve found the shark and the king of beasts…?"

– Already? That quickly?

"Yes. It’s clearly the shark. I’m not sure about the beast part, but they definitely fit the description."

The shark must be Sophia, and the beast must be referring to me, since I’m from a feline race.  
Feeling uneasy, I instinctively moved closer to Sophia.

– What do you mean by that?

"You’ll understand when you see them. But are you sure it

’s the shark and the beast?"

– Yeah. We’re heading over now, so please wait there.

"Okay, we’ll wait."

After ending the radio call, the policeman bowed slightly toward us.  
At least he didn’t seem too threatening.

"Hey, kids…?"

"Yes…?"

"Could you wait here for a moment?"

"W-why?"

Was something about to happen?  
I found myself shrinking my shoulders.

"The officer just needs to investigate something."

"Investigate…?"

"Gyeoul, let’s just wait and see."

"Okay…"

What could they possibly be investigating?  
Sophia and I stood there, unable to buy the mattress, just waiting.

After about five minutes, two more officers walked into the furniture store.

"The shark and… the beast…?"

The middle-aged male officer stared at me and Sophia, his eyes wide with shock.  
The younger female officer gasped and squeezed her eyes shut.

What’s going on?  
I shrank back, confused, while watching the officers.

Suddenly, from behind the two officers, a familiar figure jumped out.

"Levinas is here!"

Seeing the cheerful Levinas, I couldn’t help but think that she might have reported Sophia and me to the police.